Counting the Costs of Violent Conflicts: Examining Nigeria’s South-East Region (Part 1)

The South-East region of Nigeria, dominated by the Igbo people, has not known durable peace since it tried to secede from the country between 1967 and 1970. The bloody 30-month civil war claimed ‘Biafran lives’ wantonly despite the pacifying claim of \’no victor, no vanquished\’ by the military government in 1970. Over 50 years after the war, the South-East remains volatile today following the activities of restive youth groups. In recent years, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has castigated the federal government over the continued structural violence against Igbo people through political power exclusion, economic marginalisation and menacing activities of Fulani herders.

Based on the perceived inequity, injustice and violence, IPOB argues that ‘Biafra’ should secede from the rest of Nigeria. But efforts aimed at achieving the Biafra Republic have been violently resisted by the Nigerian government. Both IPOB militancy and the state repression it has engendered have led to damaging costs on lives, livelihoods and public utilities. This edition of Nextier SPD Policy Weekly examines the human costs and highlights what should be done about them. Next week, the concluding part of this edition (Part 2) will focus on the material costs engendered by the conflict.

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