Igbo nationalism
[4] Via the divide-and-rule policies embarked upon by Great Britain in its colonization of what is now known as Nigeria, the ethnic groups that occupied the territory were purposefully separated and differentiated.
[10] For this reason, the cultural, social, and economic characteristics that distinguished each of the major groups played an important role in public spaces.
[3] Namely, it enabled the Igbo people to send larger numbers of their children to school via communal association as opposed to the individual achievements or parents.
[11] As early as 1964, a small group of majors in the military—mostly Igbo people—began to plot a military coup in 1964 due to their dissatisfaction with the corrupt practices of the federal government.
[13] The coup resulted in the deaths of federal officials and political figures such as Prime Minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and Premier Ahmadu Bello.
[13] Only five months after the original coup, a counter-coup ensued which resulted in the death of Ironsi and the installation of Major General Yakubu Gowon.
[13] Anti-Igbo violence was not curbed after this transition of power, and Igbo people began to flee to the Eastern region in large numbers.
[13] Following the failure of the Aburi Accord, Lieutenant Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu declared the Eastern Region independent for the protection of the lives and interests of the Igbo people.
[3] MASSOB (which has headquarters across the east and embassies internationally) has been able to leverage the development of an Igbo national consciousness for the promulgation of Biafran ideals.
[10] In the context of colonization, which featured the native population's limited access to economic advantages, there was fierce competition between ethnic groups for employment opportunities.
[5] Due to the Igbo people's relatively high levels of education, they were able to take jobs as clerks, traders, and shopkeepers and eventually rise to the ranks of professionals, journalists, and government employees.
[7] An important factor in the escalation of the Nigerian Civil War was the fact that 70 percent of the nation's oil reserves were located in the eastern region.
As a legacy of the conflict, the Igbo people continue to possess significantly smaller amounts of national resources, particularly including oil.
[3] Additionally, Igbo men and women continue to experience anti-Igbo discriminatory attitudes from members of other ethnic groups that affects the success of their businesses.
[15] According to their 2002 Constitution, civil society groups such as Ohanaeze Ndigbo have formed to act as a conduit between the government and the people to negotiate for the socio-economic development of Igbo land.
