No Victor, No Vanquish in the Nigerian Civil War: Analysis of the Recurrent Biafra Separatist Agitation in Southeastern Nigeria

This paper examined the factors sustaining separatist agitation in southeastern Nigeria. This study sourced information from secondary materials. Twenty articles published between 2018 and 2023 were purposively and randomly selected from peer-reviewed and open-access journals through the Google search engine using the phrase Biafra separatist agitation in Nigeria. The Greed and grievance, and elite theories were synthesized to analyze the agitation. The study argued that the factors sustaining Biafra separatist agitation in Nigeria can be classified as internal and external. While the internal factors are particular to the country and include military response, corruption, fear of dominance, marginalization, and failed nationalism, external factors include the proliferation of ammunition and the interest of the power blocs. In the class of factors, the elite remains necessary because it is an essential feature of human organization. Hence, the paper concluded that the elite remains the driving force behind Biafra separatist agitation in southeastern Nigeria because the unity of the elite or otherwise determines the situation in a nation. The paper suggests adequate public orientation to the masses. In addition, government institutions should be strengthened to provide services for citizens rather than based on identity.