Reimagining Biafra: between historical memory and political reality

Onyedikachi Madueke

doi:10.1080/00358533.2025.2559888

Reimagining Biafra: between historical memory and political reality

Onyedikachi Madueke^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

Politics

Department of Politics and International Relations

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

1 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This paper explores the post-1999 resurgence of the Biafra movement in Nigeria, situating it within the historical, political and structural legacies of the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). It traces the evolution of pro-Biafra activism from MASSOB to IPOB, analysing how unresolved grievances, political marginalisation, economic exclusion and historical erasure fuel renewed calls for self-determination. Drawing on comparative insights from global separatist struggles, the paper evaluates the strategic shifts, state responses, and limitations of the Biafra Renaissance Movement. It concludes by reflecting on whether Biafra’s future lies in secession or in a broader push for regional empowerment and national reform.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	797-817
Number of pages	21
Journal	Round Table
Volume	114
Issue number	6
Early online date	22 Sept 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2025.2559888
Publication status	Published - 2025

Keywords

Biafra
IPOB
Nigeria
separatist conflict

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10.1080/00358533.2025.2559888Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Madueke_etal_RT_Reimagining_Biafra_VOR
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Final published version, 799 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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Reimagining Biafra: between historical memory and political reality

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