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Though the countercoup restored power to the Hausas, their choice to lead the government was Yakubu Gowon, who is both a Christian and a member of a minority tribe (see box following page). Gowon tried to stop the pogroms. At the same time, he firmly limited Ibo power by regrouping Nigeria's four regions (North, East, West and Midwest) into twelve smaller units. The Ibo East was gerrymandered into three states, two of which had non-Ibo majorities. The move also deprived the Ibos of control over much of the oil that was making Nigeria rich. Ojukwu, who at the time was Military Governor of the Eastern Region, defied Gowon. On May 30, 1967, at a champagne party in the Eastern capital of Enugu, he announced the creation of the state of Biafra, which drew its name from the bay off the Atlantic Ocean that cuts into the Nigerian coast. The proud Ibos composed a national anthem—"Land of the rising sun we love and cherish, beloved home, land of brave heroes"—and dug in to defend their homeland.
Senseless Tragedy
Ojukwu badly wanted recognition from other African nations, but only four—Gabon, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Zambia—obliged him. Outside Africa, support was even harder to find. In August 1968, at Charles de Gaulle's instigation, the French government announced that "the present conflict must be resolved on the basis of the right of people to govern themselves." But France never formally recognized Biafra while supplying it for war. During the 1968 U.S. presidential campaign, Richard Nixon urged Washington to "speak out against this senseless tragedy and act to prevent the destruction of a whole people by starvation." Ojukwu looked on the speech as a sign that Nixon would reverse U.S. policy and recognize Biafra. When Nixon did not come through, Ojukwu concluded that the new President had merely been scratching around for headlines.
The only other nation that recognized Biafra during its short lifetime was Haiti. TIME Correspondent James Wilde recalls that officials there dissolved into laughter when Ojukwu read them the cable signed "President for Life Duvalier." They began to chant in derision, "President for Life, President for Life." Champagne was broken out, and the group got gloriously drunk toasting Haiti's President for Life.
At the outset, Biafra fared well militarily. Ibos had been the backbone of the Nigerian army; their departure for home after the 1967 pogrom deprived Gowon of half his officer corps and three-quarters of the army's administrative force. Gowon had to replace the secessionists while building his army from a peacetime force of only 7,000 to an eventual total of 180,000. Five weeks passed before Gowon proceeded cautiously to battle by dispatching eight battalions against Biafra. The results were discouraging. Nigerian soldiers refused to fight at night because they were afraid of juju (evil spirits). Regardless of the size of the force opposing them, they would not advance more than a mile at a time without laying down an artillery barrage. Ojukwu, meanwhile, was building his army to a high of 40,000.