Philip Effiong


Philip Efiong was a Nigerian military officer who, during the Nigerian Civil War, was the first vice-president and, briefly, the second and last president of the Republic of Biafra.

Early life

Born in Ibiono Ibom in present-day Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria, on 18 November 1925, Philip Effiong joined the Nigerian Armed Forces on 28 July 1945. The UK later commissioned him for duty in the Rhine, West Germany. He was then transferred to the Nigeria Army Ordnance Corps; then to England for further training after a peace-keeping stint in the Republic of Congo in 1961. He was Nigeria's first Director of Ordnance.

Biafra and vice-presidency

Efiong became Chief of General Staff of Biafra under President Odumegwu Ojukwu during the Nigeria-Biafra war, and vice-president.
The tactics of the Nigerian military during the war included economic blockade and deliberate destruction of agricultural land. Even before the war, the area was a net importer of food, depending on income from its oil fields to feed its populace.
With the blockade cutting off oil revenue and agricultural destruction reducing food production, the result was mass dislocation and starvation of the populace. Two to three million people are thought to have died in the conflict, mostly through starvation and illness.
When Biafra's military resistance collapsed, Ojukwu fled to Côte d'Ivoire.

Effiong as acting president

Efiong assumed leadership in this situation of turmoil, starvation, and collapse. He became acting Head of State of Biafra on 8 January 1970 and on 12 January announced surrender.

Effiong's speech to Gowon

On 15 January 1970 at Dodan Barracks in Lagos, in the presence of General Yakubu Gowon, Effiong announced the end of the Biafran conflict.
At the time of the surrender, Effiong believed that the situation was hopeless and that prolonging the conflict would have led only to the further destruction and starvation of the people of Biafra. At that time Effiong said, "I am convinced now that a stop must be put to the bloodshed which is going on as a result of the war. I am also convinced that the suffering of our people must be brought to an immediate end."
Nnaemeka L. Aneke wrote, "General Efiong’s handling of Biafra’s surrender is one of the most tactical and devoted maneuvers ever seen on the Nigerian scene. Those who do not appreciate the depth of it may not have appreciated what was at stake as Biafra capitulated." Many observers had expected wholesale retribution at war's end.

Later life and death

In a 1996 interview, Effiong reflected on his role in Biafra:
Efiong died on 6 November 2003, at the age of 77.