Remembering British Colonialism and the Biafran War in Multiple Sites

The era of British colonisation and the Biafran War are the significant moments that have defined present-day Nigeria. The British occupation of Nigeria lasted from the 1880s until October 1 1960, when the country gained independence. Long-standing divisions between the three main ethnic groups – the Yoruba, the Igbo, and the Hausa/Fulani – were exacerbated by the British and simmered into civil war in 1967. Today, the legacy of this memory is scarcely highlighted by current governments and organisations. The case studies on remembering British colonialism and the Biafran War illustrate how societies allow colonial artefacts to become derelict. They also show how the memory of the Biafran War, a war that is viewed as one with a single victor (the Nigerian government), is suppressed and scarcely promoted in public spaces.