The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, remains one of the most devastating conflicts in modern African history. While military campaigns and political negotiations shaped its course, the war is most remembered for the humanitarian disaster caused by the federal blockade of the secessionist Republic of Biafra. By cutting off food and medical supplies, the blockade turned hunger into one of the deadliest weapons of the conflict.
In the midst of mass starvation, ordinary civilians, particularly women, devised strategies of survival. Families, churches, and community groups organised improvised food-sharing and underground trade. Though informal and often dangerous, these survival systems symbolised resilience, secrecy, and the capacity of ordinary people to sustain life amid collapse.
A War of Hunger.
When Biafra declared independence in May 1967, the federal government responded with both military action and an economic blockade. By late 1968, the situation inside Biafra had reached catastrophic proportions. Ordinary staples such as garri, beans, and yam flour became almost inaccessible to households. Malnutrition spread rapidly, with children the most visible victims.
Photographs of starving children with swollen bellies and skeletal frames, symptoms of kwashiorkor and marasmus, became iconic representations of the war. These images, widely circulated in Europe and America, shocked the global public and intensified calls for humanitarian relief.
Relief Efforts and Their Limits.
International humanitarian organisations tried to respond. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), along with church groups such as Caritas and Protestant missions, coordinated clandestine airlifts into Biafra from mid-1968.
The Uli airstrip, operating only at night to avoid bombings, became the sole entry point for international aid. Pilots landed without lights, carrying powdered milk, medicine, and sometimes staple foods.
Yet these supplies were inadequate for the millions trapped inside the enclave. Relief distribution created tensions within communities, with accusations of favouritism sometimes arising. Still, historians and humanitarian reports agree that without these risky flights, the death toll would have been even higher.
“Afia Attack”: Women and the Underground Economy.
Among the most remarkable survival systems was Afia Attack, the underground trade spearheaded by women. These women crossed federal lines, often at night, to smuggle food into Biafra. They carried cassava, garri, palm oil, dried fish, and salt, essentials for survival.
The risks were immense. Women memorised hidden footpaths, evaded soldiers, and negotiated at checkpoints. Oral accounts reveal many were harassed, beaten, or stripped of their goods. Yet despite these dangers, Afia Attack became a lifeline. Communities depended on these women for food that international relief could not deliver.
Today, historians regard Afia Attack not merely as smuggling but as a grassroots strategy of survival. It highlights women’s central role in sustaining families under siege.
Communal Cooking and Shared Pots.
Inside Biafra, communal cooking also emerged as a vital response to hunger. In towns such as Owerri, Aba, and Umuahia, families pooled their resources in private compounds, parish halls, and community spaces. Women’s groups and church committees organised small-scale food sharing, where meals were prepared and distributed among households.
Meals were improvised from whatever could be found: cassava leaves boiled into soup, thin pap thickened with groundnuts, or maize porridge diluted into watery gruel. Nursing mothers and children were usually prioritised.
These cooking arrangements were highly mobile. Because of raids and shortages, families avoided large gatherings and cooked at odd hours of the night to prevent detection. Survivors recall that secrecy and flexibility were essential. Though portions were meagre, these shared pots meant the difference between life and death.
The Humanitarian Crisis of 1969.
By mid-1969, conditions worsened dramatically. Towns such as Owerri were under siege, and harvests had failed. Families often resorted to wild leaves, roots, and even inedible plants in desperation.
Malnutrition deepened: kwashiorkor, marasmus, and anaemia spread rapidly. The international media broadcast the crisis, galvanising global sympathy, but aid remained too limited to prevent famine from claiming hundreds of thousands of lives.
Memory and Aftermath of the War.
When Biafra surrendered in January 1970, the blockade was lifted, but recovery was slow. Fields lay abandoned, markets destroyed, and infrastructure crippled. Hunger did not end with the ceasefire.
Yet the survival systems forged during the war, Afia Attack, communal cooking, and community rationing, left lasting impressions. Women’s central role in sustaining households during famine reshaped local understandings of resilience and leadership.
In family memory and oral tradition, these strategies are remembered not only as stories of suffering but also as testimonies of courage and ingenuity. They remind us that wars are not only fought with weapons, but also with the daily acts of endurance that keep communities alive.
Author’s Note.
The Nigerian Civil War is often narrated through military campaigns and diplomacy. Yet the struggle for survival under blockade is equally vital. Civilian food networks, led by women through Afia Attack and communal cooking, symbolise how ordinary people resisted starvation with creativity and solidarity. These systems did not end the blockade, but they mitigated its worst effects long enough for many to survive. They highlight the resilience of communities who endured one of the twentieth century’s most devastating famines.
References:
- de St. Jorre, John. The Nigerian Civil War. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972.
- Achebe, Chinua. There Was a Country: A Personal History of Biafra. New York: Penguin Press, 2012.
- Heerten, Stefan, and A. Dirk Moses. The Nigeria–Biafra War: Genocide, Politics, and the 1960s. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
