No End Yet In Biafra

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31782, 12 September 1968, Page 14

No End Yet In Biafra

It is now clear that the Nigerian advance into what remains of Biafra, begun a month ago, is intended by Lagos to be the last phase, brief or prolonged as events may dictate. Major-General Gowon, head of the Federal Government, predicted a fortnight ago that the struggle would last another four weeks. Now he says that it might last much longer. It is not surprising that he avoids explicit statements. In January he said that March would see the end of Biafran resistance. Last November, according to army spokesmen, victory was in sight. The truth is that Ibo determination, which seems in the mass to match the obduracy of Colonel Ojukwu, continues to confound all predictions.

There is little reason to hope that the meeting of the Organisation of African Unity, due to open in Algiers tomorrow, will be able to produce a formula for a cease-fire and fresh talks acceptable to both sides. Earlier, in Addis Ababa, Colonel Ojukwu had offered to discuss with the Federal Government the “closest form of association” provided it did not detract from Biafra’s right to ensure its own security at home and abroad. Modification but not abandonment of independence would be considered. Lagos, on the other hand, still insists that Biafra must return to its status of 14 months ago as a unit in the federal structure.

General Gowon denies that the Biafrans are being, or have been, massacred. His troops, hd says, are under strict orders “ to adhere to the code of “ conduct issued to them ”, What is the code? The Ibos will accept no federal assurances of clemency. Leading the present advance into the ninth part, of Biafra remaining in secessionist hands is Colonel Adekunle, known as the “ Black Scorpion ”, He was reported a few weeks ago to have told an interviewer that when his troops moved into the heart of Ibo territory “ we shoot at everything—even things that don't move ”. If there is any substance in this and similar reports the Biafran resolve to fight on rather than surrender is entirely understandable. If the Algiers meeting can produce assurances from Lagos that the secessionists will be fairly treated should they submit, it may be possible, even at this late stage, to find a solution, perhaps confederal, that would meet Biafran aspirations though falling short of full independence. But General Gowon has constantly maintained that the war must end before there can be any examination of constitutional problems: and Colonel Ojukwu has as constantly refused to compromise. Aba has now fallen to the invaders, and the remaining strongholds, Owerri and Umuahia, are certain to fall in due course. After that, according to Colonel Ojukwu, guerrilla warfare will continue. It seems improbable that the Ibos. fighting in the jungle, will be able to hold out for long. Even the desperate courage of fanaticism will not be enough. They have no sources of supply, either of food or of arms; and to carry on they will need opportunity to rest as well as to re-equip. In the meantime, starvation and disease will take their toll of women and children while armed attack reduces the defenders. There seems no prospect of an escape from horror.