A special episode of African News Review focused on Milton Allimadi’s New book, The Day Biafra Died, and the archival history behind the Biafra War. The conversation brings together Adesoji Iginla, Aya Fubara Eneli, and Milton Allimadi to examine journalism, foreign intervention, humanitarian crisis, and the political decisions that nearly changed Biafra’s fate. In this episode, the panel traces how Allimadi’s research moved from New York Times correspondence to a wider story involving Richard Nixon, Henry Kissinger, Lloyd Garrison, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, and U.S. policy toward Biafra. Aya adds a deeply personal perspective rooted in family history and Ijaw memory, while Adesoji frames the discussion around journalism, historical record-keeping, and the larger significance of the book. Takeaways The origin of The Day Biafra Died and how Allimadi’s earlier research on Africa in Western media led him into the Biafra archives Why Lloyd Garrison, the New York Times correspondent, became central to the story after being expelled from Lagos How Garrison’s reporting moved from observation to advocacy after witnessing massacres and starvation Nixon’s evolving position on Biafra, from neutrality to a serious consideration of recognition The role of U.S. public pressure, including images of starving children and activism around the war The humanitarian relief crisis, including the debate over daytime airlifts, Uli Airport, and Canadian military observers The international dimension of the war, including Britain, the Soviet Union, France, Sweden, mercenaries, and oil interests The coup of January 1966, the killing of northern and western political leaders, and how that shaped ethnic suspicion and the road to civil war Why the Biafra War remains under-discussed in Nigeria, especially while major actors are still alive Chapters 00:00 - Opening the episode and introducing the book conversation 01:30 - What The Day Biafra Died covers and why it matters 04:22 - Aya’s personal connection to Biafra and the Ijaw experience 05:44 - What inspired Allimadi to write the book 07:13 - Discovering Lloyd Garrison’s correspondence and the first major archival clue 08:33 - Nixon’s shifting stance as humanitarian pressure grew 09:22 - Where a journalist’s role starts and ends 10:19 - Reporting a crime versus becoming an advocate 13:31 - Journalism, moral responsibility, and truth-telling in wartime 15:05 - How close the U.S. came to recognising Biafra 16:30 - Nixon, Kissinger, and the push to control Biafra policy 17:31 - Red Cross flights, blockade pressure, and the turn toward intervention 18:58 - Canada’s role in securing daytime relief flights 20:14 - Ojukwu’s rejection of the arrangement and the Radio Biafra broadcast 21:44 - Nixon’s private moves to pressure Britain and France 23:46 - Linking Congo, mercenaries, and Cold War geopolitics 30:16 - Framing the larger origin story of Biafra 31:03 - The January 1966 coup and why it was seen as revolutionary by some 33:32 - The coup hierarchy, ethnic suspicion, and why the narrative hardened 35:23 - Achebe, colonial divisions, and the deeper roots of the conflict 36:50 - Ojukwu’s declaration of Biafra and early U.S. assessments 38:19 - Public pressure in the U.S., activism, and the self-immolation protest 39:17 - Debating the death toll and the challenge of historical reckoning 41:20 - Aya’s family memories of flight, loss, and long-term trauma 44:32 - Clarifying the U.S.-Canada daytime flight proposal and Biafran rejection 46:36 - Roger Morris, Kissinger, and the push to freeze the military option 47:36 - Which countries recognised Biafra and why recognition mattered 48:40 - South Africa, truth and reconciliation, and what Nigeria has not done 50:22 - Why a conversation about the war remains difficult while principal actors are alive 51:33 - Britain, the Soviet Union, Shell BP, and the oil dimension 52:42 - How long the book took to research and write 55:32 - Aya’s question about African unity and the United States of Africa 57:01 - Clyde Ferguson, bomb fragments, and evidence of civilian targeting 58:59 - Why elite leadership, not ordinary Africans, is the major obstacle to unity 62:16 - Military spending, external weapons, and the cost to social development 63:11 - How outside weapons and intervention changed the conflict’s scale 66:58 - The next possible project: Uganda and Idi Amin 68:06 - Availability of the book in the UK and the upcoming e-copy 69:32 - Ojukwu and Gowon’s military rank, hierarchy, and political symbolism 72:11 - What the title means and what it does not mean 73:05 - Other books on Biafra and how this one fits into the literature 75:34 - Why Nigerian media silence says something about the subject 80:27 - Closing reflections on knowledge, truth, and historical memory Send us Fan Mail Support the show Africa is not a story of victims. 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