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Seven years after independence, Nigeria was plunged into a tumultuous political crisis that degenerated into a major civil war, which lasted for thirty months. The war ended in 1970 with great casualties on both sides, especially from the Igbo. The Nigerian government, under General Yakubu Gowon military administration, declared that there was “no victor and no vanquished”. The Federal Military Government went further to implement the famous post war reconstruction programme christened the three Rs: that is Reconstruction, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. How constructive this programme was still remains the subject of intense debate amongst scholars. Indeed, forty years after the war, thee fundamental issues that caused the war continue to be topical in the politics of the country.
Themes:
In the light of the above, the Historical Society of Nigeria is organizing an international conference on the Nigerian Civil War Forty Years After: What Lessons? The following sub-themes are expected to be considered by interested scholars:
a. Issues and causes of the Nigerian Civil War
b. The course of the Nigerian Civil War
c. Igbo perspective on the Nigerian Civil War
d. Non-Igbo perspective on the Nigerian Civil War
e. Ethnic minorities and the Nigerian Civil War
f. The war economy and its consequences
g. Demobilization and disarmament
h. Refugee Problem and the Nigerian Civil War
i. Post-civil war generation and their perspectives on the Nigerian Civil War
j. Literature on the Nigerian Civil War
k. Nigerian women and the Civil War
l. Resurrection of the Nigerian Civil War/irredentist ideas and movements
m. The Nigerian Civil War and the Wider World
Participants:
The conference is expected to bring together scholars (both from within and outside Nigeria), War veterans, public officers, students and all other stake holders in the Nigerian project. The idea is to provide a platform for the analysis of the Nigerian Civil War, its relevance and significance in the political history of the contemporary Nigerian nation. Those interested in participating in this important conference are invited to submit a one – page abstract/paper proposal not later than 31st November, 2007 to:
Professor Armstrong M. Adejo,
Department of History,
Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria
E-Mail: armstrong_adejo@yahoo.com
Professor Olayemi Akinwumi
Nasarawa State University, Keffi,Nigeria
E-mail: yemiakinwumi@yahoo.com
Conference Secretariat,
C/o Department of History,
Benue State University, Makurdi
E-Mail: hsnconference2008@yahoo.com
Date and Venue:
The conference, which will be holding at Abuja, the Nigerian Federal Capital (venue to be communicated participants in due course), is scheduled to take place on the 10th -14th March, 2008.
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