ging from the broad north south and southeast southwest divisions to hostilities among peoples within these regional segments. Such difficulties were compounded by rivalries in economic interests, religious tensions, and the assertion of such groups as the Hausa Fulani that independence should be achieved within the framework of Nigerian culture and traditions. Activists among other peoples, such as the Ibo, were equally insistent on the adoption in large measure of European political systems, technology, and values. This conflict would be a major theme in Nigeria before and after independence. the inter-ethnic tensions also continued (Nelson Countries of the World).
After independence, in this continuing climate of ethnic and regional animosity, Nigeria experienced four coups and a costly civil war from January 1966 to February 1976. the first of the coups was led by Ibo army officers and brought an end to the first experiment in democratic government only five years after the country had achieved independence. Civilian rule at the national level and in the administrative regions was then replaced by a succession of military regimes that attempted to preserve the federation while instilling a greater sense of national unity among the Nigerian people. The second Federal Military Government (FMG) under the leadership of Lieutenant Colonel (later Major General) Yakubu Gowon lasted nine years and introduced a number of innovative changes while trying to salvage the union. Some of these were accepted by the people, and others caused violent reactions. One such led to an action in 1966 when the military governor of the Eastern Region proclaimed that his area had seceded from Nigeria to become the independent Republic of Biafra. Fighting then broke out between the federal and Biafran armies in a bloody civil war that dragged on for thirty months, beginning in 1967. Federal forces were ultimately successful, and estimates of cas...