Exploring the Roles Played by Some European and Asiatic Powers during the Nigerian Civil War, 1967 – 1970
Dr. Joseph Olukayode Akinbi

Abstract
The Nigerian civil war broke out on 6 July, 1967. The beginning of the war was described by the Federal government of Nigeria as a “police action” meant to arrest leaders of a rebellion (the Biafran regime), which was later to metamorphose into a full fledged war. Both parties engaged in propaganda activities designed to win the support of the outside world, consequently leading to the internationalization of the conflict. The focus of this paper is to give a historical discourse on the roles of certain European and Asiatic powers during the Nigerian civil war. Those powers to be examined include: France, United States of America, Portugal, China and Israel. The paper examined the roles played by those powers, that is, the motivating factors behind their involvement in the war, the modus operandi of such involvement and its extent as well as the implications of such external involvement. The paper concluded that the implications of the involvement coupled with other external influences had contributed to the prolongation of the crisis and provides a good case material for understanding the influence of the external factors in inter- African conflicts.

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