resulted in a serious lack of trained leadership throughout the vast Northern 1
Region. Yorubas from the Western Region have in some cases remained at their posts
in the North. In a few cases they suffered during the time of violence, but usually
it was because of the case of mistaken identity. The hostilities were directed
specifically against the Ibo tribe. Still, Yorubas remaining in the North are uneasy,
and some are leaving as they get opportunity for employment back in the Western Region
or elsewhere. There seems to be an uneasy feeling that it might be their turn next.
In a good many cases Yorubas are now taking positions formerly occupied by Ibos, and
if this increases, it may result in resentment and prejudice being directed against
them by the disappointed Northerners. The actual situation is that there are not
trained Northerners capable of taking the positions left vacant, but the tribal feel¬
ing causes many in the North to feel that these positions should be occupied by their
own people, rather than by someone from the South, regardless of his tribe, and re¬
gardless of his training.
Our missionaries in the North witnessed some terrible scenes during the height of the
upheaval. Some of them played a heroic role in protecting Ibo friends and helping them
to escape. A specific case was at the Jos Baptist High School, where three Ibo students
and three Ibo teachers were concealed for three days and then taken to the airport for
evacuation back to the Eastern Region. Our missionaries played a valiant role in pre¬
venting death or injury to these. Others known by our missionaries were not so fortu¬
nate.
There is no accurate figure as to the number of Ibos who were slain by the Hausas. The
lowest figure used is 6,000. The estimate is probably closer to 10,000 who perished.
Many other hundreds reached the safety of the Eastern Region with eyes gouged out, hands
cut off, and other brutal forms of mutilation.
I found in the North no sense of shame or remorse for the terrible outbreak of tribal
violence. There seems to be a sense of satisfaction that the hated Ibos have been
driven from the region. It is the conviction of the average Northerner that the Ibos were
planning to take over the control of the entire country, and that the initial coup in
January, 1966, was a tribal plot on the part of the Ibos to slay the Hausa and Yoruba
leaders, sparing their own Ibo leaders, with a deliberate intention of capturing con¬
trol of the country. It is difficult to see how it will be possible for Ibos to re¬
turn and live in peace and make their contribution to the development of the Northern
Region for many years to come. The unification of the nation and the development of
the Northern Region have received a serious setback.
In the North I touched Zaria, Kaduna, and Jos, in addition to Kano. Everywhere I
found the situation the same. Large sections of the towns formerly occupied by Ibos
were left deserted, with many new evidences of the violence and looting which had taken
place.
I reached Ibadan, capital of the Western Region, on Friday night, February 10, 1967. The
Western Region was not affected by the inter- tribal fighting which took place in Sep¬
tember and October, as were the North and the East. Some Yorubas fled from the North
and returned to their homes, and practically all Yorubas left the Eastern Region, when
the military governor warned that he would not be able to guarantee their safety. This
has resulted in some dislocation and strain upon the economy of the Western Region.
On the whole, however, business is going on largely unhindered, and there is an air
of prosperity and hopefulness.
The attitude of the Yoruba people in the present national crisis is difficult to define.
Their sympathies are largely with the North, as over against the Ibos of the East. They
seem to share the feeling that the Ibos were plotting to capture control of the country,
and that they in many cases got what they deserved. At the same time they recognized
that they have much in common with the East in a cultural and economic sense, as oppos¬
ed to the North. Hostility is directed to the Eastern Region at this time because of
the stubbornness of the military governor of the East, who refuses to come to Lagos for
conferences, and seems to be going ahead with plans to develop the Eastern Region as a
separate entity. The rumor that the military governor of the East is planning to secede
from the republic and set up a separate nation is not quite so persistent now as it was
a few weeks ago. The general opinion now seems to be that some form of loose federation
will be preserved, but there is a great deal of impatience with the Eastern Region as a
rebellious unit. It is pointed out that Lt. Col.0jukwu, military governor of the East,
is behaving in an insubordinate way toward Lt. Col. Gowon, the military commander of
the entire federal government. Ojukwu will not take orders from Gowon, and this places
him in the position of being defiant and disobedient to his immediate military superior.
For this reason, many in the West say that the situation cannot be settled as long as
Ojukwu is in control in the East, and that somehow he must be deposed before the unity
of the nation can be achieved.
At present our mission work in the Western Region is affected very little by the politi¬
cal troubles, with the exception of the fact that travel between the West and the other
regions is much more difficult, and passports or other travel documents must now be
presented when one enters the Eastern Region from some other region of Nigeria.
On Monday, February 13, I flew from Ibadan to Benin, the capital of the Mid-Western
Region. The Mid-West has been able to remain almost neutral in the regional and tribal
disturbances. It is something of a buffer state between the West and the East. This
has recently been officially recognized, and the newspapers today carry an account of a
conference opening today in Benin in which all of the secretaries of the military gov¬
ernors are meeting behind closed doors to discuss their common problems. This raises
