On this Biafra rememberance day, let me go a bit beyond the popular war Igbos have fought, down a little bit into some history some might not know. The Igbos were one of the earliest to have a well organized army in the whole Africa. The Ekumeke Soldiers. This Army fought Britain
The resolutions of the Berlin conference of 1884-1885, gave European nations the rights to lay claim to lands and resources in Africa.
They came with guns and preachers. Many Africans tribes resisted the British invaders, and this led to protracted wars. Many African tribes put up a great fight against the superior firepower of the suppressive British.

One of such tribes are the Igbo people of ancient Biafra
The Ekumeku Movement was the name of Igbo army, that held the British at bay and fought them for 31 years.
The Ekumeku movement consisted of a great number of attacks and uprising by the Anioma people of the land, against the British, from 1893-1914.
The Ekumeku warriors were bound by a secret oath, and meticulously utilized guerrilla tactics to attack the British Royal company, who were determined to penetrate Igbo land. The Ekumeku warriors were drawn from thousands of Anioma youth from all parts of Anioma land
As the war rages on, the Ekumeku warriors defended their rights to live peacefully without foreign interjection, while the British used heavy armaments. They destroyed homes, farms, and roads, by bombardment
The battle was so severe in Okwunzu, in 1094, that the commander W.E.B Crawford requested for more arms from the British headquarters to crush the Western Anioma communities. They engaged the British in a gruesome battle that consumed the life of the British commander S. O. Crewe
The Ekumeku became a formidable force in Igbo land and was a great source of nationalism for the Anioma people. It also served as a uniting cord that held together, various towns, who were independent of each other in the past.
The Igbo were a republican people and each town had a leadership that was drawn from its oldest of men and families.
After almost 20 years of battle, decided to strike with great force. And in December of 1902, they sent a powerful expedition to Anioma kingdom. A great number of towns were destroyed. Civilians and soldiers alike were killed. And their leaders were arrested and imprisoned.
To their greatest surprise, two years later, in 1904, the fearless Ekumeku rose again. The Igbo are proud and egalitarian people. They don’t go down that easily.
The last battle began in 1909. There was a succession dispute in Ogwashi-ukwu, and the British tried to remove the rightful king and enthrone someone else. One of the heirs to the throne, Nzekwe, the son of the last Obi, sensed the plot of the British and went to war with them
No amount of firepower at that point could defeat or quench the sympathy and dedication of the people towards the Ekumeku. In Asaba, the sympathy for the Ekumeku was so high that the people had the disposition to throw off the already British government in certain parts.
The war raged on, till 1914, when the Ekumeku movement was defeated. That was the same year, the Northern and Southern protectorates of Nigeria were joined as one country. That was why the British preferred dealing with the more friendly tribes of Nigeria. We resisted them more
Some of the heroes of that 31-year war included Dunwku Isus of Onicha-Olona, Nwabuzo Iyogolo of Ogwashi-Ukwu, Awuno Ugbo, Obi of Akumazi, Aggbambu Oshue of Igbuzo, the Idabor of Issele-Ukwu, Ochei Aghaeze of Onicha-olona, Abuzu of Idumuje-Unor, Idegwu Otokpoike of Ubulu-Ukwu.
The Ekumeku war remains one of most bravely fought wars and campaign against British rule and plundering. It later inspired other rebellions around Africa, such as the Mau Mau of Kenya.
Till date, the Igbo remains one of the few tribes that still resist British rule over them and their resources. It can be said that these sentiments were at play when the British supplied weapons to the Northern and Western part of Nigeria to fight the Igbo between 1967-1970.
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