By Okoi Obono-Obla
On 27 May 1967, fifty‑nine years ago today, Nigeria witnessed a turning point in its history. The Military Head of State and Commander‑in‑Chief, General Yakubu Gowon, together with the ruling Supreme Military Council, announced the creation of twelve states from the existing four groups of provinces. On the same day, Colonel Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, Military Governor of the Eastern Group of Provinces, declared the secession of the Eastern Region from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, proclaiming the Republic of Biafra. This declaration followed the breakdown of peace efforts initiated at the Aburi Conference in Ghana (4–7 January 1967), which had sought to resolve Nigeria’s deepening crisis.
The crisis itself was rooted in the assassination of Major General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi, Nigeria’s Military Head of State, during a coup on 29 July 1966. His death triggered widespread unrest, including retaliatory killings of Easterners living in the Northern Provinces, seen as revenge for the earlier coup of 15 January 1966 that toppled Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa and claimed the lives of political and military leaders from the Northern and Western Provinces.
The twelve states created on 27 May 1967 were:
– Lagos (Federal Capital Territory, Lagos)
– Western State (present‑day Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, and Oyo States)
– East Central State (present‑day Anambra, Abia, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo States)
– Kwara (present‑day Kwara and Kogi States)
– Benue‑Plateau (present‑day Benue, Nasarawa, and Plateau States)
– North West State (present‑day Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara, and Niger States)
– North Central State (present‑day Kaduna and Katsina States)
– Kano State (present‑day Kano and Jigawa States)
– North East State (present‑day Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Gombe, Adamawa, and Taraba States)
– Mid‑Western State (present‑day Edo and Delta States)
– South Eastern State (present‑day Akwa Ibom and Cross River States)
Earlier, Major General Johnson Aguiyi Ironsi’s regime had promulgated the Constitution (Suspension and Modification) Decree No. 1 of 1966, popularly known as the Unity Decree. This decree abolished Nigeria’s federal system, introduced under the 1954 Macpherson Constitution, and replaced it with a unitary system. It repealed the regional structure established by the 1945 Richards Constitution, centralized the police forces, and created the Nigeria Police Force. Many sections of the country viewed this decree as an attempt at domination, fueling resentment that contributed to the July 1966 coup and Gowon’s rise to power. Colonel Ojukwu rejected Gowon’s authority, arguing that Gowon was a junior officer unfit to succeed Ironsi.
The Aburi Peace Accord, brokered by Ghana’s Head of State General Joseph Ankrah, proposed a loose confederation with decentralized powers to prevent civil war. However, its failure to be implemented deepened mistrust. Gowon’s government ultimately rejected the accord, while Ojukwu insisted on its terms. This deadlock, combined with the secession of the Eastern Region, ignited the Nigerian Civil War, which raged from July 1967 until 1970.
Conclusion:
The events of 27 May 1967 reshaped Nigeria’s political landscape. The creation of twelve states was intended to weaken regional dominance and foster unity, but it coincided with the declaration of Biafra, plunging the nation into a devastating civil war. This day remains a pivotal marker in Nigeria’s history, symbolizing both the struggle for national cohesion and the tragic consequences of unresolved political divisions.
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