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Nigeria is one of the few nations among the roughly 190 countries in the world that fought a civil war — an internal armed conflict — in order to preserve its territorial unity and remain one indivisible nation. The country's experience during the BiÂafran War remains one of the most defining and painful episodes in its chequered history.
Nigeria, however, is far from alone in expeÂriencing internal conflict. Across the world, civil wars have erupted wherever deep ethnic, regional, ideological, religious, or political diviÂsions existed within states. A civil war is generÂally defined as an armed conflict fought within a country between the government and organized internal challengers, resulting in at least 100 batÂtle-related deaths.
To provide context for a broader examination of nations that have experienced such conflicts, the following global facts are instructive:
- More than 70 of the world's approximately 190 nations have experienced major civil wars since the end of the Second World War alone.
- The Correlates of War Project documented nearly 300 civil wars globally between 1816 and 2014.
- During the Cold War era, civil wars lasted an average of 141 percent longer whenever global superpowers intervened.
In essence, almost every nation marked by deep regional, ethnic, ideological, or political fault lines has witnessed some form of internal armed conflict at one point or another.
To further illustrate how widespread civil wars have been across the globe, below is a reÂgional breakdown of countries that have either experienced or are still experiencing civil wars and internal armed conflicts.
Africa
*Sudan/South Sudan: Sudan's civil wars beÂgan in 1955, involving prolonged North-South conflicts and tribal violence. South Sudan later descended into civil war from 2013 to 2020.
*Democratic Republic of the Congo: Cycles of conflict have persisted since the 1960s.
*Angola: Post-independence civil war lasted from 1975 to 2002.
*Ethiopia: The Ethiopian Civil War lasted from 1974 to 1991, with new internal conflicts continuing in recent years.
* Liberia: Civil wars occurred between 1989 and 1996 and 1999 and 2003.
* Sierra Leone: Civil war lasted from 1991 to 2002.
* Rwanda: Civil conflict culminated in the 1994 genocide.
* Burundi: Civil war persisted from 1993 to 2005.
* Somalia: Ongoing internal conflict since 1991.
* Libya: Civil conflicts erupted in 2011 and have continued intermittently since 2014.
* Central African Republic: Internal conflict has continued since 2012.
The Americas
Gowon
* United States: The American Civil War lastÂed from 1861 to 1865.
* Mexico: The Mexican Revolution spanned 1910 to 1920.
* Colombia: “La Violencia†lasted from 1948 to 1958, followed by continued insurgencies from 1964 onward.
* Guatemala: Civil war lasted from 1960 to 1996.
* El Salvador: Civil war lasted from 1979 to 1991.
* Nicaragua: Internal conflicts stretched from the 1970s into 1990.
* Paraguay: Civil wars occurred in 1911–1912 and 1922–1923.
* Honduras: Armed internal conflicts ocÂcurred in 1919 and 1924.
* Haiti: The First and Second Caco Wars ocÂcurred between 1915 and 1920.
Europe
* England/United Kingdom: The English Civil War lasted from 1642 to 1651.
* Russia/USSR: The Russian Civil War lasted from 1917 to 1923.
* Spain: The Spanish Civil War occurred beÂtween 1936 and 1939.
* Finland: The Finnish Civil War took place in 1918.
* Ireland: The Irish Civil War lasted from 1922 to 1923.
* Greece: Civil war occurred from 1946 to 1949.
* Italy: The Italian Civil War unfolded between 1943 and 1945 during World War II.
* Austria: The Austrian Civil War erupted briefly in February 1934.
* Croatia: The region witnessed battles during Roman civil wars in 316 and 351 AD.
* Denmark: Historical Danish civil wars were fought during the medieval era.
Asia And The Middle East
* China: China experienced the Warlord Era (1912–1928) and the Chinese Civil War (1927–1937 and 1945–1949).
* Cambodia: Civil war lasted from 1967 to 1975.
* Vietnam: The Vietnam conflict is often partly classified as a civil war.
* Afghanistan: Multiple civil wars occurred from 1928–1929, 1992–1996, and 1996–2001.
* Myanmar: Internal conflict has persisted since 1948.
* Syria: The Syrian Civil War has continued since 2011.
* Yemen: The country has endured multiple civil wars and ongoing internal conflict.
* Lebanon: Civil war lasted from 1975 to 1990.
* Iraq: The Iraqi-Kurdish conflict spanned much of the 20th century.
* India: The Naxalite-Maoist insurgency has continued since 1967.
Other Notable Cases
* Israel/Palestine: Various Palestinian factionÂal conflicts, including the Fatah-Hamas struggle.
* Turkey: Revolts occurred during the Turkish War of Independence between 1919 and 1922.
* Poland: Anti-communist resistance moveÂments persisted from 1944 to 1963.
Against this global backdrop, Nigeria's civil war from 1967 to 1970 stands out not only because of the scale of human suffering involved, but also because the emotional, political, and ethnic wounds it created remain largely unhealed deÂcades after the guns fell silent.
Having established that most countries across the world have experienced one form of civil war or internal armed conflict, it is important to distinguish between those nations that have successfully healed from their traumatic pasts, those still in the process of healing, and those where reconciliation appears distant or even unÂattainable. Equally important are the reasons behind each of these outcomes.
From that standpoint, it becomes necessary to examine the factors responsible for the perÂsistence of divisions in different jurisdictions despite various reconciliation efforts and interÂventions. Such an inquiry will also help in identiÂfying workable solutions to the lingering wounds inflicted by Nigeria's Biafran War, which, more than half a century after the conflict ended in 1970, remain largely unhealed.
The unresolved scars of the civil war have continued to simmer beneath the surface over the decades, occasionally erupting in different forms. This reality is reflected in the separatist agitations of groups such as IPOB and MASSOB, whose activities periodically reignite memories of the conflict. These manifestations range from “sit-at-home†orders imposed by agitators on desÂignated days to violent confrontations between separatist militias and Nigerian security forces.
Indeed, the publication or launch of books by personalities associated with the Nigerian Civil War — even when the war is not necessarily the central subject of the work — almost always reÂkindles emotions tied to that painful era.
For instance, the launch of my 2023 book, ‘Leading From the Streets: Media Interventions by a Public Intellectual, 1999–2019', for which General Yakubu Gowon graciously wrote the foreword, stirred considerable emotions among some Nigerians who had neither forgotten nor forgiven the events of the civil war. A number of individuals declined to attend the launch simply because, emotionally, they had yet to attain cloÂsure or healing.
My strenuous attempts to persuade some of them through WhatsApp discussion groups proved futile. In fact, my interventions eventually led to my removal from a few of those platforms because emotions were running high. In makÂing my case, I pointed to post-World War II GerÂmany, where despite the Holocaust — arguably the worst crime against humanity committed against the Jewish people — Germans and Jews have, over time, found pathways toward reconcilÂiation and coexistence, including thriving busiÂness and diplomatic relationships.
Although the backlash surrounding my book launch was relatively mild, it pales in comparison to the controversy generated by the recent public presentation of General Yakubu Gowon's memÂoir, ‘My Life of Duty and Allegiance', launched on May 19, 2026, at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu InterÂnational Conference Centre in Abuja.
Before delving deeper into why the wounds of the Biafran War remain unhealed — and how healing might eventually occur — it is important to briefly examine the central theme of Gowon's memoir, which has stirred controversy in much the same way as former President Olusegun Obasanjo's ‘My Command' and General Ibrahim Babangida's memoirs did in earlier years.
In essence, the central theme of Gowon's 881-page memoir revolves around duty, national unity, and what he considers an attempt to set the historical record straight regarding the Nigerian Civil War.
