Ojukwu, Odumegwu

Ojukwu, Odumegwu

(born Nov. 4, 1933, Nnewi, Nigeria) Governor of Eastern Region, Nigeria (1966–67), and head of the secessionist state of Biafra (1967–70). A member of the Igbo, Ojukwu was educated at Oxford University. He was appointed head of the traditional Igbo homelands in the east following the overthrow of Nigeria's civilian government by Igbo military leaders. He stayed on in that capacity even after members of the opposition Hausa and Yoruba staged a successful countercoup. Mounting secessionist pressures compelled him to declare the Eastern Region an independent state in 1967. Following the Biafra conflict, he fled to Côte d'Ivoire; he returned to Nigeria in 1982. Ojukwu remained active in Nigerian politics and stood unsuccessfully in several elections, including presidential polls in 2003 and 2007.