Nigeria - Biafra, Benin

Last modified: 2000-06-17 by jonathan dixon
Keywords: biafra | benin | nigeria | africa | sun |
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• Biafra
• Republic of Benin

• Nigeria

by Zeljko Heimer

From Barraclough's "Flags of the World:"

"The Republic of Biafra formed in Eastern Nigeria on 30 May 1967 had a flag of red, black and green, horizontally, with a rising sun from the Coat of Arms (of the old Eastern Province) in gold in the centre. This became obsolete when the Republic ceased to exist on 15 January 1970."

Recent newspaper reports tell about plans for relaunching Biafra and it flag. A flag hoisting ceremony is announced for 27 May
Jan Oskar Engene, 13 Apr 2000

Alternative Design

by Rob Raeside

The eleven rays of the sun represented the eleven provinces of Biafra. The lowest rays were usually more or less horizontal and the remaining rays spread evenly. The rays were normally long and slender, and usually slightly wavy.
Leif Hellström

I have in my possession a 12-inch LP entitled "This is Biafra," issued during the war by the Biafran Students Association in New York City. The cover design is a large picture of the Biafran flag, quite similar to the first image. There is also a picture in the book "The Nigerian Civil War" by John de St Jorre, of Ojkwu witting in front of a Biafran flag. Although the flag is partially obscured, it seems similar to the first image. The flag in this picture was obviously 'thrown together' and not professionally made. This 'makeshift' quality was typical of much of the Biafran experiment and may account for the several slightly different versions of the flag extant.
John Beadle, 12 Apr 1999

With reference to my earlier comments on the Biafran flag, I enclose a couple of scans which help illustrate how the sun in the flag usually looked. Although neither example is from a proper national flag (one shows a couple of uniform patches, and the other a unit flag), to the best of my knowledge they are representative of how the sun was presented on the flag and elsewhere. Note the slightly wavy rays, of unequal length and width.
Military Patches
Military Flag
Leif Hellström, 23 Apr 1999

Flag of the so-called Republic of Benin established in mid-west Nigeria in 1967.
stuart notholt, 30-JUN-1996