Old Maps Show Biafra Was Actually In Cameroon And Never Part Of Nigeria
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While it is common to hear an argument postulated by adherents of a recent pro-Biafra agitation resurgence among young listeners of a pirate radio station operating out of the United Kingdom, Radio Biafra, that “Biafra” was the initial name of the territory to which the South of Nigeria belonged, our checks have failed to substantiate this claim.

The idea has been pushed by the Radio station run by a rather radical individual, Nwannekaenyi Kenny Okwu-Kanu, who goes by the alias, Nnamdi Kanu.


Ojukwu

Apparently the name “Biafra” or “Biafara” was picked again because the former Premiere of Nigeria’s then Eastern region, Odumegwu Ojukwu had chosen the “Biafra” name for the territory he wished to preside over; however there is no evidence that Ojukwu selected that name because he believed it was the name of his ancestral home. Rather it was the name of much of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe and perhaps a nice name that tickled Ojukwu’s fancy. Or perhaps Ojukwu was suggesting an ancestral origin outside Nigeria in the Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon region.

The maps can be seen on the Princeton University website and enlarged to examine. We have brought out the relative parts below.



In the image above, River Camarones can be noticed at the left border of “Biafra.” This river, now called Wouri river is in the middle of today’s Cameroon.

The Region Is Benin And Not Biafra

Calabar, Nigeria’s Eastern border is seen well within territory called Benin; Benin, a large demarcated kingdom that extends deep into today’s Cameroon, before the region known as Biafra starts.

Based on these findings, “Benin” would serve as a more accurate historical fact based sobriquet for the southern parts of Nigeria in discussion.



Another map from 1644 also puts “Biafara” solidly in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and São Tomé and Príncipe and far from Nigeria’s furthest Eastern border. Apparently the prior name of the territory now called Biafra by this group was recognized and mapped as “Benin,” and never Biafra in all historic maps.



Origins Of The Name “Biafra”

According to Encyclopaedia britannica: a dictionary of arts, sciences …, Volume 12, the name “Biafra” from “Bight of Biafra, comes from the word, “Mafra,” a town in Portugal.

The Portuguese named a country extending from Cameroon southward to Equatorial Guinea, “Biafra,” but the name was later dropped in the later part of the 19th century.



The Bight of Biafra, or Mafra (named after the town Mafra in southern Portugal), between Capes Formosa and Lopez, is the most eastern part of the Gulf of Guinea; it contains the islands Fernando Po [Equitorial Guinea], Prince’s and St Thomas’s [São Tomé and Príncipe]. The name Biafra-as indicating the country-fell into disuse in the later part of the 19th century.


Equatorial Guinea people, of actual “Biafra” territory


Eqitorial Guinea Warrior; of actual “Biafra” territory

newsrescue.com/old-maps-show-biafra-was-actually-in-cameroon-and-never-part-of-nigeria/

Give unto Biafra what was given to the Scots


UN referendum should be the deciding factor


Black people stop behaving like black demons.

I don't believe though...

One Nigeria

I hav said it b4 now dat all dese Igbo Biafra Agitators ar shameless hypocrites. They deride Nigeria dat it is a "name" impose on us by d British, whereas dia Biafra was a borrowd "Portuguese name" foreign to Igboland. But many of d IPOB rascals nd touts wil not care to ask or even find out about d origin of d name "Biafra" they claim to bear b4 comin online to insult Nigeria nd in so doin, exposin dia own foolishnes. Indeed, dese pipo need re-orientatn.

Kirigidi:
I hav said it b4 now dat all dese Igbo Biafra Agitators ar shameless hypocrites. They deride Nigeria dat it is a "name" impose on us by d British, whereas dia Biafra was a borrowd "Portuguese name" foreign to Igboland. But many of d IPOB rascals nd touts wil not care to ask or even find out about d origin of d name "Biafra" they claim to bear b4 comin online to insult Nigeria nd in so doin, exposin dia own foolishnes. Indeed, dese pipo need re-orientatn.

And which language does Nigeria come from? And how about your precious Lagos?

Ode

Kirigidi:
I hav said it b4 now dat all dese Igbo Biafra Agitators ar shameless hypocrites. They deride Nigeria dat it is a "name" impose on us by d British, whereas dia Biafra was a borrowd "Portuguese name" foreign to Igboland. But many of d IPOB rascals nd touts wil not care to ask or even find out about d origin of d name "Biafra" they claim to bear b4 comin online to insult Nigeria nd in so doin, exposin dia own foolishnes. Indeed, dese pipo need re-orientatn.

yes IBO are fools but can't u people allow the fools to live on their own. smh

Sounds like have heard this theory before but...

There are always two sides to a coin...

Maybe 3 sides sef

Side A, Side B and the truth side

Kirigidi:
I hav said it b4 now dat all dese Igbo Biafra Agitators ar shameless hypocrites. They deride Nigeria dat it is a "name" impose on us by d British, whereas dia Biafra was a borrowd "Portuguese name" foreign to Igboland. But many of d IPOB rascals nd touts wil not care to ask or even find out about d origin of d name "Biafra" they claim to bear b4 comin online to insult Nigeria nd in so doin, exposin dia own foolishnes. Indeed, dese pipo need re-orientatn.

So you don't know the difference between 'imposed' and 'borrowed'?


Doesn't matter if Biafra used to be in Timbuktu. The important thing is that it is a name we Igbos have freely adopted as our home country. Unlike you Nigerians who had to accept "Nigeria" at gun point by Lugard.

My Biafra Nigerian Dream, why I'm one Nigeria now. By Earthkumy www.nairaland.com/2718060/biafra-nigerian-dream-why-im

PappyMason:


And which language does Nigeria come from? And how about your precious Lagos?

Ode

For ur informatn, I'm frm d Niger-Delta, Ethiope East LGA of Delta State to b precise. In as much as evrybody has d right to self-determinatn, u shuldn't use dat as a tool to start spreadin lies nd falsehood, or insultin anyone wu do not share ur views. For exmple, u Igbos ar demandin for freedom to go establish ur Biafra, yet at d same time, u ar tellin us N-Deltans dat we don't hav rights to decide our future nd dat we must b part of ur proposd Igbo Biafra. Wat an insult? Dis was even afta we N-Deltans hav repeatdly made it clear to u dat we ar not interestd. Ar u not gulty of hypocricy now? U wantd freedom but u don't want others to enjoy d same freedom u demand. U said u Igbos ar diffrnt frm d Hausas nd Yorubas culturaly nd linguisticaly nd there4 can't b in d same country wit them, yet u Igbos want us N-Deltans, wu ar also diffrnt frm u on dose bases to join ur Biafra.

Kirigidi:
For ur informatn, I'm frm d Niger-Delta, Ethiope East LGA of Delta State to b precise. In as much as evrybody has d right to self-determinatn, u shuldn't use dat as a tool to start spreadin lies nd falsehood, or insultin anyone wu do not share ur views. For exmple, u Igbos ar demandin for freedom to go establish ur Biafra, yet at d same time, u ar tellin us N-Deltans dat we don't hav rights to decide our future nd dat we must b part of ur proposd Igbo Biafra. Wat an insult? Dis was even afta we N-Deltans hav repeatdly made it clear to u dat we ar not interestd. Ar u not gulty of hypocricy now? U wantd freedom but u don't want others to enjoy d same freedom u demand. U said u Igbos ar diffrnt frm d Hausas nd Yorubas culturaly nd linguisticaly nd there4 can't b in d same country wit them, yet u Igbos want us N-Deltans, wu ar also diffrnt frm u on dose bases to join ur Biafra.

Fool I am Urhobo.

You are a minority APC fool who still wants our oil to fund this useless Nijiriya.

Take your foolish ass to Kano and see one Nijeriya in action.

Daft yoruba fool claimng ND.

When has Radio Biafra ever mentioned ND?

It will only hurt when you are a Yoruba parasite.

Ode!

Kirigidi:
I hav said it b4 now dat all dese Igbo Biafra Agitators ar shameless hypocrites. They deride Nigeria dat it is a "name" impose on us by d British, whereas dia Biafra was a borrowd "Portuguese name" foreign to Igboland. But many of d IPOB rascals nd touts wil not care to ask or even find out about d origin of d name "Biafra" they claim to bear b4 comin online to insult Nigeria nd in so doin, exposin dia own foolishnes. Indeed, dese pipo need re-orientatn.

Go and Die!

PappyMason:


Fool I am Urhobo.

You are a minority APC fool who still wants our oil to fund this useless Nijiriya.

Take your foolish ass to Kano and see one Nijeriya in action.

Daft yoruba fool claimng ND.

When has Radio Biafra ever mentioned ND?

It will only hurt when you are a Yoruba parasite.

Ode!

Orue! Ta asawonure evure Urhobo na. Orhovo wo nure? Me rierene owe ohwo ri Igbo, igbu ri wayo na! Fraudster Igboman, pretendin to b Urhobo! I hav just replied u in Urhobo language in my first 3 sentences. If u ar truly an Urhobo, den write me back in Urhobo language for those wu ar Urhobos in dis forum to judge. We know u Igbos very well wit fraudulent way of life, so u can't deceiv us. Wen u Igbos ar seeing dat we Niger-Deltans ar not interestd in ur Biafra, u hav now adoptd a new strategy by masquaredin as Niger-Deltans wen u ar not, just in a desperate bid to mislead d readin public. But u hav now bin exposed! Shameless impostor.

A simple solution to all these is to hand them back to Cameroon, they act like Cameroonians anyway.

Who started this foolish thread?

Biafraland has boundary with cameroon.

Is bakassi(biafraland) not part of cameroon today?

RisingSun1:
Who started this foolish thread?

Biafraland has boundary with cameroon.

Is bakassi(biafraland) not part of cameroon today?

what's the meaning of biafra?