The effects of the civil war crisis are of two types, namely the positive and the negative consequences.
POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES
1. The civil war kept the country united as one indivisible entity. The federal victory ended the Biafran attempt at secession, so Nigeria remained one country.
2. The civil war crisis led to the creation of more states in the country. On the eve of the war the federal government replaced the four regions with twelve states, to weaken the secession bid and give minorities their own states.
3. The civil war taught Nigerians a lesson in self-reliance and possible technological advancement. Cut off from imports, Biafra produced its own weapons, refined its own fuel and made other goods, showing that Nigerians could develop local technology.
4. The civil war helped to change Nigeria’s foreign policy and made our leaders know who our true friends are in the global system. Countries that supplied arms to the federal side, such as Britain and the Soviet Union, and those that recognised Biafra shaped how Nigeria later chose its allies.
5. The civil war led to the preparation and adoption of a new constitution. The lessons of the war shaped the 1979 Constitution, which kept a strong federal government and required political parties to have members across the country, not one ethnic base.
6. The war led to the introduction of a new revenue allocation formula. As oil revenue grew, the federal government reduced the share returned to producing states on the basis of derivation and kept more revenue at the centre.
7. The crisis made the federal government more powerful, as the states now depended on the central government for survival. Military rule concentrated power at the centre, and the new, smaller states relied on federal allocations to pay salaries and fund projects.
8. The war reduced the idea of secession by any ethnic group or state in the country. The heavy cost of the war showed that breaking away by force does not succeed, which discouraged other groups from trying to secede.
NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
1. The civil war crisis led to the loss of lives and property. Many soldiers and civilians were killed by fighting, starvation and disease, and homes, farms, markets and factories were destroyed.
2. The civil war left many towns and villages, and whole populations, wiped out. Bombing, shelling and looting destroyed many communities in the war zone, especially in the East, and forced their people to flee.
3. The civil war shattered the unity for which the Nigerian Army was known before; the army was divided along ethnic lines. Officers of Eastern origin left to form the Biafran army and fought their former colleagues, after the 1966 coups had already split the army.
4. The civil war led to the abandonment of agriculture, which resulted in a shortage of food. Farmers fled or were drafted into the armies and farmlands became battlefields, so food production fell and starvation spread, especially in Biafra.
5. The civil war depleted Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves. That is to say, the war cost the nation a lot of money and property investment, much of it spent on importing arms and ammunition.
6. The civil war led to the stagnation of economic activities in the country. Many industries ceased to operate within the period, especially in the war zone, and trade between the regions was cut off.
7. The civil war led to an academic setback in the country. Many institutions of learning were destroyed or closed, and students in the affected areas lost years of study.
8. The civil war displaced many families and made innocent citizens suffer untold hardship. Many people became refugees, living in camps or with relatives with little food, shelter or medical care, while children were separated from their parents.
How it is asked: typical essay forms are “Highlight five effects of the Nigerian Civil War” and “Discuss five consequences of the civil war on Nigeria”.