At the end of the civil war there was a critical shortage of the new Nigerian currency, which retarded efforts to replace the currency in circulation in the east. One of the first institutions to be created by the republican government was the Bank of Biafra, which was accomplished under ‘Decree No. The present difficulties started when early last year [1968] Nigeria, on the advice of Whitehall, suddenly decided on its wicked and diabolical plan to dispossess our people of their wealth by means of the notorious currency switch. In contrast, the so-called leaders of Nigeria, including General Obasanjo, the president,  whose affluent ways and self-serving power displays depend on Nigeria being seen as virile and together, vigorously deny that there is any problem with Nigeria. This desperate method of raising foreign exchange supposedly lasted only a brief period of time. Anonymous75012 | 15/03 2017 13:39 1 baifran pound Positive: 50 %. ), 1968 – January 16 (17:7); May 2 (3:7); September 8 (Section 2, 40:5). – Europa Year Book (1968) Europa Publications, London. This is due to two main reasons – firstly, such a matter becomes of secondary importance in the struggle of a war-torn country, and secondly, it appears that Ojukwu played his hand on this matter quite close to his chest. From January 1968, a Swiss public relations company, ‘Markpress’ of Geneva, looked after various interests of the Biafran government, operating the ‘Biafran Overseas Press Division’ and providing access for journalists to Biafra. The £2 million (all in £1 notes) were believed to have been taken by the Biafrans to a bank in Asaba during their retreat from Benin, but when Asaba was captured by the Nigerians the vaults were empty – or at least that is what the military reported to the Central Bank of Nigeria. At first it appears to be a ‘Morse code’ security thread, but the marks are in fact printed on the front of the notes. This prediction is now right on the mark: when Obasanjo gets the Conference report, he can do anything with it and to it. The notes were reported to be on transfer from the Banque Populaire Suisse in Basle to a bank in Ibadan (in Nigeria), but were handed over to the Nigerian government by the Togolese authorities. When Biafra declared its independence, it was drastically short of equipment to fight the war, despite the declarations of Lieut.-Col. Ojukwu. Under the decree, the central office of the Bank of Biafra was to be in Enugu, which was the capital of the Republic. Also on the back of the 5-pound note is a picture of a woman weaving on a hand loom. by Balyz : 8:29pm On Apr 21 , 2015 La république du Biafra (Bịafra en alphabet pan-nigérian) était, entre les années 1967 et 1970, un État sécessionniste situé dans la partie sud-est du Nigeria, la plus riche en réserves de pétrole. By that same decree, Nigeria currency notes will cease to be legal tender in Biafra. Realising that the currency was unlikely to be accepted outside Biafra, Dr. Okigbo also stated that the lack of international acceptance and an according exchange rate was immaterial since the currency was intended only for circulation in Biafra. One of the members who stole the centre stage during the burial of their members called on Igbos and leaders from the South-East extraction to give them moral support and allow them to be at the forefront of the struggle. Tons of new Biafran currency are dumped into the sea, to create artificial scarcity in the Republic.’ (Ojukwu, 1969). (Most types of paper have a high timber pulp content, and are treated with agents which brighten the paper and produce a surface which fluoresces under ultra-violet light. The leaders of this movement were close to the Military Governor, and from late 1966 it seems that plans were being put in place for the Eastern Region to secede. Depending on which direction the code is read, the marks on the 5–shilling notes can be decoded as: ‘E T E M N E N I R’ or ‘R I A E A M E T E’, ‘M T E M N E N I W’ or ‘G I A E A M E T M’, (The leading and trailing codes may be truncated, and these particular letters may not be correct. With the short time at our disposal, we could only produce notes in denominations of £1 and 5/-; we could not produce coins. Benjamin Onwuka boasted to have inaugurated his government. – Waugh, Auberon & Cronje, Suzanne (1969) Biafra – Britain’s Shame, Michael Joseph, London. Another version states that one plane was forced to jettison much of its cargo, including over half the bank notes it was carrying, into the Atlantic while flying along the coast. While the coup was unsuccessful, it resulted in the deaths of the Prime Minister of Nigeria, the Premiers of the Northern and Western Regions, the federal Minister of Finance, and a number of senior army officers. The two notes of the first series have a common front, although they are different sizes and different colours. Prior to the war, Ojukwu had expressed the desire for a loose association of states which would include the Nigerian regions (as separate states) and its neighbours such as Togo and Dahomey (Benin). In January 1967 the Eastern Region began impounding the rolling stock of the Nigerian Railways and seizing goods at Port Harcourt that were the property of federal authorities. In an effort to take firm control of the country, General Ironsi was appointed by the Nigerian cabinet to head a federal military government. Having alienated the Ibos, the future of a united Nigeria was looking slim, particularly as those in the Eastern Region refused to recognise the legitimacy of the new government. The difference being that the Eastern Region’s arms had supporters of a leopard (on the left) and a man carrying a spear – an ‘Alo’ – (on the right), whereas the Biafran arms had two leopards supporting the shield. Equipment had to be bought quickly, and (of course) had to be paid for. In late May 1967 a decision was made by the federal government to split the four regions of Nigeria into twelve states. Price . Biafra Referendum must surely come as Nnamdi Knau and all the IPOB members are looking forward to the next meeting with the EU, US, and UN for the Biafra announcement. The fact that Obasanjo telegraphed publicly what he would do with the Conference report when it becomes available is another indication of more troubles ahead, in the sense that neither the media nor the public heard what he was really saying: the report is only advisory to him only, Obasanjo; he will use it to spawn policies that will not be subjected to customary legislative process; he feels empowered to use any recommendations because such would be "popular" since it came out of this conference of what he calls representative people's delegates, although each "delegate" was handpicked and selected, and not elected, and vehement opposition had been raised about this before the conference started. We are not going to use pounds anymore because it’s a symbol of British government oppression against Biafra. With these two decrees the financial framework of the Bank of Biafra was established, but there was still a more important problem to be faced – that of financing the war. ), It is interesting that such an attempt has been made to produce this quasi-security device, as another very simple security device is absent – that of non-fluorescing paper. Each member will receive an instant sum of $600,000 dollars, a car of your choice, and a free home anywhere you chose to live nationally or internationally which includes a $3,000 monthly based income. Adeboye said, “During our first Convention here at the Redemption Camp, I was bold, I asked everybody to come, free feeding. They came, I ran out of money. What is a 1 pound Biafran note worth in US Dollars? Hank Wharton was an American transport operator who had come to an arrangement with the Biafrans to fly arms twice weekly from Lisbon (Portugal) to Biafra. ), 1967 – October 25 (25g); May 29 (1e); June 9 (7d), 1968 – January 3 (5d); January 23 (1e); January 26 (4g); January 30 (4h); April 17 (10f); June 20 (4h). There are people crossing the border and selling things. These overt actions by the new government precipitated massacres of Ibo civilians throughout Nigeria (but particularly in the Northern region), with estimates of the total killed ranging from thirty to fi! Over $350.00 - apply Price filter +SCARCE+ 1969 BIAFRA SILVER POUND GEM BU BEAUTY > GREAT COIN > NO RESERVE. It was generally reported that the notes were being sold at discounts! The use of this paper is the dominant security feature of the issue, however there is a very interesting attempt to use an early form of ‘micro printing’ on all notes of this series. There are a number of ethnic groups in Nigeria with no group being a clear majority, however the Northern region was dominated by the Hausa, the Western by the Yoruba, and the Eastern by the Ibo (or Igbo). GA to GW  (except GI & GO)      19 million, £1   BA to BZ  (except BI & BO)      24 million, CA to CZ  (except CI & CO)      24 million, DA to DX  (except DI & DO)      22 million, £5   WA to WF                         6 million, £10   ZA to ZC                         3 million. A series of coins was issued in 1969; 3 pence, 6 pence, 1 shilling and 2½ shilling coins were minted, all made of aluminium. The back of the 5-shilling note is very similar to the first issue, with the picture of the four Ibo girls and the manilla being used in the same manner. Banks would go for days without opening because there was no money for withdrawals, and when some was available it was rationed – people being allowed to withdraw no more than one pound a day. Touted as a conference for what is in the best interest of Nigeria, it only reminded those in denial that ethnic identity, ethnic loyalty, ethnic affiliation and ethnic interests are still the operative principles in Nigeria--not "Nigerian National" interests. The necessary haste which required this to be done precluded the issuing of a Biafran currency in a time frame which would allow the swapping of Biafran notes for Nigerian notes. I wondered why such money would be in circulation. According to one version, the planes broke down while flying in their cargo, and jettisoned the much needed supply of weapons, and evidently other cargo such as the Biafran bank notes, before returning to Lisbon. – Einzig, Paul (1949) Primitive Money, Eyre & Spottiswoode, London. Under a separate decree – ‘Decree No.4 of 1967’ (also known as the ‘Banking Decree, 1967’) – the Banking Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria was adapted to suit the requirements of the Republic of Biafra. The machinations of the various political elements caused Nigeria to lurch from one political crisis to another in the early years of nationhood. Two days earlier an aeroplane carrying £7 million of Nigerian currency was seized at Lomé in Togo. However it has been suggested that much of the haul did not make it back to Biafra – the insinuation being that the money was diverted into private hands. Under $50.00 - apply Price filter. But the rate of exchange at the spot market also called the … Nearly all bank notes are printed on paper which does not fluoresce under ultra-violet light, and the use of fluorescing paper for these notes points very much to it being an emergency issue. The shield contains the rising sun, plus three manillas linked together over an area divided into three parts, which are properly coloured red, black, and green. The sale of the notes had begun in September 1968 when agents of the Biafran government in Geneva offered sets of the second series of Biafran bank notes for sale to ‘collectors and others’ at the price of £20 10s (sterling) per set. On 27 January 1968 Gen. Ojukwu declared to the 7th Session of the Consultative Assembly and Council of Chiefs and Elders: ‘Fellow countrymen, I am happy to announce to you that I have today signed a decree introducing Biafran currency notes which will be the legal tender throughout the Republic of Biafra. All details of foreign exchange and currency were handled by Ojukwu and a clique of personal supporters – not by any part of the Biafran Civil Service. On 22 January, seven suitcases filled with Nigerian currency worth £252,000 were discovered at London Airport after one of the suitcases split open. You may use an asterisk as a wildcard. Certain that no great force would be required to subdue the rebel government, the Nigerians prepared for what they referred to as a ‘police action’. In his ‘Diary of Events’ Gen. Ojukwu makes the following entry: ‘August 13 [1968]: The Hank Wharton Plot, hatched by British government and American CIA to sabotage Biafra and help Nigeria to carry through her ‘final thrust’ into Biafran heartland. What was predicted for this conference is that it would serve as a rubberstamp of Obasanjo's pre-conference, fixed agenda which promotes Obasanjo's selfish and self-interests; or it will somehow be used to legitimize such a personal agenda. Nigeria is writhing her way through the throes of imminent collapse. Nigeria was for many years a British colony, but in 1960 it became an independent Federation of three regions – Northern, Western, and Eastern. But, they have zero influence over the activities of Biafrans overseas; these Biafrans put on a successful worldwide demonstration (WWD) at the close of the month of May 2005 during which they sensitized the rest of the world--from Canada to South Africa, Austria to Gabon, and from Ireland to Ukraine to the case for Biafra, pressing for the support of self-determination as a natural and moral right, and as a right ratified by UN Charter. Ogah, who made the claim while addressing journalists in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital, over the […] 3 of 1967’ (also known as the ‘Bank of Biafra Decree, 1967’). Although reports had appeared in the international press as early as June 1967 that Biafra intended to issue its own bank notes, it was not until 1968 that the first bank notes were introduced. In the Eastern Region, from the time of the massacres, there arose a strong movement amongst the Ibos to break away from the federation. 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