Predominant colour: Purple. In 2019, it was claimed that the World Bank invited Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, to place his name on a new Biafra currency. It turned out, however, to be false information. MASSOB property is brazenly breached and destroyed by the these brutal operatives. However when Lieut.-Col. Another discrepancy in official versions lies in the date of the declaration whereby Nigerian notes were no longer to be legal tender. The movement for the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) is not entirely new to most Nigerians and especially those in the eastern part of the country. The currency of the breakaway Republic of Biafra between 1968 and 1970 was Biafran pound. The war ended 50 years ago on 15th January 1970 when Ojukwu fled the country. The new currency notes are of the wide range of 10, 5, 1, 10/and 5/-. (Ojukwu, 1969). It is probable that the two million Nigerian pounds captured in Benin were used by the Biafrans to finance their war effort. Not only was Nigeria taking steps to halt the flow of currency from Biafra, steps were also being taken to introduce a new series of bank notes which would be unavailable to the Biafrans. This declaration led to the Nigerian Civil War. 1. See Details. Lettering: The notes of the second series are printed on non-fluorescing paper embedded with red and blue fibres. The Latest news in Nigeria and world news. 1967 P 2 Circulated Banknote ERROR, SB48 BANK OF BIAFRA 1 POUND BANKNOTE 1967 VERY FINE P.2a $25.00, Biafra 1 Pound ND. The first notes denominated in 5 shillings, 1 were introduced on January 29, 1968. By that same decree, Nigeria currency notes will cease to be legal tender in Biafra. This video has been widely circulated on social media, causing great pleasure among many, with some suggesting that the Biafran Pound is more valuable than the Nigerian Naira. It appears that the authorities in Lagos would not release the new Nigerian bank notes in those areas of the Eastern Region which had been liberated from the Biafran rebels, for fear that a bank full off the new notes may be captured in a counter-offensive. BanknoteBuys.com; Compass Collectables . See Details. See More, Opera News is a free to use platform and the views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not represent, reflect or express the views of Opera News. The two notes of the first series have a common front, although they are different sizes and different colours. Also, this is not the first time Dubawa confirmed news from this same claimant to be false. The cases were due to be loaded on a flight to Accra in Ghana. TT PK 5b 1968-69 BIAFRA 1 POUND PMG 65 EPQ GEM WITHOUT SERIAL NUMBERS! lines drawn by a geometric lathe). Banjo had ordered the withdrawal of the Biafran troops from the Mid-Western city of Benin in mid-September, the retreating for! The common features are the rising sun (now a much smaller representation), the palm tree, the names of the Republic and the Bank, a white disc to the right of the note, and patterns imitating engine work surrounding the note. It was generally reported that the notes were being sold at discounts! World. It is not known what happened to the Biafran currency that was surrendered, but it was almost certainly destroyed. To the left! He left for exile in Ivory Coast and spent many years in the . This prediction is now right on the mark: when Obasanjo gets the Conference report, he can do anything with it and to it. And, it is not just a souvenir: it is legal tender in those places. The currency of Biafra had been the Nigerian pound, until the Bank of Biafra started printing out its own notes, the Biafran pound. C $4.02. 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. No fatality recorded from Bo Stadium incident, No, Atiku did not get 25% in all 24 states, President Muhammadu Buhari did not approve President Obasanjos request for election cancellation, Peter Obi won four area councils NOT six in Abuja, False! While not known for certain how many notes were produced for circulation in Biafra, a reasonable estimate can be made by extrapolating the number of notes prepared for each known serial number prefix. The currency spent in the Republic of Biafra 1967 and 1970 has probably entered into the currency market, serving as the legal tender in the market till date. flying from Lisbon when he dumped the cargo of Biafran notes at sea. Opinion: Why young Africans need to know their history. (These were also the colours of the Biafran flag three horizontal bars of red, black, and green, with the rising sun in the centre of the black band). Unissued copies of ten year bonds for the value of one thousand pounds, dated 15 June 1969 and offered through the London agents of the Republic of Biafra, are extant and show that this method of financing was attempted although it is not known how many bonds were actually issued. 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. The Bank of Nigeria . Product has been added to . 2015 - 2023 BNWorld, Inc.. All rights reserved. Number of bids and bid amounts may be slightly out of date. More importantly, the interest rate in local currency reflects the terms the World Bank can obtain when hedging the currency risk. 22. Comments made in a speech by General Ojukwu in February 1969 (a year after the events), reflect the public despair that was expressed at the Nigerian decree (although Ojukwu himself could not have been surprised): The government has long been aware of the terrible experiences of our people over the issue of currency. In the old map many natural Biafran geographies were excluded such as Biafra lands on the west bank of the Niger. This is supported by a statement by Dr. Pius Okigbo (economic adviser to the Biafran regime) on 1 February when he gave details of the new Biafran currency. However the Alo makes its reappearance on the back of the 5-pound note, this time having a white disc with the coat of arms laying over its shaft. In addition, Biafra was reported to have bought many of its armaments in Geneva and Lisbon reinforcing the probability that one or both of these cities may have provided printing presses for the notes. False: the world bank has not approved the Biafran currency and has confirmed this claim to be false alongside shreds of facts gathered by Dubawa. The Biafran conflict is well documented, with many works addressing the struggle from both sides. BIAFRAN CURRENCY HAS BEEN APPROVED FROM WORLD BANK, BIAFRA IS COMING This is a Currency Gallery page and some, most or even all of the banknotes displayed above on this page may not be available to purchase or to photograph. Paragraph 8 of the decree states: Currency notes and coins of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall remain legal tender in the Republic of Biafra until such further day as the Military Governor may specify., The Bank shall maintain existing parity of the Nigerian pound.. Ultimately the speculator! The name given to the new state was The Republic of Biafra, the republic taking its name from the Bight of Biafra, on which it had its coast. This action and the preceding blockade were the necessary catalysts that those in the east were looking for to show their hand. Under this decree the bank was to be administered by a board consisting of a Governor and not less than four Directors, who were to be appointed by the Military Governor. FIVE POUNDS - 5 Catalog Detail. 1968-69 1 Pound from Biafra. PEACE - UNITY - FREEDOM See each listing for international shipping options and costs. Peter Symes . Nigeria had quickly become aware of the movement of currency from Biafra to Europe and its conversion into foreign exchange. Now, when Biafra was declared in 1967, Biafrans started. Power was being concentrated in the hands of a few factions in each region, and nationally there was a great deal of political jockeying between the major ethnic groups particularly the northern Hausa against the southern Yoruba and Ibo. Refine Results . Pro-Biafra militants have in turn killed scores of security and government officials, as well as civilians, in armed operations that have grown more frequent and daring. Tracy L. Schmidt (editor); 2019. Most commentators on Biafras bank notes report that the first issue occurred immediately after the declaration of independence but this is not correct. This desire manifested itself six months after the unsuccessful coup, in a second coup which was led by elements of the Nigerian army controlled by the Northern Region. s got burnt, as the Central bank decided that there would be no exchange of Biafran currency for Nigerian currency, deciding instead to pay a flat rate of twenty Nigerian pounds to each depositor of Biafran or old Nigerian currency with the Central Bank. The movement for the Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) is not entirely new to most Nigerians and especially those in the eastern part of the country. Ivory Coast. WASHINGTON, April 30, 2020 - The World Bank today approved $21.15 million in financing, of which 50% grant and 50% credit from the International Development Association (IDA)* to help Burkina Faso respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. A video on YouTube claims that the World Bank has finally approved the Biafran Currency. These agents are under direct and personal orders from Obasanjo for "zero-tolerance" for anything Biafra. Any/all written content and images displayed are provided by the blogger/author, appear herein as submitted by the blogger/author and are unedited by Opera News. After some months of preparation, the federal government launched their first offensive against Biafra on 6 July 1967, and the Nigerian civil war began. Thus, only six digits are used and this means that only one million notes were prepared for each prefix, and not the ten million that would be initially supposed. 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. We cannot investigate every claim sent to us. Buy It Now +C $21.49 shipping . If the content contained herein violates any of your rights, including those of copyright, and/or violates any the above mentioned factors, you are requested to immediately notify us using via the following email address operanews-external(at)opera.com and/or report the article using the available reporting functionality built into our Platform. The black is for mourning them and in remembrance. To all Nigerians, Please ignore the news that the Biafran Pound has been approved in Italy. The small print appears as continuous lines, however the print is made less easy to detect by being overlaid with a pattern of lines the pattern being different on each denomination. The notes are signed by the Governor and a Director of the Bank of Biafra. The palm tree was important because of its economic significance to Biafra next to oil, products from the palm trees were the most valuable exports from the region prior to the new republic being declared. Two days earlier an aeroplane carrying 7 million of Nigerian currency was seized at Lom in Togo. The 10-pound note has a male carver depicted on its back, as well as having the coat of arms in a white disc to the left. Long Reads. New currency was introduced. 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. A Nigerian newspaper, Breaking News, Nigerian News & Multimedia, Daily publication in Nigeria covering Niger delta, general national news, politics, business, energy . See the details of the banknotes available for swap. Mezu, S. Okechukwu (1971) Behind the Rising Sun, Heinemann, London. The two letter serial number were followed by a seven digit number. Their use was very popular amongst the Ibos until recent times and they were only demonetised during the 1940s. The National Political Reform Conference arranged, funded (illegally) and teleguided by Obasanjo himself, is about to wind up, pretending that it has been successful, although the fragmentation of interests along ethnic and regional lines is the most visible outcome--not surprisingly. Since some users own several versions, the sum may be greater than 100%. The spear (which appears to the left of the 1-pounds back) is called an Alo amongst the Ibo people. 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. 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