His Onyichinaz

 HIS: This Day in History: 1910 – The South Africa Act comes into force, establishing the Union of South Africa. The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the British Parliament which created the Union of South Africa from the British colonies of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Orange River Colony, and Transvaal. The Act also made provisions for admitting Rhodesia as a fifth province of the Union in the future, but Rhodesian colonists rejected this option in a referendum held in 1922. The South Africa Act was the third major piece of legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom with the intent of uniting various British colonies and granting them some degree of autonomy. Earlier, the British North America Act, 1867 had united three colonies (the Province of Canada (which was split into Ontario and Quebec) Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick) and the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1900 had united the Australian colonies. Historical Background In the aftermath of the A

 HIS: This Day in History: 1967 – The Nigerian Eastern Region declares independence as the Republic of Biafra, sparking a civil war. Biafra , officially the Republic of Biafra, was a secessionist state in West Africa that existed from May 1967 to January 1970 during the Nigerian Civil War. Its territory consisted of the Eastern Region of Nigeria. After Biafra's declaration of independence, Nigeria declared war on the nascent state, with the help of a combined military superpowers; United Kingdom, Russia, China and others. The three-years war ended in what was termed "No Victor, No Vanquish." Biafra was formally recognized by Gabon, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, and Zambia. Other nations, which did not give official recognition but provided support and assistance to Biafra, included France, Spain, Portugal, Norway, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Vatican City. Biafra received aid from non-state actors, including Joint Church Aid, Holy Ghost Fathers of Ireland, and under their

 HIS: This Day in History: 1999 – Olusegun Obasanjo takes office as President of Nigeria, the first elected and civilian head of state in Nigeria after 16 years of military rule. In 1993, Sani Abacha seized power in a military coup. Openly critical of Abacha's administration, in 1995 Obasanjo was arrested and convicted of being part of a planned coup, despite protesting his innocence. While imprisoned, he became a born again Christian, with providentialism strongly influencing his subsequent worldview. He was released following Abacha's death in 1998. Entering electoral politics, Obasanjo became the PDP candidate for the 1999 presidential election, which he won comfortably. As president, he de-politicised the military and both expanded the police and mobilised the army to combat widespread ethnic, religious, and secessionist violence. He withdrew Nigeria's military from Sierra Leone and privatised various public enterprises to limit his country's spiralling debt. He was

 HIS: 1963 – The Organisation of African Unity is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The OAU was founded in May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by 32 African states with the main aim of bringing the African nations together and resolve the issues within the continent. Its first ever conference was held on 1 May 1963 in Addis Ababa. At that conference, the late Gambian historian—and one of the leading Gambian nationalists and Pan-Africanists at the time—Alieu Ebrima Cham Joof delivered a speech in front of the member states, in which he said: It is barely 75 years when the European Powers sat around the table in Germany each holding a dagger to carve up Africa for its own benefit.… Your success will inspire and speed up the freedom and total independence of the African continent and eradicate imperialism and colonialism from the continent and eventually neo-colonialism from the globe… Your failure, which no true African in Africa is praying for, will prolong our struggle with bitterne