Histroy EE - Nigerian Civil War - Help on RQ

[Farouk²]

Hello. I'm new to this , and I was wondering If I could get a little help on a Research Question.

My topic is on The political causes of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970.

I'm currently doing some research, and one major aspect f the causes of the war spreads from ethical conflicts between thee tribal groups in Nigeria; the Yorubas, Ibos, and Hausa-Fulani, among the secession of The Republic of Biafra.

So far, I came up with one research question based on this:

How did the ethical conflicts between the Hausa- Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibo Tribal groups contribute to the Nigerian Civil War?

I'm mostly sure this is kind of broad, but this is my first attempt at an RQ. I really suggestions and advice soon on this one, whether or not its good, and if it is, how to improve on it.

Thanks for your help. guys!

[Vvi]

I think you mean "ethnic" conflicts and not "ethical". Unless the civil war started as a result of people arguing over morals?

I think your question sounds a little narrative. It seems like you would only write about the causes, which is descriptive and provides almost nothing to analyze.

What is another reason for the Nigerian civil war starting? Economic hardship? Military dictatorship? Find another important reason and you could phrase your question like this "To what extent was ethnic conflict between the Hausa- Fulani, Yoruba, and Ibo Tribal groups more important than _________ in starting the Nigerian civil war of 1967-1970?" That way, you have 2 aspects to analyze, contrast and compare. You will also be able to find arguments for which aspect was more important according to historians. If you have trouble finding resources, you should ask your school to subscribe to JSTOR, as they have millions of academic journals and papers on anything.

[LinuxBeta]

My local public library subscribes to JSTOR...it was amazing for my own EE.

I agree with what vvi was saying. You should absolutely not make your essay narrative. You will get penalized on many different criteria. I hope you did mean ethnic (between races) and not ethic (ie/ morals etc). I would definitely advise you against anything to do with ethics/morals, since it turns into a human rights paper instead of a historical one.

[Farouk²]

Thanks for the advice so far. And yes, i did mean ethnic, sorry i didn't clear that up.

I like the compare/contrast that was suggested. There are other causes to the war, like the problems with the Military and stuff. So, if i did that, i would first talk about the two different causes, then analyze them as a whole after that, or would i do it in another format?

[Vvi]

I think you pick the most important aspects for each cause, write about one, then argue against it with the other cause, and so on. Your essay has to be balanced and show counter-arguments, but it also has to have a clear thesis/your own argument running through it. So for example, if you think that the ethnic conflict was more important than the military control, then you would give the military side of the argument (from a historian's point of view perhaps) and then provide a stronger argument for the ethnic conflict right after it.

Not all your arguments and ideas have to be supported by historians, because otherwise there is none of your own analysis. But there do have to be some historians names and viewpoints in there, otherwise your essay will seem to have no real authority behind it.

And you should always compare and contrast the two sides of the argument, at every single point in your essay. Don't waste time on narrating the events of the Nigerian Civil War; the examiner will be able to figure out what happened through your analysis. Analyze throughout your entire essay; don't do one and then the other, but compare and contrast like you would in a WL for English. Otherwise there is the danger of the essay becoming narrative if you do one and then the other.