Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu was a prominent Nigerian military officer and politician, best known for his role as the leader of the Biafran secessionist movement during the Nigerian Civil War from 1967 to 1970. Born on November 4, 1933, in Zungeru, Nigeria, he was educated in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, where he studied at Oxford University. Ojukwu declared the independence of Biafra in May 1967, leading to a conflict that resulted in significant loss of life and humanitarian crises. After the war ended in 1970, he went into exile and returned to Nigeria in 1982. Ojukwu remained a significant figure in Nigerian politics until his death on November 26, 2011.