The man in the image is Philip Effiong, a Nigerian military officer who served as the Vice President and later Acting Head of State (often informally called the 2nd President) of the Republic of Biafra during the Nigerian Civil War (1967–1970). Effiong is most remembered for his pivotal role in bringing the conflict to an end: on 12 January 1970, he formally surrendered Biafran forces to the Nigerian government after Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, the first President of Biafra, had gone into exile.
Although surrender defined his legacy, Effiong later emphasized that he accepted responsibility for ending the war to stop further suffering and starvation in the region, presenting the decision as a humanitarian act rather than mere capitulation.
Before the war, Effiong was a senior officer in the Nigerian Army and had escaped the 1966 pogroms in Lagos to the Eastern Region. After the conflict, he settled quietly in Calabar, reconciled with Nigeria, and lived out the rest of his life largely outside the public spotlight ,a trajectory that reflected his desire for peace after years of war
