How the Biafran War Made Steve Jobs Walk Away from Church

Many Nigerians, especially the Igbo people, may not know that the Nigerian Civil War, also called the Biafran War, played a surprising role in the life of Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Inc.

Steve Jobs is remembered today as a brilliant inventor, the man who helped bring us the iPhone, iPad, and MacBook. But before he became famous, he had a moment in his youth that changed the way he saw the world and that moment was connected to Nigeria.

In 1968, Steve

Jobs was just 13 years old and living in the United States. One day, he came across a shocking photo on the cover of Life magazine. The picture showed starving children from Biafra, a region in southeastern Nigeria that was fighting to break away from the country. These children were victims of famine caused by the civil war between Nigeria and the newly declared Republic of Biafra. The image disturbed young Steve Jobs. He had never seen such suffering before. He took the magazine to his church and showed it to his Sunday school teacher. With pain in his heart, he asked, “Does God know about this? And what will happen to these children?”

The teacher answered, “Yes, God knows.”

That response shook him deeply. Steve couldn’t understand why a loving and powerful God would allow such pain to exist. He found it difficult to accept that God would watch children suffer and do nothing. That was the day Steve Jobs decided to stop going to church.

This important moment in his life is recorded in the biography Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. It shows how a war happening thousands of miles away in Nigeria had a powerful impact on the heart of a young boy in America. After leaving church, Jobs began looking for other answers. As he grew older, he became interested in Eastern religions. He traveled to India in his early twenties and studied different spiritual practices. He later embraced Zen Buddhism, which focuses on meditation, inner peace, and simplicity. This new way of thinking stayed with him for the rest of his life.

Zen Buddhism influenced not just Steve’s personal life, but also the way he designed Apple products. He believed in creating devices that were simple, clean, and easy to use, just like the calm and balanced ideas he learned from his spiritual journey.

Most people know Steve Jobs as a technology genius. But few know that his ideas about life, God, and design were partly shaped by what he saw during the Biafran War.

This story teaches us something important, the pain of one group of people can reach the hearts of people far away. A photo of suffering in Nigeria touched the soul of a boy in America. That boy grew up to change the world. It also reminds us that global events can shape young minds in powerful ways. The way we respond to tragedy whether by asking hard questions or seeking new understanding can lead to lifelong change. So, the next time you pick up your iPhone or use a MacBook, remember this: the journey of Steve Jobs into the world of ideas and innovation began with a heartbreaking picture from Biafra. The war may have taken lives, but it also left a lasting mark on history, even in places you might never expect.