Appalled by the magnitude of finally done in by British diplo the Nigerian tragedy, Western readers search uncomprehend- with Queen Victoria, Ja Ja was nation" ingly for its cause. happened to the country with shanghaied by the one quarter of the entire black consul, and population of Africa: the West Indies; he never returned. had recently granted Libya. country that Newsweek once While British justice was described as endowed with so many of the qualities that seem the south, the system of "into be missing in other emerging states working democracy, in the Moslem north to preserve a sound economy, a free press. a moderate pro-Western govern- Hausa and Fulani peoples. No The oil companies began to toy ment the country Time missionaries or missionary called Africa's "counterweight were allowed, to chaos? slavery was tacitly encouraged. in making things difficult for The somewhat racist answer The rule of the sultans and them, perhaps the Ibos might be offered by the American and English press is that the whole of private courts, retainers and disaster is the consequence of harems, was bolstered by British "tribalism" White Anglo- guns. The south, carved into a an Ibo secession plan had been America, with its distruct of all string of protectorates under things black, can comprehend direct British rule, remained the situation only as an exercise artificially cut off from contact in atavism and ritualistic blood- with the north. In this way, the letting. "There are forces let British kept the palm oil flowing loose in Biafra", says the Sun- unchecked to the sea. day Times Magazine, one of the Nigeria's second oil age dates publications most sympathetic from 1953, when Western petroto the Biafrans, "that white men leum companies finally struck cannot understand." This is pure oil after some 20 years of white chauvinism talking, for exploration and drilling. The Westerners can easily under- Suez crisis in 1956-although it Nigerian stand the forces let loose in didn't cut off any of the West's Company in Lagos. Nigeria one of the most lucrative Near Eastern oil important of them is oil. sources - frightened the The large European and producers into reconsidering the American oil companies have a merits of Nigerian oil, despite total investment in Nigeria of its relatively high production over a billion dollars. And even cost. If Nigeria could be devemore important, Nigerian oil loped alternative to production was the growing in the world in 1966 petroleum industry might be alone it increased an incredible able to weather the vagaries of -the main producers to give the British section of the House court, macy. After negotiating a treaty Nigeria "most favoured African of Morgan, is also a special for Biafra seemed a lost cause.
treatment. In other advisor to the U.S. Morgan What lured into further negotiations, words, Nigeria would get at Guaranty Bank. Lord McFad- extremely costly for the oil com- 15 British least as large a cut of revenues zean is a government-appointed panies. As the war dragged on, won from the Biafrans the oil deported to the as that which the oil companies head of the Export Council.
Gulf. producing 50,000 barrels These luminaries of Shell and being brought to the peoples of a day, refused outright; Shell BP may not run Great Britain, and British Petroleum, produc- but when it comes to oil, their pipelines, the refinery at Port into direct rule" was being installed ing 350,000 barrels a day, mainly counsel is heeded with scrupuaround Port Harcourt in the lous attention in the Foreign the feudal way of life of the Eastern Region, stalled for time. Office.
Moreover, from their perspec. with the idea that if the Nigerian tive it must seem that, as with and government in Lagos persisted General Motors and the U.S.A., what is good for the oil companies is good for the country. emirs, replete with their systems a better lot to do business with General Gowon's demands for after all. increased revenue, the moguls To all intents and purposes. probably reasoned, would cost them hundreds of millions of in progress ever since the mas- pounds in the long run. Why not sacres of the 1966 counter-coup. take a flyer on Colonel Ojukwu's And the eastern province was little Biafran state? Its small size already withholding a sizable and population were a positive portion of the oil tax revenues advantage from the oiligarchs which it received from the com- point of view. The ideal oil panies and was supposed to pass state, of course, would be one on to the central government. It with just enough land on which had also taken the sale of farm to place oil rigs and just enough produce into its own hands, in- people to guard the pipelinesstead of routing it through the a combination which is closely Produce Marketing approximated by the sheikdoms of South Arabia.
With oil the Federal govern- Following the secession of major ment's largest source of foreign May 30,1967, both sides moved exchange earnings- -and with 75 cautiously on the oil question. per cent of the oil located in the Lagos immediately blockaded Eastern Region the future of Biafra's coast but let the tanthe Federal government looked kers through. The oil companies Wing itself the independent Re- The By Fitch and Oppenheimer "Effective sovereignty" owned French oil company SAFRAP, subsidiary of And secession was becoming ERAP. For a bargain price of million dollars, SAFRAP British National their petroleum investments lay rights to an area capable of profallow. Each day of war also ducing two million tons of increased the possibility of dam- petroleum a year. And in age to those investments- to the August, 1967, Biafra entered negotiations with the Harcourt, and the terminal at French branch of the House of Bonny. Although advancing Rothschild for the rights to exFederal troops had proclaimed ploit columbite, uranium, coal, that they intended to handle tin, gold and mineral oil retht installations with kid gloves, sources. Again, it was a buyers" the Port Harcourt refinery still market: ten years rights for 15 suffered 15 million dollars' million dollars. worth of damage Also contributing to the As the prospect of a Biafran French presence in Biafra are victory receded, the oil policies SOA, the French version of of the Federal government re- Montgomery Ward;
Michelin, verted to their pre-1966 humil- which has received rights to exity. Lagos was behaving with ploit the rubber resources; and admirable circumspection, a vir- Air Liquide, which hopes to get tue that was not lost on the deeper into the Biafran chemical companies. Despite its blockade, business. the Federal government never Actually, the French were went so far as to nationalise the betting less on a Biatran milioil fields under its control. Nor tary victory than they were on did it take the usual wartime La collapse of the Federal govmeasures to control banks, curernment's war effort through inrency and foreign exchange. The Eternal dissension and lack of banks and trading companies organisational capacity. Nor was Barclays (Britain's largest bank.
the French government eager to with several hundred Nigerian branches), Standard Bank (con- come down firmly on the side which might prove to be a big trolled by Chase Manhattan) loser. Thus, despite the French and the United Africa Company commercial activity in Biafra (subsidiary of Unilever, the recognition was not immediately world's second largest non-U.S.
forthcoming. Instead. De Gaulle corporation) - were pleasantly left the formalities of official surprised by the freedom with recognition to his two most which they were allowed to go trustworthy African retainersPresident Bongo of Gabon and MEMO FOR HAROLD WILSON "Of course, it would be millions of times better "for the country" if our youth could study and develop in peace! Who will dispute that? But unfortunately they will not be able to do so until the political system which is now ruining their young energies is finally abolished. The government will never forgive the youth their interference in politics' and the youth will never refrain from such interference. The student youth everywhere have taken a most active part in the fight for political freedom. George Sand long ago gave the right answer to the philistines who condemn them for this: if everything that is good and noble in youth is directed against the existing system, that is the best proof that the system is worthless."
G. Plekhanov, Selected Philosophical Works, Volume 1, p.431
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very bleak indeed. Worse still, scrambled to pump out all the fastest Middle Eastern oil, the Western on May 30, 1967, the Eastern oil they could to fill the gap about their business.