NIGERIANS HAIL RUSSIA'S HELP, CRITICIZE U.S.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01601R000400140001-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 27, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 29, 1970
• Content Type: NSPR

~~(,lJ ~YNSI-/1L`i X71 ~1` L4Kn1 1' .r ~.1 arm ea ' ! ....-~t~ i-l ~ /+a..-
Approved For Release 2000/0~/~6~~~~~~tDP80-01601 R,0`Q~h14~~~'I -~vr
said last week that "It will be interesting to see'
~ ~ Kurubo
,
~~ ~ ~ ~ ~,?'~ , I"the .important think" is that ~hnw they handle the next
~`~ ~thr 5ovirt U?Zlon "made no phase ~ >ald a diplomat. "Che
Soviet success thus far has
_ ' ~noisc about the asslstance f.ti'-
" cicpended on their low vlsi-
-
hag rendered Nigeria.
~ bllity and lack of -pressure, I~
Kurubo assertedthat the
~~ ~ ~~ ~ .' ~ wonder if they can stick to it:
~~ , r victory over Biafra was the rc- ~~ t
,suit, "more then any othr.r ~-?the flush.ot succeas..:,;;,;.,,,~
...,,. ~,.:..,, ~,,.,., ..,~ I
O ~ o ~ , ~ vier assistance.
` Ncit.her the Soviet nor Ni-
~~j ~j ~~ ~ '~ ? ~ ccrian government has dis?
'611ver paintV andV the crews Union more than any other
nation that the ,rebellion was
were dressed in civilian sports crushed ^ ?
lshirts and slacks. Off the first This was a reference to the ~ .fact, some analysts think these
Pone came Capt. Campbell Soviet agreement in the sum-I had little military value per se
`Kidd and his crew, who mer of 1D67 to provide Nigeria' far the Nigerians.
!stepped from the Starliftcr wibh arms?at a time when thr?:~Not Much Good
+aircraft inko the middle of in? Biafrans were threatening toy
;ternational politics. ' .march to Lagos. The mercenaries who flew
t The United States agreed to~ The United States `refused the bombers and Migs never
(~ia civilian appearance for thelthroughout the war to sell knocked out Biafra's Uti air-
~--??~' plane and crew to plmcate the arms. to either side. The~,Ni- strip. Their bombing and straf-
,Nigerian government, which is ~gerians accuse the British bl' ing of civilians cost Nigeria in j
sensitive about allowing for-(having delayed arms ship- world opinion and secmed~ to~
reign military personnel in,~nents until they saw that Ni- solidify the Biafran population.
their country. geria would withstand the There appeared to have{
~. I
As the Americans stood in Biafran advance. been little artillery amage
;bright tropical sunshine, a So- "W~hlle the American gov- done to the last towns ofi
'viet-made Mig Set ilghter of ernment was piously saying Biafra, such as Owerri and i
the Nigerian air force swept it c o u 1 d not sell ,arms to O lu, in the final phase.of the ~"
} overhead in a thundering fare- either side," the government ~ r?
~ well tribute to Congo Presi- radio said today, "the CIA,. The planes and guns were
rdent Joseph Mobutu. Mobutu-was freely and lavishly pour- good for the big bang -- a ter-
~.was holding a sort of airport in; arms and money into the ~ rifying experience for ~pcople
press conference-from which rebel camp:' The radio offer- 'who live in forests and know
foreign newsmen, threatened ed no evidence to back up nothing about airplanes, said
~t with arrest for showing up, this charge. one source. "That was their
+were barred. chief value."
Rogers Attacked ... Much more important were
These midmorning scenes This followed an editorial. the large quantities of AK-47
`r`um up, to. some extent, the i
.moods of Nigerian foreign po-'attack liy a government-owned automatic rifles and ammuni-
-lacy statements, and privatelyRtewspaper on Secretary" of tion that the Soviets sold, in
!expressed views of officials, in(State William P. Rogers' plan (the view of some observers.
the wake of Nigeria's victory'to visit Nigeria next month. The big question that re.
,over Biafra. (The attack 'was later disc-~~mains for Western diplomats
is how the Russians will at-
6oviet Praised .vowed by the Nigerian hmbas?, tempt to cash in on .the gams
'- The Soviet Union, which~sy in Washington). Rclicf ship- they have made here. Thcir~
pprovided arms like the Mig,,ments coming from the United ships have already begun toy
?fa heron praised effusively bYlStates have rercivcd scaht at?~-use the harbor at Lagos, which;
i i?
? closed any dctails~of. the hard--
~'. ware, which .the Nigerians arc:
' By JIm Hoagland ~helicved to have paid for ins
i weshhiaton Poet Forel~n Service _ ' -- CBSh. ~
LAGOS, Jan. 28-Two giant.~has?a great many Anglophiles' The best estimates are that
among its leaders. '.the Russians sold Lagos six I]- t
~U.S. C-141 cargo planes landed But Western observers do'yushin bombers, a half-dozen
here today carrying ,trucks, admit that the Soviet Union. Mig-15 fighters and 18 Mig-17s.
blankets and electric genera- has made what may be its first . Last September, a secret
tors donated by the United significant diplomatic gain in-shipment of 24 .122-mm.artil-
States to the victims of the Ni- Independent Black Africa. '!cry guns arrived in Nigeria,
A few hours before the C-' arcompanied? by Soviet gun?
~gerian civil war. ~ 141s arrived, the government- nery trainers.
~ The Manes' Air Force mark- controlled Nigerian radio said) It is widely assumed here by
the United States, providing
~thc hulk of relief thus for, are
,being -pointedly criticized in
f, ,; rgovernment media.
Analysts here are not prc-
"ppared to portray the change
In outlook as a permanent one
'f Ni i hick has hero
- or qer a, w
tendon in the local media. could become ?a key po nt n;
expandin> tha ra>'-ge of the
"We don't mind;'. sa[d one Soviet fleet. ~ ,
Amcrlcan o[ficlal. "We're not ~ The two countries also havo;
making much noise here; worl~ed out some- barter ar=~
about our rolc.'? ; rangements, and ?thc Russians:
can hardly be expected not to;
Such discrction~has been t~~c ,
show interest in tho vast ai14
N
?
to the Soviet success
ke
orla
it
i
Ni
d
,
~
y
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g
epos
e,
n
+
'-tine of tl7e West's stro c t ~~a~q officials c aim ~y1 eria s.
~~1,1}es,~..th~Q~~~ ~~i Yd~.e1pl,4.o?~tb~~~~~G1:~:~ CIA-RDP80-01601 ROQ0400140001=5
Nigerians that official state-
ments about the invaluable na-
t~~re of Soviet aid refer to the
aircraft and heavy artillery. In
 ~ ~ar~ ~~ro ~ ~ n
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~`
~y
~? while ~ the Central ? Intel-~ ~~
tl ligence Agency was pour-.
' ing weapons and money
th bcl camp
e
'~NCluslve?te The timoe Irom Rcufere
i.
1;AG05, Nigeria-Ttadin '
:~lif;crla Tuesday criticized
.1,hc United 5talc5, 13ritain
and? the Netherlands as ;
'fair weather frlcnds and .
i 'fiaid the Soviet Union had'.:
'~. Mono more than any other,'
+'~ation to help Nigeria .
Crt15h its rebellion.
` ~~ In ~. commentary, read
A[tcr,'news bulletins, the .
~ ~;tation' said the United .
'~ ~it~tes had adopted a poli~ .
of ~ negative neutrality.
A
!Lagos Radio ssal s ~, ~ ~ ~~
~. U.S., Britain, Holland
.':; :~_...