[The November 16 issue of the Belgian socialist weekly La Gauche published extensive excerpts from a document which helps illuminate the tragic events in Nigeria. We have therefore made a translation which appears below.
[In an editorial note signed by P. de Beukelaer, La Gauche says that the document is based on a study made by Peter Brandt which appeared in the German socialist journal Was Tun (What Is to Be Done?), edited by Lothar Boepple, Peter Brandt, Rudi Dutschke, and others. I'he document was written by a student group named "Jeuin Lausanne, Switzerland nesses Progressistes" (Ioung Progressives).
Lamong other points, La Gauche states that it disagrees with the conclusions reached by Jeunesses Progressistes that revolutionists should come out on the side of Biafra.
["The war in Nigeria," declares La Gauche, "cannot bring the Nigerians closer to socialism. Thus one should do everything possible to stop it immediately. It is not necessary to choose between the imperialisms clashing with each other through foils. Consequently both the so-
'national'
viet policy of supporting the bourgeoisie of Nigeria and the Chinese policy of supporting the 'anti-American' camp of Colonel Ojukwu must be condemned. It follows that the strongest pressure must be exerted to suspend the arms deliveries to both sides. Ihus we do not put the instigators of the conflict on different planes. Contrary to the conclusions of the authors oi the study below, we do not say that it is sullicient to denounce the 'objectives' of French imperialism, and, having made this qualification, support the Biafran struggle. Any aid (we mean military aid) given to Biafra signifies escalating the aid to the other side and vice versa. All aid to the belligerents adds to the massacre that has already taken place and postpones still further Nigeria's genuine independence from colonialism."]
Anyone who wants to analyze the Nigeria-Biafra conflict finds himself confronted with great difficulties. Ihe current literature on this subject is highly inadequate and deals almost solely with the course of the war. We think, however, that the left's somewhat painful silence on this matter must finally be broken.
Although in view of these circumstances any article on the Nigeria-Biafra contlict must necessarily remain unsatisfactory, we want to try to give a lew guidelines, real ones, on this problem.
SAS9
горіл
LI. COL. ODUMEGWU OJUKWU
Nigeria - A Product of Colonialism
In 1861 the English imperialists occupied Lagos and took possession of the southern part of the present Nigeria. After the establishment of a protectorate over the northern regions in 1914, they unified all of the contiguous British territory as the "Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria." Like all the boundaries of the colonial period, these did not take into considerațion any ethnic or cultural realities whatever.
From that time on 250 tribes have been included in the territory of Nigeria. Today they number between 55,000,000 and 60,000,000 human beings. The great majority of the population is accounted for by the four main tribes -- the Islamic Hausas and Fulanis in the north, and the predominantly Christian Yorubas and Ibos in the south and east respectively. The Hausas and the Yorubas claim an origin dating back to the emergence of the legendary medieval kingdoms.
To establish its control over all of Nigeria, British imperialism used the
Loos, who were enlisted in its adminiscrative services. Inis people had never organized beyond the level of village communities, which turned out to be an advantage for the imperialists since this atomized social organization was not difficult to break down. And so the members of the Ibo tribe spread throughout the country to form the majority of the big merchants, military officers, clerks, doctors, lawyers, and other professions.
As a consequence of this development, a Nigerian nationalism emerged whose bearers were the Ibo national bourgeoisie and petty bourgeoisie. Its clearest expression was the founding in 1944 of the "National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons" [NCNO]. The oligarchies of the other tribes reacted by creating their own parties. Ihe Yoruba bourgeoisie formed the "Action Group" [AG] and the Hausa aristocracy the "Northern People's Congress" [NPO]. Even after the declaration of independence on October 1, 1962, Nigeria's highly touted "parliamentary democracy" consisted in reality of wheeling and dealing among the three most important tribal oligarchies, since the parties that emerged on the electoral arena remained purely tribal organizations.
The British method of governing according to the dictum of "divide and rule" consisted of preventing any of the three principal tribes (the Hausas and Fulanis are ethnically related and live under similar social structures), or rather any of their ruling strata, from becoming too powerful. The feudal structures* predominant in the North proved to be pillars of colonial domination since the feudal lords were ready to recognize the authority of the British empire, at least as long as its power went unchallenged.
Even under the independent regime, nothing changed in regard to the colonial character of the Nigerian economy. Exports still consisted of agricultural and industrial raw materials shipped to the imperialist countries -- primarily Great Britain -- at prices showing an altogether too constant tendency to decline. The 1967 Fisher-Weltalmanach shows that exactly two-fifths of these exports consisted of coconuts, palm oil, and peanuts, and onesixth cacao. Some years ago, isolated manapris
MAJ. GEN. YAKUBU GOWON
ufacturing industries appeared (textile and cement factories, etc.) which, as in the other underdeveloped countries, do not serve the needs of the national economy but those of the exploiting imperialist trusts. Even quantitatively this timid partial industrialization changed nothing in the neocolonial structures.
Role of the National Bourgeoisie espite all this, Southern Nigeria vas and remains, in African terms, a socially and economically highly developed country. The number of college graduates and trained administrators is higher than in any other state in black Africa. II- literacy has been practically eliminated in the South (in the North on the other hand in 1959 only 8 percent of the children went to school according to Afrika -- Eine Politische Ianderkunde, I. Ansprenger, Berlin, 1961).
The historical tasks to be achieved in Nigeria were certainly those belonging to the bourgeois democratic revolution -- national reform and the expulsion of imperialism in order to create an internal market and industrialization in all its forms. The precondition for this would have been the liquidation of all tribal traditions ard the elimination of the feudal vestiges, that is, the overthrow of the emir in the northern part of the country.
To carry out this gigantic revolution, a social
• force comparable to the
Western bourgeoisie would have been necessary, that bourgeoisie which in the of the struggles of the sixteenth, course seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries displaced the nobility and the monarchy and established its own rule. But it was already shown in Czarist Russia that in a country where the national bourgeoisie is very weak numerically, and allied with imperialism and the medieval vestiges against the masses of the people, capitalist industrialization through bourgeois revolution is impossible.
The weakness of the national bourgeoisie is due primarily to the fact that in the last decades of the nineteenth century imperialism took possession of all the underdeveloped agricultural regions and utilized them as a source of raw materials and as ready markets. If any inaustry was created, It remained in the possession of foreign trusts. Moreover, investment in industrial projects returns less profit in the short run than investment in the unproductive sectors (the building industry, recreation) and in land. Also the bourgeoisie of the underdeveloped countries has a parasitic psychology and is incapable of restricting its consumption as the European bourgeoisie did in its time.
Since the Russian revolution, the incapacity of the colonial bourgeoisie to achieve the tasks of the bourgeois revolution has been confirmed again and again. These tasks can only be accomplished when the revolution develops into a socialist revolution (let us compare India as an example of the first instance and China as an example of the second).
Naturally, in view of the incredibly low level of development of the productive forces in Nigeria as compared to Asia or Latin America, the Nigerian bourgeoisie was still less able to assume the historical tasks we have described. And this was all the more true because there was not even an embryonic "Nigerian nation."
Around 1962, the contradictions among the three oligarchies, which had been adroitly camouflaged by the colonial power, flared violently into the open. At the time of the 1962 census which was to serve as the basis for the next elections, the Yoruba oligarchy, opposed to the coalition between the NPC (the North) and the NCNO (the East), made an alliance with the Ibo bourgeoisie against the Hausa aristocracy. Electoral frauds on both sides, terror against the Ibo candidates, and the resulting boycott of the elections by the Ibos, reduced the vote to a pure farce which supplementary elections could not make good.
At the time of the following regional elections in the West, similar con- Pects toke out Western democracy threatbordering on civil war.
ened to collapse.
The Coup d'Etat and Its Consequences
To change this situation, on January 15, 1966, a group of young nationalist Ibo officers decided to act. They were motivated by the desire to eliminate corruption, using the army to enforce order. They wanted to break the domination of the North, put an end to the anarchy, and establish a centralized state. The political leaders of the old regime -- who came primarily from the North -- were assassinated by the putschists. The leaders of the East and Middle West, who had risen to power in 1963, managed to escape.
Major General Johnson Aguyi-Ironsi -- also an Ibo -- remained loyal and had the putschist officers seized. Fearing a civil war, he maintained the federalist organization of the country and appointed indigenous military governors to head each region. Nepotism and corruption again spread and a series of key posts became exclusively reserved for Ibos.
Then Ironsi himself took over the plan of the putschists to destroy the federal system. This measure, conflicting with the type of economic development occursi step in the tree ton oted tourgeois curring in the country, amounted to a revolution and could not be accomplished without a war against the North, where the power of the emir remained intact.
The population had looked with sympathy on the coup d'état that brought Ironsi to power. However, the oligarchies -- above all that of the North - succeeded in converting the old tribal quarrels into propaganda against the Ibo government. But even the Ibo bourgeoisie was not inclined to follow Ironsi's policy. "Many Ibos showed little desire to share with others the profits which the natural wealth of their land brought them." (Neue Zurcher Zeitung.)
This was a concrete illustration of what we have said about the national bourgeoisie. The attitude of the Ibo bourgeoisie virtually sealed the fate of the petty-bourgeois national officers operating without a social base. And the bold move of proclaiming a united republic could not save the Ironsi regime.
At the end of May the first pogroms against the Ibos broke out in the North, taking a thousand lives. On July 29, Northern troops revolted and Ironsi was shot. Colonel Gowon, a Northbut not of either the Hausa or Fuernel, lani tribes, took power.
Among the first things he did was to release the professional politicians imprisoned at the time of the civilian regime. Ihey have proved invaluable to him ever since. Gowon immediately came ut against a unitea state. He promisec to form a civilian government. Structura changes in the country were to be made only with the approval of the population, that is, of the three oligarchies.
The military commander of the Eastern region, Colonel Ojukwu, the son of a rich Ibo merchant and, as such, a good representative of the native bourgeoisie, immediately refused to recognize Gowon. In the negotiations among the four regions beginning september 12, the representative of the West proposed dividing the country into a large number of federated states. This plan, which was accepted by the representatives of the North and the Middle West, seemed directed solely against the all-powerful North. Neither the feudal structures nor the federal dismemberment were eliminated by this measure.
The Ibo bourgeoisie, however, saw another maneuver in this step. The country's increasingly important oil fields are in the East but in an area inhabited predominantly by members of non-Ibo tribes. Ihere are 5,000,000 Filks, Ibibis, Ekols, as against 7,000,000 Ibos in and Ijaws, the center of the East.
Ihe giant British
Petroleum Shell oil trust controls the exploitation of these fields, paying taxes to the Lagos government for this right. The tax helps line the pockets of the ruling clique. Probably the Ibo bourgeoisie wanted to secure this source of profit for itself without having to share it with the other oligarchies. It seemed to them that this aim was endangered.
The Role of the Imperialists
That British imperialism bears the historic responsibility for this butchery is clear. In addition, it bears the major responsibility for the current situation.
The British Petroleum-Shell group has invested more than 200,000,000 pounds sterling in Nigeria. In 1966, 20,500,000 tons of oil was pumped in Nigeria, 6? percent of it in the East and the rest in the Middle West. However, even the oil from the Middle West is exported by pipeline through the oil ports in the East.
On July 12, 1967, Ojukwu threatened o nationalize the oil if the payments coming due were not met. The arrest of the general manager of British Petroleum-Shell by Biafran troops drew a protest from international financial circles and their press.
In response to the early Biafran succe its "socialist" government, began to
British imperialism, represented by its send massive aid to the central government. Not only did it send arms,_
DCA's, mortars, and tanks, but English officers took part both directly and indirectly in the war.
On the contending side, Biafra received aid from French imperialism. In 1962 the oil corporation SAFRAP, a subsidjary of the nationalized French combine
., acquired drilling rights over a 25,000-square-kilometer area. The Michelin trust is building a tire factory. French companies are establishing branches.
On August 9, the photocopy of a document supposedly signed by Ojukwu was shown to the press in Lagos. It ceded all rights to exploit the Biafran underground resources, both minerals and coal, to a French bank for ten years in return for payment to the ENUGU [Biafral government of about 80,000,000 francs [5 francs = US$I] in currency. The agreement did not include the resources in petroleum and natural gas in the region.
While still tentative, the alliance of the Ibo bourgeoisie with French imperialism seems only logical. In fact, if Biafra survives, the french trusts will certainly be able to profit from the anti- British hatred of the bourgeoisie and the population.
The aid to Biafra from Portugal,. Spain, Southern Rhodesia, and South Africa, often pointed to by supporters of Nigeria, amounts simply to these governments indicating sympathy for the secession in the hope that they will be strengthened by any weakening of the black African states. Portugal provides airplanes to Biafra and additional "aid" is offered by some traders from these countries, since Biafra can only obtain certain products by this means.*
Up to now, the Biafran army's equipment has consisted of material bought from European arms dealers, dating often from the second world war. Since France openly took Biafra's side by recognizing its government, "French military planes have been flying in arms and munitions by night..." (Der Spiegel, August 19, 1968). An additional significant fact is that two of the three African states which have recognized Biafra are in the French sphere of influence - Gabon and the Ivory Coast (the third is Tanzania). White mercenaries are fighting on both sides, but no one has checked into this seriously.
The Soviet Union's Role
Even before the intervention of British imperialism, the central government received aid from another source. The Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia which pulled back under the Dubcek government) delivered arms of all sorts as well as bombers piloted by Egyptians.
This involvement was justified on the grounds that Biafra was supported by U.S. imperialism. Up to now there has not been the slightest proof to support this claim. To the contrary, according to Blairan reports, the UsA is delivering arms to the central government. U.S. grenades have been captured by Biafran troops. These accounts were confirmed by Undersecretary of State for African Affairs Joseph Palmer, as reported by Stimme Afrikas, when he made a statement against the Biafran secession (according to Biafra Information). But aside from this, even American aid to Ojukwu would not change the fact that the interests of the oil trusts determined the British government's aid to Nigeria.
We are forced to state that the Soviet Union is backing a war in conjunction with the imperialists. Nigeria offers another striking example of Soviet policy in the Third World. In order to establish purely diplomatic ties with the colonial bourgeoisie, _
the Soviet Union cooperates with reactionary states. There are numerous examples of this sort from the Latin- American dictatorships to the absolute monarchies of Africa and the Shah of Iran to the Indian "democracy.
" Any regime which takes a neutral position militarily and diplomatically and votes with the soviet Union in the UN from time to time stands in the good graces of the Kremlin bureaucracy.
Revolutionary struggle against the oligarchies thus is of no interest to the Kremlin, and if it were it would only be with an eye to a possible diplomatic link. Naturally Soviet support to the emir of Northern Nigeria has not made him any more progressive.
Biafra and the Right of Peoples to Self-Determination
The imperialist rivals are engaging in a savage contest on Biafran soil; although it must be noted, to modify this formula somewhat, that the Gowon clique's dependence on British imperialism is much greater than that of the Ojukwu clique on French imperialism.
The oligarchies of the three main tribes have proved themselves incapable of offering even the beginning of a solution to the problems raised. Theory declares -- and this holds true for all the countries of the Third World - that it remains up to the working class, which, though numerically weak, constitutes a dynamic force, to rally the popular masses against the oligarchies.
The level of development of the productive forces has produced a working class* in Nigeria larger than in most of the African states and about 10 percent of it is organized in unions. The left is stronger in Nigeria than elsewhere; but it was not yet strong enough. When the conflicts broke out, the leit was shatered by the pull of the [bourgeois] parties, rallying to the central government, while the Biafran left backed up Ojukwu.
Tribal conflicts have proved temporarily to be an insurmountable obstacle to an awakening of the Nigerian and Biafran masses.
This apparently insoluble situation -- a bourgeoisie which is no longer capable of acting effectively and a proletariat not yet capable of doing so -- absolves the revolutionary forces from having to take sides in this murderous war. Abstract- Iy, two apparently contradictory observations can be made from a Marxist point of
(1) Lenin formulated the maxim for the imperialist epoch of the right of peoples to self-determination. And this right explicitly entails the freedom of secession. Naturally, the interests of the world revolution take precedence if they come in conflict with this right in any concrete case.
(2) From the economic point of view, large areas offer a better chance for capital accumulation than small ones. Particularly in the underdeveloped countries exploited by imperialism every new division prolongs capitalist domination.
Our article has tried to make it clear that Nigeria is not governed by a progressive bourgeoisie struggling against a backward tribal rebellion incited by U.S. imperialism, as Soviet propaganda claims. I'he example of Nigeria shows precisely the
(Afrika -- Eine Politische few centers. Landerkunde.)
following: It is not enough to create a large state. An internal market must be created. Ihis requires a bourgeois democratic revolution which can win victory under the conditions of imperialism only if it grows over into a proletarian socialist revolution.
Revolutionists obviously have no business trying to arouse a desire in peoples, to say nothing of tribes, to create a state of their own if these peoples will have nothing to do with it. But when a people opts for this road, socialists must respect and support the decision. The great majority of Ibos have clearly followed their bourgeoisie on the road of independence. Otherwise, the determined resistance against the central government's troops could not be explained. The creation of Biafra was, at least for the Ibo masses who supported it, a reaction to the massacres in the North and the flood of refugees.
For the moment, Biafra's struggle against Nigeria must be characterized as a defensive action. There is no working class in either Nigeria or Biafra capable of preparing the way for a solution to the problem by siding in solidarity with one or the other.
No one then can demand of the Ibos that they let themselves be exterminated by Adekunle's troops. A peace not recognizing the independence of Biafra could only paper over the national conflicts
Obi Egbuna, the well-known Nigerian novelist and playwright, will go on trial in Iondon November 25 on the frameup charge of "uttering a writing threatening to kill police officers at Hyde Park." Egbuna, 32, has been held in Brixton prison, with two other black power militants, since July 25. It was only on November 13 that a date was set for trial.
During the four months he has been in jail, courts have refused four times to grant bail to the black leader. This might have been expected if the defendant were accused of having actually killed policemen. In fact, Obi Egbuna is not accused of having even attempted such a thing. Nor is he charged with so much as saying that he thought such an act would be a good idea -- a "crime" solely within the sphere of thought and belief rather than deeds.
The prosecution has refused to reveal what the mysterious "writing" may be, but it is known that a nervous printer went to the police with copy intended for publication in the magazine, Black Power which would break out again in the long ' Iun.
The Ojukwu regime also bears evident features of neocolonialism -- and French imperialism is no better than English imperialisn. But it is only in an independent Biafra that the Ibo bourgeoisie can eliminate all the contradictions of the tribal quarrels. It is only along this path that the Nigerian and Biafran workers can recover from their destructive defeat and take up the struggle for real national and social liberation -- for the overthrow of the national bourgeoisie and the feudal aristocracy, for the dictatorship of the proletariat supported by the peasants and certain sectors of the petty bourgeoisie, and for the unification of all the Sudanese states on a socialist basis.
The duty of all the international revolutionary movements must be to bring the most resolute pressure to bear on the Soviet Union to suspend its arms deliveries and to expose the objectives of French imperialism. With all these restrictions, there is no other alternative for us but to support Biafra's struggle to the death. However, parallel to this, we must also recognize the justice of the aspirations of the national minorities on Biafran territory which we must battle to realize.
Speaks. This is said to have included a play by Egbuna.
Egbuna is the author of the novel Wind Versus Polygamy, published by Faber and Faber, and of the play Ihe Ant-Hill, broadcast by BBC-TV. He is also a leader of the Universal Coloured Peoples' Association [UCPA]. Iwo other leaders of the UCPA have been jailed with him: Gideon Dolo, a fijian insurance agent, and Peter Martin, 22, a Nigerian artist.
The three have been deprived of their livelihoods while in prison, which has been a great hardship to their dependents. Egbuna learned a few weeks ago that the village in Biafra where his mother and other relatives live has been destroyed in the civil war. Because of his imprisonment he has been unable to try to locate his mother. He told one reporter, "There were heaps of corpses around and no trace of my mother."
Tony Smythe, general secretary of the National Council for Civil Liberties, wrote in the October 18 Tribune that Eg-
THE ORDEAL OF OBI EGBUNA THE ORDEAL OF OBI EGBUNA
buna's "continued detention has certainly obstructed his ability to assist in gathering evidence for his defence....
"The Black Panther Movement in a circular dated October 3 suggested that evidence for the prosecution was, to say the least, flimsy, and the performance of the main prosecution witness at the committal proceedings gave weight to this impression. Black Power may have produced some extravagant slogans but it requires great imagination and just a little prejudice to imagine any of its advocates seriously manufacturing a blue print for murder."
In the November 17 Observer Kenneth Iynan wrote:
"Before his arrest Egbuna was working on a new play about Enoch Powell -- a mock trial, I'm told -- the manuscript of which was seized by the cops. Without presuming to comment on the rights and wrongs of a case that is still sub judice; I can't help recalling the Roman mob in 'Julius Caesar,' who couldn't distinguish between Cinna the poet and Cinna the politician. Let us hope that the police know the difference between Egbuna the dramatist and Egbuna the black militant."
Iondon
A committee has been formed here to aid imprisoned black power leaders Obi Egbuna, Peter Martin, and Gideon Dolo who will be tried November 25 on frame-up charges of "uttering a writing threatening to kill police." The Committee for the Defence of Obi Egbuna will have observers at the trial to expose any overt role that racialism plays in the proceedings. The committee will seek the maximum publicity for the three men to win support for their rights and to ensure that they are given justice.
There is growing concern that political and racial prejudice will influence the outcome of the trial. The harsh treatment the three have received in prison, combined with the sensationalistic
The three black leaders have been given brutal treatment during their long wait for a trial. Jagmohan Joshi, conventhe steering committee of the Black er of People's Alliance issued a statement to Home Secretary Callaghan early in November saying, "In Brixton prison these men face almost daily the most vulgar and provocative abuses and insults. Not infrequently they have been treated with physical violence and one of them has been spat upon. Several times they have been either denied the normal prison right of having visitors or have their visiting time drastically shortened.
"In August one of the men went on a fast in protest against their cruel treatment. He was removed to a separate cell and was prevented from having any contact with the other two. In September another of the men was also removed to a specially guarded cell."
A protest picket line was held outside Brixton prison November 16 demanding the immediate release on bail of Obi Egbuna and his two companions. The demonstration was organized by the Nottingham Anti- Colour Bar Campaign.
coverage the press gave to their arrests raises grave questions about the fairness of the trial that is about to begin.
Obi Egbuna told me recently that the policy decided on by the three political prisoners has been to ignore all provocations by prison guards and officials. They know the brutal treatment they are receiving is calculated to provoke an outburst that the prosecution could cite in court as "proof" of their violent character.
Donations are urgently needed for the work of publicizing this injustice. Contributions and requests for further information may be sent to: Connie Harris, Secretary, Committee for the Defence of Obi Egbuna, % New Left Review, 7 Carlisle Street, London, W.1, England.
BRITISH CP BACKED IN OPPOSITION TO CZECH INVASION
The Morning Star reported Novemopposing the Soviet intervention in Czech-
Desh, that did and sent the see on ber 11 that delegates to the Scottish, oslovakia. Ine scottish congress voted 120 for, 54 against; the Welsh, 43 to 6, the British Communist party, voted to supwith 4 abstentions; Midlands, 62 to 19, ort the party's Executive Committee in
1 abstention; Kent,
31 to 1o, z abstentions.
Notes
* The concept of feudalism has two meanings. From a purely economic point of view it means that the feudal lords do not produce for a market but to supply their own donains. As a system of relationships among men, in distinction to wage labor, feudalism rests on ownership and physical subjection. In many underdeveloped countries the relationships among men are still feudal, while the economy is nevertheless tied to the market.
* Note by La Gauche: The authors of this article underestimate Portugal's aid. It has put its airports completely at the disposal of the Biafrans. There is a constant shuttle service between them and Biafra. Portugal and South Africa must obviously tender their aid discreetly. I'hey are too compromising as allies.
* In 1959 there were 340,000 workers wno, moreover, are mostly concentrated in a