ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE (Shakespeare. As You Like
It. Act II Scene vii) - The Major Players
Dr
Azikiwe:
The A, B, Zeek of Nigerian Politics
Sir
Abubakar Tafawa Balewa
Michael
Crowder
Agent, Apologist or Historian?
Fred
Lugard
Lugard's Lunacy and Perham's Infatuation
Sir
James Robertson
Rigging of Nigeria's Independence Elections
NB
Items starting with ! are recent additions or updates.
The
A, B, Zeek of Nigerian Politics
"Zeek! Zeek! Zeek!" screamed the crowds of
Nigerians in
Of the three eminent Nigerian leaders only Balewa, who did
not want
A member of my old College, Magdalen, has written a
biography of 900 pages of Balewa's life, and I enjoyed reading it enormously as
it contains a great deal of fascinating information, much of it new to me.
Trevor Clark served in the North of Nigeria and here we have the authentic
voice of the Northern official. Not just loyalty, but love of the North, its
peoples, and its leaders like Balewa. There was a great need for this account,
which is not to say that it should be the only one. A more critical account,
based on what was often suspected, but which I can demonstrate from direct
experience, that Balewa was a stooge of the British and went along with the
rigging of the
If Southerners are prejudiced against Northerners and vice
versa, I also have a prejudice in favour of Trevor Clark, quite apart from the
playful desire to be friendly to a fellow Magdalensis, for while happy to argue
fiercely with ex-Northern officials, I do have a reluctance to be beastly to
them for the benefit of those who never knew what a rotten job it could be to
work in Nigeria. It was poorly paid, often unrewarding slog in an extremely
unhealthy part of
It is possible that Nigeria, even given a true Independence with a true democracy and genuine sovereignty, might have ended in chaos and tears for there were what seemed insuperable problems at Independence; but sadly we will never know, because of British treachery in which Balewa was an accomplice and a beneficiary.
In great books on
Those who come across these draft notes towards a book on
British treachery, which I will probably never see in print, will excuse my
brevity. The length of these pieces reflects the energy available to me due to
the chronic ill health I acquired while an official in
What is absolutely true is that I am not in possession of
all the facts. My authority for this is an excellent one, which will be
acclaimed by my Northern colleagues, for it was Sir James Robertson himself. We
were standing in his office - which seems strange, and now I wonder if that was
so. It sounds awkward, but I think that was intended. It did not seem so odd at
the time, but I was young then. These days I am rather keen on not standing too
much. We must assume that the treachery was painful to Robertson and
James Coleman's '
"Let it be firmly impressed upon the minds of any person in this country that I regard all people who uphold the status quo and regard the present political servitude of Nigeria as the best of all possible worlds as enemies of progress. Just as worshippers of imperialism must be viewed as international criminals, like their Nazi counterparts, so must their adherents and stooges, who are in reality, accomplices.... But I warn [the stooges] that, when Nigeria shall come into her own, and we are in power... every one of them, indigenous or alien, shall be held to strict accountability and shall be impeached for high treason against the safety of the State of Nigeria."
The address was entitled 'Before Us Lies the Open Grave' and it was published in Zik's own newspaper, the West African Pilot for 31 December 1947.
One can see why Zik might need to be checked. However, the British were not all colonial oppressors. Was not Zik entitled to feel angry at those who denied him political freedom in his own land? Furthermore, who knows how many villainous deeds had been perpetrated by the British and were filed away in Zik's memory under 'Retribution'? Perhaps our people knew that Zik was informed in the matter of all this skulduggery and reasoned that he would naturally seek revenge. 'The Open Grave' was a bit ominous, to say the least. Even so, Zik's language was often inflammatory and exaggerated and could be replaced next day by his deploring the ranting of his young rebels, or a crusade against Communism, or a declaration to defend our British homeland, as at the start of the Second World War. If our people were confused by turncoat Zik, so were our enemies the Communists, because Zik had once stood on a Communist Party platform in London and expressed solidarity with the CP in its struggle against colonialism.
In 1956, a decade after 'The Open Grave', the British neutralised Zik. Zik's change of heart is demonstrated at page 476 in Coleman as Zik's 'masterstroke.' What Coleman does not know is what was behind Zik's apparent somersault. Doubtless Zik believed that, if he pretended to succumb to British blackmail to secure independence, once the British had gone he would be really free to take charge of his country. That was clever of Zik, but he underestimated British cunning. They anticipated that move and after 1 October 1960 were still several moves ahead of Zik.
The Northern leaders after
Dan Hakin da ka rena, shi
6 April 1992
Dr Zik was robbed by the
British at
Zik had a reputation for
devious behaviour, which was well deserved, but he had learned from masters of
deceit. The British used every possible stratagem to defeat Zik and there was
no intelligence technique that was not employed against him. His 'phone was
tapped; his mail opened, or even destroyed, routinely. Plots and dirty tricks
were used; conspiracies and sabotage encouraged. That Zik survived this barrage
of assaults by a determined enemy is a tribute to the skill of the old fox.
Sadly, he did not survive unscathed. By 1956 Zik was caged. Suddenly he is a
damp squib on the political scene. His trips to Northern leaders were not those
of a major politician seeking alliances but a defeated burnt-out leader begging
for scraps.
Zik was a realist. The Bank
Enquiry had not only bankrupted him personally, but left his great NCNC, the
vessel which would guarantee him power, drifting on to the rocks. The British
had struck at his weak point, the money needed for political action. Suddenly
to allow political action in a hastily constructed democracy, a house that Jack
built, without provision for financing political parties, was irresponsible but
calculated.
The British built in the legal
loopholes in the Regional Marketing Boards and stood back as both Awo and Zik
used them to finance political action. The problem was one of perception and
trust. For all their tirades against the British, both Zik and Awo were seduced
by the English ploys of fair play, decent behaviour, cricket and the rule of
law. Educated in the West, they succumbed to the temptation to see themselves
as candidates for acceptance by the English establishment. Zik went further
along this path after 1956 simply because he knew he had been beaten. He would
rest up and bide his time. Meanwhile he would be President and wear a Field
Marshal's uniform and try to get a string of medals. Forced to the sidelines,
he would have a ringside seat at the humiliation of his implacable opponent,
Awo, by the vengeful Northerners.
It would soon become evident
to Zik that the NCNC might be next for the chop. With Akintola ruling the West
in the NPC interest and a Mid West State ruled by the NPC, it was becoming
evident that the East was no longer indispensable as the NPC's ally. The
Northerners had never wanted Zik as President and had always loathed him,
standing as he did for everything in the South that the North hated. Zik too
was extremely frustrated. Since 1956 he had been a figurehead. The
British-backed Okotie Eboh, with seemingly unlimited financial resources, now
controlled the NCNC. Okotie Eboh had little or nothing in common with Zik, NCNC
nationalism or the East. He was from the Mid West and was to all intents and
purposes a close ally of the NPC. Okotie Eboh's power came from his unlimited
funds. These came from British and other firms by courtesy of the British
administration. My colleague Charles Bunker had established this conduit at the
instigation of the Governor General in 1956.
The hypocrisy of the British
is truly breathtaking. At the very time in 1956 when Zik was being exposed as
dishonest, the British were pressurising commercial interests for contributions
to Okotie Eboh, which would enable him to replace Zik as the power broker in
the NCNC! Having defeated Awo and the Action Group as well as Zik in the North
in 1959 by astonishing, blatant chicanery, the British exposed Awo in 1962 for
his high-handed use of public funds. The treason of the British in all this
chicanery, gerrymandering and election rigging was routine, but perfectly in
order because it was deemed necessary to establish stability and unity in
Nevertheless the British were
merciful. They were happy to see Awo go to jail for only ten years. They could,
after all, have had him executed. However, there was nothing really personal in
all this. In British eyes, when it is a criminal's time to cop it, he should go
quietly. Framing of likely guilty suspects is an old tradition with the
British. Once Awo had been sent down it would be someone else's turn and there
would be no hard feelings. In 1966 it became suddenly essential for Awo to be
rehabilitated quickly and very neatly used to help persecute Zik, who had been
last year's favoured British flavour. There is a practised symmetry here,
distilled from centuries of uninhibited wrongdoing. The British have to be
flexible and enterprising and sometimes ruthless with rascals and rogues and
rebels, as they were with Ben Franklin when they opened his letters. Imagine
the rage and disgust they felt when they found that
There is no evidence that Zik
had Balewa and Akintola and Okotie Eboh killed. He was, I think, out of town at
the time. Who knows whether the sad news affected his recovery.
Zik had been sorely tried for
ten years by the machinations of the British and the Northerners. It is ironic
that, had he died, the young Majors' coup would not have been perceived, as it was,
as an Igbo plot. Did it matter who put the young Majors up to their bloody
deed? If everyone who wanted Okotie Eboh dead had been a suspect, the whole
nation would have been on trial. The young Majors were seen initially as public
benefactors. Sadly, because Zik was out of town, up to two million of his
people were to die.
Had the British not cheated
Zik and Awo of their rightful inheritance of power and the leadership of an
independent
19 February 1992
The British adored their stooge, Balewa. After all, he was
British made. They heartily disliked Awolowo because he was clever, sensible
and moral. Here was a true leader of his people to fear. It was Awo who could
have united
My own appreciation of Zik's character - and he was
certainly devious - came from my friend, Francis Nwokedi, who was one of Zik's
highly placed lieutenants in the administration. Francis was one of our boys,
and needed to display total loyalty to the British if he were to prosper. His
opportunity came during the
Every Ibo civil servant was an unpaid member of Zik's own Intelligence Service. However, although the ubiquitous, loyal Ibo civil servant was well informed, the secret file system and exclusion of even top African civil servants from sensitive positions was intended to protect our political plans for Zik's future. Even so, it was not difficult to divine British attitudes to Zik and to guess that contingency plans did exist to 'silence' or neutralise him. For his part, Zik made it clear that he feared assassination by the British. The colonial regime pooh-poohed this as evidence of Zik's paranoia and his desire to project himself as a persecuted, fearless nationalist. Zik was open to ridicule by the British because he was conceited and vain and took strenuous efforts to avoid going to jail. On this score he had little to fear, for the British too wanted to avoid turning Zik into a martyr. We needed to neutralise him quietly. Assassination would have been counterproductive, unless carried out in such a way that no blame could be attached to the British.
Poisons were the order of the day for British covert
operations, and 'Porton Down specials' for all occasions did exist, as Eden was
aware when he ordered Egypt's Nasser to be poisoned following on the seizure of
the Suez Canal. The Americans too, with whom we shared our knowledge of poisons
and chemical and biological weapons, plotted a similar fate for
The events of 1966, however, proved to the British that, if
Zik had been neutralised, his power to use others to subvert the British master
plan for
This was the background to the sensational disclosure
during the early euphoric years of
The British had established a Police Special Branch during the colonial period and plain clothes meant that police were disguised as market women, clerks, or whatever. On this particular sweltering day outside the House of Representatives, the Police were well represented amongst the beggars and traders who hassled passing civil servants and politicians. It was the sharp ears of a beggar in rags who eavesdropped on a conversation between a senior politician and a British official. The Plot at Apapa was the subject of discussion. The British official found the matter distasteful and was nervous. If he spoke in a roundabout way, it was because he was not accustomed to backhander deals which were becoming the order of the day in other Government Departments. Arrangements for the 'plot' at Apapa were in hand. Everything would go according to plan. The 'plot' was ready.
At Police Headquarters the news of a Plot at Apapa could
only mean one thing to an Igbo police officer. The beloved Dr Zik was due to
visit Apapa with his usual cavalcade of cars and supporters. The British had
been rumbled. Zik was to be assassinated by the British at Apapa. This was a
total nonsense. The totally innocent British official was interrogated and his
story of a plot of land ridiculed as a specious cover story. In due course he
was to be sworn to secrecy and deported, despite his protestations. It was the
cock-up theory in action. Proof of how easy it could be to manufacture
conspiracy theories out of innocent happenings. Which does not, however,
explain the total panic in the offices of the British High Commission and in
The British were successful in suppressing news of the Plot
at Apapa. Steps had to be taken to ensure that the thoroughly frightened
British official never revealed details of what he thought was a total farce.
Colonel Henderson was, I think, the Director of the LEDB whose career was cut
short like mine. Our colleague, Arthur Skinner, the Director of Federal Public
Works, tried to thwart his Minister's plans to award the
How strange! When I stumbled on secret British machinations
to destabilise Dr Azikiwe in the late 1950's and remove him from effective
power, I was silenced too. I was warned by a Secret Service official to flee
before they killed me. My health collapsed and I developed a tropical disease
rarely seen in
16 April 1993
Of course Zik must have
inspired the military coup of January 1966. Had he not been side-tracked into
the ceremonial position of President? This was Zik, the great nationalist
leader rendered powerless. This was tolerable when the NCNC was in an alliance
with the NPC, which persecuted Awolowo's opposition Action Group. However,
having broken Awo and put him in jail for ten years on trumped-up charges, the
NCNC itself was now being targeted. Surely the millions of young Ibos in the
Army, professions and the Civil Service, who loved Zik, must have let their
love boil over into unconstitutional violence? This is an attractive theory and
might seem logical and reasonable in explaining total unreason, but it is only
a theory. There is little evidence of Igbo responsibility and none of Dr Zik's.
Each assertion of Ibo involvement can be countered by a counter-argument. For
example, the young Majors were largely Ibo? Yes, but the many more NCOs and
ordinary soldiers were Northerners.
I have made some notes which
seem to indicate Zikist involvement. I must in fairness take a contrary line to
see if the weight of the evidence points elsewhere.
Whoever killed the Northern
leaders and their allies, should not the abominable behaviour of those
politicians show clearly that the Southerners generally had been provoked
beyond endurance? In that respect the responsibility for what happened must
belong to the Northern junta. Even if logic would implicate the Southerners,
this excludes another pragmatic rationale, often found to be involved in
explosive situations, and that is the cock-up theory. Illegality by the North
did provoke a violent and illegal reaction from the young majors, but millions
who might have dreamt of revenge were apathetic, as probably Zik was, even if
tempted. It is even more probable that his respect for the rule of law totally
excluded even thoughts of a bloody reaction.
A Zikist conspiracy theory
might go beyond inspiring or backing the young Majors and extend to replacing
them with General Ironsi, but reason knocks this on the head. There was no
certainty that the Northerners would not respond promptly to the coup and place
a Northerner in charge of the headless State. As it happened, when Ironsi did
take charge, he abolished Zik's post as President. The latter point is made in
a curious study of the coup by D.J.M. Muffett, a Northern sympathiser, who was
a close friend of Sir A. Bello. (Let Truth be Told. 1982.
Let us try to get closer to
the killings, which showed that all claims made by the British for Nigerian
democracy, sovereignty and independence were but myths. Why 15 January?
Muffett's friends,
Zik was in
Muffett says that Balewa
dreamed of a coalition with himself in charge, in other words a recognition of
the fact that there never had been any serious attempt to establish democracy
in
Given the scenario of 15
January and hindsight of a civil war that cost up to one million lives, I
regret that Zik and the Eastern Region Prime Minister were not assassinated.
Had they been killed, a million other lives might not have been lost, for the
plot was perceived as an Igbo conspiracy. The deaths of two Ibo politicians would
have silenced this accusation which had such deadly consequences.
Zik's behaviour was erratic
and that was a fact, but the role of the British is not brought out in
Muffett's account. If it were, Zik's peripatetic approach to politics might
make more sense. Anyway, the zigzag approach worked for Zik. He survived while
4 April 1992
Trevor Clark's biography is a loving life of an honest
politician with no faults, who served
Trevor Clark's biography is of a family man, a teacher and farmer and reluctant politician, who loved the British who had served his country so well. As Prime Minister he held his turbulent country together for six years. After his death it almost fell apart in a bloody civil war...
Trevor Clark's story is of a humble and deeply religious young teacher with high ideals who was totally incorruptible. His fine intelligence and wisdom, his golden voice and eloquence, his exquisite manners and good humour endeared him to all...
Trevor Clark takes some nine hundred pages to get this
message, which I have condensed a bit, across. This fat volume is not only a
tribute to the North, it is vast like the North, sometimes arid like the North,
and heavy as a tombstone. Balewa was a party to census rigging, gerrymandering
of the election in his constituency, rigging of
Balewa loved the British and was proud to be a lackey, an agent, a stooge of the colonial power. He did not seek independence, he did not want independence, he wanted the British to stay. Never was there a rebellious nationalist the likes of Balewa. Like many southern officials, I thought Balewa was a creep and a very small-minded little man.
'A Right Honourable Gentleman' is no worse than many
similar dusty tomes on politicians, who have held high office serving British
interests. I quite enjoyed skipping through
11 April 1992
A few weeks before
Perhaps because Francis knew that I was in very real
trouble which had necessitated a stormy encounter with the Governor General, he
seemed troubled. Otherwise he was in his cynical mood. God knows why, but at
that time I sensed in my Nigerian colleagues an almost total lack of excitement
as
"What nation!" exploded Francis. "This place?"
Later, like an idiot, I raised again the question of those Nigerians who would be in the pantheon of great statesmen when the historians wrote their books in a hundred years.
"These people! Really, Sean" exclaimed Francis.
"Perhaps there will be people, small town Lincolns we don't know about..." I suggested. I then gave up.
I recall this rather sad dinner with Francis because it
seemed symbolic. I was pessimistic about
.For months I frantically tried to alert Government circles
to what was happening in
While this charade was taking place I was being offered
honours and a top job if I would not say a word. The Governor General was in
Shortly before leaving
He was not usually gloomy and despondent, but anyway we
moved and he mentioned the possibility of my taking a job as his assistant in
the Broadcasting Corporation. I knew this was not to be. I would only get
When I had gone out to
The Governor General had said that I would never work
again. That is exactly what happened. I was gloomy because of my ill health,
but as so many people were offering me employment, I felt that, after a good
rest in the
"You won't mind my appointing your staff, Sean," Francis had interjected before I could reply.
I saw a whole village of mission-educated Nwokedis staffing a new Government Department, and as they flowed in, would millions flow out?
The Haywooods put me up and gave me a farewell lunch. On
the plane a telegram arrived for Smith, but it was for another Smith in the
adjoining seat, who was Senior Resident in
"Smith, the young lawmaker," he said.
Postgate had talked of assignments in the North. "Hausa won't be a problem, Sean?"
"No," I had replied, as if it was a mere detail,
but I knew deep down that I was leaving
"I hate the bloody paperwork," he said. "And from what I hear, you are good at moving it."
He then told me about the horrible corruption in
"You don't want me, sir," I said. "I'm in trouble...the Governor General...I'm finished..."
So was he. He turned away and we did not speak again. At
the airport terminal in
At a drinks party in
The CIA lived up to their reputation. They knew everything
about me and my experience in
If this sounds remarkable, it is more than that to me, for
- mainly because I became so ill for many years with a rare tropical disease
usually found in the
In
A British puppet regime had taken power in
The strangest irony was that the apparent civilian victors of this tragic civil war were the Western leaders Awolowo and Enahoro, whom the British had robbed of victory in the Independence elections of 1959, and whom their puppet Balewa had jailed for ten and fifteen years in 1962.
What had British machinations against democracy in
Recently I read again the record of the civil war in
Anthony Kirk-Greene's excellent but deeply disturbing collection of documents
on the war. He, too, speaks of
Kirk-Greene also mentions Balewa, who had a great reputation as well. Perhaps it was Balewa's conscience which troubled him and made him so deeply unhappy as Prime Minister. He knew he had won that office by fraudulent means. He knew every detail of the British Government's machinations. He knew, when he railed in private against British commercial interests exploiting Nigeria, that those same interests had financed his election campaign and that of his partner in Government - the NCNC, led by the great but burnt-out nationalist, Dr Azikiwe.
On 10 February 1957 Balewa wrote an extraordinary letter to
his friend, the British Governor of the North, Sir Bryan Sharwood Smith. Those
of us in
He wrote, 'I myself do not believe that the present type of federation can exist without the British Administration.' He did not want to be Prime Minister and was tired of politics. 'You will appreciate the delicate position in which I am now placed,' he wrote. His colleagues, like the notoriously corrupt Okotie Eboh, who funnelled funds from British firms into the pro-British political war chest, said he could not quit.
They were quite right. Balewa's role was crucial to the great deception planned and executed by the British. It had taken years to assemble and was a superb piece of political chicanery, of which the bosses of Tammany Hall would have been proud. Henry L. Bretton, an American Professor who studied British skulduggery in detail and at first hand, wrote that 'the very construction of the Northern Region...' (which had the majority of the seats in the Federal Parliament) '...in the form in which it entered the era of independence, represents one of the greatest acts of gerrymandering in history.'
With the greatest respect to the opinions of Anthony
Kirk-Greene who served in the North during my years at Federal Government
Headquarters in
Balewa was not a
Balewa had some things in common with
1 February 1992
Agent, Apologist or
Historian?
In one of his last contributions to an historical journal (African Affairs, January 1987) before his early death from Aids, my old friend Michael reviewed Nigeria's transition from a beacon of democracy at 'Independence' in 1960 to a basket case twenty-five years later, after a series of coups and military dictatorships.
Michael was a liar on a grand scale who was blackmailed by the British in 1960 to prevent disclosure of the fact that the Independence Elections were rigged. Michael was a promiscuous homosexual and he was pressurised to put pressure on the present writer who was his friend. Three British senior service officials had protested at orders from Government House to rig the elections in the British interest, and blackmail of Michael was just one of the tactics employed to shut me up. All that was sought was my word. Bribes included rapid promotion, a brilliant career in the Foreign Service, large sums of money and honours of my choice, which my friend Philip Williams (later the biographer of Gaitskell), who acted as an intermediary, interpreted as a knighthood. The stick was the threat to Michael; the threat to Philip, who was also at risk, promises that I would be permanently unemployed and, if I spoke out, killed.
Michael's carrot to persuade me to be a white man and not betray our chaps was a proposal that he should, with Government approval and on Government time, write a History of Nigeria (The Story of Nigeria). The deal was acceptable to Michael and he broke with me after a rather tearful and emotional parting. Lying in his teeth, he promised that, when he came to speak of the Independence Elections, he would tell the truth of how they were rigged. I pretended to believe him. He was my friend and, although vulnerable and weak, like many others I loved the man.
How could a respected historian do this? Quite easily
actually. One just went along with the story as made up, put around by the
papers and accepted by a gullible public. Had Michael not been in pawn to
I was purposely silent for a time after Michael's imbroglio with Government House, but very soon, when it became clear that my lips had not been sealed permanently (I was overheard at a dinner party with US Embassy friends making indiscreet remarks) I too was carpeted at Government House.
Agent? Apologist? Historian of
12 May l994
We loved Michael Crowder. He would have been a joy to know
anywhere, but
Michael was a very promiscuous homosexual, which was one
thing we did not have in common. However, we had both recently left
Michael gave me his word that he would reveal in his
historical writings one day how the British had rigged Nigeria's Independence
Elections, but unless he left papers which kept his promise... I waited many
years and, in desperation, wrote to him, when I learned that he was in
In Michael's "Story of Nigeria", which he wrote
with the blessing of
If
Michael was blackmailed by Sir James Robertson. He was
threatened with a jail sentence and ruin if I continued to tell everyone how
It is extremely painful to say of Michael, as I must despite my love for the man, that he was as deeply flawed as a historian can be. Michael lied and betrayed the Nigerian people he genuinely adored. Michael broke his word to me too. I was very innocent and naive, and thought most people who were educated were truthful, and that many would have done what I did, and taken a stand against Whitehall's treason which brought about the bloody Biafran civil war in which up to two million, mainly young, people died. I was wrong. Few, if any, I now know would have followed by example. Even those few hesitate when I mention the glittering honours and other prizes, the bribes, which I refused.
I will always remember Michael's laughter and infectious humour. I think of him often. We loved him.
25 March 1994
The Indiscreet Racist
Fred was ingenious. To the African
who objected to rule by a small clique of white men, Fred retorted that the
alternative was to subject a large native population to the will of a small
minority of educated and Europeanised natives who have nothing in common with
them, and whose interests are often opposed to them... Only in 1943 were two
very safe Africans appointed to the Governor's Executive Council. Africans were
excluded from European Clubs until the early fifties when the first token
Africans were allowed in. That was why I declined to join the Ikoyi Club in
1955. In 1960 I caused a stir when, accompanied by my African assistants, I inspected
the Ikoyi Club. The Secretary went purple with rage and 'phoned every VIP he
could get hold of. "How could you bring those people in here!" he
screamed. This was the year of
Fred may not have been the legend of Margery Perham's heated and frustrated imagination, but he certainly left a legacy of dottiness and nasty racism behind him. Fred's racism was shared by Margery Perham, as Michael Crowder records in the 1972 edition of "The Story of Nigeria." This was a good book that I eagerly looked forward to reading. Sadly it was marred by major omissions of vital facts that Michael knew about.
"When I write about the Independence Elections,"
Michael promised me before I fled
Michael made a point of not writing in any detail about the
Independence Elections. His private views of the British occupation were far
more scathing than anything that ever appeared in his books. Yet, by not
telling the truth about British treachery, he let down his many Nigerian
friends and the Nigerian people whom he loved so much. Not even Africans loved
12 May l994
Margery Perham's contribution to the
"The name of Lugard will always be linked with that of
Margery tells us how well she knew Fred, almost hinting at a physical relationship with her hero. She worked closely with him, lived near him and, as we know, adored him. She did not, she says, know him in the prime of his manhood, but she thought age must have changed him less than most men.
"He kept his slim, upright figure, with the square shoulders and the erect head of the military man, to the week of his death. He kept, too, the vigour of his movements and the direct and resolute eyes of a man used to command, but in which I, as a friend, could read mostly his kindness and understanding."
The portrait of Fred which faces us, as we read of
Margery's adoration, is of a fierce little, demented terrier of a man. On his
first expedition into what became Nigerian territory, he was apparently hit in
the head by a poisoned arrow. This might account for his notorious ill temper
and inability to make friends. If Fred was famous for anything, it was for
being pig-headed and controversial. Although he spent six years in
Fred's style was combative and he always preferred war-war
to jaw-jaw, as befitted a conqueror. Margery spends a lot of space trying to
find excuses for his disastrous leadership. Much the same goes for Fred's
second term of office from 1912 to 1918. Nothing is ever Fred's fault. Always
there is a reason why he made so many mistakes and achieved so little. The only
accord one feels on reading Margaret's gush is when she records Fred as
opposing Mussolini's invasion of
Fred married Flora Shaw, the Colonial Correspondent of The Times. Now the Lugard fan club had two very active members, swollen to three when Margery joined the team. In conclusion she allows mention of some other pioneers, but only to promote Fred to the top of the table and then to suggest that Fred in Nigeria deserved a place equivalent to that of Julius Caesar and William the Conqueror in British history
12 February 1993
Lugard's
Lunacy and Perham's Infatuation
It was inevitable that rich white Europe would impinge on
poor black
We left
Because of ignorance of Africa,
What of historians? A few of poor quality, because access
to Government files was nigh impossible. And so the officials themselves became
the historians and they short-circuited the journalists. Now we had propaganda
turned into instant history. First there was Lugard who, with his fantasies,
wove a tissue of lies. Aided by his wife who was as expert a liar as he was,
his fabrications still colour Whitehall's attitudes to Nigeria, which can be
summed up as pale-skinned Moslem North good, black-skinned Christian South bad.
When Lady Lugard died, her place as propagandist for Lugard's crazy ideas was
taken on by Margery Perham, who gave the story a few twists to fit changing
times. Posing as a liberal, she screened black nationalists and acted as an intelligence
officer for
So when Miss Perhaps wrote in her volume on Lugard, "In public enterprises there are often two accounts of the proceedings, a smooth official story of progress, studded with compliments and congratulations to all concerned, and the true unpublished story of the bitter struggles and the personal conflicts...." she knew what she was writing about.
The line that was pushed right from the very start of
Lugard's occupation of
The first writer of note to blow the whistle on the
Lugards, and their black magic or propaganda approach to fixing the historical
record, was Ian Nicolson. (I.F Nicolson. The Administration of
Lugard felt that things like justice should not get in the way of decision-making, and saw justice as part of military discipline. In other words, he could take the law into his own hands whenever he so chose. Sir James Robertson had maybe learned all this from Margery Perham, for he wholeheartedly subscribed to the same philosophy. If elections would put the wrong people into power, it was necessary to rig them so that our boys won. If someone like me protested, have him silenced. Lugard executed people as if he were swotting flies. Robertson, who was also out of the Mussolini mould, had been officially reprimanded for following his master's example and having natives hanged for trivial misdemeanours.
As a civil servant, I was protected by a Code of Regulations and a Public Service Commission and British Law, but Robertson saw no need to accept these. He was Commander in Chief and Governor General, and thought that summary justice was what I needed. He had tried tempting me into the Army with high rank so that I could be court-martialled. It would, he thought, appear more seemly. Even then, he would be ignoring military law, but it was a good try. In the event his well-rehearsed speech went as follows:-
"The Colonial Service is the same as the Army, and you know what happens if you disobey orders on active service - you pay the penalty!" That was it. Standing in his office, I was, in seconds, charged and found guilty. I was to be silenced if I did not accept his terms. He intended to have me killed, just as he had ordered others to be killed.
The Deputy Governor General, who had interceded on my
behalf in 1957, had left
Like Lugard, Robertson loathed black people. He had spent
his life working for the Foreign Office in the
The tradition of Lugard, amazingly, lingers on in
In her day Lady Lugard had contrasted "the higher
types of the Northern States" with the "cannibal pagans" of the
South. "The nearer to the coast, the worse was the native type...
Sorcerers, idolaters, robbers and drunkards, they were indeed no better than
their country." The vituperation of a virulent racist is familiar to those
of us who have lived through the aberrations of Hitler's
8 February 1993
Margery Perham wrote in 1960 that, "In public enterprises there are often two accounts of the proceedings, a smooth official story of progress, studded with compliments and congratulations to all concerned, and the true unpublished story of the bitter struggles and the personal conflicts...."
Margery knew of what she wrote. That same year she had
acted in
How strange to realise that, if I had accepted that corrupt
bargain, I might perhaps have preceded Chris Patten in
Lugard was aware, looking with anxiety over the hills of
I suspect that it will be found that when Chris Patten
leaves
20 February 1993
Rigging of
I was put on trial by the Governor General of
Clearly, in commenting on this book 'Transition in
Strictly speaking, the
The British Colonies were run in a highly efficient and economical manner. It is true that much that is now accepted as essential services, even in poor African countries today, was not on offer when men like Robertson ruled vast numbers of colonial peoples. However, it is still extraordinary just how much was achieved by what was by any standards an absolutely minimally staffed service. The pay was not good, the health prospects were poor and it was by no means certain that every successful administrator would reach the top of the tree and collect gongs and a knighthood.
The quality of the staff recruited was high and Robertson
was not untypical. He was a very capable Balliol graduate with a second in
Greats and a Rugby Blue. He learned Arabic and worked very hard under the most
primitive conditions for many years before promotion and honours came his way.
These were richly deserved.
He was, I imagine, excellent company, with an enquiring
mind, an amiable, friendly, good-humoured manner, loyal to his friends and, in
his own way, to his country. In different circumstances the sort of person most
of us rank and file in the service in
My friend Michael Crowder, who was to become a
distinguished, but flawed historian of African affairs, was surprised at how
big a man Sir James was. He was to write of him as a great bear of a man,
someone with a large presence and quite a big physique. I was down to seven or
eight stone myself, largely due to Robertson, and in those days he seemed big
to me too. Now I am fourteen stone myself, Robertson seems average. Michael got
the plum job of Editor of Nigeria Magazine because he had cultivated Margery
Perham at
"You are living very dangerously, Mr Crowder," said Robertson, topping up Michael's wine glass.
To say that Michael was frightened was an inadequate description of the terror he felt. He could go to gaol! At that point his bowel control became uncertain.
"Tell your friend Smith to stop dabbling in politics, or it might look bad for you. Do you understand what I am saying?"
Michael fled Government House and came straight to me after an enforced rush to the bathroom. Michael was pale and shaken.
"He knows about you, Sean," he stammered. "It was because of you I got the invitation!"
We had both wondered why Michael had been honoured in this way. The notion that I dabbled in politics amused me but did not cheer Michael. Henceforth he would steer well clear of me.
It was His Excellency the Governor General who was
completely immersed in politics at a level which astounded everyone who was
privy to the secret. When Robertson arrived in
"Why?" I pleaded, when I saw Sir James at Government House in 1960. "Why did you rig the elections?"
"Because it was necessary," he replied coolly.
And also possible. In the
I was a lawmaker, busy preparing new laws befitting the
giant African nation about to be born. My Factories Act had been hailed as the greatest
piece of legislation to be placed on the Nigerian statute book. The Attorney
General of Nigeria had praised my work highly, and the Chief Secretary, Sir
Ralph, later Lord, Grey, wrote a letter for my personal file stating that I
'had been of some service to the state...' The Labour Advisor to the Secretary
of State said I had made an extraordinary start to my career - I was, after
all, straight out of
The first stage of the Independence Elections took place in 1956 and were to decide the government of the three Regions, or States, which constituted the Federation. The British had always favoured the pro-British but very backward North, paradoxically because it did not seek independence at all, but was quite happy with the great powers bestowed on its hereditary leaders by indirect rule from the indifferent British. The chosen people were totally unprepared for independence and would inevitably suffer at the hands of the well educated and politically sophisticated Southerners who made jokes about British officials and ridiculed and even patronised them. The North lacked a University, even the basic elements of an elementary school system. Its civil servants at clerical level were Southerners and its administrators were almost totally British. Something had to be done.
I was astonished to receive orders from His Excellency in
1956 telling me to help fix the 1956 State elections. I was to head a covert
operation and, under cover of a study of migration, to take all Labour
headquarters staff and transport to help elect politicians backed by the
British. I replied with a minute that said, 'No.' These were criminal acts,
expressly forbidden by the election laws of
If that refusal to break the laws of
Michael Crowder had received a menacing home visit from a senior police officer who made threatening gestures. My wife and I gave Michael all possible moral support in this grotesque and squalid blackmail by agents of the British Government.
Sir James told me that he had personally issued the orders
to which I had objected; that not one of the many other senior officers
involved had objected; that I knew far too much and if I would not shut up
means would be found to silence me. I did not know all the facts. The operation
was necessary. If I would not shut up I would never work again in a responsible
position. The press would never be allowed to publish my story. Who would
believe me? I would have to agree to work abroad. I was not to be allowed to be
employed in the
Clearly Sir James Robertson was chosen for this treachery because it was known that he was a very hard man with an underdeveloped moral sense. Proof of this is to be found in his autobiography when he was severely reprimanded for executing three Africans who were allegedly acting as agents of the Italians.
I might have said, had I been allowed, that I was a civil servant. Even if I had been in the Army, I would have had the right to a lawful trial. As it was, my rights as a civil servant to appeal to the Public Service Commission were blocked by the Governor General's friend, Geoffrey Hawkesworth.
Amazingly, the Governor General's prediction was correct. The Colonial Office told its Minister, Julian Amery, in 1960 that I did not exist and when he persevered he was then told that all my papers had been destroyed. The Queen's friend, Lord Perth, was closely involved and can verify the truth of my story. His Excellency's Star Chamber trial verdict ran beyond his death in 1974. In thirty years the British Press has played its prostitute role and has been shamed by the bravery of a small County paper, the Wiltshire Times, which published my story in 1988.
Lord Grey has been available to inform successive British Governments of the truth of my account, but they do everything possible to pretend they have not been informed. Deniability is the aim. Having now had acknowledgements from Lynda Chalker, Chris Patten and the Prime Minister, that particular tactic is no longer sustainable. Blocking publication is proof of concerted Government action and an acknowledgement of guilt, if it were needed.
There is little point in listing the-sleight-of-hand
deceptions and stratagems Robertson used to avoid the truth in his account.
When he is assuredly guilty of treason against our most hallowed constitutional
principles, he is a man without honour, as are those politicians and
The degree of complicity of Mr. Major's Government in the conspiracy of silence still surrounding these events has yet to be established. As before, I am sending copies of this statement to various notables, none of whom however has yet interceded, and all of whom must share some degree of responsibility for preventing the full and proper disclosure to the public of these disgraceful events.
28 November 1991