Open Letter to Former Prime Minister James CallaghanA Plea for British Honour
Information is sought by former British Government senior civil servant (Nigeria 1955-1960) regarding British treason, including the rigging of Nigeria's Independence Elections, circa 1960.
British officials served with great honour and distinction in Nigeria. This African giant was governed superbly by a small number of dedicated public servants, who often made personal sacrifices in the course of their duties under very trying conditions. (Harold Smith was struck down by a rare tropical disease in 1960). This fine and truly splendid record of service by British officials was sullied at Independence by Whitehall treachery, which destroyed the careful nurturing of democracy in Nigeria and blighted Nigeria's future.The potentially great African democracy was doomed by these squalid machinations to a future of military coups, assassinations and the horrendous Biafran Civil War, which cost, says the UN, two million lives.
Sadly, many old Nigeria hands, whose great contributions were largely ignored by historians, have died. Others have recoiled in horror from Nigeria's ghastly history since 1960. Yet it needs to be proclaimed that British officials need feel no shame for their nation building prior to the tragically flawed Independence. The historical record of British achievements prior to Independence has been blighted by subsequent events. We need to assess objectively what went wrong at Independence (largely as a consequence of treasonable political interference from Westminster) in order that the sterling contribution of British officials may be recorded for posterity.
Permission to publish this material was sought and granted by the Cabinet Office and D-Notice Committee, subject to an agreement that no Secret Service officials should be named. May I request correspondents to respect my obligation in this matter and to kindly withhold such personal details. Cabinet Office letters of March/April 1993, reference A093/927/1152/1281, and Ministry of Defence letter DM/1712/DPBC of 13 January 1993 refer.