Chapter 1
At the time Macmillan
recorded his afore mentioned view, he was heavily engaged with Suez. This
glaring example of dirty work abroad was a total failure. Undeterred, Macmillan
re–read a life of Machiavelli, and turned his attention to Nigeria and its
newly discovered oil fields. On 21 July 1956 he had written, “The Government’s
position is very bad at present. Nothing has gone well. In the Middle East we
are still teased by Nasser and Co.; this Colonial Empire is breaking up; and
many people view with anxiety the attempt to produce Parliamentary Democracy is
such places as Nigeria…”
“Many people”
doubtless include the oil companies and Tory and Labour politicians. In fact,
the first stage of the Independence Elections was rigged in 1956, when I, with
my colleague Charles Bunker, was ordered by the Governor General to take a
major evident on the ground that planning had been in hand for some time.
Although of great
international importance, not one civil servant blew the whistle on the awful
lies told by Government Ministers during the Suez affair. This was a largely
public event, and one of its major aims (which were denied) was regime change.
Blair, another lying Prime Minister, was more successful in Iraq.
It is clearly better
to conduct dirty work abroad in secret. Macmillan kept a close eye on the
Independence arrangements for Nigeria, where a showpiece of democracy was to be
cynically destroyed and a set of corrupt stooges invested with power. I blew
the whistle on that treason in 1956 and Macmillan knew, through his son – in –
law Julian Amery, the measures taken to shut me up. Suez was illegal; Nigeria
was illegal if Suez was illegal. The British publics still do not know of the
treason which killed three million in Nigeria, but Tony Blair knew!
It seems that it was
British parliament democracy that was being set aside by Harold Macmillan. Our
stooges, who did not want the British to leave – the most backward and feudal
we could find had power thrust on them. Nobody believed the mass of the people
who followed their nationalist leaders could possibly have voted for those
awful creatures and, in fact, very few did, but who cared when the British were
counting the votes! Amazingly at the victory celebrations on Independence Day,
not a single nationalist leader was on the platform when the union flag was
lowered.
Had Macmillan feared
the Nigeria people were not ready for Independence, he could easily have
postponed it. After regime change in Persia and the Suez adventure, one might
have expected Macmillan to be cautious. It was not to be. What is for sure is
that it was not the welfare of the Nigeria people that Macmillan had in mind in
screwing up democracy in Nigeria. There was also the small problem of
consequences. What would happen to our stooges at elections when the British
were not there to count the votes.
Clearly, the
opposition had to be smashed, and in no time the leaders of the Action Group
were framed on trumped–up treason charges. Would not this increase the risk of
a coup? Our stooges were gunned down in 1966, and the Ibo were for a moment victorious.
A British counter – coup restored our boys in power and sadly involved a pogrom.
The Ibo declared for Independence, and they were put down by the force of
British arms.
Did Macmillan feel
any regret? Why should he, when the British kept control of the oil fields?
Only three million died, and they were black, and a hagiographer of Balewa
recorded that only one person of note was killed. So that was all right!
Was Macmillan an
honourable gentleman? Or a cruel war criminal? Was he a democrat? He was
certainly not going to own up. Indeed he took extreme measures to prevent the
present writer telling the British people of his exploits.
The British had sold
the Nigerians into slavery. Then they stole their country. Then they stole
their mineral resources. Then they killed them. What next, one wonders? It
would seem that Macmillan did not believe in teaching by example.
TO BE CONTINUED…
