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Approved for Release: 2020/08/11 C02000169 SECRET # Nigerian Attitudes Toward West Adversely Affected The intensity of feeling aroused in Nigeria by the third French nuclear test in the Sahara--reflected in the severance by Prime Minister Balewa's government on 5 January of diplomatic ties with Paris--imposes a further strain on the disposition of the leaders of Africa's most populous state to follow a moderate and essentially pro-Western course. France's two earlier tests also had evoked a strong popular and official reaction and were an important factor in the growth during the past year of sentiment for an "independent" foreign policy which would identify Nigeria closely with Africa-wide interests. The failure of leading Western nations--especially the US and UK--to react more vigorously to South Africa's suppression of native rioting last spring and to its subsequent refusal to abandon its apartheid policy have likewise damaged the general Western image in Nigeria. Such developments were effectively exploited by neutralist-inclined Nigerian elements even before the country became independent on 1 October. More recently, the Congo situation, especially the arrest of Lumumba by Colonel Mobutu's forces in early December, has provoked unprecedentedly severe press criticism of the US, NATO, the "colonial powers," and the UN, which have been lumped together as instigators of a plot against the Congo's sovereignty. When such attacks were at their height last month the heaviest criticism was directed against the US, while the USSR appeared to gain prestige for its pro-Lumumba position. While reaction on the official level was much more restrained, top Nigerian leaders--including generally conservative northerners--expressed to American officials strong criticism of Lumumba's arrest and the failure of the UN to insist on his release. Nearly all such Nigerians have little use for the erratic Congolese leader, but they nevertheless regard him as still the legitimate premier and appear to share the general public's increasing tendency to view him as the personification of Africa in its fight against "imperialism." Balewa's initial direct experience with the frustrations of the Algerian situation--he recently visited Tunis and London SECRET 7 Jan 61 CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN Page 1 Approved for Release: 2020/08/11 C02000169

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