From last week continues the narrative of how English-speaking West African countries led by Nigeria set up ECOMOG to intervene and bring peace to Liberia under the aegis of a Standing Mediation Committee, SMC.

SMC also set up a special emergency fund for the war-torn country to deal with refugee problems, among others. Shortly after Federal Government accorded it recognition in November 1975, the MPLA government in Angola sent a delegation to Lagos to request for military and financial assistance. In December, the government gave the Angolan government an outright grant of $20 million and set up a military committee headed by the Minister of Defence, Major General Illiya Bisalla to determine how best Nigeria could meet the needs of the Angolans. 

The committee was able, by January 1976, to assemble uniforms, combat boots, steel helmet and some weapons which Nigeria Air Force planes used to fly to Angola. Still significant was the role of General Murtala Mohammed (8 November 1938- 13 February 1976) who almost single-handedly swayed the OAU into according to MPLA recognition as the sole government of Angola. Many African commentators considered Murtala’s action as psychological boost for African liberation movement because of its impact on the US position on African decolonization. 

Nigeria played an active role in the struggle against apartheid and white minority rule in South Africa; remaining throughout that struggle, Africa’s leading opponent of the South Africa apartheid regime. For many years, Major General Joe Nanven Garba(17 July 1943- 1 June 2002) served to galvanise international opinion against apartheid. 

In 1976, the Mozambican Liberation Movement, (FRELIMO), received N150 million from the Federal Government. Nigeria Air Force planes moved to Dar es Salaam from where they carried supplies to the Patriotic Alliance forces based in Mozambique and Zambia to accelerate the independence struggle in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe). In addition, Zimbabwean liberation group received N150 million in 1976 and N640,000 in 1979 from the Nigerian government.

Nigeria provided the South West African People’s Organisation (SWAPO), the main liberation, substantial amount of money to move its main base in Southern Zambia to Southern Angola in order to gain a firmer foothold in the liberation struggle. 

From 1968, when it became known that South Africa, Rhodesia and Portugal were secretly supporting secessionist Biafra, the Nigerian government began pressing for increased contributions to the special fund of the OAU liberation committee to which Nigeria contributed N150 million in 1973. 

In February 1969, the Nigerian government spokesman at that year’s OAU Council of Ministers meeting announced that Nigeria was ready to grant “additional funds to the liberation committee apart from its regular allotted contribution.” In 1970-1971, Nigeria held the chairmanship of the OAU defence commission. General Yakubu Gowon (89) in June 1971 asked African leaders to work to ensure the liberation of at least one colonial state in the continent. He promised that the OAU should assign specific African countries responsibility for liberating particular colonial territories.

Also in June 1971 Nigeria’s external affairs commissioner, Dr. Okoi Arikpo (20 September 1916- 26 October 1995) severely criticized the budget of about $1 million approved for the liberation movements with bilateral assistance, military hardware, trucks, and medical supplies since 1968. Thanks to these efforts, the Rabat(Morocco) OAU Heads of State and Government Summit increased member state’s contributions to liberation committee by 50%. Also in 1971, Nigeria succeeded in persuading the OAU Council of Ministers to open a sub-regional headquarters for the Particido Africano da Independencia da Guinea Capo Verde (PAIIGC) in Conakry, capital of Guinea. Nigeria’s regular contribution of $84,000 per year was raised by the government to $126,000 in 1981. 

In April 1980, I was part of the Federal Government advance team to Salibury now Harare that witnessed the independence of Southern Rhodesia now Zimbabwe. At that time selected journalists were usually made to be part of the Federal Government delegation. My room at Mekles hotel Harare was next to that of Dr Chuba Wilberforce Okadigbo(17 December 1941-25 September 2003), the then special adviser to President Shehu Usman Shagari(25 February 1925 – 28 December 2018) . 

To be concluded