GREAT POWERS’ ENCOUNTER IN AFRICAN CONFLICTS: BRITISH INTELLIGENCE ON THE SOVIET UNION INVOLVEMENT DURING THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR (1967-1970)
GREAT POWERS’ ENCOUNTER IN AFRICAN CONFLICTS: BRITISH INTELLIGENCE ON THE SOVIET UNION INVOLVEMENT DURING THE NIGERIAN CIVIL WAR (1967-1970)

Summary/Abstract: This paper discusses the British intelligence on the Soviet Union’s involvement in the Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970). The study adopts a historical narrative approach for data analysis while drawing from the official archival documents on the conflict obtained from the British National Archives, located in Kew, London and secondary sources such as books, journals, newspapers and internet sources for data collection. The study indicates that the delayed acquisition of defensive military equipment by the federal government from Britain paved the way for the Soviet Union penetration in the conflict. Consequently, Nigerian-Soviet relations were conditioned by the exigencies of the civil war. While the Soviet Union and Britain had the common objective of supporting the Federal Military Government (FMG), Britain saw the Soviets as a threat to their influence with the FMG. The ideological differences between the two countries prompted Britain to thwart the Soviet efforts in the conflict which involved the use of intelligence gathering systems often in alliance with other western powers. Britain found it expedient to lead intelligence gathering efforts on the Soviets as they offloaded their military consignment and provided diplomatic support to Nigeria. The Nigerian authorities felt that they had no alternative but to accommodate the Soviets because the struggle to maintain the unity of Nigeria overrode other considerations in the war. For Britain, the Soviet Union involvement in the civil war was considered to be very risky, unlike the FMG which did not focus on the likely negative implications because they needed external assistance to achieve military victory in the conflict.

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