THE civil war in Nigeria, which began in the late 1960s with the attempted secession of Biafra, extended into the early 1970s. It ended with the federal authorities preventing Biafra from breaking away. The war had major repercussions for Irish missionary orders, many of whose members particularly Holy Ghost priests were expelled by the Nigerian authorities for allegedly having collaborated and/or encouraged the rebel Ibos.
In February 1970, 27 Irish missionaries who had been expelled from Nigeria were met at Dublin Airport by large crowds, estimated in "hundreds" and "thousands" (depending on the newspaper), as well as by representatives of the President and Taoiseach.
But the events of the period in Nigeria take on a different complexion on reading "confidential" State papers published yesterday. These consist primarily of letters from the Irish Embassy in Lagos to the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin.
A "Restricted" order applies to some documents, but those made available are often remarkably direct. For instance, in a "Secret" letter to the then Secretary of the Department of External Affairs, Mr H.J. McCann, the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Paul Keating, wrote in March 1970 about the returned and feted missionaries.
"We in Ireland, of course, think that the missionaries were unjustly persecuted, imprisoned and expelled under humiliating circumstances ... Nigerian public opinion and large sections of the administration of Nigerian Catholicism, and even in some cases Irish missionaries, take a different point of view. They feel that the Holy Ghost fathers were impertinent busybodies from abroad who involved themselves in the internal affairs of Nigeria and by their propaganda and aid and comfort to the Biafrans unduly prolonged the war and caused great suffering to the Nigerian people.
"They feel that, by not sending them to prison, the Nigerian government behaved very leniently, and indeed there are many who attack the government bitterly for their laxity in dealing with the expellees. I think I must put the case to you because of the importance of our reaction in the matter to the future of the wellbeing of Irish citizens in Nigeria and relations between the two countries."
Mr Keating criticised the publicity the missionaries had received on their return which "gave an official blessing to what they had done in his country", he continued: "Thus, it seems to me that we have to do something to claw ourselves back into the goodwill of the people." He described the period as "this most destructive phase in our relations with Nigeria".
In a letter of February 25th, 1970, the ambassador criticised comments by returned Irish priests on the Nigerian leadership, particularly Gen Gowon, as "fatuous emotionalism and self advertisement", which were "extremely unfair", as the general had been "a moderating force". He asked Dublin to approach the Holy Ghost Order's superiors in Rome on the matter, stating: "We have too much at stake at this juncture to let them endanger the lives and well being of our citizens. The lack of Holy Ghost discipline in the person of Father A [named] has this week resulted in three of his colleagues spending an uncomfortable and unnecessary time in prison."
In a letter to the Department on May 30th, 1970, Mr Keating advised that blank passports given to the Holy Ghost fathers in 1967 to facilitate them in entering and leaving Nigeria and Biafra should be accounted for and called in. "There is also the danger that the blank passports may be, in fact, abused by the less well balanced members of the Holy Ghost Order if they get possession of them", he wrote.
Dealing with internal religious affairs in Nigeria, Mr Keating wrote confidentially to Dublin on June 2nd, 1970, that he had been told by a named Irish bishop serving there that the Ibo clergy "do not want back in Nigeria any of the expelled fathers or sisters". He continued: "The intrigues among the various orders and ecclesiastics in Nigeria are of an almost byzantine character."
Mr Keating was no more reserved in his descriptions of some agencies. In a confidential letter to Dublin on June 24th, 1970, concerning the repatriation of Biafran children, he was worried that this could mean that in the long run "hot headed and warm hearted but fundamentally," stupid organisations like Africa Concern will be left carrying a load of responsibility".
The ambassador's candour also extended to individuals. This is how he described an African archbishop, in a confidential letter to Dublin on June 24th, 1970: ". . . He is notorious for misreporting conversations and for making baseless statements at those meetings where he represents church interests."
Dealing with a situation in 1969, when three Holy Ghost priests were expelled from Nigeria, for allegedly collaborating with Biafran freedom fighters, he wrote, in a confidential letter to the Department on October 20th that year, that two of the priests had probably "been indiscreet if not stupid. Father B [named] in particular seems to be a difficult and unsettled character..
