An Attentive Listener

For Secretary of State William Rogers, it was the touchiest stopover of his 15-day, ten-country African journey. Nigeria's leaders, angered by Washington's clumsily expressed concern over possible genocide in defeated Biafra early last week, were reported close to breaking off relations with the U.S. Their hostility was underscored by an editorial in the Lagos Daily Express: "We offer no greetings to William Rogers as he steps on Nigerian soil today. For whatever bright promises and goody-goody talks he may utter, we still consider him persona non grata . . . the enemy of this country."

Aware of these sentiments, Rogers was clearly on edge as his military 707 neared Lagos; he wrote his arrival speech, had it typed, then tore it up and rewrote it. In conversations on the plane, he stumbled over some words. At the airport, he nervously greeted Rear Admiral J.E.A. Wey, acting Foreign Minister, as "General," an error that he never corrected.

Once talks got under way with General Yakubu Gowon. Nigeria's chief of state, tensions began to ease. Gowon greeted Rogers warmly, and their discussions lasted half an hour longer than originally scheduled. Before the meeting, Rogers had made it clear that the U.S. wanted to cooperate "to the fullest possible extent to help in the problems that result from the war." That hope, as it turned out, was forlorn. Though a Nigerian spokesman later said the talks were "very cordial," Rogers received no requests for help. Overall, however, U.S.-Nigeria relations seemed definitely improved.

Earlier in the week, Rogers' talks with Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, Republic of the Congo President Joseph Mobutu and Cameroun President

Ahmahou Ahidjo had all gone smoothly. To all, he had pledged U.S. moral support for the effort to win freedom for blacks in those nations ruled by white minorities, but had ruled out direct participation in violent solutions. Continuing to display his low profile, Rogers had listened quietly and attentively to Black African leaders, who seemed impressed with his receptivity to ideas. That receptivity was nicely illustrated in Ghana. During talks with Prime Minister Kofi Busia, Rogers was asked for a $15 million aid loan. The request was granted immediately.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.