From the Archives of The New York Times.
Nigeria Cancels Invitation to Kissinger - By John Darnton Special to The New York Times
LAGOS, Nigeria, April 7—An invitation to Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger to visit Nigeria during his trip to Africa later this month has been canceled by the Government.
No specific reason was given to Washington other than that the timing of Mr. Kissinger's trip was inconvenient for Nigeria, sources here said.
It was thought that the cancellation might be related to Nigeria's internal political situation, which is still uneasy after an attempted coup seven weeks ago that led to the assassination of the head of state, Gen. Murtala Ramat Muhammed.
But the cancellation also comes at a time when relations between Nigeria and the united States have become strained, initially because the two countries supported opposing factions in the Angolan civil war.
Recently, the Secretary of State's warnings to Cuba not to intervene militarily in a confrontation between guerrilla and the Government of Ian D. Smith in Rhodesia have been widely condemned in the Nigerian press.
Mr. Kissinger has become controversial figure here — he is often depicted as advocating an American policy favoring white minority regimes is southern Africa over black nationalist movements—and it is likely that his presence would have prompted demonstrations. Security precautions alone would have created an additional problem for the government.
Since last July, when the Government of Gen. Yakubu Gowon was ousted in a coup, Nigeria has increasingly adopted an activist foreign policy. Its main initiative is outspoken support for majority rule in South‐West Africa, Rhodesia and South Africa.
Just this week, Lieut. Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo, the new head of state, announced that “material, financial and other assistance” to nationalist movements would be stepped up.
“We will help those African countries whose independence and sovereignty are still threatened by racist and minority regimes,” he said.
Anti‐Western feeling erupted in the aftermath of the coup attempt on February 13, stemming from unsubstantiated charges of Western involvement. Student demonstrators stormed the American Embassy and the British High Commission on February 17. The feeling has not altogether died down.
A meeting of the African Regional American Studies Conference, involving 80 scholars who were to meet in Lagos last week in connection with the American Bicentennial celebration, was canceled without explanation by the Nigerian Government.
The invitation to Mr. Kissinger was originally extended last September, when he met Brig. Joseph Garba, the Nigerian Commissioner for External affairs, at the United Nations General Assembly. Since then, Mr. Kissinger has met several times with Brigadier Garba, usually to patch up differences.
Mr. Kissinger was scheduled to arrive here on May 2 and stay for about 24 hours, on a swing that was to take him to at least eight African countries, including Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Zaire and Zambia.
In Lusaka, Zambia, he is expected to deliver a major statement on United States policy toward southern Africa. At another, unspecified stop, he is expected to outline policy towards the continent as whole.
