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- 2 - f Brigadier Garba said that he would be lying if he were to say that Nigeria was not concerned with this affair. The British had sought the Nigerian Government's views, e.g. by approaches from their High Commissioner in Lagos. He had himself told Sir Sam Falle that his own view was that President Amin would not come to London, and that it would be better for HMG not to make public statements on the matter. The Commonwealtl as a body had a large number of detractors, but would use a row with President Amin as an excuse to attack it. The Nigerians had therefore advised against any over-dramatisation of the affair. They had made the same point to Lord Thomson, and had told him that the way the Amin question was developing was likely to have a negative effect. If President Amin were to call for a boycott in his own support, he might well achieve some support. The Nigerians understood Britain's problems, but their view was that the latest message to President Amin ought not to have been sent, although they had no knowledge either of its contents or of the channel used to deliver it. The Prime Minister said that no one would ever have known anything about the message if President Amin himself had not chosen to publicise it. We had not tried to dramatise anything, although one could do nothing about the Press. Brigadier Garba said that the Nigerians had asked to see a copy of the Prime Minister's letter. The Prime Minister said that he had no wish to involve Nigeria in this. If President Amin chose to cause difficulties about his message, this was his responsibility and not the Prime Minister's. It had been open to President Amin to take a friendly word of advice, but he had chosen not to take it. If others chose to associate with President Amin over this, the value of the Commonwealth was bound to be put in question in the eyes of British public opinion. He repeated that he had himself tried to play this in a way which would not harm the Commonwealth. Brigadier Garba said that he found the Prime Minister's words very ominous. He asked whether it would not be better to let people see the terms of the Prime Minister's letter to President Amin and to judge it for themselves. /President Amin