Since modern war is fought and fraught with images as well as guns, the federal government of Nigeria, attempting to put down the secession of Biafra, is busy these days polishing up its own image for the world. The federal government, at least in theory, has entered a new era of public relations, in which it is trying to woo foreign newsmen, instead of harassing them. For months, the old eastern region of Nigeria, which seceded May 30 to become the independent Republic of Biafra, always seemed to have the edge on press play. British and American news stories about Nigeria were filled with interviews with C. Odumegwu Ojukwu, the 33-year-old, bearded, brilliant, witty, Oxford educated leader of Biafra. The stories documented the great grievance of his Ibo people who were massacred in northern Nigeria last year, and described at great length the tenacity, skill and intelligence of the Ibos, who make up two-thirds of Biafra's population. On the other hand, there was hardly ever a descriptive phrase about Maj. Gen. Yakubu Gowon, the federal military ruler, or a good analysis of why he believed Ojukwu must be crushed...

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