The Diplomacy of Theodore Brown and the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War. Keith A. Dye

and 1918, there had been economic exchange between the United States and colonial Nigeria that indicated some interest in tropical products. Following Germany’s defeat in World War 1, the U.S. profile grew as Britain and its colonial office in Nigeria gave the United States a first-in-line trading partner status, albeit with the understanding that British firms would receive preferential treatment.⁵² Cotton became an important textile imported from the United States, although demand for it was largely determined by a receptive British government. U.S. automobiles were also highly desired. One Nigerian, W. Akinola Dawodu, became wealthy providing transport services and auto parts to the Lagos market.⁵³ It should be noted, however, that U.S. import-export figures for the 1920s remained modest, never rising above 14 percent between 1915 and 1926.⁵⁴