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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001659 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOE FOR CAROLYN GAY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV KDEM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIANS FAVOR DEMOCRATIC, UNIFIED NATION 
 
ABUJA 00001659  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY.  A vast majority (82 percent) of Nigerians 
prefer democratic rule over military or religious rule and 74 
percent want Nigeria to remain unified.  However, Nigerians 
almost unanimously agree that the government is not doing 
enough for the people of the Delta and almost half are not 
satisfied with the performance of the oil companies.  Job 
creation, water and electricity are the top three priorities 
for the new administration to address over the coming year 
according to respondents in a first ever country-specific 
scientific opinion poll conducted in Nigeria by the Nigerian 
Opinion Polling Firm (NOI)  and Gallop Polls.  The poll 
provides a useful insight into the opinions of the more than 
140 million Nigerians, but most important will be whether the 
GON takes these opinions to heart.  END SUMMARY. 
 
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RESULTS 
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¶2.  The poll results were encouraging for Nigeria's 
democratic future with 82 percent of Nigerians opting for 
democratic rule over military or religious government and 74 
percent preferring Nigeria remain united rather than 
separate.  Interestingly, the NOI/Gallup poll discovered that 
younger Nigerians tend to support democracy slightly more 
than older generations. The level of support for democracy in 
the 19-29 age bracket was 81 percent while only 79 percent of 
the over 46 age bracket support democracy. This demonstrates 
that government and civil leadership should focus on the 
younger generations to produce effective custodians of 
democracy for the future. 
 
¶3.  Looking at Nigeria's confidence in government showed that 
people generally felt the state government was most 
trustworthy, while the national government was least so. 
This may seem surprising considering the numerous reports of 
corruption at the state and local level.  However, according 
to Dr. Robert D. Tortora, Principal Scientist with the Gallup 
Organization, this is the result in many countries due to the 
fact that people generally feel distanced from national 
government and closer to their local government.  Within the 
national government, Nigerians have the greatest confidence 
in the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration 
(NAFDAC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission 
(EFCC). 
 
¶4.  On the Niger Delta, 92 percent of Nigerians believed the 
government is not doing enough for the people of the Delta 
and 46 percent were not satisfied with the performance of the 
oil companies in the Delta.  (COMMENT:  This difference in 
public opinion leaves potential room for oil companies, 
sharing relative public favor, to positively influence Delta 
policy.  END COMMENT.)  When asked what to do with government 
oil revenues, 90 percent called for investment in 
infrastructure.   On what the government should do for the 
people of the Delta, 33 percent said create jobs for youth. 
Despite the disappointment with the GON's actions in the 
Delta, 75 percent of the troubled region still preferred a 
united country over breaking up into separate nations. 
 
¶5.  Asked about policy priorities, 24 percent of Nigerians 
felt job creation should be the focus for all levels of 
government over the next year.  Water and electricity 
followed closely with 17 percent and 14 percent, respectively. 
 
----------------- 
FUTURE NOI POLLS 
----------------- 
 
¶6.  According to Dr. Ngozie Okonjo-Iweala, facilitator of the 
poll, there will be another poll carried out before the end 
of 2007 if adequate funds can be raised.  There has been 
significant interest in continuing the polling, especially 
among the civil society and business communities.  Questions 
on the next poll will follow up on the efforts of the new 
government and include new topics such as security agencies, 
rule of law, electoral and judicial processes. 
 
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STRUCTURE OF POLL 
------------------ 
 
ABUJA 00001659  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7.  Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian Finance Minister 
and current fellow at the Brookings Institution, facilitated 
the country-specific scientific opinion poll in Nigeria in 
February 2007.  Nigerian Opinion Polling Firm (NOI) and 
Gallup Polls conducted one thousand face-to-face interviews 
in four different languages in randomly selected areas.  The 
margin of error is plus or minus 5 percent. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala 
hopes the creation of NOI and polling such as this will give 
a voice to the Nigerian people.  During the presentation of 
results, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala emphasized that this survey was 
not about pushing a political agenda or criticizing the GON, 
but rather a way to gauge the voice of the 140 million people 
living in Nigeria.  For a more comprehensive summary of the 
results please visit: 
http://www3.brookings.edu/com/events/20070726 noi.pdf.    For 
a complete transcript of the results presentation titled 
'Giving People Voice Through Opinion Polling: Lessons from 
Nigeria' held on July 26 at The Brookings Institution, please 
visit: 
http://www3.brookings.edu/comm/events/2007072 6nigeria.pdf. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
POLLS ARE USEFUL, BUT GOVERNMENT MUST ACT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  COMMENT:  Polls are a vital instrument of governance in 
modern democracies and should become a standard in Nigeria. 
They provide a much-needed outlet for Nigerians to speak 
their minds.  Polling gives Nigerians a voice, but the issue 
is how to make the Nigerian government listen to what the 
people are saying and begin addressing the most pertinent 
issues.  END COMMENT. 
QUAST