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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000375 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY - CORRECTED CAPTION 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA 
STATE PASS NSC FOR BOBBY PITTMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EPET NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: PRESS REPORTS ON CHAIRMAN'S PLANS FOR 
NIGER DELTA TECHNICAL COMMITTEE 
 
REF: A. ABUJA 1854 
     ¶B. LAGOS 367 
     ¶C. LAGOS 366 
     ¶D. LAGOS 365 
     ¶E. LAGOS 357 
 
LAGOS 00000375  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: In press reports, Ledum Mittee, newly elected 
Chairman of the Technical Committee on the Niger Delta 
described his vision of how the Committee would function in 
the September 14 editions of Vanguard and The Guardian. 
According to the press articles, in addition to reviewing 
past reports on the Niger Delta and making recommendations, 
the Committee will do outreach to the people of the Niger 
Delta, including the various ethnic groups, for their views 
and draw up an action plan outlining the responsibilities of 
the federal, state and local governments, civil society and 
oil companies. Mittee, who said he sees the government as 
committed to the process, called for a "cessation of 
hostilities" to allow the Committee to do its work without 
distraction.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) According to press reports in the Sunday September 14 
Vanguard and the Guardian newspapers, Ledum Mittee, newly 
elected Chairman of the Technical Committee on the Niger 
Delta, in Sunday, set out his plans for how the work of the 
committee will proceed.  The Committee's charge is to review 
all past reports on the Niger Delta and from them make 
recommendations for what must be done to solve the problems 
of the Niger Delta.  Mittee said that the Committee 
recognizes that there may be gaps between the reports and the 
reality on the ground today.  In addition, the Committee 
wants the people of the Niger Delta to have input into and 
feel that they own the outcome of the process.  As a result, 
the Committee will reach out to the people of the Niger Delta 
for their views.  Inclusion of the views of the communities 
will distinguish the Committee's work product from earlier 
reports, often written from a single perspective or with a 
single focus, such as the Willinks, Ogomudia and other 
reports, he said.  Mittee called for a "cessation of 
hostilities" to allow the Committee to do its work without 
distraction. 
 
Committee to Outline Stakeholder Responsibilities 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. (U) Based on the reports and input, the Committee will 
draw up an action plan, outlining what Nigeria's federal, 
state and local governments, civil society and oil companies 
should do to address the issues in the Niger Delta.  Mittee 
said that he had already talked with spokespersons for 
militant groups and anticipated that they too would have 
input into the report.  During the week of September 14, the 
Committee will request memoranda from each of the ethnic 
groups in the Niger Delta.  After that the Committee will sit 
down to work, he said.  If the Committee takes a month to 
finish its work, that will be fine, Mittee said.  However, 
Mittee said, "It is important to give peace a chance and to 
give us cooperation by ceasing all hostilities for the 
duration" of the Committee's work.  "Any spate of 
kidnappings, oil pipeline vandalization will pose a challenge 
to us.  We will not be able to do a good job if we are 
distracted." 
 
¶4. (U) One of the issues Mittee said falls squarely within 
the responsibility of the Federal Government is that of 
bunkering.  The "players" in bunkering, who own the large 
ships that ply international waters, are not Niger Delta 
people, he said.  The oil cartel that is behind the bunkering 
is not made up of Niger Delta people, nor is the arms cartel. 
"The fish rots from the head", the newspaper quotes him as 
saying.  However, in the absence of action by the Federal 
Government, the states are currently using their resources to 
manage what are essentially federal responsibilities, he 
said. 
 
¶5. (U) The Committee will focus on the things it believes 
would bring about the desired peace and development in the 
Niger Delta, Mittee said in the article.  One cannot talk of 
peace without justice.  How do the people in the Niger Delta 
 
LAGOS 00000375  002 OF 002 
 
 
get justice?  How do they get the benefits that citizens of 
this country are due whether or not they are producing oil? 
How do they get a fair share of the resources and development 
of the country, he asked rhetorically.  The task of the 
Committee is not to solve the problems; rather, it will 
identify problems and solutions for all stakeholders to 
address.  Mittee said he expects that the recommendations 
will give the local communities a role to play in solving the 
problems. 
 
Committee Given Autonomy to Elect Chair, Secretary 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶6. (U) That the government backed down from the idea of a 
summit is salutary, Mittee told the newspapers. "That they 
had the humility" to accept the decision of the Niger Delta 
people who did not want a summit is encouraging, he said. 
When first appointed to the committee, he initially was 
skeptical.  However, the Federal Government told him and his 
fellow Commissioners "We do not want to interfere with what 
you are doing."  No constraints were placed on the committee 
as it elected its own chairman and secretary, Mittee was 
quoted as saying. 
 
¶7. (U) Asked what assurances he had that the report of the 
Technical Committee would not, like other reports, be ignored 
and never implemented, Mittee said he had spoken with the 
Vice President who had given him assurances.  The government 
has promised, through its seven point agenda, to deal with 
the Niger Delta in a holistic manner.  If the government, 
with the Niger Delta as a key point in its agenda, calls all 
the stakeholders together and asks them what the government 
should do, but then ignores their recommendations, "you turn 
everyone into militants," Mittee told the newspaper.  "I 
believe they are quite committed to the process," he said. 
 
¶8. (U) Mittee told the journalists that the Technical 
Committee would turn in a performance that would show 
everyone that they did their best.  "If at any time we feel 
that the process is being compromised, we will be the first 
to tell you that," Mittee said. 
 
Will Militants Trade Bunkering for Real Jobs? 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (U) Mittee was asked what types of jobs he believes the 
"boys" in the creeks, used to easy money from oil bunkering 
and kidnapping, will be willing to accept.  The question 
assumes that the boys in the creeks make lots of money, he 
told the newspaper.  But even if they did, money is only 
useful for the pleasures that it buys.  The militants cannot 
go to Abuja, cannot fly out of the country to enjoy what 
money they have, he said; they have to hide.  There are 
crimes such as oil bunkering and kidnapping being committed, 
Mittee acknowledged, but these crimes must be distinguished 
from, and not distract from genuine community demands.  There 
are certain things, such as electricity, water and roads, 
that the community should not even have to ask for, he said. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Comment: Mittee, an associate of the late Ken 
Saro-Wiwa and a long-time leader of the non-violent Movement 
for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), is 
well-respected among individuals and groups in the Niger 
Delta.  His personal credibility, as well as his apparent 
commitment to an inclusive process that allows individuals, 
ethnicities and even militants to have input into the 
process, bodes well for a successful outcome of the 
Committee's work.  As Mittee points out, however, completion 
of the Committee's work, and the ultimate success of its 
recommendations, depends on maintaining peace in the region. 
See septel on current security issues in Rivers State and 
conversation with Mittee.  End Comment. 
BLAIR