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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 05 LAGOS 000385 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA 
STATE PASS NSC FOR BOBBY PITTMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/25/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PM EPET ECON KDEM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: AMBASSADOR AND INTERAGENCY TEAM VISIT 
BAYELSA, DISCUSS MILITANCY AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS WITH 
GOVERNOR SILVA 
 
LAGOS 00000385  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR ROBIN R. SANDERS FOR REASONS 11.4 (B, D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: During a September 27 interagency team visit 
to Bayelsa State to discuss development and political issues, 
Governor Timipre Silva told Ambassador (POL-ECON Lagos 
notetaker) that he, the other Niger Delta Governors, as well 
as the leadership in Abuja are growing impatient with 
militants, and that he supports expanded military Joint Task 
Force (JTF) actions into Bayelsa to prevent militants from 
Rivers State from taking refuge there. Silva also plans a 
stakeholders meeting with community members and civil society 
to ensure that criminals will not be tolerated or allowed to 
take refuge under the guise of militant freedom fighters. To 
further combat militancy, the Governor has arranged training 
for youths in internet and computer technology (ICT) in 
India, has established state-sponsored graduate fellowships 
for Bayelsa students who graduate from university with top 
honors, is working with UNDP and reputable industry groups to 
set up vocational training in skills needed by the oil 
industry, and to combat militancy among secondary school 
youths, only 13 percent of whom graduate with a minimally 
adequate education, is seeking assistance to help improve 
secondary education.  To increase employment opportunities, 
the Governor is seeking entrepreneurship training to assure 
that micro-finance loans are appropriately used and noted 
assistance he is receiving from China on fish farming and 
from Vietnam on rice farming projects. The Governor welcomes 
U.S. comments on Bayelsa's pending fiscal responsibility 
legislation, which is on its way to second reading in the 
State Assembly, and noted that he has draft anti-corruption 
legislation which he is preparing to send forward to the 
legislature. In response to these issues, the U.S. 
interagency team, through USAID, offered to sponsor a 
workshop to review both pieces of legislation and to provide 
suggestions on best practices, including on public 
procurement. Meanwhile the Office of Security Cooperation 
(OSC) will review ways to assist with refurbishment of 
vocational centers and schools.  See septel on 
Ambassador-Silva,s further discussion on militant leader 
Joshua MacGyver's assistance to the JTF, and plans President 
Yar,Adua may have on equity sharing on Delta Region oil 
resources. End Summary 
 
¶2. (U) As part of a pilot effort to engage pro-active States, 
Ambassador, accompanied by an inter-agency team (POL-ECON 
Lagos notetaker), met September 27, 2008, with Bayelsa 
Governor Timipre Silva on a range of possible program options 
through USAID, Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), OSC,s 
humanitarian assistance program, and public diplomacy 
programs that could serve to help address issues on 
development, particularly with youth. The Bayelsa Governor 
will follow up and respond to the USG presentation as to 
which of the existing USG programs presented could best 
address current development needs in his state.  Governor 
Silva's comments to the U.S. team reflected his single-minded 
focus on how best to remediate the problems plaguing his 
state: militancy and its contributing factors; unemployment; 
poor educational opportunities; lack of infrastructure, 
inadequate health care; and perhaps most important; 
misappropriation of public funds.  Post believes partnerships 
with this forward-looking State Governor not only could 
advance our goals of working with proactive Governors, but 
also make inroads on the USG objective of trying, where 
possible, to assist more with development in the Delta 
Region. 
 
Bayelsa Priority Program Areas 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (U) Governor Silva introduced eight program areas on which 
his administration is currently concentrating, and for which 
he would welcome support from the U.S. Government (USG): 
 
Peace and Security 
------------------ 
 
-- (C) The Governor told Ambassador that his well-publicized 
program of engagement, empowerment and enforcement, is 
working; the December 2007 peace accord struck with the 
militants had held until recently.  The longer term solution 
to militancy, demobilization, entails seizure of arms and 
granting of amnesty which are federal prerogatives; the state 
is working closely with the federal government and the Joint 
Task Force (JTF) on these issues. (Note: Ambassador and OSC 
Chief Cook had an opportunity to be introduced to JTF Bayelsa 
Commander Musa, and the District Head of the State Security 
Service (SSS) for the State.) Silva said that Joshua 
MacGyver, a militant located in Bayelsa for whom the Governor 
is providing safe-haven, has been assisting the JTF in 
locating other militant camps. (See septel on Silva,s 
separate conversation with the Ambassador on MacGyver and 
related issues). Nonetheless, he, other conflict state 
governors, and the leadership in Abuja were growing 
impatience with the militants.  He said he had participated, 
in Abuja with President Yar,Adua and others, in discussions 
spurred by the JTF onslaught against militants in Rivers 
State as to whether to expand the offensive to Bayelsa to 
assure that militants cannot take refuge there.  Law 
enforcement is a federal responsibility; Bayelsa will have to 
cooperate in this regard, the Governor told the Ambassador. 
The Governor will convene a statewide stakeholders meeting in 
the next month to discuss how best to demilitarize and reduce 
violence in the state, but also to make clear that the state 
will begin treating criminal behavior as such, and to warn 
militants that they will no longer be able to cloak their 
criminal behavior by calling themselves freedom fighters.  An 
NGO affiliated with the Church of England will train 100 
Bayelsa religious leaders in peacekeeping skills over the 
next couple of months. 
 
Fiscal Responsibility 
--------------------- 
 
-- (U)  The Governor has presented fiscal responsibility 
legislation to the State Assembly, where it is about to begin 
its second reading; the USG team offered technical 
assistance, through USAID, to the Bayelsa Speaker on 
assisting with reviewing the bill for best practices and 
appropriate regulatory frameworks.  The State has draft 
anti-corruption legislation, which includes establishing a 
Bayelsa Anti-Corruption Commission, which the USG team also 
offered to review through technical assistance workshop. 
(Note: The Federal Government has long encouraged states to 
pass fiscal responsibility legislation. Some states have 
produced drafts, but Bayelsa seems to be one of the few that 
actually has its state legislature reviewing it with a view 
to passing it. The Speaker told us that his goal was to have 
the legislation pass prior to Christmas. End Note) The 
Governor added that if the Federal Government were capable of 
handling all anti-corruption matters, it would not have asked 
the states to adopt state-level fiscal responsibility norms. 
 
Agriculture 
----------- 
 
-- (U) The State has little arable land, but is rich in 
creeks and waterways.  One nearby creek, which will no longer 
accommodate vessels because of massive hyacinth growth, flows 
sufficiently swiftly that it can be converted into a pilot 
fish farm.  The state will invest in five million fingerlings 
and if only 10 percent of them grow to salable size estimates 
that the business has the potential to generate 50 billion 
naira in income.  If the business is successful, the Governor 
plans to replicate it in other parts of the state.  Fish 
farming should be particularly well-suited to the Ijaw 
people, traditional fishermen, who make up the majority of 
the state's residents.  The project will begin at the end of 
¶2008.  The State is also exploring rice farming. 
Negotiations are ongoing with a commercial farmer from 
Vietnam on a 600 hectare pilot project.  The farmer would 
manage the project, providing equipment, seedlings and 
training, but the land would be worked in small, 5 hectare 
plots by local people who would earn a salary from the 
commercial farmer.  At harvest, the commercial farmer would 
harvest and sell the product.  This project is scheduled to 
begin in 2009.  
 
Youth Development 
----------------- 
 
-- (U) Youth development is a high priority.  Already, 120 
youths are participating in ICT training in India; upon 
return to Bayelsa, they will form the core of what the 
Governor envisions will be a cadre of highly trained ICT 
professionals on whom the State and private sector will begin 
to build knowledge-based industries.  The Governor hopes to 
attract call centers to the state.  To give students the 
incentive to work hard in school, the Governor has instituted 
an automatic state-sponsored scholarship program for students 
who graduate with a first-class degree.  Seven students have 
already qualified for the program and are currently enrolled 
in universities in the United States and the EU.  To train 
students in skills needed by the oil and other industries, 
the State has begun construction of vocational centers where 
students will learn diving, underwater welding and other 
skills.  To assure that the centers match training with jobs 
needed by the oil industry, the State is engaged in 
consultations with the Oil and Petroleum Trade Section (OPTS) 
of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce.  UNDP is assisting the 
state to develop the curriculum for the centers, but Bayelsa 
would welcome partners on other aspects of the program.  The 
Governor's goal is to make the state a Center of Excellence 
for the professional development of young people. 
 
Education 
--------- 
 
-- (U) Bayelsa students rank at the bottom of all Nigerian 
and West African test score rating systems, according to the 
Governor.  The state's 13 per cent success rate means that 87 
percent of all Bayelsa State students fail to get a minimally 
adequate education. There is not one fully functioning 
secondary school in Bayelsa State, the Governor underscored; 
none of the Commissioners or Technical Team at the table has 
a child in a Bayelsa State secondary school, he pointed out. 
If students are unable to pass secondary school exams, they 
cannot get into university, nor can they qualify for jobs. 
At the same time, they have a little too much education to 
want to return to their villages. This is a major driver of 
militancy for 15-17 year olds, who are most susceptible to 
the lure of the camps.  To address this problem, the Governor 
said, he will refocus the budget so as to improve education, 
with a special emphasis on secondary education.  The school 
system needs everything from additional and refurbished 
schools to school furniture and science equipment, the 
Governor said.  Even students who major in science never see 
scientific instruments until after they leave school.  The 
governor plans to build three model secondary schools, each 
with science laboratories and a library.  Each school will 
accommodate 2,500 students, and will allow the state to 
provide an adequate education to fully half the 15,000 
students in the state who are of secondary school age.  The 
State will renovate the remaining schools, and provide 
science equipment. 
 
Micro-Credit 
------------ 
 
-- (U) Months ago, the Governor's Executive Committee 
recognized the importance of micro-credit to spurring 
employment.  However, the Governor told Ambassador, he 
recognizes that loans alone are insufficient.  People must 
learn entrepreneurial skills in order to properly use the 
loans as a way to start or grow their small businesses.  The 
Governor would welcome help in accessing entrepreneurial 
training programs to meet this need.  The USG team noted that 
under its existing programs with Nigeria, it had implementing 
partners that could assist with some of the educational 
issues ranging from the USAID-funded multi-programmatic 
Conflict Mitigation and Management (CALM) program to projects 
under public diplomacy. 
 
Health Care 
----------- 
 
-- (U) Nigeria ranks 191 out of 197 countries in provision of 
adequate health care, the Governor said, and Bayelsa State is 
a major reason for the low ranking.  People who live in small 
villages must travel over water for hours to get medical 
care.  In consultation with the national health system, the 
Governor has decided to build a 500 bed hospital to provide 
quality health care.  The governor believes the hospital will 
act as a magnet, increasing the urbanization of the state, 
creating jobs and spurring the growth of hotels.  To provide 
better health care in rural areas, the State is also building 
health centers to combat the high infant and maternal 
mortality rates. 
 
Transportation/Infrastructure 
----------------------------- 
 
-- (U) Bayelsa, which will be 12 years old as a state on 
October 1, 2008, is one of Nigeria's newest states.  Even a 
quick drive through the city, the Governor said, shows that 
only some minimal elements of a state capital have been 
established in what is otherwise a rural setting. (Note: The 
USG team,s observations confirmed the Governor's remarks; 
the state government compound, a few outlying ministry 
buildings and several religious buildings dotted a landscape 
laced with creeks and waterways.  Ambassador and U.S. Mission 
members observed that a new hotel and a series of apartment 
buildings for civil servants were under construction.  End 
Note) Despite the high cost of building in the lowland areas, 
the State Government is committed to providing the 
infrastructure needed to develop the state.  Any help that 
might be provided would relieve pressure on the State's 
budget. 
 
USG Pilot Program 
----------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Ambassador introduced members of her team for their 
presentations of programs that may prove suitable for a pilot 
program that would address existing development issues raised 
by the Governor. The ideas for this pilot program, the 
Ambassador said, were in line with existing USG objectives 
for Nigeria, with the goal of trying to expand some of these 
projects into Bayelsa. 
 
-- (U) Peace and Security: OSC Chief Cook highlighted 
humanitarian assistance programs that could provide 
civil-military training workshops to help build back 
relationships between law enforcement and the community, and 
to improve civilian oversight of the military. He also 
highlighted opportunities for school and vocational center 
refurbishment, and the construction of 3-5 bore holes to 
assist with clean water issues. USAID Mission Director 
described the Conflict Mitigation and Management (CALM) 
program currently operating in Delta and Rivers States, which 
could be expanded to Bayelsa as it provides conflict early 
warning and response capabilities as well as provides 
alternatives to violence through structured sports programs 
for youths. 
 
-- (U) Fiscal Responsibility:  Ambassador noted that USAID 
could be available to provide technical assistance to the 
State Assembly as it reviews fiscal responsibility and 
anti-corruption legislation and to help create regulatory 
policies to implement the legislation.  USAID Director added 
that this offer would be focused on capacity building and 
best practices, training staff of the fiscal responsibility 
office, and possibly setting up training in government 
procurement and fiscal responsibility at Bayelsa,s state 
university to assure that there are well-trained personnel 
available to fill these governmental functions in the future. 
 
 
-- (U) Agriculture:  Given the RSO limit, for security 
reasons, on the number of U.S. Mission personnel who can 
travel to the region at any one time, Ambassador herself 
described the USDA's Cochran and Norman Borlaug Agricultural 
Fellowships, study programs which could be custom-designed to 
meet the agricultural focus of one or two individuals from 
Bayelsa State.  USAID Director described the Cassava 
Enterprise Development Program (CEPD) currently operating in 
Bayelsa State, and noted that it could be expanded to further 
improve cassava varieties, increase farmers' access to 
processors, and link farmers with regional markets.  The 
Governor asked the Commissioner of Agriculture to provide him 
with reports about the results of the current CEPD. The 
Commissioner of Agriculture noted that cassava was not 
necessarily the State,s best commodity for competitive 
advantage, and wondered whether other commodities like rice 
and fisheries could be considered. The USG team promised to 
discuss the issues of CEPD further with the Governor,s team. 
 
 
-- (U) Youth Development and Education: The USG team, through 
OSC, noted that it could possibly assist  with school and 
vocational center refurbishment under its humanitarian 
assistance programs. In addition, the Excess Defense Articles 
(EDA) program has the potential to provide, on an 
as-available basis, books and school equipment.  Ambassador 
was careful to underscore that EDA requires that the State 
pay for any in-country transportation to desired locations. 
PAS Officer described the USG Student Leader Exchange Program 
which provides three weeks of study in the United States for 
university students.  Through the NGO Students In Free 
Enterprise (SIFE), a PAS partner in the past, 
entrepreneurship training could be provided to unemployed 
youths in Bayelsa. Pol-Econ provided information on another 
NGO, Students for the Advancement of Global Enterprise 
(SAGE), a program which helps secondary students learn 
entrepreneurial skills through teamwork on a small business. 
PAS described the International Visitor Leadership (IVLP) 
Program, Educational Advising Centers in Abuja and Lagos, and 
the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship as opportunities through 
which Bayelsa could promote youth development.  PAS also 
highlighted possible USG assistance through the Information 
Resource Center to help Bayelsa set up its libraries with the 
best on-line services and software.  Ambassador also noted 
that Iowa State University places Nigerian secondary school 
students in a junior year in the United States through its 
IRIS program and that, if of interest to the Governor, the 
U.S. Mission could assist with making that linkage. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment:  Governor Silva's businesslike presentation 
reflected his single-minded focus on how best to remediate 
the problems of the Niger Delta: militancy and its 
contributing factors, unemployment, poor educational 
opportunities, lack of infrastructure, inadequate health 
care, and perhaps most important, misappropriation of public 
funds.  While the U.S. Government cannot solve all of these 
problems for the State of Bayelsa or for Nigeria, Post 
believes this pilot program of selected projects with this 
forward-looking State offers the prospect of making a 
substantial contribution to the State's efforts to resolve 
these challenges and offers the opportunity to meet USG goals 
and objectives for economic and youth development in the 
Niger Delta Region. 
 
U.S. Participants: 
Ambassador Robin R. Sanders 
Office of Security Cooperation LTC Tom Cook 
USAID Mission Director Sharon Cromer 
Lagos Pol-Econ Section Chief Helen C. Hudson 
Lagos Cultural Affairs Officer Mary Lou Johnson-Pizarro 
 
 
Bayelsa State Participants: 
Governor Timipre Silva 
Deputy Governor 
Special Assistant to the Governor 
Speaker of Bayelsa State Assembly 
Attorney General 
Commissioner of Agriculture 
Commissioner of Education 
Chair Technical Committee (Strategic Planning) 
Chair, Peace Committee (civil society umbrella group) 
BLAIR