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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001010 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, AF/PD, INR/AA 
BAGHDAD FOR DMCCULLOUGH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KISL KPAO NI SO
SUBJECT: NIGERIAN REACTION TO PRESIDENT'S CAIRO SPEECH 
 
ABUJA 00001010  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On June 4 the Ambassador hosted a group of 
senior media editors and Muslim and Christian leaders to 
watch a live broadcast of President Barack Obama's speech "A 
New Beginning."  The speech was extremely well received by 
the assembled clergy and journalists, as evidenced by 
comments made in a roundtable discussion moderated by the 
Ambassador afterwards.  Many attendees commented that the 
speech was relevant to an audience beyond Muslims.  The 
section of the speech on democracy and human rights was 
particularly applauded by the Nigerians who readily 
identified with shortcomings in these areas close to home. 
Several listeners also expressed appreciation for the 
President's emphasis on transparency in government, and 
applauded, in a more qualified way, his desire to address the 
conflict between Palestinians and Israel. There was the 
inevitable question as to why the President was not coming to 
Nigeria, which the Ambassador answered per the talking 
points, to which those gathered indicated that they believed 
Nigeria's lack of democratic progress was more likely the 
reason. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) One June 4 the Ambassador hosted a group of senior 
media editors and Muslim and Christian leaders, to watch a 
live broadcast of the President's Cairo speech, "A New 
Beginning."  The speech was extremely well received by Post's 
Nigerian guests, and immediately after the speech, the 
Ambassador led a roundtable discussion to hear their views 
which included POL notetaker and PAS staff.  All had effusive 
praise for the speechwriting, delivery, content, and informed 
use of passages from both the Koran and Bible. They were 
united in their view that President Obama had "a clear 
understanding of the issues" and was uniquely qualified to 
give such an address given his multi-ethnic upbringing and 
time spent living in a majority Muslim country like 
Indonesia.  Paul Ibe, editor of ThisDay newspaper, commented 
that "decades from now, this will be looked upon as one of 
the greatest speeches ever" and complimented the President 
for his courage in and skill at addressing the range of 
sensitive issues and the highly charged topic of religion, as 
well as the relationship between the majority Muslim and 
non-Muslim worlds. He was also very favorably impressed by 
the acknowledgment of "past mistakes," including U.S. support 
for the overthrow of the elected Prime Minister of Iran in 
¶1953. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The President's fourth theme, democracy and human 
rights, resonated particularly well with the assembled 
Nigerians, with one commenting during the speech that the 
President was "speaking directly to Nigerians -- not just 
Muslims."  Another characterized the speech as "The African 
address BEFORE the July 11 Ghana address" because of the many 
themes which spoke to Africans in general and Nigerians 
specifically.  Particularly well-received lines included 
calling for "government that is transparent and doesn't steal 
from the people"; the criticism of those "who advocate for 
democracy only when they're out of power -- once in power, 
they are ruthless in suppressing the rights of others;" and 
that "you must place the interests of your people and the 
legitimate workings of the political process above your 
party... elections alone do not make true democracy." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ishaq Modibbo Kawu of The Daily Trust newspaper 
mentioned that it seemed the U.S. was "coming to terms with 
historical reality" and suggested that "American 
neoconservatives" had wasted the global goodwill which 
accrued as a result of the attacks of September 11, 2001. He 
questioned U.S. awareness of how much the "injustices" 
towards the Palestinians reverberate in the Muslim world, 
including northern Nigeria, and noted that POTUS didn't say 
that Israel should reciprocally recognize Palestine. 
Abdullahi Musa of Radio Nigeria further observed that though 
timetables for withdrawal from Iraq and the closure of 
Guantanamo detention center were quite detailed, no such 
timetable was offered for progress on the Palestinian issue. 
Kawu, who had recently returned from the Horn of Africa, 
 
ABUJA 00001010  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
queried whether the U.S. would ever accept a democratically 
elected Islamist government, using Hamas as an example, but 
also making reference to the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia. 
 He surmised that the U.S. "could not accept an Islamic 
government elected democratically, as it would not fit the 
U.S. definition of a democratic society." 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Ibrahim Sheme, Editor of Leadership newspaper 
expressed disappointment that the speech did not address the 
misguided perceptions of ordinary Americans about Islam and 
noted many Americans' limited experience with and knowledge 
about the wider world and Islam in particular. The Ambassador 
acknowledged this yet pointed out that some Nigerians were 
even less exposed to the world beyond Nigeria's borders or 
even their villages than Americans. SQe suggested that 
POTUS give a similar speech directly to Americans to counter 
their possibly negative perceptions of Islam.  Sheme further 
commented that "some have made a career out of the 
Israeli-Palestinian conflict" and that the concept of 
"East-West conflict is a huge industry." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Towards the conclusion of the session, as the 
Ambassador reiterated the seven main points touched upon by 
POTUS, one of the participants quipped that "this is the REAL 
Seven Point Agenda" which brought a chorus of laughter from 
most present. (COMMENT: This was a jab at President 
Yar'Adua's "Seven Point Agenda" for addressing the social and 
economic needs of Nigerians, progress on which is commonly 
viewed as limited.  End Comment.)  In response to the 
Ambassador's inquiry as to how the U.S. Mission could best 
address any lingering enmities towards America by Muslims, 
Imam Fuad Adeyemi of Al-Habibiyya Academy mentioned that in 
the past, Post volunteers had participated in Islamic charity 
work, helping serve meals for the underprivileged during 
Ramadan.  He offered that "the American people and U.S. 
Government have different attitudes towards Islam" and noted 
that in his opinion the average Muslim could easily 
distinguish between the American people and the USG's foreign 
policy, so often unpopular among his co-religionists.  At the 
end of the session one participant asked why POTUS will be 
visiting Ghana and not Nigeria.  Imoni Amarere of Africa 
Independent Television interjected that Nigeria's failure to 
make progress on a number of good governance issues was one 
reason:  "If you want (America's) respect, then democratize 
properly." 
SANDERS