VZCZCXRO2354
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #1210/01 1811210
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 301210Z JUN 09
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6455
INFO RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 1596
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 1974
RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE 0933
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001210 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/29/2019 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAGR EAID EWWT KCRM PBTS PHSA PARCA
UNSC, G8, KN, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA:  FOREIGN MINISTER DISCUSSES AU SUMMIT AND 
G-8 ISSUES, RAISES NEED FOR U.S. PRESENCE IN KANO, KADUNA 
OR ENUGU STATES 
 
REF: A. STATE 065744 
     ¶B. STATE 61133 
     ¶C. STATE 58996 
     ¶D. STATE 61231 
     ¶E. ABUJA 1175 
 
Classified By: Ambassador Robin R. Sanders for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (C) Ambassador had a short June 28 breakfast meeting with 
Nigerian Foreign Minister Ojo Maduekwe at his residence a few 
hours before his departure for Libya for the African Union 
(AU) Summit.  Ambassador covered a range of issues ranging 
from Nigeria,s delegation to both the AU and upcoming G-8 
Summits.  On the AU Summit, Maduekwe said that he was still 
waiting for the final word from the President whether he was 
going to attend or not, which was why his departure to Libya 
had been delayed until the final decision (which he hoped 
would be later that afternoon) was made.  He added that he 
would serve as delegation head if the President ultimately 
did not go.  Ambassador than went through a range of the 
possible issues for the AU Summit, including the USG position 
on not establishing an international  tribunal for Somali 
piracy (ref B) to which the FonMin concurred.  On AU 
meetings, Ambassador noted that if, in the end, President 
Yar,Adua did not travel to Libya and given that the Foreign 
Minister had just had a 2-hour meeting with A/S Carson that 
the emphasis in Tripoli would be for A/S Carson to meet with 
those heads of state and foreign ministers that he had not 
yet engaged with since assuming his new position.  Maduekwe 
understood this, but still added he would like to say "hello 
via a short courtesy call" if possible with the Assistant 
Secretary if time permitted, and if not he would understand 
given the generous amount of time A/S Carson had already 
given to him in Washington.  Ambassador said she would pass 
this back, but reiterated that given the time constraints the 
emphasis on meetings would likely be as she just described. 
Maduekwe said once he had a definitive answer from President 
Yar,Adua about his AU attendance he would let the Ambassador 
know. 
 
¶2. (C) On G-8 Summit, the FonMin affirmed that President 
Yar,Adua would be attending and that the GON had hopes 
during the G-8 Yar,Adua could meet on the margins with 
POTUS.  Ambassador said she would pass this request back to 
Washington.  She then went over the G-8 USG non-paper (ref C) 
that she had sent to the FonMin reviewing the USG positions 
on a variety of issues, but particularly on food security. 
Without hesitating the Maduekwe said he thought the GON could 
support our positions, and restated (see ref E) that 
certainly the GON was with us on food security issues 
presented by the global financial crisis that were covered in 
the non-paper.  On ref D North Korea demarche he was 
non-committal. 
 
¶3. (C) Out of the blue as Ambassador was leaving, the FonMin 
said he had a meeting in his Ministry recently where it was 
raised that countries like the USG should consider reopening 
their presence in cities like Kano, Kaduna, and Enugu (in the 
southeast).  Without mentioning USG internal discussions, 
Ambassador noted A/S Carson,s remarks during his 
confirmation hearings on the need for the USG to look at 
reaching out more through reestablishing selected consulates, 
including in Nigeria.  Maduekwe went on to add that it was 
important to have more of an "American consular presence in 
various cities in Nigeria to address the heavy visa demand." 
Ambassador did not respond to his remarks on the visa issue, 
but just reiterated the entire idea of reopening some 
location was something that had been mentioned and that she 
would pass back to the Department his Ministry,s support for 
the reestablishment of a U.S. Consulate in any of these three 
cities. 
 
¶4. (C) Ambassador took advantage of the short meeting to get 
a better clarification on the June 24 "Niger Delta Amnesty 
Proclamation" signed by President Yar,Adua.  She noted there 
was a bit of confusion on the details of the proclamation as 
on one hand there was a timeline of 60 days, but also a date 
 
ABUJA 00001210  002 OF 002 
 
 
of October 4, 2009 (which is 100 days from the date of the 
proclamation) given as the deadline for various "militant 
elements" to lay down their arms.  FonMin said he would check 
on that detail. 
 
Ambassador said she had read teh FonMin's recent comments at 
CSIS in Washington on the Niger Delta (ND), and on the GON's 
negative view of any outside or international mediation on ND 
issues.  She asked if the GON stance would be the same on 
amnesty implementation, as there were numerous international 
bodies that had worked on these types of issues over the 
years which might be helpful.  Maduekwe began by saying he 
hoped the international community would publicly recognize 
what Yar,Adua had just done with the amnesty proclamation, 
and that he believed that his government would hope that 
various "templates," best practices, and shared experiences 
on amnesty implementation in other countries would be shared 
with Nigeria during this process.  He cited examples from 
Ireland to Indonesia as "templates" from which the GON could 
take best practices as regards to the details, technical 
assistance, and sharing of experiences to ensure that the ND 
Amnesty Proclamation is successful, and is concluded in the 
manner we all wish, with peace coming to the region by 
year,s end. 
 
¶5. (C) Comment:  FonMin Maduekwe's comments notwithstanding, 
we believe it is unlikely that President Yar'Adua will attend 
the AU Summit.  He has not attended previous sessions, and is 
dealing with serious health problems which make travel 
increasingly difficult. Yar'Adua does not appear to give 
Nigeria's international role the same kind of high priority 
given it by his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo.  End comment. 
 
¶6. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. 
SANDERS