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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000946 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA 
BAGHDAD FOR DMCCULLOUGH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: U.S. MISSION WORKS WITH CIVIL SOCIETY ON 
THEIR ELECTION REFORM EFFORTS 
 
REF: A. ABUJA 2521 
     ¶B. LAGOS 0005 
 
ABUJA 00000946  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: On May 19 to 21, Ambassador hosted three 
civil society workshops in Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt 
with PAS, IFESH, and USAID civil society (CSO) partners which 
were attended by representatives from 100 CSOs.  The 
workshops entitled "Electoral Reform: Building Strong 
Coalitions and Using New Media Tools" were organized in 
response to CSO partners' requests for technical assistance 
and capacity building.  Visiting IFESH President Dr. Julie 
Sullivan was the keynote speaker at all three events. 
Throughout the workshops, Ambassador and Dr. Sullivan 
emphasized the importance of building strong coalitions and 
using new media tools for public outreach and awareness.  She 
and Dr. Sullivan encouraged CSOs to communicate with each 
other in order to become "an association of associations" 
through which they can promote dialogue and awareness.  Guest 
speaker Dr. Julie Sullivan, President and CEO of the 
International Foundation for Education and Self-Help (IFESH), 
used the 2008 U.S. Election process and her late father's 
activism as case studies to explain the role civil society 
has in a democracy, the importance of building strong 
coalitions, and the power of community outreach.  Public 
Affairs' Information Resource Officer explained how CSOs can 
use new media tools for community outreach and networking. 
The participants discussed the need to use their expanded 
knowledge of media tools to promote democratic changes from 
within Nigeria; the impact of social media tools on reducing 
conflicts ) especially when youth are empowered; how social 
media can be used to promote transparency; the role of media 
tools in electoral reforms; and, other challenges Nigeria 
faces, such as poor infrastructure.  The three events 
received acclaim from CSOs, received ample media coverage, 
and provide a platform to highlight USG concern for civilians 
in the current military operations in the Niger Delta.  End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) On May 19 to 21, the Ambassador and visiting IFESH 
President Dr. Julie Sullivan hosted a series of three 
workshops for civil society in Abuja, Lagos, and Port 
Harcourt entitled "Electoral Reform: Building Strong 
Coalitions and Using New Media Tools."  The forums were 
organized in response to previous civil society 
organizations' (CSOs) requests for capacity building and 
technical assistance.  The focus of the discussions was on 
how building strong coalitions and using new media tools can 
be used to promote democratic principles including election 
reform.  Ambassador told the participants that the U.S. 
Mission is committed to encouraging civil society to work 
together on practical activities to promote Nigerian 
democracy, and hoped the media tools presented to them would 
help them in this regard.  However, she cautioned that while 
the United States can be a partner and friend to Nigeria, it 
is up to Nigerians to implement electoral reform. 
 
¶3. (U) Dr. Julie Sullivan, President and CEO of IFESH, gave a 
speech entitled "The Role of Civil Society in Promoting 
Democratic Values in a Just Society," which used the 2008 
U.S. Election process as well as her late father's activism 
as case studies to explain the role civil society has in a 
democracy, the importance of building strong coalitions, and 
the power of community outreach.  Public Affairs' Information 
Resource Officer (IRO) explained how new media tools can be 
used for community outreach.  Using Twitter, Facebook, 
YouTube, Flickr, Blogger, the Department's similar sites, and 
other popular social media as examples, she explained the 
function of each tool and gave examples of how each can be 
utilized by grassroots organizations to do outreach, seek 
input, network, and inform.  After the presentation, 
participants shared their questions and comments which are 
listed by theme below. 
 
Democratic Change From Within 
----------------------------- 
¶4. (U) Participants emphasized the need for democratic 
changes to begin from within Nigerian society.  One 
 
ABUJA 00000946  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
participant in Abuja emphasized that Nigerians must first 
believe in their own country in order to improve their 
democracy.  They also discussed the role of Nigerian CSOs as 
the "owners" of change and the fact that they must take 
responsibility for change rather than relying on the USG to 
guide them.  Reverend Dangiwa of the Interfaith Mediation 
Center in Kaduna encouraged his colleagues to look inward to 
address what they can change, rather than blaming the 
government.  In Lagos, Reverend Father Vincent Ajayi of Atan 
Justice Development and Peace Center said he will plan a 
meeting for the CSOs to come together on their own to discuss 
issues.  In Abuja, Frances Alimgbe, Provincial Secretary of 
the Justice/Health, Development and Peace Commission of the 
Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Abuja, said that he 
believed CSOs needed to take ownership of outreach efforts 
and form their own group.  In response Ambassador reiterated 
that the purpose of the workshop was to share with CSOs some 
new tools as part of our response to their request for 
capacity building.  In Abuja, Peter Mancha of the Centre for 
Peace Advancement in Nigeria, challenged his colleagues to 
not let their involvement end with the training, saying they 
must "act on what they have learned." 
 
¶5. (U) Some participants, however, said that the reality on 
the ground was that the GON was so unaccountable to its 
citizens that only pressure from Nigeria's international 
partners could make a difference.  One participant cited the 
government's rejection of some of the Electoral Reform 
Committee's most important recommendations (which were 
partially developed from the proposals of ordinary Nigerians) 
as an example of the futility of their efforts.  Yusuf Usman 
of Conflict Mitigation and Management Regional Council of 
Kaduna project said the Nigerian public has been too patient 
and will not stand up and fight for their rights because they 
are told "ka yi hakuri" (a common Hausa phrase meaning "be 
patient"). 
 
Youth 
----- 
¶6. (U) Participants suggested that job training opportunities 
could diminish youth unrest and that empowerment of Nigeria's 
youth could be the first step to diminish conflict.  In 
Lagos, George Sotade, President of the Nigerian Youth 
Council, said CSOs are seeking to increase educational and 
employment opportunities for youth and to create a culture 
that encourages young people to pursue peace and not resort 
to violence.  Sotade requested that the USG "address 
solutions for non-violence" and provide more training for 
youth in computer and Internet use, including new forms of 
social media.  He suggested that engaging youth in technology 
could be a way to reach out to unemployed youths in the Niger 
Delta, and said such educational opportunities would decrease 
the incidence of violence among the youth of southern 
Nigeria.  In Abuja, Imam Fuad Adeyemi of Al-Habibiyyah Mosque 
opined that the social media tools were too elitist and that 
other needs in Nigeria, such as education, need to be taken 
care of first so that people can be empowered to use 
technology.  He praised India for its use of technology 
kiosks which provide Indians at all socio-economic levels 
access to the Internet  The Ambassador encouraged Fuad to 
view the social media training as powerful coalition-building 
tools that can be used to address education and other social 
sector needs. 
 
Using Social Media for Transparency 
----------------------------------- 
¶7. (U) Civil society representatives discussed how mobile 
phones and forms of social media can be used to enhance 
transparency with law enforcement officials and enable people 
to report undemocratic activities immediately, thus 
mobilizing civil society to react quickly.  Sandra Obiago, 
Executive Director of Communicating for Change, requested 
more information on how to use SMS text messaging and other 
mobile phone accessible web-sites for outreach.  Another 
participant shared information on how camera phones can be 
used to capture human rights abuses, as she recounted a case 
where someone was beaten by police and took photos which 
 
ABUJA 00000946  003 OF 003 
 
 
instantly reached a network of doctors and lawyers who could 
provide assistance.  In Port Harcourt, one participant asked 
Dr. Sullivan how Nigeria can establish a level playing field 
for civil society groups, saying, "in the U.S., in the past, 
one got arrested for standing up but in Nigeria you get 
killed."  Sullivan explained that civil society 
organizations, joined together in a strong interconnected 
network, could support each other.  She said, "I am not 
urging civil disobedience, but rather argue that you should 
use Internet and the technology tools taught today to get 
your message across."  Diigbo Goodluck, President of Movement 
for the Survival of the Ogoni People, said Nigeria needs 
democracy that is accountable.  He encouraged 
coalition-building among CSOs and civil society as well as in 
the business community and government. 
 
Electoral Reform 
---------------- 
¶8. (U) Participants suggested that this type of training 
should be extended to political parties.  In addition, many 
participants said the presentation by the IRO renewed their 
hope that electoral reform is possible.  Abubakr Siddeeq of 
the National Mosque said after the 2007 elections he was so 
discouraged that he had vowed not to participate in any other 
election event, but that after this workshop he is 
"transformed" and "changed".  However, not all participants 
were convinced that the new media tools would help on 
community outreach.  One participant said "we need face to 
face discussions to change the ballot process."  In response, 
the Ambassador explained that the new media tools presented 
by the IRO are not meant to replace face to face dialogue 
among or between CSOs.  Instead, she said, "this is an 
additional tool kit you can use to complement what you are 
already doing.  Of course certain challenges require face to 
face support, but this is an additional form of capacity 
building for you.  You are the network and you have to decide 
how you want to grow and be effective." 
 
Other Challenges 
---------------- 
¶9. (U) Several participants noted the general lack of 
infrastructure in Nigeria and the energy crisis which makes 
using the Internet or high tech social networking skills 
difficult.  But others said their organizations have already 
started to use social media tools such as Facebook and 
MySpace to network internationally and the workshop by the 
IRO provides additional uses to enhance their current 
activities.  Fatimah Abdulkareem, President of the Nigerian 
Association of Women Journalists, said the problem was not 
just that Nigerians do not always have all the equipment 
necessary to use on-line tools, they also often did not 
realize the importance and extent of social media. 
 
¶10. (U) The Ambassador offered to continue to use her good 
offices to host quarterly workshops for PAS and IFESH and 
other civil society organizations.  Participating 
organizations were invited to use on-line social media to 
continue their dialogue with each other and outreach to their 
constituents.  Participants expressed appreciation for the 
capacity building workshops and were overall enthusiastic 
about the new social media tools highlighted by the IRO, and 
said continuing to partner with the U.S. Mission on future 
workshops of this kind would be useful. 
 
¶11. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. 
SANDERS