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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000169 
 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, AF/RSA, AF/PDPA, DRL, INR/AA 
AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PASS TO AMEMBASSY MALABO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2020/01/26 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINR SOCI KPAO NI
SUBJECT: NIGER DELTA ACTIVISTS WELCOME U.S. ENGAGEMENT 
 
REF: ABUJA 0163 AND PREVIOUS 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: James P. McAnulty, Political Counselor, U.S. Embassy 
Abuja, Political Section; REASON: 1.4(B), (D) 
 
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SUMMARY 
 
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¶1. (C) Activists from civil society told Assistant Secretary for 
African Affairs Ambassador Johnnie Carson that they welcomed 
greater U.S. engagement during a round table discussion on Niger 
Delta in Lagos on February 6.  Participants praised U.S. public 
statements urging a constitutional end to the leadership vacuum 
created by President Yar'Adua's prolonged absence and stressed that 
they believed greater international involvement in the Niger Delta 
would spur progress.  All activists endorsed the Niger Delta 
Technical Committee's final report and urged its immediate 
implementation.  When asked to identify the greatest impediment to 
a solution to the crisis, participants cited a lack of sincerity 
and political will on the part of the federal government.  Whether 
Acting President Goodluck Jonathan, an ethnic Ijaw with roots in 
the heart of the Niger Delta, can break through the existing 
inertia and start to deliver on promises remains to be seen.  END 
SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
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DIVERSE PROBLEMS, COMMON PERSPECTIVES 
 
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¶2. (C) On February 6, seven activists met in Lagos with Ambassador 
Carson for a round-table discussion on the Niger Delta. 
Participants included Gary Akpobire of the Delta State Integrated 
Development Programme, Dr. Chris Ekiyor President of the Ijaw Youth 
Council, Eneruvie Enakoko of the Civil Liberties Organization, 
Sheriff Mulade of Center for Peace and Environmental Justice, 
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Obi of the Niger Delta Technical Committee, 
Allen Onyema of the Foundation for Ethnic Harmony in Nigeria, and 
Tony Uranta of the Commission of Nobel Laureates to the Niger 
Delta.  Each participant provided a summary of key issues that 
ranged from the impact of environmental degradation on the economy 
of the region to the need for internationally-recognized 
organizations to provide nonviolence training to communities and 
youth throughout the Niger Delta.  Several participants addressed 
the issue of economic and political disenfranchisement, emphasizing 
the need for greater resource control at the local level and 
credible elections leading to accountable government. 
 
 
 
¶3. (C) Participants praised recent U.S. statements on the need for 
a constitutional transfer of presidential power in light of 
President Yar'Adua's prolonged absence.  They endorsed greater U.S. 
and international involvement in the Niger Delta peace process, 
with Obi saying it was the best way to keep pressure on the federal 
government to deliver on promises of rehabilitation and 
development.  Onyema stressed the need for the involvement of 
credible international organizations to end a "self-interest 
driven" post-amnesty program.  Mulade urged the U.S. to demand 
greater responsibility and respect for law on the part of the 
international oil companies.  Uranta, Enakoko, and Onyema requested 
U.S. support in building the capacity of civil society in 
grass-roots democracy, non-violence, litigation, and election 
monitoring.  Ekiyor added that Nigeria needed U.S. assistance in 
technical training, pointing to the fact that Nigeria has "no 
functioning refineries, no functioning hospitals." 
 
 
 
¶4. (C) Participants agreed that the Niger Delta Technical Committee 
Report provided a workable blueprint for addressing the problems in 
the Niger Delta.  The failure of the federal government to issue a 
white paper on this report and to adopt its recommendations is, 
 
ABUJA 00000169  002 OF 002 
 
 
they stated, a major factor undermining GON credibility in the 
Niger Delta. 
 
 
 
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FEDERAL GOVERNMENT INSINCERE 
 
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¶5. (C) Ambassador Carson asked participants what they believed was 
the greatest impediment to solving the Niger Delta crisis.  Uranta 
noted that too many vested interests benefited from the status quo, 
including international interests who profited from illegal oil 
bunkering or illegal arms sales.  Akpobire said the federal 
government lacked sincerity in finding a permanent solution, 
arguing that while President Yar'Adua and the individual governors 
wanted a solution, because they saw peace as an accomplishment that 
would enhance their image and legacy, "everyone below them is only 
interested in themselves."  Enakoko summarized the problem as a 
lack of "political will" on the part of the small clique of people 
who "have controlled Nigeria since independence." 
 
 
 
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COMMENT 
 
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¶6. (C) As an ethnic Ijaw, Jonathan is presumed to be on the side of 
Niger Delta activists with respect to development, resource 
control, and environmental action.  Viewed as a weak vice president 
and reluctant to take charge in Yar'Adua's absence, it remains to 
be seen if Jonathan as Acting President will have the clout and the 
will to advance the Niger Delta process.   END COMMENT. 
 
 
 
¶7. (U) Assistant Secretary Carson did not have an opportunity to 
clear this telegram before departing from Lagos. 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) ConGen Lagos prepared and coordinated this telegram with 
Embassy Abuja, which transmitted this telegram on behalf of ConGen 
Lagos. 
SANDERS