NIGERIAN ARMY MINISTER ON OFR, MPRI ISSUES

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001436

SIPDIS


DEPARTMENT FOR AF, AF/RA AND AF/W


E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/11/2011
TAGS: PREL MASS MARR NI ECOWAS
SUBJECT: NIGERIAN ARMY MINISTER ON OFR, MPRI ISSUES

Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter, reason 1.5 (B/D)



1. (C) Summary. Minister of State for the Army Lawal
Batagarawa on June 18 agreed to account for the two missing
trucks from the previous OFR training in Nigeria, expressed
some misgivings about the "Serti" base location for OFR Phase
III given its close proximity to the border with Cameroon,
and asserted that an OFR media campaign should be the primary
responsibility of the GON. He also indicated that payment
for MPRI was the subject of a routing error, and pledged to
find counterparts for MPRI personnel. He also agreed to
visit the Oshodi camp for retiring military personnel with
the Ambassador. End summary.



2. (C) Ambassador Jeter, accompanied by DATT and Poloff met
with Minister of State for the Army Alhaji Lawal Batagarawa
June 18 in Abuja. Conversation centered on Operation Focus
Relief (OFR) Phase III, and on the MPRI program. On OFR,
Batagarawa accepted a rough draft of the Memorandum of Intent
(MOI) governing OFR in Nigeria, and expressed satisfaction at
the prospect of receiving the list of equipment intended for
the three Nigerian battalions set for training at Ilorin,
Serti and Bernin-Kebbi. He also pledged to account for the
two missing trucks from the Phase I training, and recognized
that further hand-over of trucks for Nigerian battalions
would be contingent upon the Phase I trucks arriving in
Sierra Leone. Upon reflection, Batagarawa indicated some
uneasiness regarding the Serti training site, given its
close proximity to the border with Cameroon. Cameroon's
sensitivity to training close to its border had to be
considered. Upon consultation with colleagues within the
Ministry, Batagrawa said he might recommend another training
site away from the border. DATT requested an early decision
on this training base issue, given timing constraints for
Phase III, and Batagarawa agreed. Ambassador Jeter told
Batagarawa that, if the GON went ahead with the Serti base,
the USG would approach the Government of Cameroon to explain
the purpose of the training and address their sensitivities.
The Ambassador Jeter also asked if the GON would approach the
Government of Cameroon, but Batagarawa did not directly
respond.



3. (C) Ambassador Jeter also inquired into the possibility
of a joint media campaign on OFR, to explain the training to
the Nigerian public and the National Assembly. Batagarawa
asserted that any media campaign would be the responsibility
of the GON: "It will be more credible if we do it," said the
Minister. Upon further urging from the Ambassador,
Batagarawa agreed that, after initial Nigerian efforts at
media outreach and explanations to the National Assembly, the
GON and the Embassy could conduct joint efforts.



4. (C) On MPRI, Batagarawa evinced considerable
embarrassment over the continuing lack of payment of the USD
3.5 million to MPRI. Batagarawa asserted that the current
problem was an error in the routing number, and expressed the
conviction that the error would be corrected shortly.
Ambassador Jeter then queried him on the question of
counterparts for MPRI personnel, explaining that, despite
repeated attempts to secure counterparts for the MPRI
officials, none had ever been forthcoming. Noting that the
MPRI personnel could not operate in a vacuum, Ambassador
Jeter said that "If you don't want this program, we will
terminate it. It is your decision. But you need to decide.
If you do want it, MPRI must have counterparts to work with.
Without cooperation, this program is a failure." Minister
Batagarawa expressed appreciation for the Ambassador's
frankness, and pledged to "chase down" the naming of
counterparts. Finally, Batagarawa and the Ambassador agreed
to a joint visit to the Oshodi camp for re-training retiring
military personnel in the next week or two.



5. (C) Comment. As we have noted before, Batagarawa appears
to be a no-nonsense interlocutor, one genuinely embarrassed
at the lack of payment to MPRI, and sincerely interested in
sorting out the problems with MPRI counterparts. His concern
for potential Cameroon sensitivity over the Serti training
base site strikes us as a real one, and we may have to switch
the site. We will urge the GON to decide this question
quickly, so as not to impinge upon OFR training schedules.
While the Minister did not readily accept the idea of a joint
media effort on OFR, we believe we can work this issue
further, and reach an acceptable compromise that will allow
the Mission to assist with local media, a "must" given the
GON's ineptitude in dealing with the press. Given the
plethora of inaccurate stories that resulted from the
previous OFR training in Nigeria, the Mission can offer
useful assistance in this area. End comment.
Jeter