NIGERIA: AFTERNOON TEA WITH PRESIDENT OBASANJO

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 04 ABUJA 001547

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2011
TAGS: PREL PGOV SNAR ETRD BEXP KCRM MASS NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: AFTERNOON TEA WITH PRESIDENT OBASANJO


REF: A. 00 ABUJA 1783

B. ABUJA 1531

C. ABUJA 1449

D. ABUJA 1446

E. LAGOS 1755


(U) Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter; Reasons 1.5 (b)
and (d).
========================
SUMMARY AND INTRODUCTION
========================



1. (C) After a several-week hiatus, Ambassador Jeter met with
President Obasanjo for a relaxed, Saturday afternoon tea at
the President's residence on June 30. A very positive and
wide-ranging discussion ensued which included security
assistance (Operation Focus Relief and MPRI),law enforcement
issues (crime in Lagos, FATF, counter-narcotics and
extradition),the Delta, inter-communal violence in Nasarawa
State, Obasanjo's planned September travel to the U.S., new
leadership for the OAU and ECOWAS, AGOA.



2. (SBU) Ambassador Jeter was accompanied to the meeting by
his Staff Assistant (notetaker). The President's Principal
Secretary Stephen Oronsaye was also in attendance.

SIPDIS


=================================
36 STATES: THE GOOD, THE BAD. . .
=================================



3. (C) Ambassador Jeter began the discussion by noting that
he had just visited Sokoto and Kebbi State (Ref C and D).
The President noted that the Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji
Mohammed Aleiro, had recently been to see him, complaining
that he was losing control of the mallams (Islamic religious
leaders). President Obasanjo, chuckling, recounted that he
had suggested that Governor Aleiro stop giving them money
while explaining to them that the President was coming to
visit, and the money had to be put toward projects. The
excuse would be that the President wanted to commission as
many projects in Kebbi as he had in Sokoto. "After my
visit," the President said he told the Governor, "just don't
resume giving them any."



4. (C) President Obasanjo, jovially noting that it was good
that the Ambassador was "getting out to visit Nigeria's
different regions," began to order the States he believed the
Ambassador should visit, based on his view of the quality of
State leadership. The President listed, in descending order,
Katsina (Governor Yar'adua),Kaduna (Governor Makarfi - "he's
a good boy"),Adamawa (Governor Haruna),Rivers (Governor
Odili),Cross Rivers (Governor Duke),Bauchi (Governor
Mu'azu),Plateau (Governor Dariye),Oyo (Governor Adesina -
"Lam is the best of the AD governors"),and Benue (Governor
Akume).



5. (C) Huffing, President Obasanjo then added that Delta
State (Governor Ibori) and Edo State (Governor Igbinedion)
were "the worst."


================
Nasarawa Update
================



6. (C) Ambassador Jeter raised the recent communal violence
in Nasarawa, that reportedly had displaced tens of thousands
of people. The President said he too had heard that 40,000
people had been displaced as a result of inter-communal
violence (Ref B). He further added that three police
officers had been killed, and three were missing. President
Obasanjo said that if he were asked to explain the reasons
for the conflict, he would not be able to do so, except that
it was a very old conflict between a people who see
themselves as indigenous to the land (Jukun) and see the Tiv
as invaders. The President further noted that the Tivs were
an aggressive people, who had the reputation of taking over
wherever they went. Ambassador Jeter elicited a
knee-slapping laugh from the President when he rhetorically
noted that General Malu was a Tiv. President Obasanjo
concluded by characterizing Nasarawa State Governor Adamu as
one who "behaves and talks maturely," and indicated that he
believed the inter-communal violence would be brought under
control.


====
AGOA
====



7. (SBU) Ambassador Jeter noted that he had met recently with
the Minister of Commerce, and had attended the Vice
President's opening of the Ministry's AGOA office on June 29.
Nigeria had not yet met all of the requirements of AGOA,
such as establishing a visa regime but there was clearly
interest and efforts being made to do so. The President
stated that Minister Bello wanted to begin selling inputs to
countries that had already qualified under AGOA, and asked
the Ambassador if that was acceptable. Ambassador Jeter said
that as far as he knew it was, but that it was also important
that Nigeria finish meeting the requirements to receive the
full benefits of AGOA. The President agreed, and explained
that he had set an output target for goods under AGOA. In
response to Minister Bello's request to sell inputs to
qualified countries, the President had agreed but had doubled
the target Minister Bello had to meet.


===================
Security Assistance
===================



8. (C) TRUCKS: The Ambassador informed the President that
cooperation between the Embassy and the Army on Operation
Focus Relief (OFR) had improved greatly in recent months, and
that 1 Battalion (Birnin-Kebbi),20 Battalion (Serti) and 222
Battalion (Ilorin) had been selected for OFR P3 training.
However, there were several issues that needed quick
attention and resolution. Ambassador Jeter informed the
President that the trucks delivered to Nigeria during OFR P1
had still not been sent to Sierra Leone, and that the two
"missing" trucks were still, in fact, missing. A visibly
upset Obasanjo stated that he had wanted to deal personally
with the issue of the missing trucks, but that NSA Mohammed
had urged the President to allow him to resolve the issue.
Turning to his Principal Secretary, the President proceeded
to dictate a memo to the NSA. His composition to the NSA
stated that he was upset that the issue had not been resolved
as promised, and demanded resolution and a report by July 4.
Turning to the Ambassador, President Obasanjo said that if
the NSA did not report resolution by July 4, he would deal
with the missing trucks personally. The Ambassador
emphasized that unless all of the trucks from OFR P1 were
delivered to Sierra Leone, the U.S. could not send new trucks
for the units training in Phase 3. The President agreed,
saying, "Naturally," and added that shipping the trucks was
easy to accomplish and would be done.



9. (C) FOB: The Ambassador raised the need for a decision on
a forward operating base (FOB) for OFR P3, and noted that the
Air Force Base in Abuja had been discussed for many months;
however, the Embassy had yet to receive a confirmation that
the Abuja base would be acceptable to the military. The
President asked Oronsaye to make a note for him to raise the
issue with Minister of Defense Danjuma.



10. (C) MPRI: The Ambassador explained that the MPRI payment
had been made, but that it had come up short by approximately
USD 320,000. The President asked if that was due to
fluctuating exchange rates, and waving his hand, said that it
would be resolved. The more fundamental concern regarding
MPRI, the Ambassador said, was that counterparts had still
not been assigned for all of the team. This could be a very
useful program for the Ministry and the military, Ambassador
Jeter emphasized, but not until real cooperation existed.
President Obasanjo firmly agreed that the program could be of
great benefit, but said, "I don't think our people understand
it well." He noted that he had discussed the program with
members of the Services during a military retreat in Kaduna,
and it was clear from the questions that there was a lack of
understanding. However, he would meet the week of July 2
with the new Chief of Army Staff (Major General Ogomudia),
whom he described as "a man you can work with," unlike
Lieutenant General Malu who "had a chip on his shoulder" and
had "outgrown his shoes." "Just don't worry," he told the
Ambassador.


===========================
DRUGS, THUGS AND LAUNDERING
===========================



11. (C) FATF: Turning to law enforcement issues, Ambassador
Jeter raised the FATF finding, and noted that he wanted to
make sure the President was aware of the seriousness of the
issue to Nigeria's image. A visibly consternated Obasanjo
said that the Minister of Justice had failed to act, and that
he had reprimanded an apologetic Bola Ige during a recent
Council of State meeting. (NOTE: After the meeting
concluded, Oronsaye reiterated to the Ambassador the level of
the President's frustration over the confusion and lack of
action by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of
Finance. END NOTE.)



12. (S) NDLEA SUPPLEMENTAL: Ambassador Jeter noted how
pleased we were with the cooperation we were experiencing
with the NDLEA. However, the Ambassador also told the
President that the Embassy was concerned that the NDLEA had
only received 350m Naira in the supplemental budget, instead
of the requested 2.2b Naira. It was clear, the Ambassador
noted, that the agency could not do its business without the
resources, and that the size of the expected supplemental
(2.2b Naira) had helped push Nigeria over the top during the
2000 annual narcotics certification process. A surprised
Obasanjo, in reference to certification, said, "We're not
done? We have to do it again?" The Ambassador explained
that certification was an annual process. The President
rolled his eyes, and said, "God must be God of Obasanjo.
After what I did last time (in reference to the renditions),
if the press had found out they would have torn me apart."
He then said that NDLEA would get more money, and asked, "If
I give them another 350 million -- Is that okay?" The
Ambassador responded that the key was that NDLEA be able to
operate effectively.



13. (C) EXTRADITION: The Ambassador noted that, in terms of
counter-narcotics certification, the Embassy was working with
the Ministry of Justice and others to develop a workable
extradition process. One piece would include training for
prosecutors, and perhaps some judges, to serve on an
extradition court. However, Nigeria would have to create
such a court. Ambassador Jeter asked if such a court could
be created. President Obasanjo responded that he would
create it if allowed by the NDLEA enabling act. However, he
said, Nigeria needed assistance in the form of training. In
a dismissive response to a reference to AG Ige's and Chief
Judge Belgore's statements that such a court could be created
(Ref A),an animated Obasanjo said "Belgore is the most
corrupt judge in Nigeria. I will have to be very careful
when I replace him in July."



14. (C) LAGOS CRIME: Ambassador Jeter said he recently had
seen Lagos State Governor Tinubu on the crime situation in
Lagos. The situation had our people, and many other
diplomats in Lagos, very afraid. There had been two
carjackings of Embassy vehicles, and one Nigerian police
escort had been killed. President Obasanjo said he was aware
of the situation, and that it would be taken care of. (NOTE:
The President implied that he had a solution in mind, but did
not reveal his plans. END NOTE.)


================
THE OIL BUSINESS
================



15. (C) DELTA AND OIL: The Ambassador noted that recent
events in the Delta had raised some concern, particularly the
hostage situation at the Exxon-Mobil Bonny Island facility
(Ref E). The President said, "Leave it with me," implying
that he had some action in mind, but not giving any hint of
what it might be. The Ambassador then raised the oil block
production sharing contracts (PSC) bidding process, and noted
that some of the companies had expressed concerns the process
seemed to have stalled. The President stated that he did not
deal with commercial issues except to approve or disapprove a
recommended action. Gruffly waving his hand, he told the
Ambassador that he too should not get involved.


==========================
OAU, ECOWAS, AND DELE-COLE
==========================



16. (C) The President stated that Nigeria would support the
Namibian candidate, Foreign Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, in his
bid for Secretary General of the OAU. Ambassador Jeter noted
that Ambassador Kouyate was also seeking the post. President
Obasanjo said that Kouyate was a good man, but that before
Salim-Salim, all of the Secretary Generals had been from West
Africa and had been Francophone, so Nigeria was supporting a
candidate from southern Africa. Turning to ECOWAS,
Ambassador Jeter said that he hoped a replacement for Kouyate
could be found who could match Kouyate's skills, drive and
stature. Praising Kouyate, the President said that if he had
his way, Kouyate would stay on in his present post. However,
he noted, Kouyate had decided to leave. That being the case,
Obasanjo said that the Chairmanship should remain
Francophone, but that the Executive Secretary could be an
Anglophone.



17. (SBU) Ambassador Jeter asked the President if he had
selected a replacement for Patrick Dele-Cole, the President's
former Special Advisor on International Affairs and Nigeria's
former Ambassador to Brazil (who was released during the
cabinet shake-up in early June). The President said he had
not yet decided if he would replace Dele-Cole, but if he
decided to, the replacement would be Ad'obe Obe. Obasanjo
described Obe as relaxed, bright and forthcoming. (COMMENT:
Obe presently serves as the President's Personal Assistant
and Speechwriter. While lamenting the departure of
Dele-Cole, Embassy has a similar impression of Obe to that of
the President, and believes he will be accessible and a close
confidant. END COMMENT.)
=======================
MESSAGES FOR WASHINGTON
=======================



18. (C) Ambassador Jeter asked the President if he had any
messages he wanted to convey to Washington. President
Obasanjo said he had little to convey, except that he was
"really satisfied" with the state of the bilateral
relationship. He then noted that he was anticipating an
invitation from President Bush to visit Houston in September,
where he expected to meet with former President Bush (the
Elder),host a meeting of "Nigerians in the Diaspora" and
speak at the Baker Institute. The President also noted that
he planned to attend the Corporate Council on Africa Summit
in Philadelphia in September, and to speak at Johns Hopkins
on health care during that same trip.


=================
SAA FLIGHT ISSUES
=================



19. (C) SAA FLIGHT ISSUES: After the meeting with the
President concluded, Ambassador Jeter raised the high number
of turn-arounds on the South Africa Airways flight from Lagos
to New York with Oronsaye. The Ambassador noted that the MOU
on INS presence at MMIA was presently being cleared through
the GON and that the Embassy was looking into INS training
for Nigerian Immigration. In the meantime, however, there
was a clear need for additional NDLEA presence at the airport
to monitor the flight. Ambassador Jeter strongly emphasized
the importance of the flight for Nigeria's image and any
future hope of a U.S. carrier establishing a direct flight
between the U.S. and Nigeria. Oronsaye resolutely agreed,
thanked the Ambassador for informing him of the issues at
hand, and promised to inform the President.


=======
COMMENT
=======



20. (C) The Ambassador and President had not met since the
President's trip to Washington. The intent of the meeting
was to catch up on various issues of mutual concern.
President Obasanjo was interested, friendly and animated,
particularly on security assistance. However, we were
surprised by his continued lack of understanding of the
certification process, and his lack of detailed knowledge on
the conflict in Nasarawa State (Ref B and previous).
However, the President appeared engaged and cooperative on
nearly every issue. Ambassador will meet with NSA Mohammed
on July 2 and raise a different set of issues following on
President Obasanjo's May visit to Washington (septel).
Jeter