Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03LAGOS104
2003-01-14 10:13:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Lagos
Cable title:  

NIGERIA: CONVERSATION WITH FORMER INFORMATION

Tags:  PREL PGOV KDEM KISL NI 
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000104 

SIPDIS


LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2007
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KISL NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: CONVERSATION WITH FORMER INFORMATION
MINISTER PRINCE MOMOH


Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ROBYN HINSON-JONES FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AN


D (D).


C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000104

SIPDIS


LONDON FOR GURNEY
PARIS FOR NEARY


E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2007
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM KISL NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: CONVERSATION WITH FORMER INFORMATION
MINISTER PRINCE MOMOH


Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ROBYN HINSON-JONES FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AN


D (D).



1. (U) Summary. Prince Tony Momoh, former Minister of
Information and Culture, successful public relations
consultant and influential political columnist for the
"Vanguard" newspaper says that the Shari'a law case of Amina
Lawal will be decided in Lawal's favor. He believes there
was an inevitable political aspect to the rioting between
Christians and Muslims around the Miss World Contest. He was
tapped to be Director of Publicity for, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, who
until he was defeated at the party convention on January 3,
was the most credible challenger to President Obasanjo within
the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Momoh is cautiously
bullish on the Nigerian economy and political scene and
believes structural changes will solve most problems. End
summary.


Culture and Islam



2. (C) In an hour-long, wide-ranging meeting with PolOffs,
Prince Anthony Sulaiman Macnonoh Momoh, lawyer, journalist,
businessman and former Minister of Information and Culture
(1986-90) gave his views on a number of subjects. He was
eager to share his views on the Lawal case (Note: Amina
Lawal, a Nigerian Muslim woman, was convicted of adultery and
condemned to death by stoning by a Islamic court in Nigeria
this year. Her case is on appeal. End note.) Momoh, a
Muslim, stated that Muslims in the North were "embarrassed"
by the world and media reaction to the Lawal case. He said
that there had "always" been stonings for adultery in Muslim
communities in Nigeria. "It is the local way of dealing with
crime and maintaining discipline," he said. "In Edo State,
in the Muslim community where I was raised, there were
stonings for adultery and women were driven out of the
community or severely ostracized for lesser infractions," he
continued.



3. (C) Momoh explained that there are actually three judicial
systems in Nigeria: one modeled on British common law, one
based on Islamic law and one following "customary" or African
indigenous law. All these courts are officially and

constitutionally recognized in Nigeria and all are subject,
again under the Nigerian Constitution, to review by the
Supreme Court. "Customary" law courts are the Southern
equivalent to Shari'a (Islamic) courts in the North, and one
is no worse nor any better than the other. Momoh pointed out
that, even today, Igbo women in many Southern States have few
rights under customary law and are themselves considered
property of male family members under this law. "Everyone
knows that the Lawal case will be decided by the Supreme
Court and death by stoning is clearly unconstitutional in
Nigeria. This case is a media and public relations phenomena
and Muslims in the North are embarrassed by the attention
focused on a long-time, accepted practice." He concluded
saying that media focus on a particular issue can shape
history. "If CNN had been around in the 1960s, Biafra would
be a reality today."


Politics and Islam



4. (C) Momoh also had strong views on the political
implications of the recent religious rioting and killings
that had led to the cancellation of the staging of the Miss
World Contest in Nigeria. The riots left 200 people dead and
hundreds more injured when Muslims reacted to a newspaper
editorial that reportedly insulted the Prophet Mohamed. He
said "Northern Muslims were looking for a reason to start
violent protests against the current administration and, if
it hadn't been the Miss World Contest, it would have been
something else." According to Momoh, the Obasanjo
administration and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP)
that came into power in 1999 needed alliance with a second
party to cement their power. As the Alliance for Democracy
(AD) had a firm hold on the Southwest, the PDP turned to the
All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP) that is strongest in the
Northwest. The PDP offered to support the ANPP in pushing
Shari'a law as a replacement for the British-derived criminal
code in several Northern States. Momoh says that, "The North
made Babangida and Obasanjo, and they (the Northerners) were
promised much by both men. Now that Obasanjo has clearly
failed to live up to many of the promises made to the North,
they are out to obstruct his every move and crush his every
plan." He continued that the rioting was politically
motivated and "the rioters were obviously not even people who
could or would read newspapers." The PDP is now scrambling
to try to win back Northern Muslims by introducing Shari'a
legislation, but, says Momoh, "Shari'a has become a political
weapon that will swallow up the current leadership."


Elections

5. (C) Turning to the subject of the 2003 legislative,
gubernatorial and presidential elections, Momoh was
absolutely certain that there will be much election-related
violence as elections approach. "Nigerians are ruthless and
relentless businessmen. Politics in Nigeria is a business
and so violence is a part of both business and politics
here," he said. Nigerians need to understand politics as
government serving the people and not a business where each
man is out to get as much for himself as fast as he can from
the public coffers. He said the decision by the courts to
force the Independent National Elections Commission (INEC) to
legalize additional political parties was clear from the
beginning. First, because the Constitution does not allow
citizens to run as independents, and, second, because it
empowers INEC only to document registration of parties and
not to make rules for the structure of parties. Momoh said
that the current over thirty political parties will winnow
down to two or three through alliance and coalition, and will
eventually become a liberal left and conservative right as in
the US. He concluded, saying that the party conventions to
chose candidates to be held in January, will merely be
"rubber stamps of the already rigged primaries. Whoever is
named at the conventions will be the winners." (Comment.
Charges of fixing, tampering and rigging were leveled at
party primaries in several states and some primaries were
annulled by the national parties. End comment.)


A President from an ethnic minority



6. (C) (Comment. Momoh was the Director of Publicity for
both political efforts of former vice president (1979-83),
Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme. Ekwueme's latest attempt to
challenge Obasanjo for the Presidency met defeat at the
January 3-5 PDP convention when Obasanjo was chosen as the
party's candidate. Momoh met with us in December on the day
Ekwueme announced his candidacy. End comment.) Momoh was
adamant that the South-south must produce the next President
of Nigeria. "This is not negotiable," he stated, echoing
many prominent politicians and hopefuls from the Southeast
and South-south. He explained that the Nigerian Constitution
clearly states that no one region of the country can
monopolize the Presidency. The Presidency must rotate after
a President from a particular region has served two four-year
terms. As it turned out, the Presidency will probably remain
in the south, but the southwest to be exact, with the
nomination of Obasanjo.


Corruption and economic progress



7. (C) Corruption in government and politics is not just a
Nigerian problem, it is a human problem. "Citizens are not
taught to serve today," Momoh said. "They just take and
never give anything back to society." He pointed out that a
government employee with the title of "Counselor" makes
500,000 Nigerian naira per month (equivalent to approximately
4,000 USD.) The attraction to the average citizen is clear
in a country where the annual per capita income is only 300
USD. "We have become too materialistic," he continued, "and
no one believes that heaven is the reward. Everyone wants
everything here and now. If you are not a millionaire, you
are a failure." Momoh believes that government and,
consequently politics, must be "decongested." He, as have
others, wants less federal government and more power and
authority devolved to the local level. He says that the
Nigerian people are not used to a federal, centralized type
government and need to be educated and mobilized at the grass
roots by local leaders. He contends that corruption will die
if local authorities are allowed to handle their own affairs
and funds. "The only failing areas in Nigeria are those that
are government controlled. Nigerians are energetic,
business-oriented and know how to handle their own affairs."



8. (C) Comment. Momoh is still a voice to be reckoned with
as he writes a regular column of political and cultural
commentary for the influential "Vanguard" newspaper as well
as runs his own successful public relations firm. He is also
a lawyer and enthusiastic supporter of building democracy and
a civil society in Nigeria. He jokingly said that since he
is one of his father's 265 children (from multiple wives),he
was thinking of forming his own Momoh family political party
to deal with issues he considers important for the future of
Nigeria. Despite his occasional bleak tone, Momoh is
optimistic about Nigeria's future and sees Nigeria eventually
succeeding. He told us Nigeria is following much the same
path to democracy that the US did. He said, "Nigeria is the
other part of America, only on this side of the Atlantic."
HINSON-JONES