Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04ABUJA1277
2004-07-22 05:00:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abuja
Cable title:  

BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE PLATEAU STATE OF EMERGENCY

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC NI 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001277 

SIPDIS

DEPT PASS TO AF/W
LONDON AND PARIS PASS TO AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2014
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC NI
SUBJECT: BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE PLATEAU STATE OF EMERGENCY

REF: A. ABUJA 1147

B. ABUJA 1118

C. ABUJA 865

D. ABUJA 825

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN CAMPBELL FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001277

SIPDIS

DEPT PASS TO AF/W
LONDON AND PARIS PASS TO AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2014
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC NI
SUBJECT: BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE PLATEAU STATE OF EMERGENCY

REF: A. ABUJA 1147

B. ABUJA 1118

C. ABUJA 865

D. ABUJA 825

Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN CAMPBELL FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D).


1. (C) Summary: Before declaring a State of Emergency (SOE)
in Plateau State on May 18, President Obasanjo did not
consult widely with state and local leaders as he claimed,
but offered Governor Joshua Dariye options for stepping down.
Plateau State officials and community leaders are unanimous
in predicting that the SOE will last the full six months it
was originally scheduled, and most feel it will last longer.
This is the first of four Plateau State cables. End Summary.

--------------
A Variety of Interlocutors
--------------


2. (C) On a three-day visit to Plateau State from June
23-25, Poloff and FSN Polspec met with state and local
leaders from different backgrounds:

* (C) Reverend Yakubu Pam, Chairman of the Plateau State
Branch of CAN. He was the target of President Obasanjo's
anger in May when he asked why the President took action
after a massacre of Muslims, but not after a massacre of
Christians. Obasanjo fumed, "You, sir, are an idiot, a total
idiot, and I make no apologies for this."

* (C) Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, a retired career politician
and former Ambassador to Switzerland. He was one of the
architects of the 1995 Constitution that was modified to
become the 1999 Constitution, and was a candidate for the PDP
national chairmanship in 2000. He is a native Muslim,
married to a Christian. A prince from Shendam, he was
elected to serve as the Chief of Shendam by the kingmakers
but denied the throne because of his Muslim identity.

* (C) Members of the Hausa/Fulani community at a mosque in
Jos. (1) Alhaji Sanusi Mato, Executive Chairman, Commedor
Nigeria Limited, jailed in 1995 along with President Obasanjo
for allegedly planning a coup against Abacha. (2) Alhaji
Saleh Hassan, ANPP Presidential Aspirant in 2003 and former
National Chairman of DPN from 1996 to 1997. His son
currently represents Jos in the House of Representatives.

(3) Alhaji Inuwa Ali, Second Republic member of the House of
representatives, from Jos. (4) Alhaji Sabo Shuaibu, Plateau
State Secretary of Council of Ulama. (5) Alhaji Balarabe
Dawudu, Deputy Chief Imam of Jos and retired Area Court
Judge. (6) Alhaji Mohammed Nazib, Member, Plateau State
House of Assembly. (7) Alhaji Ismaila Mohammed, former
Chairman, Jos North Local Government. (8) Alhaji Dasuki,
ANPP Chairmanship Aspirant for Jos North Local Government.
(9) Alhaji Yaya Abubakar, retired civil servant and community
leader.

* (C) Governor Joshua Dariye, suspended Governor of Plateau
State.

* (C) Plateau State Sole Administrator Maj. Gen. (ret.) M.
Chris Alli (reftel A).

* (C) Honorable Garba, Local Councilor representing
Yelwa-Shendam.

* (C) Speaker Simon Lalong, suspended speaker of the Plateau
State House of Assembly.

--------------
Before the SOE, Few Were Consulted...
--------------


3. (C) Lalong said that he had spoken with Obasanjo on May
17, the day before the declaration of the state of emergency
(reftel C). Obasanjo offered the Plateau State Assembly a
choice: either impeach Governor Dariye or have a SOE
declared. Lalong said he pleaded for more time for the
assembly to take action, but did not hear back from Obasanjo,
and learned of the SOE in Obasanjo's national address on May

18.


4. (C) Dariye said he had received a phone call from
Obasanjo, also offering him a choice: resign, be impeached,
or have the SOE declared. Dariye said that his conscience
prevented him from resigning, since the vast majority of
people of Plateau State support him. Impeachment would
legally prevent him from holding public office again. So, he
said, he told Obasanjo he'd accept the SOE.

--------------
...But More Were Not
--------------


5. (C) The religious leaders claim they were not consulted,
despite the religious dimension of the violence that prompted
the SOE. While Obasanjo claimed to have consulted widely
among the parties interested in the SOE, this group at the
center of the conflict was evidently missing from the list.
Background: Although the conflict began over land use and
indigene-settler disputes, it evolved to Christian-Muslim
violence when it spread to Kano (reftel D). End Background.


6. (C) Nor was Ambassador Kwande consulted, even though he
had acted as one of the PDP's "kingmakers" in bringing
Obasanjo back to power in 1999. But Kwande said he was not
surprised by the SOE declaration. When the kingmakers
drafted Obasanjo, they "knew him to be a soldier", and now
they're just "eating what they cooked." In other words, if
Obasanjo is behaving like a military man instead of a
politician, no one should be surprised.

--------------
Can the President Do That?
--------------


7. (U) President Obasanjo invoked section 305 of the 1999
Constitution to issue a "Proclamation of a state of
emergency" in Plateau State on the basis of both the
breakdown in public order and the threat that it could spread
across Nigeria. According to section 305(6)(b),a two-thirds
majority of each house of the National Assembly must approve
the proclamation within two days of the May 18 publication in
the Official Gazette. PDP sources at the National Assembly
say that when the proclamation was "passed," fewer than
two-thirds of the members were present. One says that the
Speaker of the House instructed the clerk to change the vote
to reflect the two-thirds majority was met. Section 305 does
not specify the range of presidential powers during a state
of emergency.


8. (U) Section 188 of the Constitution defines the
procedures for removal of a Governor or Deputy Governor from
office for gross misconduct: one-third of the membership of a
state Assembly must sign an allegation of wrongdoing, then
two-thirds must vote to approve investigating the allegation,
then two-thirds must approve the findings of an investigative
panel. Section 189 defines the procedures for removal on the
basis of incapability to discharge functions of the office, a
two-thirds majority supported by a medical panel.


9. (U) There is no provision in the 1999 Constitution giving
the President authority to remove a Governor or Deputy
Governor, or to dissolve a state Assembly, nor is there any
provision for any form of suspension.

--------------
The SOE: a Necessary Evil?
--------------


10. (C) Most interlocutors welcomed the SOE as a necessary
evil. Even suspended Plateau State Speaker Simon Lalong, who
lost his position with the SOE, supported it, "if at the end,
the SOE would bring back peace and stability in the State."
As hoped, violence has subsided in the "war zones" of eastern
Plateau State. There have been no reports of major attacks
since the proclamation. Roads previously controlled by
ethnic militias have been reopened and state security agents
have taken over roadblocks from the ethnic militias.
Although the hardest-hit communities remained deserted, a few
residents have taken advantage of the SOE to return home.


11. (C) Honorable Garba, a Muslim and councilor representing
crisis-ravaged Yelwa-Shendam, posited that the SOE had given
a hope of security to the Hausa/Fulani community that were
victims of the May massacre in Yelwa. According to him, the
presence of soldiers in the area had prevented further
attacks from the Tarok militias. He said Yelwa residents
preferred the SOE because former Governor Dariye was
incompetent, biased, and unsympathetic to their plight.
"Governor Dariye did very little to protect the Muslims", he
added.


12. (C) Reverend Yakubu Pam, an indigene and Chairman of
Plateau State Branch of Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN),opined that SOE was a ploy to remove the
democratically elected government, adding that President
Obasanjo simply employed diversionary tactics in saying the
SOE would last for 6 months. Pam, who believed the
imposition of SOE was a "mistake," was convinced that
Obasanjo would extend the SOE beyond 6 months.
--------------
How Long Will the SOE Last?
--------------


13. (C) No one Emboffs met thought the SOE would be lifted
before its original six-month mandate, and almost everyone
thought the SOE would be extended for another six months.
The 1999 Constitution, section 305(6)(c),allows for a single
six-month extension. Ambassador Kwande, a constitution
expert, said that Obasanjo's hands were tied after that: he
would have to lift the SOE and return Dariye and the state
assembly to power.


14. (C) Few others shared this view, most suggesting that
Obasanjo would extend General Alli's tenure as sole
administrator until the 2007 elections, regardless of whether
the SOE was lifted. Dariye himself refused to speculate
about whether he'd be returned to the Governor's office,
although he hinted at a presidential run in the future.


15. (C) Some believed the GON would use insecurity and
Dariye's incompetence as a ploy to elongate the SOE. Sources
revealed that some politicians, anticipating a midterm
election, have begun clandestine campaigns to take over
Dariye's job. General Alli himself does not appear to be in
a hurry to leave office in the next six months. Upon his
arrival in Jos on May 18, Alli immediately ordered the
removal of a billboard at the entrance of the Government
House that said, "Office of the Executive Governor of Plateau
State," and replaced it with one that said, "Office of the
Sole Administrator of Plateau State".


16. (C) Speaker Lalong opined the "shabby treatment" of the
elected state representatives is evidence that the Federal
Government (FG) would extend the SOE beyond 6 months. He
said that immediately upon Alli's arrival in Jos, the
administrator "seized all the official vehicles attached to
Governor Dariye and ordered him to vacate the official
residence." Lalong gave Poloff a letter that Alli sent to
all state legislators ordering them to surrender their
official cars and vacate their official quarters or be
evicted. In addition, the suspended legislators were neither
consulted nor paid their salaries (contrary to Nigeria civil
laws, which allow suspended public officers to receive part
of their wages).

-------------- --------------
The Jos Court Hands Off, While Alli Plunges Ahead
-------------- --------------


17. (C) Because of the way they'd been treated, said Lalong,
the State Assembly decided to challenge the SOE at the Jos
High Court (reftel B). On July 15, the Jos High Court
determined that because the SOE was declared in Abuja and
most witnesses were there, the case should be transferred to
the Abuja High Court, as argued by the President's attorney.


18. (U) In late June, General Alli sacked other top
officials of the State Government and reduced the number of
ministries from 20 to 14. National Chairman of the ruling
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Audu Ogbeh told a delegation
of elders from the State that recently visited him in Abuja
that General Alli's recent actions clearly showed that "he
has overstepped his briefs."


19. (C) COMMENT: While this saga has been removed from the
front page news, the various implications of the
unprecedented SOE are still playing out. With the political
system in shambles, the legal challenges have yet to gain
traction. Public opinion, expectedly mixed, seems to be
relief that the violence has eased combined with suspicion
about Obasanjo's motives.
CAMPBELL