VISIT TO NIGERIA'S NORTHEAST

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 002077 SIPDIS SIPDIS TAGS: PREL PGOV NI SUBJECT: VISIT TO NIGERIA'S NORTHEAST ¶1. (U) Summary. Charge d'Affaires Gribbin and entourage spent the week of September 17-22 visiting Borno, Bauchi and Gombe states to open an American Corner in Maiduguri, donate school books, host Iftaar dinners, meet governors, emirs and the local press. We were warmly received everywhere. During the current rainy season Nigeria's distant northeast is green and growing. Newly elected governors enunciated long lists of desires, but were well focused on local economic development, especially infrastructure and jobs. They hoped that President Yar'Adua, a former governor, will be more sensitive to their concerns. Traditional rulers professed moderate Islam and friendship for America. End summary. ¶2. (U) I flew to Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, on September 17 to link-up with a road convoy from Embassy Abuja for a tour of the northeast. Audiences were delighted to learn that I was both the father of Peace Corps trained Kanuri speaker and had last been in their city 37 years earlier. They wondered how much I thought it had changed. A spread out city of several million people, Maiduguri has a sense of timelessness about it. Although spacious, it is not very modern. Aside from a few new government buildings and banks, expansion has been ramshackle. Most of the economy falls into the informal sector. The number of half finished petrol stations is astonishing. Reportedly they flourish because once the owners get a fuel allotment, they promptly smuggle the goods to Niger or Chad. ¶3. (U) Due to plentiful rains, the entire northeast is green. The rivers are overflowing. Some flooding was evident. Guinea corn, sorghum and millet stalks fill the fields, and scrawny cattle wander about. The roads are adequate, even excellent in places, and more construction is underway, but electrical power is intermittent at the far end of the national grid. Additionally, many poles and wires are down. The railroad has not worked for years. New cell phone towers, however, dot the road sides providing good communication for those who have phones. ¶4. (U) The purpose of the trip was to open an American Corner in the Ramat Library at the University of Maiduguri, as well as to give away book collections to 11 schools. (Note that the eleven American Corners in Nigeria provide marvelous opportunities for outreach to thousands of people who otherwise would have little contact with the U.S. and who would not hear our messages.) Elaborate ceremonies in �00A;Maiduguri and later in Gombe provided opportunities to stress our focus on education, especially for girls ("the girl child" in local parlance) and to wish everyone peace and friendship during Ramadan. We also visited existing American Corners in Bauchi and in Jos. Press coverage was excellent. ¶5. (U) Especially impressive at the University of Maiduguri (30,000 students) was the Institute of Trans Saharan Studies. It is an academic organization that preserves old Islamic manuscripts, publishes scholarly articles and books about ancient and modem societies, water resources and geology. The Institute has also brought expertise on conflict management between herders and cultivators to bear on the situation in Darfur. ¶6. (U) I called on the Shehu of Borno, the second ranking of Nigeria's traditional leaders who commands the allegiance of millions and who can trace his lineage back a thousand years. I also met with the Emirs of Bauchi and Gombe. The settings inside their respective palaces were Hollywood Africa with fancy guards, turbaned retainers, drums and chanters. Two emirs had previous lives as civil and foreign service officers prior to accepting traditional roles. Each fondly recalled visits to the U.S., favorable relations with Americans - including the visit of Governor Jeb Bush to the area in the early nineties. They all appreciated my courtesy call and reciprocated my wishes for peace and tolerance. Similar positive sentiments were exchanged during two Iftaar dinners I hosted for about one hundred prominent personages from the modern sector. ¶7. (U) Set pieces were exchanged during protocol laden meetings with Governor Senator Ali Modu Sherrif of Borno State, Deputy Governor John Lazurus Yoriyo of Gombe State and Governor Malam Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State. In private they elaborated on their priorities and needs. They all saw agriculture as the backbone of their economies and in need of modernization. Jobs were a second concern. How to harness the millions of unemployed? They had few answers. Gombe State is doing public works and seeking to restart a major hydroelectric irrigation project. All hoped to facilitate small businesses. Education - inadequate schools, poor level of teacher training, and insufficient materials - posed another challenge as did the woeful state of health care. Deputy Governor Yoriyo asked especially for support for women's activities. I listened. Comment. It was interesting that the state executives felt that these were the issues they had to deliver on and that doing so was their responsibility, not that of the federal government. End Comment. ¶8. (U) Two of the three governors Borno (opposition ANPP) and Gombe (ruling PDP) said they were reelected for a second term because they produced results. The governor of Bauchi (now AANP, but formerly PDP ABUJA 00002077 002 OF 002 and a minister in Obasanjo's government) defeated his arch rival to take power. He castigated his predecessor as a corrupt show boater who, for example, let a 5 billion naira contract for road rehabilitation that should cost 2 billion and for passing out luxury cars, bought with state funds, to political supporters. The governors expressed the conviction that President Yar'Adua was good for the north and good for them. Because of his previous service as a governor, they said Yar'Adua understood state issues. They said relations with the Villa were already much improved and they expected more. Comment: Not for lack of contact, each governor spends an inordinate amount of time in Abuja seeking to shake the federal money tree. End Comment. ¶9. (U) Protocol was heavy throughout. Our convoy often numbered 20 vehicles. Police support was extensive; guys in riot gear, plainclothes and uniformed officers accompanied us everywhere. Presumably extra coverage was due to the Embassy's recent issuance of a terrorist warning. No one in the north wanted trouble on their watch. Or our side, trip coordinator Henry Mendelsohn and his public affairs team did a superb job of organizing the events, invitations, travel, lodging and press. ¶10. (U) Conclusion: It was a great trip. We showed the flag, pressed the flesh and made all the correct observations about Nigerian American friendship. Those sentiments were fully reciprocated as northeastern leaders enjoyed basking in American attention and having the opportunity to present their region in a positive light. GRIBBIN