Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07LAGOS652
2007-09-26 10:47:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Consulate Lagos
Cable title:  

IJAW YOUTH LEADER: GON TAKING POSITIVE STEPS; IOCS

Tags:  PGOV PREL ASEC NI 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO8088
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0652/01 2691047
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 261047Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9445
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 9215
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 0128
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH AFB UK
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000652 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA, DS/IP/AF, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/OSAC
OSLO FOR HELENA SCHRADER
DOE FOR GPERSON, CAROLYN GAY
TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS, SRENENDER, DFIELDS
COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS
STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR FLISER
STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD
STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART
STATE PASS TDA FOR NCABOT
STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER
STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC NI
SUBJECT: IJAW YOUTH LEADER: GON TAKING POSITIVE STEPS; IOCS
& STATE GOVERNMENTS NEED TO REFOCUS

Classified By: Acting Consul General Donald McConnell for reasons 1.4 (
B) and (D)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000652

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA, DS/IP/AF, DS/ICI/PII, DS/DSS/OSAC
OSLO FOR HELENA SCHRADER
DOE FOR GPERSON, CAROLYN GAY
TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS, SRENENDER, DFIELDS
COMMERCE FOR KBURRESS
STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR FLISER
STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD
STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN AND MSTUCKART
STATE PASS TDA FOR NCABOT
STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER
STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL ASEC NI
SUBJECT: IJAW YOUTH LEADER: GON TAKING POSITIVE STEPS; IOCS
& STATE GOVERNMENTS NEED TO REFOCUS

Classified By: Acting Consul General Donald McConnell for reasons 1.4 (
B) and (D)


1. (C) Summary: According to Chris Ekiyor, recently-elected
President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC),the Ijaw youth
delegation meeting with the Federal Government went well as
Yar'Adua's administration has expressed much interest in
including Niger Delta indigenes in talks to lower regional
unrest. However, Ekiyor confessed to Poloff on September 20
that despite these efforts, tribal differences and ethnic
distrust will make it difficult for Niger Delta inhabitants
either to speak with one voice or to agree on a solution.
Ijaws still harbor distrust towards government officials and
international oil companies (IOCs) but Ekiyor recognized that
Ijaw groups such as the IYC and Ijaw National Congress (INC)
have a responsibility to work to ameliorate hostilities. End
Summary.

-------------- --------------
Ijaw Youth Leader: GON-Ijaw Discussions Going Well
-------------- --------------


2. (C) On September 20, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) President
Chris Ekiyor told Poloff that as President of the IYC he
headed the Ijaw youth delegation which met recently with the
GON. The focus of the discussions was how to disarm the
creeks, he said. His group was joined by Ijaw elders such as
Edwin K. Clark and by members of the Ijaw National Congress
(INC) who outranked the youths but shared similar views. The
difference, Ekiyor said, was one of tactics; while the youths
and elders share the same goals, the youths tend to push for
more "action" and what he called "revolutionary efforts."
Ekiyor praised Yar'Adua for being much more open to
discussions with Ijaws and with youths in general than was

President Obasanjo.


3. (C) Ekiyor was confident his delegation assisted the GON
in understanding the gravity of environmental, economic, and
social degradation in the Niger Delta. The IYC will give the
government until October to make an official pronouncement to
improve public holdings such as hospitals and roads. Ekiyor
said the IYC will provide security for government development
efforts and they would partner with police and other security
to show there was a "consolidated effort."


4. (C) Ekiyor claimed credit for securing since June the
release of a number of foreign hostages, including eight
Russians kidnapped in Akwa Ibom. Ekiyor held a motley group
of individuals from Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross River, some
of whom were Ijaw, responsible for kidnapping the Russians.
It was through the Ijaw kidnappers Ekiyor said he was able to
secure the hostages' release without paying ransom. States
ranging from Ondo to Cross River were politically part of the
Niger Delta, Ekiyor claimed, not just the core states of
Delta, Bayelsa, and Rivers. However, because the core states
house the majority of Ijaws and Niger Delta agitators they
must be at the forefront of the dialogue process.

-------------- --------------
Tribal Dichotomy and Ethnic Distrust Also Problems
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Ekiyor said "tribal dichotomy and ethnic distrust"
would complicate dialogue on and development in the Niger
Delta. He averred that since late June it has been
impossible to convince all Ijaw tribes to "sing the same song
with one voice." However, the IYC and INC successfully
captured the majority's support, Ekiyor said, and only a few
outlying renegade militants have chosen a different path.
Because these individuals were the minority, Ekiyor was

LAGOS 00000652 002 OF 002


confident they would not spoil the majority's efforts out of
fear of retribution. Because it has proven so difficult to
solidify an Ijaw position, the group has not sought to
harmonize their position with that of other ethnic groups.
Ekiyor was aware of the need to identify common concerns and
to champion them with one Niger Delta voice, but at this
time, he said, he was most focused on Ijaw efforts to stop
the armed struggle in the region.

--------------
Ijaws Distrust State Government & IOCs...
--------------


6. (C) Ekiyor chastised Bayelsa Governor Timipre Sylva for
celebrating (Isaac Adaka) Boro Day 2007, a tribute to a 1960s
revolutionary Ijaw who demanded greater resource control, in
the United Kingdom rather than with his people in Bayelsa.
Ekiyor said Ijaw communities were aware of state government's
misuse of funds and government officials' tendency to work
closely with international oil companies (IOCs) in making
agreements without seeking community approval.


7. (C) Ekiyor said the IOCs' global memoranda of
understanding (GMOUs) are not unwelcome, but they come
attached with the stigma of previously unfulfilled MOUs.
Therefore, Ekiyor suggested the IYC and Ijaw National
Congress (INC) should work with communities and oil companies
so GMOUs benefit both parties. Ekiyor was confident IOCs
could hire more well trained Niger Deltans; he estimated over
1,000 Ijaw youths had already received training necessary for
employment with oil companies. Employing Ijaw youths would
help IOCs meet local content requirements and improve host
community relations. (Note: Ekiyor did not discuss what type
of training locals received, although our interlocutors have
previously mentioned IOC-sponsored trainings to augment the
number of local hires from the region (Reftel). End Note.)

--------------
Comment
--------------


8. (C) Ekiyor's comment regarding tribal dichotomy and
ethnic distrust were timely and recently recognized by the
GON. Vice President Jonathan announced he would delay the
Niger Delta summit until the new year to allow government a
chance to meet with all Niger Delta ethnicities and to
address their concerns. If the government tries to
incorporate all groups' interests into a comprehensive
approach to the region, the chances of success, or at least
commitment to change, may improve. End Comment.
MCCONNELL