NIGERIA: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH CHIEF CLARK TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001932

SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/W, INR/AA
DOE FOR GEORGE PERSON

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/15/2018
TAGS: PGOV NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: AMBASSADOR MEETS WITH CHIEF CLARK TO
DISCUSS THE NIGER DELTA

REF: A. ABUJA 1907

B. LAGIS 367

Classified By: Acting Political Counselor Cheryl Fernandes for reasons
1.4. (b & d).


1. (C) SUMMARY: On September 25, Ambassador received Bayelsa
traditional leader Chief Edwin K. Clark at the residence to
discuss recent developments in the Niger Delta. During the
90-minute discussion, the aging Ijaw leader and former
Minister of Information under former military leader General
Gowon was forthright, warm, and openly appreciative of USG
support for Nigeria, especially in regards to finding a
solution to the crisis in the Niger Delta. He was optimistic
about prospects for peace and believed in the sincerity of
President Yar'Adua's efforts to calm the region. He claimed
to be actively involved in efforts to arrange the September
21 ceasefire (reftels) in Rivers State after a surge in
violence, saying that he is a frequent interlocutor with the
largest and most active of the militant groups, and said that
the establishment of the Ministry for the Niger Delta was a
long-term goal finally realized. He was also extremely
critical of Chevron's role in the development of local
communities in its production areas, saying that its actual
performance in the provision of functioning schools, health
centers, and boreholes was very poor. He requested the
Ambassador's help in prodding Chevron to be a better
corporate citizen. The Ambassador supported Chevron's overal
good will in these areas, but said she would ask them about
more details on what could be done. While observers
frequently question Clark's connectedness to key Niger Delta
players and his overall relevance to the situation, if what
he said about his intermediary efforts and his interaction
with the militants are true, he remains influential and still
may have a role to play in bringing peace to the Niger Delta.
He also said he had forwarded a list of militant names to
President Yar'Adua to be considered for amenesty. End
summary.


2. (C) The Ambassador and Bayelsa leader Chief E.K. Clark
held their first meeting September 25 at the residence.
Clark stated his belief that President Yar'Adua is sincere in
wanting to finally resolve the Niger Delta crisis. Over the
past eight days, he claims to have met with Secretary to the
Government of the Federation Mahmud Yayale Ahmed and the
acting Minister of Defense, and discussed with them the
possibility of an amnesty for true "freedom fighters," vice
criminals. They were receptive to the idea, he says, and he
passed them a list of names he believes would be suitable
candidates for any such amnesty. Only some of the "boys" are
criminals, and that includes some soldiers and police; after
amnesty is declared, and the JTF withdraws from the region,
militant gangs will lay down their arms, he claimed. "This
war will never finish if the Government uses force --
dialogue is the only answer." He believes the GON should be
given a chance -- while the Ibrahim Gambari-led Niger Delta
Summit was a bad idea rightly rejected by all stakeholders,
the formation of the Niger Delta Technical Committee was a
positive development that should be encouraged. He also says
that the aggressive posture of Rivers State Governor Rotimi
Amaechi is extremely unhelpful toward producing lasting
peace; Ateke Tom is outraged that Amaechi, a university
classmate three years his junior, "calls us criminals."
Ateke Tom, Boyloaf, and Tom Polo ("a fine gentleman -- you
should visit him") all want peace, and are beginning to
police their own areas to restrain the criminals among them.
In Bilabri, Rivers State, he claims militants have acted
against a kidnapping gang sponsored by a local chief,
impounding their boats. Clark says he will appeal to Amaechi
to change his tactics.


3. (C) Ambassador asked Clark about the level of illegal
bunkering as she had heard from some contacts that with the
JTF attacks, things had slightly improved. Clark directly
challenged the GON's claims that illegal bunkering had
recently been reduced by Joint Task Force (JTF) activities,
and reiterated his claim (reported in recent press accounts)

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that while his "boys" do "jerrycan (i.e. small scale)
bunkering," both retired and active military officers carry
out oil theft on a near-industrial scale. He went on to
describe his role in MEND's September 21 declaration of a
unilateral ceasefire (reftel A),saying that subsequent to
their desperate calls to him for help during the JTF's
September 13 raids on their camps in the Elem Tombia area of
Rivers State, he told them he would go to Abuja to ask for a
truce valid through December, and their immediate ceasefire
would be necessary for his efforts' success. He also says
that last week he received eight representatives from Ateke
Tom, Farah Dagogo, Boyloaf, and Tom Polo in his Abuja hotel
suite, and convinced them to give the Technical Committee a
chance. "Some of these boys are educated, including having
masters degrees," he added. Ambassador then asked about
Henry Okah. Clark stated that the release of Henry Okah
continues to be a top militant demand, and that he is
strongly urging the GON to conduct an open trial, bringing to
light the theft and subsequent sale to militants of arms from
the Kaduna armory. He noted that Okah's wife had told him
they were moving Okah to Jos for medical care. He finished
his comments on the subject by warning that, especially in
light of his reputed kidney ailments, should Okah die in GON
custody, there would be a strong reaction from the swamps.


4. (C) When asked by Ambassador who he thought was the best
candidate to fill the top positions in the newly created
Niger Delta Ministry, Clark said that having long fought for
its creation, he would not suggest possible names. He
thought that of the two Minister positions (one to handle
development, one to handle youth empowerment),the
development slot should go to a Niger Delta indigene, and the
other Minister could be from anywhere else. He hoped the
Niger Delta Technical Committee would offer its
recommendations on how the Ministry should operate, but in
his opinion, as the Federal Capital Territory Ministry
receives 1% of the Federal Account, the Delta Ministry should
receive at least 5% of the Federal account.


5. (C) When asked by the Ambassador to elaborate on his
claims that Chevron in particular was not living up to its
commitments to local communities, Clark encouraged her to
request a list of all of Chevron's projects, and then ask to
know the actual current status of each project. Most, he
assured her, would be failures, such as Ugborodo, an
erosion-threatened town Chevron rebuilt to great fanfare that
is now uninhabitable, or Tsekelewe, which has no water supply
and yet is in the shadow of one of Chevron's platforms.
Chevron digs boreholes without clean water, builds schools
without desks, and erects health centers on such low ground
that they are regularly flooded during the rains. Ambassador
noted in support of Chevron that they have goodwill in making
these efforts such as their vocational training centers, etc.
Clark said that vocational training centers, such as
Chevron's in Escravos, offer skills, but without liaison
officers to follow up, such skills remained unhelpful to a
community's overall development. The Ambassador promised to
take up the matter with Chevron, but pressed Clark to
recognize that mere liaison officers were not enough -- more
coordination and support were needed to turn skills into
actual jobs, and there was a difference between vocational
training and actual income generation. Drawing on her
experience in Brazzaville, the Ambassador emphasized the
importance of the availability of capital and credit through
microfinance schemes so successful in other part of Africa.


6. (C) COMMENT: Clark claims still to be a major player to
whom the likes of Ateke Tom and Boyloaf turn in time of need,
but others have pointed out that while he may still have
access, he has little to no influence on making them change
their behavior. Clark says otherwise -- as one of the
region's only reliable go-betweens, the GON seems to view him
as more relevant than ever. He is optimistic and credits Aso
Rock with sincerity, good will, and peaceful intentions
toward Niger Deltans, but it seems that the JTF isn't getting
the word -- a September 24 Financial Times interview says JTF
Commander in Rivers State BG Bello vows to "break the

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rebels." Other contacts, including Bayelsa Governor Silva
during a recent interagency trip to the state on September
27, see stepped up military action as the way to stem the
violence once amnesty is given to an agreed upon list of the
militants. END COMMENT.
SANDERS