NIGERIA: MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN LEADERS CRITICIZE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001422 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, DRL, INR/AA E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2019 TAGS: KISL PHUM PREL PGOV NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN LEADERS CRITICIZE BOKO HARAM AND GON, CITING POVERTY AS A KEY ISSUE REF: ABUJA 1419 Classified By: Political Counselor James McAnulty for reasons 1.4 (b) a nd (d) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Amidst violent attacks by Boko Haram in Northern Nigeria, religious leaders called on Nigerians to remain calm and united while condemning the actions and philosophy of Boko Haram. Muslim scholars and community leaders blamed the government for laxity and ineptitude and questioned the execution of Yusuf. Muslim clerics identified lack of good governance as the primary reason Boko Haram succeeded in recruiting members and warned that similar crises would occur if the government failed to address social problems. Meanwhile according to the press the Borno State Governor is calling for vetting of Muslim clerics by proposing an Islamic board to screen potential imams. End Summary. Religious Leaders Condemn Violence -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In recent days Islamic leaders have asked Nigerians to remain calm and avoid extremism in the wake of Boko Haram attacks. The Sultan of Sokoto warned Nigerians not to make inciting comments on the crisis to avoid aggravating the situation, and President Yar'Adua asked religious leaders to use the Friday Juma'at sermons to preach against extremist ideology. Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) Secretary General, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, condemned the extremist violence, saying the OIC opposes "violence in the name of any religion, including Islam, which preaches peaceful coexistence, compassion, and tolerance." The Executive Committee of Waff Road Mosque Forum in Kaduna issued a statement August 2 criticizing Boko Haram's actions as "un-Islamic, objectionable, counterproductive, and condemnable" and said that "to take up arms against the state under whatever guise is not only unacceptable but also most irresponsible as there are alternative means of seeking redress." Noting that most attack victims were Muslim, committee members warned that continued mistreatment could cause additional crises. They called on the GON to empower security agencies to be more responsive to threats, establish links among security agencies, establish effective border control, and provide education and employment opportunities for young people. They encouraged the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and the Jama'atu Nasril Islam to intensify Da'awah to prevent other conflicts. ...And Criticize GON's Failure to Address Social Problems -------------- --- ¶3. (C) On August 3, Bilkisu Yusuf, a founding member of Federation of Muslim Women's Associations of Nigeria and member of the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council, told PolOff that the Muslim community firmly believed Nigeria was in crisis, but the GON "refuses to faces the facts." She claimed the problems in the North that drew individuals to join Boko Haram )- poverty, lack of education, and especially corruption )- were the same as problems causing crises in the Niger Delta. Insisting that the violence was not sectarian, she said calling Boko Haram a religious sect was equivalent to calling the militants in the Delta a religious organization. She noted people were "disenchanted" with the current system of government, seen as a "copy cat" of a Western system that did not adequately support Nigerians. As a result, they longed for a welfare system provided within an Islamic state. Despite Yusuf's death, "Boko Haram and its war against the authorities would continue to grow as long as people's discontent exists." While insisting Nigerian Muslims were unhappy Boko Haram used violence and killed people, she said they were sympathetic to the problems which led Yusuf's followers to join the movement. ¶4. (C) On August 4, Sheikh Adam Ajiri, Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Maiduguri, told PolSpecialist that "everyone knew the conflict was a time bomb waiting to explode as Yusuf and his followers threatened the peace of the state long before the conflict broke out." Ajiri ABUJA 00001422 002 OF 002 condemned the group's violence and said they are "not representative of Islam." He blamed the GON for not intervening proactively to arrest group members before the attacks and described unemployment and government indifference to education as factors encouraging rebellion. Opposition to the political elite would resurface if the GON did not address these problems. ¶5. (C) On August 4, Sheikh Yakubu Musa, an Islamic cleric based in Maiduguri, told PolSpecialist that most Muslim scholars had opposed the preaching of Boko Haram long before the crisis, but the GON had ignored their warnings. He claimed that Buji Foi, the alleged financier of Boko Haram and a former state cabinet member killed along with Yusuf was known to security agents, but they did not intervene. According to Musa, Yusuf was executed to prevent him from revealing his scandalous connections to others in the government. Musa accused security agents of killing many innocent citizens during the crisis. ¶6. (C) Similarly, many Christians criticized Nigeria's security agencies for lack of responsiveness and failure to prevent Boko Haram attacks. The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) called on the GON to overhaul the security agencies and to address unemployment and corruption. On August 4, Reverend John Niyiring, Bishop of the Kano Catholic Diocese, told PolOff that Christians in Kano were not directly affected by the crises. He credited state security agencies for increasing their patrolling and the GON for being alert to Boko Haram's threats. However, he said the GON should have done a better job of monitoring Yusuf and his followers, warning that various groups in Kano, including the almaijiri, remained vulnerable to recruitment by other extremist groups. In addition, press reports on August 4 noted that the CAN leader in Borno stated that many churches were burned down by security forces in their search for Yusuf. ¶7. (C) In an August 4 conversation with PolOff, Pastor Yakubu Pam, CAN Chair of the North Central Zone in Jos, blamed the government for the crisis, because security agents aware of the "terrorists" and failed to intervene; he claimed a group of politicians "sponsored" Boko Haram financially and attempted to "Islamize" Nigeria. He said Islamic religious leaders shared the blame because they were aware of the extremists among them and encouraged the expansion of Shari'a law. ¶8. (C) On August 4, Reverend Elisha Samson of the Evangelical Church of West Africa told PolAssistant that although the recent attacks were not directly targeted at Christians, churches in Maiduguri were burnt and clerics were killed. He said it was becoming increasing doubtful that the GON could protect Christians in the north. Samson claimed the government killed Yusuf to cover up connections by senior politicians to the sect. Samson also alleged that the GON responded swiftly this time to the violence because the attacks targeted government establishments. He claimed the response would have been different if the sect had targeted Christians. ¶9. (C) On August 4, Reverend Turbe, Secretary of the Bauchi State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria and member of the Church of Christ in Nigeria, told PolAssistant that a similar crisis is likely to happen again because the government "treated the symptoms and not the illness." He attributed the crisis to failure of the state to provide services to its citizens. ¶10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. SANDERS