Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ABUJA1718
2009-09-16 16:08:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Abuja
Cable title:
CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE REINFORCES THEMES
how-toVZCZCXRO7246 PP RUEHPA DE RUEHUJA #1718/01 2591608 ZNY CCCCC ZZH P 161608Z SEP 09 FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7045 INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 2083 RUEHYD/AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE PRIORITY 1035 RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS PRIORITY 1967 RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001718
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, INR/AA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL OREP EINV EAGR NI
SUBJECT: CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE REINFORCES THEMES
OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND FOOD SECURITY
Classified By: Political Counselor James P. McAnulty
for reasons in Sections 1.4 (B) and (D).
-------
SUMMARY
-------
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001718
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, INR/AA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL OREP EINV EAGR NI
SUBJECT: CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE REINFORCES THEMES
OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND FOOD SECURITY
Classified By: Political Counselor James P. McAnulty
for reasons in Sections 1.4 (B) and (D).
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During a two-day visit to Abuja,
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee met with Nigerian Government
(GON) officials and non-governmental organizations to
reinforce USG themes on good governance and food security.
Noting her long-standing support of Nigeria, she encouraged
GON officials to provide conditions allowing their citizens
to meet their full potential. END SUMMARY.
--------------
REINFORCING THEMES ON GOOD GOVERNANCE
--------------
2. (SBU) U.S. Congresswoman Jackson Lee reinforced USG themes
on good governance, transparency, corruption, and food
security. She repeatedly expressed her friendship with the
Nigerian people, noting that she had strongly advocated among
Congressional colleagues for debt relief for Nigeria in the
1990s. She praised Nigerian participation and leadership in
peacekeeping missions in Africa and efforts against
trafficking in persons. The Representative emphasized U.S.
desire to help the GON function more effectively on behalf of
its citizens.
--------------
GON AWARE OF SHORTCOMINGS
--------------
3. (SBU) Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Bagudu Mutley Hirse welcomed Congresswoman Jackson Lee's
visit at a "crucial time" for Nigeria, which he said remained
a "young" democracy. Lauding President Yar'Adua's
seven-point agenda, Hirse encouraged greater foreign
investment in the key sectors of solid minerals and power
generation. Foreign Ministry (MFA) Permanent Secretary Joe
Keshi, recalling efforts to promote U.S. investment in
Nigeria during his four-year tenure at Nigeria's consulate in
Atlanta, expressed frustration that U.S. businesses did not
seem interested in Nigeria, either because of distance
between the two nations or ignorance of opportunities. The
Representative suggested establishing a single point of
contact for U.S. small businesses. Insisting that "Nigeria
is a country that the United States can do business with,"
Keshi suggested approaching Nigerian Investment Promotion
Commission (NIPC) Executive Secretary Mustafa Bello.
4. (C) Keshi said his government recognized its own
"shortcomings" as well as many opportunities for reform after
years of military rule and the resulting negative fall-out on
institutions. Acknowledging U.S. disenchantment with
performance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC),he advocated institution building for the EFCC and
other anti-corruption entities in place of isolating the
current director. Characterizing Niger Delta amnesty as
"working reasonably well," he expressed concern over the flow
of arms to militants who used proceeds from the sale of
bunkered oil to buy weapons from sources outside Nigeria.
The GON, Keshi insisted, needed help in tracing serial
numbers, to which the Charge reminded Keshi of the standing
U.S. offer to trace serial numbers of confiscated weapons.
--------------
CREATE "COMMUNAL TRUST FUNDS"
--------------
5. (SBU) Oronto Douglas, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice
President on Research, Documentation, and Strategy for the
Niger Delta and founder of the Environmental Action Group,
recounted his experiences in promoting social justice and
equitable distribution of resources in the Niger Delta. He
expressed concern that Delta youth, who have grown up with
violence, would not know other ways of effecting change.
Noting his advocacy of non-violent protests, he criticized
ABUJA 00001718 002 OF 003
the violent tactics of the Movement for the Emancipation of
the Niger Delta (MEND) and other militants, insisting that
stakeholders must ultimately enter into peaceful dialogue to
resolve issues. By his calculations, the violence has
produced 20,000 deaths and displaced 80,000 persons since
1966.
6. (SBU) Declaring that "Nigeria depends on the Delta for
survival," Douglas said communities urgently needed resources
for health, schools, shelter, and roads. He advocated
establishment of "communal trust funds" from a portion (five
percent) of profits currently going to the GON and oil
companies to address underlying conditions contributing to
frustration and violence in Delta. Congressional oversight,
which he described as non-existent in Nigeria, would be
critical to proper accountability and distribution of funds.
By transforming communities into genuine "stakeholders" in
the Delta, authorities could undercut the ability of
militants to foment violence. Douglas also suggested review
of property laws in Nigeria, lamenting loss of community
property rights by Niger Delta inhabitants through military
decree decades earlier. He characterized such action as a
violation of local citizen rights under the Constitution
which established Nigeria's federal system.
--------------
ELIMINATE "GUNS IN THE CREEKS"
--------------
7. (SBU) Clinton Foundation Nigeria Director Dr. Owens Wiwa
(brother of late Ogoni writer and leader Ken Saro Wiwa,
executed in 1995 during the General Abacha regime) decried
the widespread availability of weapons in the Niger Delta.
Such weaponry, he said, had shifted power from unarmed
community leaders to militants with guns. Money to purchase
most weapons, he said, came from proceeds of illegal sales of
bunkered oil. He encouraged the international community to
help improve GON ability to patrol maritime waters and thwart
the use of barges to transport pilfered oil to ships off
shore. He lamented, however, that corruption in the
military, including collusion, has hindered such operations.
Eliminating "guns in the creeks," Wiwa declared, will
"empower" community leaders.
8. (SBU) Citing the prohibitively high cost of developing
infrastructure in the Delta, Wiwa advocated creation of more
states there as the quickest way to foster development.
Creation of two or three new states, he insisted, would help
the Delta's 36 million inhabitants gain a greater share of
GON revenue. He averred that, with greater stability in the
Delta, oil production will increase, generating even more
revenue. Authorities, he predicted, will wait until after
the 201l elections before creating new states.
--------------
CUSTOMS COMPTROLLER GENERAL SEEKS MORE HELP
--------------
9. (SBU) Nigerian Customs Comptroller General Abdullahi Dikko
Inde, newly sworn in to his office, expressed appreciation
for U.S. help (provided with funding from the Department's
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau)
in arranging a visit by Customs officials to U.S. ports,
including Houston and Miami. Embassy International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Officer informed Dikko of a
planned October visit by a U.S. inter-agency team to assess
operations at land borders and seaports. The Comptroller
confirmed ongoing efforts to increase Customs manpower by
5,000 from the current level of 12,000 personnel. He noted
progress in reducing the amount of heroin transiting Nigerian
ports. Lamenting unreliable scanners at seaports, Dikko
requested U.S. help in securing scanners with suitable
imaging analysis software.
--------------
ECOWAS BUILDING PEACEKEEPING ABILITIES
--------------
10. (SBU) ECOWAS Defense and Peacekeeping Director,
ABUJA 00001718 003 OF 003
Senegalese Colonel Adama Mbaye, briefed Congresswoman Jackson
Lee on the organization's history, role, and mission, as well
as efforts to establish a standby force that will cooperate
with the African Union. Mbaye noted a European Union pledge
from its Peace Stability Fund of one billion dollars over
several years to support ECOWAS development. Separately, the
Congresswoman met with U.S. military personnel and
contractors who had just installed sophisticated
communications equipment for ECOWAS peacekeeping operations.
As part of an international initiative, ECOWAS developed
specifications, the U.S. State Department provided funding,
and the U.S. military implemented the project.
--------------
PROVIDING MEDICINES TO HIV/AIDS PATIENTS
--------------
11. (U) Representative Jackson Lee interacted with staff and
patients at Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Hospital in
Gwagwalada on the outskirts of Abuja, learning about the
hospital's provision of anti-viral treatment to over 1,200
HIV/AIDS patients. The program, with support from USAID and
the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),also
provides treatment and counseling to expectant parents. Such
efforts have prevented mother-to-child transmission of the
disease in all cases where the expectant mother took the
prescribed medicines 24 hours before delivery. In a
town-hall setting, patients enthusiastically encouraged
continued U.S. support.
--------------
FOOD SECURITY VITAL TO NIGERIA
--------------
12. (U) The Congresswoman's visit to the Kubwa Demonstration
Farm at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
showcased USAID support for development and cultivation of
high-yielding, disease-resistant cassava varieties as part of
a 25 million dollar Global Food Security Response Program.
USAID has helped over 700,000 farmers, mostly women, to
expand marketing opportunities through the Maximizing
Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Target Sites
(MARKETS) Program. Farmers expressed keen appreciation for
such help to the visiting Representative.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
13. (SBU) Congresswoman Jackson Lee's remarks on good
governance and food security received extensive media
coverage and usefully dovetailed with themes addressed during
the Secretary's recent visit to Abuja. END COMMENT.
14. (U) Congresswoman Jackson Lee departed Abuja before the
drafting of this telegram.
MCCULLOUGH
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, INR/AA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/31/2017
TAGS: PGOV PREL OREP EINV EAGR NI
SUBJECT: CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE REINFORCES THEMES
OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND FOOD SECURITY
Classified By: Political Counselor James P. McAnulty
for reasons in Sections 1.4 (B) and (D).
--------------
SUMMARY
--------------
1. (SBU) SUMMARY: During a two-day visit to Abuja,
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee met with Nigerian Government
(GON) officials and non-governmental organizations to
reinforce USG themes on good governance and food security.
Noting her long-standing support of Nigeria, she encouraged
GON officials to provide conditions allowing their citizens
to meet their full potential. END SUMMARY.
--------------
REINFORCING THEMES ON GOOD GOVERNANCE
--------------
2. (SBU) U.S. Congresswoman Jackson Lee reinforced USG themes
on good governance, transparency, corruption, and food
security. She repeatedly expressed her friendship with the
Nigerian people, noting that she had strongly advocated among
Congressional colleagues for debt relief for Nigeria in the
1990s. She praised Nigerian participation and leadership in
peacekeeping missions in Africa and efforts against
trafficking in persons. The Representative emphasized U.S.
desire to help the GON function more effectively on behalf of
its citizens.
--------------
GON AWARE OF SHORTCOMINGS
--------------
3. (SBU) Nigerian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
Bagudu Mutley Hirse welcomed Congresswoman Jackson Lee's
visit at a "crucial time" for Nigeria, which he said remained
a "young" democracy. Lauding President Yar'Adua's
seven-point agenda, Hirse encouraged greater foreign
investment in the key sectors of solid minerals and power
generation. Foreign Ministry (MFA) Permanent Secretary Joe
Keshi, recalling efforts to promote U.S. investment in
Nigeria during his four-year tenure at Nigeria's consulate in
Atlanta, expressed frustration that U.S. businesses did not
seem interested in Nigeria, either because of distance
between the two nations or ignorance of opportunities. The
Representative suggested establishing a single point of
contact for U.S. small businesses. Insisting that "Nigeria
is a country that the United States can do business with,"
Keshi suggested approaching Nigerian Investment Promotion
Commission (NIPC) Executive Secretary Mustafa Bello.
4. (C) Keshi said his government recognized its own
"shortcomings" as well as many opportunities for reform after
years of military rule and the resulting negative fall-out on
institutions. Acknowledging U.S. disenchantment with
performance of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC),he advocated institution building for the EFCC and
other anti-corruption entities in place of isolating the
current director. Characterizing Niger Delta amnesty as
"working reasonably well," he expressed concern over the flow
of arms to militants who used proceeds from the sale of
bunkered oil to buy weapons from sources outside Nigeria.
The GON, Keshi insisted, needed help in tracing serial
numbers, to which the Charge reminded Keshi of the standing
U.S. offer to trace serial numbers of confiscated weapons.
--------------
CREATE "COMMUNAL TRUST FUNDS"
--------------
5. (SBU) Oronto Douglas, Senior Special Assistant to the Vice
President on Research, Documentation, and Strategy for the
Niger Delta and founder of the Environmental Action Group,
recounted his experiences in promoting social justice and
equitable distribution of resources in the Niger Delta. He
expressed concern that Delta youth, who have grown up with
violence, would not know other ways of effecting change.
Noting his advocacy of non-violent protests, he criticized
ABUJA 00001718 002 OF 003
the violent tactics of the Movement for the Emancipation of
the Niger Delta (MEND) and other militants, insisting that
stakeholders must ultimately enter into peaceful dialogue to
resolve issues. By his calculations, the violence has
produced 20,000 deaths and displaced 80,000 persons since
1966.
6. (SBU) Declaring that "Nigeria depends on the Delta for
survival," Douglas said communities urgently needed resources
for health, schools, shelter, and roads. He advocated
establishment of "communal trust funds" from a portion (five
percent) of profits currently going to the GON and oil
companies to address underlying conditions contributing to
frustration and violence in Delta. Congressional oversight,
which he described as non-existent in Nigeria, would be
critical to proper accountability and distribution of funds.
By transforming communities into genuine "stakeholders" in
the Delta, authorities could undercut the ability of
militants to foment violence. Douglas also suggested review
of property laws in Nigeria, lamenting loss of community
property rights by Niger Delta inhabitants through military
decree decades earlier. He characterized such action as a
violation of local citizen rights under the Constitution
which established Nigeria's federal system.
--------------
ELIMINATE "GUNS IN THE CREEKS"
--------------
7. (SBU) Clinton Foundation Nigeria Director Dr. Owens Wiwa
(brother of late Ogoni writer and leader Ken Saro Wiwa,
executed in 1995 during the General Abacha regime) decried
the widespread availability of weapons in the Niger Delta.
Such weaponry, he said, had shifted power from unarmed
community leaders to militants with guns. Money to purchase
most weapons, he said, came from proceeds of illegal sales of
bunkered oil. He encouraged the international community to
help improve GON ability to patrol maritime waters and thwart
the use of barges to transport pilfered oil to ships off
shore. He lamented, however, that corruption in the
military, including collusion, has hindered such operations.
Eliminating "guns in the creeks," Wiwa declared, will
"empower" community leaders.
8. (SBU) Citing the prohibitively high cost of developing
infrastructure in the Delta, Wiwa advocated creation of more
states there as the quickest way to foster development.
Creation of two or three new states, he insisted, would help
the Delta's 36 million inhabitants gain a greater share of
GON revenue. He averred that, with greater stability in the
Delta, oil production will increase, generating even more
revenue. Authorities, he predicted, will wait until after
the 201l elections before creating new states.
--------------
CUSTOMS COMPTROLLER GENERAL SEEKS MORE HELP
--------------
9. (SBU) Nigerian Customs Comptroller General Abdullahi Dikko
Inde, newly sworn in to his office, expressed appreciation
for U.S. help (provided with funding from the Department's
International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Bureau)
in arranging a visit by Customs officials to U.S. ports,
including Houston and Miami. Embassy International Narcotics
and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Officer informed Dikko of a
planned October visit by a U.S. inter-agency team to assess
operations at land borders and seaports. The Comptroller
confirmed ongoing efforts to increase Customs manpower by
5,000 from the current level of 12,000 personnel. He noted
progress in reducing the amount of heroin transiting Nigerian
ports. Lamenting unreliable scanners at seaports, Dikko
requested U.S. help in securing scanners with suitable
imaging analysis software.
--------------
ECOWAS BUILDING PEACEKEEPING ABILITIES
--------------
10. (SBU) ECOWAS Defense and Peacekeeping Director,
ABUJA 00001718 003 OF 003
Senegalese Colonel Adama Mbaye, briefed Congresswoman Jackson
Lee on the organization's history, role, and mission, as well
as efforts to establish a standby force that will cooperate
with the African Union. Mbaye noted a European Union pledge
from its Peace Stability Fund of one billion dollars over
several years to support ECOWAS development. Separately, the
Congresswoman met with U.S. military personnel and
contractors who had just installed sophisticated
communications equipment for ECOWAS peacekeeping operations.
As part of an international initiative, ECOWAS developed
specifications, the U.S. State Department provided funding,
and the U.S. military implemented the project.
--------------
PROVIDING MEDICINES TO HIV/AIDS PATIENTS
--------------
11. (U) Representative Jackson Lee interacted with staff and
patients at Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Hospital in
Gwagwalada on the outskirts of Abuja, learning about the
hospital's provision of anti-viral treatment to over 1,200
HIV/AIDS patients. The program, with support from USAID and
the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),also
provides treatment and counseling to expectant parents. Such
efforts have prevented mother-to-child transmission of the
disease in all cases where the expectant mother took the
prescribed medicines 24 hours before delivery. In a
town-hall setting, patients enthusiastically encouraged
continued U.S. support.
--------------
FOOD SECURITY VITAL TO NIGERIA
--------------
12. (U) The Congresswoman's visit to the Kubwa Demonstration
Farm at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
showcased USAID support for development and cultivation of
high-yielding, disease-resistant cassava varieties as part of
a 25 million dollar Global Food Security Response Program.
USAID has helped over 700,000 farmers, mostly women, to
expand marketing opportunities through the Maximizing
Agricultural Revenue and Key Enterprises in Target Sites
(MARKETS) Program. Farmers expressed keen appreciation for
such help to the visiting Representative.
--------------
COMMENT
--------------
13. (SBU) Congresswoman Jackson Lee's remarks on good
governance and food security received extensive media
coverage and usefully dovetailed with themes addressed during
the Secretary's recent visit to Abuja. END COMMENT.
14. (U) Congresswoman Jackson Lee departed Abuja before the
drafting of this telegram.
MCCULLOUGH