NIGERIA: ISRAEL/GAZA CONFLICT INSPIRES PROTESTS IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000036

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA, S/CT, NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/08/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL NI CD NG
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: ISRAEL/GAZA CONFLICT INSPIRES PROTESTS IN
NORTH

REF: ABUJA 2494

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Lisa Piascik for reasons 1.4 (b) & (d)
.


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: From January 2-6, several media outlets
reported that Nigeria's mostly Muslim north is condemning
Israeli military strike in Gaza. Muslim groups also
criticized the United States, European Union, the United
Nations, as well as some Arab nations, which they claimed
have done nothing to stop the violence. In Kano, groups of
Muslims staged various demonstrations and prayer sessions
from on January 2-4 and called on the GON to break diplomatic
relations with Israel. No violence or threat of violence has
been reported; however, the issue has evoked considerable
emotion among the Muslim community. The GON has made no
official statements, with the exception of Vice President
Goodluck Jonathan's joint press conference with Israeli
Ambassador to Nigeria Moshe Ram in which they assured the
safety of Nigerians in Israel. While external factors can
spark existing tensions and lead to violence in the north,
most ethnic or religious conflict in Nigeria has its roots in
socio-economic issues rather than religious differences,
particularly among youth, which make up the largest
demographic in Nigeria. End Summary.


2. (SBU) Islamic Forum of Nigeria's (IFN) National Secretary
Usman Jibrin issued a press release on January 2, condemning
Israel's actions in Gaza and its "continued occupation and
extension of Islamic lands. He further condemned the United
States, United Nations, European Union and other European
countries for their support of Israel. The statement read in
part, "Israel has been unleashing unprecedented air strikes
against innocent Palestinians, who have been under Israeli
siege and hardship for sixty years with the whole world
watching with either amusement or less concern." The IFN
also criticized Arab nations, specifically the Arab League,
for its "careless attitude" and for "remaining mute or doing
very little to stop the carnage." In an obvious reference to
western nations, the IFN questioned "Where are the champions
of democracy and humanitarians (sic)?" The IFN also called
for an immediate cessation to Israel's invasion of Gaza and
appropriate sanctions against Israel.


3. (SBU) Newspapers reported on January 4 that Muslim youth
groups are also condemning the Gaza attack. The National
Council of Muslim Youth Organizations (NACOMYO) told the
press that it "condemns in its entirety the Israeli genocides
in killing of defenseless women, men, and children as well as
bombings and destruction of mosques, homes and other public
infrastructure in Gaza causing the death of about 600 people
in seven days." NACOMYO also criticized "the disposition of
western governments, especially the USG8, which it describes
as a "clear manifestation of lack of respect for its claim to
be the custodian of human rights principles and practices."
In a press release signed by its National President, Lawal
Maidoki, and National Legal Advisor, Abdul Wahab Oyedokun,
NACOMYO commended the efforts of the UN Secretary General and
"other peace loving world leaders who have spoken out against
this Israeli murderous adventure." Relating the Gaza
conflict to recent events in Nigeria, NACOMYO also condemned
the death and destruction that occurred late last year in
Jos, accusing the state government of inflaming tensions,
(reftel).


4. (SBU) National media also reported on January 5 that
"thousands" of Shiite Muslims in Kano staged various peaceful
demonstrations and prayer sessions from January 2-4 to
express dismay over Israel's air strike on Gaza. The Muslim
group Sheikh Ibrahim Zak-zaky's Islamic Movement (SIZIM)
demonstrated at a mosque in Kano to protest what it described
as a "gargantuan injustice and merciless genocide by the
Zionist state of Israel on the Palestinians of Gaza." The
group also called on the Federal Government to cut diplomatic
relations with Israel. It was reported that another SIZIM
leader, Sheikh Muhammad Mahmud Turi, flew Palestinian flags,
chanting curses toward Israel. Turi told reporters and
protesters that "Israel is a coward that cannot fight in the
front but only resort to injustice." He also claimed that
the recent events in Gaza are "the beginning of the end of
the Zionist state," adding that "the illegitimate nation will

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soon cease to exist."


5. (SBU) On January 5, press also reported the Muslim group
Jama'atut Tajdidil Islamy (JTI) reportedly set fire to
Israeli and American flags after prayers at the Kano city
Central mosque. JTI leader Mallam Abdullahi Salihu Aikawa
characterized Israel as an "illegitimate and merciless
country." Aikawa asserted that "for a long time Israel has
been cooking any flimsy reason on which to camouflage for
assault on the Palestinians." A special prayer session was
attended by hundreds of Kano residents to "summon divine
intervention on the happenings in the Middle East." They
also offered Islamic funeral prayer in absentia to the
Palestinians that were killed in the strikes.


6. (C) COMMENT: While Nigeria's Muslim community appears
angered over Israel's offensive in Gaza, there have been no
reports of violence or public threats of violence as a
result. The demonstrations reported in the press appear
isolated and of local rather than national reach. In
addition, Embassy contacts reported no demonstrations in
Gombe, Jos, Gusau, Kano, and Sokoto. Sokoto (the spiritual
center Islamic community in Nigeria) and Kano (the largest
city in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north) tend to be
bellwethers for the north. While external factors such as
the 2002 Miss World contest and the 2006 Danish cartoons
sparked existing tensions and led to violence in the north,
most ethnic or religious conflict in Nigeria has its roots in
socio-economic issues rather than religious differences,
particularly among youth, which make up the largest
demographic in Nigeria. We will continue to watch both of
these cities carefully, as well as the north in general, for
signs of increasing tension.
Piascik