NIGERIA: PLATEAU STATE POLITICS, AS SEEN BY FAILED

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 000807 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA BAGHDAD FOR DMCCULLOUGH E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2019 TAGS: PGOV PREL NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: PLATEAU STATE POLITICS, AS SEEN BY FAILED TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP CANDIDATE REF: A. ABUJA 438 ¶B. ABUJA 714 ¶C. ABUJA 745 AND PREVIOUS ABUJA 00000807 001.2 OF 003 Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) Summary: On April 29, PolOff, PolSpec, and PolAsst met with Prince Chuwang Rwang Pam, son of the second "Gbong Gwom Jos" (the title of the senior Traditional Ruler in the state); Pam was a candidate to be selected as Gbong Gwom Jos last March when the seat fell vacant with the death of the third Gbong Gwom Jos, but was defeated for the position. Gabriel Makon, aide to former Governor of Plateau State Joshua Dariye, was also in the meeting. Both Pam and Makon asserted that Plateau State Governor Jonah Jang imposed his cousin Gyang Buba as the new Gbong Gwom Jos as a reward for Buba's support of the Governor's election campaign. They said that Jang coerced the council which selected the traditional leader through both financial bribes and threats. According to Pam and Makon, the imposition of the new Gbong Gwom by the Governor is just another example of Jang's appointment of "foot soldiers" into positions of leadership in the state. In imposing someone into the traditional leader position, however, they maintained that Jang has finally offended his own ethnic group. Pam said that the "Berom constituency is wounded" and will express their disappointment with their ballots. Pam also claimed that when soldiers are withdrawn from Jos there will be renewed violence because the people know that additional conflict could lead to Jang's impeachment. End Summary. AN IMPOSED GBONG GWOM? -------------- ¶2. (C) On April 29, PolOff, PolSpec, and PolAsst met with Prince Chuwang Rwang Pam, son of a former Gbong Gwom Jos (not the immediate past ruler),and Gabriel Makon, aide to former Governor of Plateau State Joshua Dariye (Note: Makon was a participant in the IVLP and is currently the executive director of a NGO with a leadership capacity building focus. End Note). As the son of a former Gbong Gwom Jos (the holder of the title is paramount ruler of the Berom people, the Chairman of the Plateau State Council of Traditional Rulers, and the highest ranking non-government position in the state),Pam said he is well known by the community; and as an American citizen has the potential to expand international diplomacy and relationships with Jos. Therefore, following the March 7 death of the sitting Gbong Gwom (Ref A),Pam thought he had a good chance to be nominated as the next traditional leader. Instead, however, Pam claimed that Governor Jonah Jang intervened in the selection and imposed his own cousin, Gyang Buba, on the Berom as their ruler as compensation for Buba's financial support of Jang's election campaign. Pam noted that Buba is not the first family member whom the Governor has imposed in the state. Buba's younger brother, Timothy Buba, is the Chairman of Jos North Local Government Council (whose election ignited the November 2008 violence in Jos) and, according to Pam, another of Buba's relatives was selected for a position of lesser chieftaincy ) an appointment which is currently being contested in court. COERCION OF KINGMAKERS -------------- ¶3. (C) Pam asserted that Governor Jang coerced the kingmakers (a group of select religious clerics and traditional office holders) to choose Buba as the Gbong Gwom through both financial bribes and threats. (Note: All traditional rulers in Nigeria are ranked and receive a government stipend according to that rank. Traditional rulers can also be removed from their position by the governor. End Note.) Pam and Makon explained that normally kingmakers are given seven days notice to obtain letters of intention from interested contenders and gather input from their constituencies as to whom the people support. They then meet at a traditional location with a list of nominees and vote on which individual to appoint. However, Pam claimed that only two nominees' ABUJA 00000807 002.2 OF 003 names were on the list and said that the kingmakers were brought by the governor to a government building to make their selection ) something Makon claimed had never occurred before. On April 2, Leadership newspaper reported that Gyang Buba's name was not originally on the list of names submitted to the traditional council for consideration but was added following external pressure. Leadership also reported that only Gyang Buba and former Delta State Military Administrator, Col. John David Dungs (rtd.) secured spots on the final list of nominees despite the letters of intention submitted by seven others. BEROM CONSTITUENCY WOUNDED -------------- ¶4. (C) Both Pam and Makon maintained that the imposition of Buba as the Gbong Gwom is the culmination of the Governor's highhandedness, which they claimed has finally alienated his own ethnic group. They argued that the Berom people are unhappy both with the selection of Buba as Gbong Gwom, and the Governor's role in selecting him. Pam cited the stoning of the Governor's car (see Ref A) as an example of their dissatisfaction, and even claimed that if either Buba or Jang walked down certain streets of Jos that "they would not last ten seconds" and would be "lynched." He said that the "Berom constituency is wounded" and will express their disappointment with their ballots in the 2011 elections ) that is if the Governor does not impose himself for a second term, as Pam said he may try to do. Pam said that "Abuja needs to intervene; if Jang is left alone he will impose himself." Moreover, Makon alleged that Jang is busy "appointing foot soldiers" as commissioners and board members, selecting individuals who do not have political strength to wield against him so that as "the one who pays the piper, he can dictate the tune." HOUSE'S INVESTIGATION OF BUBA -------------- ¶5. (C) In regards to the House of Representatives Committee on Customs' investigation of Gyang Buba and other former officials of the Nigerian Customs Service (see Ref B),Pam said that if Buba is summoned, the Berom people will rejoice, and it would be "a dream come true." However, Pam acknowledged that this was an unlikely event, noting that Buba "made his money through corrupt means, so he knows the corrupt people and can use his money to close each can of worms." (Comment: It is remarkable that even a disgruntled member of an ethnic group would be willing to air such views about a traditional leader to outsiders, since this would normally be considered a grave embarrassment to his community. End Comment.) The committee chairman, Representative Yakubu Dogara, had said that the stakeholders had until April 16 to make their submissions as requested by the committee or the committee would not hesitate to invoke laws compelling the stakeholders to respond; however the deadline passed with no further action reported. IMPACT ON TENSIONS IN JOS -------------- ¶6. (C) Pam said that the imposition of Buba as the Gbong Gwom worsened the tensions in Jos and that neither Jang nor Buba have a clue about what to do because they are not from the city. Pam argued that the recent violence in Jos was more about power than about ethnicity or religion. He also claimed that when the soldiers are withdrawn from Jos there will be renewed violence, because the people know that Jang is surviving politically on borrowed time, since if additional conflicts occur under his leadership that state legislators are likely to impeach him. If the soldiers remain, Pam said there is "no choice but to watch while there are soldiers with AK47s" but that there will still be a push to unseat Jang. Finally he claimed that the next governor would surely remove Gyang Buba from the Gbong Gwom position because they could not allow him to "flex his muscles." COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (C) Comment: Although Pam is clearly disgruntled, his ABUJA 00000807 003.2 OF 003 allegations align with reports we have seen in the press. They also support Post's previous comments (Ref C) that the peace in Jos is fragile. Jang's attempt to brazen out opposition to his imposition of cousins both as Gbong Gwom and as the chairman of the Jos-North Local Government Council is politics as usual in much of Nigeria. The litmus test of Pam's assertions that Jang has now alienated his own ethnic group will be the reaction of the people of Jos when the military does finally pull out. In any case, we expect Jang to face an uphill battle that will cost him dearly (both financially and in political capital) if he wishes to stay in the Governor's chair beyond 2011. End Comment. ¶8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Consulate Lagos. SANDERS