NIGERIA: YAR'ADUA VISITS THE NIGER DELTA

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/30/2019
TAGS: PGOV KDEM KCOR KCRM NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: YAR'ADUA VISITS THE NIGER DELTA

Classified By: Consul General Donna Blair, Reasons 1.4 (B,D)


1. (C) Summary: On July 20, President Yar'Adua paid a
one-day visit to Bayelsa state, his first visit to the Niger
Delta since taking office in 2007. In a speech at the state
capital, Yar'Adua proclaimed that the "days of militancy are
over and gone for good," and predicted fancifully that Nigeria
would produce 6000 MW of electricity by the end of the year.
Niger Delta contacts dismissed Yar'Adua's trip as "pure politics"
designed to bolster the local PDP governor's standing and to
secure his support for Yar'Adua in the 2011 presidential election.
End Summary.


2. (C) Speaking before a crowd of State government
officials and other invited "stakeholders" in the Bayelsa state
capital of Yenagoa, President Yar'Adua proclaimed
that the "days of militancy in the Niger Delta region
are over and gone for good." Perhaps aware of his strained
credibility in the region, Yar'Adua stressed the sincerity
of his amnesty offer, and expressed the hope that "soon" the Niger
Delta would be the development hub of West Africa. Yar'Adua
then affirmed that everything was "on track" for the country
to generate 6000 MW of electricity by the end of the year.


3. (C) As Chris Ekiyor, President of the Ijaw Youth
Council, told Poloff the following day: "It is hard to know
if Yar'Adua is being fooled by his advisors or if he is
fooling himself, but he is not fooling anyone else." Ekiyor
refused to attend the speech in protest against the
continued displacement of tens of thousands of Ijaws from
the Gbaramatu Kingdom, saying he would not go and "pay
homage" to a President who had utterly failed his people.
He claimed that the projects Yar'Adua was allegedly in
Bayelsa to inaugurate were "absolutely non-existent."


4. (C) Ahonsi Unuigbe, Commissioner for Budget, Planning and
Economic Growth in Edo state, told PolOff that he was unsure
if Yar'Adua was "monumentally stupid" or if he just thought
everyone else was, noting that Yar'Adua came from
a "feudal" tradition where leaders could get away with
telling their vassals any lie, no matter how outlandish. He
dismissed Yar'Adua's trip as "pure politics," a bid to
demonstrate his support for Governor Timipre Sylva against a
local rival and to ensure that Sylva "delivers" Bayelsa to
Yar'Adua in the next presidential election.

5.(C) The traditional ruler of the Yenakan
Kingdom in Bayelsa, Chief Ovie Omeleh, suggested that
Yar'Adua came to Bayelsa to disprove rumors that he was
"losing control" and "afraid" to come to the Niger Delta.
Omeleh claimed that people pointed to Yar'Adua's failure
to visit the Niger Delta, including his cancellation on
short notice of a previously planned visit, as evidence that
Yar'Adua had no confidence in his own amnesty program and
feared the "militants."


6. (C) Comment: Yar'Adua's failure to generate much positive
local reaction from his belated visit to the Niger Delta is not
surprising, particularly after he undercut his political
credibility by tacking on a transparently fanciful promise
about national power generation. Bolstering his party's
local prospects in the next election was no doubt a
major motivation for Yar'Adua's quick foray into the Delta.
End Summary.


7. (U) This cable has been cleared by Embassy Abuja.

BLAIR