US embassy cable - 04ABUJA1277

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001277 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT PASS TO AF/W 
LONDON AND PARIS PASS TO AFRICA WATCHERS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/19/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, ASEC, NI 
SUBJECT: BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE PLATEAU STATE OF EMERGENCY 
 
REF: A. ABUJA 1147 
     B. ABUJA 1118 
     C. ABUJA 865 
     D. ABUJA 825 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN CAMPBELL FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AND (D). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  Before declaring a State of Emergency (SOE) 
in Plateau State on May 18, President Obasanjo did not 
consult widely with state and local leaders as he claimed, 
but offered Governor Joshua Dariye options for stepping down. 
 Plateau State officials and community leaders are unanimous 
in predicting that the SOE will last the full six months it 
was originally scheduled, and most feel it will last longer. 
This is the first of four Plateau State cables.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------- 
A Variety of Interlocutors 
-------------------------- 
 
2.  (C) On a three-day visit to Plateau State from June 
23-25, Poloff and FSN Polspec met with state and local 
leaders from different backgrounds: 
 
* (C) Reverend Yakubu Pam, Chairman of the Plateau State 
Branch of CAN.  He was the target of President Obasanjo's 
anger in May when he asked why the President took action 
after a massacre of Muslims, but not after a massacre of 
Christians.  Obasanjo fumed, "You, sir, are an idiot, a total 
idiot, and I make no apologies for this." 
 
* (C) Ambassador Yahaya Kwande, a retired career politician 
and former Ambassador to Switzerland.  He was one of the 
architects of the 1995 Constitution that was modified to 
become the 1999 Constitution, and was a candidate for the PDP 
national chairmanship in 2000.  He is a native Muslim, 
married to a Christian.  A prince from Shendam, he was 
elected to serve as the Chief of Shendam by the kingmakers 
but denied the throne because of his Muslim identity. 
 
* (C) Members of the Hausa/Fulani community at a mosque in 
Jos.  (1) Alhaji Sanusi Mato, Executive Chairman, Commedor 
Nigeria Limited, jailed in 1995 along with President Obasanjo 
for allegedly planning a coup against Abacha.  (2) Alhaji 
Saleh Hassan, ANPP Presidential Aspirant in 2003 and former 
National Chairman of DPN from 1996 to 1997.  His son 
currently represents Jos in the House of Representatives. 
(3) Alhaji Inuwa Ali, Second Republic member of the House of 
representatives, from Jos.  (4) Alhaji Sabo Shuaibu, Plateau 
State Secretary of Council of Ulama.  (5) Alhaji Balarabe 
Dawudu, Deputy Chief Imam of Jos and retired Area Court 
Judge.  (6) Alhaji Mohammed Nazib, Member, Plateau State 
House of Assembly.  (7) Alhaji Ismaila Mohammed, former 
Chairman, Jos North Local Government.  (8) Alhaji Dasuki, 
ANPP Chairmanship Aspirant for Jos North Local Government. 
(9) Alhaji Yaya Abubakar, retired civil servant and community 
leader. 
 
* (C) Governor Joshua Dariye, suspended Governor of Plateau 
State. 
 
* (C) Plateau State Sole Administrator Maj. Gen. (ret.) M. 
Chris Alli (reftel A). 
 
* (C) Honorable Garba, Local Councilor representing 
Yelwa-Shendam. 
 
* (C) Speaker Simon Lalong, suspended speaker of the Plateau 
State House of Assembly. 
 
------------------------------------- 
Before the SOE, Few Were Consulted... 
------------------------------------- 
 
3.  (C) Lalong said that he had spoken with Obasanjo on May 
17, the day before the declaration of the state of emergency 
(reftel C).  Obasanjo offered the Plateau State Assembly a 
choice:  either impeach Governor Dariye or have a SOE 
declared.  Lalong said he pleaded for more time for the 
assembly to take action, but did not hear back from Obasanjo, 
and learned of the SOE in Obasanjo's national address on May 
18. 
 
4.  (C) Dariye said he had received a phone call from 
Obasanjo, also offering him a choice:  resign, be impeached, 
or have the SOE declared.  Dariye said that his conscience 
prevented him from resigning, since the vast majority of 
people of Plateau State support him.  Impeachment would 
legally prevent him from holding public office again.  So, he 
said, he told Obasanjo he'd accept the SOE. 
 
-------------------- 
...But More Were Not 
-------------------- 
 
5.  (C) The religious leaders claim they were not consulted, 
despite the religious dimension of the violence that prompted 
the SOE.  While Obasanjo claimed to have consulted widely 
among the parties interested in the SOE, this group at the 
center of the conflict was evidently missing from the list. 
Background:  Although the conflict began over land use and 
indigene-settler disputes, it evolved to Christian-Muslim 
violence when it spread to Kano (reftel D).  End Background. 
 
6.  (C) Nor was Ambassador Kwande consulted, even though he 
had acted as one of the PDP's "kingmakers" in bringing 
Obasanjo back to power in 1999.  But Kwande said he was not 
surprised by the SOE declaration.  When the kingmakers 
drafted Obasanjo, they "knew him to be a soldier", and now 
they're just "eating what they cooked." In other words, if 
Obasanjo is behaving like a military man instead of a 
politician, no one should be surprised. 
 
-------------------------- 
Can the President Do That? 
-------------------------- 
 
7.  (U) President Obasanjo invoked section 305 of the 1999 
Constitution to issue a "Proclamation of a state of 
emergency" in Plateau State on the basis of both the 
breakdown in public order and the threat that it could spread 
across Nigeria.  According to section 305(6)(b), a two-thirds 
majority of each house of the National Assembly must approve 
the proclamation within two days of the May 18 publication in 
the Official Gazette.  PDP sources at the National Assembly 
say that when the proclamation was "passed," fewer than 
two-thirds of the members were present.  One says that the 
Speaker of the House instructed the clerk to change the vote 
to reflect the two-thirds majority was met.  Section 305 does 
not specify the range of presidential powers during a state 
of emergency. 
 
8.  (U) Section 188 of the Constitution defines the 
procedures for removal of a Governor or Deputy Governor from 
office for gross misconduct: one-third of the membership of a 
state Assembly must sign an allegation of wrongdoing, then 
two-thirds must vote to approve investigating the allegation, 
then two-thirds must approve the findings of an investigative 
panel.  Section 189 defines the procedures for removal on the 
basis of incapability to discharge functions of the office, a 
two-thirds majority supported by a medical panel. 
 
9.  (U) There is no provision in the 1999 Constitution giving 
the President authority to remove a Governor or Deputy 
Governor, or to dissolve a state Assembly, nor is there any 
provision for any form of suspension. 
 
--------------------------- 
The SOE:  a Necessary Evil? 
--------------------------- 
 
10.  (C) Most interlocutors welcomed the SOE as a necessary 
evil.  Even suspended Plateau State Speaker Simon Lalong, who 
lost his position with the SOE, supported it, "if at the end, 
the SOE would bring back peace and stability in the State." 
As hoped, violence has subsided in the "war zones" of eastern 
Plateau State.  There have been no reports of major attacks 
since the proclamation.  Roads previously controlled by 
ethnic militias have been reopened and state security agents 
have taken over roadblocks from the ethnic militias. 
Although the hardest-hit communities remained deserted, a few 
residents have taken advantage of the SOE to return home. 
 
11.  (C) Honorable Garba, a Muslim and councilor representing 
crisis-ravaged Yelwa-Shendam, posited that the SOE had given 
a hope of security to the Hausa/Fulani community that were 
victims of the May massacre in Yelwa.  According to him, the 
presence of soldiers in the area had prevented further 
attacks from the Tarok militias.  He said Yelwa residents 
preferred the SOE because former Governor Dariye was 
incompetent, biased, and unsympathetic to their plight. 
"Governor Dariye did very little to protect the Muslims", he 
added. 
 
12.  (C) Reverend Yakubu Pam, an indigene and Chairman of 
Plateau State Branch of Christian Association of Nigeria 
(CAN), opined that SOE was a ploy to remove the 
democratically elected government, adding that President 
Obasanjo simply employed diversionary tactics in saying the 
SOE would last for 6 months.  Pam, who believed the 
imposition of SOE was a "mistake," was convinced that 
Obasanjo would extend the SOE beyond 6 months. 
--------------------------- 
How Long Will the SOE Last? 
--------------------------- 
 
13.  (C) No one Emboffs met thought the SOE would be lifted 
before its original six-month mandate, and almost everyone 
thought the SOE would be extended for another six months. 
The 1999 Constitution, section 305(6)(c), allows for a single 
six-month extension.  Ambassador Kwande, a constitution 
expert, said that Obasanjo's hands were tied after that:  he 
would have to lift the SOE and return Dariye and the state 
assembly to power. 
 
14.  (C) Few others shared this view, most suggesting that 
Obasanjo would extend General Alli's tenure as sole 
administrator until the 2007 elections, regardless of whether 
the SOE was lifted.  Dariye himself refused to speculate 
about whether he'd be returned to the Governor's office, 
although he hinted at a presidential run in the future. 
 
15.  (C) Some believed the GON would use insecurity and 
Dariye's incompetence as a ploy to elongate the SOE.  Sources 
revealed that some politicians, anticipating a midterm 
election, have begun clandestine campaigns to take over 
Dariye's job.  General Alli himself does not appear to be in 
a hurry to leave office in the next six months.  Upon his 
arrival in Jos on May 18, Alli immediately ordered the 
removal of a billboard at the entrance of the Government 
House that said, "Office of the Executive Governor of Plateau 
State," and replaced it with one that said, "Office of the 
Sole Administrator of Plateau State". 
 
16.  (C) Speaker Lalong opined the "shabby treatment" of the 
elected state representatives is evidence that the Federal 
Government (FG) would extend the SOE beyond 6 months.  He 
said that immediately upon Alli's arrival in Jos, the 
administrator "seized all the official vehicles attached to 
Governor Dariye and ordered him to vacate the official 
residence."  Lalong gave Poloff a letter that Alli sent to 
all state legislators ordering them to surrender their 
official cars and vacate their official quarters or be 
evicted.  In addition, the suspended legislators were neither 
consulted nor paid their salaries (contrary to Nigeria civil 
laws, which allow suspended public officers to receive part 
of their wages). 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
The Jos Court Hands Off, While Alli Plunges Ahead 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
17.  (C) Because of the way they'd been treated, said Lalong, 
the State Assembly decided to challenge the SOE at the Jos 
High Court (reftel B).  On July 15, the Jos High Court 
determined that because the SOE was declared in Abuja and 
most witnesses were there, the case should be transferred to 
the Abuja High Court, as argued by the President's attorney. 
 
18.  (U) In late June, General Alli sacked other top 
officials of the State Government and reduced the number of 
ministries from 20 to 14.  National Chairman of the ruling 
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Audu Ogbeh told a delegation 
of elders from the State that recently visited him in Abuja 
that General Alli's recent actions clearly showed that "he 
has overstepped his briefs." 
 
19.  (C)  COMMENT:  While this saga has been removed from the 
front page news, the various implications of the 
unprecedented SOE are still playing out.  With the political 
system in shambles, the legal challenges have yet to gain 
traction.  Public opinion, expectedly mixed, seems to be 
relief that the violence has eased combined with suspicion 
about Obasanjo's motives. 
CAMPBELL