US embassy cable - 04ABUJA1295

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001295 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USEUCOM FOR POLAD SNELL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/26/2014 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, PHUM, MARR, MASS, NI 
SUBJECT: SECURITY COOPERATION WITH NIGERIA 
 
REF: A. STATE 155894 
 
     B. ABUJA 1126 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOHN CAMPBELL FOR REASONS 1.5 (A), (B) AND (D 
). 
 
1.  (C) Summary:  I met with National Security Advisor Aliyu 
Mohammed at OOB on July 26 to go over the points in reftel. 
He was strongly supportive of the strategy, and said he would 
urge President Obasanjo to make a speech incorporating the 
essential elements included in reftel.  He repeated his 
request to visit USEUCOM (ref B), which this mission strongly 
supports.  End summary. 
 
2.  (C) Aliyu Mohammed focused on the meat of a proposed 
presidential statement provided in reftel, noting that there 
was nothing different from what the President has already 
said in the past.  Nevertheless, he asked me if it was 
necessary for the president to make the statement, or whether 
it could be delivered on his behalf.  I said that to be 
credible, the statement should be made by the president and 
in a public forum.  I said that such a statement might 
provide the confidence that the Obasanjo government would 
benefit from U.S. security cooperation, but that, obviously, 
I could not guarantee a positive congressional response. 
Aliyu Mohammed said that there are two upcoming military 
graduation events, one in early August, one in early 
September that would provide the appropriate venue for such a 
speech. 
 
3.  (C) When I asked about next steps on Darfur, Aliyu 
Mohammed responded by saying that Sheikh Sheriff Saleh,  a 
Sufi Imam based in Maiduguri, was seeking to mediate among 
all of the Sudanese parties.  This mediation, he continued, 
was not sponsored by the Nigerian government, though it 
certainly supports the effort in principle.  The Sheikh is 
known to embassy Abuja as a well-educated, moderate cleric 
with a substantial following in the Lake Chad region, 
including Chad and parts of Cameroon. 
 
4.  (C) Aliyu Mohammed reiterated his wish to visit USEUCOM 
(ref B).  He said that it is especially important now with 
the ongoing press attention to alleged U.S. activity in the 
Gulf of Guinea and the security issues in the Nigerian delta. 
 
5.  (C) Comment:  Aliyu Mohammed wants the restoration of 
military cooperation with the U.S., sees as workable the 
proposed statement to be made by President Obasanjo.  He has 
promised to advocate for it with the president.  This mission 
strongly endorses an USEUCOM invitation to Aliyu Mohammed to 
visit USEUCOM.  Such an invitation would benefit U.S. 
interests whether or not Obasanjo makes the speech we want 
him to make and whether or not the security relationship is 
restored.  In my judgment, Aliyu Mohammed still has a career 
ahead of him at the highest levels of Nigerian politics, and 
he is instinctively pro-American.  His cooperation on a wide 
range of security issues is worth having. End comment. 
 
CAMPBELL