US embassy cable - 04ABUJA1597

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 001597 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR AF ASSISTANT SECRETARY NEWMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/16/2014 
TAGS: PREL, EFIN, KCOR, NI 
SUBJECT: WASHINGTON MEETING PROBLEMS 
 
REF: A. STATE 146118 
 
     B. ABUJA 1323 
 
Classified By: Ambassador John Campbell for Reasons 1.5 (B & D). 
 
1. (C) It seems we may be getting to the point of diminishing 
returns on the many invitations to GON officials, especially 
the Economic Dream Team, for participation in meetings 
outside Nigeria.  We delivered the October 4 G8 
transparency/anti-corruption follow-up meeting invitation 
(Ref A) on September 14 to Finance Minister Ngozi's office, 
which has passed it to Ngozi.  We have no response from 
Ngozi, but GON anti-corruption czar Oby Ezekwesili met with 
Poloffs September 16, and was very downbeat. 
 
2. (C) Oby said the GON would probably send her, not Ngozi, 
and asked if the G8 meeting could be postponed.  She noted 
that the GON had not really come to grips with putting 
together the Technical Action Plan for the October 4 meeting 
would address (despite the August 6 POTUS letter to President 
Obasanjo asking the GON to work its Plan with economic 
officials at the October 4 meeting), but most of her 
unhappiness was that she had to be at three other 
international meetings in different countries that week.  We 
have explained that the G8 meeting cannot be postponed, as it 
was scheduled to get officials from all the G8 countries and 
the four transparency/anti-corruption pilot countries 
together around UNGA and World Bank meetings, but her 
complaints had resonance for a different reason. 
 
3. (C) We are not suggesting that the October 4 meeting be 
rescheduled; Nigerian participation in the G8 
transparency/anti-corruption program is important.  There is 
a more general issue.  Inviting the Economic Dream Team to a 
continuing high volume of meetings may run two related risks. 
 The first is that they promote confusion within the GON as 
to what our priorities are.  For example, in addition to the 
anti-corruption meeting, the Department is also inviting 
other senior Nigerians to another set of meetings that same 
October 4 in Washington about NEPAD.  We know which is more 
important, but the Nigerians could be forgiven for not 
understanding our priorities -- and also that it is the GON's 
actions in Nigeria that are most important, rather than 
attendance at meetings outside the country. 
 
4. (C) The second risk is that inviting senior Nigerians to 
so many meetings outside Nigeria may promote confusion within 
the GON, and Nigerian society, as to what the GON's 
priorities are.  As I touched upon in Ref B, there already 
seems to be some suspicion outside the GON that its economic 
reforms are designed to improve its standing abroad, rather 
than being about meaningful socio-economic change.  Not only 
is it distracting for Nigeria's Economic Dream Team to spend 
so much of its time outside Nigeria instead of inside Nigeria 
working on Nigeria's problems, but it also reinforces 
perceptions here that economic reform is primarily to impress 
foreigners.  We may need to be more cautious about how often 
we invite to Washington high level members of Nigeria's 
economic reform team. 
CAMPBELL