US embassy cable - 02ABUJA2980

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 002980 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
 
 
STATE FOR ECA/A/E/USS RTAYLOR, 
ECA/A/E/AF AMARTIN, ECA/A/E VRELLI- 
MOREAU, AF/PD, IIP/G/AF, INFO AF/W 
LAGOS FOR PAS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, SCUL, OIIP, NI 
SUBJECT: THE AMERICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA 
CONDUCTS A HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL ANNUAL CONFERENCE 
 
 
Ref: A) SecState 102568; B) Ghebreab-Taylor E-mail of 
5/9/02 
 
 
1.  Summary:  The 9th annual conference of the American 
Studies Association of Nigeria convened in Calabar, 
July 9-12, 2002. "American Studies" specialists from 
Nigerian federal, state, and private universities 
compared U.S. and Nigerian laws pertaining to 
ethnicity, citizenship, and democracy.  This year's 
meeting was extraordinary, primarily due to effective 
planning.  The conference attracted over 100 
distinguished academics including the keynote speaker, 
Dr. Adell Patton, Associate Professor of African 
History and African Diaspora, University of Missouri 
at St. Louis.  Sixteen excellent academic papers 
highlighting the theme of the conference in law, 
literature, political science, and history were 
presented.  A roundtable discussion, the capstone of 
the seminar, elicited lively and extensive discussions 
on citizenship and human rights issues in the United 
States and Nigeria. 
 
 
In his presentation, Dr. Patton urged Nigeria to 
"selectively borrow" democratic principles from the 
U.S. experience so that the country could "leapfrog" 
into the social and technological era of progress.  He 
also advocated a strong civic education program and 
reconciliation among the various ethnic groups in 
Nigeria. He provided his perspective on how the 
various groups in the United Sates - a nation of 
immigrants - have become inclusive and citizens within 
the American nation.  "But for Africa, ethnicity, 
citizenship, and democracy will always be problematic 
until the continent comes to grips with the nature of 
its colonial experience.  The legacy of the colonial 
'Native Authority' and its customary law of tribalism 
is still present in Africa under the guise of 
patrimonialism," he said.  Dr. Patton, who specializes 
in Nigeria and has done extensive research and writing 
on the country, also addressed academics and students 
at the University of Jos, Ahmadu Bello University, the 
University of Ibadan, and the University of Lagos. 
This is a GPRA report.  End Summary. 
 
 
2.  The American Studies Association of Nigeria 
(ASAN), one of Nigeria's leading academic 
associations, held its 2002 annual conference in 
Calabar, July 9-11.  The theme for the three-day 
seminar was "Ethnicity, Citizenship, and Democracy in 
the United States of America."  Dr. Patton served as 
the keynote speaker at the conference.  Sixteen other 
distinguished scholars also delivered very stimulating 
papers on issues of ethnicity, citizenship, and 
democracy in the U.S. and Nigeria. 
 
 
3.  Nigeria's democratization is facing serious 
challenges, and this year's ASAN conference provided 
an opportunity for American Studies specialists across 
Nigeria to critically examine the current democratic 
environment in the country drawing useful lessons from 
the U.S. experience.  In studying ethnicity, 
citizenship and democracy in the U.S., what should 
Nigeria selectively borrow, if anything, from the U.S. 
system of laws? Dr.Patton made a number of useful 
suggestions. To build a nation that is inclusive of 
all groups, Professor Patton urged Nigerian leaders to 
reconcile the legacy of the "Biafran Civil War" and 
rebuild the East with federal funds as was done during 
the post-Civil War era in the U.S.  He also 
recommended affirmative action programs to help 
redress economic and social inequalities experienced 
by the Nigerian minority groups against the "tyranny 
of the majority."  The issue of human rights in this 
regard, he emphasized, becomes paramount and will give 
universal respect to Nigeria. 
 
 
4.  To deal with the minority question of the Niger 
Delta region, Dr. Patton also recommended the State of 
Alaska formula of sharing oil profits.  In the United 
States, he said, people from Alaska are exempted from 
paying taxes.  The profit from the sale of oil after 
production expenditures is shared and returned to the 
people in the form of tax refunds. Professor Patton 
further advocated the creation of a "Civil Rights 
Commission" consisting of internal and external 
members to report on the state of "unfreedoms" in the 
State-Nation and need for Civil Rights legislation to 
protect minority interests.  To accommodate minority 
interests, the Government of Nigeria should establish 
a National Equal Opportunity Commission (NEOC) with 
guidelines for equal employment opportunity based on 
merit. 
 
 
5.  Dr. Patton also called for the teaching of civics 
at the elementary and secondary school levels followed 
by two semesters of Nigerian national history with 
emphasis on reconciliation and pride in the nation. 
Civics, he said, teaches about the founding fathers, 
patriotism, ethics of behavior, and the need to have 
respect for each other no matter what one's ethnic 
background or religion, etc. The Federal Government 
should be responsible for the education of citizens 
within the nation - women, men, girls, and boys.  Only 
then, Professor Patton said, could citizenship within 
the nation become a reality and ethnicity decline. 
 
 
6.  Considering the fragile experience of democracy in 
Nigeria, American Studies specialists at the ASAN 
conference were most interested in learning how groups 
in the U.S. have become inclusive and citizens within 
the American nation.  Dr. Patton's participation 
provided the desired direction and kept the discussion 
on track.  Recalling actions taken by President Truman 
to achieve racial integration in the U.S., Professor 
Patton told the conference participants that the 
Truman Administration deserves credit for 
strengthening citizenship and democracy, and de- 
emphasizing ethnicity and racial identity in the 
United States.  President Truman, he said, invented 
the phrase, "Civil Rights" and used it as a tool to 
address the old problem of racial discrimination in 
the U.S.  Patton told the conference participants that 
on December 5, 1946, President Truman did something 
that no other president had done:  He issued Executive 
Order 9808, establishing the first Presidential Multi- 
Racial Civil Rights Committee of 15 distinguished 
citizens, whites and blacks.  Through the work of this 
Committee, in 1946 President Truman was able to 
address the four basic rights: the right to safety and 
security of persons; the right to citizenship and its 
privileges; the right to freedom of conscience and 
expression; and the right of equal opportunity against 
de jure discrimination. 
 
 
7.  Dr. Patton also made several references to 
President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" programs. 
He argued that the "Civil Rights Act" of 1964, which 
established the Equal Employment Opportunity 
Commission (EEOC), was an important reference in the 
study of ethnicity and citizenship in the United 
States.  "While citizenship in the West was based on 
rights and duties, the concept of citizenship in 
Africa was based on colonial experiences.  Colonialism 
simply decentralized despotism, and democracy cannot 
emerge until the segregated states from colonialism 
are transformed," remarked Dr. Patton. 
 
 
8.  Professor Patton and the conference participants 
criticized the Nigerian Constitution as "nothing less 
than a tribal document."  The ASAN conference observed 
that whereas the U.S. Constitution guarantees full 
citizenship to all Americans by making provisions that 
enforce it, in Nigeria, constitutional aberrations 
continue to promote ethnicity and "indigeneship" 
across the country.  Thus, the seminar advocated a 
constitutional provision that would allow for 
permanent residency for any Nigerian, irrespective of 
ethnic or religious background, after six months of 
stay in any community of one of the Nigerian states. 
 
 
9.  In addition to the conference, Dr. Patton 
addressed academics and students at the University of 
Jos, Ahmadu Bello University, the University of Ibadan 
and the University of Lagos.  Additionally, in Abuja, 
he addressed senior staff of the Institute for Peace, 
Research, and Conflict Resolution. In attendance at 
the Abuja program were Ambassador Jeter, and the 
Nigerian Minister for Integration and Cooperation in 
Africa, Dr. Abimbola Ogunkelu. In Ibadan, Dr. Patton 
participated in a roundtable discussion with members 
of the Nigerian Society for Information, Arts, and 
Culture (NSIAC).  These extra program activities 
arranged by both PAS Abuja and Lagos proved fortuitous 
in our efforts to strengthen democracy in this 
important country.  The visit also helped us to reach 
key players in the current democratic experience in 
Nigeria with up-to-date information on how democracy 
has continued to shape the destiny of the United 
Sates. 
 
 
10.  GPRA Data: 
 
 
Result/Impact: Outstanding.  The selection of the 
theme, ethnicity, citizenship, and democracy was 
timely and appropriate. Through the able direction of 
Dr. Patton, conference participants were able to 
critically examine issues of ethnicity, citizenship, 
and democracy within the Nigerian context. While the 
American Studies specialists agreed that there are no 
universal principles on citizenship, they also agreed 
with Dr. Patton's suggestions regarding some useful 
lessons for Nigeria from the U.S. model as defined by 
the 14th Amendment of the American Constitution.  The 
attendance of Dr. Patton greatly enhanced the quality 
of discussions at the conference. 
 
 
Date: July 9-11, 2002, FY 2002, Fourth Quarter 
 
 
MPP UMBRELLA THEMES: Strengthening Institutions that 
Bear on the Understanding of the U.S. 
 
 
AUDIENCE REACHED: Over 100 American Studies 
specialists from federal, state and private 
institutions attended the conference.  Also in 
attendance were senior administrators of the 
University of Calabar including the Vice Chancellor, 
Professor Ivara Esu, and Professor (Mrs.) Ebele Eko, 
Deputy Vice Chancellor for academic matters.  A 
substantial number of graduate and undergraduate 
students from the university were also present.  Given 
the level and quality of discussion at this 
conference, we envision that these American Studies 
specialists will expand the debate on ethnicity, 
citizenship, and democracy with thousands of graduate 
and undergraduate students during their classroom 
lessons thereby reaching out to a significant number 
of future Nigerian leaders.  During his visit, Dr. 
Patton addressed about 800 people. 
 
 
NON-USG FUNDING: N/A 
 
 
QUALITY OF U.S. SUPPORT: Excellent.  Thanks to 
ECA/A/E/USS for funding the conference and ECA/A/E/AF 
for sponsoring Dr. Patton under the Fulbright 
Specialist Program. 
 
 
COMMENT:  If success could be measured in terms of 
growth, the American Studies Association of Nigeria 
(ASAN) has done well indeed.  Over the years, ASAN has 
continued to attract the best of Nigerian scholars 
into its fold.  ASAN has over one thousand registered 
faculty members who teach a wide range of courses on 
American society and culture.  The National 
Universities Commission recently approved the 
University of Jos diploma program in American Studies, 
which was put on hold by the Abacha regime and shelved 
for over 10 years.  This is one of the many success 
stories of ASAN activities on Nigerian campuses. 
Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria will host the ASAN 
2003 conference in February when the Association will 
mark its 10th anniversary and has selected the theme, 
"American Society Since the Four Freedoms."  The 
February conference will coincide with African 
American History Month, and post hopes that 
ECA/A/E/USS funds for the conference will be available 
by November 2002 in order to facilitate a grant for 
ASAN.  ASAN has requested USD 25,000.  PAS Nigeria 
requests that ECA/A/E/USS provide enough funds to 
support the program. 
 
 
JETER