US embassy cable - 02ABUJA3016

C O N F I D E N T I A L ABUJA 003016 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
LONDON FOR C. GURNEY. PLEASE PASS TO AF A/S KASTEINER AND 
AMBASSADOR JETER 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/05/2012 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, KDEM, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: MOD DANJUMA ON THE OBASANJO-ATIKU-IBB 
NEXUS 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR HOWARD F. JETER; REASONS 1.5 (B) 
AND (D). 
 
 
1.  (C) SUMMARY: During an October 25 meeting with 
Ambassador Jeter, Nigerian Minister of Defense Lieutenant 
General (ret.) Theophilus Y. Danjuma discussed the current 
state of Nigerian politics.  Danjuma spoke at length of the 
tense relationship between President Obasanjo, Vice 
President Atiku and former military Head of State Ibrahim 
Babangida, saying IBB was playing Atiku for a fool as he 
worked to drive a wedge between the President and Vice 
President.  Commenting on National Security Advisor Aliyu 
Mohammed's loyalties, Danjuma said President Obasanjo is 
aware of the NSA's disloyalty, but he chooses to keep him 
close rather than have him publicly join "the other team". 
Finally, Danjuma dismissed the so-called "Patriots'" plan 
to limit office holders to single five-year terms as 
simplistic and unrealistic.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
2.  (C) During an October 25 private MOD office 
conversation with Ambassador Jeter, Minister of Defense 
Lieutenant General (ret.) Theophilus Y. Danjuma discussed 
his views on the relationship between President Obasanjo 
and Vice President Atiku and the manipulation of both by 
former military Head of State Ibrahim Babangida.  According 
to Danjuma, IBB has been painstakingly pursuing a strategy 
to divide and conquer Obasanjo and Atiku for over a year. 
IBB first tried to persuade Obasanjo to dump Atiku by 
hinting that releasing the Vice President would ease the 
President's "image problem" in the North.  After nine 
months of failing to convince Obasanjo to eject Atiku, IBB 
decided to focus on manipulating Atiku. 
 
 
3.  (C) According to Danjuma, IBB has hoodwinked Atiku, who 
now believes he has IBB's support.  Noting that IBB once 
fired Atiku from his job as head of customs because of 
rumored links with "drug barons" and that he considers the 
Vice President to be "lazy and corrupt," Danjuma said he 
thought Atiku had been blinded by his own ambition. 
"Babangida is singing a song he (Atiku) wants to hear." 
 
 
4.  (C) Danjuma asserted that as part of his plan to weaken 
Obasanjo, Atiku planted the "Mandela Option" stories in the 
Nigerian press leading to calls for the President to step 
down after his first term in order to cement the transition 
to democracy.  Danjuma sees this as playing right into 
IBB's hands.  If Obasanjo can be convinced not to run, 
Atiku would represent an easy opponent for IBB or his 
surrogate.  If Obasanjo stays in the race, Danjuma said the 
notoriously tight-fisted President would need to spend far 
more money to insure his victory in the PDP primary. 
 
 
5.  (C) As the conversation turned to the plans and 
prospects of National Security Advisor Aliyu Mohammed, 
Danjuma said the former general had been campaigning 
against Obasanjo for over a year and that Obasanjo was well 
aware of Mohammed's transgression.  Danjuma noted that 
after Obasanjo learned of Aliyu's attendance at a September 
meeting where Atiku gave House leaders the green light for 
Obasanjo's impeachment, the President called the NSA about 
his lack of support.  Danjuma characterized Obasanjo as 
exceedingly tolerant of Mohammed.  He believed Obasanjo had 
decided it was better to keep Mohammed close rather than to 
fire him and have him publicly side with his opponents. 
 
 
6.  (C) Finally, Danjuma rejected the proposal put forward 
by the group of prominent old-guard and predominantly 
Southern and Middle Belt politicians known as "The 
Patriots" that elected officials serve single five-year 
terms.  He characterized the group as "senile and 
mischievous old men" and stated that their plan was 
unrealistic in Nigeria's political environment, as someone 
would surely find an excuse to extend the terms further at 
the end of the fifth year. 
ANDREWS 
ANDREWS