US embassy cable - 03LAGOS104

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000104 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
LONDON FOR GURNEY 
PARIS FOR NEARY 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2007 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, KISL, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: CONVERSATION WITH FORMER INFORMATION 
MINISTER PRINCE MOMOH 
 
 
Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ROBYN HINSON-JONES FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AN 
 
 
D (D). 
 
 
1.  (U)  Summary. Prince Tony Momoh, former Minister of 
Information and Culture, successful public relations 
consultant and influential political columnist for the 
"Vanguard" newspaper says that the Shari'a law case of Amina 
Lawal will be decided in Lawal's favor.  He believes there 
was an inevitable political aspect to the rioting between 
Christians and Muslims around the Miss World Contest. He was 
tapped to be Director of Publicity for, Dr. Alex Ekwueme, who 
until he was defeated at the party convention on January 3, 
was the most credible challenger to President Obasanjo within 
the People's Democratic Party (PDP).  Momoh is cautiously 
bullish on the Nigerian economy and political scene and 
believes structural changes will solve most problems.  End 
summary. 
 
 
Culture and Islam 
 
 
2. (C) In an hour-long, wide-ranging meeting with PolOffs, 
Prince Anthony Sulaiman Macnonoh Momoh, lawyer, journalist, 
businessman and former Minister of Information and Culture 
(1986-90) gave his views on a number of subjects.  He was 
eager to share his views on the Lawal case (Note: Amina 
Lawal, a Nigerian Muslim woman, was convicted of adultery and 
condemned to death by stoning by a Islamic court in Nigeria 
this year.  Her case is on appeal.  End note.)   Momoh, a 
Muslim, stated that Muslims in the North were "embarrassed" 
by the world and media reaction to the Lawal case.  He said 
that there had "always" been stonings for adultery in Muslim 
communities in Nigeria.  "It is the local way of dealing with 
crime and maintaining discipline," he said.  "In Edo State, 
in the Muslim community where I was raised, there were 
stonings for adultery and women were driven out of the 
community or severely ostracized for lesser infractions," he 
continued. 
 
 
3. (C) Momoh explained that there are actually three judicial 
systems in Nigeria: one modeled on British common law, one 
based on Islamic law and one following "customary" or African 
indigenous law.  All these courts are officially and 
constitutionally recognized in Nigeria and all are subject, 
again under the Nigerian Constitution, to review by the 
Supreme Court.  "Customary" law courts are the Southern 
equivalent to Shari'a (Islamic) courts in the North, and one 
is no worse nor any better than the other.  Momoh pointed out 
that, even today, Igbo women in many Southern States have few 
rights under customary law and are themselves considered 
property of male family members under this law.   "Everyone 
knows that the Lawal case will be decided by the Supreme 
Court and death by stoning is clearly unconstitutional in 
Nigeria. This case is a media and public relations phenomena 
and Muslims in the North are embarrassed by the attention 
focused on a long-time, accepted practice."  He concluded 
saying that media focus on a particular issue can shape 
history.  "If CNN had been around in the 1960s, Biafra would 
be a reality today." 
 
 
Politics and Islam 
 
 
4. (C)  Momoh also had strong views on the political 
implications of the recent religious rioting and killings 
that had led to the cancellation of the staging of the Miss 
World Contest in Nigeria.  The riots left 200 people dead and 
hundreds more injured when Muslims reacted to a newspaper 
editorial that reportedly insulted the Prophet Mohamed.  He 
said "Northern Muslims were looking for a reason to start 
violent protests against the current administration and, if 
it hadn't been the Miss World Contest, it would have been 
something else."  According to Momoh, the Obasanjo 
administration and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) 
that came into power in 1999 needed alliance with a second 
party to cement their power.  As the Alliance for Democracy 
(AD) had a firm hold on the Southwest, the PDP turned to the 
All Nigerian People's Party (ANPP) that is strongest in the 
Northwest.  The PDP offered to support the ANPP in pushing 
Shari'a law as a replacement for the British-derived criminal 
code in several Northern States.  Momoh says that, "The North 
made Babangida and Obasanjo, and they (the Northerners) were 
promised much by both men.  Now that Obasanjo has clearly 
failed to live up to many of the promises made to the North, 
they are out to obstruct his every move and crush his every 
plan."  He continued that the rioting was politically 
motivated and "the rioters were obviously not even people who 
could or would read newspapers."  The PDP is now scrambling 
to try to win back Northern Muslims by introducing Shari'a 
legislation, but, says Momoh, "Shari'a has become a political 
weapon that will swallow up the current leadership." 
 
 
Elections 
5.  (C) Turning to the subject of the 2003 legislative, 
gubernatorial and presidential elections, Momoh was 
absolutely certain that there will be much election-related 
violence as elections approach.  "Nigerians are ruthless and 
relentless businessmen.  Politics in Nigeria is a business 
and so violence is a part of both business and politics 
here," he said.  Nigerians need to understand politics as 
government serving the people and not a business where each 
man is out to get as much for himself as fast as he can from 
the public coffers.   He said the decision by the courts to 
force the Independent National Elections Commission (INEC) to 
legalize additional political parties was clear from the 
beginning.  First, because the Constitution does not allow 
citizens to run as independents, and, second, because it 
empowers INEC only to document registration of parties and 
not to make rules for the structure of parties.  Momoh said 
that the current over thirty political parties will winnow 
down to two or three through alliance and coalition, and will 
eventually become a liberal left and conservative right as in 
the US.  He concluded, saying that the party conventions to 
chose candidates to be held in January, will merely be 
"rubber stamps of the already rigged primaries.  Whoever is 
named at the conventions will be the winners."  (Comment. 
Charges of fixing, tampering and rigging were leveled at 
party primaries in several states and some primaries were 
annulled by the national parties. End comment.) 
 
 
A President from an ethnic minority 
 
 
6. (C)  (Comment.  Momoh was the Director of Publicity for 
both political efforts of former vice president (1979-83), 
Dr. Alex Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme.  Ekwueme's latest attempt to 
challenge Obasanjo for the Presidency met defeat at the 
January 3-5 PDP convention when Obasanjo was chosen as the 
party's candidate. Momoh met with us in December on the day 
Ekwueme announced his candidacy.  End comment.)   Momoh was 
adamant that the South-south must produce the next President 
of Nigeria.  "This is not negotiable," he stated, echoing 
many prominent politicians and hopefuls from the Southeast 
and South-south.  He explained that the Nigerian Constitution 
clearly states that no one region of the country can 
monopolize the Presidency.  The Presidency must rotate after 
a President from a particular region has served two four-year 
terms. As it turned out, the Presidency will probably remain 
in the south, but the southwest to be exact, with the 
nomination of Obasanjo. 
 
 
Corruption and economic progress 
 
 
7.  (C)  Corruption in government and politics is not just a 
Nigerian problem, it is a human problem.  "Citizens are not 
taught to serve today," Momoh said.  "They just take and 
never give anything back to society."  He pointed out that a 
government employee with the title of "Counselor" makes 
500,000 Nigerian naira per month (equivalent to approximately 
4,000 USD.)  The attraction to the average citizen is clear 
in a country where the annual per capita income is only 300 
USD.  "We have become too materialistic," he continued, "and 
no one believes that heaven is the reward.  Everyone wants 
everything here and now.  If you are not a millionaire, you 
are a failure."  Momoh believes that government and, 
consequently politics, must be "decongested."  He, as have 
others, wants  less federal government and more power and 
authority devolved to the local level.  He says that the 
Nigerian people are not used to a federal, centralized type 
government and need to be educated and mobilized at the grass 
roots by local leaders.  He contends that corruption will die 
if local authorities are allowed to handle their own affairs 
and funds.  "The only failing areas in Nigeria are those that 
are government controlled.  Nigerians are energetic, 
business-oriented and know how to handle their own affairs." 
 
 
8. (C) Comment.  Momoh is still a voice to be reckoned with 
as he writes a regular column of political and cultural 
commentary for the influential "Vanguard" newspaper as well 
as runs his own successful public relations firm.  He is also 
a lawyer and enthusiastic supporter of building democracy and 
a civil society in Nigeria.  He jokingly said that since he 
is one of his father's 265 children (from multiple wives), he 
was thinking of forming his own Momoh family political party 
to deal with issues he considers important for the future of 
Nigeria.  Despite his occasional bleak tone, Momoh is 
optimistic about Nigeria's future and sees Nigeria eventually 
succeeding.  He told us Nigeria is following much the same 
path to democracy that the US did. He said, "Nigeria is the 
other part of America, only on this side of the Atlantic." 
HINSON-JONES