US embassy cable - 03LAGOS739

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000739 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
 
CAIRO FOR MAXSTADT, TASHKENT FOR BURKHALTER 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC, EPET, ECON, PINS, PGOV, PARM, PHUM, PREF, SMIG, NI 
SUBJECT:  NIGERIA: AN IJAW'S VIEW OF THE IJAW-ITSEKIRI 
CONFLICT 
 
 
Ref:  Lagos 736 
 
 
1.  Summary: On April 6, EconOff heard the Ijaws' side of 
the story regarding their longstanding conflict with the 
Itsekiris, the subject of reftel.  The Ijaws argue that they 
have a legitimate claim to the land in and about Warri.  Our 
Ijaw interlocutor, who acted as if he spoke for the Ijaws 
collectively, disclosed impatience with negotiations to 
resolve the conflict.  He said the Ijaws have concluded an 
agreement with ChevronTexaco that will enable a modus 
vivendi.   The same cannot be said for the relations between 
the Ijaws and Nigerian military forces in the region. 
Should they interfere with the April 12 and 19 elections, 
the Ijaws will be prepared to oppose force against force. 
End summary. 
 
 
2.  Doyah Tiemo, an Ijaw leader and former banker and 
financial consultant, spoke with EconOff on April 6 about 
the Ijaw-Itsekiri conflict.  Tiemo asserted that the 
conflict is about land ownership, as did an Itsekiri contact 
(reftel).  He blamed the Itsekiris, whom he said claim 
exclusive ownership to Warri and its environs and look upon 
Ijaws as settlers or migrant tenants, terms he considers 
derogatory.  According to Tiemo, the Itsekiris found the 
Ijaws already in place when the former arrived in the Warri 
area.  Tiemo said the Ijaw's have been in the region since 
1450 so they cannot be characterized as  "settlers". The use 
of the terms tenant or settler thus impedes peace, he said. 
Tiemo asserted that the Ijaws helped the Itsekiris establish 
themselves in the area when it became necessary for the 
first son of the Oba of Ilua to leave Benin.  The Ijaws then 
provided land to him and his 70 chiefs and all settled in 
the Warri area. 
 
 
3.  Tiemo doubted that a meeting between members of the 
Ijaws, Itsekiris, and Urhobos on the one hand, and President 
Obasanjo on the other hand, would take place on April 7 
because the Ijaws had reservations about the list of 
invitees. The Delta State government compiled the list of 
the delegates for the meeting with the President, Tiemo 
said.  Some of the Ijaw youth groups oppose the Ijaw elders 
who figure prominently on the list, people whom they feel 
have sold them out. The youth are also unhappy that the 
proposed delegates have yet to deliver results from 
negotiations on their behalf.  Furthermore, the delegates do 
not appear to have a clear mandate from the Ijaw community 
with respect to what it should expect from the meeting. 
 
 
4. Tiemo said relations between the Itsekiris and Ijaws 
might improve if more local government areas (LGA) were 
established and if they would in turn allow for the economic 
development of areas by the respective ethnic groups.  This 
would mean that the different groups could have their own 
assemblies at the state level.   Tiemo's plan calls for the 
creation of three additional LGAs to bring the total to six. 
The Istekiris and Ijaws would then control three LGAs each, 
and a seventh LGA would serve as a central unit and be 
composed of Ijaws, Urhobos, and Itsekiris. 
 
 
5. Tiemo disclosed deep-seated Ijaw grudges against the oil 
companies operating in the region.  He stated that the 
companies "undermine" the Ijaws even though most of the oil 
wells are on their land.  One complaint Tiemo mentioned 
against the oil companies is the alleged insufficient number 
of Ijaws on their work force.  To rectify this situation, 
ChevronTexaco recently agreed to employ as permanent staff 
an Ijaw from each of the ten communities per year for the 
next five years, he said. 
 
 
6.  Contrary to the Itsekiri viewpoint (reftel), Tiemo does 
not welcome Nigeria's military presence in the area.  He 
opined that should the military forces intervene in the 
conduct of the elections, they will encounter resistance 
from the Ijaw boys, a group of young men 15-20 years old. 
He said the Ijaws are numerous, know the terrain, and are 
better equipped than the military forces in the area.  The 
Ijaws have GSM phones, satellite phones, mobile radio 
equipment, and automatic weapons.  (Comment:  Indeed, both 
the oil companies and the Nigerian military have admitted 
that the Ijaws are far better armed than they realized. End 
commen). 
 
 
7.  Tiemo concluded the discussion by reaffirming the Ijaw's 
claim to the land disputed by the Itsekiris.  He added that 
all the ethnic groups in the area have to live together 
peacefully since Warri and its environs are the mainstay of 
the country's economy.   But making his point that arms and 
other combat equipment are in the hands of Ijaw youth, he 
boasted that most members of the Ijaw community contribute 
money to support them and, with money, the boys have no 
difficulty obtaining what they want. 
 
 
HINSON-JONES