US embassy cable - 03ABUJA1314

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 001314 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
 
USAID FOR AA/AFR CONSTANCE NEWMAN 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID, PGOV, PINS, EPET, PREL, PHUM, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: AID ASST. ADMINISTRATOR'S DELTA VISIT 
 
1.(SBU) USAID Assistant Administrator Constance Newman 
visited the violence-plagued Warri area July 17.  Accompanied 
by USAID Mission Director and Corporate Responsibility 
Officer (CRO), Newman received a briefing on security, 
community relations and community development from Shell's 
General Manager for Production and its regional Manager for 
Community Relations. 
 
 
2.(SBU) The Shell officials described their often turbulent 
relations with communities in the riverine areas of Delta 
State.  The company seeks "host community" relationships with 
villages in the immediate vicinity of Shell installations and 
pipelines.  MOUs signed with the communities govern the 
provision of community development assistance.  In the past, 
assistance was focused on tangibles such as wells, school 
buildings and clinics.  Shell is now reorienting its 
community development program to focus on human capital -- 
through training, scholarships and job creation.  Recognizing 
that its staff is not well  skilled at designing and 
implementing sustainable assistance programs, Shell is also 
seeking to out-source a large portion of its assistance. 
Development agencies and organizations such as  USAID, DFID 
and the World Bank will be sought as partners in 
collaborative assistance efforts. 
 
 
3.(SBU) During a helicopter overflight of the Warri "creeks," 
Newman was shown closed facilities, including a Shell 
logistics center completely destroyed by armed Ijaw 
militants.  She also saw the ruins of two Itsekiri villages 
destroyed during the March Ijaw attacks.  With the exception 
of the huge Chevron terminal and tank farm at Escravos, the 
area remains off-limits to oil company personnel because of 
the lack of security.  Flying over Warri's harbor, the group 
saw one of the two USG-donated buoy tenders at berth and 
could identify a weapon mounted on the boat's stern. (Note: 
Photos of the boat have been passed to Post's DAO. End Note) 
 
 
4.(SBU) In a meeting with Warri-area Ijaw leaders the AID A/A 
heard complaints about the underdevelopment of Ijaw areas in 
the Delta.  Basic amenities such as clean water, roads and 
schools are needed, claimed Ijaw national leader Chief Edwin 
Clark.  Despite the enormous wealth produced by the region, 
villages remained isolated and development assistance has 
been meager.  Leaders of the Ijaw militants -- the Federated 
Niger Delta Ijaw Communities (FNDIC) -- presented a more 
strident message.  Although the Ijaw leaders found fault with 
the Niger Delta Development Commission -- the federal 
government's vehicle for recycling a portion of  oil 
dividends to the communities -- they reserved their harshest 
criticism for the oil industry.  They called for a larger 
allocation of development resources to Ijaw communities. 
realignment of resources provided by the oil companies, to a 
more equitable sharing with Ijaw communities.  The militants 
particularly faulted ChevronTexaco for allegedly favoring 
Itsekiris with the company's development dollars. 
 
 
5.(SBU) AA Newman's schedule prevented her from meeting 
Itsekiri leaders, but the AID Mission Director and CRO met in 
Sapele (about 40 kilometers from Warri) with leaders of 
Itsekiri communities displaced from the Warri creeks. 
Itsekiri leaders also complained about insufficient 
development assistance.  In a prophetic note, the Itsekiri 
National Youth Council leader warned that Itsekiri youth were 
preparing to fight.  No longer would they "stand with their 
arms folded" while the Ijaw attacked and destroyed their 
villages; they would respond in kind to the next Ijaw 
provocation.  (Note: A July 24 Ijaw attack on the Itsekiri 
village of Abi-Gborodo in Warri North Local Government Area 
was met by a reprisal attack by the Itsekiri youth the 
following day -- the first time the Itsekiri have used force 
in this crisis that began in March. End Note). 
 
 
6.(SBU) Comment:  The visit served to highlight the 
complexity of the current Warri situation.  It is an ethnic, 
emotional and economic conundrum that will require deft 
handling to minimize.   Tribalism,  ethnic animosities, and 
frustration over lack of economic opportunities have grown. 
Groups compete against each other for this portion of meager 
local resources as well as contest each other for the 
attention of the only functioning authority seen in the area 
-- the oil companies.  Attempts at political settlements will 
mostly likely fail as they do not address the core economic 
grievances of the ethnic groups involved.  Conflict 
mitigation work and development assistance aimed at the 
micro-level has a greater chance of success. For this reason, 
USAID has assigned a priority to projects addressing conflict 
in the Delta, through public-private partnerships with the 
companies. 
 
 
7.(SBU) As part of its new five-year strategy (2004-2009) 
USAID has commissioned an assessment of the southern region 
of Nigeria, with a focus on the Delta.  USAID has engaged in 
numerous discussions with the oil companies regarding current 
and future partnerships aimed at economic growth and 
community development.  USAID will use the southern 
assessment to help guide its future investments in the Delta 
region. 
 
 
8.(U) Post was not able to clear this cable with AA Newman 
before her departure. 
 
 
LIBERI