! !""#$!%&'#$!%"(!)*+&!%'#,%-.$#-+#+(,*%(!# ! ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON NIGERIA ! ! ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON NIGERIA ! ! REPORT OF THE ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON ! ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON NIGERIA REPORT! OF THE ALL PARTY PARLIAMENTARY GROUP ON !""#$!%&'#$!%"(!)*+&!%'#,%-.$#-+#+(,*%(!#NIGERIA 4TH NOVEMBER - 10TH NOVEMBERNIGERIA 2007 VISIT ANNUAL REPORT 2009 OBSERVATIONS4TH NOVEMBER AND RECOMMENDATIONS - 10TH NOVEMBER 2007 VISIT OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS REPORT OF THE ALLNIGERIA: PARTY PARLIAMENTARY TESTING TIMES GROUP AND ON SECOND CHANCES NIGERIA 4TH NOVEMBER - 10TH NOVEMBER 2007 VISIT OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS SUPPORTED BY: SUPPORTED BY: SUPPORTED BY: SUPPORTED BY: !!! !!! !!! Chair: John Robertson MP • Portcullis House London SW1A 2LW • Contact: [email protected] Chair: John Robertson MP • Portcullis House London SW1A 2LW • Contact: [email protected] Chair: John Robertson MP • Portcullis House London SW1A 2LW • Contact: [email protected] All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria Annual Report 2009 All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria Annual Report 2009 Nigeria: Testing Times and Second Chances Contents Acknowledgments 3 Executive summary 5 Recommendations 7 Introduction 9 1. Government and the People 10 Corruption and transparency 10 Elections and opposition 12 Institutions and individuals 12 2. Human Rights and Inequality 14 Women and Children 14 Human Rights and Conflict: the case of Jos 16 The Human Rights Commission and Conflict Resolution 17 The Media 19 3. Business and Development 20 Implementation and Delivery 21 4. Danger and opportunity in the Niger Delta 23 Conclusion 26 Appendices 27 Appendix I: Nigeria APPG meetings in 2008 27 Appendix II: Itinerary of 2008 visit to Nigeria 28 Appendix III: Acronyms 29 Appendix IV: Media Coverage of Nigeria Visit 30 Appendix V: Map of Nigeria 36 Chair: John Robertson MP * Portcullis House London SW1A 2LW * Contact: [email protected] 2 All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria Annual Report 2009 Acknowledgments The All Party Parliamentary Group has no resources of its own; it is able to do its work because of the support provided by a wide network of contacts. The APPG exists because of the knowledge, dedication and enthusiasm of its contacts and friends. I would like to thank all those the APPG met with in London throughout the year and in Nigeria during its December 2009 visit. The APPG benefits greatly from their time, information and hospitality, and we thank them for this. The Group particularly extends its grateful thanks to the Christian and Muslim representatives from Jos who travelled to Kaduna to speak with the delegation about the Jos crisis. It would like to thank the staff at the University of Ibadan for their time and hospitality. The APPG is grateful to the Institute of Tropical Agriculture, the Justice, Development and Peace Commission and the National Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons for informative meetings. The APPG would like to thank Kaduna State Governor HE Namadi Sambo and the Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees for their gracious hospitality. The Group would also like to extend its thanks to Hon. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Hon. Beni Lar and Hon. Ndudi Godwin Elumelu and their committees for their time. Finally, the APPG is grateful to the people of the Iddo Sarki community for welcoming it to their village. For the second time, Virgin Nigeria supported the APPG visit to Nigeria. The Group thanks Virgin Nigeria for its support and excellent service, and in particular extends warmest thanks to Conrad Clifford, Emma Martin, Gerry Brace and the staff at Abuja and Lagos airports. The APPG extends its grateful thanks to Shell International for making this visit possible. The APPG would like to thank Elizabeth Donnelly of Chatham House, the group coordinator, for administrative and research support. Andrew Woodcock accompanied the delegation on its visit and the Group thanks him for his assistance. The Group is most grateful to the Nigerian High Commission in London for its kind assistance ahead of the trip and thanks HE High Commissioner Dalhatu Tafida and Akin Oyateru, Head of Political Affairs. Without the hard work of the staff of the British High Commission in Nigeria, APPG visits would not be possible. The Group is grateful for the High Commission’s organisation, support and advice. It thanks HE High Commissioner Bob Dewar for his time and hospitality. Thanks also to Deputy High Commissioner in Lagos Richard Powell, Jonathan Bacon, Kate Airey and Tunde Asaju. Thanks also to Richard Rose for his hard work and support – particularly after my accident in Kaduna. The Group would like to extend particular thanks to Wale Adebajo for his support, hard work and forbearance during the delegation’s visit. The group met with a great many people during its visit to Nigeria and throughout the year, and is grateful to them all for the support, time and friendship they have given us. Chair: John Robertson MP * Portcullis House London SW1A 2LW * Contact: [email protected] 3 All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria Annual Report 2009 Finally, I would like to thank Anthony Wright MP, Stephen Hepburn MP and Michael Connarty MP for joining the 2008 delegation to Nigeria and for their interest, commitment and support. John Robertson MP, Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria The APPG delegation with staff of the Justice, Development and Peace Commission Chair: John Robertson MP * Portcullis House London SW1A 2LW * Contact: [email protected] 4 All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria Annual Report 2009 Nigeria: Testing Times and Second Chances Executive Summary Nigeria remains an important country, more populous than any other on the continent, in a position to offer leadership in the region and the world. With its growing social, cultural and economic links, what happens in Nigeria affects the UK. This is why it is so important that the UK Government remains focused on offering partnership and leadership in its relations with Nigeria. A delegation of the British All Party Parliamentary Group visited Nigeria for a fourth time in late 2008. Members were impressed once again by the determination and resourcefulness demonstrated by Nigerians as they seek to overcome the considerable challenges before them. The commitment of those international partners, in particular the UK, who seek to support Nigeria’s reform efforts, was also clear. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s vast potential remains largely untapped and the dangers from corruption and mismanagement are growing once again. Nigeria’s resources have for the most part been exploited for the wrong reasons and have been used to shore up leaders who are failing to deliver to their people and meet stated promises and expectations. Internationally, Nigeria’s reputation as the home of financial crime continues to precede it and it is perceived to be a difficult and risky country in which to do business. While the country is treated with caution, it is still seen as a key oil producer, being the eighth largest exporter of crude oil to the United States and Europe, and it has the largest domestic market in Africa. Nigeria has an array of challenges to overcome: problems of accountability and transparency, human rights violations, a flagging power sector, political manipulation creating conflict, an economy dominated by oil. Nigeria hopes to be among the top twenty world economies by 2020 (Vision 2020), but this will not happen unless its leadership – at all levels, including federal, state and local government and civil society leaders – becomes organised and takes direct responsibility for the people. This is not only Nigeria’s challenge, however. The international community shares this challenge and despite Nigeria’s importance in the world there has been insufficient international coordinated will or action in engagement with the country. Issues are addressed piecemeal – corruption or the Niger Delta, for example – but patient and willing engagement is lacking. A Nigeria that does not function as it could or should is costly to its people and to the world. Though the country is too often viewed first and only as a producer of oil, it has massive economic potential, is a cultural hub, with a burgeoning film industry, and is a nation of ethnic and religious diversity. There are an estimated 10 million Nigerians living abroad, if not more, and what happens in Nigeria has impacts around the world. Despite the difficulties of the challenges faced, and frequent signs of deterioration rather than progress, the international community cannot afford to shrug its shoulders Chair: John Robertson MP * Portcullis House London SW1A 2LW * Contact: [email protected] 5 All Party Parliamentary Group on Nigeria Annual Report 2009 and be overcome with pessimism, nor can it afford to avoid engagement because Nigeria is ‘too difficult’. Many blame oil production for Nigeria’s woes. The country was flooded with oil profits when systems could not cope with them. Oil has fuelled economic dependency, corruption and poverty. However, oil is a fact of life in Nigeria, the reserves will not run out any time soon and though production may be hindered or prevented, the oil will remain to be exploited. There is no alternative but to make oil work for the benefit of Nigerians as a whole. This means first and foremost clamping down on corruption and improving transparency and making a concurrent improvement in government