Amb. Sanders June 11, 2014 U.S. Congress Testimony on Nigeria's Boko Haram Crisis & Chibook

Chairman Smith with
Ambassador Sanders
Following June 11, 2014
Hearing on Boko Haram

(Full Testimony Below)

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bass, and Members of the Subcommittee, I want to thank you for inviting me here today to testify before you. I just returned from Nigeria and was in country when the international community became more aware of the horrible kidnapping of 247 girls by Boko Haram on April 14, 2014. 

Honorable Members you have asked the panel today to discuss the ongoing crisis in Nigeria and there are several components to this issue, however, my remarks will be based on:

1.) My knowledge of the region, as I have been in every state in Nigeria, including travelling by road from Abuja through what is now Boko Haram’s current expanded territory of operation at least 4 times during my tenure there.

2.) I have been north of Maiduguri also by road in some of the most desolate areas of the world I have been in,  and I have served in Sudan by comparison;

3.) What I know of Boko Haram before and since its vicious resurgence, noting that it has been in existence since the late 1990s; and,

4.) My conversations and first hand observations while on my recent trip to Nigeria.  

With that backdrop, I will address what I understand are the Committees principal concerns for holding this hearing today:

      1.) The Security Environment and Boko Haram, and areas of possible additional assistance;

       2.) Why Boko Haram was not initially considered a Foreign Terrorist Organization, FTO; and then;

      3.) Address what I am hearing from my contacts on Chibook/Chibok, and concerns there.

The Nigerian Security Services in the Face of Boko Haram:

Current Nigerian security services have never experienced anything like what they are facing with Boko Haram today. They need to understand that Boko Haram is unlike the Niger Delta conflict and they need to toss out that play book as regards to this conflict. Boko Haram is executing asymmetrical warfare, and for the most part this is outside of the framework of the security forces and their capability to effectively respond. The Nigerian troops that have been in recent conflicts in northern Mali, including the initial Nigerian Force Commander, and those troops who served in Darfur probably are the few that have had the closest experience in asymmetrical warfare;

--Thus, the existing challenges in some of the security structures are more evident now as they are finding it difficult to cope with the threat.  It is good that Nigeria has accepted international assistance to begin to address some of these structural challenges and gaps in capability. From my time on the ground, they have always had challenges in the following areas:

--Airlift - Airlift is key to troop rotation as I heard reports of PTSD while I was there; it is important because of the distances and tough road travel in the Northeast; and it is important because it will help them react faster to the changing situation on the ground as they try to cover more than 60,000 square miles of territory about the size of Georgia or Wisconsin. 

--Additional materiel, especially mobile communication equipment, vehicles, technology-based bomb detection equipment (what saw in many places was rudimentary at best); and, improved control over its porous borders;

--Improved military planning, logistics, equipment, and supplies, including sufficient spare parts, and fuel);

--Expand its small special forces unit, and its 24/7 counter terrorism (CT) center (both began to be stood up while I was there);

--Establishing a satellite CT center closer to the Northeast region so information doesn’t take so long to react to or be analyzed;

--More Rapid Response Forces or what we call mobile units, and probably more outposts;

-- Security Service personnel and resources are both stretched thin, Realignment is needed to better address the current threat;

-- Improvement in strategic communications and review of existing strategic communications approaches, because what they have now is not working internally or externally with affected communities, particularly with the families of the missing girls.

-- I would suggest a liaison committee led by someone respected for their human rights values that engages with the families and keeps them informed. Not someone who is a press spokesperson, but someone who is an advocate, and can avoid the Malaysia flight MH370 fiasco with the families.

I lectured as a Visiting Scholar last year at Nigeria’s Defense College and talked about the must-do things the security forces needed to do to build better relations and respond more quickly to the affected communities.

I traveled through Kano last month by road on my way to visit an agricultural project I am involved with in the Northwest. There were checkpoints all along the way, anywhere from 30-to-50 kilometers apart. I did not see the ability to communicate between most checkpoints. I understand that in the Northeast this is more acute as distances between some checkpoints are greater, adding to what we already know:  That information is not reacted to in timely or effective manner. 
I am not excusing the poor responses and reaction to date. I am just providing recommendations from a strategic perspective of things that can be and need to be addressed right now as I would hope the assistance packages for Nigeria are including.
 
The Long War, The Long Conflict:

Nigeria is at the beginning of a long war or long conflict, and they have to realize this. This is no longer a localized conflict or insurgency. There is no easy fix and every attack in response to Boko Haram cannot be viewed a death knell blow to it – a long range security framework to this terrorist threats is what is needed. The security services need to regroup, re-approach, and re-address in order to begin to get off their heels on the defensive and get on an aggressive offense.  This has not happened yet, and Boko Haram has not only succeeded in terrorizing 60,000 square miles of territory, but also as evident with the late April 2014 attacks, they have the ability to reach locations just 15 kilometers outside of Abuja, either with sleepers cells or with bombs getting past checkpoints. 

Right now the security services are out gunned, and out strategically played. One thing I also want to put into the mix on which I am not sure there has been much focus is the language differences. Most of the security forces in the Northeast are Hausa-speaking, while the majority of the village population in Borno are Kanuri speakers. Just like the US military had to ramp up on its Arabic speakers for Iraqi, the Nigerian military will need to increase its Kanuri speakers in order to more effectively engage with the local population there.

I mention this as part of the overall issue of addressing and reframing of strategic communication and outreach to the villages.
 
My next comment will be an unpopular thing to hear for many, but there are people and elements in the Nigerian military that are committed and serious, but they are under-supported and need resources. This does not dilute the issues of the very real challenges for the security forces and reports in the past of corruption and failure to respond. That being said, I had several rank and file security service members come up to me on this last trip to say: “Madame you know some of us, you know we are not all bad, we do our jobs for our country. Tell people this Madame; I said I would.” 

I highlight this to underscore who is going to fight this war, this conflict if it is not the Nigerian security forces, along with assistance from the international community. They are the vanguard of this conflict, so we need to help them pull up their boots straps as an institution to address any challenges they might have to get it together because if the entire security structure becomes demoralized who is going to fight this conflict.
 
There have already reportedly been 1-2 incidents where military units allegedly have shown their frustration by shooting at commanders’ convoys – one report happen while I was still in Nigeria.

Relationship with Neighboring Intelligent Services:

Nigeria’s neighbors and human intelligence from villagers in Nigeria and neighboring countries will be critical elements of fighting this war, this conflict. There has to be better control of the porous borders and cooperation; P-3 surveillance planes can assist with this, but in the end on-ground human intelligence (or humint) is going to be key. Despite the May 2014 Paris conference with Nigeria and its neighbors, a trust issue remains among them on sharing intelligence.  So we need to help build trust among those services as well.

Food Security:

Boko Haram has been so brutal that several villages and markets have just disappeared, which means food is becoming scare as planting and commerce has ceased. The international community needs to keep an eye on the food security situation as food shortages could become an issue down the line.

Designation of Boko Haram as Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO):   

The other question I understood the Committee is interested in is why Boko Haram was not named earlier as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO). As I said earlier, Boko Haram has been around since the late 1990s, and was more commonly referred to before (in its earlier form) as the Nigerian Taliban. Prior to the last four years it executed localized sabotage, attacked police stations, and recruited young people into the group, but no kidnapping. Evidence of some Boko Haram contacts with AQIM started to surface about 9 months after (early 2010) the extrajudicial killing of its then-leader Muhammad Yusef and his key lieutenant Al Haji Buji Foi in July 2009; this was shared with the then-government.

I was in Nigeria when Yusuf was captured and killed almost before the cameras by the Nigerian Police. From early 2010 until August 2011, almost a full year there was a lull with some small acts, and again localized. The morphing of Boko Haram to using Al-Qaeda or AQIM-like tactics to achieve the goal of establishing an Islamic Extremist Caliphate began really surfacing in mid-2011 with the bombing of the UNHeadquarters in Abuja in August 2011, and since then Boko Haram has continually gotten more expansive in both its reach, and brutality from 2012-2014.

I will expect disagreements on this, but earlier than August 2011 before it bombed the UN Headquarters in Abuja, Boko Haram, in my view, would not have met the third leg of the cited FTO definition in the law:

1. It must be a foreign organization;

2. It must engage in terrorist activity, as defined in several sections off the Immigration and Nationality and Foreign Relations Authorization Acts (Sections 212 (a)(3)(B) of the INA (8 U.S.C. §1182(a) (3)(B), or terrorism, as defined in section 140(d)(2) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 1988 and 1989 (22 U.S.C. § 2656f(d) (2), or retain the capability and intent to engage in terrorist activity or terrorism); and,

3. Its terrorists activity or terrorism must threaten the security of U.S. nationals or the national security (national defense, foreign relations, or the economic interests) of the United States.

The Abuja UN Headquarters bombing showed the: reach; capability, brutality, of Boko Haram and its use of Al-Qaeda inspired tactics; underscoring that all nationals were at risk. The UN HQ is right around the corner from the US Embassy, and when I was there I could see the building from my office window.  

Chibook/Chibok:

First my heart goes out to the families and the missing girls wherever they might be as I know they are suffering, scared, and afraid. In Paris Monday there was a Global Conference onWomen, and one of the things said there regarding the Chibook girls is that this tragedy is the epitome in dehumanization that girls do not have the right to control their own fate; their education and who they might choose to marry.
Despite reports out of Nigeria, I do not think that most/most of the girls have been in Nigeria for a long time. We have no idea how long the videos being shown were taken. And, these terrorists groups learn from each other, and Boko Haram is nothing but strategic. Therefore, I think it is unlikely that most (maybe not all) the girls have been put into smaller groups and taken across the borders to Chad and Cameroon, or elsewhere, or kept in smaller groups or singular in Nigeria. So, again the human intelligence factor is going to be critical to hopefully finding some of them.

I also do not want us to forget that from January-March 2014 young girls were being kidnapped, killed, terrorized and brutalized by Boko Haram. Yesterday, 20 more women were reported kidnapped near Chibook. During January-March 2014, young girls were burned to death in their dorms; others kidnapped, divided up based on their physical maturity level, and those who showed signs of puberty had their throats cut – all of these actions show that Boko Haram’s Shekerau is acting on one of his stated goals that he would: make the mothers and daughters of Nigeria suffer in revenge for the capture of some of Boko Haram’s families members by the Nigerian security forces.

I highlight all of these things to underscore that we as the international community cannot be sporadic on these horrible human rights violations and brutality of young girls. We must do all we can to protect the young women in the North.  A few recommendations on human side of this issue, just in case the current assistance packages are not including these things:

My recommendations are mostly directed at protecting and assisting the young girls who escaped, their families, and the families of those who are still missing:

1.) More trauma and grief counseling for families and the returned girls;

2.) Liaison committee lead by someone respected for their human rights values that can help keep the families informed to avoid the Malaysian MH370 family relations issues;

3.) Ensure that the girls that have returned and their families are protected so they don’t become victims again -- as am sure Boko Haram is watching what happens with them. Even if we protect their faces, this doesn’t mean that Boko Haram elements cannot figure out who they are, so we need to be careful with their safety;

4.) President Jonathan should meet with the families, even if it is not in Chibook/Chibok;

5.) And, I am not making an apples and oranges comparison necessarily, but if the world/international community could mobilize tons of financial, technical, human resources to try to find the missing Malaysia plane MH 370 of 239 people, it can mobilize the same to find the 247 girls no matter in what country they are located. 

6.) Things such as mistrust among neighboring countries in sharing intelligence must take a back seat. 

I do see an array of assistance, but nowhere near the level of mobilization that is probably needed by the entire international community – full time, all the time.

Thank You Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bass and Members of the Subcommittee

 

*As delivered to The U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights, and International Organizations, June 11, 2014, 2:30pm

 

A FEEEDS Series BlogSpot

 

 

 

Tick, Tick…The Clock is Running On Nigeria’s 2011 Elections

This blogspot is part of the series “The Road to Nigeria’s 2011 Elections”

Tick, Tick… What is that sound? Nigeria’s election clock ticking toward a January 2011 election, but much work still needs to be done so that everyone, particularly friends of Nigeria, can begin to exhale that things are on the right track, and moving in the right direction. There has been a mixture of news that shows some progress, but the loudest sound coming from the election clock is the need for a date certain to be set for the election itself by the country’s Independent National Election Commission – more commonly known as INEC. From that point - from that election date - everything else will be determined: how long voter registration can go on, and when the voter registry must be finished.

The last week has had a lot of interesting aspects that are worth noting. First, INEC got most of the money that it requested to conduct the elections, nearly $480 million, which will be used for direct capture machines of voter information in the registration process, voter education, setting up the nearly 120,000-140,000 or more polling places, and deploying both people and resources. Reportedly 360,000 staff are needed to conduct the elections.

Secondly, President Jonathan signed the new 2010 Nigerian Electoral Act on August 20, 2010, ending a fair amount of uncertainty on whether the election will be in January 2011 or April 2011, and finally setting the stage for INEC to decide when in the next 150 days there will be a turning point election for Nigeria. I have been calling this a "Must-Do" election because of the rallying cry of the nation to hold credible and transparent polls. If you are counting both fingers and toes that means the election date should be set before the end of August – only a few days away. There is still a debate out there (and a few legal suits) as to whether President Jonathan has to assent to the constitutional amendment (see blog-itrrs: The Africa Post on constitutional debate) passed in late July 2010, before they are enforce. Despite these suits things appear to be progressing in the direction that the amendments are in force, which call for an election to be held no later than 150 days from Nigeria Democracy Day – May 29, 2011. So this mean, January 2011. INEC’s new Chairman, who all agree is a committed and dedicated Nigerian with integrity and skills, has a lot on his plate, most notably the eyes of the nation and the international community.

However, we must not forget the politics of the day as political parties decide on their next moves. The ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) seems to have figured out how it is going to handle it north-south zoning issues; there is the new Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) - a merger of two parties; and, other political groups are holding meetings to build coalitions.

We all look forward to an election date being announced in the coming days and we continue to encourage the new INEC Chairman as he puts in motion people, resources, manages the politics, and determines the next election steps for this dynamic country of 150 million people as the clock looks like it is ticking toward a January 2011 election. The U.S.-Nigerian Binational Commission will meet this week to have informational meetings on the U.S. Government-UK funded election technical assistance.

Nigeria Election: Constitutional Amendment Debate

The road to Nigeria having credible elections in 2011 is an important one for the country and for the African Continent. The country will embark on a herculean task of creating a new voter registry that could represent some 65-70 million voters -- many of them new voters given that nearly half of the nation's 150 million people are under the age of 30. Transparent and credible elections have been a challenge for Nigeria in the past. There are a series of next step issues that remain pending. One key debate is on the status of the new constitutional amendments that will govern the conduct of the elections. Tied up in which way the debate prevails is when in 2011 the election will be held. The Debate: The polity and Nigerian legal scholars are in the throes of deciding if the new constitutional amendments to the country's electoral process requires an assent by the current Nigerian President to become law, or if by virtue of the passage by the country's National Assembly, they come into force.

Meanwhile the clock is ticking: toward an early 2011 election with no fixed election date; the need to create a new voter registry for nearly 65-70 million potential voters and begin voter education; and, fine tune strategic logistic election planning to cover a country of nearly 98K square kilometers. A number of African countries will hold elections from mid-summer 2010 through 2011But, 2010is the year that many African nations turn 50 - representing 50 years of independence - a seminal fact that President Obama is highlighting right now in Washington with a 3-day African Young Leaders Forum to look at the next 50 years for Africa Download file

The U.S. Embassy in Nigeria chose three young Nigerians to attend the Forum. I will do a follow-on event with them in Abuja on August 12, looking at what the election and the next 50 years means for Nigeria. Kenya's election is only a day away and all on the African Continent are closely watching what happens. The Global community cannot take these elections lightly. They are important as a marker for the next 50 years. The Constitutional Amendment debate or whether or not Nigerian President Jonathan has to assent to the amendments for them to become law or not needs to be decided soonest, so a date certain can be determined for the election, and the other hard tasks can begin in earnest like creating a new voter registry.

New constitutional amendments Factoids: key timetables: when voter registration has to end; when the voter registry has to be completed, and a range of days -- 150-120 days -- before May 29, 2011 in which the election has to take place.

This is one in series of several blog post focusing on the "Roadmap to Nigeria's 2011 Election," highlighting the progress and challenges along the way. (Related speeches: CODER; NIM Nigeria's Elections)

Nigeria: Cassava-to-Glucose Factory, National Day, Ailing President

On February 25, U.S. Mission Nigeria hosted its National Day in Abuja to a crowd of nearly 700 people, with the U.S. Navy Band playing and the wonderful Nigerian singer Age Bika. The crowd was wowed by their performances, and guest were treated to food from all across America. My speech focused on the uncertain political times in Nigeria with the return of the ailing President, a kind and thoughtful person. The USG wishes him well and counts on Nigerian leaders to do the utmost to stay on democracy's path. Key attendees were the Secretary of the Federal Government and the new Attorney General of the Republic. (see photo album)


On February 28, the Consulate General in Lagos did its National Day celebrations under the direction of the Consul General. I attended as well to greet and take photos with our wonderful company sponsors who always support our national day activities. There were about 750 guest at this event and the talented young men and women from the Lagos American International School played as fire works hovered over the water. My brief remarks here also focused on keeping Nigeria's democracy on the right path.

On February 22, Had pleasure today to sign a $162,000 USG Grant, along with the USAID Mission Director by which the USG will assist Nigeria Nigeria in one of its principal development goals of obtaining 10,000 megawatts of electricity by the end of 2011. The USG will work with Independent Power Producers Association on this key programs that will also include USG efforts on climate change to help identify renewable energy, reduce gas flarings -- important issues to reduce carbon foot print.

On February 21, The Formers Did A Great! Job: Bush and Rice at This Day Awards. Former President Bush and Former Secretary of State Rice showcased statesperson-ship when they discussed leadership, Nigeria's place in Africa and the world, noting Nigeria must move forward on its democracy. Highlight was a talk-around with Bush and former UK PM Blair moderated by former SecState Rice on the actions during their tenure, the importance of Africa, their love for the continent, and their legacies of development, debt relief, and combating AIDS. Rice gave frank talk at evening event to a gala crowd of 1000 on the impact of her history on who she is today, and her good wishes for Nigeria as it charts the way ahead. Having served as Ambassador to Republic of Congo under both, they included me in their meeting with the newly names Acting President of Nigeria. Key points sometimes circumstances make great leaders, rise to the occasion with transparent 2011 elections, fighting corruption, and good governance. (see photo in album)

On March 2, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet with nearly 100 farmers involved in a cassava cooperative and a local factory that changes cassava to glucose. The USG provides technical assistance to the Ekha Agro Factory whose managing director is a dynamic young woman. This is the first factory of its kind in Nigeria, and the first in West Africa! With USG technical assistance, we have been able to help 1000 local farmers in 3 states -- Ogun, Oyo, and Lagos -- increasing their yields and their incomes. This project is both income-generating and helps build a sense of community and cooperation among the farmers, as they all work together on each other's crops in support of greater yields, which means more income. Farmers First!!

On March 3, I had another active day raising the profile of the USG in the agricultural sector. I spoke with a number of small and medium size entrepreneurs at the launching of the USG's Nigerian Expanded Export Promotion Project or NEEP which is through USAID and the West Africa Trade Hub. NEEP will train small business persons to identify their markets in the U.S. and in the West Africa region in order to export their products, and help them improve the quality of their products, particularly in shea butter and textiles. The goal is to have their products reach export-quality levels or increase their outputs. Nearly 100 small business persons attended the NEEP launch and were beneficiaries of the first training event. I learned there was a U.S. Shea Butter Institute in Atlanta - who knew! (see photo in album)