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U.S. POLICY TOWARD NIGERIA:

WEST AFRICA’S TROUBLED TITAN

HEARING

BEFORE THE

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, 

AND HUMAN RIGHTS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

JULY 10, 2012

Serial No. 112–184

Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/

(II)

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida, Chairman 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

RON PAUL, Texas 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida 

JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio 

BILL JOHNSON, Ohio 

DAVID RIVERA, Florida 

MIKE KELLY, Pennsylvania 

TIM GRIFFIN, Arkansas 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

RENEE ELLMERS, North Carolina 

ROBERT TURNER, New York 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey 

GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

DENNIS CARDOZA, California 

BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky 

BRIAN HIGGINS, New York 

ALLYSON SCHWARTZ, Pennsylvania 

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut 

FREDERICA WILSON, Florida 

KAREN BASS, California 

WILLIAM KEATING, Massachusetts 

DAVID CICILLINE, Rhode Island 

YLEEM D.S. POBLETE, Staff Director 

RICHARD J. KESSLER, Democratic Staff Director 

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, AND HUMAN RIGHTS

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania 

ANN MARIE BUERKLE, New York 

ROBERT TURNER, New York 

KAREN BASS, California 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

WITNESSES 

The Honorable Johnnie Carson, Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State ............................................................... 6

The Honorable Earl Gast, Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Africa, U.S. 

Agency for International Development .............................................................. 19

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, president, Christian Association of Nigeria ................... 43

Darren Kew, Ph.D, associate professor, McCormack Graduate School, University of Massachusetts Boston .............................................................................. 49

Mr. Anslem John-Miller, U.S. Representative, Movement for the Survival 

of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) ............................................................................. 57

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

The Honorable Johnnie Carson: Prepared statement ........................................... 10

The Honorable Earl Gast: Prepared statement ..................................................... 21

Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor: Prepared statement ......................................................... 46

Darren Kew, Ph.D: Prepared statement ................................................................ 52

Mr. Anslem John-Miller: Prepared statement ...................................................... 59

APPENDIX 

Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 66

Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 67

The Honorable Russ Carnahan, a Representative in Congress from the State 

of Missouri: Prepared statement ......................................................................... 68

Questions submitted for the record by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith, 

a Representative in Congress from the State of New Jersey, and chairman, 

Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Human Rights, to the Honorable Johnnie Carson ............................................................................................ 69

Written responses from the Honorable Johnnie Carson ................................... 70

Written responses from the Honorable Earl Gast to questions submitted 

for the record by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith .................................... 77

Questions submitted for the record by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith 

to Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor ..................................................................................... 82

Written responses from Darren Kew, Ph.D., to questions submitted for the 

record by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith ................................................ 83

Questions submitted for the record by the Honorable Christopher H. Smith 

to Mr. Anslem John-Miller .................................................................................. 87

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U.S. POLICY TOWARD NIGERIA: WEST 

AFRICA’S TROUBLED TITAN 

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2012

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH,

AND HUMAN RIGHTS, 

COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2 o’clock p.m., in 

room 2200 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. 

Smith (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. 

Mr. SMITH. Good afternoon and welcome. Today’s hearing will examine U.S. policy and policy options for managing relations with 

Nigeria in light of concerns on terrorism and social and political 

unrest. The stability of the Nigerian Government is critical to regional, continental and global interests. Nigeria is hugely important on many fronts. Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer of oil and 

its largest democracy is one the United States Government’s key 

strategic partners on the continent. It is Africa’s most populous 

country with more than 155 million people, roughly half Muslim 

and half Christian, and its second largest economy. Nigeria supplies over three times the volume of imports to the United States 

as Angola, the second leading U.S. import supplier. The United 

States receives nearly 20 percent of our petroleum exports from Nigeria. Consequently, Nigeria’s stability is of critical interest for the 

U.S. economy and American policy interests. 

Attacks by the Nigerian Islamic group Boko Haram on Christians, including attacks launched this past weekend, are absolutely 

unprovoked and they are unconscionable. People of all faiths and 

all people of goodwill must demand immediate action against the 

terrorist organization. 

According to the Catholic News Agency, EWTN News, and I 

quote,

‘‘Archbishop Ignatius A. Kaigama is concerned over the seemingly endless violence against Christians that claimed at least 

58 lives this past weekend and hundreds of others in recent 

weeks. It is ‘our prayer that something definitive will be done 

to stop the situation that is inhuman,’ the Archbishop of Jos, 

Nigeria and Nigerian Bishops’ Conference president said. In a 

July 9 interview with Vatican Radio, Archibishop Kaigama 

said that the violence against Christian villages ‘doesn’t seem 

to stop.’ Although he was recently awarded the Institute for 

International Research’s annual peace building award, the 

2

archbishop said he and his priests are discouraged by the silence of foreign governments surrounding the violence in Nigeria. A peaceful resolution ‘cannot be left to just one country,’ 

the archbishop said, urging a ‘collective effort.’ ’’

Boko Haram, as we all know, reportedly is in league with alQaeda in the Mahgreb, and is involved at some level with Tuareg 

rebels in northern Mali, Islamists in Somalia, and possibly even 

the Taliban in Afghanistan. 

In addition to its well publicized attack on Christians in Nigeria, 

Boko Haram has been involved in murdering those they consider 

moderate Muslims or Muslims collaborating with the Central Government or the West, including several Muslim clerics, the leader 

of the All Nigeria People’s Party and the brother of Shehu of 

Borno, a northern Muslim religious leader. There are reports that 

some northern Nigerian leaders may be supporting Boko Haram in 

some way as a leverage against a government that they oppose. 

U.S. policy toward Nigeria must also take into account ethnic, religious and political changes the Nigerian Government faces outside of the Boko Haram dynamic. Furthermore, development deficits in Nigeria have had unequal impacts on various minority 

groups such as Nigeria’s Delta region. This lack of attention to equitable development in Nigeria has led to violent uprisings that do 

not appear to be resolved in any part of the country, certainly not 

in the Niger Delta. 

In Nigeria, President Goodluck Jonathan is considered to be the 

personification of his name, a fortunate politician who has been in 

the right place at the right time to enable him to enjoy a meteoric 

rise in politics with no perceived political base or political distinction in his relatively brief career. He was an obscure government 

employee before he entered politics in 1998, and a year later was 

elected Deputy Governor of the Bayelsa State. Except for his success in negotiations with his fellow Ijaws in the troubled Delta region, he served until he became the Governor of Bayelsa State, 

after his predecessor was impeached on corruption charges in 2005. 

Outgoing President Obasanjo selected the then-Governor Jonathan to be the People’s Democratic Party’s Vice Presidential candidate with Umaru Yar’Adua, a Presidential candidate from the 

North, in the 2007 elections. Yar’Adua was ill for much of his time 

in office, and Jonathan was called on to exercise presidential authority from November 2009 when Yar’Adua was unable to do so. 

The Nigerian power brokers accepted Jonathan as official Acting 

President in February 2010. Jonathan did surprise people, they 

didn’t think he would do this, when he announced in September 

2010 that he had consulted widely throughout Nigeria and would 

actually run for President. President Jonathan won the election 

convincingly but his People’s Democratic Party lost seats in the 

Senate and the House of Representatives, and PDP now holds four 

fewer governorships, down to 23 of 36. 

In October 2010, the Jonathan administration called for the fuel 

subsidy to be removed. The government’s decision was met with 

demonstrations and strikes by national unions. But while the 

unions agreed to end strikes and protests, the Joint Action Forum, 

a civil society affiliate of the unions, continued protest for a time 

throughout the country. The government responded with what 

3

human rights groups charge was excessive force. In northern Kano 

State, a student was shot to death in the course of breaking up a 

rally. 

In addition to the resentment caused by government brutality in 

dealing with the large youth-led fuel subsidy protests, high unemployment, resentment over perceived government corruption, and 

mismanagement and experience in organizing social protests may 

yet have a lasting impact on Nigerian politics and society. 

The issues of excessive government force in the Niger Delta, 

northern Nigeria and other areas of the country over several past 

governments in Nigeria have fed resentment. Combined with the 

northern political opposition, the increasing resistance by minorities and the civil society political revolt, the Jonathan administration faces significant forces arrayed against it. The questions our 

Government must answer, will this government withstand its opposition and what can we do to help Nigeria remain Africa’s essential 

nation? 

I would like to yield to my friend and colleague, Ms. Bass, for 

any opening comments she might have. 

Ms. BASS. Well, once again Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you 

for your continued leadership and attention toward the African continent and on holding today’s hearing on Nigeria, one of our country’s most important strategic partnerships in the region. 

We all know that Africa’s most populous nation with a wealth of 

natural resources, Nigeria has much to offer the continent, our 

country and the world. Over the last 6 years, Nigeria has experienced an average growth rate in GDP of nearly 7 percent, due in 

most part to the fact that Nigeria is Africa’s largest oil producer 

and one of the top U.S. suppliers of oil. It said that oil and gas production account for 95 percent of export earnings. The Congressional Research Service reports that U.S. imports account for over 

40 percent of Nigeria’s total crude oil export, making the United 

States Nigeria’s largest trading partner. 

It is clear that the United States and Nigeria have a unique 

partnership that links our two nations in important and meaningful ways. However, despite all that Nigeria has to offer, Nigeria 

continues to be challenged by a host of social, political, economic 

and security issues that stymy its full emergence as one of the continent’s brightest stars. 

Just over a year since Presidential elections, President Jonathan 

continues to press for much-needed reforms, and it is my hope that 

he will move expeditiously on a path of reform that addresses endemic corruption in and outside of government, and that these reforms focus on transparency and accountability at all levels. President Jonathan must also address some of the most enduring tensions that divide ethnic groups in the north and south and that 

also cut across religious lines. 

Too many Nigerians have lost their lives and sadly more hang 

in the balance if President Jonathan and his administration do not 

address social-economic development and land rights issues as part 

of the root causes of these tensions. This includes continued efforts 

to strengthen the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the 

lead body established to address fraud and corruption. I would apVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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preciate the witnesses providing an update on the Jonathan administration’s efforts to address corruption. 

We are also aware that Boko Haram continues down a path of 

violence and disruption, and poses serious threats to peace and stability in Nigeria and can be a destabilizing element throughout the 

region, especially if its ties to AQIM are continued. Just 2 weeks 

ago, AFRICOM’s General Ham commented that Boko Haram and 

AQIM are likely sharing guns, training and explosive materials. I 

would appreciate the witnesses providing their perspectives on the 

present-day makeup of Boko Haram. 

Does the core group number just in the hundreds? Is the group 

susceptible to fracturing of its leadership away from building ties 

with al-Qaeda? I will be particularly interested to hear your remarks, Assistant Secretary Carson, on what diplomatic efforts 

show signs of positive progress with the Nigerian Government to 

effectively address Boko Haram’s strength and position. And I 

would appreciate greater clarity about designating Boko Haram as 

a foreign terrorist organization. 

Is there the potential for Boko Haram to be further emboldened 

and given greater legitimacy with an official designation? And most 

important, how do we address the root causes of Boko Haram’s 

grievances without ostracizing other groups and communities in regions where the social and economic and political realities are 

equally challenging? 

On another note, and changing subjects a bit, I do want to acknowledge that Nigeria is a major recipient of U.S. foreign assistance with aid topping $625 million in Fiscal Year 2012. Nigeria is 

also a participant in the State Department’s Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership, a successful program that has increased 

border protection and regional counterterrorism capabilities and coordination. 

Additionally, while 90 percent of exports from Nigeria are AGOAeligible, I hope that as we look to the future of AGOA, with which 

many of my colleagues in both the House and Senate have been involved, we will see a broader diversification of other goods and 

services that can also take advantage of AGOA opportunities. 

Lastly, as we continue to deal with the vast array of complex social, political, economic and security challenges, we must remember 

the serious environmental issues faced by those in the Niger Delta. 

Environmental degradation and health hazards have depressed a 

once vibrant area. I specifically want to point out the problem with 

Nigeria’s oil fields lacking the infrastructure to capture and transport natural gas, and the government unsuccessfully stopping the 

flaring gas at oil wells. 

My question to you is, what happens at wells operated by U.S. 

companies? Have they addressed this problem? If not, why not, and 

if so, are they able to assist the Nigerian Government in addressing this issue? I raise this as a question for this hearing because 

we are all aware that the social and economic conditions are the 

root causes of the topic that we are discussing today. 

Thank you, and I look forward to today’s witnesses testimonies. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Ms. Bass. 

Mr. Turner? 

5

Mr. TURNER. Thank you. I would just have one series of questions for the witness, Mr. Carson. The nondesignation of Boko 

Haram as an FTO, it has been pressed, this designation has been 

pressed by the FBI, the Department of Justice, Homeland Security. 

There is a bill in the Senate with Senator Brown. There is a bill 

in the House. This group has attacked the U.N. There have been 

over 1,000 deaths attributed to it. Their attacks have been very 

pointed on religious grounds, on Christmas, on Easter, attacking 

Christian churches. 

And as I have researched this, the only recommendations seem 

to be that this would make life a lot easier here if it was designated, Boko Haram, as a foreign terrorist organization. And in 

view of the proactive interdepartmental efforts against terrorism 

since 9/11, it would seem this would be the logical thing to do, yet 

it is not. So I would like to get a better understanding of the rationale. It has been blocked by the State Department and the State 

Department only. So that would be my single question. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Turner. 

The chair recognizes the vice chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. 

Fortenberry. 

Mr. FORTENBERRY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for convening this 

hearing today to focus on the U.S. policy toward Nigeria, which as 

our distinguished witness, Assistant Secretary Carson, has described as probably the most important country in sub-Saharan Africa. As Africa’s second largest economy and one of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid on the African continent, Nigeria has 

made a notable transition to democracy after decades of military 

rule since the nation’s independence in 1960. In its recent 2011 

Presidential elections, however imperfect, they were widely viewed 

as credible and seen as foundational for further development of Nigeria’s nascent civil society institutions. 

However, serious problems demand our attention. A collection of 

photographs recently published in the Washington Post under the 

headline, Forgotten Conflicts, highlighted Nigeria’s Niger Delta region which has yet to emerge from a vicious cycle of environmental 

degradation and militancy and remains largely unaccessible to outside observers. Also, a long-standing rivalry between the North and 

South punctuated by ethnic and sectarian tensions has resulted in 

the loss of more than 13,000 lives since 1999. Brutal attacks on minority Christian communities in Nigeria illustrate why the U.S. 

Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended that 

Nigeria be classified as ‘‘a country of particular concern’’ and then 

considered the potential for regional destabilization as radical elements within Nigeria potentially linked with global terrorist organizations. 

Even as reform efforts have developed under President Jonathan, 

which offer encouragement, Nigeria’s future trajectory will depend 

upon how effectively the root sources of instability within that society are managed. 

Unfortunately we are being called away from a vote, so Secretary 

Carson, I am going to state one question now and if I am not in 

attendance, if you could potentially try to address it when we return. How do you see the future of reconciliation and evaluate the 

national government’s efforts to address the grievances of commuVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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nities in the Nigerian Delta, such as the Ogoni community? Thank 

you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much, Mr. Fortenberry. 

Ambassador Johnnie Carson has been a frequent witness for this 

subcommittee. He currently serves as Assistant Secretary of State 

in the Bureau of African Affairs, a position he has held since May 

of ’09. Ambassador Carson has a long and distinguished career in 

public service including 37 years in the Foreign Service including 

time as our Ambassador to Kenya, Uganda and Zimbabwe. 

Ambassador Carson has also served as the staff director of this 

subcommittee and as a Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania. Ambassador Carson is also the recipient of numerous awards for his service in the State Department. 

Earl Gast—welcome back—is making his second appearance before our subcommittee, and it is nice to see him again. He is 

USAID’s Assistant Administrator for Africa and has a 21-year career working at USAID in leading development programming, especially in post-conflict and transitioning societies. 

Prior to this position, Mr. Gast served in Afghanistan, Colombia, 

Eastern Europe and Rome. Mr. Gast was also one of the first 

USAID employees stationed in Iraq. He played an equally important role in developing the post crisis strategy for Kosovo, overseeing all mission operations. Most prominently, he received the 

agency’s award for heroism and the Distinguished Unit Award. 

Ambassador Carson? 

Under advice from my good friends and colleagues, we will take 

a very brief recess. We have three votes, a 15, which is now, we 

have about 8 minutes left, and then two fives. And we will be back. 

Sorry for the delay. 

[Recess.] 

Mr. SMITH. We will resume this hearing. And I apologize again 

for the interruption. But Ambassador Carson, the floor is yours. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOHNNIE CARSON, ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE, BUREAU OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS, 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Ambassador CARSON. Thank you very much. 

Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Bass, members of the committee, thank you for this opportunity to speak with you this afternoon about Nigeria. Since my service in Nigeria as a young Foreign 

Service Officer at the beginning of my career, I have followed closely the country’s political and economic developments. Nigeria is a 

country of significance and is one of our most important strategic 

partners in sub-Sarahan Africa. Let me mention just a few facts 

that illustrate this point. 

At 160 million people, Nigeria is Africa’s most populous nation. 

It is home to one of every five sub-Sarahan Africans. It has the 

sixth largest Muslim population in the world, and over the next 

decade will surpass Egypt as Africa’s largest Muslim state. On the 

global stage, Nigeria is the largest African contributor to international peacekeeping operations and the fifth largest in the world. 

Nigeria is also serving a 2-year term as a non-permanent member 

of the United Nations Security Council. 

7

Nigeria is also a dominant economic force in Africa and our largest trading partner on the continent. It is the second largest recipient of American direct private sector investment. It is the fifth 

largest supplier of crude oil to the United States and our largest 

export market for American wheat. Underscoring its economic influence, Nigeria has the largest economy in West Africa, contributing over 50 percent of West Africa’s GDP. A stable, prosperous 

Nigeria is in the interest of the United States, in the interest of 

West Africa and Africa, and in the interest of the global community. A stable and prosperous Nigeria can also be a powerful force 

for promoting peace, prosperity and stability across Africa. 

Nigeria, however, is not without its challenges. Decades of poor 

governance has seriously degraded the country’s health, education 

and transportation infrastructure. Despite hundreds of billions of 

dollars in oil revenue, Nigeria has virtually no functioning rail system and only half of the population has any access to electricity. 

Nearly 100 million Nigerians live on less than $1 a day and nearly 

1 million children in that country die each year before their fifth 

birthday. Public opinion polls and news reports suggests that there 

is a strong sentiment throughout Nigeria that Nigeria’s poverty is 

a result of government neglect, government corruption and government abuse. 

This brings us to the subject of today’s hearing about ‘‘West Africa’s Troubled Titan.’’ The inability of the government to address 

the needs of the people, to grow the economy and to generate jobs 

has generated a sense of hopelessness among many. It also helps 

feed a popular narrative among some that the government simply 

does not care. 

Boko Haram capitalizes on popular frustrations with the nation’s 

leaders, its poor government, its ineffective service delivery and the 

dismal living conditions of many northerners. Over the past year, 

Boko Haram has created widespread insecurity across northern Nigeria, inflamed tensions between various communities, disrupted 

development activities and frightened off investors. Boko Haram is 

responsible for most of the instability and violence that is occurring 

across northern Nigeria. 

Although our understanding of Boko Haram is limited, we believe it is composed of at least two organizations. A larger organization focused primarily on discrediting the Nigerian Government, 

and a smaller, more dangerous group that is increasingly sophisticated and lethal in its objectives and tactics. The smaller group has 

developed links with AQIM and has a broader anti-Western agenda. This group has claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of 

Westerners and for the attacks on the United Nations building in 

Abuja. They also bomb churches to aggravate ethnic and religious 

tensions in an attempt to sow chaos and increase their public profile. 

To help expose and isolate the most dangerous elements, the 

most dangerous leaders of Boko Haram, the United States Government recently designated three individuals as specially designated 

global terrorists. Those individuals are Abubakar Shekau, Khalid 

al-Barnawi, and Abubakar Adam Kambar. Shekau is the most visible leader of Boko Haram, while Barnawi and Kambar have ties to 

Boko Haram and also have close ties and links with AQIM, alVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. These designations demonstrate our 

resolve to diminish the capacity of Boko Haram to execute violent 

attacks. Boko Haram has grown stronger and increasingly more sophisticated over the past 3 years, and defeating Boko Haram will 

require a sophisticated and comprehensive domestic response that 

has both a security strategy and a social-economic strategy and 

component for addressing the social-economic conditions of northern Nigeria. 

Security efforts aimed at containing Boko Haram’s violence must 

avoid excessive violence and human rights abuses and make better 

use of police and intelligence services to identify, to arrest and to 

prosecute those responsible for Boko Haram’s violent acts. Boko 

Haram thrives because of social and economic problems in the 

north that the government must find a way of addressing. A coordinated government effort to provide responsible, accountable governance to all Nigerians while creating opportunities for economic 

growth will diminish the political space in which Boko Haram operates. We must also remember ongoing dangers in other parts of the 

country as well, particularly the Niger Delta which is witnessing 

alarming rates of oil bunkering, costing the government almost 20 

percent in potential government revenue, and also an area of the 

country where environmental damage because of oil spills and oil 

leakages have caused enormous economic hardship. 

U.S. engagement with the Nigerian Government is based on mutual respect, mutual responsibility and partnership, and it is consistent with the new U.S. strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa. The 

forum for our engagement with Nigeria is the U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission. The various working groups of the BNC, which 

have met over ten times since its launch in April 2010, have provided us with a very valuable mechanism to conduct frank exchanges with senior Nigerian officials on issues of governance, energy, agriculture, regional security cooperation and the Niger 

Delta. On June 4 and 5 of last month, Deputy Secretary Bill Burns 

led the United States’ delegation at the highest level meeting of the 

BNC since the Commission’s inauguration in 2010. The Nigerian 

delegation was led by Foreign Minister Ashiru and included representatives at all levels of the Nigerian Government including 

governors, legislators, military officers, security officials and Federal Government authorities. We believe the Binational Commission is an effective way of strengthening our partnership with Nigeria, including our efforts to assist Nigeria in the security arena. 

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, Nigeria faces significant challenges, but it is not going to collapse, implode or go 

away. I believe that the forces holding Nigeria together are much 

stronger than those that might seek to pull it apart. Nigeria and 

Nigerians are up to the task, and the opportunities for economic 

growth in that country are boundless. 

We should remember that Nigeria has a large and very talented 

professional class, an abundance of natural resources and a strategic location along the West African coast. Nigeria is committed 

to democratic rule and there are committed reformers in the economic sector and solid leaders in the judiciary, in the EFCC and 

in the Electoral Commission of the country. They are committed to 

9

leading their country forward and to fighting corruption and extending opportunity for all. 

Nigeria’s future is in the hands of its leaders, but we here in 

Washington are committed to working with them in partnership to 

advance their goals of democracy, development, respect for human 

rights, stability, peace and greater opportunity for all of that country’s citizens. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, again, for this opportunity to speak 

with you this afternoon. I welcome any questions that you have. I 

have provided a longer statement for the record. Thank you very 

much. 

[The prepared statement of Ambassador Carson follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. And without objection, Ambassador Carson, your full 

statement will be made a part of the record. 

And Mr. Gast, please proceed. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE EARL GAST, ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR, BUREAU FOR AFRICA, U.S. AGENCY FOR 

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

Mr. GAST. Good afternoon, Chairman Smith, Ranking Member 

Bass and Congressman Turner. Thank you for inviting me to speak 

with you today. It is an honor for me to appear before you again 

to discuss an important topic. 

Since 2003, Nigeria has been carrying out an ambitious agenda 

of reforms in public finance, agriculture, banking, oil and gas, and 

other sectors. Promising developments such as the 2011 Freedom 

of Information bill, and the public distribution of government budgets are increasing transparency and providing better opportunities 

for a citizen engagement. 

However, Nigeria’s uneven development has created conditions 

that threaten internal and regional security. Over the next 25 

years, the country’s population will bloom from 160 million to more 

than an estimated 300 million persons further straining the country’s ability to meet future needs. Conflict, whether it is triggered 

by political rivalries, competition for resources or communal ethnic 

or religious tension poses a challenge to consolidating gains and 

strengthening democratic institutions. Unless Nigerians use their 

resources to address these challenges, the destabilizing influence of 

violent extremist groups such as Boko Haram as well as conflicts 

in the Middle Belt and Niger Delta will continue to undermine Nigeria’s aspirations toward development and its desire to play a 

greater role on the world stage. 

Consistent with the U.S. Presidential strategy toward sub-Saharan Africa, USAID’s development activities in Nigeria target the 

root causes of frustration that stoke instability including the lack 

of economic opportunity and lack of basic services as well as lack 

of participation. With 64 percent of the population living below the 

poverty line and more than 20 percent of the population unemployed, economic growth is a major area of concern. Government of 

Nigeria reform efforts supported with revenue from high oil production and high oil prices, have contributed significantly to reduce inflation and strong GDP growth which remained steady in 2011 at 

7.2 percent. While significant, this growth needs to be both increased and more widely distributed before it can raise Nigerians 

out of poverty. 

Oil accounts for 95 percent of Nigeria’s export earnings and 85 

percent of government revenue, yet it directly benefits only a small 

segment of the population. Agriculture, on the other hand, employs 

seven out of ten Nigerians and holds great potential for broadbased economic growth. We are intensifying our efforts in the agriculture sector by strengthening value chains for select commodities, 

those that have a ready market and can generate employment. 

Such value chains include rice, sorghum, and cassava. We have introduced better technologies for production and post harvest management. We have also linked farmers to markets and unlocked access to credit as well as improved access to fertilizer through a 

20

voucher initiative. To date, our flagship agricultural program has 

worked with 1.2 million clients, created 160,000 jobs, leveraged $57 

million in financing, and helped Nigerian farmers generate $260 

million in revenue. 

Agricultural production is necessary but not sufficient for accelerated economic growth. Adequate infrastructure, regional trade and 

the development of other sectors are also needed. We are 

leveraging funds from the Government of Nigeria, the World Bank 

and other donors to improve roads, ports and energy sources. We 

also work closely with the government to promote trade by modernizing and reforming the customs system. 

In addition to addressing economic opportunities, USAID focuses 

on basic needs that affect average Nigerians. Things such as obtaining life saving care for infants, accessing treatment for malaria, 

confronting the challenges of living with HIV/AIDS, and obtaining 

quality education for the next generation. In particular, I would 

like to point out our active engagement with the Government of Nigeria in saving childrens’ lives. Nigeria has made a commitment to 

its people, a commitment to its children to reduce substantially the 

under-five mortality rate. While this rate has decreased steadily 

over the past decade, Nigeria will need to rapidly accelerate reductions in child mortality from the current modest 4.8 percent per 

year to 13 percent in order to meet its own targets in 2015. 

At the recent global Child Survival Call to Action we joined host 

country governments, other donors and development partners to realign strategies and activities toward shared goals. This partnership among donors and governments is already saving tens of thousands of lives in Nigeria. Our work in primary health care has 

deeply engaged state and local governments in Bauchi and Sokoto 

where the program covers all local government areas, though we 

also have programs that cover all 36 states throughout the country. 

However, peace and stability is needed for such long-term development efforts to last. Since 2000, USAID has worked with the 

government to reduce violence through efforts that prevent and 

mitigate conflict arising from sectarian and ethnic tensions. We are 

also making a new effort to strengthen the ability of Nigerian 

stakeholders, including government, to better understand and address causes and consequences of violence and conflict. To this end, 

we also promote interfaith dialogue and stronger collaboration between government and civil society to reduce sources of tension. 

Our efforts to encourage broad based economic growth open an 

accountable governance and effective delivery of quality services 

are critical to Nigeria’s stability. In light of the tremendous and 

complex needs of the country, we are increasing our presence in Nigeria. We are hopeful that the new generation of Nigerians will engage with their leadership so that the country will not stagnate or 

backslide, but rather work to shape a promising future. 

Thank you again for inviting me to speak before you today, and 

I welcome any questions you might have. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Gast follows:]

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Mr. SMITH. Thank you very much for your testimony and your 

service. 

I would like to begin with Ambassador Carson if I could. You 

mentioned that the administration has designated three members 

of Boko Haram as terrorists, and I am wondering if you could 

speak to why the organization has not itself been classified as a 

foreign terrorist organization. 

Are those three acting in way that is contrary or out of bounds 

with the organization itself? What would a declaration of that organization as a foreign terrorist organization provide the U.S. Government in terms of tools, and why would we not designate an organization that seemingly is responsible and claiming responsibility for horrific acts of violence? It appears to have at its core a 

radical Islamic position; I mean I would beg to differ with you, that 

somehow this is, I believe, at its core an attempt to impose Sharia 

law and to promote a radicalized version of Islam. 

I have spoken to many people from Nigeria and other countries 

where there has been a significant upsurge of radical Islamic belief. 

And the moderate Muslims as well as the Christians are equally 

contemptuous and fearful of our seeming misperception of what the 

real game plan is here. I think we have done it in places like 

Egypt. When people were waxing eloquent about the Arab Spring, 

I held a series of hearings on the impact on Coptic Christians and 

what that portends if the Muslim Brotherhood or other Islamist 

groups were to rise in power, and now the situation has gone from 

bad to worse for those believers who happen to be Christian or 

moderate Muslims. 

So why isn’t the group designated, and those other questions as 

well. 

Ambassador CARSON. Mr. Chairman, thank you very much for 

that question. Is it an important question. It is a question that we 

think about all the time. We have indeed designated three individuals who we think are in top leadership positions inside of Boko 

Haram to that list. But we have not designated the entire organization because we do not believe that Boko Haram is a homogeneous, homogenous organization. We believe that it is an organization of several parts. We believe that the individuals that we 

have designated represent a core group who lead a part of Boko 

Haram which is desirous of attacking not only Nigerian targets and 

interests but also Western and international targets and interests. 

We believe that the larger element of Boko Haram is not interested 

in doing anything but attempting to discredit, disgrace the Nigerian Government. Discredit, disgrace, and embarrass by carrying 

out attacks against Nigerian Government security and government 

civil institutions, attacking politicians, attacking government officials and judges. But the bulk of the organization we believe to be 

mainly aimed at going after Nigerians. 

Equally, and as you will see in my longer testimony, almost everything of a criminal nature that happens in northern Nigeria 

today is attributed to Boko Haram. And again, a lot of things that 

go on there such as bank robberies and assaults on homes and individuals are frequently labeled as attacks by Boko Haram and 

they are, in fact, only criminal activities that are labeled as such. 

We believe that designation of these individuals will be useful. 

30

When these individuals are designated it means that they are not 

allowed to travel into the United States. They would not be allowed 

to be given visas. All of their assets, if they have any in the United 

States, would be frozen and confiscated, and it prohibits any American national from engaging in any kind of commercial activity or 

economic or financial activity with these individuals. It also opens 

up other opportunities for discovery under Federal statutes which 

govern the work of the FBI. I might point out that none of the individuals here are believed to be in possession of U.S. visas or are 

likely to travel here or have any assets in the United States, but 

by designating these individuals as such, it certainly signals that 

we think they are in leadership positions, that they have linkages 

and relationships with AQIM, and that they are individuals of considerable police investigation interest to the United States, and it 

signals to others in the region and in the international community 

that this is so. 

Mr. SMITH. How large is Boko Haram? Where do they get their 

money? Where do they get their weapons? When people assert that 

it was Boko Haram that did it, whether it did it, whatever ‘‘did it’’ 

might be, blowing up a house, blowing up a church, is it that the 

group claimed credit for it or it becomes just a statement that is 

made by someone who has been victimized? 

And finally, how often do we actually designate individual members of a group especially when they are in a leadership capacity, 

and by implication are we now saying they are acting out of sorts 

from the rest of the organization by designating only those three 

and not everyone else? I mean the organization is really what its 

leadership is. Is the top leadership, other members not terrorists? 

And how often do we do that for other foreign terrorist organizations, just name individuals but not the group itself? 

Ambassador CARSON. Again I would have to take the last question and get back to you. I am not a specialist on the designation 

of international terrorist organizations. I keep a fairly, regrettably, 

narrow focus on the 49 countries in Africa that I am focused on and 

not on the broader. But we will come back to you on that issue. 

I think that when an activity is carried out in northern Nigeria, 

any number of individuals have been known to say that this is an 

activity of Boko Haram. They do have someone who is known to 

be a spokesperson for the organization, but there are frequently 

claims that are made in the name of Boko Haram from individuals 

that we don’t know anything about. 

Mr. SMITH. Could you provide information on that for the record? 

That would be very helpful. 

Ambassador CARSON. Sure, absolutely. Absolutely. 

Mr. SMITH. How often it is asserted and what degree of confidence do we have that it is not Boko Haram that is actually doing 

it or is it just out there? I mean I remember with other groups like 

the IRA, they would claim credit and we took them at their word, 

if they blew up some soldiers or members of the Catholic community. 

Ambassador CARSON. Sure, we can look into this. 

Mr. SMITH. I appreciate that. It was stated by Ann Buwalda from 

the Jubilee Campaign, and I quote her, ‘‘The issue is impunity as 

there seems to be no consequences to the violence.’’ She is the execVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00034 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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utive director of the Jubilee Campaign, and she said, ‘‘After thousands have been killed, the Federal Government in Nigeria is not 

doing enough to bring the perpetrators to justice.’’

And Archbishop Kaigama as I said in my opening comments who 

has really preached aggressively for reaching across the divide to 

build bridges with the Muslim community, he pointed out that 

other countries are not doing enough to stop the violence and that 

a peaceful resolution cannot be left to just one country, urging a 

collective effort. 

Could you speak to that issue? Are we doing enough? Are the 

others in the world, U.N., everyone else doing enough? 

Ambassador CARSON. We have through our Binational Commission, through our bilateral discussions and engagements with Nigerian officials in Abuja, and also here in Washington on any number 

of occasions, offered both advice and assistance to the Nigerian 

Government on trying to tackle the problem that Boko Haram presents. 

Mr. SMITH. What kind of assistance did you offer? 

Ambassador CARSON. We have provided investigative courses, 

post blast courses, IED prevention courses and other related police 

courses that would help the Nigerian authorities, and we have provided forensics training and forensics experts to look at post blast 

situations and we have given them advice on how to prevent IEDs 

and other things from being used against facilities. We have also 

encouraged the government to establish an intelligence fusion cell 

which would help them to better integrate the intelligence that 

they receive from their various police and military and security 

services, and to be able to effectively operationalize the kinds of information that they acquire. 

We have to also encourage the Nigerians to do several other 

things that are critically important, and that is not to allow their 

security services and their military to carry out human rights 

abuses as they go after individuals in the community. And there 

have been many complaints that when the military has come into 

the community looking for one or two suspects in an individual 

dwelling, they leave many of the citizens and homes in that community in disarray. So it is important that human rights abuses 

not occur during investigations of activities. 

But let me also bring you back, Mr. Chairman, to concerns that 

I raised about Nigeria needing a comprehensive policy to address 

the problems of Boko Haram. There is a need for a good security 

policy, but there is also an equally strong demonstrable need for social economic recovery policy for the North. I know that the level 

of income in Nigeria is relatively low given its vast oil reserves, but 

any figures, and we certainly can provide you with many of them, 

demonstrate that the economic conditions in northern Nigeria are 

some of the very worst, not just in Nigeria but across Africa. 

The infant mortality rates are among the lowest in the world. 

Mothers who die during childbirth among the highest in the world. 

Access to clean water among the lowest in the world. Illiteracy, especially among women, some of the highest in the world. Infrastructure among the weakest, and unemployment and underemployment well over 50 percent across the North and particularly 

in the North and the northeast in the area of Borno. I know that 

32

people will make comparisons to other parts of Nigeria which are 

also deserving of attention, but the problems in the North are some 

of the most egregious. 

I would remind people that the phenomena of Boko Haram is one 

of discrediting the Central Government in power for its failure to 

deliver services to people. The current President, a Southerner, a 

Christian, has been in office for less than 11⁄2 years and before that 

was effectively only Acting President for approximately 6 months. 

His predecessor was indeed a Northerner, the late Yar’Adua. Boko 

Haram’s emergence as a terrorist organization in Nigeria predates 

the current government, and irrespective of whether there is a 

Christian leader or a Muslim leader in the country, as long as the 

social economic problems exist in the North to the extent that they 

do, there will be a reaction which may, in fact, as this one does, 

take on political consequences. 

Mr. SMITH. If I could, if you could answer, how big is Boko 

Haram? Where are they getting their weapons? Are the IEDs coming from Iran, for example? You just called it a terrorist organization. Why isn’t it designated a terrorist organization with the implications that would follow from that? 

And I think it is all too convenient to suggest that somehow just 

because there are deprivations, somehow people then automatically 

know Osama bin Laden was rich. Idealogy that is highly, highly 

radicalized may exploit poverty at times, but poor people don’t necessarily become terrorists and killers. That is an insult, frankly, to 

poor people. I think we made the same mistake, with all due respect, with South Sudan. 

I remember raising that myself throughout that entire conflict 

that the imposition of Sharia law on Catholics and Animists was 

largely underplayed. The U.N. did very similar things vis-a`-vis the 

former Yugoslavia when it attributed guilt almost on an equal 

basis with what Slobodan Milosevic was doing. And I say for the 

record, no one did more to try to help the Muslims in the former 

Yugoslavia than I did. Working around the clock particularly in 

places like Srebrenica when 8,000 Muslim men were mustered, I 

sat at a hearing with a translator that was with the Dutch peacekeepers when Milosevic and the Dutch peacekeeper separated the 

men from the women and took them to a slaughter that lasted for 

approximately 7 or 8 days. I was there for one of the internments, 

worked very closely with the Grand Mufti from Sarajevo, Reis 

Ceric. But even the modern Muslims will recognize and say you 

folks, us, Americans, the West, so underappreciate radical Islamic 

fervor to kill and maim and terrorize. And I get the same, and we 

all have gotten the same reports from Christians who have now 

exited enmasse or be killed, from Iraq, suggesting that it was much 

better Saddam Hussein than it is under the current-day situation. 

So how big is Boko Haram; where is it getting its money? And 

if there are things that need to be conveyed to the subcommittee 

secretly we would welcome that to get a better handle as to why 

it has not been designated a terrorist organization. What is the 

reason? Please. 

Ambassador CARSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for your comments. I can’t tell you exactly how many members there are in 

Boko Haram. We know that the——

33

Mr. SMITH. Do you have an estimate though? 

Ambassador CARSON. I will ask our colleagues in the intelligence 

community to see what they have in terms of an estimate. Certainly the core group probably numbers in the hundreds so there 

is probably an estimate. But the precise number I can’t tell you. 

Where do they get their money and their arms? They probably 

get a lot of their money from engaging in criminal activities, robbery and extortion. And so you can look at that as a source. Arms 

are fairly easy to acquire when you have money, and that money 

can buy lots of arms across Africa. They are probably buying the 

kinds of things that they need to make IEDs locally for the most 

part. What they do get from the linkages that they have with 

AQIM is the sophisticated training that gives them a knowledge of 

how to put together these kinds of devices. 

Mr. SMITH. Do we have any evidence that it is coming from Iran? 

I mean those IEDs, I remember on trips to Iraq myself, as it became increasingly known that those very sophisticated IEDs were 

killing Americans, wounding Americans and our allied coalition. 

Ambassador CARSON. I am not aware of any weapons coming into 

northern Nigeria from Iran. 

Mr. SMITH. Any money from Saudi Arabia that we——

Ambassador CARSON. But again I am not aware of it. As I say 

the elements that comprise most of the vehicle-borne explosives 

and bombs as well as IEDs are things that can be acquired locally. 

It is the sophistication and the ability to put these things together 

that is acquired as the result of the linkages that are had with 

other organizations that have carried these things out in other 

parts of Africa. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

Mr. Gast, if I could ask you a few questions and then I will yield 

to my friend and colleague, Ms. Bass. 

Earlier today I spoke at the Interagency Autism Coordinating 

Committee or IACC. It is an organization I wrote the legislation for 

back in 2000, and I am also the prime author of the Combating Autism Reauthorization Act of 2011, putting money into our all-out effort to combat autism domestically. And I pointed out to the members, including the NIMH director, Dr. Insel, that we had a hearing 

last year focusing exclusively on the global phenomenon, a very 

dangerous one, of autism. The estimates are, and it is a guesstimate, that there are as many as 67 million autistic children 

throughout the world. In Africa, WHO suggests the number is in 

the ‘‘tens of millions.’’ They don’t have a better more finely honed 

number than that but it is huge. 

We had a woman from Cote d’Ivoire testify, who actually became 

an American, who talked about the absolute dearth of services for 

autistic children. 

And on one particular trip that I made on behalf of the human 

trafficking issue, because I wrote that law too, when I was in 

Lagos, I spoke to a large group of people on the sanctity of life in 

the unborn, newly born, all vulnerable people, on human trafficking, I had a man come up who said, what are you doing for autism in Nigeria? I have been working with him and others throughout Africa ever since and they are still—I even have a pending bill 

we are trying to get to enhance, something you could do adminisVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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tratively, to help combat autism worldwide. We are planning another hearing shortly that will focus on where we go from here. 

And I asked the IACC if they would do more in sharing not with 

you and others but also with our African friends who are so desperate for technical and financial assistance to mitigate the impacts of autism which is devastating the continent and it is a silent 

killer. It is just like AIDS in terms of prevalence, not quite as 

much, but right in the ballpark. And I saw it in Lagos, I saw it 

elsewhere when I visited NGOs. So if you could maybe speak to 

that as number one. 

Secondly, on trafficking, and again I wrote that law, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and we were very, very encouraged 

when Nigeria achieved Tier I status. But this year it slipped back 

to Tier II largely because of a lack of law enforcement, according 

to the just recently released TIP Report, which is regression when 

it comes to modern-day slavery. Red flags should be going up everywhere, and I am wondering what you all are doing to try to help 

turn that around particularly with the President and others. 

Third, if I could, yesterday I chaired a heartbreaking hearing on 

Chinese barbaric anti-woman, anti-child course of population control program. For over 30 years the UNFPA, the U.N. Population 

Fund has significantly enabled and supported China’s one-childper-couple policy which has slaughtered countless babies, made 

brothers and sisters illegal, and has devastated the lives of women. 

Approximately 500 women per day, not per week or per month, but 

per day commit suicide in China. And I have met, and we had one 

woman testify yesterday who is broken, years later, after having 

her baby ripped out of her womb and killed by the state. Throughout the entirety of the 33-year program, UNFPA has emphatically 

said that the program is voluntary and must be replicated in other 

nations. One leader of UNFPA after another including the current, 

a Nigerian, executive director of the UNFPA has said, ‘‘Export it.’’

A couple of years ago several health ministers from Africa were 

all invited to Beijing where the so-called State Family Planning 

Council of China and the U.N. Population Fund feted this 

Potemkin village effort to say if you want economic growth you 

need child limitation policies. 

And let me just say parenthetically, Mr. Gast, I have read Margaret Sanger’s books. She even had one called, ‘‘Child Limitation.’’ 

She wrote a book called, ‘‘The Pivot of Civilization.’’ She was a 

known eugenicist and a known racist. She is the founder of 

Planned Parenthood. And I have read her books, not every one of 

them but I have read several of them, and she wrote a chapter, 

chapter five, of ‘‘The Pivot of Civilization’’ that was entitled, ‘‘The 

Cruelty of Charity.’’ And she said, we do not want dysfunctional 

people, useless eaters and certainly African Americans, Africans in 

general, Latinos, Irish, Catholics. There was a whole group of people that she construed to be subhuman that were not eligible for 

being part of—she founded Planned Parenthood. Well, that agenda 

in my opinion is now in full stride but heavily stealthed and heavily concealed for what it is all about. 

I was very concerned last year when AFP reported that U.S. population control enthusiast, Jeffrey Sachs, urged Nigeria to adopt a 

three-child-per-couple limitation on children, and all the same arVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00038 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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guments were made for China back in the 1970s that led to the ’79 

one-child policy into effect. And now I know Mr. Jonathan has 

talked openly about embracing the three-child policy just like Paul 

Kagame in Rwanda. 

So I just have a very specific question which you could answer 

now or take back, but in the interest of our oversight capacity I 

would love to know very precisely the answers to these questions. 

Has the administration suggested or pushed in any way child limitation policies anywhere in Africa including in Nigeria? Exactly 

what role, if any, from both a funding point of view and policy initiatives has the United States played either directly or indirectly 

through NGOs, organizations like the U.N. or UNFPA or any other 

group like that or groups, lending organizations like IMF or World 

Bank or like-minded organizations, to support child limitations 

policies in Africa as well as in Nigeria? And are any U.S. foreign 

aid dollars in any way conditioned on whether or not child limitation policies are being promoted domestically? 

I have lost track, and I say this with deep respect, of how many 

diplomats have told me at the United Nations, have told me when 

I have been in-country how they have been bullied. They have been 

told that if you want foreign aid you need to get with the program 

of child limitation policies. Very often they are loathe to say publicly out of fear of retaliation. I was at the Cairo Population Conference and I had several, not only Africans, but also Latin American diplomats who told me that, a few have been on the record, 

and they have told me that they were retaliated against or at least 

they were threatened. So to me this is extremely important. I 

asked Secretary Clinton this question. I am still waiting for an answer on foreign aid in general. She did get back and say that IMF, 

World Bank has no conditionality vis-a`-vis child limitation and 

abortion policies, and I do hope that is the true policy. 

But if you can get back to or answer that directly I would deeply, 

deeply appreciate it. And I do have a few other questions but I 

guess that is a good start if you could, Mr. Gast. 

Mr. GAST. Mr. Chairman, I’ll start with your third question on 

child limitation. As you defined it, child limitation meaning the 

state dictating the number of children that a family can have, I can 

assure you that USAID policy is not supportive of that. 

Mr. SMITH. And that would be encouraging as well, not just dictating? 

Mr. GAST. No. No, not encouraging as well. And we have not 

spent resources or conditioned resources on that. I would be more 

than glad to share with you with regard to Nigeria——

Mr. SMITH. Please. 

Mr. GAST [continuing]. Our health policy agenda that we have 

with the Nigerian Government, but I assure you that it does not 

include child limitation. 

Your other two issues really are on human rights, autism and 

trafficking. And let me just mention that we absolutely support 

human rights directly through our work with civil society organizations, advocacy with the government. And one of the main issues 

that we have worked on over the last 4 years, the bill is sitting 

right before the President, and that is the rights for disabled persons. There are an estimated 20 million disabled persons in NigeVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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ria, many of whom are discriminated against and many of whom 

do not have the services that they need to function. I can give you 

plenty of stories and I know that you have many stories as well, 

Congressman. 

So within that is also support for children who suffer from autism. We are not directly supporting any of the work of very good 

groups, NGOs as well as faith based groups, but we do coordinate 

with them. And they have been very active in the advocacy area 

in supporting the passage of this policy. 

Mr. SMITH. I appreciate that. And on the trafficking? 

Mr. GAST. On the trafficking issue you are absolutely right. The 

report concludes that it has been the lack of enforcement which 

dropped it into Tier II status. 

Mr. SMITH. Thank you. 

Ms. Bass? 

Ms. BASS. Thank you. Actually I want to follow up on what you 

were just saying. You said that there was a bill before the President about the disabled, and I am assuming you are talking about 

President Jonathan. 

Mr. GAST. Yes. 

Ms. BASS. And what is the bill? I mean what does it say? 

Mr. GAST. What it does is it mandates, much like what we have 

here in the United States that public institutions and public buildings provide access and teaching for people with special needs. 

Ms. BASS. Great, I appreciate that. So I want to ask a series of 

questions basically in three categories. One is about Boko Haram, 

the other is about corruption and then finally about USAID. And 

in general what I want to ask about USAID are some specific examples, if you could elaborate more, on programs. But when it 

comes to Boko Haram I think it has even been clear, Ambassador 

Carson has said several times that one of the primary goals is to 

discredit the current government. And I wanted to know toward 

what end. You know what I mean? In other words, oftentimes if 

you are going to create disruption or chaos you do have an end in 

mind. So what is the end? Are they trying to take over? It is only 

a couple hundred people so what is their objective? 

Ambassador CARSON. I think it is an attempt to both discredit 

and to bring attention to the concerns, grievances, legitimate or illegitimate, of the people who are carrying out the activities. And 

there is indeed, by pointing out the enormous economic deprivation 

that exists in northern Nigeria is not to suggest that poor people 

are terrorists, but it is to suggest that that kind of environment 

helps to generate and feed upon the notion that the government is 

not providing adequate service delivery in all segments to the people of the country. And I think it is largely an effort to embarrass, 

discredit, bring attention to a set of grievances. 

But I think the core elements of Boko Haram are also ideological 

in their orientation. I do not think they represent the views of the 

larger Muslim population that exists across Nigeria, but it is the 

notion that they have a set of grievances. But one of the things 

that has happened is that Boko Haram’s leaders do not, in fact, put 

down on a piece of paper what they are actually striving for. And 

one of the things that the government has frequently said is, come 

37

forth and tell us what it is that you want or want us to do. And 

they don’t do that. 

Ms. BASS. And I appreciate you pointing out that individuals who 

are identified as terrorists as opposed to the overall organization, 

and is the reason for that, I mean do you feel that if the organization was labeled that, that it would embolden them? In other 

words, it would increase their status if they were designated that 

way? 

Ambassador CARSON. I think, Congresswoman Bass, it would 

serve to enhance their status, probably give them greater international notoriety amongst radicial Islamic groups, probably lead 

to more recruiting and probably more assistance. So that is one of 

the concerns that we elevate them to a higher level and a higher 

status than they deserve. But these three individuals and particular individuals who have shown desire not just to go after the 

Nigerian Government and Nigerian interests, but to go after larger 

Western, including American interests, and there is, in fact, a big 

distinction there, they are prepared to go after larger interests beyond those that are Nigeria and discrediting and embarrassing the 

Nigerian Government. 

Ms. BASS. And how would you assess the Jonathan administration’s strategy toward countering terrorism? I wanted to know that 

in general, but also to what extent are Nigerian intelligence and 

security forces cooperating with those of neighboring countries 

where AQIM is believed to operate, and where some members of 

Boko Haram have reportedly been trained? 

Ambassador CARSON. Let me say that the government could be 

doing better both in trying to combat the Boko Haram threat and 

they certainly could be doing better in trying to increase service delivery across the north. I know that the government in neighboring 

states particularly Niger and Cameroon, to a certain extent, Chad, 

are all concerned about the Boko Haram threat because many of 

the people who live in southern Niger, southern Chad and in the 

northwestern part of Cameroon as well as going over across Benin 

and the upper parts of parts of Benin and Togo, are all ethnically 

linked to the same linguistic in the communities. So there is this 

concern about the spread of this kind of violence into their own 

countries. 

Ms. BASS. One topic that we haven’t talked about so far today 

is the drug issue, the drug trafficking. And I wanted to know if you 

could comment about that. Especially if there is a relationship, 

what is the Jonathan administration doing to address drug trafficking? Is there a relationship between Boko Haram and the drug 

industry? 

Ambassador CARSON. I am not aware of any major links or 

connectivity between drug trafficking and the financing of Boko 

Haram. We do know that drug trafficking is a major problem all 

along the West African coast. It continues to be a serious problem 

in Nigeria because of the use of human traffickers moving drugs 

and because of the use of Lagos port and the airport for movement 

of narcotics into West Africa and into western Europe. So it is an 

issue. 

I must say that a decade, a decade and a half ago we were in 

engaged very intensely with the Nigerians on trying to bring issues 

38

of drug trafficking under some control. We had developed a number 

of programs. They have certainly been far, far more responsive and 

attentive to these issues in the last decade than they were a decade 

ago. But drug trafficking is a problem and this is largely a result 

of coming out of Central America across the Atlantic all along the 

West African coast. 

Ms. BASS. And what actually are we doing to improve Nigeria’s 

ability to control and patrol its waters? 

Ambassador CARSON. Well, we, through the Department of Defense and AFRICOM, have maritime security programs in which 

we work with the Nigerian Navy and Coast Guard as well as with 

the navies of a number of West African states. We provide training. 

We, once a year, send an American frigate along the coast of West 

Africa where we invite coast-country sailors and naval officers to 

come aboard to look at how we monitor illegal traffic, how we improve port security, and these programs have been very effective in 

helping to train and improve the skills of Nigerian naval officers 

as well as naval officers along the West African coast; it is called 

the Africa Partnership Station and it is a very effective program. 

But we send naval trainers to the region to help in improving port 

security, management of shipping, patrolling of territorial waters 

for both illegal fishing as well as illegal navigation. So these things 

are very important. 

Ms. BASS. Excellent. And moving on to corruption, I wanted to 

know your opinions about what steps President Jonathan is taking 

to counter corruption. What is your assessment of the Economic 

and Financial Crimes Commission, and what assistance, if any, is 

the United States or other donors providing to the EFCC to increase its capacity? 

Ambassador CARSON. One of the things that we can say that is 

very positive about the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is that he has put in place a very, very strong economic team. 

And I could go into that a great deal, but suffice it to say that the 

former Vice President of the World Bank, Dr. Ngozi, is the economic czar there, but equally important they have a very good Minister of Industry who was a former Finance Secretary. They have 

an excellent Minister of Agriculture and they have a very good Energy Minister. 

Equally, on the financial issues of corruption one of the great 

concerns that we had during the era of President Yar’Adua and the 

transition when President Goodluck Jonathan was Acting President, was the ineffectiveness of the then Economic and Financial 

Crimes Commission Chairperson. We thought that person was 

doing certainly a less effective job than her predecessor and certainly not moving forward with the kinds of investigations and 

prosecutions that we thought should be done. We have engaged 

and we have talked to the Nigerian authorities about this. Two of 

the better appointments on the corruption side mirroring what has 

been done largely on the economic side, are the two principal people responsible for the battle against corruption in Nigeria. There 

is, in fact, a new Economic Financial Crimes commissioner. It is 

Ibrahim Lamorde, a person well known to us. Someone who has 

been to the United States. Someone who has shown a great deal 

of commitment to moving the process forward against individuals. 

39

We see his appointment as a very positive sign. He was here in 

early June at the last Binational Commission. 

Equally important is the reappointment of Mr. Nuhu Ribadu to 

take over a new commission that is supposed to audit the finances 

of the national oil company and manage and look at where the revenues from the oil industry are going. 

Ms. BASS. Is that in part to——

Ambassador CARSON. Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, he is excellent. He had 

at one point been head of the EFCC, and because he, in fact, 

brought effective prosecutions against senior government officials 

was fired during the last days of the government of President 

Obasanjo. But Nuhu Ribadu, a committed reformer, a committed 

fighter against corruption along with Ibrahim Lamorde are indications that there is a seriousness of purpose by the government to 

fight corruption. Lots needs to be done. It has been a systemic 

problem in Nigeria for decades, but there are two people there 

matched up with the economic team who show commitment that 

they are prepared to take this task on. 

Ms. BASS. Excellent. Thank you. And then finally moving to 

USAID and wanting you to give me a couple of examples. Is it accurate to say that northern Nigeria states of Bauchi—excuse me if 

I am mispronouncing it—or Sokoto, are the ones that are designated for so-called flagship programs that you were describing in 

Nigeria? And I wanted to know if you could give some more specific 

examples about what the programs entail and how would you assess the capacity and political will of these states’ governments to 

address development challenges? 

Mr. GAST. Thank you, Congresswoman Bass. Let me just start off 

by one thing. If you look at our programs you will see that approximately 90 percent of the funding, significant funding, over $600 

million a year is directed in the health area, and that is largely because of need. If you look at under-five mortality, Nigeria ranks in 

the bottom five. And if you disaggregate that within country and 

look at the northern states, the rates are far worse than the average for the country. It has the second largest population living with 

HIV/AIDS in the world. There is the wild polio virus, maternal 

mortality is at the bottom and vaccination rates are low. And that 

is why we have a particular focus on health. However, it doesn’t 

mean that we focus on health at the exclusion of other areas, and 

so we also have a robust agriculture program, also an energy program because the lack of power is recognized as a major constraint 

to further economic growth. 

One of the things that we can best do in working with the Nigerian Government is help it better spend its own resources. It has 

significant resources. Ambassador Carson mentioned the Minister 

of Finance, Ngozi. One of the things that she has done very early 

on in her tenure is publish the expenditures of the government. Nigeria is extremely decentralized. Some have said it is even more 

decentralized than the U.S. So the implementation of programs 

really rests with the individual states and with the local government authorities within the states, and along the way there are 

leakages. 

Now we chose several years ago, Bauchi and Sokoto, based on 

their own willingness to work with us as partners but also based 

40

on performance criteria. And that means spending budgets, their 

own budgets, to support the basic needs of their population as well 

as transparency, and also looking at factors like corruption. So it 

means that we have an intensified effort with those two states. We 

would like to do more in the north but it is extremely difficult to 

work in the north because of the insecurity. So we have partnerships with both states and it is helping the government deliver the 

services directly to the people, and that means building their capacities. Building their capacities on the procurement side. Building their capacities on the service delivery. And where the government can’t deliver services to the people, then we, in parallel, are 

working with the government to put a government face on delivering services. 

Ms. BASS. Thank you. Thank you very much. I did ask one question in my opening about the petroleum and the U.S. companies’ 

involvement in the flaring gas, and I wanted to know if someone 

could address that. Does that happen in our companies or are 

there——

Ambassador CARSON. Yes. Let me respond to that if I could very 

briefly. All the U.S. companies comply with Nigerian law and regulation. And American companies operating in Nigeria recognize 

that flaring of gas is an inefficient use of a valuable natural resource. They also recognize the environmental issues that come 

with flaring of gas, and many of them have on more than one occasion argued that there should be infrastructure and regulation and 

law put into place that would effectively use this gas for generation 

of electricity and other valuable commodities. But that infrastructure, that regulation does not exist for the most part, and they 

along with many other companies operating there do, in fact, flare 

gas as the——

Ms. BASS. Why don’t they build the infrastructure? 

Ambassador CARSON. I think it would take an enormous amount 

of money to do so and I think it would have to be done collectively 

and with some kind of regulation which does not exist. 

Mr. GAST. If I may add, as Ambassador Carson pointed out, the 

government loses significant revenues. We estimate about $2.5 billion a year in gas flaring. And as the Assistant Secretary pointed 

out, the problem is really the lack of regulatory reforms that would 

allow the commercialization of the energy sector. Because once you 

have tariffs that are based on market prices, then it makes it economically viable to use the gas that is now flared as a fuel for natural gas power plants. So we are working with the NERC, the regulatory commission, and the government to begin a process of increasing the tariffs for power. 

Ms. BASS. Okay. I guess I am just a little confused at our companies, because it sounded like you said that until there is a way to 

market it they can’t help build the infrastructure? 

Mr. GAST. So it is not economically viable now. Because if they 

were to use it as a fuel, as a source of fuel for power plants, they 

would not be able to collect the revenue necessary to offset the investment cost. 

Ms. BASS. Okay, thank you. 

Mr. TURNER [presiding]. Thank you. Representative Jackson Lee? 

41

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Chairman and Ranking Member, thank you 

very much for your courtesies extended. I think I am going to focus 

on just one global question, Ambassador Carson. And to Mr. Gast, 

and you might contribute maybe from the perspective that you 

would know. 

We all have our challenges, America has hers, and my colleagues 

who are here in the Foreign Affairs Committee, why I enjoy the opportunity to participate so much, because we are all seeking a common ground in this committee. But we know that the floor of the 

House now debating the repeal of the health care bill shows that 

we in America have disagreement, and I accept that premise. 

But as a student of Nigeria, having had the opportunity to study, 

to live in Nigeria and to have found ourselves viewing Nigeria as 

one of our strongest allies for decades both in terms of friendship, 

terms of student exchange, terms of population growth. First in Atlanta and then in Houston has the largest population of Nigerians 

in the United States outside of the legacy of Brazil which has the 

tracking of Nigerians to Brazil. 

So this dilemma that focuses on my city, since I am known to 

have come from the oil capital of the world, and we have many, 

many dealings with Nigeria, and my friend from California was 

asking about why the corporations can’t do more, and frankly, I 

think some progress has been made but certainly the investment 

of oil profits has always been an issue, not only by the corporation, 

the U.S. corporation, but by the country itself. So the Boko Haram 

actions outrages me. And I would be equally outraged if I was a 

Christian driving into a mosque and attempting to disrupt the 

faith, people who are practicing their faith. I have gone to church 

in Nigeria. I worshiped in Nigeria. 

And we also know that Nigeria, no matter who the President is, 

and we, as a sovereign nation, Ambassador Carson, respect the 

leadership of nations. We will not only reach out but we do do more 

than that when there are severe human rights violations. While I 

am not saying we affirm all sovereign states, but we have tried to 

work with the heads of state of Nigeria. 

So here is my question. Why have we come to this? Why have 

we come to this? I ask this to the globalness of Nigeria. I ask this 

to the disparate views in Nigeria. I ask this to the tribal legacies 

of Nigeria, which I am very well aware of, and some people adhere 

to it and some don’t. But you have a nation that has had 50 years 

plus, maybe not the best, of involvement with Western companies, 

and I certainly don’t support that legacy as being perfect. 

But are we at a point of organizations like the Boko Haram, near 

like al-Qaeda, why this divide between north and south? When I 

traveled in Nigeria as a student and went to school I did not have 

that understanding. I have the understanding much more now that 

Abuja being the capital and being in the North, but I did not have 

that understanding. Why are Nigerians facing Nigerians in conflict? That is not something that I can understand. And I see some 

frowned faces here, but you have northerners going into Christian 

churches, what are you doing that for? But more importantly, let 

me just pose the question. Why are we at this point of conflict? 

And you can just finish the answer with us being more vigorous, 

meaning the U.S., in our intervention and assistance in what may 

42

potentially be a very dangerous condition in that country being so 

large. It is the only question I have. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to the ranking member. 

Ambassador CARSON. Congresswoman Jackson Lee, first of all, 

thank you for the question. Secondly, I am not going to be able in 

a——

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Time frame. 

Ambassador CARSON [continuing]. Short period of time to——

Ms. JACKSON LEE. I understand. 

Ambassador CARSON [continuing]. Do justice with the kind of 

comprehensive response that you seek and deserve. Let me just 

make several quick global points. 

First of all, we here in Washington recognize Nigeria to be one 

of the two most important countries in sub-Saharan Africa. We 

look at it as Africa’s largest democracy, our largest trading partner, 

our fifth largest supplier of crude oil, and a country that we seek 

to strengthen, deepen and broaden our relationship with. So Nigeria is legitimately of great significance to us, and we don’t want to 

ignore it. 

Secondly, Nigeria faces the kinds of dilemmas that many African 

states have because of the large number of different ethnic and linguistic and religious groups that exist there. But the country, the 

people, have decided over time that the best way to manage the 

country, the governance, the society is through democratic means 

and democratic ways. I think we are seeing the kind of problems 

in northern Nigeria with respect to Boko Haram which does not 

represent the vast majority of the people in the North, which does 

not represent the views of the overwhelming number of Muslims, 

and who are a small group of individuals. But they are indeed trying to play on the effort to discredit, embarrass and to undermine 

the credibility of the central government. 

And it is not just a central government led currently by a Christian leader. I want to point out again that Boko Haram was active 

under President Yar’Adua, the now deceased President as well. But 

the sense of hopelessness that build upon a lack of service delivery, 

a lack of opportunity, a lack of hope helps to contribute to this. 

Mr. TURNER. I thank you, Mr. Ambassador, Mr. Gast. We have 

another panel actually, and we have kind of overstayed. But I want 

to thank you for your comments and I will continue to try and get 

an answer on the FTO for, as we go forward. I heard you were 

good. I had no idea. 

Ambassador CARSON. I would be glad to share with you. We will 

certainly make my comments on the record known to you and I 

would be glad, Congressman Turner, to come up and talk in greater detail about it as well. 

Mr. TURNER. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador and Mr. Gast. 

So that panel is dismissed, and if the second panel——

Ambassador CARSON. We will follow up. 

Mr. TURNER. You ready? 

Thank you. We will come to order. Allow me to introduce the 

panel. Pastor Ays Oritsejafor. How did I do, not too good? 

Mr. ORITSEJAFOR. Not bad. 

Mr. TURNER. Didn’t seem right. 

43

Of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Oritsejafor is a 

minister from Delta State in Nigeria. He has taken his ministry to 

various local and international conferences in over 50 countries. 

The pastor has a television program and is a prolific author. As 

president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, he is on the front 

lines of the Muslim-Christian conflict in Nigeria and will speak to 

the ways in which Christians are increasingly coming under attack. 

We have Dr. Darren Kew, University of Massachusetts, Boston. 

Darren Kew is an associate professor of conflict resolution and the 

executive director of the Center for Peace, Democracy and Development at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. He studies the 

relationships between conflict resolution methods particularly 

interface and interethnic peacebuilding, and democratic development in Africa. Much of his work focuses on the world of civil society groups in this development. He has also been a consultant on 

democracy and peace initiative to various governments and nongovernment organizations. He monitored the last four Nigerian 

elections and is author of numerous works on Nigerian politics and 

conflict resolution. Dr. Kew. 

And we have Mr. Anslem Dornubari John-Miller, The Movement 

for the Survival of the Ogoni People. Mr. Anslem Dornubari JohnMiller served as the chairman of the national Caretaker Committee 

of the National Union of Ogoni Students as well the Movement for 

the Survival of the Ogoni People, the parent body under which the 

Ogoni nonviolent struggle in environment and social justice is 

being carried out. 

While in a refugee camp in Benin, he founded the National 

Union of Ogoni Students where he educated the public on the situation in the land as well drew attention to the plight of the refugees who were predominantly students and youths. Once settled in 

the United States in 1996, he continued to work for Ogoni people 

where his efforts resulted in the resettlement of over 1,000 families 

in the U.S. 

I welcome you and if you would, keep your statements, please, 

to 5 minutes and we will then go into questioning, okay? 

Pastor? 

STATEMENT OF PASTOR AYO ORITSEJAFOR, PRESIDENT, 

CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA 

Mr. ORITSEJAFOR. Thank you very much. The chairman and 

members of the subcommittee, I want to thank you for the opportunity to address this committee and for your interest in the situation in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and especially the increase 

in terrorist attacks targeting Christians and Christian institutions. 

Just this last weekend, 58 people were killed in Christian villages 

in Jos including a Federal senator and state lawmaker. Boko 

Haram already claimed responsibility for these coordinated attacks 

against the Christian community in Jos, and they also reaffirmed 

their earlier position saying that for Christians in Nigeria to know 

peace they must accept Islam as the only only true religion. 

Boko Haram is not a northern problem, but a Nigerian problem 

with global implications. Nigeria is not a country divided by north 

and south, but a country divided between those who support freedom and equality in the eyes of the law, and those who promote 

44

persecution and violence as a means to an end. To an outside observer it may appear as though Boko Haram is not a monolithic 

group, that it is fragmented and disorganized. I am here today to 

give you the Nigerian perspective. 

Since its creation, the Boko Haram network has never hidden its 

agenda or intentions. Boko Haram has openly stated that they reject the Nigerian State and its Constitution and seek to impose 

Sharia law. To this end, Boko Haram has waged a systematic campaign of terror and violence. They seek an end to Western influence 

and the removal of the Christian presence in Nigeria. This is outright terrorism. It is not legitimate political activity or the airing 

of grievances. 

By refusing to designate Boko Haram as a foreign terrorist organization, the United States is sending a very clear message, not 

just to the Federal Government of Nigeria, but to the world that 

the murder of innocent Christians, and Muslims who reject 

Islamism, and I make a clear distinction here between Islam and 

Islamism, are acceptable losses. It is hypocritical for the United 

States and the international community to say that they believe in 

freedom and equality when their actions do not support those who 

are being persecuted. A nondesignation for the group only serves 

to hamper the cause of justice and has emboldened Boko Haram 

to continue to strike out at those who are denied equal protection 

under the law. 

The frequency, lethality and sophistication of Boko Haram’s attacks raise disturbing questions regarding training, logistical support they have received from other like-minded international terrorist networks. In January 2012, the United Nations Security 

Council published a report stating that Boko Haram members from 

Nigeria received training in AQIM camps located in Mali and Chad 

during the summer of 2011. That same summer, Boko Haram carried out a bold terrorist attack against the United Nations building 

in Abuja. Boko Haram did not hesitate in claiming responsibility 

for the attack nor has it ever hesitated in claiming responsibility 

for its ongoing attacks against police, military, local businesses and 

increasingly churches and Christian institutions. 

In Nigeria, my people are dying every single day. And it is only 

a matter of time before the international terrorist links and antidemocratic Islamist agenda of Boko Haram turns its attention to 

the United States. In fact, this may already be a reality, because 

in April 2012 the NYPD learned that a U.S. citizen or resident living on the East Coast had sent surveillance including maps and 

photographs of lower Manhattan and the Holland and Lincoln tunnels to an alleged member of Boko Haram based in Nigeria. 

The State Department designated Boko Haram’s current leader, 

Abubakar Shakau, and two others as special designated terrorists, 

but fell short of designating the organization. This would be the 

equivalent of designating bin Laden as a terrorist but failing to 

designate al-Qaeda as a terrorist organization. 

Although I am aware that the designation of Boko Haram as foreign terrorist organization is not the final solution to all of Nigeria’s problems, yet it is an important first step toward restoring the 

confidence of those who support freedom and equality in the eyes 

of the law. We to want to have freedom, freedom of religion, freeVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00048 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
45

dom to worship as we choose without fear. We want to have justice 

based on equality and not driven by discriminatory religious practices. 

Let me remind us that this is not about economics at all, but 

about an ideology based on religious intolerance that has a history 

of sponsoring genocide across the globe. As Boko Haram increasingly turns toward genocide through the systematic targeting of 

Christians and Christian institutions in pursuit of its goals, history 

will not forget the actions or inactions of your great nation. 

I thank you for this opportunity and I look forward to continuing 

our strong partnership with the country of America. 

I thank you again, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Oritsejafor follows:]

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Mr. TURNER. And thank you, Pastor. 

Dr. Kew? 

STATEMENT OF DARREN KEW, PH.D, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, 

MCCORMACK GRADUATE SCHOOL, UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS BOSTON 

Mr. KEW. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and my thanks to the entire committee for inviting me to speak. I was asked to speak on 

Muslim-Christian relations in Nigeria, and I have submitted written testimony. I am going to just read some of the highlights for 

you here now. 

I think the key theme that I would like to start with is that there 

is not a grand conflict yet between Islam and Christianity in Nigeria, rather there is a collection of smaller conflicts that engage religion in different ways. And now we have this new challenge from 

Boko Haram that is trying to frame Nigerian politics in a religious 

light. And there are other actors that are trying to do so and to 

stitch these different conflicts together, which is why I think U.S. 

policy has to be very careful so as not to be perceived as taking one 

side or the other. I think that this would make things worse and 

would play into the hands of Boko Haram and others, and I will 

explain what I mean by that in a minute. 

I do think that United States policies should take actions to isolate the extremists in these movements from the moderates and to 

reinforce Nigeria’s own capacity to manage its own conflicts. Let 

me just aggregate these different conflicts a little bit so I can explain what I am saying. 

There are multiple trends across, aggravating the Christian-Muslim divide in Nigeria and, I think, are responsible for the overall 

recent escalation. I think one of the overarching trends we need to 

begin with is very important, we don’t hear as much about is the 

dramatic demographic that has happened in Nigeria over the last 

20 years which is the rapid rise in the number of Christians across 

the Middle Belt and the northeast. This entire region, and in parts 

of the north as well, has seen the number of Christians nearly double every decade since at least the late 1970s. So this entire area 

is currently undergoing the sorts of growing pains that you would 

expect from any sort of society undergoing such rapid demographic 

transitions. And naturally there are some pockets in Muslim communities that resent this or feel threatened by Christian proselytizing across the region, and the rapid rise in the number of churches and just the impacts on daily life. So I think that this contextual 

element needs to be kept in view. 

A second piece of this demographic shift has been ethnic minorities across this region who were alone and dominated by majorities 

in their states because of their switch to Christianity in recent decades are now part of a larger community. And this is very important political implications that has given them leverage in terms of 

trying to change the balance of power within their own states over 

access to government offices, access to resources and access to land, 

all of which are important pieces of the puzzle that we need to remember. 

A second important trend to think about in what is explaining 

the current escalation phase we are in is the April 2011 elections 

50

which has left an enduring anger in the North. As you recall, it pitted President Jonathan, a Christian southerner, against General 

Buhari, a northern Muslim, and this gave the election a religious 

cast, a religious light. And during this period as well, President 

Jonathan’s supporters, particularly in the Middle Belt and the 

northeast, were appealing to Christian minorities as part of this 

Christian awakening politically in the region as part of his campaign strategy. So consequently, when President Jonathan won by 

such a wide margin in the elections in April 2011 amid so many 

accusations of rigging, there were a lot of perceptions in the North 

that the election had been stolen from General Buhari. And this 

led to outbreaks of violence as we know shortly after the elections, 

and that there is continuing anger in the north against the Jonathan administration since that time, which initially was fed by the 

fact that all of the service chiefs in the Nigerian military were 

southerners feeding this perception of a southern dominated government. And I think this perception is a very important piece that 

we need to remember as we are thinking about U.S. policy. And 

these angers in pockets of the north will rise again as it faces the 

prospect of President Jonathan running again in 2015. 

I think, third, another important contextual factor here that we 

have talked about already is the massive poverty as well as the 

massive corruption in government. I think that has been covered 

already by other speakers so I don’t need to expand on this. I think 

one part of this though is to note that the south has been growing 

much faster than the north and that unemployment and poverty in 

the north is a key piece of what is happening here. 

Fourth is the growing militarization across the Middle Belt. We 

have seen an explosion in the number of Christian and Muslim militias across the region who are increasingly well armed with occasional informal relationships with both the police and military 

units in the area. There have been numerous atrocities committed 

by both sides with increasing impunity. Very few have been 

brought to book for what has been done. Jos and Plateau State in 

particular are the main flashpoint in this regard, and I hope we 

can talk a little bit about the specifics of that conflict in a few moments. We also have pastoral farmer conflicts across the region, 

desertification across northern Nigeria is pushing farmers into traditional pasturelands of Muslim Fulani herders, and with many of 

the farmers being Christians in some areas this has gone forward. 

So lastly, let me just talk about Boko Haram for a moment. I 

think Boko Haram has risen in this very difficult context. For most 

of its early existence it had little to do with Christians and its primary anger was focused at the state and the security forces, particularly in Borno. But as you know, in the last 2 years there has 

been a tactical shift to target Christians for several purposes, and 

if I can just quickly go through those. 

I think the purposes of the current uptick of Boko Haram violence has been to silence the moderates within Boko Haram, many 

of whom have repeatedly tried to engage the government in dialogue. Second, I think is to consolidate the control of the hardliners 

and the recent gains. Third, to reach out to disaffected youth in the 

north. Fourth, to capture this anger that I mentioned over the 2011 

election. And fifth, to situate itself as the vanguard of Islam and 

51

northern interests. So Boko Haram is asserting itself in these 

smaller conflicts in the Jos area and Kaduna and is actively trying 

to provoke Christian mobilization in order to forward its ends in a 

very limited way, but is also trying to portray the Jonathan government as a Christian bulwark. 

So I think that lastly to end up that U.S. policy has to be very 

careful to not reinforce this particular view. There is a new national security advisor who is a northerner and who has made overtures to talk to both Boko Haram and the Christian——

Mr. TURNER. All right, we will save the rest for the Q&A, okay? 

Mr. KEW. Okay, thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Kew follows:]

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Mr. TURNER. Thank you, Doctor. 

Mr. John-Miller, please. Try to keep the comments to about 5 

minutes. 

Mr. JOHN-MILLER. I will try as much as I can. 

STATEMENT OF MR. ANSLEM JOHN-MILLER, U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, MOVEMENT FOR THE SURVIVAL OF THE OGONI PEOPLE (MOSOP) 

Mr. JOHN-MILLER. Mr. Chairman and all respected members of 

this committee, I thank you for giving me the opportunity to address you. I will be discussing some of the troubles with Nigeria 

and its Niger Delta region, particularly Ogoni-land and the people. 

My name once again is Anslem DornuBari John-Miller, and I represent here the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People and 

also one of its unit known as the Council of Ogoni Professionals. 

It is an open secret that the culture of corruption is prevalent in 

every sphere of government without due regard for the rule of law, 

rather successive political regimes preoccupy themselves with ethnic and personal interests. The effects are a regressive pace of development, high youth unemployment, brain-drain due to emigration, massive poverty and a dangerously trending insecurity situation in the country. 

The root causes of the problems in Nigeria is not far-fetched. It 

is mismanagement and corruption by those at the helm of affairs. 

As long as these problems are not adequately addressed, any expectation of development and stability in Nigeria will remain elusive. 

The solution is not a handout of food supplies, medical supplies or 

material needs. The solution is the United States’ and international community’s resolute demand on the leadership of Nigeria 

to implement a clear road map to drastically clean up its government of corrupt practices and looting of public resources, within a 

specific time frame. The problem is not that of lack of resources, 

it is a problem of mismanagement of resources. 

Let me now address the issue of the Niger Delta. The issue of 

the Niger Delta became public and prominent as a result of the crisis in Ogoni that led to the death of Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995. Since 

then the situation remains very politic. The steps so far taken by 

the Federal Government of Nigeria in an attempt to address the 

Ogoni crisis were to create the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, and the Niger Delta Ministry. The establishment of 

these two entities run contrary to the core demands of the Ogoni 

people, namely devolution of power from the center. In effect, the 

establishment of these two agencies further concentrate power at 

the Federal level of government. 

I would like to add that the NDDC and the Niger Delta Ministry 

is a colossal failure. All that has happened is the establishment of 

a bureacracy that is rooted in patronage. If that is not the case 

then the Niger Delta problem shouldn’t have persisted and we 

should be having this hearing to talk about the issue of the Niger 

Delta. 

On August 4, 2011, the United Nations released a comprehensive 

report on Ogoni, highlighting the precarious environmental, social 

and economic problems that has resulted as a result of 40 years of 

oil exploration in the area. That report calls for immediate impleVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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mentation and recommended several steps to be taken by the government. Such include health reasons. They give instances where 

the health of the Ogoni people are at stake. Up until this moment 

that urgent report has been shelved somewhere else. The President 

of Nigeria who promised to implement it within 2 weeks and set 

up a presidential committee has not implemented it to this minute. 

On the August 4, 2012, it will have been 1 year that that report 

was received. At the moment, all we received was a notification 

from the Minister of Environment stating that even before the committee, the presidential committee submitted its report, the Environment Minister stated publicly here in the United States that 

such funds for implementation of the report is not in the Nigerian 

budget. So any possibility of implementation in 2012 clearly is not 

available. The funds are not there. It is on record that Shell is entrusted in implementing the report and has stated that they have 

the funds to implement the report. But all that has happened is 

the President doesn’t have the political will and is playing ethnic 

politics. That is why that report is shelved somewhere else and 

hasn’t been implemented up until this moment. 

The amnesty program could be credited for the reduced level of 

violence in the restive Niger Delta especially in the Ijaw areas. 

However, it is important to note that that peace is one of the graveyard. It is temporary. The clear demarcation between the activities 

and protestation of the Ogoni people is that on one hand we adopted a nonviolent approach while the Ijaws adopted a violent approach. In fact, there was no cogent agitation in the Ijaw area of 

Nigeria. All that happened were criminals who were looting and 

also stealing oil, siphoning oil. Because of that, the constraint on 

the legitimate demands of the people and propagated as if they 

were the new leaders of the people. 

Where is the response of the government? Call this bunch of people, give them money, pay them bribes, give them also of the best 

things of life, and at the end of the day, outside of these funds, 

they cannot survive it. What they have done is to give a wrong signal, making the Ogoni people feel that it is only when you engage 

in violence that the Nigerian State can listen to you. I think that 

this committee has a lot to do in addressing the problems in Nigeria, and here are my specific recommendations. They will be very 

short. 

One, this committee and the Congress should adopt the concurrent resolution, H.CON.RES.121 sponsored by Representative 

Bobby Rush and Fortenberry on April 27, 2012, calling for development of the Niger Delta. The second issue is that of political autonomy for the Ogoni people. A practical way of addressing the selfdetermination yearnings of the Ogoni people is the creation of a 

Bori State that guarantees political autonomy. The Ogoni State or 

the proposed Bori State and its neighboring minorities will have 

adequate representation at the federal. 

I am also recommending that on the issue of corruption the U.S. 

Government should be proactive. They should take a second look 

at individuals in government who are engaged in corruption and 

sanction them. Restrict them from coming to the United States and 

as well as stopping the issuing of visas and all that. I also suggest 

that the refugees of Ogonis who are left behind in the United NaVerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:57 Nov 15, 2012 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\AGH\071012\74961 HFA PsN: SHIRL
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tions High Commissioner for Refugee camps in Benin Republic be 

resettled. And lastly, the U.S. Goverment through this committee 

should stop the ongoing killings happening in Sogho over a proposed banana plantation in Ogoniland. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. John-Miller follows:]


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Mr. TURNER. All right. Thank you. Because of time constraints 

we will submit questions, and answers will be part of the record. 

But I thank the panel for your reasoned testimony. Meeting is now 

adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 4:46 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.] 


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