The latest revelations by Wikileaks offer accounts of the illness of Nigeria’s former ruler, Umaru Yar'adua, his ties to German construction giant Julius Berger, and his role in the massive diversion of Katsina funds with the collaboration of his wife and other family members. Much of the latest disclosures corroborate accounts previously published by SaharaReporters.
The latest revelations by Wikileaks offer accounts of the illness of Nigeria’s former ruler, Umaru Yar'adua, his ties to German construction giant Julius Berger, and his role in the massive diversion of Katsina funds with the collaboration of his wife and other family members. Much of the latest disclosures corroborate accounts previously published by SaharaReporters.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
NIGERIA: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
08ABUJA1016 2008-06-02 15:03 2011-01-22 21:09 SECRET//NOFORN Embassy Abuja
Appears in these articles:
www.spiegel.de
VZCZCXRO8985
PP RUEHPA
DE RUEHUJA #1016/01 1541511
ZNY SSSSS ZZH
P 021511Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2993
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 9340
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 03 ABUJA 001016
SIPDIS
NOFORN
DEPT FOR AF/W, INR/AA, INR/B
DOE FOR GPERSON
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/01/2033
TAGS: PGOV PINR KDEM KISL SOCI NI
SUBJECT: (S/NF) NIGERIA: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Ref: a. ABUJA 320
b. ABUJA 799
c. ABUJA 972
Classified By: A/Pol/C Heather Merritt, reasons 1.4 (b, c & d).
1. (S//NF) SUMMARY: xxxxxxxxxxxx contended that Yar'Adua beganexperiencing symptoms of acute renal failure in late 1999, and traveled at that time to Mainz, Germany, to consult with kidney specialists. xxxxxxxxxxxx claimed, that in 1999, German doctors told Yar'Adua to undergo dialysis treatment, and that a dialysis unit was subsequently installed in his private
Katsina residence in 2000. According to xxxxxxxxxxxx when Yar'Adua's condition worsened in 2002, he traveled to Saudi Arabia to receive a kidney transplant. To ensure his body would accept the transplant, Yar'Adua took steroids and other medications which in due course reportedly caused the
discoloration that we see today on the President's face.
Moreover, xxxxxxxxxxxx averred that Yar'Adua's poor health reduced his capacity to govern and, correspondingly, his political influence in the North. xxxxxxxxxxxx also alleged that during Yar'Adua's tenure as Katsina governor his wife, Hajiya Turai Yar'Adua, persuaded Yar'Adua to divert millions of dollars of public funds from the Katsina state treasury into private accounts. (Note: We have heard of similar illicit enrichment attempts by Mrs. Yar'Adua now that she is in the Villa as well as scarce allegations that President Yar'Adua had engaged in corruption while Katsina governor. End Note.) On the political front, amidst current rumors of President Yar'Adua's failing health, the northern political elite appears increasingly concerned that in the event of Yar'Adua's untimely demise, the presidency may return to the South. END SUMMARY.
2. (S//NF) xxxxxxxxxxxx spoke with PolOff May 26. xxxxxxxxxxxx said that Yar'Adua began experiencing symptoms of acute renal failure in late 1999, after traveling to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia for the lesser pilgrimage in Mecca.
Upon returning from Saudi Arabia, xxxxxxxxxxxx claimed, Yar'Adua traveled to Mainz, Germany to consult with kidney experts.
According to xxxxxxxxxxxx the German specialists instructed Yar'Adua to promptly go on dialysis treatment. xxxxxxxxxxxx stated that the German-based Julius Berger construction company, which had significant financial ties to the Yar'Adua family (through the President's elder brother Shehu Yar'Adua), was contracted to set up a dialysis unit in Yar'Adua's home in
Katsina. Doctors from Germany were brought to Katsina to train local physicians in dialysis operations, though, xxxxxxxxxxxx asserted, Yar'Adua also retained the services of German kidney specialists in Wiesbaden, making frequent trips there between 2000 and 2002.
3. (S//NF) Following a 2001 visit to Saudi Arabia, xxxxxxxxxxxx said, Yar'Adua's condition worsened, and he was diagnosed with chronic renal failure. Upon returning from Saudi Arabia, Yar'Adua's dialysis treatments become more rigorous, xxxxxxxxxxxx confided, and his dialysis machine was moved into his private bedroom. xxxxxxxxxxxx maintained that Yar'Adua likely received a kidney transplant in Saudi Arabia in either late
2001 or early 2002. xxxxxxxxxxxx also claimed that Yar'Adua's dialysis machine was removed from his Katsina residence in 2002 and that discoloration was evident on his face at that time, which he assessed was the result of Yar'Adua taking steroids and other medications to enable his body to accept a transplant. xxxxxxxxxxxx rejected notions Yar'Adua suffered from Churgg-Strauss syndrome. Additionally, xxxxxxxxxxxx explained that the raised patch of skin often noted by observers on President Yar'Adua's right hand is not connected to his kidney ailments, but instead the result of a serious car accident Yar'Adua sustained in 1999. According to xxxxxxxxxxxx after Yar'Adua's car accident, his physicians removed some
tissue from his buttock area to graft to his injured, and badly disfigured hand.
4. (S//NF) xxxxxxxxxxxx contended that Yar'Adua "always" craved power, dating back to the days when Yar'Adua first contested and lost the governorship of Katsina state in 1991. Indeed, xxxxxxxxxxxx remarked, Yar'Adua's politically prominent family "bred" him to assume office in the future. However, xxxxxxxxxxxx asserted that throughout Yar'Adua's administration in Katsina, his performance suffered due to his poor health,
which contributed to his constant fatigue, and to "an inability to govern." Whereas Katsina state commissioners and permanent secretaries routinely worked twelve-hour days, xxxxxxxxxxxx said that governor Yar'Adua himself entered the office at 10:00am and returned home around 3:00pm each day.
According to xxxxxxxxxxxx Yar'Adua seemed disinterested in engaging in the requisite politicking that is the hallmark of political relations between elected leaders and power brokers in the North, and Nigeria generally. Yar'Adua's disinclination to travel while governor, even to neighboring
states to meet with the northern political elite, also
perpetuated his political isolation.
5. (S//NF) During his tenure as governor of Katsina, xxxxxxxxxxxx
maintained, Yar'Adua appeared deliberative and ruthless in
managing the affairs of his state. While intelligent,
Yar'Adua, according to xxxxxxxxxxxx neither tolerated disagreement
nor insubordination. xxxxxxxxxxxx noted that Yar'Adua ultimately
relied on a handful of confidants, whom xxxxxxxxxxxx considered
sycophants more than dispassionate consultants. xxxxxxxxxxxx said
that Yar'Adua, paradoxically, routinely ignored the counsel
of even his purportedly trusted advisers, preferring instead,
to make his own decisions. In so doing, xxxxxxxxxxxx said,
Yar'Adua had been assessed by some other northern elders as
both an unimpressive leader, and an irresponsible one.
6. (S//NF) xxxxxxxxxxxx suggested that while Yar'Adua served as governor of Katsina, Yar'Adua's wife Hajiya Turai Yar'Adua, manipulated him into diverting millions of dollars of funds from the state treasury into private Yar'Adua family accounts. xxxxxxxxxxxx alleged that Yar'Adua used these stolen funds to construct a lavish private residence in Katsina and
to finance family vacations to the Middle East and the UK (Ref A). Though xxxxxxxxxxxx acknowledged that Yar'Adua as former governor had built primary and secondary schools in Katsina, xxxxxxxxxxxx criticized Yar'Adua for failing to properly fund the training of teachers for those schools. As a result, xxxxxxxxxxxxx said, unlike in the past, under Yar'Adua's two terms as governor, Katsina students consistently failed to meet national standards in math and reading assessments. xxxxxxxxxxxx said that for Yar'Adua, "it was all about the spectacle of governing." Even the roadways in Katsina, xxxxxxxxxxxx said, may have been impressive, particularly when compared to the deplorable road network in other parts of the North, however, xxxxxxxxxxxx alleged that while the roads had been built, the
contract costs were egregiously inflated and the excess funds were siphoned. xxxxxxxxxxxx said some Katsina road contracts had been given to non-existent, "ghost" companies, which were secretly "owned" by Turai Yar'Adua.
7. (S//NF) COMMENT:xxxxxxxxxxxx allegations of Turai Yar'Adua's contract-related corruption in Katsina also seem credible in light of similar
claims previously reported by the Mission since she became the First Lady (see Ref A, for example).xxxxxxxxxxxx perspective may help shed light on
President Yar'Adua. As reported (Ref C), we believe the President has two sides: one, for international consumption; and the other, which turns a blind eye to certain rule of law issues, particularly as it pertains to his wife.
Then-governor Yar'Adua's unwillingness to engage in the necessary politicking to build a broad base of support in Katsina may have been relatively insignificant against the backdrop of insular Katsina state, or even northern regional, politics. However, as president of a diverse nation, with competing regional interests and powerful patronage networks,
Yar'Adua's continued political isolation (even within the North) may illustrate, to an extent, why even today Yar'Adua has not fully succeeded in truly stamping his authority on the PDP or the Presidency.
8. (S//NF) COMMENT CONT'D: Certainly, Yar'Adua's health remains a cause of concern for northern power brokers, especially in light of the possibility that Vice President Goodluck Jonathan would constitutionally be next in line for the presidency in the event of Yar'Adua's demise, although we doubt the northern elite would allow this to transpire.
Opposition presidential aspirant Muhammadu Buhari (All Nigeria People's Party) told PolOff May 13 at his Kaduna home that given the North's trepidation of power returning to theSouth (if, for instance, Yar'Adua cannot complete his term), Buhari feels vindicated in his insistence on challenging the President's election. Buhari intimated that members of the
northern political elite have begun visiting him to affirm their allegiance to him, and to support him as he continues to contest Yar'Adua's election at the Supreme Court (see Ref
B). Buhari noted that, in light of news of Yar'Adua's troubling health, some northern power brokers now believe fresh polls (wherein Buhari emerges the victor) might be the best way of ensuring that the North retains the presidency.
End comment.
9. (S//NF) xxxxxxxxxxxx END NOTE.
Sanders
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });