POLITICS: The Loss of Bakassi Peninsula Angers Nigerians

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

LAGOS, Oct 14 2002 (IPS) - Peter Okotie’s wife comes from the disputed oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, The Netherlands has ruled belongs to Cameroon.

”It was a very sad day for me and for my family. My wife is from Abana, one of the Islands, which is the headquarters of Bakassi Local government area of (Nigeria’s) Cross River State. We have three children. What will happen to them? Will they now be called Cameroonians? My children cannot be denied the right to belong to Nigeria,” says Okotie, a civil servant in Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria.

Chris Epkeyong, Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, which, along with several other states, will lose part of its territory to Cameroon, says Nigerians living in the Bakassi Peninsula will resist any attempts to move out.

”We have lived in the area (Bakassi) for generations and we will resist any attempts to move out. (The people of Bakassi) must be prepared for any eventualities,” says Ekpeyong.

Florence Ita-Giwa, who represents the area at the National Assembly in Abuja, the administrative capital of Nigeria, says ”We are Nigerians and we are going nowhere”.

Cautioning restraint, Jonathan Zwingina, chairperson of the House Committee on Information, says ”two things happen when you go to court; either you win or lose”.

And, Nigeria lost on Thursday (Oct 10) when the 16-member International Court of Justice ruled in favour of Cameroon.

”Going to court expresses ultimate confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the court to deliver acceptable judgement. And by going to court, we (Nigerians) have conceded the right of final decision to the International Court of Justice, whichever way that petition goes,” says Zwingina.

”I think it behoves on us to boldly and maturely accept the decision of the court. I am a lawmaker and I do not think that any right thinking lawmaker or public officer in Nigeria would say, lets go to court and when it does not favour us, we take the laws into your hands. We cannot take the laws into our hands because the world court is a court of the United Nations,” he says.

”If we look at the UN Security Council right now, France is a permanent member, and it has a defence pact with Cameroon. Cameroon itself is a member of the council, so they (France and Cameroon) might influence public opinion against our interest,” he warns.

Zwingina has urged the Nigerian government to find a way of assisting the UN Security Council, which is the implementing agency for the world court decision, to try to secure the interests of Nigerians living on the peninsula.

The ruling appears to have invoked the spirits of the Nigerian civil war (1967-70) when part of the peninsula was ceded to Cameroon by the regime of General Yakubu Gowon to ensure a total blockade against Biafra (which was seeking to secede from Nigeria). Gowon is now being blamed for the blunder.

”It is sad that our leaders can just sign off peoples’ lives without discussing it with them. Something that was done some years ago is now haunting us. Leaders should be prepared and be honest enough in anything they do on behalf of their people. They must always go to their people and take at least the majority who agree with such decision, along with you,” says Safinatu Mohammed, a political commentator, in Lagos.

But Ben Nwosu, a lawyer and political analyst, says the agreement ceding the peninsula must be honoured. ”Agreement must be honoured. To ensure the defeat of Biafra, Gowon ceded that part of land to Cameroon to ensure the blockade of Biafra,” he says.

Mike Uyi, rights activist in Lagos, says ”it is sad that Nigerians who have been living on the peninsula for a very long time will now be forced to become Cameroonians. Nigeria has said whatever decision is taken by the court, she will abide by it, that in itself is a very sad decision because it will be wrong to start fighting for the area after the court has decided”.

The government has, however, directed Nigerians living in the region to remain where they are.

A statement signed by Tunji Oseni, an aide to President Olusegun Obasanjo, quotes Musa Elayo, Minister of State for Justice, as saying ”the Nigerian government requires time to study (the ruling) and make consultations”.

”The judgement will have no effect on Nigeria’s oil and gas reserves (on the peninsula); it is not possible or appropriate to talk in terms of winners or losers; the judgement must be considered as a whole,” says the statement.

It says the government will not issue further statements or make comments again on any specific aspect of the judgement until the process of consultations was complete.

The Bakassi Peninsula is a 1000-km string of 12 islands, located on the Atlantic Ocean. More than 90 percent of its estimated population of 250,000 are Nigerians of Efik speaking ethnic group, who had occupied the area since the 18th century.

Fighting between Nigeria and Cameroon over the Peninsula first flared in 1994, and both countries now have a large military presence on the island. The two countries have clashed several times over the peninsula since 1994, when Cameroon asked the International Court of Justice in The Hague to rule on sovereignty.

POLITICS: The Loss of Bakassi Peninsula Angers Nigerians

By Toye Olori Reprint | | Print |

Toye Olori

LAGOS, Oct 14 2002 (IPS) - Peter Okotie’s wife comes from the disputed oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula which the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague, The Netherlands has ruled belongs to Cameroon.
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