Stanley Nkwazema, Damilola Oyedele in Abuja, Patrick Ugeh and Ernest Chinwo
15 August 2008
Calabar — Until the early hours of yesterday, the venue of the handover of the disputed Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon in fulfilment of the Green Tree Agreement (GTA) of 2006 was a highly guarded secret because of security concerns.
But when the handover eventually took place, it was not at Abana, a community within the peninsula where the flag of Nigeria should have been lowered and replaced by that of Cameroon, but at the Cross River State Government Lodge in Calabar, which had a high presence of security personnel.
Security operatives also took over the road leading to the lodge, restricting movements towards the ceremony.
Nigeria finally handed over Bakassi to Cameroon around 12.45 pm yesterday.
At the solemn ceremony held at the Perigrino Hall of Government House, Calabar, the Nigerian delegation led by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa, exchanged flags with the Deputy Prime Minister of Cameroon, Mr. Ahmadu Ali.
That signalled the final withdrawal and transfer of authority in the oil-rich peninsula to Cameroon.
THISDAY learnt that the sudden change of handover venue followed reports that the disgruntled inhabitants of the affected peninsula had planned to import militants from Ondo, Bayelsa and Delta States to make the exercise impossible.
Informed sources said the Federal Government had been in a dilemma until two days ago over how to finally surrender the disputed territory following adverse security reports.
Nigerian Navy gunboats had been stationed at Bakassi as part of measures to secure the place.
Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, a foremost Bakassi activist who was at the Government Lodge, Calabar, the eventual venue of the handover, however said the transfer of the peninsula to Cameroon was a pyrrhic victory.
According to her, the struggle had just begun.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Aondoakaa said although the handover was painful, Nigeria had the responsibility to keep its commitment to the international community and advance the cause of African brotherhood and good neighbourliness.
According to the attorney-general, "Today marks a great milestone in the history of our nation. We are saddled with the painful but important task of completing the implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment by handing over the peninsula to Cameroon.
"As painful as it is, we have a responsibility to keep our commitment to the international community, promote international peace and cooperation and advance the cause of African brotherhood and good neighbourliness."
The acting Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Francis Adah, in his welcome address, advised Nigerians who wish to remain in the ceded territory to be conscious of their rights as enshrined in the Green Tree Agreement.
Adah said the task of resettling the displaced people of the area who had chosen to remain in Nigeria was enormous and called on the international community to assist with the provision of funds and "in other ways to re-assure the displaced people that they remain accepted members of the world."
The leader of the Cameroonian delegation to the Follow-up Committee and Minister of State for Justice, Prof. Maurice Kamto, thanked the Nigerian leadership for its acceptance of the ICJ judgment and implementation of the GTA.
He said: "As we reach the ultimate phase of the implementation of the judgment by the ICJ of 10 October 2002 relating to the Bakassi Peninsula, I have the honour and the exceptional privilege to carry out such a pleasant duty; that of paying homage and deference to the architects of the event which has brought us together here today and whose example will illuminate the images of our two states in Africa and in the world: namely Presidents Paul Biya of Cameroon and Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar'Adua of Nigeria, as well as Mr. Ban Ki Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), whose resolute determination and commitment to ensure peace between Cameroon and Nigeria made it possible for the process started in August 2006 to be completed."
In his message, delivered by the chairman of the Follow-Up Committee, Sir Kieran Prendergast, the UN Secretary-General, Moon described the GTA as "the embodiment of an innovative approach to conflict resolution."
According to him, "beginning with the withdrawal of Nigerian troops from Bakassi two years ago and culminating in this ceremony, the case of the Bakassi Peninsula has proven the viability of a peaceful and legal settlement of border disputes, when it is done with the full support of the international community and in a spirit of mutual respect, good neighbourliness and cooperation."
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and Chairman of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission, Ambassador Saíd Djinnit, also said the successful implementation of the GTA would serve as a model to be emulated in many places in Africa where boundary disputes remain to be settled.
Also yesterday, the National Economic Council (NEC) directed all states around the ceded Bakassi Peninsula to be on the alert and help all the people who chose to remain with Nigeria.
The council which is chaired by Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan and comprising the 36 state governors also directed state governments to finalise the formalisation of the release of fund for the power projects with the state assemblies.
Briefing newsmen after the meeting in Abuja yesterday, Niger State Governor Babangida Aliyu said the states around Bakassi should prepare for an influx and do all within their power to make the returnees comfortable.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has opened a register for its members to register their protest against the handover.
Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on the ceding of Bakassi, Hon. Dino Melaye, former Chairman, House Committee on Information, said the action was "a national tragedy."
He said the register, containing names of members and signatures of those against the action, would be sent to the Federal Government as a mark of protest.
Melaye said the action was unacceptable to many of the lawmakers as it did not follow due process.
"International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment was not binding. I thought the President will take the deliberate lacuna created by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo that there was no recourse to National Assembly and wait for our resolution," he said.
And like the Senate, the House has said the handover violated the 1999 Constitution.
Former Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Eziuche Ubani, who spoke with journalists in Abuja on behalf of the House, said the good boy attitude which he claimed Nigeria displayed with the transfer does not pay in international politics.
He said: "In the international scene, the good boy attitude is never rewarded. So the decision of the Yar'Adua administration to cede and hand over Bakassi, to prove whatever is very annoying and so disappointing. So many Nigerians are saying so."
Ubani doubted if the government had taken proper stock of the strategic loss to the country from that action.
"Talk about military for instance, the military high command is against the hand over of Bakassi and they are not coming out to say so. They are just being political and diplomatic about it. What they have said so far showed that they are not in support of the action and has obvious implications," he said.
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