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Cameroon: At Last! Govt Assumes Total Control Over Bakassi

Ernest Sumelong

15 August 2008

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Going by concerted diplomatic action, and the strong resolve by Cameroon and Nigeria to implement the now famous Green Tree Accord, every inch of the disputed Bakassi Peninsula reverted to Cameroonian ownership, Thursday, August 14.

As we went to press late Wednesday night, everything was set for a hitch-free handover in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. According to Nigerian tabloid, This Day, ahead of the historic handover of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, there is a massive security build-up in Calabar and other areas around the disputed peninsula.

On his part, Nigerian President, Umaru Musa Yar' Adua, has disclosed that its government had so far committed 4 billion Naira (N4 billion) to the resettlement of Nigerians affected by the ceding of territories in Bakassi (N3 billion) and Borno (N1 billion).

The Cameroon Government has dispatched a delegation of top government officials comprising Ministers, men of law, journalists etc. Also, members of the Mixed Commission on the implementation of the Greentree Accord, diplomats and other concerned officials are all in Calabar for the event.

In a statement on State radio, Cameroon's Communication Minister, Jean Pierre Biyiti Bi Essam, said the handover signalled the triumph of peaceful negotiations between two countries and not the victory of one country over the other.

Union President Prays For Peace

Meantime, the President of the Nigerian Union in Cameroon, Andrew Essien, has called on all Nigerians living in the country to pray for a hitch-free handover. He said his compatriots have been mobilised to commit the event into God's hands.

The Nigerian Consul General to the Northwest and Southwest Provinces of Cameroon, Dr. Kenneth Nsor, is already in Nigeria, leading a delegation to witness the handing over ceremony.

The final handover of authority to Cameroon would mark 15 years of dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon over the Peninsula. After the first handing of partial authority over Bakassi on August 14, 2006, some infamous incidences that claimed the lives of Cameroonian soldiers and members of some supposed Nigerian dissident groups came close to destabilising the years of peaceful negotiations.

After August 14 handover, the Government of Cameroon will need five more years before it will exercise control on the population of the area.

Symbolism

After August 14 handover, Calabar now holds a new symbolism in the history of peaceful negations in Africa as Cameroon is given full authority over Bakassi Peninsula.

The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has described the transfer of Bakassi to Cameroon as "a model for negotiated settlements of border disputes." He referred to it as "a landmark event".

On the eve of this history-making event, Robert A Wood, Acting Deputy Spokesman of the US Department of State wrote: "The United States commends the Government of Cameroon and the Government of Nigeria for their commitment to the peaceful handover of the Bakassi Peninsula on August 14, 2008.

The United States continues to encourage the two governments to implement the 2002 International Court of Justice ruling and the 2006 Greentree agreement. We believe the efforts of Cameroon and Nigeria to resolve this border dispute peacefully serve as a positive example of conflict resolution."

Protests

In spite of the overwhelming excitement expressed by both governments and the international community, many Nigerian groups opposing the handover have registered their disappointment.

Apparently, in order to pre-empt any unfortunate events by the opposing groups, the venue of the handover was changed to Calabar. Fears were rife that rebel groups opposing the handover could stage an attack and jeopardise the event.

This Day reports that Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw representing Cross River South, where Bakassi falls, condemned the Federal Government's insistence on keeping to the August 14 handover date, despite its security implications.

In a letter to President Umaru Yar'Adua, dated August 1, 2008, according to the tabloid, Ewa-Henshaw said, "it is hard to imagine that anyone who loves Nigeria will insist that we go ahead to implement the Green Tree Agreement as it is, in spite of the dangerous security implication which our military have pointed out."

Meanwhile, before Nigeria fully handed over the Bakassi Peninsula, Cameroon had invested on institutions such as sub-prefectures and police forces to step up its presence in the region.

The Delegate General for National Security, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo' said the Cameroon government has created several police units in Bakassi.Statutes signed by President Paul Biya created three special police units - the Public Security unit, immigration and emigration stations as well as intelligence units.

These police units are located in four island districts - Idabato, Kombo Abedimo, Kombo Itindi, and Upper Bayang.Besides the police posts, the government also set up several administrative structures. Recently, a delegation from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation visited one of the administrative units.

Also, a new Divisional Officer for Kombo Abedimo, Eduard Takor, who replaces Felix Fonya, who was murdered.After Nigeria handed over 80 per cent of the Bakassi territory in 2006, Cameroon, with the support of the international community, began to mark its presence in the region by establishing social infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, roads, rural electrification and water supply.

Fate Of Nigerians

Following the handover of Bakassi, Nigerian residents in the area have three options; either to go back to Nigeria, obtain Cameroonian nationality or stay in the area under Cameroon rule.

VANGUARD reports that no fewer than 37,000 Nigerians displaced from the disputed peninsula are being resettled at Ibaka in Akwa Ibom State.

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