Kalu Okwara
21 August 2008
Lagos — August 14, 2008 may have gone down as a day of political significance to both Nigeria and Cameroun. But to Nigeria, the day would remain a a day of national tragedy while Cameroun will remember it a day of politico-legal triumph over the former .
That was the day the Federal Government of Nigeria formally handed over the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun in deference to the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Green Tree Agreement.
Cameroun had in 1995 taken Nigeria to the ICJ claiming ownership of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula. The area became a subject of disagreement between Nigeria and Cameroun ianafter the Federal Military Government headed by Lt. General Yakubu Gown had entered into an agreement with Alhaji Ahmadou Ahidjo, then Camerounian President to get Camerounian soldiers to man the Bakassi area in order to prevent Biafran from using that place as its sea port during the civil war in 1967.
The agreement between the two Heads of their respective Governments at that time, analysts contend, did not have the force of law for its enforcement, given that it was not approved by the then Supreme Military Council, which was the highest law-making body for Nigeria. They argued that it was the apparent uneforcebility of the "gentleman's" agreement between Gowon and Ahidjo that successive governments after Gowon turned deaf ears to all entreaties by the Camerounian government to cede Bakassi to Cameroun., it became an apparent waiting game, resulting in skirmishes once in a while. For instance, in 1995 following Lt. General Sani Abacha's refusal to accede to Ahidjo's request to hand over Bakassi to Cameroun, the Camerounian soldiers stationed at the Bakassi border killed some civilians which led to a reprisal.
The Nigerian soldiers in their reprisal captured many French soldiers detailed by Cameroun to attack unarmed civilians.
Analysts note that it was the humiliation meted out to the French soldiers that made the French Government to advise Cameroun on going to the ICJ. Although General Abacha was reluctant to go, analysts contend that it was Prince Bola Ajibola who advised that Nigeria should go and trash out the matter with Cameroun. They argue that Prince Ajibola's advice was neither borne out of patriotism nor was it based on jurispudential advantage but rather on alleged selfish point of view. They maintain that the outcome of the case has clearly shown that there was more to his advice on Nigeria going to the ICJ than what Nigerians are being told.
The ICJ in its judgment on October 10, 2002 gave Bakassi to Cameroun and soon after the judgment, the United States of America, Britain and United Nations (UN) started telling Nigeria to respect the judgment of the ICJ by handing over Bakassi to Cameroun. Analysts note that the UN was later in 2006 to facilitate the signing of the Green Tree Agreement by ex-president Olusegun Obasanjo, outling the time-frame for the handing over of Bakassi to Cameroun. In all this, the provision of section 12 of the 1999 constitution was blatantly flouted. It provides that no portion of Nigerian land would be ceded or given to another country without an anactment by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. But Chief Obasanjo who was then the Nigerian president, did not obtain the approval of the senate. What he did was to present the senators with a copy of the Green Tree Agreement when he was supposed to have presented them with a bill to ratify the agreement.
Analysts contend that from the way Chief Obasanjo handled the Bakassi issue, he did not leave anybody in doubt that he had a selfish agenda to fulfil. Although he left his predecessor to do the formal handover of the oil and gas-rich Bakassi Peninsula, by accepting the ICJ's judgment and going ahead to sign the Green Treaty without recourse to the Senate, the people of Bakassi and in fact, relevant documents that would have changed the direction of the judgment, was the devastating blow, the former president unleashed on Nigerians.
But now that Bakassi has been ceded to Cameroun, most Nigerians are asking what the implications of that action would be for Nigeria and the affected Bakassi people. According to some analysts, the Nigerian government has already advised the Bakassi people to go to the resettlement centre being built for them while those that would like to remain in Bakassi would be integrated by the Camerounian government.
Also, at the end of the Federal Executive Council meeting last week, the government asked Imo, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River states to monitor the possible influx of people displaced at Bakassi. Meanwhile,Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka has blamed Obasanjo, former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide and the UN for the handing over of Bakassi to Cameroun.
He said Obasanjo's administration should not have gone to the ICJ in the first importance, alleging that Obasanjo laid the foundation of the inbrogli when he signed a document contain a map showing Bakassi as belonging to Cameroun when he was the head of state which gave Bakassi to Cameroun.
"When the dispute broke out, there were intrigues as to what actually happened under Gowon etc. and in the process, I discovered that the Ministry of Lands and Survey was in custody of a map during the regime of Olusegun Obasanjo as (Military) Head of state. The map contained water basins, mountains undulation and so on and each page was signed with green pen by Olusegun Obasanjo and I looked at every page and that map gave Bakassi to Cameroun", he argued. According to him, using the map alone, the ICJ would have been justified in its judgment.
The Nobel Laureate did not spare Chief Akinjide. He said when he advised against taking the case to the ICJ, Chief Akinjide who he alleged wanted feeding fat retainership at the ICJ was the case to continue.
Also, the Secretary-General of Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), Dr. Lateef Adegbite while condemning the action of the Federal Government, described it as hasty. In his own reaction, the founder of O'odua Peoples Congress (OPC), Dr. Fredrick Fasheun, lamented that ceding Bakassi to Cameroun was a bad porededent.
His position on the Bakassi hand over, was corroborated by Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) who argued that the action was a direct violation of the Treaty Ratification Act of 1990n. He therefore, enjoined the Bakassi people to take the matter up with the UN.
But the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, in supporting the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroun, noted that based on the ICJ judgment and the agreement brokered by the UN, Nigeria was under obligation to honour its agreement in order to maintain its respect in the international community.
He said it was in Nigeria's interest to respect the international agreement, even as he argued that Nigeria could not afford to flout court judgments.
His assertion reinforces that of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakan who led the Nigerian delegation to handing over ceremony that was moved from Abana to the Government House, Calabar based on security report. Aondoakan who signed for Nigeria, said although ceding Bakassi to Cameroun was painful, Nigeria had a responsibility to keep its commitment to complete the implementation of the ICJ's judgment. According to him, Nigeria had the obligation of promoting international peace and cooperation as well as advance the cause of African brotherhood and good neighbour liness among countrys on the African continent.
Analysts not that the impact this would have on the lives of the displaced Bakassi people will be seen in the weeks and years ahead.
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