Daily Independent (Lagos)
Yunus Ahmed Tijani
10 November 2008
opinion
Nigerians have started reaping from the seeds of atrocities planted by the Obasanjo administration. Part of the legacy is the ceding of Bakassi land to Cameroon. I am equally disenchanted with the likes of Ita Giwa, a former senator and all the indigenes of Bakassi in the National Assembly that could not say no to Obasanjo's action at the material time or write the International Court of Justice in Hague that they were not consulted.
At least, they have the freedom to decide where they want to belong. They can tell the International Court of Justice boldly that they belong to Nigeria and that they are not going any where. Are those in the International Court of Justice not human beings? The judges could've gone to Bakassi to ascertain the wishes of Nigerians not to be relocated.
I don't know what the Nigerian and Cameroonian governments mean by resettlement or relocation. How can you relocate a whole community to another land away from their ancestral home? For God's sake, these people are mainly fishermen. Where they are being relocated to, do we equally have water there to meet their economic needs? How do you now subject them to learning another trade? Definitely, this will cause unnecessary hardship to these people.
In the olden days people left one community to another as a result of war. Conflicts are common between one community and another. As a result of this, a community that is defeated may decide to relocate to a safer place. Is this a war situation in case of Bakassi? Though, it is good that it was not allowed to degenerate to war but not to our own loss.
Another factor that may necessitate relocation is lust for supremacy. A section of a people may feel cheated and oppressed by other group and may therefore decide to leave that environment.
Another factor is a search for fertile land. In those days, most of our ancient fathers' work was agrarian. They may decide to leave in search of fertile land. All these take place out of their own volition.
I do not blame Obasanjo or Cameroonian government. The people I blame are the Bakassi people themselves who are so docile that they allowed themselves to be cheated. How I wish I am from Bakassi, I will never allow my people and me to be cheated in that way. It will be a "Do or die" affair. I will lead my people to resist any attempt to dislodge us. The worst that can happen is that, if both countries cannot settle their differences, we are going to form our own country, no matter how small we are. We have the freedom to decide our fate. But now, throughout the whole exercise, the people kept quiet as if they don't know what was going on until their destiny was changed. It is pathetic and painful.
It is not yet over. A proverb has it that the white man that produced pencil is the one that equally produced eraser. All the relocation and resettlement were done in paper. Let the people of Bakassi themselves rise up now and said NO to what has happened. Let them sue the Federal government for selling them to Cameroon. Let them file a suit at the International Court of Justice that they want to go back to Nigeria. Let them begin the agitation again. Tell the International Court of Justice that no referendum or plebiscite was conducted before the handover. There was no time their opinion was sought nor were they contacted during the whole process that led to the handover.
If the people of Bakassi know that they have enlightened citizens, let them begin this agitation now, if not I underrate all the dignitaries from that area as been unqualified to be leaders. If they cannot begin this agitation with immediate effect, Senator Ita Giwa and the like who held, or are holding, high political offices should cover their faces in shame.
Nigerians! Why do we always pay eye service? Who are those people accusing Obasanjo of taking unilateral decisions on the Bakassi issue? Didn't they have representatives in the Senate at the time when Obasanjo was going to The Hague about this matter? Even if Obasanjo did not tell them, didn't they hear it in the news where he was going? (As an ordinary Nigerian, I was followed the entire process in the news - though I can't tell if the Senate at that time was consulted). Why did they keep quiet? Couldn't they have called him to order? If he proved stubborn why couldn't they impeach him? This is the only way through which they can check the excesses of a leader. More so this is an issue that touches the life of every Nigerian. It has to be taken seriously.
Why are the military complaining too this time around? Didn't we have the armies at the time and they are now telling us that they were not consulted? I do not want to concur to that. People in high places are representing the masses. The ordinary citizen can do little but nothing.
The general public voted them to the place, to improve their welfare. If Obasanjo is acting outside the constitution, they have the right to impeach him. Obasanjo successfully completed both first and second terms in office. The legislators had the impeachment sword in their hands but couldn't apply it on him. I do not blame Obasanjo for all the woes and atrocities he committed during his tenure because the legislators were there with him. The people in high positions should not toy with our lives. They should remember that they will account for all their deeds to the Almighty Creator.
The enlightened citizens of Bakassi should rise to this challenge. All the agitation should be done peacefully as was done in the first instance. They should not allow themselves to be cheated just like that. They should have it in mind that if they die, their forefathers will ask them in heaven why they abandoned them in their graves and ran away. Likewise, their yet-unborn generations will ask them what brought them here! If they tell their forefathers that that the agitation to go back is still on course, they will not blame them much and likewise if their yet-unborn generations find that they are still willing to go back to their ancestral land, they will not blame them much. They should not be cowards. One philosopher said: "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands at the time of joy and comfort but where he stands at the time of crisis and tribulations."
*Tijani is a lecturer at the Jammatu College of Education, Kaduna.
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