Sufuyan Ojeifo
9 July 2009
(Page 2 of 2)
It continued: "Akwa Ibom State Government went ahead to seek political solution to the issue. This was rejected by the Cross River State Government. In a bid to justify the illegal transfer, the Cross River State Government went to the Supreme Court. The apex court, on June 24, 2005, rejected claims by Cross River State for administrative control over the maritime area within which these oil wells are located. The court went ahead to confirm the non-littoral status of Cross River State.
"The illegal transfer of the oil wells, through a political rather than legal or constitutional decision, was based on a faulty assumption that the administration of the western part of Bakassi Peninsula would be in the hands of Nigeria, a situation that was expected to make it possible for Cross River State to be considered as a littoral state. It never happened. It was a wrong move meant to deprive Akwa Ibom State of its natural endowment."
It further argued: "As it is today, even if the western part of the Bakassi Peninsula is given back to Cross River State, the 75 oil wells would still be in Akwa Ibom State where they have always been since the creation of the state and will always be. These are incontrovertible facts known to both parties. These are facts that must not be distorted because of posterity. Today, Bakassi Peninsula is part of Cameroon due to a faulty decision taken in the past based purely on sentiment and not reasoning. We must not be found to be treading that same path.
The Akwa Ibom Caucus contended that "Curiously, during the period of the illegal transfer of these oil wells to Cross River State, our colleague lawmakers never saw the undue deprivation of Akwa Ibom people as injustice. Now that justice has been done to the deprived, they are crying foul. Justice, as defined by our colleagues from Cross River State, implies arbitrary decisions that respect neither the natural law nor the constitution. This is unfair.
"We want to make it clear to our colleagues that this matter will not be resolved based on sentimental outburst, unguarded propaganda, distortion of facts, and blackmail. Let the facts speak. As stated above, these are the facts that cannot be faulted." The RMAFC has acted. Cross River has reacted and Akwa Ibom has counter-reacted. The facts of the matter are there for the parties to examine, distill, ingest and digest. It is evident that these have been done and parties know the truth but some party has found it difficult to digest the facts, the truth and the reality of the matter.
Perhaps, a political solution (and not a technical solution, which, as argued, would firmly and finally exclude Cross River from the list of littoral states), would be salutary in the current circumstance in the kindred spirit. Cross River reportedly rejected the option in 2006. But, now, how well will the political solution mitigate the pains being experienced by Cross River, which is at the receiving end of the RMAFC decision? Akwa Ibom has said that if a political solution is again contemplated, "it should address the Supreme Court pronouncement holistically."
This may also sting Cross River terribly. There has been a series of presidential intervention in the form of meetings with littoral states and the National Boundary Commission (NBC). Has the issue been sincerely understood or not? That is the question. However, in the meantime, the nation is being treated to a salad of unfolding paradigms of drama, theatrics and blackmail by proxies of the two states over the issue.
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