The National Association of Seadogs (NAS) aka Pyrates Confraternity wishes to express its strong displeasure over the federal government’s inability to appeal against the judgment of the International Court of Justice, (ICJ) on 10 October 2002, which ceded the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to the Republic of Cameroon.
Under the international charter, there is a window for appeal against any judgment by the affected country within ten years from the date the judgment is delivered if there are fresh facts which were not available as at the time judgment was entered into.
It is unacceptable that the government of Nigeria under President Olusegun Obasanjo had after the ICJ ruling willingly surrendered the sovereignty of the country to the Cameroon and had entered into a Green Tree Agreement in 12 June 2006, to abide by the decision of the country.
As the ten-year window for appeal against the judgment draws close, eminent Nigerians, including the Nigerian Bar Association, representatives of Cross River State in the National Assembly, the displaced Bakassi indigenes and the Obong of Calabar, have called on the federal government to commence the process of appeal against the judgment, but to date this is yet to be forthcoming.
It is ironic that the government that swore to defend the people and the territorial integrity of the country, and even went to civil war for 30 months to defend the unity of the country, had willingly and in a jiffy handed over some portion of the territory to another country.
Flowing from the need for an appeal to the ICJ judgement is the strong ground that it is a plausible expectation in a democratic dispensation, the National Assembly should ratify any agreement before it becomes binding on the Nigerian State. Evidence suggests that the Obasanjo government overlooked this constitutional provision and handed over the territory to Cameroon at the time.
NAS also notes with dismay the neglect, abandonment and inexplicable maltreatment of the indigenous people of Bakassi by ceding their land to Cameroun by the Nigerian Government under the Green Tree Agreement signed on 12 June 2006 in New York.
While recalling the circumstances under which the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, decided to submit Nigeria to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), despite virulent protests and court litigations from groups in Nigeria and outside, on account of a case brought before the ICJ by Cameroun, we failed as a nation to act swiftly and decisively when time was our compatriot, despite several armed clashes along that peninsular between both countries. Our viable option today is to seek political and economic restitution.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is on record that Bakassi is the peninsular extension of the African territory of Calabar; is situated at the extreme eastern end of the Gulf of Guinea-a strategic military asset; and is known to be oil rich in the light of the discovery of rich reserves of high grade crude oil and a fertile fishing ground, comparable only to Newfoundland in North America and Scandinavia, in western Europe. The spectre of the loss can therefore be gleaned, consequently, with regard to the diminished livelihood of the people of Bakassi who have been displaced from their natural fishing environment.
The political, economic, cultural and historical importance of the displacement, abandonment and neglect of the people are immeasurable. On the political front, they were disenfranchised during the last governorship election in the State due to a legal quagmire between the Cross River State House of Assembly and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as it affects ward delineation; a spiral effect of carving three wards from Akpabuyo Local Government Area by the Cross River State House of Assembly for the abode of the returnees with Ikang as the headquarters. This generated a rift between the Bakassi returnees and their Ikang neighbours in Akpabuyo Local Government Area because the returnees, rather, prefer Dayspring as the headquarters of New Bakassi. Further compounding the issue is the fact that INEC recognises Dayspring settlement as the headquarters of Bakassi and not Ikang.
NAS is disappointed at the lethargy and limited attitude of the authorities concerned towards the full implementation of the Green Tree Agreement concerning the provision of accommodation and allied needs to the displaced people of Bakassi. It is worrisome that so far, conflicting figures between N1billion and N2billion have been bandied by the Cross River State Government and the Federal Government respectively as to how much has been released for the purpose. For us, that is a miserably tiny drop in the ocean. We find it disappointing that, from available records, only 208, of the 3,000 buildings earlier planned, have been constructed for the over 150,000 Bakassi returnees. It is equally instructive that several 2-bedroom apartments built by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs within that same area have been unoccupied, unallocated yet and deteriorating.
It is incontrovertible that the Paramount ruler of Bakassi resides in Calabar without a domain because the original owners of New Bakassi, carved from Akpabuyo local Government Area, are yet to fully cede their lands to the returnees because of alleged non-payment of compensation by the appropriate arms of government thereby generating tension and deepening the pathetic accommodation challenges for the Bakassi people.
The government of Cameroon, on the other hand, has repeatedly violated the terms of the Green Tree Agreement especially in the forced change of names of Nigerian communities such as Usaghaedeh which has been renamed Isangele; Abana is now Jabana; and Archibong is now called Akwa 1. Besides, heavy levies and taxation of Nigerians within the ceded territories; molestation and regular assault of Nigerian fishermen on the waterways of the peninsular are regularly recorded. Part of the terms of the GTA provides that Nigerian towns and communities would maintain their identities in spite of the ceding.
As a responsible organisation in the fore-front of justice and equity, NAS believes, therefore, that the Government of Nigeria cannot, and should not, remain inured to the pains of the Bakassi people. On the strength of the foregoing premise, the National Association of Seadogs urgently demands the following from the respective tiers of Government as appropriate:
- The Attorney General of the Federation should lodge an appeal with the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Netherlands well within the statute of limitation of the exercise of this right and with the sole aim of restoring the Bakassi Peninsula to the Status Quo ante prior to the said judgement ceding jurisdiction to Cameroon.
- Full provision of accommodation to the displaced people of Bakassi in the New Bakassi and adjoining areas and communities. Funds should immediately be released and duly monitored by all relevant stakeholders to ensure effective and efficient utilisation in meeting the earlier planned number of buildings for the returnees.
- The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs should as a matter of urgency hand-over the recently constructed 2-bedroom apartments at Ekpri Obutong to formally and duly documented returnees as part of efforts towards ameliorating their chaotic accommodation difficulties.
- Immediate resolution of all issues pertaining to compensation for acquired land to the owners of the areas carved out of Akpabuyo Local Government Area for the Bakassi returnees in order to enhance the integration of the people into their new abode.
- Immediate legislation and enactments by the National Assembly on the disputes regarding ward delineation between INEC, the Cross River State Government and the Cross River State House of Assembly.
- The immediate completion of the Skills acquisition Centre at Ikot Nakanda in Akpabuyo Local Government Area being handled by the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs in order to offer skills to the displaced youths in tandem with youths of the Niger Delta region.
- A robust engagement with the government of Cameroun on the reports of maltreatment of Nigerians still living and engaged in businesses in the peninsular in order to avert a breakdown of law and order.
- Firm monitoring and implementation of the terms of the Green Tree Agreement by all international parties involved in the process.
- A firm resolve that never in the history of this country will one inch of our territory be ceded for any reason whatsoever.
In the spirit of being a responsible organisation with the love of the Nigerian state and its peoples at the core of our essence, NAS remains committed to the wellbeing of all its citizens and their inalienable right of self-determination as enshrined in the Constitution
Ide Owodiong-Idemeko
NAS Cap’n
