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We won’t leave Nigeria, Bakassi people insist
Ofonime Umanah
Natives of the disputed Bakassi Peninsula are angry with the Federal Government over its recent declaration of intent to finally cede the area to Cameroun later this year, restating their vow to remain as part of Nigeria.
They are also accusing the government of attempting to use them to gain favour from the international community. They believe that the government was not being sincere with them on the matter.
Last year, the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Akin Olujinmi, announced government’s readiness to cede the oil- rich area to Cameroun, although the nation’s delegation leader to the Mixed Commission, Prince Bola Ajibola was to counter his claims.
While in Calabar to meet with stakeholders on the Bakassi saga, Ajibola had assured that Bakassi would not be handed over, just as he urged the natives to remain calm.
But on Tuesday, Ajibola had told journalists in Abuja that although the Federal Government might not be able to meet the May deadline for the handover, “we still want to assure that this year, we will try to accomplish all that need to be done.”
Reacting to Ajibola’s statement, a member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Mr. Joe Etene, who represents Bakassi in the House, said the reported position of the Federal Government amounted to double standard.
He told Sunday Punch in Calabar on Thursday that even if the government decided to renege on its earlier promise to hold on to Bakassi, they would protect themselves and remain in the land, adding that they had the right to decide where they wish to belong.
He said: “It is indeed a surprise that this sub- commission on affected population has not visited and we are reading this in the newspapers (that government would hand over Bakassi).
“Before the villages in Borno were ceded, the sub-committee on affected population had visited the those parts of Nigeria and Cameroun before a decision was taken. So that sounds to me like preempting the visit of the committee. It is like placing the cart before the horse.
“I was at the meeting here in Calabar when Ajibola addressed us, that they are working day and night to see how they can dialogue with the Camerounians, to see how they can arrive at a solution. I don’t really know why he should be speaking from both sides of the mouth.”
According to him, it was the duty of the Nigerian government to protect them against any aggression by Cameroun. But he noted that “you cannot cede the right of the Bakassi people. We have the right to self-determination.
“I don’t believe they will handover, but if they do, it becomes our responsibility to assert our rights and we will do that with all the powers that we can muster as individuals and as a people.”
Etene stated that the Bakassi people have always been Nigerians and would remain so, saying the arrangement “would not work because no Bakassi man has consented to becoming a Camerounian.
“Whatever international diplomacy they are involved in, they have the right as a nation to do that. This is not a question of land. It is a matter of human population. The lawyer said they wouldn’t even leave the area for any settlement since they could not be refugees in their own country.
Meanwhile, the sub-committee of the mixed commission, which was being expected in Calabar on Friday, would now visit on February 23, according to the legislator. He said the Bakassi people would be ready to receive the team and inform them of their unwillingness to become natives of Cameroun, or to leave the land for other people.
Sunday Punch, February 15, 2004.
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