We Won't Go to Cameroun - Bakassi Ruler

[Gabbal]

Daily Champion (Lagos)

 

October 31, 2003

Posted to the web October 31, 2003

 

Ndidi Okafor, Cosmas Ekpunobi and Tom Moses

Abuja/Calabar

 

 

WITH Nigeria ceding 33 border villages by December and set to hand over oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun next May, monarch of Bakassi, Etinyin Etim Okon Edet yesterday accused Nigeria of betrayal. He vowed that he and his people will not go to the neighbouring country.

 

The development came as senators said they were yet to be briefed on the reported plan, to surrender the 33 border villages near Lake Chad to the francophone country.

 

Speaking yesterday with Daily Champion in Calabar, Cross River State, where he attended a meeting on the Peninsula matter, Etinyin Edet described the planned hand-over of Bakassi as a betrayal by the Nigerian government.

 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), or the World Court, at The Hague had last October ruled on the protracted boundary dispute between Nigeria and Cameroun on their 1,600 km frontier, ceding Bakassi and several Nigerian communities to the francophone country.

 

But the Bakassi monarch vowed that his people would never go to Cameroun.

 

"The entire people of Bakassi will never, never shift from their natural and God-given land," he declared.

 

Sounding disturbed by the hand-over plan, Etinyin Edet warned that current events in Iraq will be child's play compared to what will happen in Bakassi should any attempt be made to make his people Camerounians.

 

Said he: "Bakassi people will not accept anything than for us to decide where we want to belong. That is the right that the international law allows. We have the right to determine where we want to belong. It is not the court of law, it is not the federal government of Nigeria, it is even not Cameroun. The last option will be for us to determine where we want to belong.

 

"The issue of Bakassi is not the same as that of Borno, Lake Chad or Adamawa. Maybe they were occupying peoples' land. Because of the Lake Chad water, maybe they were fishing there and as the water was going down, they were following it and they went down and left Nigerian territory. Our own is not so. Our water has never gone down. Bakassi is our land and we will not accept anything than for us to stay in our God-given area, territory and in Nigeria.

 

"We are going to take our destiny into our own hands. After all we had been existing in Bakassi before Nigeria. We had our own government, we had everything. We stayed there until Nigeria came, until government even came. Even local government, we didn't have both, we were still there. So, if at the end of the day, they say the don't want us, I mean Nigeria, we will say, thank you and bye-bye.

 

"We will now ask the United Nations, 'We want to stand by ourselves, we want to determine where we want to be.' So, we have various options."

 

Also the lawmaker representing Bakassi local government area in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Joe Etene, reacted sharply to government's plan.

 

He corroborated the paramount ruler's statement that government has betrayed the Bakassi people.

 

He noted that Cameroun has not been able to manage its affairs as the people of Southern Camerouns are agitating to break out of Cameroun Republic to form their own Ambazoria Republic and wondered what the situation would be like should Bakassi people join them.

 

"So, to cede a Nigerian territory and then push the people to forceful exile and slavery is a situation we cannot accept. It is either we remain in Nigeria or we pursue our right to self-determination as a people recognised by the African Charter and the United Nations Charter. We have a right to self-determination," the legislator maintained.

 

In the National Assembly, Senator David Brigidi (Bayelsa) said that the Senate was yet to be briefed on the proposed surrendering of 33 villages to Cameroun.

 

Senator Brigidi said that the Senate is supposed to be briefed by the executive arm of government regarding the "full implementation of the ICJ ruling."

 

He said he would not make further comments until "we are briefed because it borders on country to country relationship. We should know."

 

Speculation was rife in the House of Representatives that the South South caucus of the National Assembly will meet this weekend over the decision to cede the 33 villages to Cameroun.

 

However, most lawmakers yesterday declined comment on the planned surrender.

 

Some lawmakers who were contacted declined comment on the ground that they were yet to be properly briefed on the circumstances leading to the said decision to cede the 33 villages.

 

Some lawmakers said "we need to understand what informed such sudden decision before we can comment on the decision to surrender the 33 villages to Cameroun."

 

Chairman of the House Committee on Internal Affairs, Hon West Idahosa (Edo) and his counterpart on the Navy, Hon. Tony Asiegbemi (Edo), said it would not be proper for them to react now without a formal briefing.

 

According to Hon. Idahosa, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are more competent to comment on the matter.

 

Hon. Asigbemi simply added "please, come back on Monday for my reaction so that I can study the report."

 

But Dr. Harry Oranesi (Anambra) said "I will like to first know the conditions for the said decision."

 

"We should know what Cameroun will give in turn to Nigeria to have the said 33 villages," he added.