Bakassi Peninsula Becoming Part of Cameroun Today

BARING any unforeseen hitch, Nigeria is expected to hand over the disputed oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to the Cameroun today. Preparations for the eventual withdrawal of Nigerian troops ahead of the handing over today had begun at the Isaac Boro camp in Atabong where the 26 Battalion of the Nigerian Army was stationed.

Journalists were permitted to witness the withdrawal of the troops from the area paving the way for the formal handing over of the territory to the Cameroun.

The withdrawal of the 26 Battalion was a solemn sight as the Nigerian flag, the Army flag and the Battalion flag were lowered amidst tears from the locals who stood to watch, including the Vice Chairman of Bakassi Local Government, Hon. Udeme Okon.

Okon who barely managed to control his emotion while speaking with newsmen, lamented that Nigerian troops were withdrawn when his people had not been relocated or resettled as agreed and promised by government. He also regretted the fact that the plan to replace the Nigerian soldiers with men of the Mobile Police Force was yet to be effected before the withdrawal thereby leaving the Bakassi people at the mercy of the ‘merciless’ Cameroun gendarmes.

Briefing newsmen earlier in Calabar on the same day on plans for the troop withdrawal, the Director of Operations, Defence Headquarters of the Nigerian Army, Major General Steve Guar, disclosed that the final pull out of the Nigerian troops would be effected later in the day (Friday, 11 August 2006) and that the formal handing over would be done on Monday, 14 August, 2006.

He admitted that following the Nigerian military’s withdrawal coupled with the invasion of the area by the Cameroun gendarmes, tension and apprehension were high but that they had no choice but to obey international judgment and agreement. He confirmed the reports that some youths of Bakassi had vowed to seek self-determination than subject themselves to the authority of the Camerounian government, saying, “we are aware that some youths of Bakassi clandestinely on the 6th of August hoisted flags in different places in thearea, claiming an independent state but that his men had been instructed to pull down the flags which were five in number.

The places Nigerian Tribune visited to confirm actual pull out of the Nigerian troop included Atabong east and west, Ibekwe, Boro Camp, Sand-Sand, Akpafia and Abana.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to minimise tension after the hand over of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun, a highway linking the two countries is to be constructed to boost interactions between their people.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja yesterday that the highway was part of confidence building measures towards permanent peace.

According to him, Nigeria had since fulfilled its part of the bargain in respect of the road project which will ultimately form part of a West -Central African highway.

Harping on the need to empower inhabitants of the border areas, Baba-Ahmed said that friction would be minimised if the communities were economically secure.

“The idea is to resolve conflict in the long run by encouraging trade and social interactions. Obviously, people who interact are not likely to fight each other,” he said.

Baba-Ahmed said that Nigeria had an excellent understanding with Camerounian authorities as both countries strived to contain local problems created by the October 10, 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgement.

“We all realise that the judgement will create such localised problems but we are both committed to handling such internal matters in the spirit of give and take.

“Nigeria from the outset approached this issue with an open mind. We have done the right thing and the rest of the world must understand with us. We have gone as far as it is possible,” he said.