The issue of the people of Bakassi Local Government Area, whose ancestral home in the Bakassi Peninsula was ceded to Cameroun by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is still on the front burner 10 years after. Last week, the leaders of the Bakassi Peoples General Assembly led by Senator Florence Ita-Giwa addressed a press conference in Lagos on the state of things in the area and the plight of the people. NDUBUISI ORJI, who was there brings the excerpts: Did you make any move to discuss with the Bakassi Self Determination Front, which declared the area a sovereign state before coming here to avoid internal conflict that may arise.
Anybody in any form that wants to draw attention to the Bakassi issue, we appreciate. We don’t know anything about that(secession). If that is their effort in helping us in bringing attention to the Bakassi issue, we are not going to sit here and condemn anybody. We are saying that as responsible grown up Nigerians, who are leaders, we do not believe in it, and we are not part of it. You were senator in the National Assembly, and worked with ex-president Obasanjo as special adviser.
As somebody who was close to the seat of power, why was it difficult for you to get anything done before Obasanjo left office. Two, given the fact that the incumbent president is from the Niger Delta region, what do you think is pulling him back from doing anything for your people? You know that in Nigeria, anything I say about Obasanjo is always seen to be in defence of Obasanjo. But you have said it the way it is here. And this is a life long struggle.
We started this struggle when I was young, and I have gotten into old age now, and we are still in the struggle. The truth is that I was actually invited to New York for the ceding. But unfortunately at the last minute, I was asked to leave the room because I am too emotional. The first meeting we went to in Geneva, I had a confrontation with the president of Cameroun, which was said not to be diplomatic. But my desperation did not look into the issue of diplomacy.
I had a direct confrontation with him ( camerounian president) . And we now went for the ceding and only Donald Duke, the then governor was allowed to be there. I don’t know what I would have done at that time. I am not saying that I would have done anything to stop the ceding. But subsequently, President Obasanjo kept asking me questions about what I think would be comfortable, and painless in relocating the people. And in Nigeria, decisions can be taken at the level of the federal government and implementation at the state level will be another problem.
I do understand that even before Obasanjo left office, he provided money for the immediate development of the area, that we are to be relocated to. But certain things happened quickly. I will also own up here that sometimes, it may not be to the advantage of the people that you are leading if you are friendly with government and are also trying to protect government by allowing things to go on. Because we were actually taken to an area that was very horrible-Ikang. But because it was done hurriedly, these things have to be done you have no choice at the time than to go along.
And of course, overnight, at the state level, they have brought out law no 7, which now made it imperative for us to go along with any arrangement. So, I will not say that Obasanjo made it as painless as he promised. But I would also say that Obasanjo made efforts at the level of the Federal Government. But whether those efforts were implemented at the state level, is another thing. I will also like to let you know that the reason why I am called mama Bakassi is because from constitutional conference to the Senate, I have never stopped talking about this issue, which has virtually consumed me. I am very happy today that everybody is crying with us. But I was alone voice in the wilderness for so many years.
The state (Cross River) did set up a resettlement committee. In fairness to the present governor, (Liyel) Imoke, he made me chairman of that committee, and we sat for almost six months or there about, and worked out ways and means that the resettlement will be conducted in a very painless way. We made recommendations. But unfortunately, as it is with this country, up till today, those recommendations have not been implemented.
It is also note worthy for me to mention here that (late President Musa) Yar’Adua in his life time also set up a committee which was headed by the present president, who was then vice president. And I know that maybe as Niger Delta son, he showed enough interest and enthusiasm in ensuring that a body was set up to actually come out and see our state and see the areas that we actually want to be relocated to. And I believe that Jonathan committee also made recommendations that would have facilitated our resettlement. But again, nothing has been heard about the report of that committee. You talked about the possibility of being relocated permanently to a location of your choice, would having a permanent settlement not militate against moves by the House of Reps to seek for a review of the ICJ judgement. There was no Bakassi person that was involved in the process.
At that time, we wished that Bakassi indigenes were invited to the Hague. I am sure you all know that at the time that Cameroun took Nigeria to court during (late General Sani) Abacha regime, Abacha ignored that process. As the soldier that he was, he refused to subject the country or himself to that judicial process. He rather chose to go to war to liberate the area. But at the time, that we say we are now democratized we want to play the good people, and we subjected ourselves to that process, and we lost the case. But I would want to say that no Bakassi indigene was asked for any input in that matter. No Bakassi indigene. Just like a mixed commission was set up and it was a non Bakassi person that was made a member of that commission.
I actually came out, because sometimes out of desperation, I will come out to say I want to do this, I want to do that. And I was described as being too emotional, too militant over the Bakassi issue. It was felt that I would not be able to work with other countries. The issue of resettlement, let’s be realistic. I don’t like play acting, especially when you are dealing with peoples lives. We have said it over and over again that we appreciate the efforts of the House of Representatives, even though it has taken ten years, eight weeks to the final day that we can appeal the ICJ judgment. Now, the people of Bakassi have been on the streets all these years.
They have been completely marginalized. When it got to the point that we could not even vote, we now felt that we have to rise up and act. Because if we cannot vote, then it means that these children that we are raising, when they grow up they will not be part of the democratic process of this country. Now, we have been disenfranchised. I did not vote (in the last general election). I do not know if I can contest elections again, and I am still politically ambitious. So, where will I go and use my voter’s card. What we need now is immediate resettlement, and if there is any possibility of going back to Bakassi peninsula, well and good. You all know that going through an appeal in an international court is not an easy thing. It probably will take at least 3,4,5 or 10 years.
We need to be resettled. We need to resettle our traditional institutions. Most of the traditional rulers are now refugees. We left things in Bakassi. We left our homes, we left the graves of our fore fathers in Bakassi, which is very painful. We almost lost our identity. They started describing us as numbers. I do not have the name of a village again, I was known as no 10 or ward 2. Can you imagine Ita –Giwa not having a village? I cannot go and claim my mother’s village, because I have a father. My father was a traditional ruler. So, what we need now is where we can go and settle down and call our home and it is also part of the former Bakassi.
It is also worthy for you to note that it is the Bakassi Peninsular that was ceded, not the local government. And that is why they say we can move with our structure. We want to be resettled in Dayspring. If you like call it temporarily, but we want to be resettled in Dayspring. Dayspring is Nigeria. So, if we are living there as a temporary arrangement, it is Nigeria and it can be made permanent after the court judgment. We are going to resist strongly any attempt by anybody to exclude us from being part of the review , from giving evidence, and part of the process of resettling us. We wear the shoes, and we know where it hurt. You kept talking about being resettled in Dayspring Island. Why is it difficult for the government to allow you go.? I wish I have an answer.
All I know is that we were forcefully taken to the place called Itang through law no 7. There is always drama going on in Nigeria, because as we speak now, law no 7 has been abandoned. But at the time, the resettlement committee, we recommended Dayspring. But I will like the government of Cross River state and Nigeria to tell Nigerians why they have not taken us to our place of choice. They took us to a land locked area. We were born in riverline, ocean front area.
We earn our incomes from the ocean. Our life style revolves around the ocean. Our life style does not strive in farmland, we are not farmers; we are fishermen. We are aquatic people. So, I like the government of this country to tell us why we have not been relocated to our place of choice. We actually offered to go and start developing the area for ourselves if we officially were allowed to go there.
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