Breaking the Curse of “Feeding Bottle Federalism”.

Ngozi Okonjo Iweala

By Uche Anichukwu
The breast milk is so central to child survival that the world set aside a week to mark it. Yet every breastfeeding baby knows it is only enjoying a rented facility. Beside the fact that it gets to a point when either the mother or the “landlord” begins to grumble, there also comes a time when even a bucket-full would not quench its hunger. The feeding bottle comes handy, followed by solid food as the child is eventually weaned off.

Unfortunately, the irony in Nigeria’s case is that ever since Gowon’s Regime threw away the core federal principle of fiscal federalism and replaced it with what Senator Ekweremadu correctly described as “feeding bottle federalism”, our states have become overindulged adults permanently on exclusive breastfeeding. The Federal Government became the “Big Daddy” who confiscates all that belongs to his children and doles out to all, the hard working and the indolent alike. Therefore, we are left with states in the mould of what Ndigbo call “Agadi ekwe nka” (every-year-young) and “Nwakpuda” (a child that refuses to grow despite adequate nutrition).

However, it was never the design of our founding fathers. Their reasons for opting for federalism cannot be faulted. To Chief Awolowo, “the constitution of Nigeria must be federal...any other constitution will be unsuitable and generate ever-recurring instability which may eventually lead to the complete disappearance of the Nigeria composite State”. Dr. Azikiwe opined that Nigerian’s prosperity lay in the heterogeneity of both the composition and endowments of a federal structure for the unleashing of the energies of the federating units for national development. Sir Ahmadu Bello reasoned that federalism provided the “only guarantee that the country will grow evenly all over. We can spend the money we receive, the money we raise, in the direction best suited to us”. True to their collective dreams, those days of true federalism up to the fall of the First Republic have remained reference points in massive development across the nation as the regions sort to outdo one another in human capital, infrastructural and industrial development serviced by proceeds from palm produce in the East, cocoa and rubber in the West and groundnut in the North.

Therefore, contrary to the usual proclivity to blame the discovery of oil for our woes, I beg to argue that our trouble actually began when we enthroned  “feeding bottle federalism” by cutting down on the percentage of accruals to federating units on the basis of derivation principle. As we moved from 50% derivation at independence to 45% between 1969 to1971, 45% (excluding offshore proceeds) from 1971 to 1975, 20%(excluding offshore proceeds) from 1975 to 1979, 0% (zero percent) from 1979 to 1981, 1.5% from 1982 to 1992, 3% from 1992 to 1999, and 13% from 1999 till date, we created more shareable/free monies for all, irrespective of their inputs into the economy/federal purse. That explains why the component states could afford to abandon agriculture.

In his back page piece (Thisday, March 4, 2012) entitled “Federal Allocation and Our Future”, Simon Kolawale laments that “eternal reliance on oil revenue has done a lot of damage to the federation”. He asks: “Why do we need to stretch our brain to dream of building our own Microsoft and Apple when we can look up to Abuja for the flow of petrodollars every month? Why should Bauchi bother to tap its tourism potential? Why should Bayelsa dream of feeding Africa with its FADAMA rice when there is a fat FAAC cheque to be collected in Abuja monthly? Why should Aba be developed into our own Taiwan or Japan? There is no such incentive. The only incentive I can see in Nigeria is Federation Account”. So, we can now understand why a state governor that should be a chief wealth creator for his state can afford to throw away his thinking cap and sleep for a whole moon only to complain that the free money he is getting from a self-imposed Santa Claus at the centre is not enough.

In particular, I read an interview granted by a Governor who claimed that enthroning fiscal federalism in the ongoing constitution amendment would further impoverish his region. I laughed because his region fared much better under fiscal federalism in the First Republic, but has retrogressed gravely since the coming of free oil money that only oiled a few elites and abandonment of agriculture that provided both mass employment and foreign exchange for the entire region. The same region he was talking about had so many bourgeoning industries and remained West Africa’s textile headquarters for long owing to the foundations laid in that golden era of our federalism. Today, the factories have parked up under “feeding bottle federalism”, while the warehouses now mostly serve as worship centres.

I will only agree that fiscal federalism will put some states, including my own State, Enugu, through temporary crucibles. But it will certainly challenge the federating units to put on their thinking caps, mobilize their abundant resources and unleash quantum potentials. I always marvel at the data on the nationwide distribution of mineral resources once published by the Raw Material Research and Development Council. I summarised the number of mineral resources in each state as follows: Abia-19, Adamawa – 13, Akwa Ibom - 11, Anambra – 8, Bauchi- 35, Bayelsa - 4, Benue- 32, Borno-        23, Cross River  - 28, Delta  - 12, Ebonyi - 8, Edo-  11, Ekiti - 13, Imo - 8, Jigawa - 10, Kaduna  - 13, Kano - 20, Katsina  - 23, Kebbi – 10, Kogi – 14, Kwara -12, Lagos - 6, Nassarawa - 15, Niger -17, Ogun -         11, Ondo - 6, Osun -10, and Oyo- 13. Others are: Plateau - 16, Rivers -5, Sokoto -10, Enugu - 11, FCT - 10, Gombe - 11, Taraba – 18, Yobe - 15, and Zamfara - 8. These are exclusive of our rich farmlands and tourism potentials. Now, show me which state is poor. Yet everything lies prostrate or illegally exploited.

Even at that, I would advice those who think the wellbeing of their people, North or South, depends on the quantity of oil or other mineral resources to think twice as modern economies are knowledge-driven. For instance, bereft of oil and other mineral resources, South Korea is the World’s 13th largest economy and 3rd in Asia. Without a single drop of iron ore, Korea’s steel company, POSCO, has risen to the top of global steel industry. Korea’s GNI per capita of almost USD20,000 is poles apart from Nigeria’s GNI per capita of USD1, 180 (World Bank, 2010) despite our plenteous oil resources.

Indeed, oil and mineral resources can only be blessings if well and competitively managed. The UAE is an example of an oil rich nation that has prospered through competitiveness fired by fiscal federalism. Dubai, just a federating emirate (like Osun state), accounts for an infinitesimal quantity of the UAE oil output compared to the heavily endowed Abu Dhabi Emirate. Dubai’s oil is also running out. But don’t worry for them because rather than begrudge sister emirates, Dubai’s leaders have built it into the beautiful financial, commercial, and tourism bride of the Middle East, with suitors flocking in from all parts the world to indulge in her bubbling business and tourism capacities.

Therefore, I think that our enemy is not the fiscal federalism many seem paranoid about. Rather, it is “feeding bottle federalism” that erodes true federalism and national prosperity, allowing the Federal Government to confiscate and share our resources in manners that promote laziness among component states, enthrone bad and uncreative governance, massive corruption, underdevelopment, poverty of the masses and opulence of a few. I see no reason we should not seize the opportunity of the ongoing constitution review project to break the curse.
• Uche Anichukwu is a public affairs analyst

How to deal with corrupt leaders, by Falana, Fasuan.

By Sulaiman Salawudeen.

Mr. Femi Falana (SAN

There will be an end to Nigeria’s corrupt leadership when the banking system is made sufficiently effective to curtail unscrupulous transactions.
Structures will also have to be in place for Nigerians to identify and shame the leaders who compromise standards.
Speaking with The Nation on phone during the week, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) recalled that last year, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent N1.7 trillion on subsidy without any supplementary appropriation or statutory warrant while only N245 billion was actually budgeted.
Falana said it is urgent for citizens to mobilise and “ensure that appropriation laws are implemented to the letter.
“Last year only, N245 billion was budgeted for subsidy but a whole N1.7 trillion was eventually appropriated. How the ministry of finance came about that scandalous figure continues to challenge our feelings,” the lawyer said.
He noted further that “our traditional institutions, universities and national honours committee should equally discontinue a trend of awarding questionable honours to corrupt leaders.”
According to him, such institutions themselves will equally have to be exposed and shamed.
Falana said: “Recall that Ekiti State University (EKSU), early in the year honoured three distinguished sons of Africa: then Vice President but now President of Ghana, John Dramani Bahama; Emeritus professor of history, Prof. Tekena Tamuno; and UNIDO’s Director-General, Dr. Kandey K. Yumkella. “Who would question the awards to these most distinguished and eminent sons of the continent,” he asked.
Meanwhile, in his comments, Chief Deji Fasuan, retired permanent secretary and redoubtable social critic, said: “Corruption is so frustrating and pervading. Nigeria is the 2nd most corrupt country in the world. No aspect of our national life is spared.”

The Flood Disaster Caused By Camerounian Dam.

LEADERSHIP EDITORIAL

The deluge ravaging several parts of Nigeria was worsened penultimate Saturday (August 25, 2012) by the release of water from Lagdo Dam in northern Cameroun by the Camerounian authorities, which led to the submerging of many riverine settlements in 11 local government areas of Adamawa State in the north-east geopolitical zone of Nigeria. At least three people were reportedly killed and thousands of families displaced. About 3,000 internally displaced persons have been camped across the state and are receiving relief materials.
As in many aspects of our national life, the Adamawa flood has been attributed to negligence. The minister of water resources, Mrs Stella Ochekpe, confirmed this while fielding questions from State House correspondents in Abuja at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council  (FEC) meeting. She said that successive governments have failed to construct a buffer dam in Adamawa.
It is a shame that while Nigerian governments spend billions of naira on inconsequential projects from time to time, they have often failed to attend to sensitive and important projects such as this, knowing full well the risk such failure to act poses to the citizens who live there.
The report that the Camerounian government notified the relevant Nigerian authorities prior to the decongestion of the dam and the failure of the Nigerian stakeholders, notably the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) and Adamawa State, to evacuate the people before the unfortunate incident is a big blow to our sense of humanity. In other climes where value is placed on human life, an emergency camp would have been constructed for the people before the catastrophe.
Mrs. Ochekpe’s pledge that President Jonathan’s administration was ready to conduct a feasibility study as a preamble to constructing a buffer dam should be translated into action now. The federal government must find a permanent solution to the Lagdo Dam-inflicted flood by constructing a dam in Adamawa State that will reduce and manage the volume of water released annually from Lagdo Dam. Also, water channels that link Nigeria with the dam should be dredged.
Traditional rulers have a big role to play in emergency communication. They should be mobilised to sensitise their various communities on the implications of certain bad habits that may lead to flooding Besides, a warning of every environmental issue should be extended to them. Nigerians will not forgive the policy-makers of today if they allow the Adamawa flood or any other flood ravaging the country to repeat itself next year or anytime in the future.

Yoruba nation and the Nigerian project.

By Bisi Oladele.

Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade

Last Thursday, Ibadan, the political capital of the Yoruba, received unusual visitors in a historic meeting. Bisi Oladele examines the agenda of the ethnic nationality towards re-inventing a new political, economic and cultural framework for Nigeria as a nation

Demands of Yoruba nation 
The General Assembly is pushing 15 proposals:
•A new Nigeria consisting of a federal government and six geo-political zones operating federal and regional constitutions respectively’
•A single legislative list which will be the Exclusive Legislative List consisting of only thirty items’
•The Westminster model of parliamentary government.’
•Value Added Tax, Sales Tax, Stamp Duties and other taxes – except Customs and Excise Duties, Petroleum Profit Tax and other levies associated with mineral resources- should be levied, collected and retained by the regions and an agreed percentage remitted to the central government on the basis of responsibilities. Petroleum Tax should be levied and collected by the Federal Government while 25 percent of oil revenue receipt by the Federal Government should be remitted to oil producing regions.’
•A regional and state police force structure’
•The establishment of a constitutional court with jurisdiction over inter-governmental cases and petition from elections to the National Assembly’
•That all public officers who currently enjoy absolute immunity be made amendable to court processes on charges bordering on commission of crimes’
•An informal role for traditional rulers in the political structure’
•The removal of the registration requirement for political parties. In addition, prior to elections, political parties must maintain self-financing status’
•The adoption of the open-secret ballot system for voting in elections’
•All election petitions must be expeditiously disposed of before the swearing-in of the declared winners’
•The abrogation of the Land Use Decree’
•Constitutional Affirmative Action provisions for the inclusion of women in public affairs, i.e as members of the Executive, National Assembly, Judiciary, civil service, etc’
•An awareness of the role and significance of civil society organisations in the polity as the core of national civic education at all levels.

The venue was historic. So was the meeting as well as the coalescence of the progressives, interestingly across party lines for the pan-Yoruba summit. The convener, Lt. Gen. Alani Akinrinade (Rtd), carefully chose the floor of the Oyo State House of Assembly, where the motion for Nigerian independence was moved in 1956 by the late elder statesman, Chief Anthony Enahoro. The venue was also the floor where the first Premier of Western Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, got approval for his legendary policies that stood him out as a great leader of his time.  It was at the same venue Yoruba converged again last Thursday, 27 years after Awolowo’s death, to voice their concern for what they described as the quasi-unitary constitution and declared their determination to pursue self-determination through regional government. 
The one-day summit was tagged: “Yoruba Assembly.” True to its name, the meeting witnessed assemblage of governors, political leaders, traditional rulers, leaders of thought, distinguished professionals and representatives of Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi states as well as Yorubas in the Diaspora.
Though it was dominated by Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) leaders, some Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) leaders also graced the occasion and were given good voice, signalling that Yoruba are willing to work together to revive the glory of the Yoruba nation. Former Speaker, House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole and Dr Dejo Raimi were among the two top PDP leaders that addressed the gathering.
 General expression of bitterness and accommodation of dissenting voices at the meeting conveyed the fact that the Yoruba are unanimous in condemning the present lopsided structure of federalism in Nigeria. They also unanimously rejected fiscal federalism as is currently practiced and gave the verdict that the current system of government in Nigeria is unitary in disguise. The Yoruba leaders also agreed that the Yoruba nation has almost fully lost her capacity to mobilise her resources to develop the region and the people as obtained before and shortly after independence.
In the Yoruba agenda, endorsed by stakeholders on Thursday, the nationality is seeking a self-governing, autonomous Yoruba region. It demands the right of Yoruba in the current South-west states to live under a regional government within the Nigerian federation with right to negotiate with other nationalities along the laid down principles of federalism, justice and equity.
It stated further that the region shall have its own constitution that shall not be inconsistent with the constitution of a true Nigerian federation and that the region shall run its internal affairs except in areas which all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria “at a properly constituted constitutional conference, agree should be under the aegis of the federal government. “The demands also include the freedom for all Yoruba, outside the current South-west, to join the current South-west by choice. It also calls for creation of state for the Yoruba in Kwara and Kogi states as they currently occupy 14 local governments.
The agenda also affirms the right of other nationalities to form their own regions and all nationalities, including foreigners to live and work in the Yoruba region.
Asides the above, the Yoruba are pushing for fiscal federalism, effective anti-corruption crusade and revival of the core Yoruba values, particularly the concept of ‘Omoluabi.
To achieve these and many more, the Yoruba are pushing for regional integration among the current South-west states, setting up of a regional anti-corruption agency, promotion of the Yoruba language, promotion of merit system in the affairs of the country and creation of state police. In all, the Yoruba nation is asking for self determination through regional autonomy. In all, the general assembly is pushing 15 proposals. 
The debate and agreements
Aa all-encompassing and progressive as the proposals look, it is normal to expect criticism of parts of the whole agenda as exemplified by Dimeji Bankole’s disagreement with creation of state police. The assembly was also unable to address the challenge of choosing and supporting a particular individual as the new leader of the Yoruba as in the days of Awolowo. But the fact that was obvious at the meeting was that Yoruba, in spite of political differences, are unanimous in rejecting the current operation of federalism in Nigeria. They also strongly believe that the current system inhibits the ability of the Yoruba to tap their capacity to grow beyond the current level and that there is an urgent need to renegotiate the co-existence of the various ethnic nationalities that make up Nigeria.
With the new move by the ethnic nationality, the world is obviously waiting for the reaction of other nationalities that make up the country as well as that of the Federal Government of Nigeria which is holding power in trust for all Nigerians.
Considering similar voices coming from the South-east, South-south and the North, it may be safe to conclude that Nigeria is closer to a national conference where these issues will be discussed for continued co-existence.

How PDP Aided Nnaji’S Ouster as Power Minister.

Prof. Bart Nnaji

By Chuks Okocha

He resigned as Minister of Power last Tuesday. But it has emerged that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) actually encouraged President Goodluck Jonathan to remove Prof. Bart Nnaji.

THISDAY is in possession of a damning memo by PDP to President Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo, where the party called for Nnaji's removal. Sambo is also the Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP).

The memo detailed a harvest of infractions allegedly committed by the former minister in the course of the ongoing privatisation of the power sector.

The letter obtained from a presidency source was written by PDP National Chairman Bamanga Tukur and dated July 22.

In the letter, Tukur highlighted the problems facing the power sector in the country, but indicted Nnaji for alleged complicity in some of the problems and conflict of interest in the privatisation process.

The PDP chairman called for his immediate sack in order for the country to make headway in the ongoing power sector reforms.

Tukur blamed the challenges of power generation on the alleged “Conflict of interest between the office of the Hon. Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, who has put personal interest above national imperatives of providing an urgent solution to the gross insufficiency in power generation in Nigeria.

“The minister is known to own large interest in Geometrics, a power company that has been taken over by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for an unserviceable loan of N25 billion.”

The party chairman said he suspected the former minister also own proxy interests in some of the new independent power plants (IPPs) “hurriedly put together to benefit from Power Purchase Agreement (PPAs) even though such companies have not met the expected milestone that will put them in the position to generate electricity in the foreseeable future, while the other IPPS with ready-to-go practice (who have not met the necessary criteria and are in a position to generate electricity within the next six to 18months) are frustrated from getting approval for the PPAs because they are perceived as competitors to the minister’s self-made list of IPPs.”

This, according to the PDP chairman, is essentially one of the reasons why ready-to- go independent power projects are stunted.

Raising the issue of nepotism in the selection of companies for the power purchase agreement, he alleged that, “The Chief Executive of Bulk Purchasing Trading Company, Mr. Rumundaka Wonodi, was a staff of Geometrics and promotes the same hurriedly-put- together projects with personal interest for the PPAs. These projects, among other things, do not receive even concrete gas supply commitments from the international oil companies (IOCs) since they are not ready-to-go projects. “Meanwhile, ready-to-go IPPs, which secure a concrete gas supply commitment from IOCs, having fulfilled necessary criteria and are in position to generate power immediately, are denied PPAs approval and nominations for World Bank guarantee by the Bulk Trader because they are not on the minister’s favoured list. The consequence of this is that no Power Purchase Agreement is being signed and no IPP project can come on stream in time to fulfill our programme in the power sector.”

According to the memo, “The non-signing of PPAs for ready-to-go projects by the Bulk Trading company hampers the good work done by the gas aggregation company, the IOCs, indigenous oil and gas companies and the Ministry for Petroleum Resources who have put in place a robust plan for ‘Gas for Power’ arrangement. This is because when no PPA gets signed, no gas purchase agreement gets concluded. PPA in essence triggers the securitisation of payment for supply and consequently acts as impetus for investment in substantial gas supply in the value chain.”

He also added, “The indebtedness of the Hon. Minister’s company to Diamond Bank and AMCON is a pressure point that affects an honest and objective discharge of his duties when the reform process is at its infancy”.

In view of these weighty allegations, the PDP chairman said there was “an urgent need to remove all stumbling blocks threatening the fulfilment of our promises. Any further promises to Nigerians on any issue of our national life by the PDP-led administration will be discountenanced if we fail to deliver on the power sector”.

The party called for a far-reaching measure, challenging President Jonathan to: “Relieve the Hon. Minister of Power from his position for his conflicting interest as a regulator and participant in the power sector; reconstitute the management of the Bulk Trading Company; invite the leadership of international energy companies like General Electric of USA, Siemens and Credible IPPs who have ready-to-go projects and have signed Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts for their power plants for discussions”.

He maintained that “the international energy companies have already established these ready-to-go projects and would be in a better position to provide a guide. This will be the new momentum to rescue the industry. It is the IPPs that are the engines of power sector participation in the electricity industry, just as privatisation is transfer of existing monopolies to private hands.”

Nnaji eventually resigned his appointment last Tuesday, citing undue pressure from some vested interests in the power sector as the reason for throwing in the towel.

He said he took the decision to save the privatisation and reform programme from people who might want to use ulterior motives to jeopardise it.

His resignation was inevitable after it was discovered during the meeting of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) a fortnight ago that companies reportedly owned or linked to him made bids for the Afam Generation Company Limited and Enugu Distribution Company Limited.

This runs contrary to the Code of Ethics of the privatisation process, which bars staff of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and members of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) from buying shares in companies being privatised.

Speaking further on why he quit, Nnaji said that rather than drag President Jonathan and the entire privatisation process through the mud, he chose to quit.

He, however, said he reminded the president that he had brought it to his attention two weeks earlier that a company he owned was part of a bidding consortium which submitted bids for Enugu Distribution Company.

The former minister further said that his time as a government official, first as special adviser to the president, and then as power minister, had been fraught with all sorts of efforts to bring him down.

He felt that rather than allow the naysayers destroy the entire process, it was better for him to leave.

President Jonathan, however, gave Nnaji an official clearance, saying he accepted his resignation to protect the privatisation process.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Onitsha, Anambra State during his visit to the state on Thursday, the president said the former minister did nothing wrong.

Bakassi Peninsula: A Nigeria-Cameroun Kashimir In The Making?

TAIWO OGUNMOLA.

The renewed agitation for reclamation of Bakassi Peninsula by prominent Nigerians and lawmakers and the controversies generated by the moves put a question mark on the nation’s continuous peaceful coexistence with Cameroun, writes TAIWO OGUNMOLA who attended a brainstorming session by erudite scholars on the issue recently at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) Lagos.
As the possibility of amicable resolution of the dispute get dimmer by the day, many Nigerians had expected that by now the vexed issue of Bakassi Peninsula would have been easily resolved amongst the sister countries to pave way for a more beneficial bilateral international relations between both countries.
Thus, the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) recently assembled notable Nigerians to a brainstorming session on the Bakassi Peninsula after, ten years of International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling on the subject. The task of the professors and erudite scholars was simple; to look at the way out of the imbroglio before the issue degenerates into crisis between both countries.
Dissecting the issue, former Minister of External Affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, in a paper titled ‘Lead Us Not Into Temptation’ emphasized that, “I think that the brewing crisis over Bakassi Peninsula has all the potential of becoming ‘Nigeria-Cameroun Kashimir’ if care is not taken. Akinyemi said he was amazed at the memorandum written by Dr. T.O Elias that Bakassi did not belong to Nigeria and that it belongs to Cameroun.
He went on to say, “It is a matter of regret and should be considered a failure of a state policy that we entered appearance at the court in response to the suit filed by Cameroun.
“I also accept that the acceptance of judgment of the court and the handing over of the Bakassi Peninsula were not only acts of indecent haste, but the handing over without an act of the National Assembly was itself an act of illegality and unconstitutionality”.
Now that the chick has come to roost again Akinyemi without inhibition said members of the National Assembly who served under former President, Olusegun Obasanjo when he committed the illegality should be blamed for it.
He appealed to the National Assembly, the Presidency, media and foreign policy elite not to raise false hopes in order for the issue to be resolved.The foreign affairs expert advised that government should take urgent steps to engage the Bakassi Self Determination Front in a dialogue to dissuade its members from embarking on a confrontation with Cameroun.
For the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mohammed Adoke, the call to seek review of the ICJ decision was not misplaced.
The legal guru said the review attained prominence in national discourse in view of the fact that Article 61 of the statute of the ICJ permits such a review where the application is based upon the discovery of a fact which is decisive and was unknown to the court and to the party claiming revision when the judgment was given.
Adoke said, “It may well be that there is increased agitation for this option now given that the statute provides that a review should be initiated before 10 years have elapsed from the date of the judgment that is before 10October 2012.”
Painting a critical picture of the scenario, the former president of West Africa Bar Association Mr. Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) said country needs to move speedily to avert crisis. According to him, “The Federal Government does not appear ready to revisit the ruling of ICJ and we have a duty as a nation to take cognizance of the interests of displaced Bakassi people.
“They may out of frustration declare their own independent and they have the right to do it. It is a challenge to us as a nation to address the injustice done to the people before it is too late”.
With such impression created by the legal luminaries, the royal Highness of Bakassi, Etim Edet came out of his shell to say that they are being used to play politics, insisting that they don’t want to be with Cameroun.
According to him, “We came with a heavy heart and it seems the labour of our heroes past seems to be in vain. Bakassi should not be condemned to perpetual slavery because for several years we shared the same culture with Nigeria. We have lost our identity and as I am I don’t have a place to stay”.
His disposition on the issues is obviously at variance with the ICJ judgment which decided that the sovereignty over the disputed Bakassi Peninsula is with Cameroun as a result of delimitation between Great Britain and Germany under the Anglo-German Agreement of March 11, 1913.
Cameroun filed the case in 1994 concerning a dispute relating to the question of sovereignty over the Bakassi but also requested the determination of the maritime boundary between the two states.Pursuant to an additional application by Cameroon later that year, the subject of the dispute was extended to include a definite mutual land boundary from Lake Chad to the sea.
With the hand writing boldly written on the wall, most people familiar with Bakassi Peninsula are of the view that the trend would generate crisis now that the Bakassi stalemate is moving to October 10 which is the expiration of the ten-year window of grace allowed by the International Court of Justice for an appeal on the ill-fated judgment on Bakassi.
More so, that the Nigerian government is sitting on the fence not making any categorical statement on the volatile Bakassi issue. Some analysts who lampooned the present administration have also lauded the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for some of his achievements, especially now that Nigeria is experiencing the Boko-Haram insurgence.
Some opined that Obasanjo would never allow such to happen and would have taken a drastic action. But the agreement he signed on 13 June 2006 left the territory completely in Camerounian control within the next 2 years after he agreed to withdraw Nigerian troops within 60 days.
Nigeria began to withdraw its forces, comprising some 3,000 troops, beginning 1 August 2006, and a ceremony on 14 August marked the formal handover of the northern part of the peninsula.The remainder stayed under Nigerian civil authority for two more years. On 22 November 2007, the Nigerian Senate passed a resolution declaring that the withdrawal from the Bakassi Peninsula was illegal.
The government took no action, and handed the final parts of Bakassi over to Cameroun on 14 August 2008 as planned, but a Federal High Court had stated this should be delayed until all accommodations for resettled Bakassians had been concluded.
The government did not seem to plan to heed this court order and did set the necessary mechanisms into motion to override it.
Fishermen displaced from Bakassi had been settled in a landlocked area called New Bakassi which they claimed is already inhabited and not suitable for fishermen like them but only for farmers.
The House of Representatives has promised to re-visit the Green Tree Agreement (GTA) signed between Nigeria and Cameroon.The GTA was done at Greentree, New York, on June 12, 2006 following the ICJ ruling ceding Bakassi Peninsula to neigbhouring Cameroun in October 10, 210.
With the agreement, Nigeria recognizes the sovereignty of Cameroun over the Bakassi Peninsula in accordance with the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the matter of land and maritime boundary between Cameroun and Nigeria.But following agitations by the Bakassi natives and moves to reclaim their territory, the Lower House of the National Assembly said it has become imperative to take a second look at the controversial agreement.
The chairman, House Committee on Treaty and Agreement, Mr. Bush-Alebiosu, who dropped the hint while interacting with the Efik Elders and Leaders Forum in Calabar revealed that because of Nigeria’s leadership position in Africa, she is a signatory to more than 200 International treaties of bi-lateral and multi-lateral nature.
Alebiosu said: “We are here to look into things from Green Tree Agreement point of view to see whether they are in our favour or not and how it affects the people of Bakassi. The Committee had since visited the affected community and is expected to make recommendations to the House of Representatives.

Onitsha River Port Begins Operation.

President Goodluck Jonathan

By John Iwori

Following its formal commissioning by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan   Thursday, the multi-billion Onitsha River Port Complex, Anambra State has begun operations.

Various cargo handling equipment were seen in operations as the euphoria that heralded the formal commissioning of the Onitsha River Port Complex ebbed with the departure of guests to the venues of other projects earmarked for commissioning by President Jonathan.

The formal unveiling of the Onitsha River Port Complex, which is located in the commercial nerve centre of the Eastern part of the country, followed its complete rehabilitation by the Federal Government.

While performing the cutting of tape ceremony, President Jonathan  said the N4.6 billion River Port was unique and a signal for more things to come.

He added that his administration decided to embark on the development of the country’s inland waterways transport as a way of exploiting all avenues of enhancing both road, rail, air and water transportation in the country.

His words: “The river or marine transport must be enhanced and to do it, we need inland port like the one in Onitsha. Our target is to link all the ports by roads and rail so that doing business in Nigeria becomes easy. The river ports must be linked up to other areas of resource. Today, the process is being started and others on the drawing board must be completed”, he said.

The President expressed the hope that a well-developed inland water transportation system will lessen the burden on our highways, which often wear away because of the large cargo plying the roads.

He used the occasion of the commissioning to assure Nigerians that he would deliver on his electoral promises and urged Nigerians to exercise patience and keep faith with the country and his administration.

He lauded an indigenous firm, Inter-Bau Construction Limited, for its efficient delivery on the execution of the project.

Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar had earlier in his opening remarks said that the Onitsha River Port Complex started in 2009.

Describing it as another milestone in the quest to re-position the inland waterways, Idris explained that the facility involved the construction of a new port building, staff quarters, erosion control, and procurement of modern cargo equipment among others.

He said the river port would also make for effective transportation of goods and progressively open other inland waterways to ferry goods to different destinations in the country.

Described as Nigeria’s largest river port, the Onitsha River Port Complex is complete with new facilities, warehouses and equipment such as cranes and forklifts.

The Federal Government with the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) supervised the execution of the project.

“The refurbishment was overseen by NIWA. It restores the port to its original splendour and offers new levels of operational efficiency. The reconditioned river port complex will also serve as a massive boost and complement to the newly dredged lower River Niger”, the authority said in a statement.

THISDAY recall  that prior to its overhaul, the port had suffered years of neglect, underutilisation and disrepair.

Former President Shehu Shagari commissioned the Onitsha River Port in 1983. It however slipped into a state of underutilisation and disrepair, forcing operators of ferries and other economic vessels to abandon it a few years after.  

With the River Niger fully dredged and the waterways well protected by NIWA patrol boats and the Marine Police, the Onitsha River Port has received a new lease of life.