November 1, 2012 by Simon Utebor
Map of Bakassi
| credits: urhoboland.com
| credits: urhoboland.com
Member
representing Calabar-Odukpani Federal Constituency in the House of
Representatives, Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo, says the demarcation of maritime
boundary of Bakassi will not work.
Toyo stated this at an interraction on Bakassi organised by Project Nigeria and Citizens’ Advocacy Group in Lagos on Wednesday.
She asked the Nigeria
Boundary Commission to respect the wishes of Bakassi people before
embarking on the delineation of the Peninsula.
According to her, the
Green Tree Agreement on the ceding of Bakassi to Cameroon has not yet
expired, stressing that the GTA remains valid till 2013.
Toyo said, “The Green
Tree Agreement has not expired yet. It remains valid until next year.
The agreement has been observed more in default.
“We need to reach out to
our people and talk about resettlement. The land belongs to Efik
people. Given the diversity and multi-ethnicity of the country, we need
to address the issue well. As it is now, Bakassi has become desolate –
abandoned place.”
Toyo said her people
were disappointed in the Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the
Federation for failing to seek review of the ruling of International
Court of Justice.
The ICJ had in October 2002 ruled that the Peninsula be ceded to Cameroon.
She said the Bakassi people were also seeking compensation for their past suffering
Also, Senator Bassey
Henshaw said Cameroon was violating the GTA with impunity, insisting
that Bakassi people were being brutalised by Cameroonians.
He said, “The pictures
are there for people to see the atrocities being perpetrated against
Nigerians in the Peninsula by Cameroon. The conditions of Nigerians are
bad.
“GTA provides for the
protection of the rights of the people of Bakassi in compliance with
international conventions on the fundamental rights of the people.”
He said many people were
always talking about the resettlement of the people without anybody
talking about their means of livelihood.
He added, “The plea of
the people of Bakassi is simple: If it is oil that Cameroon is looking
for, let the Federal Government give them the oil and leave the people
in their ancestral land.”
Chairman of the occasion
and Director-General, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs,
Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, urged the government to leverage on the
International Parliamentary Union framework to discuss the Bakassi issue
with Cameroon.
Akinterinwa, who exonerated government from blames, alleged that the colonial masters caused the problem in the Peninsula.
He said, “Let’s find a
middle-way. Our own interest is that Bakassi people cannot be
Camerounians because the people say they do not want to be
Cameroonians.”
Chairman, Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders, Mr. Debo Adeniran, said the Bakassi problem was an issue for all Nigerians.
He advocated the convocation of a
sovereign national conference to enable the various ethnic groups in the
country to discuss their common patrimony.
SOURCE: The Punch - Nigeria's Most Widely Read Newspaper 1 November 2012.
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