The official handover of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon on Monday, August 14, 2006 in a solemn ceremony in Archipong observed by French, UN and American officials will go into the annals of history as the saddest day in the political history of Nigeria. It marks the ardent betrayal of a people, the climax of institutional neglect and prime dereliction of duty on the part of the federal government, a staid case of a failed polity basking aplenty in moral delinquency and omission. No country in recent history has parted with a piece of territory that rightly belongs to it no matter the aspersions or the weight of legal judgment against it and no matter the source of such judgment. An even sadder occasion is the fact that the land in question is filled with barrels of fine oil ranging in the billions. Here is a country reeked with a visionless leadership, a country where the leaders only have ephemeral posture.

The bigger question is; why was Bakassi ceded to Cameroon when it was clear that it belonged to Nigeria? And is Obasanjo truly a law-abiding citizen to obey the orders of the International Court of Justice? There appears to be more to it than meets the eyes and given the antecedent, we must view this action from the larger context and prism of ethnicity. In this politically charged polity with its ingrained ethnic sensibilities, the fact of the matter is; if the oil rich peninsula had been in Ogun, Ondo, Lagos, Ekiti, Oyo or Osun, even Kwara, (parts of it, at least), the Obasanjo administration would not have been so apt, so keen, so eager to part with the territory. It would not have been so disposed to watch its kith and kin become appendages to another country.

Here is a perfect example; for years, the Benin Republic has laid claim to some villages in Ogun State, the home state of the president. But of course, such claims have been dismissed wantonly and no one in this administration has heeded them. It is very doubtful that if Benin Republic goes to court and the verdict is against Nigeria, that the Obasanjo administration will, in the same manner as it has in the Bakassi case, cede those territories to Benin Republic. And if Benin Republic decides to engage in a needless rumpus, it risks being annexed by Nigeria. The handover becomes an even intriguing point when one knows that the Gen. Muhammed regime in which Obasanjo was second-in-command intended to go to war in 1975 over Bakassi as it believed then that it belonged to Nigeria. Obasanjo was part of that regime and was also part of the decision as a ranking member of the Supreme Military Council to go to war over the territory; what has changed?

Bakassi, as it is, has no indigenes of note, no towering political gladiators that can argue its case before the federal government. It has no Babangidas of Niger State, no Danjumas of Taraba State, no Nwobodos, no Nzeribes, no Ikembas, no Owelles, no Sultans, no power-welding emirs, just ordinary citizens with no sway or efficacy to change the course of affairs, the slated fate and assigned destiny of the territory. Senator Florence Ita-Giwa turned presidential adviser and widow of slain Newswatch journalist, Dele Giwa, being the lone voice from Bakassi can only watch as she and her kith and kin are remapped to Cameroon in a wicked twist of fate. The few leaders from the territory have been marginalized, intimidated or eliminated. Only today, the leader of the new movement for the independence of Bakassi, forty-year old Chief Tony Ene Asuquo, was killed in a mysterious car accident that claimed 21 other lives and another arrested and detained without charge(s) on the orders of the Cross River State governor, Donald Duke.

If Bakassi were Yoruba territory, the Obas, the Olus, the Alafins, the Baales and all the chiefs and royals would have converged on Aso Rock on its behalf. They would speak Yoruba with the president, confer frivolous chieftaincy titles on him, crown him the "Alafin of Bakassi", offer him a couple of young damsels from the territory as wives (an enticing prospect given his "bachelor's" status), bow profusely before him risking the fragility of their spines and at the end the international court verdict will be consigned to the dustbin of history during a lush and exuberant owambe party as Cameroon and the international community will be dared. Regrettably, this is the state of affairs in the polity, the politics of nepotism. It's a zero-sum endeavor, survival of the fittest treaties. In the last few days, in spite of pleads from all and sundry for the federal government not to obey the verdict of the international court, the handover did take place. This is consistent with Obasanjo's administration long-standing disregard for the minorities in the land. It brings to fore its revulsion and loathing of the minorities as evidenced in the abuse of the Niger Delta.

On November 22, 1999, just six months after assuming office, Obasanjo sent troops to Odi in Bayelsa to effect death, rape and destruction of innocent civilians in the name of restoring law and order. A few years ago, the same feat was accomplished in Benue in a rage that occasioned the death of Lt.-Gen. Victor Malu's uncle and the destruction of the home of the former army chief. Since 2003, the same administration has watched with glee as chaos, blackmail, thuggery and mayhem attended the political scene in Anambra. Rather than issuing an executive order to return the state to a state of peace, Obasanjo and his co-travelers watched from a safe distance in Abuja as a sitting governor was kidnapped, threatened and blackmailed to no end. Bakassi may have been lost, but Obasanjo's ill legacy will not be lost for generations and generations to come.

Robot  Villager

# 1 The official handover of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon on...Read the full article. Posted by Robot| 17.08.2006 09:35

Shame

# 2 An emotional issue that we have to treat with respect. But you are wrong that Yoruba part of Benin is with Nigeria. Everyone around that border knows differently. Nigeria can not claim Yoruba around Idiroko or Badagry to Benin. The people cross as they wish into each Country. That itself nullify all your arguement in terms of ethnicity. Please dont use that for everything, base your point on something else so that all Nigerians can agree or disagree. Posted by Shame| 17.08.2006 09:57

planet1899  Villager

# 3 The author never said the Yoruba part of Benin R is with Nigeria. Please read carefully before making mis-statements...what the author said is that the Benin R is claiming additional villages in Ogun above and beyond what they already have. Hope this clears matters. The Planet Posted by planet1899| 17.08.2006 10:17

POJO

# 4 Tony Ene killed already? God this Obasanjo and killing self. forty-year old Chief Tony Ene Asuquo, was killed in a mysterious car accident that claimed 21 other lives and another arrested and detained without charge(s) on the orders of the Cross River State governor, Donald Duke. Posted by POJO| 17.08.2006 10:53

Celebr8  Villager

# 5 Charity, they say, begins at home - Obasanjo doesnt give a flying rat's a-ss about the Nigerian supreme court rulings and yets honours the judgement of the toothless bulldog that is the ICJ. Deep sigh. Posted by Celebr8| 17.08.2006 11:18

Abamieda Wanderer  Villager

# 6 Dr. Alalibo, While I am saddened by the fact that the Nigerian map has now been re-drawn and some of her citizens have been forced to belong to a strange and unfamiliar country, I have to disagree with your assertion that this was ethnically done with bias. I don’t know old you are sir, but may I remind you that since our independence some 45+ years ago with the exception of Chief Obafemi Awolowo and Nnamdi Azikwe who are both patriots at heart; we have been ruled by a bunch of arrogant, inefficient yet ignorant and most importantly greedy and unpatriotic individuals who should not even be in charge of managing a poultry farm let alone a nation of 120+ millions. The only one thing these people are expert in is “How to steal money” and trust me every single one of them graduated suma cum laude from the same school of thought. I am of the opinion that if Bakaasi were Ijebu-Ode, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Sokoto or Port Harcourt, There would have been no difference, my reason been that if the Country claiming ownership was persistent just like Cameroon was. The real fact is the Cameroonians and other countries around the world have found out what the Nigerian weakness is; lack of patriotism of any kind at any level. It is like loosing ones soul while you still have the physical body. How do you explain China owing oil blocks in the Ijaw nation; it is because we sold it to them and some people got paid. We just sold our’s and our future generations future. Do you think Nigeria can own anything in China or the US; we don’t even own the offices we use as Embassies all around the world. Any citizen of any country with an ounce of brain worth his/her salt knows that you do not rent out or even completely sell your natural resources to another country. I am not oblivious to the presence of ethnic bias, bigotry and neglect in Nigeria; rather, the lack of vision, management of natural resources for future prosperity, patriotism and the absence of many more abilities are responsible for the cessation of Bakaasi. We just don’t have it in us as people. Tell me if our political and indigenous leaders at all levels, cared about our future why are all the rivers in the Bakasi region suddenly turned into rivers of death filled will all sorts of diseases; yet this where we get all our riches from. The Governors from the Bakasi region are either too busy stealing or to afraid to speak up for the fear of been exposed for the Judases that they also are. I think if I mention the word “care about the environment” in any Nigerian setting, I will not ring any bell. Why do our leaders pillage Nigeria, take the riches abroad instead of using it to build a better future for our children…… I can go on and on. But the sad fact is we purposely do not want to look in the mirror because we know for a fact that we will actually see that the enemy is within. God help us all. AbamiEda Wanderer. Posted by Abamieda Wanderer| 17.08.2006 11:54

britroyal1  Villager

# 7 Abamieda, I think both you and the author make salient points and both views are complementary. Like you rightly said, lack of patriotism was the reason whu the said region was ceded. Indeed, the last thing the common man in Kaduna or Ogun was thinking about was what Nation owns Bakassi. Indeed, when they are yet to find their daily bread, such matters especially in remote regions like Bakassi (to them) are secondary. Having said that, the author is also right in his analysis that if Bakassi had indigenes of note, the result (inspite of the ICJ ruling) would have been different. Nigeria is governed by an oligarchy of political juggernauts. These people such as IBB, Danjuma et al that the author noted would never have allowed this to happen if the region in question was their own. Thus, I think that a lack of patriotism in the common man coupled with the devoid of notable advocates resulted in the unfortunate outcome. Posted by britroyal1| 17.08.2006 14:38

Citizen O  Villager

# 8 Another stereotypical article. I wonder if the author would write such trite crap about his own ethnic group? I wonder if he would be so quick to insult traditional rulers from his own ethnicity? If your grouse is with Obasanjo, please explain that clearly and point out his flaws without having to resort to crude bias and worthless generalizations. I don't agree with Bakassi being ceded either, but what that has to do with Yoruba royals, "owambes", and the other boorish assertions in this article is beyond me. I am sorry to say that even with a doctorate, you demonstrate a distinct lack of basic analytical ability. Your stance is not much different from the boorish racist that insists that because some Nigerians are involved in 419 fraud, or some Africans are involved in genocide, then all Nigerian and African 419 fraud and genocide can be explained by denigrating said cultures. Try harder next time. Posted by Citizen O| 17.08.2006 15:11

Jonathen  Villager

# 9 What more evidence do you damn people need of your countries absurdity? You "nigerians" are bloody *****s. Posted by Jonathen| 17.08.2006 15:12

E.BEN  JJC

# 10 Because the author drew an analogy and compared bakassi to some villages in Ogun state which Benin republic is claiming, some people are attacking him. He mentioned "owambes" and so on ,some people are ready to pull him down. HOWEVER IF IT WAS Dr Osuji's ARTICLE, THIS SAME PEOPLE WILL HERALD IT AS THE "TRUTH". E.BEN Posted by E.BEN| 17.08.2006 15:36

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