Bakassi
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Bakassi is the peninsular extension of the African nation of Cameroon into the Atlantic Ocean. A part of it is currently administered by Nigeria but is due to be transferred back to Cameroonian sovereignty following a judgement by the International Court of Justice.
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Geography and economy
The peninsula lies roughly between latitudes 4°25' and 5°10'N and longitudes 8°20' and 9°08'E . It consists of a number of low-lying, largely mangrove covered islands covering an area of around 665km². The population of Bakassi is the subject of some dispute, but is generally put at between 150,000-300,000 people.
Bakassi is situated at the extreme eastern end of the Gulf of Guinea, where the warm east-flowing Guinea Current (Efik: Aya Efiat) meets the cold north-flowing Benguela Current (Efik: Aya Ubenekang). These two great ocean currents interact creating huge foamy breakers which continually advance towards the shore, and building submarine shoals rich in fish, shrimp, and an wide variety of other marine life. This makes the Bakassi area a very fertile fishing ground, comparable only to Newfoundland in North America and Scandinavia in Western Europe. Most of the population make their living through fishing.
The peninsula is commonly described as "oil-rich", though in fact no commercially viable deposits of oil have yet been discovered. However, the area has aroused considerable interest from oil companies in the light of the discovery of rich reserves of high grade crude oil elsewhere in Nigeria. At least eight multinational oil companies have participated in the exploration of the peninsula and its offshore waters.
History
Bakassi has it's origins from the Cameroon Oroko people of Ndian Division. The Cameroon Oroko people who are the Bakassi aborigenes are the original settlers of the Peninsula. In the mid-1880's when the Germans sailed along the River Akwayife, they met the Cameroon Oroko, whose relatives are in mainland Cameroon in the Ndian Division. When the Germans colonized Cameroon, Bakassi became a part of Cameroon, as well as Calabar in present day Nigeria which formed a part of contiguous Cameroon. Since then the Peninsula has been a part of Cameroon. During the Nigerian civil war of Biafra secession, many Nigerians were allowed to settle in Bakassi by the Cameroon authorities. In 1994, then ruler of Nigeria Sani Abacha invaded Bakassi hoisting a Nigerian flag. This act of aggression caused Cameroon to take up the issue at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Political status
Part of Bakassi is currently administered by Nigeria due to the 1994 aggression. The territory is aboriginally Cameroonian. Bakassi does not have any monarch. The owners of the land are Cameroonians who were hospitable to Nigerians. The 1994 act of aggression caused a temporary reconfiguration of Bakassi, whereby Nigeria has formed a local government on the occupied territories.
Territorial dispute
Nigeria and Cameroon have disputed the possession of Bakassi for some years, leading to considerable tension between the two countries. In 1981 the two countries went to the brink of war over Bakassi and another area around Lake Chad, at the other end of the two countries' common border. More armed clashes broke out in the early 1990s. In response, Cameroon took the matter to the International Court of Justice on 29 March 1994.
The case was extremely complex, requiring the court to review diplomatic exchanges dating back over 100 years. Nigeria relied largely on Anglo-German correspondence dating from 1885 as well as treaties between the colonial powers and the indigenous rulers in the area, particularly the 1884 Treaty of Protection. Cameroon pointed to the Anglo-German treaty of 1913, which defined spheres of control in the region, as well as two agreements signed in the 1970s between Cameroon and Nigeria. These were the Yaoundé II Declaration of 4 April 1971 and the Maroua Declaration of 1 June 1975, which were devised to outline maritime boundaries between the two countries following their independence. The line was drawn through the Cross River estuary to the west of the peninsula, thereby implying Cameroonian ownership over Bakassi. However, Nigeria never ratified the agreement, while Cameroon regarded it as being in force.
The ICJ verdict
10 October 2002, finding (based principally on the Anglo-German agreements) that sovereignty over Bakassi did indeed rest with Cameroon. It instructed Nigeria to transfer possession of the peninsula, but did not require the inhabitants to move or to change their nationality. Cameroon was thus given a substantial Nigerian population and was required to protect their rights, infrastructure and welfare.
The verdict caused consternation in Nigeria. It aroused vitriolic comments from Nigerian officials and the Nigerian media alike. Chief Richard Akinjide, a former Nigerian Attorney-General and Minister of Justice who had been a leading member of Nigeria's legal team, described the decision as "50% international law and 50% international politics", "blatantly biased and unfair", "a total disaster", and a "complete fraud". The Nigerian newspaper The Guardian went further, declaring that the judgment was "a rape and unforeseen potential international conspiracy against Nigerian territorial integrity and sovereignty" and "part of a Western ploy to foment and perpetuate trouble in Africa". The outcome of the controversy was a de facto Nigerian refusal to withdraw militarily from Bakassi and transfer sovereignty. The Nigerian government did not, however, openly reject the judgment but instead called for an agreement that would provide "peace with honour, with the interest and welfare of our people."
The ICJ judgment was backed up by the United Nations, whose charter potentially allowed sanctions or even the use of force to enforce the court's ruling. Secretary General Kofi Annan stepped in as a mediator and chaired a tripartite summit with the two countries' presidents on 15 November 2002, which established a commission to facilitate the peaceful implementation of the ICJ's judgement. A further summit was held on 31 January 2004. This has made significant progress, but the process has been complicated by the opposition of Bakassi's inhabitants to being transferred to Cameroon. Bakassian leaders have threatened to seek independence if Nigeria renounces sovereignty, though this seems unlikely to materialise, given the country's hard line against previous seccessionist movements (see Biafra).
Nigeria's official response to ICJ ruling
Statement issued by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in respect of the judgement by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in the case concerning the land and maritime boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria:
(Cameroon v Nigeria: Equatorial Guinea Intervening)
"The Federal Republic of Nigeria makes the following statement in respect of the judgement by the International Court of Justice in The Hague, in the case concerning the land and maritime boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria.
The Government of Nigeria has substantially examined the implications of the judgement delivered by the International Court of Justice in The Hague on October 10, 2002.
Conclusion:
Having studied the judgement as entered by the Court, it is apparent that a lot of fundamental facts were not taken into consideration in arriving at their declaration. Most disturbing of these being the difficulties arising from the Orders contained in the judgement, relating to Nigerian communities in which their ancestral homes were adjudged to be in Cameroonian Territory but which are expected to maintain cultural, trade and religious affiliations with their kith and kin in Nigeria. Nigeria takes cognizance of these serious implications and therefore appeals to all her citizens at home and abroad to remain calm, positive and constructive until we can find a peaceful solution to the boundary issue between Nigeria and Cameroon.
We appreciate and thank the Secretary-General of the United Nations for brokering a meeting at the highest political level between Nigeria and Cameroon before the judgement was delivered and for offering his good offices to broker a similar meeting now that the judgement has been delivered with a view to effecting reconciliation, normalisation of relations and good neighbourliness.
Nigeria thanks all leaders of the international community who have expressed concern over the issue and re-assures them that she will spare no efforts to maintain peace between Nigeria and Cameroon and indeed in the entire region. However, Government wishes to assure Nigerians of its constitutional commitment to protect its citizenry. One no account will Nigeria abandon her people and their interests. For Nigeria. It is not a matter of oil of natural resources on land or in coastal waters; it is a matter of the welfare and well-being of her people on their land.
We assure the people of Bakassi and all other Nigerian communities similarly affected by the judgement of the International Court of Justice on the support and solidarity of all other Nigerians. Nigeria will do everything possible to maintain peace in Bakassi or any other part of the border with Cameroon and will continue to avail itself of the good office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and other well-meaning leaders of the International community to achieve peace and to maintain harmony and good neighbourliness."