[allAfrica.com] [Africa_2004] Nigeria Withdraws Soldiers from Creeks Vanguard (Lagos) OPINION August 14, 2004 Posted to the web August 16, 2004 By George Onah Calabar As Nigeria withdraws soldiers from creeks:We're ready to die than move out of here, Bakassi indigenes vow THERE is anger on every face you encounter today at the Bakassi peninsula, the disputed oil-rich Nigerian territory which is on the verge of being handed over to Cameroun following the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Hague. Even the deities of the Bakassi people seem to be angry with them. They appear angry that the peopleare not doing enough to stop the impending handover. To the unbelievers among them, that was why a prominent son of the area drowned while sailing to Atabong. Chief Etim Okon was the chief of protocol to the paramount ruler of the Bakassi Local Government Area, Chief Etim Okon-Edem. He was reported to have set sail from Ikang water front. Hisdestination was Atabong. But some soldiers allegedly sought his help for a brief detour from his route. He obliged the men. As they headed towards a fishing trawler, their boat's engine ran into the fishing net of the trawler. The boat capsized, the soldiers swam to safety but Okon joined his ancestors in the incident.The people continue to vow to resist their territory being handed over to Cameroon even as the Federal Government has washed its hands off that territory since the ICJ at the Hague decided who should own the territory. The Cross River State government is equally helpless in the matter. In this wise, the people of the area appear to have been left in the cold. Even the military presence there does not seem to re-assure them. The recent news that the Nigerian soldiers were being withdrawn from the area was one piece of information which has left the people gnashing their teeth in anger and agony. Not even reassurances to the contrary could wipe away the frustration and the feeling of helplessness. As the minutes are ticking away and the D-Day creeping nearer, there is no hope in the horizon. The change in administration is looming large and so Bakassi must go to Cameroon! But that is what the people hate to hear. The paramount ruler of the area, HRH Etim Okon Edem does not agree that they will soon become Camerounians. When Weekend Vanguard spoke to him and asked how his people were taking theforthcoming change, he thundered: "Who told you that? I am asking you, who told you that? All I want to say is that we are looking up to the President (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo). The promise was thathe would never cede any part of Nigeria to any foreign country. We regard President Obasanjo as an honest and sincere man who cannot go back on his words. Remember in 1979 he promisedto handover power to a democratically elected government and he did". When asked whether the people have actually been informed either by the state or FederalGovernment that the territory will be ceded to Cameroon later this year, Okon Edem hit back sharply: "Listen, that is why we still think that the whole thing is a joke. Nobody has told us anything in respect of that. Yes, nobody has told us that they are going to cede this area to another country. We regard those stories as lies".Commenting on the visit of the Minister of Defence Alhaji Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso who visited thearea in preparation for the withdrawal of Nigerian troops from the territory, he frowned at themanner which the minister went there without meeting with the people. "The way the minister behaved was very untraditional. That was his first time of visiting the area but he refused to meet with me or discuss with the people. We regard that (report about the withdrawal of the Nigerian troops from Bakassi) as a non-issue. We're ready to die than give in to this wicked plot. It won't succeed. We'll defend our sovereignty but I know Mr. President will live up to his promise. "Customarily, he (Kwankwaso) ought to visit the paramount ruler of the place. I am sure the governor (Mr. Donald Duke) did not tell him to go and discuss such matters with the soldiers. No, he did not. When the ICJ ruling was made public, remember that the government reacted and rejected the decision of the court. As a result, we are holding them on to that". On the threats that the people would secede if the Federal Government goes ahead to cede the place to Cameroon, the paramount ruler warned that "as citizens of the world, Bakassi people have their rights and indissoluble attachment to the area they are presently occupying. No matter how that area is, no matter how undeveloped, we have attachment to the area. Therefore, nobody can just come under any guise, without first and foremost dialoguing with us to take us into another country. Our fundamental human right and every other right as entrenched in the UN charter must be respected. We have a right to say we don't want to remain in Nigeria again. Or don't we have such a right? As an individual, I can become an American citizen today without consulting anybody. Nigeria cannot even stop me. We can become citizens of Cameroon today, if we wish. There are procedures. So, how can somebody just wake up one morning and say that the whole of this area must go to Cameroon without asking us?   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2004 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================