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Bakassi Rep, LG Boss, Ruler Vow to Resist Handover

Vanguard (Lagos)
NEWS
September 13, 2004
Posted to the web September 14, 2004

By Ben Agande
Abuja
TWENTY four hours to the deadline on the hand over of the Bakassi Peninsula to
Cameroon, the paramount ruler of the area, the local government chairman and
the member of the House of Representatives representing Bakassi in the National
Assembly have vowed that they would not accept the planned transfer to
Cameroon. They vowed to defend themselves should the Federal Government betray
them.
Speaking with journalists yesterday at the National Assembly where they
appeared before the special committee set up by the House of Representatives to
study the judgment of the International Court of Justice on the disputed
peninsula between Nigeria and Cameroon, the paramount ruler of Bakassi, Etinyim
Etim Okon, and the member representing Bakassi in the House of Representatives,
Mr. Essien Ekpenyong Ayi, said the impending deadline for the hand over meant
nothing to the people of Bakassi.
"As far as we are concerned, September 15 means nothing to us. It may mean
something to the ICJ but to us it is an ordinary day just like January 1 or
December 31. We are not Cameroonians and we cannot be Cameroonians. We have to
decide where we want to belong," the paramount ruler of Bakassi said.
He maintained that there was no cultural affinity between the people of Bakassi
and Cameroon and the people of the area could not be forced to become
Cameroonians. The traditional ruler said the people of the region would resist
any attempt to force them into Cameroon. He, however, added that they would not
carry out armed resistance.
"If we are pushed to the wall and somebody wants us to leave Nigeria by force,
we will defend ourselves. Wars are not fought with arms only. There will be
chaos if we are forced to go to the Cameroon," he said. He, however, expressed
confidence that President Olusegun Obasanjo would keep to his words by not
ceding the area to Cameroon. "The president is a forthright man. He will keep
to his words and if he does otherwise, he would have betrayed us," the
paramount ruler maintained.
Member of the House of Representatives representing Bakassi, Mr. Essien Ayi,
insisted that the United Nations should conduct a plebiscite in the region to
allow the people decide whether they want to belong to Cameroon or Nigeria. The
chairman of the Nigeria/Cameroon Mixed Commission on Bakassi, Prince Bola
Ajibola, who also appeared before the House Committee declined to speak with
journalists at the end of his appearance.

   

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