When was bakassi ceded to cameroon

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President Alberto Fernandez faces a nervous 24 hours as Argentines head to the polls in mid-term parliamentary elections on Sunday. For the Bakassi Peninsula in particular, the Germans were interested in getting assurance that Britain would not seek to expand eastwards. The British were interested in uninterrupted and secure sea route access to Calabar, a key trading port.

In exchange, Britain conceded the Bakassi Peninsula proper to Germany. The League of Nations placed them under French or British mandate. The old border was retained. To codify this further, other agreements were signed on 29 December and 11 January between Britain and France. On 1 January and on 1 October , the French Cameroun and Nigeria became independent, respectively.

Instruments creating the new countries and exchange of notes between France and Cameroun rehashed all its colonial boundaries as defined by previous colonial agreements. Moreover, by Diplomatic Note No. In July , Lt. Gowon came to power in Nigeria. As the Balewa government, he too committed his government to respect all prior international agreements made by the Balewa and Ironsi governments.

In May , in response to the mandate granted to Lt. Ojukwu by the self-imposed Eastern Consultative Assembly to secede, Lt. Gowon created 12 new states in Nigeria — including the South-Eastern State headed by an Ibibio officer. The creation of the South-Eastern State from the former Eastern Region rekindled interest in rejoining Nigeria among Efike and Ibibio residents of the Bakassi Peninsula — many of whom had actually voted in not to pursue integration with Nigeria.

It was at this meeting that Gowon and Ahidjo agreed to define the navigable channel of the Akpa-Yafe River up to Point During the summit, Ahidjo asked his survey expert to stop arguing and asked Gowon to draw the line where he wanted it, and Gowon turned to his own technical expert for guidance.

The expert marked a point on the map and Gowon drew the line towards that point Omoigui Unfortunately, the line Gowon drew — on direct advice from the Director of Federal Surveys — was not the true navigable channel of the Akpa-Yafe River as established by the colonial masters.

A few weeks later, following the signing of the Coker-Ngo line, Gowon discovered what had transpired. An oil rig was erected offshore by the Ahidjo government in , and later in June in a highly reluctant compromise to accommodate the rig, Gowon conceded a tiny part of Nigerian maritime territory to Cameroon.

The new regime decided to question the and Gowon-Ahidjo maritime agreements — either without really understanding the issues or by acting mischievously.

Many commentators still do not realise that the Peninsula had been ceded by a series of actions and inactions beginning as far back as , reconfirmed when Nigeria became independent in , finalised with the plebiscite and affirmed with the Organisation of African Unity OAU declaration, which stipulated that independent African countries were bound to respect their colonial borders Omoigui Cameroon tabled its border dispute with Nigeria before the ICJ in following the occupation of the Bakassi territory by the Nigerian troops on 12 December Cameroon anchored its claim over the ownership of Bakassi on the Anglo-German Treaty of 11 March when both territories now called Cameroon and Nigeria were under colonial rule.

Nigeria tried unsuccessfully to challenge the legal basis of the Treaty, arguing that the two colonial masters had no locus standi to cede territories and that the agreement was not ratified by any of the parliaments of the two nations. Nigeria also unsuccessfully maintained that the alleged ceding of the Peninsula by Gowon was not endorsed by the Supreme Military Council, which was the law-making body of the country at the time Aghemelo and Ibhasebhor On 10 October , after eight years of deliberations, the ICJ at The Hague decided that Cameroon had sovereignty over Bakassi, basing its decision on old colonial documents Lacey and Banerjee The boundaries in the Lake Chad region were determined by the Thomson-Marchand Declarations of — and the boundary in Bakassi was determined by the Anglo-German Treaty of 11 March The Court requested Nigeria to quickly and unconditionally withdraw her administration, police and military from the area of Lake Chad under Cameroonian sovereignty and from the Bakassi Peninsula.

The ICJ equally requested Cameroon to expeditiously and without condition remove any administration or military or police forces which may be present along the land boundary from Lake Chad to the Bakassi Peninsula on territories which, pursuant to the judgment, fall within the sovereignty of Nigeria. The Court fixed the land boundaries from Lake Chad in the north to Bakassi in the south.

However, the Court did not specify a definite location off the coast of Equatorial Guinea where the maritime boundary between the two countries would terminate Bekker The immediate reaction was that Nigeria rejected the ruling, and at one point it seemed possible that the dispute would flare into open war, but UN mediation brought the two sides to the table Friends of the Earth ; Sango The Mixed Commission first demarcated the land boundaries.

All appeared on track — some villages further north and around Lake Chad were exchanged until the handing-over process reached the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula. Two withdrawal timetables were not respected; thousands of Nigerians in the Bakassi Peninsula were not sure where they stood in terms of citizenship and many wanted to remain Nigerians since they had more social and economic ties with Nigeria Borzello Nigeria claimed that sovereignty of Bakassi was not a matter of oil or natural resources on land or in coastal waters, but rather the welfare and well-being of Nigerians on their land Federal Republic of Nigeria There were calls on the Nigerian government by some Nigerians to go to war over the matter.

However, other Nigerians cautioned against war — arguing that women and children are the most vulnerable victims of war — and that youths are the greatest losers in all social conflicts, domestic or international, not the men who usually ask for war Asobie There is no doubt that the ICJ has a limited capacity to facilitate enforcement because there is a very weak interplay between passing judgement and binding enforcements.

Implementation of rulings of the ICJ is largely dependent on the goodwill of countries in conflict. In situations where the countries involved are outward looking and cherish international credibility, diplomatic pressure can act as a credible tool which can be used to generate incentives for compliance with international obligations. Nigerians living in the Peninsula would be able to remain there under a special regime for four years after Cameroon takes full control and could stay on after that if they so wish.

According to the then Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Green-tree Agreement was a great achievement in conflict prevention, which practically reflected its cost-effectiveness when compared with the alternative of conflict resolution.

He urged that it should represent a model for the resolution of similar conflicts in Africa and the world at large. Moreover, President Obasanjo had played a leading role in conflict resolution among African states. His refusal to respect the ICJ verdict would have left an unfavourable spot on his record. In the same spirit with President Obasanjo, President Paul Biya underscored the importance of respecting the ICJ ruling, arguing that their personal credibility and that of the UN depended greatly on its implementation and that it will begin a new era of trust, peace and cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria.

On 14 August , the Nigerian troops, in a solemn ceremony, peacefully withdrew from the Bakassi Peninsula, marking the climax of a long and meandering peace process that spanned a period of 12 years. The effective withdrawal of Nigerian forces from Bakassi is an indication that it is possible for African nations who find themselves in conflict over territorial rights and other issues to resolve the matter amicably — thus avoiding carnage, blood-shed, socio-economic and political dislocations, which many post-independent African countries have suffered.

Other things being equal, the Green-tree Agreement and the various stages that led up to the handing over is a model for the peaceful settlement of disputes in Africa. The entire process was graced by the Treaty of Calabar between Cameroon and Nigeria on 14 August that marked the complete withdrawal of the Nigerian administration and police as stipulated in the Green-tree Agreement.

Reflections on the possible socio-economic implications of the Bakassi conflict resolution are anchored on expenditure-reducing and expenditure-switching effects of peaceful settlements, wealth-generating effects of international credibility, cross-border activities enhanced by the new-found confidence and the need for accompanying measures. In an escalating border conflict situation, the countries involved generally spend much more on security and military activities. Such military spending often crowds out social spending on health, education and infrastructure, a practice that negatively affects the welfare situation of the citizenry.

As hostilities are scaled down through a negotiated settlement, wasteful military spending is scaled down as well, hence the expenditure-reducing effect of peaceful settlement of border conflicts. At the same time, there are potentials and incentives to switch from military spending to social sector spending, a situation that will enhance the general welfare of the population. In the case of the Bakassi Peninsula dispute settlement between Cameroon and Nigeria, both countries will realise savings in military and associated logistical expenditures.

These savings can be more judiciously used to enhance the standards of living of the various populations via infrastructural development that generates income and employment opportunities. The success of these, however, depends on the good faith of the governments in place and the reducing of corruption.

The peaceful settlement of the Bakassi dispute has increased the international credibility of the presidents of Cameroon and Nigeria, as well as that of the economy of both countries.

This new-found credibility would act as an incentive to both domestic and foreign investors to invest and create employment opportunities, which will provoke income-generating activities that are badly needed to reverse the dismal socio-economic situation of the bulk of the populations of both countries. In particular, Cameroon can now valorise her oil deposits and promote modern fishing in the Peninsula, especially at a time when the country is reaping the fall-outs of the completion point of the heavily indebted poor countries HIPC initiative.

This will be facilitated both by the peace dividend and the design of accompanying incentives to pull in trans-national oil and fishing companies. This is consistent with the three major contributions that investment in oil development is expected to bring to the host country — employment opportunities, foreign exchange earnings, and technology transfer that enhances local capacities Oruwari and Owei Due to historical and ethno-linguistic ties between Cameroon and Nigeria, even during hostilities, trans-border trading did not stop Konings It is expected that with the peaceful handing over of Bakassi to Cameroon, fruitful socio-economic activities between the two countries will be revamped.

In this regard, it will be in the interest of both countries if more formal trading arrangements are negotiated, so as to curb smuggling, enhance the competitiveness of home industries and increase tax revenues accordingly. Cross-border activities will be enhanced further if Cameroon and Nigeria push forward their intentions to initiate a number of political and economic confidence-building measures, and to consider the adoption of a treaty of friendship and non-aggression between them. To crown it all, the Bakassi story illustrates the crucial role of multilateral measures, such as the potential for dialogue and conflict resolution offered by recourse to the ICJ.

The Mixed Commission also represents a remarkable initiative and can be seen as an excellent model for preventive diplomacy and a precious tool for moving from a culture of confrontation to a culture of peace.

Notwithstanding this apparent success story in conflict settlement, a few months before 14 August — the date Nigerian administration and police were expected to finally pull out from the Peninsula as per the June Green-tree Agreement — a succession of armed attacks suggested that social movements were actively at work trying to undermine the process. In addition, Nigerian authorities stated and re-stated their resolve to respect international commitments on the conflict settlement.

Accompanying measures by Cameroon, Nigeria and the international community, as well as other socio-economic and political developments emanating from the entire border conflict settlement are needed to enhance the peace dividend. The government of Cameroon needs to carry out important infrastructural developments in the health, education, road, water and telecommunications domains in the Peninsula.

This will ease the precarious living conditions of the Bakassi residents and act as incentives for other Cameroonians to accept working there. This will also help to discourage any social movements that may be nurturing the intention to instigate the Bakassi indigenous people to reject the peace dividends that they stand to gain from the implementation of the Green-tree Agreement.

Moreover, it cannot be ruled out that the recent in-land and amphibious attacks on Cameroonian civilians and military in the Peninsula were perpetrated by negative social movements and their sponsors in or out of Cameroon. Such a reward, which could take the form of a joint peace award, might act as a catalyst to encourage other countries in conflict to opt for peaceful settlements.

In addition, the donor community, acting individually or in coalition, could assist in infrastructural developments in the Bakassi Peninsula. Moreover, as implied by the then President Obasanjo after the signing of the Green-tree Agreement, an alternative to the peaceful resolution of the conflict could have been military confrontations with rippling effects transmitted across the sub-region that would have entailed much more assistance for humanitarian activities from the international community.

Subsequent to the complete withdrawal of Nigerian authorities from the Bakassi Peninsula, oil resources have not been exploited in this area, yet the government of Cameroon and its development partners, especially the European Union through the European Development Fund and the French Development Agency, from to , spent over CFAF 12 billion to execute some priority projects.

The government of Cameroon created a Coordination and Follow-up Committee for the implementation of these Priority Projects in the Bakassi Peninsula on August 27, According to the progress report presented on 11 March by Lekunze Ketuma, chair of the Follow-up Committee, a pressing problem for the administration is how to people the area with Cameroonian nationals and motivate government workers to go and work in Bakassi. Among projects earmarked for worth CFAF 2,5 billion with a view to reducing this problem are the construction of camps for fishermen and providing them with fishing gear , the construction of improved facilities for communal fish smoking, the extension of oil palm plantation and the construction of camps for workers, and the tarring of the Loum-Kumba-Ekondo-Titi-Mundemba-Isangele-Akwa road Kendemeh Other projects include mobile telephone relay antennas, a CRTV Cameroon Radio and Television signal relay tower and a broadcast centre.

Notwithstanding these efforts, the general impression is that the process has been rather slow. The first-ever Fish Festival chaired by the Cameroon Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries held in Bamusso Subdivision in April brought together local and foreign fishermen, traditional rulers, and administrative and municipal authorities Efande Bakassi Nigerians promised safety.

Nigeria cedes Bakassi to Cameroon. Cameroon's newest region deserted. Africa Today podcasts. Cameroon government. Image source, AFP.