Olusegun Obasanjo

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Owoye Azazi has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of bypassing the military in ceding Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun.

Gen. Azazi told the Senate Committee probing the matter that Obasanjo signed the Green Tree Agreement on the cession with Cameroun without carrying the military along.

The peninsula is expected to be formally handed over to Cameroun on August 15.

Gen. Azazi said the cession was not in the nation’s security interest because Bakassi covers deep marine routes. Nigeria, he said, was now left with shallow waters difficult to navigate.

Gen. Azazi said the idea of writing to Cameroun for permission for Nigerian ships to navigate the peninsula unacceptable.

advertisement

The peninsula, he said, was more strategic to Nigeria than Cameroun, explaining that in the event of hostilities between Nigeria and Cameroun, " France is likely to physically participate in the war since there is an existing defence pact between France and its former colonies".

He said: "I am not sure that the military made any contribution to the Green Tree Agreement, but I know that the then CDS, General Martin Luther Agwai travelled with the former president to New York when the agreement was signed.

"I want to believe that if anything happens between Nigeria and Cameroun, the defence treaty between France and Cameroun will be called to force. They have such treaty with their former colonies. We don’t have defence treaty with any country, we only have training agreements."

In his presentation, the Secretary General of the Bakassi People’s General Assembly, Chief Ndabo Umo Nakanda said Obasanjo forced the people of Bakassi to stop their protest against the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ceding Bakassi to Cameroun.

He said: "We were invited by Obasanjo to the Aso Villa. When we were seated, the former president said the press should excuse him and he warned us not to mention the case again. He said we should not make any further publications because, according to him, we were provoking Paul Biya by our complaints. We were intimidated not to talk."

He alleged that the former president threatened to leave the Bakassi people’s fate in the hands of Biya. "He told us not to make any pronouncements again on Bakassi. That was enough intimidation. He even said, if you ever make any publication again, I will leave you to Biya; can you fight Biya?

"The Bakassi People Assembly rejected the Green Tree Agreement and called on the Senate to devise means which will enable Nigeria to appeal the ICJ verdict. "This Senate should put machinery in motion to appeal the ICJ ruling to the United Nations Security Council. From the inception, we have 10 years option to appeal and three years is still left.

"We have seen that the overriding interest was solely economic rather than human interest. We appeal to Nigeria and Cameroun to sort their economic interests in the area and leave us alone.

"We are saying the government of Cross River State is trying to make a makeshift relocation camp; we reject it in its entirety. If we are forced to go there, there is going to be problem because we will lose our identity in three years. Where are we going to practise our traditions and religion? We have our shrines and deities; we cannot go and worship other people’s deities. This cannot be overlooked because we still have our traditional religion," Nakanda said.

He said his people were not happy that presently their identity was already in jeopardy because they no longer have a political presence in Cross River and at the national level.

Corroborating Nakanda, a former Cross River State House of Assembly member representing Bakassi, Mr. Joe Etame said the former president intimidated the people of the area not to contest the judgment.

"He told us that he was on the verge of having a meeting with Biya, but that because of our publications (and he brought some newspapers out), Biya was no longer ready to meet with him. He warned us to stop further media campaign that he was going to negotiate in our best interest and that not even an inch of our land will be ceded. After that we were scared," Etame said.

A member of the committee, Senator Bassey Ewa-Henshaw, said by virtue of the agreement, merchant ships would be blocked from sailing through the peninsula and that would adversely affect the nation’s economic interest and fortunes.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Jibril Aminu, said Obasanjo erred by not consulting with the military. The omission, he said, resulted in the problem.

According to him, Nigeria did not do a thorough job in addressing the Bakassi issue before going to the ICJ. Cameroun, he said, made a more articulate presentation.

"This means that we must revisit the Green Tree Agreement; we have to take another look at it. It would be part of our recommendations to the Senate," he said.

Ousted Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke said in Abuja that the government may hand over the peninsula to Cameroun on August 15.

advertisement

He said: "The Bakassi handover is on the 15th of August. That is the deadline really. The Federal Government has been supportive; I have been briefing Mr. President severally. There are some concerns over the handover; there are some apprehension about the handover, we need really to ensure that it is as peaceful and smooth as possible.

"We can only hope that the acting governor will oversee the handover. It will be good if we maintain the stability, in terms of administrative stability, and make it peaceful. We should ensure that that process remains peaceful.

"There are those who will want to take advantage of the situation, obviously, and act. As you know, in terms of militant activities, Cross River has been relatively peaceful. I know that I have been able to brief Mr. President about that," he said.

Despite Imoke’s statement, it was however learnt that the National Assembly has not ratified the Green Tree Agreement.

The House of Representatives on July 3 debated the controversy over the non-ratification of the agreement and passed two resolutions.

The House resolved as follows: "Urge the Federal Government to continue to provide security to the people of Bakassi to ensure safety of their lives and properties until they secure proper settlement.

"Direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs to brief the Joint Committees on Foreign affairs, Justice, Cooperation and Integration in Africa on the various issues concerning the Green Tree Agreement."

The Committees were mandated to submit their report within a month.

A source in The Presidency said: " Nigeria intends to keep faith with the handover date. We hope that the National Assembly would have endorsed the agreement.

The ICJ had in its judgment on October 10, 2002 ceded the peninsula to Cameroun. Based on the verdict, Obasanjo entered into the Green Tree Agreement with Cameroun on the modalities and implementation of the verdict.

-------------------------------------------------------------