When eminent Nigerians gathered in Ikoyi,Lagos last week for the 60th Birthday Lecture of retire Justice Charles Archibong (rtd) of the Federal High Court Appeal, the plight of the displaced people of Bakassi in Cross River State was the focus.
Speakers included former governor of Cross River State Mr Donald Duke; Dr. Joseph Nwobike(SAN); Mrs. Nella Andem Rabana (SAN); Dr. K.U.K. Ekwueme, and Chief Felix Fagbohungbe (SAN).
The lecture was chaired by former Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Roseline Ukeje. Justice Aminat Augie moderated the discussions.
The lecture titled: The Judgment of International Court of Justice on sovereignty over Bakassi: Aftermath, lessons and the legal option of self-determination, was delivered by Dr. Eni Eja Alobo, the Head of Public and International Law, Faculty of Law, University of Calabar.
The speakers pleaded with the Federal Government to galvanise international support and sponsor the agitation of the people of Bakassi for self-determination. government, they said, should make a case at the United Nations for self-determination by the Bakassi people.
Dr. Alobo urged the government to organise a plebiscite for the people to decide whether they want to go with Cameroon or not. He said it was insensitive to have ceded Bakassi without a say by the people.
“Nigeria should immediately press for a United Nation supervised plebiscite or referendum with a view to determining the wishes of the inhabitants of the affected area,”he said.
According to the lecturer, though a plebiscite may not reverse the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on sovereignty over Bakassi, it will help to facilitate the protection and resettlement of the Bakassi people.
Alobo noted that the plight of the Bakassi people share that leaders have failed in their duty. He said Nigeria has not had the opportunity of being governed by a truly, proactive, responsible and visionary leadership.
While pointing out that the ICJ verdict was a travesty and a brutal re-enactment of colonial injustice, Alobo said it was a sad reminder that the case arose in the first instance as a direct consequence of the buccaneer activities of the imperial powers of Europe, who, having earlier traded in Africa’s virile peoples, sought at the close of the 19th century to balkanise the continent during in the scramble for Africa.
He said: “A worrisome perspective in the ICJ judgment, which is a major critique, the neglect of the true intentions and wishes of the indigenous people of Bakassi to remain with their extended kith and kin in Nigeria.
“The court preoccupied itself with what the British thought of the 1884 Treaty, but unfortunately and quite regrettably, failed to consider what the kings and chiefs of Old Calabar had in mind when the Treaty was entered into, even when the intention of parties was unambiguously demonstrated in the Treaty.”
According to Alobo, the intimidation and terrorising of Nigerians in the peninsula constitute a breach of fundamental human rights, eliciting the calls for the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Bakassi people. “The challenges facing the Bakassi people must be addressed urgently, vigorously, committed and with determined consistency,” he said.
Duke gave insight into why Nigeria was unable to get the support of Britain and America on the issue.
He said, during a tour with former President Obasanjo,they met with then British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who told them that they should not waste their time.
Blair, according to him, told them that Britain would be setting a dangerous precedence across Africa if it supported Nigeria as other African countries would start agitating for boundary adjustment.
American, he said, told them that it would support Britain on the matter.
Duke queried: “What is Bakassi? Bakassi peninsula was like a fishing point to all sorts of people. People come as far as Ondo to fish in the area. And it was not until 1994 that Nigeria moved in there to start establishing its authority. So, it is always difficult to identify those who are true indigenes or native of the place. It appears to me those who claim indigeneship of the place are mostly politicians.”
Nwobike said Bakassi people had a choice whether to be part of Cameroon, lamenting that the government neglected their interest while fighting for Bakassi land and the minerals therein. He said if their government had placed the Bakassi people first, the situation would have been different today.
Mrs Rabana described the ICJ judgment as bizarre, saying: “For the quest of the people for self-determination to be a reality, they should start cataloguing their oppression in the hands of the Cameronians, establish a channel for communicating those atrocities meted out to them by the Camerounians and create a platform to make the government to act on their quest.“
Justice Augie, who spoke on behalf of the Class 78 of the Nigerian Law School, said the lecture has a lot to tell Nigerians about Justice Archibong and this, she said, was that he still has a lot to contribute to Nigeria and is ready to forge ahead.
Justice Archibong described his stay on the bench as rewarding. “I will continue to cherish those years that I served under Justice Ukeje. For us, the most important thing is family and friends and submission to the will of God,” he said.
