3 weeks ago
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The Bakassi Peninsula appears lost, arsenic acold arsenic Nigeria is concerned. It was handed implicit to Cameroon connected August 14, 2008. This followed a analyzable ineligible and diplomatic conflict marked by an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling successful 2002 and the Green Tree Agreement (GTA) of June 12, 2006. Seventeen years later, the contention that trailed the handover is yet to abate.
The handover not lone altered Nigeria’s geopolitical scenery but besides sparked enduring controversies surrounding territorial sovereignty and, critically, lipid gross allocation. The challenges brought astir by that improvement proceed to emerge, each clip resurfacing similar the galore heads of a hydra. Just erstwhile it seems that 1 contented is laid to rest, different contention floats, demanding captious attention.
The caller spat betwixt the governments of Cross River and Akwa Ibom regarding the ownership of 76 lipid wells on the eastbound coastline, which has go a recurring decimal successful the gross pursuits of the 2 neighbouring states, has brought into the arena the large masquerades that are raising profound particulate with their monumental creation steps. They are weighing successful connected the diplomatic and economical gymnastics that person continued to unveil the hidden trails of the unfortunate episode.
Obong Victor Attah, who was politician of Akwa Ibom State erstwhile the last determination to manus implicit the peninsular to Cameroun, and Etubom Anthony Ani, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs successful the Abacha authorities and a High Chief of Cross River heritage, person precocious escalated conversations connected matters arising from the venture, which Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the undertaker, arsenic past Nigerian President.
While Obong Attah, who precocious appeared connected Channels Television, focused connected the ownership of the lipid wells, pursuing renewed contention by the Cross River State government, Etubom Ani, successful a caller publication, tactically evaded nonstop involution connected the intra-Nigerian quality implicit lipid wells. To him, the planetary ineligible and diplomatic outcomes connected the ownership of the contentious peninsula person narrowed the potency of the interior disagreements. He alternatively expressed beardown indignation implicit what helium termed “the diplomatic and administrative blunder” that resulted successful the transportation of the peninsula to Cameroon.
However, Dr. Agwu Ukiwe Okali, a erstwhile Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, believes that the haste successful the handover was evidently without information for the deeper sovereign, diplomatic and societal implications. It indispensable person been much of an ego-driven pursuit by Obasanjo.
Before the ICJ ruling, Cross River State was considered a littoral state, possessing nonstop entree to the Atlantic Ocean done the Bakassi Peninsula. This presumption granted it power implicit the now-disputed 76 lipid wells, a important root of national revenue. However, with Bakassi present successful Cameroon, Cross River efficaciously mislaid its coastline and its assertion to these lipid wells. As a result, the national authorities reallocated the wells to Akwa Ibom State.
This reallocation drastically reduced Cross River’s stock of lipid derivation revenue, causing sizeable dissatisfaction. The authorities contested the determination successful the Supreme Court. However, successful 2012, the tribunal ruled successful favour of Akwa Ibom, confirming that the petitioner was nary longer considered a littoral authorities and truthful could not assertion ownership of the lipid wells. Despite this and different interventions, the 2 states returned to the trenches successful the past 2 months, further escalating the conversation.
Obong Attah has been a salient dependable successful this conversation. During the Channels Television interview, Attah reiterated that Cross River’s littoral presumption was wholly babelike connected entree to the Atlantic Ocean via Bakassi. The apex tribunal ruling confirmed the nonaccomplishment of that status. That near Cross River landlocked, with lone a fewer islands, and truthful nary longer a littoral state.
Attah dismissed immoderate claims that Akwa Ibom owes Cross River compensation for the lipid wells, arsenic good arsenic immoderate proposition of negotiation. “Oil wells are not gifts; they are tied to land. Unless Nigeria’s boundaries are to beryllium redrawn, which is unthinkable, determination is nary ground for negotiation.” He besides dismissed outgo of N500 cardinal to Cross River during his tenure, emphasising that ineligible processes upheld Akwa Ibom’s ownership and near nary ground for immoderate signifier of compensation.
“During my tenure, Cross River went to tribunal hoping to summation lipid wells from the ICJ decision. But erstwhile the judgement went against them, they withdrew the case. I countersued and insisted that the Supreme Court and the Federal Government uphold the ICJ ruling. The Court affirmed that Cross River is not a littoral state. Oil wells beryllium strictly to the authorities successful whose territory they fall. Nobody has ever provided impervious that Akwa Ibom is drafting gross from Cross River lipid we...
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