The fight to save Bakassi from the clutches of Southern Nigeria enemies is a fight which all patriotic southerners must as of necessity, fight now and collectively too! But the festering animosities and divisions foist on the people of southern Nigeria by the northerners appear to be inhibiting this effort. The irony of Bakassi is that the rest of Southern Nigeria is treating it as a no brainier, as if it is a public-charge, a res nulus, as non of their business, as if it is Bakassi problem alone or that of Cross River State as opposed to something big that collectively belongs to the entire south. The more political astute and savvy Northern Nigeria has succeeded in isolating and balkanizing the south into various powerless ethnic minorities and communities which itinerant(ly) fight themselves instead of collectively facing off their common foe - the North! Why does Icheoku say so? Because it was in Rivers State that the first abandoned property under the current Senate President, David Mark's commission was enforced against the returning Igbos of Nigeria shortly after the civil war; thereby driving a big wedge between the Igbos of core Igboland and the Igbos of Rivers State. The same goes with old Calabar province, inclusive Bakassi, which hitherto was part of Eastern Nigeria and by extension nearly Igbo-like; with closer affinities to Igbo people.
But like the world re-known poet and author, Professor Chinua Achebe rightly stated in "Things Fall Apart", things have dramatically fallen asunder and the falcons can no longer hear the falconers in Southern Nigeria. What could bring back the southerners of Nigeria into one powerful bloc? Where is the southern version of the northern governors' association? Can the joint defense of Bakassi provide the needed glue which will once again galvanize southern Nigeria? The southern disunity has made it possible for the vampires from the North to be sucking the blood of southerners dry and doing so as it pleases them without any let or hindrance whatsoever. It is about time, the South unites and together fight their common enemy for their total emancipation; instead of the current pettiness of imaginary enemies amongst themselves; which "enmity" was a product of the master-craftiness of the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchs from the Sahara desert designed to keep the south bogged down.
Col Gideon Orkar, may God bless his soul, excised some states from Nigeria and gave them away to where they rightfully and historically belong - to Chad and Niger Republics. But the North would not take it and instead, mobilized as one bloc and fought their way collectively back into Nigeria again. They did not just say no, it was just Sokoto, Kano, Maiduguri, Katsina and Kebbi States that were removed from Nigeria by Orkar. No, they saw it as an affront to the north; seeing themselves as one north, the same northerners and rallied to fight. They succeeded and today the same otherwise excised part of Nigeria of Katsina State has produced the incumbent "president", Umaru Yar'Adua of Northern Nigeria. So why can't the South fight as one to secure a territory which rightfully and historically belong to them until 1967 when the North made a pact with the devious Cameroon to trade Bakassi in exchange for their blockading Biafra? The crushing effect of the blockade sped the final suspension of hostilities by Biafra against the inept Nigerian government of Yakubu Gowon.
But like the world re-known poet and author, Professor Chinua Achebe rightly stated in "Things Fall Apart", things have dramatically fallen asunder and the falcons can no longer hear the falconers in Southern Nigeria. What could bring back the southerners of Nigeria into one powerful bloc? Where is the southern version of the northern governors' association? Can the joint defense of Bakassi provide the needed glue which will once again galvanize southern Nigeria? The southern disunity has made it possible for the vampires from the North to be sucking the blood of southerners dry and doing so as it pleases them without any let or hindrance whatsoever. It is about time, the South unites and together fight their common enemy for their total emancipation; instead of the current pettiness of imaginary enemies amongst themselves; which "enmity" was a product of the master-craftiness of the Hausa/Fulani Oligarchs from the Sahara desert designed to keep the south bogged down.
Col Gideon Orkar, may God bless his soul, excised some states from Nigeria and gave them away to where they rightfully and historically belong - to Chad and Niger Republics. But the North would not take it and instead, mobilized as one bloc and fought their way collectively back into Nigeria again. They did not just say no, it was just Sokoto, Kano, Maiduguri, Katsina and Kebbi States that were removed from Nigeria by Orkar. No, they saw it as an affront to the north; seeing themselves as one north, the same northerners and rallied to fight. They succeeded and today the same otherwise excised part of Nigeria of Katsina State has produced the incumbent "president", Umaru Yar'Adua of Northern Nigeria. So why can't the South fight as one to secure a territory which rightfully and historically belong to them until 1967 when the North made a pact with the devious Cameroon to trade Bakassi in exchange for their blockading Biafra? The crushing effect of the blockade sped the final suspension of hostilities by Biafra against the inept Nigerian government of Yakubu Gowon.
In 1967 through 1970, the collective North fought Biafra using their minions in present Benue State, as canon fodders, arrow heads and foot soldiers to wage their unholy war against Biafra. These disposables were immediately relegated to the kitchens as servants once their services at the war fronts to secure the southeastern oil were no longer needed, Biafra having ceased fire. What is Icheoku saying? - that southern Nigeria should grow street-smart and read the handwriting on the world; they should see the bigger picture that a territory belonging to their geographical location is at a peril in the hands of the North and rally round as one to secure it or fight to get it back. These northerners have nothing to lose by the ceding Bakassi to Cameroon; after-all it is not in their geographical belt and it is several hundreds of miles away in some "god-forsaken" territory. AREWA does not have any interest in protecting what rightfully belongs to the south so it behoves on the South to protect what is theirs. The seventeen states of the south should fully mobilize for a showdown over Bakassi with these feudalistic north. Now is the time to fight for your rights or forever retreat into your cocoons as the cowards of the country and remain in perpetual servitude of the Northerners. The southern mantra should at the present time be "give us liberty or give us death". The age long abuses in Nigeria and the present face-off or stare-down in the Niger Delta should be the perfect storm needed to forever right all the wrongs in Nigeria, especially the dominance of power and institutions in Nigeria by just one very lazy group of people (AREWA admitted as much).
Enough of these gworro-chewing SOBs dictating to a much more civilized and hardworking Nigerians of Southern Nigeria what to do. How long shall the south continue to just take it through the rear? The time is now for the south to prove that they are not as inconsequential as the north perceives them and try to depict them, whenever any such opportunity calls. The south should unite and make Bakassi a test case of all that is wrong with Nigeria; that some human beings should just sell off fellow Nigerians into slavery in Cameroons just lwith a
stroke of pen aka "Green Tea Agreement" without the consent of the party-victim is unfathomable? Are these Nigerians of Bakassi origin mere chattels that can be pawned or auctioned off at the whim of an imperial president as Olusegun Obasanjo grew into, in corroboration with his other conspirators? Call the Northern bluff now, Southern Nigeria and let Nigerians resolve this northern albatross once and for all. The time for action is now! Stand up for Bakassi as one united south and let the tree fall wherever and however it sees fit; after-all the north said they can survive as an independent nation and this might as well be their farewell ode!
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Christy 'Apena' Essien-Igbokwe , the wife of Jegede Shokoya of the New Masquerade and Nigeria's lady of songs is dead; she was 51years old. Although her family claimed that "brief Illness" killed her like so many Nigerians; Icheoku retorts that it was most likely AKwa Ibom voodoo and remote control that was used to arrest her. It is on record that she had fallen out with the governor of her native Akwa Ibiom State and have been having a relentless war for political turf with the governor? So who knows whether she was sacrificed to Ekpe cult or even Alusi-Okija as an offal; afterall African science is still very much alive and portent. May her soul rest in peace.
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Bakassi: Danger of disobeying ICJ judgment, by Iroche
ReplyDeleteBy Clifford Ndujihe
NINE days to the August 15 date for the handover of Bakassi Peninsula to the Republic of Cameroun the polity is awash with debates on whether or not the country should honour the agreement.
Former National Chairmanship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Sonny Iroche has called on the Federal Government to obey the International Court of Justice 2006 ruling and hand-over Bakassi to Cameroun.
The politician warned that the country might incur the wrath of the international community and be treated as a pariah nation if she disobeyed the judgment and reneged on the agreement she reached with Cameroun on the matter.
However, the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) thinks otherwise. It is opposed to the handover of Bakassi and other Nigerian territories to Cameroun without a plebiscite.
Said Iroche: "Nigeria should seek the path of honour and keep to both the agreement reached between former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Paul Biya of Cameroun and handover Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun. While I sympathise with the thousands of Nigerians from that geographical entity, I insist that national honour, integrity and above all, the judgment of the International Court should prevail."
He continued: "Solving the problem of the displaced Bakassi people should not be too difficult. The government of Cross River State has enough land and should embark on a rehabilitation strategy of mass housing, schools, hospitals and other social amenities for them. The state government should compensate for the loss of their hitherto familiar grounds.
"The disadvantages of not honouring the judgment of the International Court far outweigh whatever critics think is the advantage. First, Nigeria will earn itself a reputation of unreliability and bully, and could revert to its pariah reputation of the past.
With the support of the French, Cameroun could decide to go to war, a war that I am not sure we can afford at this time. Only those who have not witnessed war or have short memories will dismiss this. But again, do we risk war because of the crude oil in Bakassi? What have we as a nation done with the massive oil exploitation in the other Niger Delta regions? Only a few handful of Nigerians are enriching themselves, while the nation and its masses suffer untold hardship in every sphere of life.
"My advice is simple: President Yar' Adua handover Bakassi to Cameroun!"
On the Abuja Federal High Court order restraining President Yar'Adua from handing over the territory pending the determination of a suit on the matter, Iroche said: "A leader once in a while must take tough decisions like being between the Devil and the deep blue sea. What about the decision of the International Court, which cannot be set aside by a national court?"
Averring that the order was geared to cause undue delay, he added: "The world has moved on and cannot tolerate our usual lackadaisical attitude in how we conduct ourselves."
However, CNPP National Publicity Secretary Osita Okechukwu said that the group was against the handover because "the Green Tree Agreement was a self-serving agreement, born out of the desire of ex-president, Obasanjo to gain international recognition in his bid for life president."
He continued: "CNPP views the argument of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondoaka (SAN), that Nigeria must obey the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as paradoxical. It is paradoxical in the sense that the same government is in league with those who support President Omar Bashir, to disobey the order of the International Criminal Court, indicting Omar Bashir, on the Darfur crisis despite the culpability of President Bashir in the Darfur inferno that had consumed many Nigerian troops.
Secondly and most importantly, the Green Tree Agreement did not accommodate the local realities nor were the National Assembly and the Armed Forces duly consulted. In fact it was flatly unconstitutional and born out of the whims and caprices of a maverick, lacking broad electoral base.
We may need to remind President Yar' Adua, that the in the plebiscite of 1961 both areas of the North and South voted to remain in Nigeria. The people remain the most critical element in deciding whether to cede a territory or not, they were not consulted and yet, sovereignty rests with the people.
"It is also clearly stated in Section 12 of the 1999 Constitution that, 'No Treaty between the Federation and any other country shall have force of law except to the extent to which any such treaty has been enacted into law by the National Assembly.' CNPP consequently, cannot subscribe to a treaty that is at variance with the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."
Bakassi Handover, Sign Of Weakness, Says Ezeife
ReplyDeleteBy Judith Nwobi Trainee Reporter, Abuja
Former Governor of Anambra State, Chukwuemeka Ezeife, said on Wednesday that Federal Government's planned handover of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon today was an "acceptance of Nigeria as being weak".
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja at the venue of the launch of "June, 1993 Presidential Election", a book written by Bartholomew Nnandi Opara, Ezeife stated that Nigeria has good grounds to appeal the International Court's ruling over the issue, saying it was unfortunate that the country has resolved not to explore that option.
Ezeife stated that he was worried because the handing over of the oil rich Bakassi is a clear indication of the weakness of the country exhibited by its leaders.
"I saw that we can find new grounds to go back to the International Court to appeal the case because the international law respects us.
"Handing over is an acceptance of weakness. Part of Russia is moving into an independent country, Georgia; what is the international law doing about it?
"We should not surrender to our weakness and this is what I am worried about," Ezeife said.