FEATURE ARTICLE


Dr. Wumi AkintideFriday, October 25, 2002
[email protected]
New York, NY, USA


BAKASSI VERDICT STALEMATE:
A CLASSIC ON HOW NIGERIA IS ALWAYS PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE


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t is often better to think before you act. I use the word "often" deliberately because there may well be situations beyond your control, where you or any of us may need to act only in response to sheer impulse. Just like that admonition may apply to individuals, it could also apply, very forcefully to a Nation. And when that Nation is Nigeria with a population of 120 million and with so many talents, it makes a lot of sense to always think before we act. We have, miserably, failed to do that with regard to Bakassi, and our decision to join issues with Cameroon at the Hague .Our leaders, who take the decision to go confront Cameroon at the Hague, should have themselves to blame for the outcome of the litigation. It is not an accident waiting to happen, as some people will say. It is something to be expected. This is another classic case of not thinking before we leap.

A rational person or nation will do that more often than not, because prevention, we are told, is often better than cure. That is pure common sense, if you agree at all that sense is common. All of our modern leaders, not our stone age leaders, I repeat, who have been involved in the Bakassi decision starting with Yakubu Gowon, to Abacha and now, Obasanjo, have all been guilty of not thinking before they act. Somebody, I don't remember who it is now, had once described Nigeria as a nation walking on her head. For all you know, that person may well be right. We have a propensity to always want to put our cart before our horse. It's always one step forward and four steps backward. No wonder, our 42 years journey following independence has brought more frustration than progress, all things considered..

General now Dr Yakubu Gowon who had to become Head of State before it dawned on him to go back to the University, to start where he should have begun, had committed a horrendous mistake in 1975, when he placed personal friendship over and above national interest, because he knew no better at the time, by signing the Maroua Declaration with his good friend Ahidjo. By so doing, he had not only given further credence to the claims of the Cameroon over the now disputed piece of land, swamp or water. If my memory serves me right, and I believe it does, the track record of Dr Gowon a bachelor who became Head of State at 32, by luck or by accident, is replete with decisions based on poor judgment like the type taken on Bakassi. Remember it was the same Gowon who once made the statement that "the basis for Nigerian unity does not exist" He, sure, may have forgotten, he ever made such a statement, at any point in our history, but he sure did.

He was only pressured to retract that statement by some of the British advisers to the North, when he was told in plain language that the North, as then constituted, could not secede or go it alone as an entity without the South. To do so was to cut off their lifeline, and to, permanently, go on life support. The handsome, but inexperienced Head of State, to his own credit , did not argue. Once the Biafran War broke out with what he himself had, earlier on, described as a Police action, God gave him an opportunity to quickly correct his mistake when he stumbled on a wonderful acronym in his last name. He immediately pounced on that acronym, to make Nigerians forget the foolish statement he had made before. He quickly replaced his unpatriotic statement with another one liner which became the jingle for the entire war "To keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done" and his famous "Go on with one Nigeria" (GOWON) The same Gowon, you will recall, had signed with the Oxford-trained Emeka Ojukwu in a peace move brokered by the late General Ankrah in Aburi, Ghana, an agreement Gowon later had to repudiate forcing the very eloquent and brilliant Ojukwu to issue his famous rejoinder "On Aburi we stand " Using these few incidents as a backdrop to his Maroua Declaration with Ahidjo in 1975, is just to re emphasize my point that most of our leaders, have always acted before they think.

Now I move on to the most corrupt, the most clandestine and the most brutal leader to ever lead Nigeria from the North. I am talking about Abacha. I don't care what the likes of Wada Nas and Professor Sam Aluko may have to say about Abacha, being a better credit manager than even OBJ, he was a disaster as far as I am concerned, and was responsible for more of the malaise or misrule that Dr Femi Ajayi wrote so eloquently about, in his latest piece on the Bakassi Peninsula. I agree with Dr Femi Ajayi on his brilliant and informative article which I would actually advise all of us to read because it has provided the basic information on what the Peninsula is all about. My only disagreement with Dr Ajayi in that article, is his conclusion that a Referendum is what is needed before anything can be done on the verdict. I happen not to think so, and I will tell you why in a moment

If the highest court in the world, the ICJ, the Maroua Declaration of 1975, the June, 11, 1998 judgment quoted by Dr Ajayi, have all said that Bakassi belongs to the Cameroon, what sense does it make, to be holding a referendum on where the present Nigerian occupants of the Land want to go?. They really have no choice in it Do they? They either quit or be forced to quit by Cameroon. They could sign an agreement with the Cameroon, if Cameroun is willing to have them stay on the Land, which is very unlikely now, given the painful history and circumstance of the disputed land. One has to respect Cameroon for their vision and persistence. They are no doubt aware of the principle of lache acquiescence or stand by in Law which could possibly have nullified their claim over the land, if they have kept quiet. The knew what they were up against in Nigeria, and they kept on harping like Sunny Okosun did on Papa's land by asking who owns the Land. In the end the ICJ heard their voice in the wilderness, and gave them what they truly deserve, victory at the Hague as one of a series of victories they have recorded on this dispute. They sought first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. Now all things are being added unto them. They deserve to savor and relish their victory, and we must let them do it for God's sake.

Back to Abacha, and why I think he was as guilty as our other leaders by acting before he thinks. I am not going to dwell too much on Abacha, however, because we all know he had failed all his examinations in Sandhurst, including those required for promotion in the Nigerian Army, but he still made it to the mountain top of our Military, and the presidency of our country by becoming an expert in coup making in Nigeria, and through the sheer force of Quota or Federal character, and by being able to claim Kano as his state of origin, even though rumors had it he might jolly have come from Maiduguri or from Niamey or Maradi in Niger for all we know . He was clearly the most incompetent person to hold that office because he saw the office only as a conduit pipe to enrich himself and family and those loyal to him. We know them all. His attorney General, Olu Onagoruwa a good lawyer by any standard, did advise him against pursuing the Bakassi conflict to the Hague, because, it lacked merit in his own opinion. Abacha who never attended a paralegal seminar, not to talk of going to a Law School, simply ignored his learned friend, and went ahead using the same quota system that had done so much havoc in Nigeria, to hire lawyers who would go to the Hague to champion the Nigerian cause.

I give you their list and their antecedents in a nutshell. The Lead attorney is our own Richard Akinjide, a brilliant, but sometimes, smart by half, Lawyer who had used his improvised 2/3rd theory in Law to declare that Shagari was the undisputed winner of the 1979 election. You will recall that that election result was determined three years before it was held in a quid pro quo deal between OBJ and his kingmakers in Nigeria. The rest is history. The other member of the team is Professor Anwalu Yadudu who only came into national prominence as a jurist, not so much due to his superior knowledge in Legal Studies or his track record in the profession, but because of his state of origin and sweet sounding name. He probably became Professor of Law that quickly for the same reason. I can bet my life that southern colleagues who graduated with him, at the same time and class at Ahmadu Bello could never have ventured at getting such a high visibility case at the highest court in the world. Only in Nigeria. Everything is based on Federal character including sports.

You know Tiger Woods, if he were a Nigerian, may not make it to the Olympics in Golf if he does not come from the right state in Nigeria. That is how stupid we can get atimes, The last is Ignatius Agua. I have never heard of him, but he is a senior advocate of Nigeria, which ought to mean something, if the title had not been unduly politicized in our country. It is our own equivalent of the QC in Britain, but if you see the caliber of those who are awarded SAN today in Nigeria, you have to wonder. The point I am making is that Abacha knew no better. He was better suited to nominating people who should represent Nigeria at the Guinness or Gulder Brewery Seminar in Dublin than selecting attorneys to represent us at the Hague. Another classic of putting the cart before the horse.

Then came Obasanjo under whose watch the final verdict was delivered by the Hague. Obasanjo had spent the first three years of his presidency globe trotting, seeking to improve the image and clout of Nigeria in far away countries of the globe. And yet he could not pull this out for Nigeria. You could spend all your time hopping from one country to another, all politics are local, if your domestic policy is poor or non existent, forget it. Hopping from one foreign capital to another receiving red carpet treatment does not change a thing. Lee Kuan Yu did not have to do that. Singapore is one of the leading nations of the world today. Awolowo hardly ever left the Ibadan except for vacation in Great Britain. Awo never lived for one day in any Government quarter. He died in 1986 but he is still very much alive in our hearts today because of his imperishable legacies in Nigeria, and most especially in the Western Region of old. Obasanjo too was as guilty as Gowon and Abacha before him.

You can tell from his pronouncements on the Bakassi verdict and from his track record on the proposed National Sovereign Conference which he had supported as a candidate,but had quickly repudiated as the incumbent, because he had signed away his common sense in a quid pro quo deal with the North again. I have alluded to this in one of my articles in which I have had cause to label him as a "Quid quo President" extraordinary. If you listen to OBJ today, and the comments from his own appointed attorney General, Kanu Agabi, you have to wonder who is really in charge here. Of course Agabi is right, if the truth must be told. I could care less about the recommendations from Cross River State that he be removed from the Cabinet for speaking the truth. The man spoke the truth just like Olu Onagoruwa and others before him had done. I don't see anything wrong with that. Only the truth will liberate us. What I don't quite understand is the assurance, Obasanjo is now making, that the Bakassi problem would not be settled by war.

What exactly is that supposed to mean after the horse has bolted? He should have known that long ago, and not mislead our people , he was ready to go to war on this by talking tough before the Hague verdict was known. As good as his assurance may sound, it was a position, he had had all the chance in the world to pursue, while he was President the first time around, when he was allowed to servedthe balance of Murtala Mohammed's term, if it can be so called. I say so because he was so widely respected when he left that office, becoming the first Military man in the history of our country, if not in the whole Africa, to peacefully hand over to a civilian Government. He should have known what he is now saying that Diplomacy, and not war, should have been the way out to settle the dispute between Nigeria and Cameroun over Bakassi peninsula. Going for diplomacy now after we have lost badly in the Hague is a classic in putting the cart before the horse. We should have known better. Those who are now blaming Richard Akinjide and his team of lawyers for not doing enough to win at the Hague are either confusing the judicial system in the Hague with our own judicial system in Nigeria where the highest bidder always wins. The Hague is a different kettle of fish.

I give you an example: The Justice Akanbi Commission which is supposed to probe corruption in high places in Nigeria has worked now for almost three years, and is yet to openly prosecute any case of corruption. In my state in Ondo State corruption running into billions of public money has been exposed. Some of the Commissioners involved had bolted from the country. The Governor has gone as far as openly admitting that he was misled by his own appointee. What more do we expect? And yet Justice Akanbi's hands are still tied behind his back. That prosecution would not see the light of day until well after the 2003 Elections, after the pen robbers would have rigged themselves back to victory in a landslide, knowing they cannot be probed while still in office, according to the obnoxious 1999 Constitution that we are hoping the National Sovereign Conference would finally abrogate or nullify. And Guess what? Who is making it impossible for the Commission to do its work? The same Obasanjo the guardian angel who is going to rid Nigeria of corruption in high and low places. Why is Obasanjo doing that now? Because it is part of his strategy to win a second term. For him to win, he now has to cooperate with corrupt Governors who are also seeking reelection by all means, just like Mr President. What a terrible country?.

It is now clear to everyone that Obasanjo is not the Messiah the country has been looking for. I do not support his impeachment. But I would not also support his reelection, and the reelection of Governors like him starting from the one I know best, the one in my state. I cannot see Governor Adebayo Adefarati contesting the next election, not to talk of giving him my vote until I see the outcome of the Justice Akanbi's report as it relates to Ondo State. Candidates like Nimbe Farukanmi, Ademola Adegoroye.and architect Agbesua, Bajowa, Segun Agagu and Dr Bada stand a much better chance at this time to be elected Governor at this point than the old man who has a lot of questions to answer now before he can even be cleared to run. He does not stand a chance if Ondo State is still the same place I know, and if the election is free and fair. Period. Obasanjo is again putting the cart before the horse by not allowing Justice Akanbi Commission to release his report before the next series of Primaries begin If Obasanjo wants to rid Nigeria of corruption, why make it easy for fraudsters in high places to go unpunished. I just don't get it. Help me somebody.

Until then I am reserving my vote for anyone but Obasanjo and Adefarati in Ondo State, and I will encourage Nigerians to do the same. It makes no sense to continue to reelect armed robbers who are going to do to us what Abacha had done to Nigeria. The worst that could happen to those pen robbers and their family, is the same kind of deal OBJ has made with Mohammed Abacha. Steal as much as you are able, but be prepared to return a fraction of it to the Government, if the push comes to shove. If that is Obasanjo's way of fighting corruption in Nigeria, he deserves to lose the next Election, and he is not better than Abacha and IBB in my opinion. Period Obasanjo's promise of using diplomacy to solve the Bakassi stalemate cannot be fully trusted at this point.

It even sounds a little bit hollow now that the highest court in the world has decided by a clear majority vote (13 against 4 ) in favor of our smaller neighbor the Cameroun. The Yorubas say that you don't get back from Court to start engaging in a fake friendship or appeasement with the person you have taken to court. Nigeria and Cameroon have gone to the Hague to argue their claims to the Land. In the opinion of the Court , Cameroon has been declared the rightful owner of the disputed Land. Period. If the verdict has come down in our favor, I would have been saying exactly the same thing to the Cameroun. Come on, we need to be truthful on this. Threatening war as some of us are suggesting today, out of frustration, is the wrong way to go Who tells us we can easily overrun Cameroun by force? Success in war is never a game of numbers. We must first of all have a "causus belli", a motivation and and a reason to believe we can win, we don't We must have a well trained and disciplined Military. We don't.

If we had had used our dividends from oil very wisely, all these years, we might have been better off than we are today. We have not done that, for sure. Cameroon may be smaller in population and size than we are, they have what we don't necessarilly have, resolve and perseverance, and a motivation and a consensus to fight for what they rightly feel belong to them. Nigeria was a lot bigger than Biafra in 1967, but Biafra was surely winning the propaganda war against Nigeria, and was on her way to winning the real war, using our own resources to fight us, until Awo, single-handedly, did the smartest thing in the world by having the Nigerian Government change her currency, thereby forcing Biafra to print her own which no other country around would accept. That was the end of the War

Cameroon has as much right as our country to fend for her own people and to look for a way to secure the economic base of their country to add oil and liquefied Gas to their mineral resources. It was God that put the black gold there, and neither of our two countries was even aware it was sitting on gold until the imperialist technology told us so. We have to remember that much of our land or sea or river boundaries in Africa, in particular, were artificial creation by foreigners like Lord Lugard and so many of them. Even the name Nigeria was coined for Nigeria by Flora Lugard who simply saw the amalgamation of the North and Southern protectorates as deserving just one name. In her wisdom she thought the area around our most prominent river, the River Niger, could be one hell of a tip to suggest a name. River Niger area therefore became "Nigeria," and her husband bought the idea hook, line and sinker. That was how we got our name.

I strongly believe that the two countries had a claim to the area in dispute, and the verdict reflected that reality. It was not a total loss for Nigeria as some of us are suggesting. The verdict has some good things for Nigeria, but Cameroun has more to gain from the verdict, and I congratulate them for that. Such a stand might not be the smartest thing to do right now, given the hard feelings the issue has generated for many of our fellow Nigerians from Akwa Ibom and Cross River State, in particular, who were Nigerians a day before the verdict, and had a new nationality forced on them, a day after, and the implications of that for their future and their general wellbeing. But the truth must still be told that those Nigerians are now in a foreign land, and something must be done by the Hague and both countries to recognize that reality, and to find a way to make the unhappy development, less traumatic for the affected. This is where I think that Diplomacy, as belated as it is, may still be the only game in town.

Nigeria as the bigger sister must not give the impression to the world we are too greedy. Cameroun has a right to the good things of life, as much as we do. The oil belt on the side of Nigeria is much larger and longer than that of the Cameroon. The oil belt I am told extends to the Delta region of our country up the coastal belt of Ilaje/Eseodo around Obe Jedo and some creeks in Ijaw Arogbo, Aiyetoro, Ugbo Kingdom, Zion Pepper, in Ondo State and up to the coastal belt of Ijebu waterside ,and even up to Lagos, Okun Ibeshe, and Badagry. So what the hell are we talking about here? Let Cameroon have her own piece of the God-given pie. We all must remember that six out of the 36 states of Nigeria share boundaries with the Cameroon. Borno is one. Benue, Adamawa, Taraba, Cross River and Akwa Ibom are the others. We cannot afford to permanently antagonize Cameroon over this.

What we must do now is how to make the Hague verdict less traumatic for our brothers and sisters in Cross River and Akwa Ibom. Since both of these two states earn their livelihood from the little land available to them and from the waters and the swamps of this peninsula, the verdict must be particularly hard on them. We must not underestimate that reality. When I am talking of my brothers and sisters in the two states, I am not talking solely on how the decision may affect people like "Mama Bakassi" Senator Ita Giwa. Those powerful people have nothing to worry about. The systems in both countries would easily absorb them. The people I am concerned about, are the peasant fishermen and ordinary people on both sides of the isle whose life is likely to be compromized, and undermined severely.

I am able to imagine a little bit, how many of our people in Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom states may be feeling today. I definitely feel their pains, because I am an Akure man. Akure and Idanre our next door neighbor have been fighting over land for more than fifty years now. The two towns actually fought a war in 1951. Akure won that war because history and the colonial Government and the District Officer assigned to Akure at the time could not be bought with money. They all agreed with Akure's claim to the Land. Our two towns went to court so many times, and Akure have always won. We were always winning because of the painstaking documentation of one Pa Adegbola one of the first graduates of Akure from the old St Andrews College, Oyo. In the 1960s, Obafemi Awolowo using his friendship with the late Chief Akindeko of Idanre, actually represented Idanre as their lead lawyer in many of our court battles with Idanre. .Awolowo lost the case, and the appeal. Part of the reason the Action Group always lost elections in Akure Urban, and not the suburbs, was because Akure never forgave Awolowo for doing his job as a Lawyer, and taking the brief from Idanre which was considered as an enemy so to speak. I recall this case to let you know I feel the pains of the ordinary people in the two states of Akwa Ibom and Cross River

The truth is that most of our forefathers in Africa and Nigeria in particular always use rivers as point of demarcation between neighboring towns. That was the accepted historical norm. The boundary between Ilesha and Akure till tomorrow is Owena River on Akure/Ilesha express way. The same Owena River is the boundary between Akure and Ondo town. Ogbese River is the boundary between Akure and Owo town. The town called Usho which is largely populated by Akure and Usho indigenes today is placed under Owo because it is on the Owo side of River Ogbese. Igbatoro Familugba and the great Ofosu Forest Reserve is claimed in its entirety by Akure local Government, even though it is closer to Owo and Benin, for much the same reason. To get to Igbatoro Familugba and Ofosu Forest, you often have to pass through Owo and Benin Lands. For exactly the same reason, Akure land comprises of the present Alade/Atoshin and what the Idanres have now renamed as Aponmu Lona, because most of the people there are Idanre people, but the land belongs to Akure without any question.

The only Aponmu that Akure knows and recognize is the one presided over by a prince of Akure, retired Ambassador E M Adegulu officially installed the Olu of Aponmu, representing the Deji in the whole area. Aponmu Lona is an illegal creation of Idanre people without the consent or tacit approval of the Deji of Akure . All those places belong to Akure because of the River boundary between Akure and Ondo. Only the Osemawe and the Deji have a boundary separating them in Aponmu, and the boundary is the same Owena River. Akure boundary between Ekiti on the way to Ilawe and Igbara Odo is at Ibuji, and is demarcated with another river whose name, I forget now I still remember, very vividly, that the Deji of Akure, Oba Afunbiowo Adesida, my grand father was the consenting authority to the Olu of Alade and the Olu of Atoshin before his death in 1957. Alade and Atoshin which are all populated by Idanre people today, all live and make farms on Akure Land including Ita Olorun, all the way to Akure. These are all incontrovertible facts, and part of our documented History. Once upon a time, and you can quote me on this, Idanre used to pay "ishakole" a fixed customary price to Akure for using Akure Land to accommodate their own people.

Idanre has tried tooth and nail to claim these lands in perpetuity, but they have always lost in the Courts of Law in Nigeria. My point here is that the fact that the Efiks have been living in Bakassi in great numbers does not necessarily confer on them the ownership of the Land. Never. Right now, nine out of every ten houses built on Idanre Road in Akure are owned by Idanre people, just like many Chinese predominantly live in China town or Canal area in New York. They cannot because of that claim the place for China. That is what the Idanre people would have loved to do, and Akure is saying "No" because we know what belongs to us. We could be kind and generous, but we are not stupid. We have intermarried so much with Idanre people, and we want to live in peace with them, but they would not be allowed to take our Land away from us. It is not just right. As state capital, we are already blessed by God, and we are grateful for that, but we want to retain our Land for generations yet unborn, just like our fellow Nigerians at Idanre would want to do for their own children and grand children.

To compound the problem, Idanre now wants to claim Igbatoro Familugba and even Akure's priceless jewell in Ofosu Forest Reserve, because Akure people have allowed their people to go live and farm there because there is no room for expansion in Odo Ode due to those rocks which used to be used as refuge for the Idanres in days of inter tribal wars when Idanre was totally imprgnable and secure from the invaders because the Rock was a ver safe haven. Now the rocks have become an impediment, and Idanre badly needs some room for expansion, and the Akures understand their predicament. But Akure did not create the problems, and should not be held to ransome because of that. That is all we are saying, and would continue to say, if it means going to Court until we get justice.

The only way the Idanres can find room for expansion is to trespass on Akure land, and they are doing it out with impunity while the so called Government in Ondo State is looking the other way right now. It is the last thing Akure would ever accept or condone. But I can tell you that the same Obasanjo Government before 1979 had sought to add more confusion to the problem of Land ownership and Land Use in Nigeria when it tried to introduce the Land Use Decree which had tried to foolishly extend to the South, the practice of Land ownership in the North. The land Use Decree has been a disaster in the South, but it has helped powerful individuals like Obasanjo himself and people like him to take possession of huge plots of land in prime and choicest areas, like Obasanjo had acquired in Ota in the outskirts of Lagos which is now worth millions of Naira in value, because of its location and nearness to Lagos, the New York of Nigeria.

It is foolish in the extreme to want to extend to the south, the practice in the North where the Sultan, the Emirs, the Shehu of Bornu, the Etsu Nupe, and the Attahs are believed to be part and parcel of Government till tomorrow. In the South the Obas, the Igwes and the Obis are not considered or treated as an integral part of government as in the North. They do not have absolute authority on the Land ownership or wield as much power like the Sultan or the Emir of Kano or the Shehu of Bornu. That is why all Emirs in the North are paid heavy salaries by Government and assigned official Limousins the time that only well-to-do Obas like the Oni of Ife can afford from their own pocket. If Obas ever get cars assigned to their offices in Yoruba Land, they want such Obas to see the move as a privilege and not as a right as the Northern monarchs are treated.

In the North, when you hold a chieftaincy title like the Sardauna or the Ciroma or Turaki, you can still be appointed as Ministers or Commissioners or Chairman of Parastatals. But in the South, you are banned from holding a Government job, unless yu have some special connections or clout like Chief Oluyemi Falae who is Olu of Ilu Abo, and that did not stop him from being named the Secretary to the Federal Government or the Minister of Finance for a little while. The Falaes and the Olashores of this world are two of a kind as far as the North is concerned. We have got to stop all of that nonsense. Families own land down south. If Government or anybody wants to use their land, such a person has to pay for it. The issue of land with ownership is a very sensitive issue to our people in Yoruba Land, and I guess to the Efiks or the Ibibios, the Kalabaris, the Ogonis, and the Igbos across the board. The more states we create, the more important the issue of Land becomes to all Nigerians every where..

My argument is that if the Land Use Decree has been effective in the South, like it is in the North, perhaps it would have been easier to accommodate the Akwa Ibom and Cross river people that are now likely to be forced out of the piece of land, the international Court of Justice has now given to the Cameroon, based on historical antecedents, and facts. It is not going to be easy for individual Families to now surrender their own Family lands to the people to be displaced from Bakassi. The only way out is that much of the disputed land are totally inhabitable, but there is plenty of oil below the water, which is what the struggle is all about, to tell you the truth. There is also an abundance of fishes in those waters, but once the oil exploration begins and the pollution and ecological devastation begin, the argument about fishes becomes a non-issue. The real issue becomes oil and liquefied Gas. So the problem is how to compensate those to be displaced or sent packing by the Cameroonian Authorities who are now empowered by the ICJ verdict as an independent sovereign state to decide what they want to do with their own Land.

This is where diplomacy has to come in. Active diplomacy, using the auspices of the OAU and the ECOWAS to which the two countries belong, should have been our first consideration. It is quite possible that Cameroon may have decided to go to the Hague to seek justice, because they knew Nigeria's influence at the OAU and ECOWAS might not have helped them much. That was a smart move on their part, and a foolish one on the part of Nigeria. If the OAU and ECOWAS have arbitrated the dispute in favor of Nigeria, the argument used by those two bodies, would have formed part the case we now make to the Hague. As it is now, Cameroon has beaten us, arms down in the propaganda war. We are now going to appear as the aggressor trying to intimidate a smaller neighbor country, which is what it is, to tell you the truth. They have won all the previous attempts to settle this dispute. It goes without saying that they had to win at The Hague as well, and they have. I agree that Diplomacy backed with the stark acceptance of reality by swallowing our pride, for once, is what can help us now. Nigerians in Bakassi threatening secession, is going to be an exercise in futility that is easier said than done. It may work as a bargaining chip for further posturing in readiness for diplomatic intervention. In the spirit of African unity and brotherhood, we may still be able to work out something with the Cameroon. Our policy from now on should be "Live and let live. Cameroon deserves to join Nigeria as an oil producing country in this side of the Atlantic. Why not if not?

Nigeria should also learn something from this in settling the so many land disputes between towns and communities in the nook and corners of our own country. The case of Akure and Idanre is a case in point. Idanre is now claiming today that it is the largest cocoa and timber producing town in Nigeria because of the timbers and cocoa, Idanre people are producing on Akure Land Revenues that should be going to Akure Local Government are now going to Idanre Local Government without Idanre paying anythin back to Akure for using our Land. You don't grow timbers or grow cocoa plantations on the Rock. Akure owns much of the land Idanre people are using for their farms today. Hiding under the Land Use Decree to take Akure land for Idanre is a travesty of justice .If Gold or marble were to be found in Orosun Mountain today, can, Akure people go there to start claiming Orosun Mountain? Idanre ought to respect Akure's right to her own God-given resources and Land. I have to agree as an Idanre sympathizer because I am the grand child of Oba Afunbiowo Adesida the First, whose mother was the daughter of Sasere Lagokun of Idanre. In that unique sense, I am an Idanre grand child and you will be surprised to know I still love Idanre, but justice must be done.

I am also part and parcel of Idanre, but my loyalty to Akure, the place of my birth, remains solid and non- negotiable. I will be the first person to admit that. Because of my connection and love for Idanre, Olofin Grammar School was the first place I went to teach on passing out of Higher School Certificate in 1962 before entering the University. Chief Akindeko the Lisa of Idanre was my Godfather, and a great friend of my father. Professor Tobi Adeniyi of Alade was a good friend of mne and uncle Kayode Blessing the one time member of the Board of Directors of Owena, now Omega Bank was a senior friend of mine. I agree that Idanre ought to be given room for expansion, but they must not be allowed to do so at Akure's expense without paying a nominal price. That is totally wrong. But two wrongs don't make a right.

Idanre by all means can continue to use the land, but they should not be allowed to claim it in perpetuity like they are trying to do, now, hiding behind the Land Use Decree, the Military Government in Nigeria has improvised, just to secure their own economic base and selfish interest. But for the activities of the current Olisa of Akure, retired Colonel Folorunsho David of Akure, Idanre would have totally taken over Akure land. I guess the same arrangement can be made for Nigerians who are now to be displaced from the Bakassi Peninsula, if the Cameroon Government can be persuaded and prevailed upon through Diplomacy to agree. I guess the same arrangement can be done with Ife over Modakeke or with Benue who are at daggers drawn with Taraba State on a similar dispute that has claimed so many lives already. Land has become a priceless jewel of inestimable value that no town should be allowed to toy with.

A plot of Land now sells for 20 million naira or more in Garki or Wuse in Abuja, not to talk of the properties on them. Same problems in the outskirts of Abuja including Yanyan, Maraba and Gwagwalada. Apiece of land now sells for 200,000.00 Naira in Ado Ekiti, the newly created capital of Ekiti State. It is the same story in all the newly created capitals and their environs around the country. Tell me which town or community is ever going to allow another town to commandeer its land by force. No way. A good Federal Government will think long and hard on this problem and offer solutions to prevent Nigeria from becoming another Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe. Nigeria can expect many more wars in our neck of the woods in Nigeria, as long as the Government allows the fraud called the Land Use Decree to offer a cover for any town or village in the South which may wish to trespass on other town's ' Land. Obasanjo has no business going to Zimbabwe to settle disputes on Land while Idanre and Akure problems still remain troublesome, and communal strifes in many parts of Nigeria remain unsolved. The Bakassi problem is the worse now because it involves another country, and the need to immediately change the citizenship of the affected Nigerians. It is about time to do something about this problem at a national level.

Our notion of right and wrong in Nigeria is so bastardized, that we now believe that nothing is either right or wrong . It all depends on who is sitting in judgment or whose interest is at stake. In that notion we totally forget that some cases lack merit while others do not. I have read a lot of materials on the Nigeria/Cameroun fight on Bakassi Peninsula. I cannot help, but draw the conclusion that there is enough blame to go around. But if the truth must be told, I am of the opinion that Cameroon has as much claim to the Peninsula , and probably have more right to that piece of Land than we do, just going by the available evidence given by no less a person than one of our former Ministers of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation in the person of Olu Onagoruwa, as I mentioned , earlier on, in this article. But I am placing more premium on the words and analysis of the Nobel Peace Laureate, our own Wole Soyinka in a lecture he delivered not too long ago at the Institute of International Affairs in Victoria Island. It is true that some will say that Wole Soyinka is not a Lawyer by profession. But as a civil right activist and leader, recognized through out the world, he has become the greatest voice of reason and a one-man battalion when it comes to speaking the truth about Nigeria or anywhere else. He has become the true conscience of our nation whether you like him or not.

Wole Soyinka has done it ever so often than he can no longer be ignored He keeps getting one award or recognition after another including his latest from Italy where his citation was read by the former President of the Soviet ,Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. He has more credibility around the world, than any other Nigerian dead or alive including our current President. He had single handedly, rose up against the Akintola perfidy in the old West, at great risk to himself, when he went to the old WNBS at Ibadan to make his own broadcast to the Nation telling the whole world his own version of the truth as it concerns the Awolowo/Akintola feud in the old Western Region of Nigeria. He had done it again, on principle, in the stalemate leading to the Biafran War in 1967. Even though he was in the minority , he was one Nigerian to stand up for the Igbos supporting their claim, at the time, that a pogrom was being unleashed against the Igbos, and asking that the pogrom be ended in the interest of justice. He did it again fighting on the side of NADECO telling the Abacha Gestapo to shape up or shape out. He had taken much the same position, now, forcefully arguing that the Sovereign National Conference is the way out for Nigeria, if the country is to remain one.

Wole Soyinka has always used his enormous talents, his mighty pen, his visibility and courage fight injustice any where it is found, and to champion any cause he truly believes in. He is the most consistent Nigerian, fighting for causes larger than his own selfish interest. He is the most totally detribalized Nigerian you will ever meet. The Maradona tried everything in the book to de-shine or make a hypocrite out of Soyinka, like he did with Tai Solarin when he made him Chairman of the Peoples' Bank. Wole Soyinka was too hard a nut for the evil genius to crack. Wole stood firm. Rather than turn coat, he fled the country at the earliest opportunity, to continue his life work, becoming one of the greatest spokesmen of NADECO around the World My greatest fear is who is going to step into Soyinka's oversize shoes when he is too old to do what he has been doing with so much success.

In conclusion I take the position that Wole Soyinka and the past and present Attorney General, Olu Onagoruwa and Kanu Agabi who have offered opinions on the Bakassi Verdict cannot all be wrong. They have probably studied this matter more closely than the rest of us combined, including our President. I am inclined to go along with their viewpoint, and I await their preferred suggestions and solutions with open arms. We must remember what Iraq under Saddam had done to Kuwait in 1991, and the aftermath of that for Saddam up until now. If we have a power like a lion, we cannot afford to use it like a lion. We have got to respect the verdict from The Hague, and to let sleeping dogs lie. It is true Nigeria is a Goliath of sorts compared with the Cameroon which is nothing but a David at this point. We are both a Christian and Islamic states with a belief in the same one God that has given our two countries the commonwealth in huge oil deposit and liquefied Gas beneath the waters in the swampy piece of Land along our coastal belt we are all fighting for today.

Cameroon has a right to the good life we seek for our people in Nigeria. Let them have their portion of our common pie in peace and tranquility. We still have enough oil and Gas in our own portion of the piece of cake, to make our people truly happy. The Federal Government would not touch the huge Bitumen Deposit in Agbabu in Ondo State, but was ready to spend millions of Naira to aid some of our Northern states looking for Gold and Bitumen in arid places and Dogo Yaro plantations across the Northern desert. Why? Because the South is already flowing with oil and Gas. Federal character and the Quota System would not permit the Federal Government under a Southerner to do anything for the South that may improve their chances to compete with the North, and win. We have failed, woefully, to even take full advantage of God's own gift to all of us. It has been oil doom and no oil boom. Let our leaders turn that around for the benefit of all of us.

For all you know, I am so sure that some of us who went to bed yesterday as Nigerians, and woke up today as Cameroonians are not that unlucky in my judgment. The quality of life in the Cameroon is nothing to compare with that of Nigeria. No power failure, the feeling of insecurity and hopelessness is not as pervasive as ours. Corruption has not reached alarming proportions. I won't be shedding tears, just yet, for those Nigerians including Mama Bakassi until I know what is in stock for them in the Cameroon. Until then, all I can say is Merci becoup! Bye for now.