DOCSLIB.ORG

Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Bakassi Peninsula Rebecca K

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Bakassi Peninsula Rebecca K View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University African Social Science Review Volume 6 | Issue 1 Article 6 May 2013 Interests and Identities in Peace Negotiations: Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Bakassi Peninsula Rebecca K. LeFebvre Kennesaw State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/assr Recommended Citation LeFebvre, Rebecca K. (2013) "Interests and Identities in Peace Negotiations: Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Bakassi Peninsula," African Social Science Review: Vol. 6 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. Available at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/assr/vol6/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in African Social Science Review by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. LeFebvre: Interests and Identities in Peace Negotiations African Social Science Review Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2013 Interests and Identities in Peace Negotiations: Nigeria, Cameroon, and the Bakassi Peninsula Rebecca K. LeFebvre Kennesaw State University Abstract: For close to fifty years, the territorial dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon continued over the region along their border known as the Bakassi peninsula. The dispute almost led to war in the mid-1990s, was settled by the International Court of Justice in 2002, and resulted in hand-off of the territory by Nigeria to Cameroon in 2008. Content analysis of newspapers from Nigeria and Cameroon for the year 2010 revealed underlying identity-based needs that had been left largely unaddressed. Analysis of Nigerian newspapers showed a prevalent discussion of unfulfilled identity needs and an unresolved identity-conflict potential. Analysis of Cameroonian newspapers revealed the fulfilling of a new identity as the Bakassi region was proactively populated with Cameroonian citizens, culture, and connectivity to the rest of the country. The Bakassi dispute resolution was heralded as a success by state leadership, but it was not perceived in the same way by the general population as evidenced in the content analysis. Public opinions expressed in the media were less reflective of a cooperative result and more reflective of a zero-sum negotiation result with a clear winner and a clear loser. Keywords: Bakassi peninsula, border dispute, conflict resolution, group identity, peace negotiations Introduction For close to fifty years, the territorial dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon continued over the region along their border known as the Bakassi peninsula. The dispute almost led to war in the mid-1990s, was settled by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2002, and resulted in hand- off of the territory by Nigeria to Cameroon in 2008. The peaceful resolution to this historic conflict has been heralded as a successful example of negotiated settlements to territorial disputes. However, the locals in the Bakassi region, 90 percent of whom are Nigerian, have been unhappy with the settlement. The result has been hostility, unrest, and a move for secession of the region that persists even several years after the final official hand-off. This raises the primary research question of this analysis: Did the Bakassi peninsula dispute resolution neglect the identity-based aspects of the situation leaving an underlying conflict unresolved? This article examines the history of the Bakassi peninsula conflict and the impact of the negotiated settlement on the people of Nigeria and Cameroon. The processes of negotiation and implementation are analyzed from an interests-based framework as well an identities-based perspective looking for gaps that may have occurred. Content analysis is performed on newspaper articles from Nigeria and Cameroon on the topic of the Bakassi peninsula for the year 2010 in an effort to answer the research question regarding the lingering effects of the agreement on the stakeholders in the region. Key findings show evidence of identity-based issues in the region such as loss of community and cultural way of life as well as unfulfilled needs for autonomy. 83 Published by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University, 2013 1 African Social Science Review, Vol. 6 [2013], Iss. 1, Art. 6 African Social Science Review Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2013 Background of the Dispute The Bakassi Peninsula is a six-hundred square mile area of swampland rich in fish that juts out into the Gulf of Guinea. The region lies along the border of two African countries, with Nigeria to the west and Cameroon to the east. The population on the peninsula is around 300,000 comprised mostly of fishermen and their families (The Economist 2008). The region lacks much modern infrastructure, such as potable water, electricity, and roads, but what the region does have is more than ten billion barrels of crude oil, first discovered in the late 1950s (Anyu 2007). Ownership of the territory was claimed by both Nigeria and Cameroon for many years with the escalation of the dispute most noticeable after the discovery of oil in the region. The dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula can be traced back to the arbitrary process used to create borders in Africa during times of colonialism. Britain signed a treaty in 1884 with the kings and chiefs of the Kingdom of Old Calabar that had occupied the peninsula since the mid- 1400s (Anyu 2007). In the early 1900s, Germany and Britain signed a series of agreements that created the border between what is now Nigeria and Cameroon. In a key treaty of 1913, Great Britain ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Germany, which had been governing Cameroon. Cameroon finally won its independence in 1960, and Southern Cameroon merged with it in 1961 bringing the boundary question into the spotlight, particularly because oil was being discovered at this same time. In 1974, the Kano Agreement was signed by heads of state of both countries, putting Bakassi on Cameroon‘s side of the border. In 1975, after the overthrow of the ruling military regime in Nigeria, the post-coup regime claimed that the Kano agreement was invalid. A series of attempts to resolve the boundary issue occurred after that, with mediation by Britain, France, and Togo, but no peaceful resolution was reached. The conflict escalated further in the 1980s and early 1990s with several skirmishes resulting in the deaths of some soldiers followed by a massive military build-up in the peninsula by the armies of both Nigeria and Cameroon. In 1994, in an effort to avoid going to war, Cameroon filed a suit with the ICJ asking them to resolve the border dispute. The military forces continued to clash in the region until 1996 when a cease-fire was signed. The ICJ decided in 1998 that it did have the jurisdiction to hear the case. The ICJ, under the supervision of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Kofi Annan, invited representatives from both countries to the negotiation process and heard arguments from both sides. Nigeria‘s claim to the Bakassi Peninsula was based on four main points. First, they pointed to the original title in the 1884 treaty with the kings and chiefs of Old Calabar. Second, they claimed effective occupation of the region, and in fact, wanted the region‘s sovereignty to be determined by vote of the 300,000 people living there (Tarlebbea and Baroni 2010). Third, they claimed long and uninterrupted administration of the region. Fourth, they asserted that the Cameroons had acquiesced over many years by default giving up claim to the region (Anyu 2007). Unfortunately, Nigeria‘s argument was weakened by the lack of seriousness displayed by the Nigerian leadership over time, as they failed to protest the 1913 treaty and then signed agreements during the pre-coup regimes of the 1970s that they later claimed to be invalid. Cameroon‘s claim to the peninsula was based primarily on the 1913 treaty in which Britain ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Germany. They produced a 1971 agreement signed by the heads of state of Nigeria and Cameroon that they claimed was meant to affirm the borders as defined in the English-German treaty of 1913. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) seemed to agree with Cameroon‘s argument and appreciated the consistency in documentation produced. Based largely on the 1913 English-German treaty, the ICJ ruled in favor of Cameroon in September of 2002. As part of the settlement, Nigeria was expected to quickly and 84 https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/assr/vol6/iss1/6 2 LeFebvre: Interests and Identities in Peace Negotiations African Social Science Review Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2013 unconditionally remove its administrative and military forces from the Bakassi Peninsula. The ICJ‘s verdict was communicated privately weeks before it was made public. Kofi Annan invited the presidents of both Nigeria and Cameroon to a meeting in Paris to discuss the ICJ‘s ruling. During the meeting, both presidents agreed to abide by the ICJ‘s ruling and to work together to implement the ruling with the help of the UN. Afterwards, Nigeria appeared ready to back out, and it required continued involvement of the UN to keep Nigeria on track to opt for the negotiated settlement (Baye 2010). In the months following the verdict, Kofi Annan facilitated the formation of the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission made up of representatives of both countries. The commission had the responsibility to oversee demarcation of land boundaries, withdrawal of troops from the peninsula, and recommendation of confidence-building measures. The Mixed Commission‘s work culminated in a 2006 meeting at the Green Tree Estate in New York facilitated by Kofi Annan where the Green Tree Agreement was signed with key deadlines and terms for Nigeria‘s withdrawal. Kofi Annan praised the effectiveness of the Mixed Commission, pointing out that the commission had no peacekeeping force and cost only $5 million per year as compared to the $200 million annual cost of the UN‘s Ethiopia-Eritrea peacekeeping mission.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Bakassi Thesis Final
    Chapter One General Presentation 1.1 Introduction The eruption of most territorial conflicts around the world generally stems from ideological or religious differences, nationalism, colonialism, and competition for natural resources. While some easily degenerate into prolonged conflicts or wars that eventually involve the use of heavy weaponry, others get settled through diplomatic moves, coercion by the international agencies or agreements. With a compromised historical heritage, it is not surprising that post-colonial Cameroon and Nigeria were marred by a number of border disputes but the territorial claim surrounding the Bakassi Peninsula stands unique; not only was it the most serious of all disputes between the two countries, but it ended in the most spectacularly unexpected manner against all odds. The Bakassi crisis took public stage when it became clear that it was very rich in natural gas, petroleum and fishing. It was even more so after the discovery of potential oil reserves in its surroundings. The mounting of tension between the two countries in the 1990s urged the Cameroonian government to adopt a legal approach by filing a law suit to the ICJ against the Nigerian Federation on March 24, 1994 in which Cameroon sought an injunction for the expulsion of Nigerian forces, which was said to be occupying the territory. Nevertheless, the conflict can be traced back to the colonial era. With the Natives’ loss of control over their lands in the Berlin Conference of 1884-85, new boundaries emerged that did not consider ethnic groupings. These borders were sustained through agreements between the colonial powers, followed by the League of Nations and lastly the UN.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nigeria-Cameroon Border Conflict Settlement and Matters Arising1
    Brazilian Journal of African Studies | Porto Alegre | v.3, n.5, Jan./Jun. 2018 | p. 65-83 65 POST-CONFLICT PEACE-BUILDING IN A CONTESTED INTERNATIONAL BORDER: THE NIGERIA-CAMEROON BORDER CONFLICT SETTLEMENT AND MATTERS ARISING1 Kenneth Chukwuemeka Nwoko2 Introduction The political solution under the Green Tree Agreement which led to the handover of the contested Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon by Nigeria following the International Court of Justice (2002) ruling signaled the end of the protracted Nigeria/Cameroon border conflict, at least on the surface. However, some analysts believed that it marked the beginning of what may result into a future conflict (Agbakwuru 2012; The Guardian 2006). From the analysis of the verdict of the Court, it would appear that while the interests of the two states involved in the conflict appeared to have been taken into cognizance, the interest of the indigenes and inhabitants of Bakassi was not. Apart from alienating these local people from their ancestral homes, cultural sites and livelihood opportunities, activities such as fishing; interstate water transportation, trading etc, which were operated as early as the pre- colonial days by the local inhabitants, appear to have been disrupted, thus, endangering their means of livelihood and survival. The Anglo-German agreement of March 1913 which the ICJ ruling relied on for its verdict on the Nigeria-Cameroon border conflict represents the earliest milestone in the process of alienation of the inhabitants of the 1 This study was carried out with grants from the African Peacebuilding Network of the Social Science Research Council, USA. 2 Department of History and International Studies, McPherson University, Seriki Sotayo, Nigeria.
    [Show full text]
  • The Role of Natural Resources in Nigeria- Cameroun Border Dispute
    Global Journal of HUMAN-SOCIAL SCIENCE: H Interdisciplinary Volume 18 Issue 5 Version 1.0 Year 2018 Type: Double Blind Peer Reviewed International Research Journal Publisher: Global Journals Online ISSN: 2249-460x & Print ISSN: 0975-587X The Role of Natural Resources in Nigeria- Cameroun Border Dispute By Lucky Igohosa, Ugbudian Alex Ekwueme Federal University Ndufu-Alike Abstract- The paper examines the role of natural resources in Nigeria-Cameroun border dispute. Nigerian state administered the areas commonly known as Bakassi peninsula which falls along the borders between Nigeria and Cameroun for decades peacefully. However from 1991 the Cameroun government challenged the rights of Nigeria government over the peninsula which culminated in a suit at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague. Reflecting on archival materials and relevant documents analysed qualitatively using historical approach revealed that the dispute was driven largely by the availability of natural resources such as crude oil and sea products in the peninsula. The contestation of the ownership of the peninsula made the Cameroonians forces to terrorised Nigerians living in the area which drew the intervention of the Nigerian armed forces in a punitive mission to the peninsula and beyond from 198.1 Consequently, the government of Cameroun took the matter to ICJ for adjudication which ruled in favour of Cameroun relying largely on the 11 March 1913 and 29 April 1913Anglo-German colonial boundaries agreements. The paper posited that the contribution that the exploration of huge natural resources including crude oil deposit that the peninsula possess will do to the economy of both countries influenced the violent dimensions the dispute took including the formation of Bakassi Volunteer Force even after the case was taken to the ICJ.
    [Show full text]
  • AN APPRAISAL of the DOMINANT CAUSES of BOUNDARY CONFLICT BETWEEN NIGERIA and CAMEROUN: the BAKASSI PENINSULA PERSPECTIVE. Shaibu, M
    Global Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences Vol.3, No.9, pp.25-47, September 2015 ___Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org) AN APPRAISAL OF THE DOMINANT CAUSES OF BOUNDARY CONFLICT BETWEEN NIGERIA AND CAMEROUN: THE BAKASSI PENINSULA PERSPECTIVE. Shaibu, M. T. Political Science, Kogi State University Anyigba-Nigeria Azom, S. N. Ph.D Department of Political Science Federal University Lafia, Nasarawa State Nwanze, E. S. Department of Social Sciences and Humanities Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu State, Nigeria. ABSTRACT: This paper appraised the dominant causes of boundary conflict between Nigeria and Cameroun with reference to the Bakassi peninsula perspective. The realist theory was used as a framework of analysis. Data were derived from secondary sources and content analysis based on logical deduction and analysis of documents was adopted. The study found out that the dominant causes of the conflict include geographical and constitutional positions; colonial-legal sources, demographic, politico-strategic and economic issues. It further reveals that the Court resolutions on the conflict in favour of the Republic of Cameroun was informed by the colonial-legal sources, as such, it provoked reactions from various segments of the Nigerian public including Bakassi indigenous population, their paramount ruler, the Cross River State Youths Assembly and Nigerian Senate. But with the mediation of UN/Secretary General between the two countries’ presidents, Bakassi territory
    [Show full text]
  • Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Bakassi Affair and the Greentree Agreement
    Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Bakassi Affair and the Greentree Agreement OCTOBER 2008 INTERNATIONAL PEACE INSTITUTE Cover Photo: President Paul Biya ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (left) of Cameroon and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria IPI owes a great debt of thanks to the generous donors (right), along with UN Secretary- to the Africa Program. Their support reflects a General Kofi Annan (center) sign an agreement regarding the two widespread demand for innovative thinking on practical countries’ dispute over the Bakassi solutions to international challenges. In particular, IPI and Peninsula, June 12, 2006, Greentree, the Africa Program are grateful to the governments of Long Island, New York. © UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe. Cameroon, the Netherlands, and Nigeria. Thanks are also due to former IPI Senior Program Officer Kapinga Yvette The views expressed in this paper Ngandu for her essential work helping to organize the represent those of the authors and rapporteurs, and not necessarily conference, “Lessons from the Resolution of the Bakassi those of IPI. IPI welcomes considera- Dispute,” held on July 17, 2007, in New York City. We tion of a wide range of perspectives would like to thank all of the participants of that event, in the pursuit of a well-informed debate on critical policies and issues especially the leaders of the delegations from Nigeria in international affairs. and Cameroon, H.E. Dr. Joy Ogwu, then Nigerian Minister Africa Program Staff of Foreign Affairs (now Nigeria's Permanent Represent- Mashood Issaka, Senior Program ative to the UN), and Professor Maurice Kamto, Minister- Officer Delegate in the Cameroonian Ministry of Justice.
    [Show full text]
  • African Boundary Conflicts and International Mediation: the Absence of Inclusivity in Mediating the Bakassi Peninsula Conflict
    AFRICAN PEACEBUILDING NETWORK | WORKING PAPERS AFRICAN BOUNDARY CONFLICTS AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIATION: THE ABSENCE OF INCLUSIVITY IN MEDIATING THE BAKASSI PENINSULA CONFLICT ALOYSIUS NYUYMENGKA NGALIM WORKING PAPER No.9 ABOUT THE PROGRAM Launched in March 2012, the African Peacebuilding Network (APN) supports independent African research on conflict-affected countries and neighboring regions of the continent, as well as the integration of high-quality African research-based knowledge into global policy communities. In order to advance African debates on peacebuilding and promote African perspectives, the APN offers competitive research grants and fellowships, and it funds other forms of targeted support, including strategy meetings, seminars, grantee workshops, commissioned studies, and the publication and dissemination of research findings. In doing so, the APN also promotes the visibility of African peacebuilding knowledge among global and regional centers of scholarly analysis and practical action and makes it accessible to key policymakers at the United Nations and other multilateral, regional, and national policymaking institutions. ABOUT THE SERIES “African solutions to African problems” is a favorite mantra of the African Union, but since the 2002 establishment of the African Peace and Security Architecture, the continent has continued to face political, material, and knowledge-related challenges to building sustainable peace. Peacebuilding in Africa has sometimes been characterized by interventions by international actors who lack the local knowledge and lived experience needed to fully address complex conflict-related issues on the continent. And researchers living and working in Africa need additional resources and platforms to shape global debates on peacebuilding as well as influence regional and international policy and practitioner audiences.
    [Show full text]
  • The Negotiation Issues in Nigeria's Post-Independence Conflicts
    Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective Volume 9 Number 2 Negotiation: Dispute Resolution and Article 5 Conflict Management in Nigeria and Cameroon May 2015 The egotN iation Issues in Nigeria's Post- Independence Conflicts Layi Egunjobi Town Planners Registration Council of Nigeria Ndubuisi O. W. Odiaka University of Ibadan Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/jgi Part of the African Studies Commons, International Relations Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License. Recommended Citation Egunjobi, Layi and Odiaka, Ndubuisi O. W. (2015) "The eN gotiation Issues in Nigeria's Post-Independence Conflicts," Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective: Vol. 9 : No. 2 , Article 5. Available at: https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/jgi/vol9/iss2/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@Kennesaw State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Layi Egunjobi and Ndubuisi O. W. Odiaka Journal of Global Initiatives Vol. 9, No. 2, 2014, pp. 33-46 The Negotiation Issues in Nigeria’s Post- Independence Conflicts Layi Egunjobi and Ndubuisi O. W. Odiaka Nigeria which typifies the condition in most African countries, is bedeviled by disputes and conflicts which impact so negatively on the country’s economic growth and quality of life indices. Disputes usually range from local, tribal, and religious skirmishes to national, regional, and international engagements. These naturally involve negotiations in form of agreements, treaties, dialogues, and national conferences which may be conventional or cultural.
    [Show full text]
  • To Read the Task Force Report
    TASK FORCE The Donald C. Hellmann Task Force Program Big Brother on the Border: A Cross-National Analysis of Border Technology 2021 Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies University of Washington, Seattle Task Force Report Winter 2021 Big Brother on the Border: A Cross-National Analysis of Border Technology Faculty Advisor Dr. Jessica Beyer Evaluator Adrian Shahbaz Director for Technology and Democracy at Freedom House Editors Madeleine Cole Maya Green Coordinator Ekin Njotoatmodjo Researchers Rochelle Bowyer Morris Chang Yogasai Gazula Orlando Lugo Raphael Kyle Caoile Manansala Soraya Marashi Ekin Njotoatmodjo Nathaniel Poole Eleanor Roads Ashley Rho Dale Su Benjamin Visse Michelle Wu TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................................................... 2 REPORT FINDINGS....................................................................................................................................................................... 3 CASE STUDY METHODS ......................................................................................................................................................................................3 COMMON GOVERNMENT-DEFINED ISSUES ACROSS CASES .........................................................................................................................4 LEVEL OF BORDER TECHNOLOGY .....................................................................................................................................................................5
    [Show full text]
  • Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Bakassi Affair and the Greentree Agreement
    Pacific Settlement of Border Disputes: Lessons from the Bakassi Affair and the Greentree Agreement OCTOBER 2008 INTERNATIONAL PEACE INSTITUTE Cover Photo: President Paul Biya ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (left) of Cameroon and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria IPI owes a great debt of thanks to the generous donors (right), along with UN Secretary- to the Africa Program. Their support reflects a General Kofi Annan (center) sign an agreement regarding the two widespread demand for innovative thinking on practical countries’ dispute over the Bakassi solutions to international challenges. In particular, IPI and Peninsula, June 12, 2006, Greentree, the Africa Program are grateful to the governments of Long Island, New York. © UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe. Cameroon, the Netherlands, and Nigeria. Thanks are also due to former IPI Senior Program Officer Kapinga Yvette The views expressed in this paper Ngandu for her essential work helping to organize the represent those of the authors and rapporteurs, and not necessarily conference, “Lessons from the Resolution of the Bakassi those of IPI. IPI welcomes considera- Dispute,” held on July 17, 2007, in New York City. We tion of a wide range of perspectives would like to thank all of the participants of that event, in the pursuit of a well-informed debate on critical policies and issues especially the leaders of the delegations from Nigeria in international affairs. and Cameroon, H.E. Dr. Joy Ogwu, then Nigerian Minister Africa Program Staff of Foreign Affairs (now Nigeria's Permanent Represent- Mashood Issaka, Senior Program ative to the UN), and Professor Maurice Kamto, Minister- Officer Delegate in the Cameroonian Ministry of Justice.
    [Show full text]
  • Politics of Resettlement and Nationality Crisis of Inhabitants of Bakassi Peninsula
    ISSN: 2636-7173 Vol. 1, No. 2, 2018, p. 23-29 Politics Of Resettlement And Nationality Crisis Of Inhabitants Of Bakassi Peninsula. Umeh Lucy Chinwe Department of International Relations Godfrey Okoye University, Ugwuomu-Nike Enugu, Nigeria. Email: [email protected] Tel: 08022154896 Abstract This study examined the Nigeria-Cameroon Boundary dispute over Bakassi Peninsula and apart- from analyzing the basis upon which the verdict on Nigeria – Cameroon boundary dispute was decided, the major focus of the study is to ascertain whether the politicization of the international judicial principles in the Nigeria-Cameroon boarder dispute led to denial of human rights of Bakassi people and Whether the issue of nationality question of Nigerians living in Bakassi was considered in the Green Tree Agreement. Security dilemma theory by Kanji (2003) was adopted, ex-post factor research design, documentary method of data collection and content analysis of secondary legal documents was used. it concluded that the judgment of International Court of justice was politicized and the Green Tree Agreement undermines nationality question of the Inhabitants of Bakassi Peninsula and as such they have remained unsettled. Therefore this study, recommends a plebiscite. Keywords: Plebiscite, Politicization, Principle, Nationality. Introduction Scholars of African History show that before that advent of colonialism, African had no political demarcations which are today referred to as boundaries. Therefore, there was free movement of human goods and services from one part of the continent to the other. This free movement of humans, goods and services of course enhanced economic, social and political co-operation among the people of Africa. However, the situation changed after sometimes so that people started talking about frontiers.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in Peace Building and Post-Conflict Development in the Bakassi Peninsula
    International Journal For Research In Social Science And Humanities ISSN: 2208-2107 Women in Peace Building and Post-Conflict Development in the Bakassi Peninsula ROSE FRII-MANYI ANJOH Senior Lecturer Department of History University of Buea, Cameroon P.0. Box 63 E-mail:[email protected] Tel: (237) 677497462 ABSTRACT The Bakassi Peninsula witnessed several skirmishes which resulted to a full scale conflict between Cameroon and Nigeria and the judgment delivered by the International Court of Justice gave sovereignty of the area to Cameroon. After handing over the Peninsula to Cameroon, the government initiated several projects in the area, but presently, poverty and misery coupled with lack of social amenities are widely observed in the peninsula. While the conflict inflicted suffering on the population, women were particularly affected by its short and long term effects. As a result, Bakassi women assumed new roles as primary providers in the area, but their determined efforts to promote development were often neglected. This article seeks to analyze the roles women can play to promote peace and address developmental issues in the peninsula. The qualitative research method was used to assess the various views of women in other to evaluate the implementation of priority projects in the area. The research findings reveal that women must be involved in post conflict development and peace building efforts at all levels. When they are not active participants, the views, needs and interests of more than half of the population are not represented, and therefore interventions will not be as appropriate or enduring. This is so because, the realization of post conflict developments weighs so heavily on women as they naturally show great interest in peace building processes and as such, development may not be realized if women are not involved in the process.
    [Show full text]
  • Implications of the Bakassi Conflict Resolution for Cameroon
    Implications of the Bakassi conflict resolution for Cameroon Francis Menjo Baye* Abstract This paper sketches a conceptual framework of international conflict dynamics and resolution, examines the geopolitics of the Bakassi dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon, and outlines socio-economic implications of its peaceful settlement. Neglect and subsequent discovery of oil deposits subjected the Bakassi Peninsula to claims and counter-claims for sovereignty, military occupation and recourse to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ’s ruling in 2002 in favour of Cameroon, although based on sound historical evidence, faced implementation difficulties. However, following mediation by the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, good faith by protagonists, the Green-tree Agreement and subsequent instruments, Nigeria completed the withdrawal of its military, police and administration from the Bakassi Peninsula by 14 August 2008. Putting aside disruptive activities by social movements, the entire process could be viewed as a model in peaceful resolution of border conflicts. Implications of the settlement anchor on expenditure-reducing and expenditure-switching effects, wealth-generating effects, and enhanced * Dr Francis Baye is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Management, University of Yaoundé II, Yaoundé, Cameroon. 9 Francis Menjo Baye cross-border activities. Infrastructural developments and effective presence are considered essential elements in border management policies. 1. Introduction Territorial claims, ideology, colonialism, nationalism, religion and natural resources have typically been the main sources of conflict throughout the world. While the influence of some of these is waning, struggles for the control of valuable natural resources have remained a persistent feature of national and international affairs for decades.
    [Show full text]