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The Perceptions/Views of Cameroon –Nigerian Bakassi Border Conflict by the Bakassi People. 1994-2008

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The Perceptions/Views of Cameroon –Nigerian Bakassi Border Conflict by the Bakassi People. 1994-2008 Historiska institutionen Uppsala universitet The Perceptions/Views of Cameroon –Nigerian Bakassi border conflict by the Bakassi people Master’s thesis, 60 cr Author: Agbor Tabetah Beckly Supervisors: Mats Deland and Fredrik Lilja Seminar chair: Erik Lindberg Defense date: December 3, 2013 2 ABSTRACT The Bakassi conflict which emanated between Cameroon and Nigeria during the 1980s, border conflicts just like civil wars in Africa had attracted different interpretations and ideas from the inhabitants of that area. Bakassi is found in the Ndian region of the Republic of Cameroon, It has a long border with Nigeria extending from the Lake Chad to the gulf of Guinea. Different opinions were raised by the Bakassi people concerning the Bakassi border conflict. The aim of my thesis is to analyses the opinions of the Bakassi people concerning the Bakassi border conflict, in doing this one also gain insights in to other issues such as nationality and ethnicity. I conducted my work in the light of case study research design, and I used interviews as my method of research. I conducted interviews over four different localities in Bakassi, while my interviewees Cameroonians and Nigerian were also divided in to three groups, this enable me to explore the differences and similarities. The findings of my research work show the different opinions of the Bakassi border conflict. These opinions range from; gendarme brutality, crime rate and piracy, accusations of different nationalities, and governments concerned, witchcraft, fishing problems and others. The significance of my study lies in the fact that, it portrays the different opinions of the Bakassi people concerning the crisis contrary to what outsiders may hold, thus direct the government the way forward forrehabilitationor therapy needed for the restoration of peace and the development of the area. Keywords: Border, conflict, Boundary, Perception interviews, Cameroon, Nigeria. 3 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 2 ACKNOWLEDGMENT ................................................................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER ONE ........................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction; Aim, Question and Methodology. ..................................................................................... 6 1.1 Aim/purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................ 8 1.2 Research Questions .......................................................................................................................... 9 1.3 Method ........................................................................................................................................... 10 1.4 Material and Source criticism .......................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER TWO ............................................................................................................................................ 25 2.1 Theory ........................................................................................................................................... 25 CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................. 32 3.1 Previous Research ......................................................................................................................... 32 CHAPTER FOUR ................................................................................................................................... 39 4.1Background of the study ................................................................................................................ 39 4.2History of the conflict of Bakassi.................................................................................................... 43 4.3 Socio-economic, cultural and ethnic Context of the Villages ....................................................... 46 CHAPTER FIVE:Views of the people ............................................................................................................ 53 4 5.1 Empirical Chapter .......................................................................................................................... 53 5.1 Presentation of the Sources. ......................................................................................................... 53 5.2 Interviews with the people of Bakassi: ......................................................................................... 57 Village A: Isangele. .............................................................................................................................. 58 Village B: Akwa. ................................................................................................................................... 66 Village C: Kombo Abedimo ................................................................................................................. 74 Village D Bamusso ............................................................................................................................... 81 5.3 Ethnic, social and economic issues in their responses. .................................................................... 88 . ........................................................................................................................................................... 99 CHAPTER SIX ...................................................................................................................................... 100 Conclusions and Recommendations. ................................................................................................ 100 6.1 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 100 6.2 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 106 BILIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................ 107 Documents ........................................................................................................................................ 109 Interviews.............................................................................................................................................. 110 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENT My heartfelt gratitude goes to my Hardworking supervisors, Professor Mats Deland, and Fredrik Lilja. For the time and energy they invested in supervising this thesis. I am also grateful to Professor Lars Anderson for nurturing me during my period of study in the Department of History. I owe a great debt of thanks to my friends, Zachary Nembo, Ndobe Ernest Messumbe Donatus, Hon. Foteck, Celestine Fomeza, Fondong Ernest, Gilbert Mbong, Wisdom Ofremu, Sister Rosaline Mbina, sister Ebai Lucy, Elizabeth Egbe, Tambe Daniel, Ndoh Tabi Divine, Mr Diodonne Epah, and wife Nanje Olive, Gilbert Geh, Mr Ashu Samuel, Essono Edward. I am even moregrateful to all my informants most importantly Mr Essono, andthe victims of the Bakassi conflicts and to all the Bakassi people who gave me their time and narrated their stories. I bestow my abundant gratitude to God, and I dedicate my thesis to my mother Ebot Ashu. 6 CHAPTER ONE Introduction; Aim, Question and Methodology. Border disputes similar to civil wars are some unfortunate legacies of Africa. Numerous volumes of literature have been devoted to it. Sometime after independence, in 1960s, border skirmishes between African States were relatively rare and governments more or less adhered to the sacrosanct nature of the former boundaries. After the independence of most African States, and recently, boundary disputes such as those between Ethiopia and Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and its neighbours, as well as Cameroon and Nigeria, began to be perceived as a desire to control resources considered to be vital, but could also be perceived as being part of the political evolution of the continent. It is importance of studying border conflicts such as the Bakassi, lies in the fact that, it help us understand the different issues that affect the life of the people in that area. We may also understand issues about ethnicity nationality and tribalism, and how they affect the lives of the people. In another dimension, it helps us to understand the past problems of that region, and better solutions for the future. For the case of Bakassi border conflict, I wish to make it clear that, while studying the Bakassi border conflict, I do not focus on the issues of ethnicity, tribalism, and nationalism, but I focus the people’s opinion about the crisis, and partly point out the people’s nationality, even though I could manage to point out other issues but which are not my focus. Cameroon and Nigeria share a common boundary which has often encouraged trade amongst the people at the borders. Even after the independence of both nations, there seem to be no actual boundary between the two countries until the wake of hostilities over the area of Bakassi in the 1980s. Misunderstanding continued with
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