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…Describes it as ‘Unholy’, ‘Unjust’
From Ndubuisi Orji
Cross River State Deputy Governor, Rt. Hon. Peter Odey has described as unholy and unjust the plight of the displaced inhabitants of Bakassi Peninsula following its ceding to the Republic of Cameroon and the consequent loss of 76 oil wells.
Odey who said this at the inaugural Nigeria International Coastal Border Platform Summit in Uyo, said the condition of the residents as an “international, African, and national abandonment.”
Speaking before an audience of coastal state deputy governors, maritime experts, security chiefs, lawmakers, and traditional rulers, Odey condemned the neglect suffered by the community.
“We talk about international cooperation, yet the people of Bakassi have been left behind, forgotten by both the international community and the Nigerian state. Since the unjust and unholy ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula in 2012, our people have been living as strangers in their own country. It is an affront to justice and humanity.
“That area has been abandoned without a single form of sustained support, no international assistance, no African solidarity, no tangible action from our own national government. We cannot, in good conscience, continue to hold conferences and issue communiqués while a whole community languishes in despair,” he said.
Odey urged the newly inaugurated platform to go beyond rhetoric and make the Bakassi question a central focus of its agenda.
“I hope and I pray that part of our deliberations here will look into the plight of the impoverished and forgotten people of the Bakassi Peninsula. May these deliberations inspire innovative solutions, foster unity, and pave the way for lasting partnerships that protect our oceans, respect our borders, and restore dignity to the displaced,” he said.
The summit, declared open by Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, brought together the Director-General of the National Boundary Commission, Adamu Adaji; a representative of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral E. I. Ogalla; lawmakers from coastal states; top government functionaries; and community leaders. The event featured a paper presentations by maritime and border governance experts.
At the close of proceedings, the Chairman of the Platform and Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State, Senator Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, presented a 10-point communiqué, co-signed by deputy governors of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Lagos, Ogun, and Ondo States. The resolutions included harmonizing maritime laws, strengthening community-based intelligence networks, integrating climate resilience into border policy, and dedicating part of maritime tax and oil revenue to coastal security.
While the summit’s resolutions spanned a broad spectrum of maritime governance priorities, Odey said: “We can protect our waters and secure our borders but if we fail to protect the humanity of those who call these borders home, we will have failed in the very mission that brought us here.”
