Hey everyone, this thread was created out of the need to fix the errors of ---> https://www.nairaland.com/5626710/bakassi-peninsula-retrieved-cameroon


There has been so much misinformation on the first thread about Bakassi peninsula that even the first page is filled with a lot of bogus talk. Sadly it is on the front page for the whole world to laugh at our collective ignorance as a country.

I decided to open this thread in my attempt to share what you TRULY need to know about the matter.

Enough with all that "beer parlour talk" and "tales by moonlight" of how Nigeria gave Bakassi to Cameroun in order to win the civil war. I was fed the same bullshit in my younger days, but now I know better.

For once my fellow black men and women, boys and girls, if you do not read or confirm facts of any issue before you talk, this is the time to do so.

The first video is shorter and would cost you less data, the second is about 27 minutes long.

I implore you to watch any of them.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBNTrPoPxIM



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acfj6gqi9xE

NB: If you are on a budget, and are unable to watch the videos, I can summarize both of them in five words for you

"Bakassi never belonged to Nigeria"

Bakassi Peninsula was sold
by General Yakubu Gowon
to Cameroon in 1968. Yes,
Yakubu Gowon in August
1968, had been requested
by Ahmadu Ahidjo, the then President of Cameroon to
sell part of Nigeria,
especially the Bakassi
Peninsula to Cameroon as
the condition for supporting
Nigeria to win the civil war against Biafra. Recall that
before then, Bakassi was
used as the outlet to the
Atlantic to bring in food to
the Easterners. The then
Finance Minister, the very Obafemi Awolowo had
asked Gowon: how long do
you continue to feed your
enemies?

Rattled by the question,
Gowon, Murtala Mohammed,
Olusegun Obasanjo, Martin
Adamu, Theophilus
Danjuma, Hassan Katsina
with the tacit approval of Sultan Mohammed II and
Ado Bayero, the Emir of
Kano swung into action.
Gowon wanting to score a
point did not even discuss
this with the then Supreme Military Counsel, though
they quietly approved of it.

He contacted Alhamadu
Ahidjo, and the Meeting was
scheduled in Marua Town of
Southern Cameroon in
August 1968, that day
Gowon, using stone, standing on Cameroon side
“threw a stone” saying that
wherever the stone landed
should be given to
Cameroun, west ward to the
Peninsula. The stone landed at the very point of entry of
the Peninsula called Reo Del
Ree.

Hence, General Yakubu
Gowon, on the advice of
Obafemi Awolowo, used a
stone to sell Bakassi
Peninsula to Cameroon.
Others is history.

goodnessme1:
Bakassi Peninsula was sold
by General Yakubu Gowon
to Cameroon in 1968. Yes,
Yakubu Gowon in August
1968, had been requested
by Ahmadu Ahidjo, the then President of Cameroon to
sell part of Nigeria,
especially the Bakassi
Peninsula to Cameroon as
the condition for supporting
Nigeria to win the civil war against Biafra. Recall that
before then, Bakassi was
used as the outlet to the
Atlantic to bring in food to
the Easterners. The then
Finance Minister, the very Obafemi Awolowo had
asked Gowon: how long do
you continue to feed your
enemies?

Rattled by the question,
Gowon, Murtala Mohammed,
Olusegun Obasanjo, Martin
Adamu, Theophilus
Danjuma, Hassan Katsina
with the tacit approval of Sultan Mohammed II and
Ado Bayero, the Emir of
Kano swung into action.
Gowon wanting to score a
point did not even discuss
this with the then Supreme Military Counsel, though
they quietly approved of it.

He contacted Alhamadu
Ahidjo, and the Meeting was
scheduled in Marua Town of
Southern Cameroon in
August 1968, that day
Gowon, using stone, standing on Cameroon side
“threw a stone” saying that
wherever the stone landed
should be given to
Cameroun, west ward to the
Peninsula. The stone landed at the very point of entry of
the Peninsula called Reo Del
Ree.

Hence, General Yakubu
Gowon, on the advice of
Obafemi Awolowo, used a
stone to sell Bakassi
Peninsula to Cameroon.
Others is history.

This type of post was the reason I created this thread. I can bet my left nut, you didn't watch the video I shared. I am not surprised because that's how black people behave.

alphaNomega:

"Bakassi never belonged to Nigeria"

Then why was nigeria dragging it with cameroon,


Gowon should tell us what he knows about bakassi,That is if he won't lie the same way he is lying about Aburi accord.

alphaNomega:


This type of post was the reason I created this thread. I can bet my left nut, you didn't watch the video I shared. I am not surprised because that's how black people behave.

There is nothing in that video to show bakassi was never part of nigeria.


Bakassi was a price nigeria paid to win war.

goodnessme1:
There is nothing in that video to show bakassi was never part of nigeria.


Bakassi was a price nigeria paid to win war.

Actually, it wasn't

Bakassi was not part of Nigeria even before the war....even before we became independent.

It was part and parcel of Cameroon.

As the below article says

3. In 1913, Britain - for the colonies of "Southern" and "Northern" Nigeria - and Germany - for "Kamerun" - reached an agreement on their border from Yola to the Sea. The first of these agreements was signed in London on March 11, 1913 titled: "(1) The Settlement of the Frontier between Nigeria and the Cameroons, from Yola to the Sea and (2) The Regulation of Navigation on the Cross River". The second was signed at Obokum on April 12, 1913 by Hans Detzner, representing Germany, and W. V. Nugent, representing Britain. It addressed the precise demarcation of the Anglo-German Boundary between Nigeria and Kamerun from Yola to the Cross River. There were eight accompanying maps.

For Bakassi (also spelled Bakasi) peninsula in particular, the Germans were interested in shrimps and an undertaking that Britain would not seek to expand eastwards. The British were interested in uninterrupted and secure sea lane access to Calabar, a key trading post. Since the Germans already had the option of using Douala environs as a port, they conceded the "navigable portion" of the offshore border to Britain. In exchange, Britain conceded the Bakassi peninsula proper to Germany. In other words, to get Germany's cooperation not to threaten access to Calabar, Bakassi peninsula was conceded by Britain. The Obong did not resist. Note that "Nigeria" did not yet exist. This was long before General Gowon was born.

4. In January 1914, "Nigeria" was created by amalgamation. Neither the Obong nor any other traditional ruler, Emir, or Chief anywhere in "Nigeria" was consulted about it let alone its borders. As was the practice then, it was done for British economic reasons - to extend the railway system of "Northern Nigeria" to the sea and to use excess tax revenues - derived from spirits - from "Southern Nigeria" to correct a budget deficit in "Northern Nigeria". British and German maps of "Nigeria" from January 1914 clearly show Bakassi peninsula in Kamerun. There was no resistance from the Obong of Calabar or his people or any other native "Nigerians" for that matter.

5. The First World War broke out in 1914. In 1916, Britain invaded German Kamerun. Among the Nigerian troops and carriers fighting for Britain were natives of Nigeria, including some from present Cross- River State. At the end of the war, all German territories were divided between France and Britain by the Treaty of Versailles. The League of Nations placed them under British or French mandate. The boundaries between British and French mandated Kamerun was defined by the Franco-British Declaration of July 10, 1919 by Viscount Milner, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, and Henry Simon, the French Minister for the Colonies. In this agreement Bakassi and the rest of what became known as "British Cameroons" were placed under British mandate and administered coterminous with "Nigeria" but not actually merged. The old 1913 border was retained. To codify this further, another agreement was signed December 29, 1929 and January 31, 1930 between Sir Graeme Thomson, Governor of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria, and Paul Marchand, Commissaire de la République Française au Cameroun. This Declaration was ratified and incorporated in an Exchange of Notes on January 9, 1931 between the French Ambassador in London and the British Foreign Minister. Again, maps from that period show the Bakassi peninsula within "British Cameroons", not the "Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria". Neither the Obong nor his people, nor any other "native Nigerians" protested. General Gowon was born a few years later.

6. The Second World War broke out in 1939. Native Nigerians also fought for Britain. After the war, the British and French League of Nations mandates over the Southern and Northern Cameroons and Cameroun were replaced by trusteeship agreements under the new United Nations - approved by the General Assembly on December 13, 1946. These UN agreements re-ratified the prior borders as codified by the previous Anglo-German and Anglo-French agreements. Maps from that period show Bakassi peninsula in the Cameroons, not the real Nigeria.

7. On August 2nd, 1946 Britain divided the Cameroons into two, called "Northern Cameroons" and "Southern Cameroons". The 1946 'Order in Council' contained detailed provisions describing the border separating these two regions, now conveniently administered from colonial Nigeria - but not part of it.

8. In 1954, the Secretary of State for the Colonies issued a legal order defining the border between Nigeria's "Eastern region" and the "Southern Cameroons". Bakassi Peninsula was in the "Southern Cameroons", distinct from the Eastern region and the Calabar province and maps from that period show this very clearly. General Gowon had not yet joined the Nigerian Army. Neither the Obong nor his people nor any other native Nigerians protested.

9. In March 1959, the UN asked Britain to clarify the wishes of the people living in Northern and Southern Cameroons trusteeship territories in the run up to the "independence" of Nigeria and Cameroun. Maps from that period show Bakassi peninsula in the Cameroons, not the real Nigeria.

10. On January 1st, 1960 the French Cameroons became independent. Instruments creating the new country and exchange of notes between France and Cameroun rehashed all its colonial boundaries as defined by previous colonial agreements.

11. On October 1st, 1960, Nigeria became independent. Instruments creating the new country and exchange of notes between Britain and Nigeria rehashed all its colonial boundaries as defined by previous colonial agreements. Maps dated 1960 show that the Bakassi peninsula was clearly within the "Southern Cameroons", not "Nigeria proper." General Gowon was only a subaltern at the time.

12. On February 11th and 12th 1961, a plebiscite was held to " clarify the wishes of the people living in Northern and Southern Cameroons ". The population of Northern Cameroons had earlier - in 1959 - "decided to achieve independence by joining the independent Federation of Nigeria", while the population of Southern Cameroons, whose plebiscite could not be done in 1959 for security reasons, now "decided to achieve independence by joining the independent Republic of Cameroon" (General Assembly resolution 1608 (XV) of 21 April 1961[b]). Note that there were 21 polling stations on the Bakassi peninsula itself and that 73% of the people living there voted to "achieve independence by joining the independent Republic of Cameroon".[/b] (Note the blunder here. By spelling it as "Cameroon", rather than "Cameroun", the UN created an opening for the people of the "Southern Cameroons" to say they never voted to join "Cameroun" which is the former French territory.

13. In 1962, the government of Tafawa Balewa exchanged diplomatic notes with Cameroun acknowledging the fact that Bakassi was not Nigerian territory. General Gowon was a T/Captain. Maps from that period show Bakassi peninsula in Cameroun, following the results of the 1961 plebiscite.

The truth of the matter was that we did not have a case at all. When Gowon signed the agreements he signed in 1975 (the infamous Garoua Accord)...he relied on extensive legal advice...and all the advice put Bakassi in Cameroon.

Above from here THE BAKASSI STORY PART 1.

goodnessme1:
Then why was nigeria dragging it with cameroon,


Gowon should tell us what he knows about bakassi,That is if he won't lie the same way he is lying about Aburi accord.

Actually, what Gowon knows is in the public domain

In 1970, moves began to be made by independent Cameroun and post-civil war Nigeria to clarify their maritime border which was vaguely defined by the 1913 Anglo-German Treaty. Maps from that period show Bakassi peninsula in Cameroun, but the offshore boundary was unclear since there was no detailed demarkation of the "navigable portion" of the approach channel to the Calabar estuary.Then Attorney General Elias correctly advised the Gowon government that post-colonial Nigeria had no legal basis for contesting the Bakassi peninsula itself, but that work to delimit the offshore boundary and vague sections of the land boundary should proceed at full speed in accordance with the original Anglo-German Treaty of 1913. The technical problem thus became deciding exactly what part was "navigable" and what was not. It is this matter that was addressed on April 4th, 1971 at Yaoundé when Nigeria's General Gowon and Cameroun President Ahidjo, accompanied by large delegations, signed the "Coker-Ngo" Line on British Admiralty Chart No. 3433 "as far as the 3-nautical-mile limit." The status of the Bakassi peninsula proper was not an issue for discussion. Maps from that period show Bakassi peninsula in Cameroun.

17. On June 1st, 1975, Gowon and Ahidjo signed the Maroua Declaration for the partial extension of the 1971 maritime boundary. Again, the status of the Bakassi peninsula proper was not even an issue for discussion. Maps from that period show Bakassi peninsula in Cameroun.

In other words, Gowon was advised by Taslim Elias (who by the way was not only one of Nigeria's finest jurists, but was also for many years a judge at the same ICJ itself, before he died in 1992)..that there was no legal basis for contesting Bakassi.

Source: The Bakassi Story Part 1.

You know it's only uneducated people on nairaland who dont know history. This is why history should be taught in schools.

alphaNomega:


This type of post was the reason I created this thread. I can bet my left nut, you didn't watch the video I shared. I am not surprised because that's how black people behave.

Thanks OP for creating the post.

The thing is, a lot of people are still very angry about the way Bakassi was handed over...so to speak, and in an atmosphere of anger,disinformation spreads.

For me, the miistake we made was going to the ICJ in 1994. We should have held out for a fresh referendum. (Most countries don't even go to icj to sort out legal disputes). Anyway, in fairness to Abacha, in 1994, things were tense...Cameroon and France were conducting millitary exercises nearby, and war was in the air. Going to the ICJ, even with a poor case , was a better alterantive...even though it came as a poisioned chalice.

Gwilym:


Thanks OP for creating the post.

The thing is, a lot of people are still very angry about the way Bakassi was handed over...so to speak, and in an atmosphere of anger,disinformation spreads.

For me, the miistake we made was going to the ICJ in 1994. We should have held out for a fresh referendum. (Most countries don't even go to icj to sort out legal disputes). Anyway, in fairness to Abacha, in 1994, things were tense...Cameroon and France were conducting millitary exercises nearby, and war was in the air. Going to the ICJ, even with a poor case , was a better alterantive...even though it came as a poisioned chalice.

Personally I'd rather resolve the situation with proxy warfare and propaganda campaign assuming we held out till 1999. We could've just said the people of bakassi cant be handed off a dictator. If Nigeria itself was a stable state I woukd glady fund secessionist in hopes the english speaking parts get annexed.

There's reportly soldiers in Nigeria giving them guns. Nothing state backed by NIA.

Young Bakassi indegenes you mean, because it doesn't concern me as a Yoruba boy. PDP government gave our Bakassi freely and I think it is okay with Bakassi people after all one of them Florence Ita-Giwa was Obasanjo's Assistant within the period

Blue3k:


Personally I'd rather resolve the situation with proxy warfare and propaganda campaign assuming we held out till 1999. We could've just said the people of bakassi cant be handed off a dictator. If Nigeria itself was a stable state I woukd glady fund secessionist in hopes the english speaking parts get annexed.

There's reportly soldiers in Nigeria giving them guns. Nothing state backed by NIA.

Proxy warfare is a dobule edged sword.

There is the risk that Cameroon, backed by France, would just settle/dig in for the long run...plus proxy warfare can lead to crisis at home..and problems for your country (Iran recently found that out the hard way).

Anyway, the first thing we should have done is STAYED AWAY from that World Court. Instead we agreed...and the problems started.

To all of arguing with @goodness, you are only providing the person the opportunity to vent bottled up emotions. Getting on your nerves, not enlightenment is the goal.

goodnessme1:
Then why was nigeria dragging it with cameroon,


Gowon should tell us what he knows about bakassi,That is if he won't lie the same way he is lying about Aburi accord.

You have refused to watch those videos that is why you still ask the question, "why was Nigeria dragging with cameroon?"

If you really watched the video, then I am afraid you may not have enough brain cells to process the information therein.

APCNig:
Young Bakassi indegenes you mean, because it doesn't concern me as a Yoruba boy. PDP government gave our Bakassi freely and I think it is okay with Bakassi people after all one of them Florence Ita-Giwa was Obasanjo's Assistant within the period

Our bakassi?

Why are black people cursed?! Oga, try and read. Enlighten yourself. It does not hurt.

This should hit front page ASAP.