Group extols Abacha’s virtue on Bakassi Peninsula

A group known as the Bakassi Advocacy Media Group has extolled the virtue and critical role late Head of States, Gen. Sani Abacha played while he was handling the struggle for the control of Bakassi Peninsula.

In it’s maiden lecture edition Thursday in Abuja in honour of Gen Abacha, the group said, the late Head of State represented different thing to different people.

Leader of the group, Comrade Ene Okon said, “some see him for what they have been made to believe, for others, by his direct impact and for many others, by his indirect impact.

According to Okon, For the people of Bakassi, whenever the name of the late head of states and commander – in- chief- of the armed forces, General Sani Abacha, GCON is mentioned, it rings a bell in their heart.

He said, for those who are not aware, “the history of Bakassi is not complete without Abacha.”

Pointing to the suffering of the people in the area, the group said, “Today we are witnesses to the suffering, deprivation and neglect the displaced people of Bakassi now suffer as a result of the ICJ judgment which ceded the peninsular to Cameroon and the hurried manner which the former head of states Chief Olusegun Obasanjo handed over the ancestral land of the people of Cameroon, thus making Nigeria the first country in history to cede its territory and willingly agreed to displace its own citizen in their home land.”

He said, the issue surrounding Bakassi has revealed Abacha as the most patriotic leader in the annals of the nation’s history.
The group further observed that; Abacha made sure the right of the people of Bakassi to exist on their ancestral land was not trampled upon under whatever guise.

The leader further stated: ” Bakassi peninsular has a long history of being attacked by hostile Cameroonians security forces.

” Recall that during the civilian administration of Alhaji Shehu Shagari, five Nigerian soldiers were killed on Bakassi soil and the administration immediately mobilized troops to challenge Cameroon.

“In fact, Shagari stated correctly that it was the discovery of oil in large quantity in the Bakassi region that aggravated the problem of international maritime boundary,” the group said.

The group recalled that “During the short lived Buhari /Idiagbon regime, Cameroon was jitery to go near Bakassi, taking into cognizance the exploit of Buhari in dealing with the invading Chadian forces when he was GOC of 83 divisions in Jos.

“In fact, it was even said that Buhari and his troops pursued the invading Chadian forces right deep into Chad and the army headquarters was begging him to turn back, not to go further so that the international community will not accused Nigeria of annexing another country.”

According to the group, “After the overthrow of Buhari/Idiahlion’s regime, the once sleeping Cameroon renewed it’s hostilities against the Bakassi people.

The IBB regime cared less what Cameroonians were doing in Bakassi. Like a senior journalist, Charly Ndi Chia from southern Cameroon puts it, ‘Babagida rather embarked on Champaign diplomacy over the issue of Bakassi.

“The dawn of Abacha’s regime in 1993 marked a major relief for the oppressed people of Bakassi. In 1994, Abacha moved troops into Bakassi to stop the harassment of Nigerians in their territory. He kept hostile Cameroonians forces at bay.

Two years later he detached Bakassi from Akpanbuyo local government area and made it a local government to bring government closer to the people and gave them a deeper sense of belonging.

“Indeed, i make I bold to say and stand to be challenged that is was during the Abacha era that the people of Bakassi flourished most.

“Today the displaced ones live like refugees in their fathers land. The one’s that choose to remain where ICJ gave to Cameroon are now classified as stateless people as they cannot vote or be voted for and are heavily taxed and treated like foreigners.

“The former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu confirmed this after a study tour of Bakassi in Cameroon. No human right abuse could be worse than making one to be stateless in his ancestral land.

The memory of Abacha’s victory in keeping Cameroon at bay from encroaching into Bakassi is a legacy we would live to cherish, even though we lost the territory by reason of the unjust ICJ judgement.

” Former minister of Finance, Etubom Anthony Ani was quoted as saying that Abcha told him that come rainfall or sun shine, Nigeria will never give up Bakassi.

His words: “Having analysed evaluated and assessed that Nigeria will be denied justice at The Hague we brought this to the attention of Gen. Abacha.

He told me that come rain, come shine, Nigeria will never give up Bakassi.

We then decided that there must be a Plan B and there was in fact a Plan B. One thing I am certain is that if Gen. Abacha were alive, Nigeria would still occupy Bakassi.

Indeed, when Abacha was alive, we had started to implement Plan B. We had to make Bakassi de facto and de jure Nigeria. Bakassi Local Government.”

The group pointed out that, “while Abacha is a living legend in Liberia and Serra Leone where he intervened to bring a bloody civil war to an end and made Nigerian Military well respected across the globe.

” In 2014, the federal government honoured Abacha with the Centenary honours Award. It said his regime recorded unprecedented economic achievements in Nigeria’s history.

It added that Abacha oversaw an increase in the country’s foreign exchange reserves from $494 million in 1993 to $9.6 billion by the middle of 1997; and reduced the external debt of Nigeria from $36 billion in 1993 to $27 billion in 1997.

It stated further that Abacha brought all the controversial privatisation programs of the Babangida administration to a halt, reduced an inflation rate of 54 per cent inherited from the Ibrahim Babangida administration to 8.5 per cent between 1993 and 1998, while the nation’s primary commodity, oil, was at an average of $9 per barrel.

The group urged the media not to relent in bring the plight of the Bakassi people to the forefront for national and international intervention.

The government “should learn from Abacha the virtues of safeguarding the rights of the minorities in the society.”