If nothing else, the long and tortuous path of the return to Cameroon of Bakassi taught Paul Biya a powerful lesson in human and international relations. That lesson can be captured in the expression, ’heed thy word.’ That is what the Nigerians did. They promised to return Bakassi and did just that. Biya’s joy for that now knows no bounds. In one of his unusually fulfilling outings last week Biya announced a new era in relations with Nigeria. The next logical step for Biya is to undertake a state visit to Nigeria, if only to say thank you.
It is not always that Paul Biya has a convincing outing, given the many schemes he is constantly cooking up to guarantee his hold on power. His speeches often leave his hearers wondering if the effort was worth the while at all.
But it was a very different Paul Biya who addressed the nation last Thursday to express his joy over the successful handover of Bakassi by Nigeria to Cameroon.
In many ways Thursday’s ten-minute address was fulfilling. First and foremost, the speech, coming one week after the Bakassi handover was a timely assurance to Nigerians and the international community of Cameroon’s intention to respect the rights of the 30,000 to 40,000 Nigerians still living in Bakassi. That was smart.
The Greentree Agreement allows Nigerians the next five years to remain in Bakassi under the same conditions as during Nigerian occupation ie no residence requirements to Cameroon; no taxes by Yaounde. It was good not to waste time after the handover in giving this assurance.
Thursday’s speech also revealed a thorough-going neighbourly enthusiasm for Nigeria that no one would ever have suspected of Paul Biya. In all of Biya’s 26 years in office Cameroon has had a history of uncertain relations with its neighbours, notwithstanding common membership of CEMAC, the sub-regional economic union.
As for Nigeria, Yaounde has never been comfortable with its big and powerful western neighbour. Anglophones opted out of a political union with Nigeria in 1961 in favour of union with Francophone Cameroon.
The fear has always hounded Yaounde of some attempt by Nigeria to recover the Anglophones. But Nigeria has never expressed any such expansionist ambitions, not even with the Bakassi border conflict. Neither have Anglophones in their dissatisfaction with the union ever entertained second thoughts about Nigeria.
To compound relations that were barely cordial, Paul Biya practically closed the door to relations with Abuja following the military occupation of Bakassi in December 1993. No contact; nothing.
This was an error caused essentially by an overestimation of the power of the ICJ verdict which Yaounde was confident would come its way. Yaounde filed a case at The Hague in 1994. A major diplomatic incident caused by Biya illustrates this overestimation of the power of the expected verdict.
Abdulsalami Abubakar who assumed power in Abuja following the demise of Sani Abacha in 1998 decided, upon examining the issue, that he would take the responsibility of handing back Bakassi on a platter of gold to Cameroon.
Jacques Chirac
But to his surprise Paul Biya wouldn’t even pick up the phone whenever he called! Even after Jacques Chirac intervened and arranged a meeting, Biya left Abubakar waiting for three hours at the Nsimalen airport! What more evidence that he couldn’t care less about whatever the Nigerian had for him.
It took the wisdom and ceaseless efforts of former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan to get Biya even to begin to say ‘good morning’ to Olusegun Obasanjo and shake hands with him.
This pre-verdict dialogue turned out to be very helpful to Biya who only realised after the ICJ verdict that even with it the road to the handover was still a long, long way to go. Biya learnt gradually, painfully that it was instead Abuja not Yaounde that held the trump card for the handover of Bakassi after all.
For the taciturn and unenthusiastic talker that he usually is, Biya must admit that he owes Kofi Annan a debt of gratitude that words alone cannot settle. It was Annan who worked up Obasanjo who often vacillated.
Biya since understood that it was Greentree that actually marked the turning point of the eventual return of Bakassi. But then see how far the road was from the October 2002 ICJ verdict to Greentree in June 2006! See how much summit talking there still was to do.
And even then, given the frailty of humans, if not Obasanjo himself, his successor Umaru Yar’adua could still have had some reservations on the matter, with good reason, seeing the huge opposition at home. Biya himself knows how so often he has reneged on his pledges, sometimes for no reason of principle.
In the end the Bakassi case has proved to be excellent schooling for Biya. One of the powerful lessons he must have learnt is to gain a sense of perspective, that is, to perceive things in their true relationships, neither overestimating nor underestimating anything or anybody.
Biya’s next most important lesson, the one that visibly moved him, was the evident goodwill, the trustworthiness and the determination of the Abuja authorities to heed their word. This is surely the lesson that sent Biya through the roof!
Biya simply could not believe it! The president vibrated with such overwhelming joy and thorough-going enthusiasm for Nigeria you could feel it from the television screen. Bursting with those strong positive emotions Biya shone with unusual radiance and looked much younger than his 76 years!
Was it really believable that overnight Biya had become so enthusiastic about Nigeria? Cameroon and Nigeria he said must now go beyond Bakassi «to develop their relations in all fields.»
Brothers and sisters
For the first time ever Paul Biya referred to «our Nigerian brothers and sisters,» and issued a blank check for the security and guarantee of their rights for those who live in Cameroon.
The president pressed forward,»…the future of relations between our two countries is bright.» Biya called for the promotion of «mutually beneficial ties of friendship and cooperation» between our two peoples. «I intend to lend my full support to such relations.»
For those who didn’t understand him or just tuned in Biya closed his address again hammering home his new-found love for Nigeria»…this is the dawn of a new era in relations between Nigeria and Cameroon…»
For those who know Biya’s problems with CEMAC it was tempting to suspect that the new-found enthusiasm for Nigeria was also a way of indicating his total disgust for the sub-regional organisation which continues to lack cohesion, fifteen years after its creation.
Be that or not a new era has now dawned in Cameroon-Nigerian relations and Biya has done an excellent job of articulating this. The next logical thing to do is for Biya to undertake a state (or working) visit to Nigeria in the weeks ahead.
The purpose of the visit would be to thank the authorities and the people; and restate Cameroon’s commitment to respect the rights of Nigerians living in Bakassi. Nigeria would, of course be the best place to announce the dawn of a new era in Cameroon-Nigeria relations.
The visit is a must that nothing else can replace. It would also be the first step in the new era of relations. If it will be effective it must not delay. Unlike Cameroon Nigeria is a much bigger, segmented and faster moving society. A visit intended to capture the Bakassi mood must not therefore delay.
It would be in the spirit of the visit to announce certain decisions intended to make life easier for Nigerians living in Cameroon, and other concessions made to Nigeria to concretise the new relationship, such as scholarships to study in Cameroonian universities or to train in the school of translation and interpretation.
The visit could also be the occasion of the first meeting of the two countries to re-examine relations and what they can do for each other; new cooperation agreements, etc.
It would be in the interest of such a visit for Paul Biya to address the Nigerian parliament in Abuja. A thank you visit should not be limited to Abuja. Three or four other important cities like Lagos, Kano, Calabar and Maiduguri would be fine.
But whether the scope is wide or narrow a thank you visit to Nigeria by Paul Biya in the very near future is now a priority – after Biya’s new-found love with that great western neighbour.
Courtesy, The Herald
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