Cameroon, Nigeria seek to bury Bakassi row

Africa Review

8 February 2011

Cameroon, Nigeria seek to bury Bakassi row

Cameroon and Nigeria have this month begun implementing several confidence-building measures in bid to put behind them the old conflict over the Bakassi peninsula.

The measures include rehabilitation projects for thousands of displaced persons, mostly Nigerians, an “attitudinal change” campaign and the construction of a 23 metre-long bridge on the maritime border.

The measures are in keeping with the decision of the International Court of Justice’s ruling in 2002 that ended the three-decade confrontation by the two neighbours over the oil-rich peninsula.

The decision followed a request to the court by both countries for an arbitration which finally ended the sporadic bloody hostilities between the two neighbours.

The Hague-based court accorded full recognition of Cameroon’s ownership claim to the disputed peninsula, which was inhabited by nationals of both countries, the majority of them being Nigerians.

The Court further recommended the confidence-building measures in order to instil permanent peace.

Donor community

But difficulties in mobilising the financial resources delayed the implementation of the measures.

Shortly following the court’s decision, a panel of experts was contracted by a joint Nigeria and Cameroon commission, which pegged the projects value at $455 million.