Bakassi Peninsula: No Justice from The Hague
Bakassi Peninsula: No Justice from The Hague This article was first written in January 2008 as contribution to the debate on ceding of the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula. It is edited today and republished for today’s discussions. Without joining in the macabre dance of the self-styled nationalist jingoists – who have suddenly become advocates of territorial integrity but hypocritically defending neo-liberal deregulation and trade liberalization, which ceded the economic territory of not only the country but that of the working poor – one is tempted to ask those defending the current capitalist world relation: Where is thy democracy? The ceding of Bakassi peninsula – a seemingly mineral-endowed border community between Nigeria and Cameroon – has clearly demonstrated the hypocrisy of the international justice system, and the pro-imperialist nature of many African rulers – most of whom aside emerging from questionable civilian process are nothing but pawns in the chessbo