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| President Goodluck Jonathan |
By Muhammad Bello
President Goodluck Jonathan has defended his administration’s
decision not to bow to the clamour by a section of the Nigerian public to
appeal the 2002 International Court of Justice (ICJ) judgment that ceded the
oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun.
He told the Nigerian community in Yaoundé, Cameroun, on Sunday
night that the federal government did not exercise its right to appeal the
judgment because of its desire to protect its citizens living in Cameroun.
The president was in Cameroun for a meeting of the heads
of states and governments of the Economic Community of Central African States
(ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of
Guinea Commission (GGC), which began
Monday.
The president told his compatriots that besides, the
federal government refused to pursue the appeal because it had no fresh
evidence to back up its case that would make the ICJ upturn its earlier
verdict.
He said: "You all know what happened in Bakassi;
there is no need to go back on why we couldn't appeal. We had no new evidence
within the period of time that was given that will make a difference in the
judgement.”
He urged Nigerians living in Cameroun "to live a
good and decent life. The forces of animosity are gradually dying down and the
relationship is improving".
The president assured them that his administration was
doing its best to improve the welfare of all and sundry, indicating that he
would intimate his host, President Paul Biya, about their complaints, including
high cost of residence permits and high cost of tuition fees for students.
He also appealed to Nigerians in the Diaspora to ignore
negative reports that tend to exaggerate the problems back home just as he
enumerated his government’s achievements in the areas of provision of road
infrastructure and agricultural development.
He told them that "the economy is strong" and
pledged that once privatisation is
completed, the private sector "will take a life of its own".
He however said despite the numerous challenges facing
Nigeria, "I can assure you we are on course, I will make you happy. We
will exploit the opportunity".
On voting by Nigerians in the Diaspora, the president
said: “I advocated it, but before we can
have it, the constitution will have to be amended. I cannot use executive fiat
to do it. I would have, but we have to follow the constitution. We have a very
vibrant Diaspora that should be heard. You should send your petition to the
National Assembly so that they will know is not only Mr. President that is
interested in it," he added.
On insecurity in the country, he admitted that it was
challenging but praised the Nigerian security operatives for living up to
expectation.
He also added that the state of emergency declared
in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe States might
be lifted before the six months stipulated by the 1999 Constitution given the
successes the Joint Task Force (JTF) had
recorded so far .
Other concerns raised by the Nigerian community included
the continuous attack on Nigerian
territorial waters by pirates, the frustration
in getting the e-passport, all of which the government promised to
address.
Earlier, Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Cameroun, Hadiza
Mustapha, had described the Nigerian community as “the best community any ambassador could ask
for. They are hardworking, patriotic, law-abiding and have good working
relations with the mission."
The President of the Nigerian Union, Centre Region, Ebere Valentine, assured the
president that Nigerians in Cameroun would continue to be good ambassadors and
"project the image of our country well".
He appealed for more government’s involvement in the
welfare of Nigerians in Cameroun by pressurising the Camerounian government to
reduce the cost of residence permit,
adding that “50 per cent reduction will be a welcome development".
The representative of Nigerians in the corporate sector
in Cameroun, Mr. Olukorede Adenowo, who is the Managing Director, Standard
Chartered Bank, West and Central Africa, said: "We have been instrumental
in working with our high commission in bringing in several Nigerian businesses
and helping them find their feet in Cameroun. We Nigerian professionals are
ready and available to do more.
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