As formal as they may be, rounds of the Nigeria-Cameroon mixed Commission on the Bakassi dispute are becoming occasions for diplomats from the two countries to come together to celebrate. When the 27th session of the commission opened at the Yaounde Hilton yesterday morning in the presence of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for West Africa, Algeria’s senior diplomat Said Djinnit and an impressive turnout of members of government and the Yaounde diplomatic community, there was no doubt that the two countries had long forgotten those loathsome years of the 90s. One could overhear members of the two delegations enquiring about family members. Quite normal for people who have worked tirelessly for the past eight years to ensure that confidence is built between the two peoples in such a way as to re-establish the kinds of links that existed before the boundary problems of the early 90s. This new spirit is best illustrated by a successful neologism found by the leader of the Cameroonian delegation, Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali. In wishing a warm welcome to his Nigerian counterpart Prince Bola Ajibola, after a two-year absence from Yaounde, he found in his presence an affirmation of a celebration of “our Camnigerianity”
Three speakers took the floor at yesterday’s ceremony and their statements had one point of convergence: that the commission was on the right path and that Cameroon and Nigerian, through the peaceful resolution of their boundary dispute, had become pace-setters in the entire African continent and even in the world, in matters of peaceful resolution of conflicts and in good neighbourliness.
Through the steadfastness of the mixed commission, technical experts have been able to demarcate nearly 1600 kilometres of the land boundary, with barely 500-odd kilometres to be completed for, as Vice Prime Minister Ali mentioned, the land boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria is well over 2000 kilometres, far from what the press generally projects With regard to confidence-building measures prescribed in the June 2006 Greentree agreement, Mr Amadou Ali announced that Cameroon has begun the construction of a referral hospital at Idabato and a Government Technical College in Akwa for which some CFA 700 million have been made available.
The current session will evaluate the work done so far with land demarcation as well as listen to a report on the working group on the maritime boundary. It will also examine problems of affected people along the land boundary.
For Ambassador Said Djinnit, peace reigns in the border areas even if armed bands continue to make incursions, creating the necessity for joint border patrols as all the parties suggested. Prince Ajibola was particularly irked by the recent attacks in the Bakassi area resulting in the loss of life and consequently extended the condolences of the Nigerian delegation to the afflicted families.
