A Study of the Bakassi Peninsula Dispute

ABSTRACT

“The Border Factor in Cameroon-Nigeria Relations: A Study of the Bakassi Peninsula Dispute” examines the border policy history of Cameroon and Nigeria at post-independence focusing on their longstanding dispute over the Bakassi Peninsula. It outlines the border policy structures of both states and analyses how the domestic environment respectively influenced the approaches adopted by the two countries regarding the Peninsula. Drawing on existing scholarship on border studies, the thesis explores the conceptual underpinnings of boundary conflicts and specifically references the Bakassi dispute. The study develops a more comprehensive framework for analysing the rancourous frontier relations between the two states by bridging the literature gap in several ways. 

Firstly, it considers the different narratives articulating dominant explanations of the border crisis from the perspective of Cameroon, which maintains a culture of peace/cooperation that existed between the two countries before a conflict broke out and escalated to Nigeria occupying the Peninsula in 1993. On the other hand, Nigeria claims that Cameroon’s posture has long been the source of simmering tensions and contradictions around border relations. 

Next, attention is turned to how the domestic conditions of each country, specifically to the political crisis in Cameroon in the 1960s and the civil war and political instability that absorbed Nigeria between 1966-1970, 1975-1976, 1983-1985 and 1993-1998, precluded the development of a robust border policy. Thirdly, attempts to resolve the conflict in the aftermath of the ICJ judgement in 2002 through the establishment of joint boundary and policymaking institutions are investigated.

The findings reveal that Cameroon-Nigeria border relations have been volatile and peaceful due to the two states’ inherent domestic characteristics, which translated into different policy outcomes. The evidence suggests Cameroon’s assertiveness from 1965 onwards was due to her triple colonial heritage, which severely altered her land mass. More so, her continued alliance and cooperation with France served as a bulwark against any expansionist ambitions of Nigeria. On the other hand, Nigeria’s sometimes aggressive tendencies in the Peninsula can be traced to her foreign policy agenda, premised on the neo-colonial border whereby Nigerian policymakers viewed France as their immediate neighbour and not Cameroon per se. Such a policy disqualified the ability of Cameroonian border policy framers to act independently without French influence and support. Yet this work provides a new reading into this premise by identifying the sources of Cameroon’s boundary policy. xiv The impact of the 2002 ICJ judgement on the Bakassi Peninsula is examined with significant emphasis on the diplomatic, administrative and legal policies put in place by the troika: United Nations Organisation (UNO), Cameroon and Nigeria in their implementation of the verdict. It analyses the various approaches adopted by Cameroon and Nigeria, especially the development and security initiatives aimed at maintaining stability and the resettlement of returnees, respectively. The data collected for this study was both secondary and primary. Questionnaires and interviews were administered, and the results attest that both countries have tried but failed to address current problems in the Peninsula and the plight of Bakassi returnees.