A new tax regime announced by the Cameroonian Government has forced many Nigerians, mostly Cross River and Akwa Ibom States origin to flee that country.
The Cameroonian authorities had imposed a particular regime – N 100, 000 equivalents – on every boat on the fishing communities, and set July 6, 2017 as deadline for compliance.
More than 1, 000 Nigerians who were evicted from the country were those who were unable to financially meet the deadline set by the authorities in Cameroon.
These categories of people were those who resided in Abana, which was former capital of the original Bakassi, now part of Cameroon Territory.
It was in Abana that the boat levy on all foreign adults’ residents is being enforced by the Cameroon.
Unable to beat the deadline of July 6, 2017, the evictees had started arriving at Ikang in Cross River State by water on the eve of the deadline, while their neighbours from Akwa Ibom State arrived the same date in Mbo Local Government Area of the State.
Many of the evictees died in the turbulent sea, while many other survived to tell harrowing experiences of lives in the hands of the Cameroon gendarmes, before and after the imposition of the levy.
More than 100 Nigerian were feared killed as a result of their inability to pay the new boat levy imposed by the government.
This inhuman behaviour coupled with the already reported excesses of the Cameroonian gendarmes clearly violates the 2005 Green Tree Agreement (GTA) by the Nigerian Cameroon Mixed Commission.
The agreement guarantees among other things that the Bakassi people must be resettled properly to enable them function effectively as a people in their new abode.
The GTA further stipulates that Nigerians, who for obvious reasons, choose to remain in Cameroon must be properly monitored by a special monitoring committee set up for that purpose.
However, investigations have revealed that both the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Cameroonian authorities have failed to keep to terms and conditions of that agreement.
While the Nigerian Government has failed to properly resettle the Bakassi returnees as evident in the inhuman and substandard conditions, they have been subjected to in their various resettlement camps; the Cameroonian Government, through its gendarmes, have turned the people into second class citizens and target for assaults by constantly molesting and harassing them.
The molestation and harassment which peaked with the introduction of the new boat levy on all foreign adults resulted in many of them being evicted from that country.
The picture at the Ikang Beach in Cross River where the evictees first arrived was one of a distraught and helpless people with no future.
Some of them returned with their fishing boat representing their only life belonging.
The picture at Mbo Local Government Area, where the Akwa Ibom evictees made a stopover was no less pathetic, as men, women and their children were seen dressed in tattered clothes.
One of the returnees from Mbo Local Government of Akwa Ibom, Mr. Umoh Gabriel who spoke The Next Edition in Uyo expressed appreciation to God for surviving the turbulent waves.
He said, the boat levy of N 100, 000.00 equivalents was imposed without regards to the economic condition of the country hence most of them were unable to pay.
He said, “The Government of Cameroon introduced a new boat levy on all of us. We were compelled to pay the levy of 100, 000 per boat. Some of us were unable to meet with the deadline of July 6, 2017 that is why we had to come back home to avoid the consequence of failure to meet the deadline because we do know what will happen after that.”
Mr. Gabriel added that the new tax regime affected more than 1000 Bakassi indigenes mostly Cross River, Akwa Ibom and Igbo traders who were residing in Abana.
Another returnee also from Akwa Ibom State, Edem Ekpimah expressed disappointment over the way and manner the Cameroonian gendarmes had been maltreating them.
He told The Next Edition in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State that since Bakassi was ceded to Cameroon following the decision of the International Court of Justice, at Hague, Netherland, they had been living at the mercy of the soldiers, who harassed and molest them at every given opportunity.
“My brother let me not deceive you, since the International Court of Justice Judgment which ceded former Bakassi to Cameroon; there have been tales of harassments and molestations every now and then.
“There is no peace; we thought that with the Green Tree Agreement there will be a measure of protection but it is not so. They don’t even allow us to attend to our businesses.
“The new levy was the one most of us could not bear any longer, and so we have to come back home. Most people lost their family members and dear ones in the process of coming back home. It was a terrible experience,” he said.
The experiences of Mr. Eyo Okon who hailed from Eket Local Government was not different. He said, since he started living in Abana the original capital of Bakassi he had nothing to show for it.
According to him, the economic condition in Cameroon was such that it was very difficult to operate as a business man, especially doing the fishing business.
“The draconian tax regime coming at this time of recession made it impossible for some of us to cope with the situation. I have been living in Abana with my wife and children since 2008 and since then, there is nothing to show for it till date. It is difficult to make a meaningful living as a result of constant harassment and molestation by the gendarmes,” he said.
Reacting to the incident, the Paramount Ruler of Bakassi, Etim Okon Edet, expressed disappointment over the Bakassi issue.
“Nigeria had completely failed to protect her people. They are not even looking at the Green Tree Agreement anymore. If they were really implementing the agreement, this will not have happened. The way Bakassi matter is going, its only God that will direct us,” he said, stressing that Nigeria must rise to the occasion now.
The Vice Consul of Cameroon consulate, Mr. Godlove Tala, who reacted to the development, had however denied that there was a particular regime specifically targeted at Nigerian residents.
He said, “We got in touch with the authorities in that area and they said they never asked anyone to leave. This is preliminary information. Even this tax regime thing, it does not apply to Bakassi indigene alone, it applies to all residents of Cameroon.”
But civil society activist, Barrister Cletus Thomas, said Nigerians were going through these experiences in Cameroon as a result of the “irresponsive and irresponsible” nature of the Federal Government.
Cletus Thomas who is the chairman of the Civil Society Organization in Akwa Ibom State, said the Federal Government had failed to protect and provide for her citizenry as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
His words: “The Bakassi people are suffering because we don’t have a government that recognizes the constitutional rights of her citizens which is to protect and provide for them at all times.
“The Federal Government went to the International Court of Justice in Netherlands without involving the people of Bakassi, who had the history and topography of the dispute land at their finger tips. The government of former President Obasanjo chose instead to involve its friends and cronies who did not even know the history of the environment to represents the people. I knew we were not going to make any meaningful impact at that judgment.”
He added that the Cameroonian government as a sovereign nation had the right to impose any levy on the citizens.
According to him, the people of Bakassi had a clear choice to choose either to remain in Cameroon or return to the country.
He said if they chose to remain in Cameroon it was their right to be protected by the Green Tree Agreement which was for a specific period of time.
The Commissioner for Information in Akwa Ibom State, Mr Charles Udo, did not pick his calls to react to the development.
He did not respond to text messages sent to him on the matter either.