A prominent Bakassi indigene, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has advised her people and Nigerians at home and in the Diaspora to accept the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s plans to develop and ensure a proper resettlement of the Bakassi people in Ikang, where they are already relocated.
This advice came just as the August 14, 2013, deadline to end the transition period between Nigeria and Cameroon, over the Bakassi territory take-over, beckons.
Before now, Ita-Giwa had embarked on campaigns and advocacy, calling for the immediate resettlement of the people, rather than a last-minute appeal with no fresh evidence to back up the same.
She added that the colossal amount that could have been devoted to such “obviously futile exercise” should be channeled into the immediate resettlement of the people, according to a statement on Sunday.
She appealed to Nigerians to avoid inflammatory statements that could cause disaffection between Nigeria and Cameroon and further endanger the lives of those who had temporarily taken residence there until they were properly resettled.
She said there had been a good diplomatic relationship between both countries, which should not be undermined or put into jeopardy.