Paper short abstract:

Boundaries or border zones in Africa, and the inter-state and inter-community relations generated across them, have been major sites for the inter-play of various historical, social, economic and political dynamics.

Paper long abstract:

'The Bakassi Peninsula Zone of Nigeria and Cameroon': The politics of history in contemporary African border disputes

Angela Ebele Udeoji

Dept. of French & Int'l Studies

National Open University of Nigeria

Victoria Island, Lagos Nigeria

Email: ebeleudeoji@yahoo.com; Phone: 2348037002561

Abstract: Boundaries or border zones in Africa, and the inter-state and inter-community relations generated across them, have been major sites for the inter-play of various social, economic and political dynamics. This will reflect on the dialectics of the state-society relations within the socio-economic prism in the context of the Nigeria/Anglo-Cameroon border. Situating the analysis in the post-independence period, the paper will examine critically the historical, socio-economic challenges and paradoxes confronting the two independent states of Nigeria and Cameroon Republic in regard to the legitimacy of the Bakassi Peninsula border zone that divides an area and the people despite its extremely high level of cultural homogeneity.In recent times, Bakassians consider that the Federal government of Nigeria has not done much to protect their interests since the ICJ ruling on October 10 2002. They also believe that they were not consulted in the determination of their future. Therefore, the group has not only carried its complaint to the UN but has also opted for self determination. The implication of this is that these "the partitioned Africans" of the affected border communities are still crying out for "Salvation" and self Determination amidst the threat to international Peace and security.