Some lessons are learned only in hindsight. Half a century ago, Cross River wanted their brothers from the mainland gone—by fair or foul. A sizzling hostility had been festering.
The Efik had made it very clear the Ibibios were not kith and kin and therefore will not breathe the same air as them.
And then came the unthinkable, they branded them with the most ludicrous crimes in the book—theft of jobs, theft of commerce and theft of their women. They result was a relentless, political and social persecution.
Over time, the animosity would harden into a cold hatred, envy, malevolence, and a quenchless, bilious gall. The political elites of the old Calabar kingdom championed this cause as if their entire civilization, and their cherished love for leisure were at stake.
The common refrain on their lips was, “One day, the Ibibio will go,” The threat was even ritualized in their culture. Whenever Efik masquerades roamed the land, they hunted Ibibios down and flogged them without mercy.
In 1987, following years of activism for self-determination, the bondage ended. Akwa Ibom State was created. And the Ibibio took with them over 2000 oil wells to the Land of Promise.
Nearly forty years after, the purveyors of the feud have made a dramatic return, burning with the same atavistic bile. This time, their eyes are firmly locked on wealth that once lay beneath their feet but now buried on Akwa Ibom soil.
But more than anything, they are haunted by the sorrows of Pharaoh. The Bible records that when the children of Israel departed from Egypt, Pharaoh went into mourning, for he had lost his workforce. In his anguish, he gave chase—a pursuit that led to his undoing. So it is with Cross River, which rued the departure of the Ibibios and now lusts after their oil wells. But we are in our Promised Land. Therefore, no grandstanding, no vengeful pursuit will yield a single drop of Akwa Ibom oil to Gov. Otu.
Let’s cut through the recent noise. The propagandists in Cross River agitating for oil wells are only clever by half. They know what they are doing.
The focus is 2027. The Cross River Governor is desperate for second term. That is within his rights. But the mission appears a daunting task. He must convince the people of Cross River why he should be trusted with power after a dismal showing in his first term.
He knows he must sell a trick and a ruse. So, he sets propagandists to work.
But here is the truth the propagandists don’t want you to know. The Supreme Court has spoken. Twice. Let me break it down and spare you the drudgery of doing so yourself.
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled clearly: Cross River is no longer a littoral state. No coastline. No maritime boundary. No offshore oil wells. That judgment is final. You cannot “verify” what the law has already buried.
As Governor Umo Eno powerfully reminded us at the recent GIFA 2nd Anniversary, this isn’t even a local dispute. “Akwa Ibom does not have a maritime boundary with Cross River. We have a maritime boundary with Cameroon and any attempt to shift that boundary will be tampering with the ICJ judgment and we know that it becomes an international issue.” he said.
Yet Cross River is running from press conference to press conference, clutching a draft report, screaming “science” and “fairness.” All this, after 24 years. But a draft report is not a judgment. The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission
(RMAFC) itself says the document being brandished around is speculative. Not valid. Not credible. Not admissible.
Let’s be clear, No federal committee can overturn the Supreme Court. Governor Umo Eno couldn’t have put it more succinctly when he said. “We have two Supreme Court judgments and nothing can overturn a Supreme Court judgment. No agency of government can overturn a Supreme Court judgment.”
The truth is, no “scientific verification” can restore a coastline ceded to Cameroon. You cannot use a technical exercise to rewrite final judgments. That is not law. That is fantasy.
Meanwhile, Akwa Ibom holds over 2,000 oil wells—lawfully, peacefully, productively. Governor Umo Eno is focused on governance. On roads. On Tourism. On Agriculture. On workers’ salaries. On the ARISE Agenda.
Cross River’s governor and his team of election propagandists are focused on selling the wind.
Here’s another truth: when you have nothing to show for four years, you must invent a fight. When you cannot defend your record, you attack your neighbour. When you have no legacy, you chase shadows.
Akwa Ibom deals on facts. His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno, captured the spirit of our people when he declared: “We may not be big on addressing press conferences. We may not be big on gathering the people to tell them lies but we know one thing that we are firm on the ground and we are in this government together. We are in the ruling party. We will go where they go. We will meet who they meet. We will talk where they talk. We will sit where they sit and we will defend what belongs to us.”
It is truly heartbreaking to watch our neighbours in Cross River state run from pillar to post. More heartbreaking to read that some have bought the lies hook, line and sinker. Some have gone diabolical, fortifying themselves with “touch and follow” and “occultic perfumes” to buy influence in anticipation of the oil wealth.
We in Akwa Ibom can only shake our head in sympathy. The problem with emotional grandstanding is that you can’t feel your way back into owing oil wells that does not belong to you. And you cannot “verify” your way around a final judgment from the highest court in the land.
The law is not moved by tears, a draft report, and certainly is immune to election propaganda.
We call on President Tinubu to uphold the Supreme Court’s finality. Nigeria needs peace, not political jamborees dressed as boundary disputes.
To the people of Cross River: Don’t be hoodwinked. Your governor is on a wild goose chase. He cannot give you what the Supreme Court has taken away.
The gimmick ends here.
