Bakassi people unsettled 14yrs after, Ita- Giwa laments

Former presidential adviser on National Assembly Matters and the political leader of the Bakassi people, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, has  again, reminded the Federal Government that it is now 14 years that they were ceded, yet, unsettled in Dayspring Island, where they were duly registered and voted.

In a statement she personally signed on Tuesday, Ita Giwa, pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari ,to restore their identity, pride and dignity by properly resettling them so that  Bakassi children can have access to basic needs of life like water, food  as well as  basic education, among others.

She urged the Federal Government not to ignore the warning of the United Nations threatening to declare individuals, communities like Bakassi, whose legal frameworks and documents that ceded them is yet to be fully consummated as stateless.

However, in the event that the Bakassi people is declared countryless, the implication is that they may chose to secede or declare a Republic of Bakassi as an independent state. This is an option that the former presidential adviser is not considering at all, hence, she has been calming the nerves of her people because of her passion and  the  love for the entity called Nigeria.

Ita Giwa painted a gloomy picture of living condition in the Bakassi camp, adding that a child born 14 years ago when Bakassi was ceded , has never had access to any home, no school to attend and no health care facility.

The statement reads in parts:”October 10 ,2016, makes it the 14th year that my people lost their homes and heritage. It’s being a story of neglect, suffering and distressing conditions among my people.

“The population is increasing  on daily basis, yet no commensurate facilities to cater for their welfare. There is no food,  water and  shelter. My interventions and the support of few others, is not adequate to impact positively on them.