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Some children in Ine Utang, Bakassi
By Akpan David, Calabar
Their ages range between 10 and at most 14 years old. They are all over many Bakassi settlements and dotted creeks. They look healthy. They feel free playing all over the place not minding the risks of reptiles, including snakes that are prevalent. They know much about their fishing settlements as well as inner paths inside the swampy mangroves.
But none of them attends school because there is none in their settlements for them, and authorities, including their representatives in state and federal parliaments do no care or bother to know if human beings can inhabit such places.
All the children know is to wake up in the mornings and go afishing, smoke fish, swim and rummage the muddy swamps in search of lobsters, shrimps and other marine animals to beef up their parents or guardians’ efforts.
Aniekan Ubong said he is 13 years old. He can speak passable English language but is not in school. And when he is sick, his guardian, a fisherman, Ben Umoh will give some of the pain relieving tabs he bought when he last travelled on the Bakassi waters to Calabar.
Oron people of Akwa Ibom State sometimes lay claims to part of Bakassi. This may lend credence to their increasing population.
But there are other Nigerians, Ghanaians and of course Cameroonians who equally populate Ine Utang community in Daysprings Island, and many of the other settlements and creeks. Yet there are no schools and hospitals for a community of over 2000 people!
There are several other fishing settlements most of which sit on the banks of the massive rivers far away from the Calabar Channel that empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The people here call it Abana river. It is actually a stone throw from the side of Bakassi Peninsula ceded to Cameroon in 2002 which seems to be well protected by Cameroonian forces.
Commander of NNS Victory, Rotimi Oderemi
Other major communities in the Peninsula include Atabong, Isangele, Idabato etc. Cameroon authorities are laying claims to these territories while Akwa Ibom State, too, seems to have interests but it is actually Cross River State which administers it as they have political wards called Dayspring I and II.
Put total populations of Ibibios, Ijaws, other Niger Deltans and foreign nationals together, there are over 2000 people living on these coastal fringes.
Their major occupations, too, are fishing, drying fishes, crayfish and selling other seafoods.
They survive from earnings from the rivers as buyers come from Cameroon, Calabar and Oron come to buy them in large quantities for commercial purposes.
Aniekan said, “We do not attend schools because there are no schools.
“We would really like to go to schools like others. I know that we are wasting the time we ought to be learning.
“There are many other children here. We play together and sleep inside the thatched houses our fathers built.
“Our parents always asked us to go with them to the high waters to help in fishing.
“I can paddle the canoe. I help to bale out water from the canoe. We can spend long time fishing. We carry foods on some days we expect to stay till night fall.
“Although we like the experiences at sea, yet we are not attending school.”
In case they have very serious ailments or situation they use their canoes or speed boats to Calabar, nearly two hours away.
Aniekan recalled once when he fell seriously sick. He said a ‘resident nurse’ who is also a surgeon, physician and midwife or birth attendant all in one was called.
She seemed to be the hope of many living in the different settlements.
There are no roads between the different settlements especially those not at arms length. They have constructed wooden bridges. Residents would paddle their canoes to another settlement to look for her.
“She came and gave me some medicines to swallow. It took over a week before I could recover”, he said.
Another gave her name as Ruth Ota. She looks ten or so. She was bare of feet. She seemed shy talking to a stranger.
Ruth seemed happy. Asked if she attends any school. She said since she came with her mother on a visit to her uncle she has not returned yet.
She said that she is in Primary 5 in a school in Mbo LGA of Akwa Ibom State.
She was not sure when they will take her back. However, she said, “I like to look at this big waters and to play with my friends.”
But Ebimobowei Late, 15, said his guardian is encouraging him to think of saving so that he can help to buy his own canoe someday.
Ebi appears to love the suggestion from his guardian. He appears to like the fishing activity. Perhaps he will take it up as his profession since he is not complaining about what he generates as income
Militants attack
When interviewed, the children had also complained about incessant attacks by thieves and militants.
One haggard looking teen said the militants do swoop on their houses, beating their parents and themselves if they delayed to hand over earnings from smoking fishes.
“Since we arrived here on holiday, militants have disturbed a lot. They would come in boats with guns and knives.
“When they arrive they will forcefully grab all the fishes and bags of crayfish caught the previous day from our parents. They will collect money and petrol to power their engine boats.
“For us children, if we were sleeping, they will kick or slap us to wake up and help them bring Sachet water or foods to eat otherwise they shoot you. They do this every day.
“A girl was shot sometime ago because she refused to bring her father’s money. She did not die but she couldn’t be taken to hospital because we don’t have any in the whole of this Ine Utang community.”
The Nigerian Navy has agreed that there are compelling needs in these settlements.
Former commander of NNS Victory, Commodore Vincent Gbaranwi noted this few months ago when he represented the Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Naval Command, Rear Admiral Olusola Oluwagbire.
They were in Ine Utang to distribute foods and conducted free medical rhapsody last year December.
Commodore Gbaranwi said they were touched by the plights of the Nigerians living in that community where they are exposed to abject penury, hunger, and assorted health issues as well as incursions of militants.
“From our various assessments and reports, there are compelling issues to deal with in this community, including militancy, hunger and diseases.
“Fortunately, our hierarchy having noted the dire situation directed that we should intervene in this community. We’ll continue to do more to see possibility of alleviating their plights.
“We’ve noted that there is no school, no health facility, no security post. The need for medical attention is topmost.”
The commodore took a tour round the community and said their situation was precarious.
The community leaders who hailed the navy for concern, lamented that militants attack them every day, and that they were lurking around so that as soon as the navy leaves they would pounce on them to collect whatever they have received.
But commander of NNS Victory, Rotimi Oderemi in an interview with journalists in his office recently, said they are carrying out oversight functions on the fishing settlements near Cameroon, such as Parrot Island, Ibaka, Qua, Ikang, Qua field, Dayspring as well as the numerous creeks and coastlines where Nigerians carry out economic activities daily to ensure that they are well fortified.
Oderemi said they have now been able to deploy their presence and conduct round the clock patrols and surveillance on the waters.
As a result of these, Oderemi said that they have been able to gain the hearts and minds of the local fishermen, seafarers and those residing along the coastalines.
“They now have confidence in their safety. We’ve maintained our heavy presence in most of the creeks, fishing settlements and islands in the Calabar waterways and all through to Ibaka coastal communities in Akwa Ibom State. We’ve gained the hearts and minds of the coastal dwellers and fishermen.
But he said, “We need adequate platforms preferably those with flat bottoms that could enable us penetrate deeper into the backwaters. We require robust logistics that can support our operations”.
In addition to security, the navy has also ocassionally extended medical outreach to these Nigerians.
Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, indigene of Bakassi, who as been championing the cause of Bakassi has always urged the Federal Government “to commence the process of developing Dayspring Island which has many settlements under it.
On an earlier interview, Ita-Giwa said, “Let all the money that would be used to pay lawyers to regain Bakassi Peninsula and all the other resources be used to develop our community.”
She had called for establishments of schools and medical facilities.
Parts of Ine Utang Bakassi
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