Martin Meenagh blog

Nigeria Cedes Territory to Cameroon

It is often said that Africa's borders are essentially colonial, and arbitrary, and that in the interests of social integrity it would make sense to redraw them. No mechanism ever seems to be trusted to do this.

In a month when war has once again become a viable sanction in the disputes between civilised states, the planned handover of an oil-rich territory from Nigeria to Cameroon offers a different model.

The Nigerian Supreme Court is not happy about the International Court of Justice's plan, which if all goes well, will be implemented. However, men and women of goodwill seem determined to make the plan work. Listen out for the sound of silence from a continent which we normally associate with bad news; we all might be pleasantly surprised.

If not, a remarkable experiment will have been derailed. As some readers will know, there may be other issues involved in Nigerian lawyers flexing judicial muscles. The Nigerians and four other states have launched themselves upon a plan to develop a common currency and to implement it next year, in December. Most French-speaking states in West Africa already share a common currency, and have done for decades.

They have also subjected themselves, along with other ECOWAS members, to a very powerful common court which will combine both EU-style powers and an Human Rights competence. This will, as both European Courts clash with Germany, inevitably clash with Nigeria's own Supreme Court in the future. The ECOWAS court of Justice's powers come on top of last month's creation of a continental African Union Court. I think that markers may be being laid down, but I hope that I am wrong.

Here's a video of The Devil Went Down to Georgia, which was on my mind yesterday.

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