From Integration to Bifurcation: The Internalization of Calabar Boundary Regime in the Context of Border Conflicts and Management in Africa
Journal Title: Scholars Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences - Year 2015, Vol 3, Issue 6
Abstract
Historically speaking, boundaries between territorially adjacent states are notorious and prone to conflicts or co-operation, and they tend to separate the inseparables or divide the indivisible of common interests such as peoples, lands, surface and underground water, natural and other strategic resources and the environment. The paper is an analysis of the major consequence of the colonization of Africa by some European powers and the imposition of the ill-defined boundaries in the African landscape. It is indicated that Old Calabar was a coherent cultural society that was evolving into an integrated region up to the Cameroons. Old Calabar “commercial empire” extended beyond her local boundaries and the Efik language was evolving into the “lingua franca” of the region. The European powers – Britain – Germany – France, imposed their boundary on an already existing pre-colonial coherent area. Old Calabar and Duala became the foci in the process of bifurcating an integrated region. From this localized impact of the boundary, the consequences have been its internationalization leading to militarization of the boundary regime and litigation following the International Court of Justice ruling. Though the paper is not aimed at the politics of loss or gain of the peninsula, it is suggested that the disposition to conflict, war and litigation be persuaded to yield ground to emerging concepts of dissolving the “barrier” function of the boundary to “bridges” for systematic exploration and systematic utilization of the peace and cooperative potentials of the internationalized boundary regime. Lessons from European trans boundary management and cooperation are highlighted to demonstrate the futility of war and litigation.
Authors and Affiliations
Michael Omang Bonchuk
Keywords
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