transfer, while others have instituted lawsuits regarding the matter. Although most stakeholders believe that Nigeria has played an exemplary role in reducing interstate conflicts in the West African subregion, others expressed some disquiet about the manner in which the Bakassi Island crisis was resolved. They alleged that local people were not consulted in the settlement reached by the International Court of Justice. They also complained that there are still many internally displaced people who have not been resettled after the crisis. Many stakeholders implied that, without proper resettlement and compensation of affected communities, justice will not have been done. 209. It was expected under the Green Tree Agreement that, by August 2008, completion of the handover of the disputed Bakassi region to Cameroon would be complete. However, in November 2007, the Senate, citing constitutional irregularities in the handover of Bakassi, rejected the transfer, calling it illegal. There have been calls for the status quo of the Bakassi territory to be maintained pending a referendum by the UN on the fate of the Nigerian residents and indigenes of Bakassi. 210. Nigeria can take credit for outstanding performance in maintaining good neighbourly relations with all African states. Nigeria has favoured a PanAfrican policy of promoting peace and conflict resolution on the continent through its peacekeeping and mediation interventions, as already outlined in chapter 2. BEST PRACTICE 3.2: NIGERIA’S ROLE IN REGIONAL PEACEKEEPING IN THE CONTEXT OF ECOWAS • As the predominant regional power, Nigeria demonstrated strong and committed leadership in the ECOWAS ECOMOG established in early 1990 to save the member states of Liberia and Sierra Leone, whose legitimacy and territory were under sustained attack and occupation by rebel forces under the command of Charles Taylor. Nigeria’s strong and committed leadership in ECOMOG operations was buttressed by the supply of the necessary military personnel and materiel to ensure the sustainability of the campaigns against the rebels. • In the 2003 coup d’état in São Tomé and Príncipe, President Olusegun Obasanjo was instrumental in expeditiously brokering peace and in persuading the forces behind the coup to return power to the elected government of the day. • When President Obasanjo was chairperson of the AU, the president of Togo, Gnassingbe Eyadema, died and his son, Faure Eyadema, was installed in his place. President Obasanjo refused to acknowledge the legality of the handover, stating that it was an unconstitutional change of government that contravened the principles of democratic rule. • In the military takeover that occurred in Guinea-Bissau, President Obasanjo was one of the presidents who engaged in diplomatic engagements geared towards ensuring that the country maintained peace and returned to democratic civilian rule. • In 2006, Nigeria agreed to abide by a ruling of the International Court of Justice over a long-standing border dispute with Cameroon regarding the potentially oil-rich Bakassi Peninsula, although this is currently under debate in Nigeria. Source: CRM field notes, February 2008. 88