What The Papers Say
Daily Times, Nigeria
Border disputes among states
Ever since nine years when states were last created in this country, nothing more than boundary disputes has so persistently bedevilled inter-state co-operation in general and harmony among borderland people in particular. A good measure of government sensitivity to the problem that border conflicts have obviously assumed, is the setting up of boundary adjustment commissions.The Justice Nasir Commission of 1976 did much to calm seemingly ungovernable tempers in border conflict areas. Yet, because of the sheer geographical spread of the problem, Justice Nasir in retrospect, can now be said to have erected only a few bridges here and there. But the rest of the ever-widening gaps of border conflicts remain.
The deterioration that the border issue has suffered since Nasir is frightening. There is a dispute between the people of Toro in Bauchi State and their counterparts in Jarawa, Plateau State. Vandeikya people in Benue State have one with the Obudu people of Cross River State and in Oyo, the Aiyetoro, Alarere and Temidre communities have for long laid claims to territories that Ile-Oluji and Okeigbo, both towns in Ondo State, in turn regard as theirs.
Ondo State itself has some border problems to iron out with Bendel State; Bendel State with Rivers State; Anambra State with Imo and Benue States and so on and so forth. But nowhere in the country is the border conflict so exacerbated and invidiously allowed to generate fear, tension and open hostility as along the boundaries between Imo and Cross River States and between Imo and Rivers States. Along the one, lives and property have been lost and may still be lost. Along the other, matters were so bad that the Supreme Court had to be appealed to.
We, however, believe that these peace efforts, like the ones now being made by Governors Ike Nwachukwu and Dan Archibong, commendable as they are, stem from a fundamentally-wrong premise. They seek peace on the basis of the territorial status quo and to that extent, ignore the cause for the border wars, so to say.
Free Press, Ghana
Secret contracts
One message that Flt-Lt. Jerry Rawlings, the chairman of the PNDC, left Ghanaians during the March 6 celebrations was the statement that Ghanaians have dissipated the wealth of this country and in the process mortgaged the future of our children and generations unborn for the temporary conveniences of the present.In many instances we choose easy paths and short terms when a resort to sacrifice and toil could make our future better. Whilst endorsing Flt-Lt. Rawlings' timely declaration, we wish to examine other areas in which the future of many African countries have been mortgaged to others. In the exploitation of our abundant mineral resources it is often necessary to enter into agreement with foreign investors.
Cases upon cases can be cited to show how some contracts signed in the process have been to the detriment of the nation and therefore ruined future generations. Many Third World countries and the United Nations itself have come to realise the adverse effects of such bad contracts on the development efforts of these countries.
Accordingly, greater vigilance is now exercised by many countries to ensure that they get their fair share of whatever contracts they sign with foreign investors. The emphasis now is on training and developing expertise and skills of Third World scholars in international negotiation.
It is to ensure that all the rough edges of a contract are cut out, and public interest guaranteed that parliamentary systems demand public discussion before adoption.
But for public discussion and debate, the State Hotels would have been handed on a silver platter to an American company. It is our opinion that it is this element of public debate that encouraged and helped the Ghanaian team to produce what they did during last year's VALCO Agreement negotiations.
Through public discussions they and the foreign side could at every stage feel the mood of the nation and the demands of the day and accordingly respond. It is against this background that we urge the PNDC to apply this principle to all other contracts that it may deem fit to negotiate.
Only last week it was reported that the Ghana government and Lonhro have agreed to form a joint venture for the development of agricultural plantations to cultivate food crops.
From all indications the government and Lonhro have reached very advanced stages in their negotiations. Because of Ghana's overall programme of reconstruction several contracts will have to be signed in the coming months.
If we had a parliament or a definite national forum for discussion, all such contracts would be discussed at length by the people's representatives. In the absence of such a forum, one would still want to see a debate and discussion of a sort in the national press.
