By Ernest Etim-Bassey
The Landlord who denies the Land
Obong Victor Attah owns 11,000 hectares of oil palm plantation in Ekong Anaku, Akamkpa LGA, Cross River State. He harvests our soil for profit while orchestrating a narrative that seeks to erase our geography. It is the ultimate paradox: an investor feeding off a state he is actively trying to bankrupt.
A Cartographic Assassination
To protect Akwa Ibom’s ₦1.51 trillion derivation windfall, Attah has birthed a dangerous fiction. He claims Cross River has no maritime environment—no estuary, no mouth to the sea—insisting Akwa Ibom borders Cameroon directly. This isn’t a mistake; it is an economic blockade. By “deleting” our coastline, he deletes our right to the 119 verified oil wells confirmed in the 2025 IATC verification.
Erasing Reality
Attah’s narrative conveniently ignores 200 years of documented history and current federal operations:
The Navy: NNS Victory operates from the Calabar River.
The Ports: Calabar Municipal has hosted deepwater operations since 1906.
The Communities: Odukpani, Calabar South, Bakassi, and Akpabuyo possess estuarine identities that predate Nigeria itself.
The Law: The 2012 Supreme Court mandate for technical verification has already validated Cross River’s coordinates.
The Akamkpa Precedent
Attah argues that sharing a border with Cameroon negates maritime status. If we apply his logic to his own assets: Akamkpa shares a boundary with Cameroon; therefore, by his reasoning, Akamkpa lacks sovereign Nigerian maritime context. You cannot claim a state doesn’t exist to protect your neighbor’s treasury while occupying 11,000 hectares of that “non-existent” territory.
From Hospitality to Accountability
The era of Cross River being a “polite host” to its own subversion is over. A landowner who publicly denies the territorial integrity of the state where he holds land forfeits the right to “good faith” possession. We recognize this for what it is: Economic sabotage dressed as statesmanship.
Call to Action: The Death Nail
I. We demand immediate, decisive intervention to protect the sovereignty of Cross River State:
II. Legislative Review: The House of Assembly must invoke Section 28 of the Land Use Act (Overriding Public Interest) to review and revoke the titles of the 11,000-hectare Ekong Anaku plantation.
III. Asset Freeze: Investigate all land holdings of individuals actively lobbying against Cross River’s oil-producing status.
IV. Formal Petition: We call on all citizens to sign the mandate to reclaim our resources from those who seek to landlock our future.
V. The record must reflect: You cannot eat from Cross River’s soil while poisoning its waters.
