Gov. CRS; Sen. Bassey Otu (left) and Gov. Umo Eno of AKS.
By AmanamHillary Umo-Udofia
Linus Obogo’s article, “Cross River’s 76 Oil Wells and the ‘Abiku’ Paradox,” is undeniably eloquent and steeped in mythic imagery. But when stripped of metaphor and reduced to facts, it is also a troubling mix of historical perversion, legal misrepresentation, and rhetorical manipulation. It dresses sentiment as truth, mythologizes a settled legal matter, and, most dangerously, threatens to exacerbate needless discord between two sister states that should be building bridges, not burning them.
Let’s begin with the central falsehood: that Cross River State was “robbed” of 76 oil wells by Akwa Ibom. This claim is not only factually incorrect but deliberately deceptive. In his well-crafted sophistry, Obogo attempts to rewrite history by painting a lawful and evidence-based process as some grand theft engineered by Akwa Ibom.
The truth is far simpler: Akwa Ibom never took what wasn’t rightfully hers. The oil wells in question lie within Akwa Ibom’s maritime boundaries as determined by scientific demarcation, verifiable geographic data, reinforced by constitutional processes and the judgment of the Supreme Court.
In 2012, Nigeria’s apex court issued a definitive ruling: Cross River State ceased to be a littoral state following the ceding of the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon under the Green Tree Agreement and International Court of Justice (ICJ) directive. As such, it lost any basis to claim offshore oil wells. This legal reality did not arise from conspiracy, but from international diplomacy and the recalibration of Nigeria’s maritime boundaries. Yet Obogo ignores this context and instead directs his ire at Akwa Ibom, irresponsibly stoking regional grievance with a narrative that collapses under factual scrutiny.
Obogo’s use of Abiku – a Yoruba mythology tragic spirit-child who returns again and again to torment its mother may be poetic, but it is ultimately misplaced and misleading in this context. Comparing Cross River’s loss of maritime rights to an Abiku myth distorts a legitimate geopolitical and judicial process into an irrational curse. It casts Cross River as a helpless victim of fate, rather than a state navigating the outcome of an international treaty. More critically, it romanticizes a legal issue and weaponizes cultural imagery to stir resentment against Akwa Ibom, which has simply defended its rightful entitlements within the law.
Oil wells are not spirit-children wandering between worlds – they are fixed, measurable national assets governed by cartography, constitutional law, and federal oversight. Akwa Ibom did not inherit them through mystical reincarnation or bureaucratic magic; it claimed them because the facts, maps, and laws placed them squarely within its jurisdiction. In this case, Abiku has been conclusively laid to rest and no amount of rhetorical mischief can resurrect it.
Obogo goes further to accuse respected federal institutions like the National Boundary Commission (NBC) and the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) of complicity in what he terms a “heist wrapped in bureaucracy.” This is not only baseless but profoundly irresponsible. These institutions followed established legal processes and technical evaluations rooted in Nigeria’s constitutional and judicial frameworks. They did not “gift” anything to Akwa Ibom but acted on clear legal direction, applying cartographic science and judicial authority to determine rightful ownership. To suggest otherwise is to undermine national institutions and insult the integrity of governance itself.
It is even more morally reprehensible that Obogo would brand Akwa Ibom as a “beneficiary at a rigged auction” – a deeply insulting and unfounded assertion. Labeling the state’s firm, evidence-based defense of its position as “gloating” or “arrogance” is a deliberate mischaracterization aimed at demonizing a state that has simply upheld the rule of law.
Elder Aniekan Umanah, Akwa Ibom’s Commissioner for Information, was not boasting when he described the matter as “sealed” and “settled” – he was stating the obvious as reiterated by the State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, SAN: that the Supreme Court has spoken, and federal agencies have acted accordingly. When did it become arrogance to defend the outcome of a lawful process? Should Akwa Ibom remain perpetually apologetic or open to endless political negotiations over a matter that has been conclusively adjudicated? Justice does not become unjust simply because it does not favour Cross River.
Obogo’s attempt to use the citing of military and public infrastructure like the Eastern Naval Command or the Nigerian Ports Authority in Calabar as evidence of maritime status is equally misleading. Strategic infrastructure does not equate to territorial entitlement. One can host a naval base inland. But to claim offshore oil wells, a state must have a legally recognized maritime boundary, something Cross River no longer possesses.
Perhaps most troubling is Obogo’s reckless invocation of infamous court decisions like Plessy v. Ferguson and Dred Scott to suggest that the Supreme Court’s ruling in favour of Akwa Ibom is akin to judicial atrocity. Such comparisons are inflammatory and intellectually dishonest. They diminish the gravity of real historical injustices and falsely equate them to a ruling grounded in law, fact, and international diplomacy. Cross River’s disappointment, while understandable, does not equate to systemic injustice. There was no theft, no fraud, and certainly no moral crime but only a judicial conclusion rooted in undeniable geopolitical change.
Akwa Ibom will continue to stand by the truth, defend its entitlements, and refuse to be shamed into silence by the emotional blackmail of political rhetoric. To put it succinctly, the 76 oil wells matter is not akin to an ‘Abiku’ spirit that Obogo and his kinsmen can invoke at will to torment the peace loving people of Akwa Ibom State. It is the story of a child returning home finally, and rightfully to where it has always belonged.
Umo-Udofia, PhD, is a Special Assistant on Media to the Akwa Ibom State Governor.
