Politics
When President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn into office on 29 May last year, many people believed change had finally come. Mr. Buhari pulled ahead of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan with close to three million votes. He won 21 states while President Jonathan defeated him in 15 states as well as the Federal capital territory Abuja.
It was the first time that an opposition party candidate had defeated a sitting Nigerian President since democracy returned in 1999.
During the campaign, Mr. Buhari and his All Progressives Congress, APC, promised to create millions of jobs, end corruption, defeat Boko Haram, free the Chibok girls and give a new direction to a country that had been despised in the comity of nations.
But in his second year in office, many find it hard to say in a concrete way what he has achieved. While some progress has been made in the fight against Boko Haram, Mr. Buhari declared during his inaugural speech in Abuja that the war against the terrorists would not be said to have been won if the Chibok girls, who were kidnapped in their school in April 2014, were not released.Mr. Buhari and the APC lambasted Mr. Jonathan when the kidnapping took place and repeatedly said his failure to rescue them should send him out of office and propel them to power to do what he could not do.
But since Mr. Buhari took over power, the economy has virtually collapsed, with the naira now one of the worst currencies on the continent. Thousands of people have been sacked as the purchasing power of ordinary Nigerians continued to crash. Companies have closed shop and the jobs Mr. Buhari promised are nowhere to be seen.
Worse, electricity has crashed to its lowest level in many decades and with high oil fuel prices at the pump, many businessmen find it hard to afford the product to power their electricity generating sets.
Mr. Buhari has continually blamed the administration of Mr. Jonathan for massive looting and corruption and has said he found an empty treasury and a deluge of problems.
While many Nigerians understand his lamentations, millions of people are getting tired of excuses in his second year in office.
Mr. Buhari’s party members have been engaged in internal wrangling from the Senate to the House of representatives and the APC does not even have a Board of Trustees Chairman as at now.
It seems to many Nigerians that it is not about the people but about who gets what, about their personal interests.
It also seems that Mr. Buhari does not have a clear economic roadmap and decisions sometimes are not well thought before implementing them. The decision to sponsor pilgrims when the country is broke has also left many people wondering whether his priorities were upside down or not.
With low oil prices at the international market and his failure to solve the agitation in the Niger Delta that has crumbled oil production by at least 700, 000 barrels of oil a day, things have been made things worse for Nigerians.
Many people now believe that things have never been this bad since independence from the United Kingdom in 1960.
Excuses by Mr. Buhari are beginning to annoy many. The President should realise that he is in charge and should solve problems Nigerians sent him from his Daura farm to the country’s seat of power in Abuja to resolve.
Failure to do that will make him a failure just like Mr. Jonathan who also did not fix electricity, or our refineries or our dead factories.
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- Simon Ateba
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The father of one of the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped from the remote area of Chibok more than two years ago said he recognised his daughter in a video released by Boko Haram on Sunday.
A spokesman for the Bring Back Our Girls movement, set up to demand the return of 276 schoolgirls kidnapped in April 2014, said he was "certain" of the identities of 10 other girls seen in the footage.
"When I heard her voice, I realised she is my daughter," Kanu Yakubu told reporters in Abuja.
He was referring to Maida Yakubu, whom he identifies as the girl seen in the video choking back her tears as she describes an air strike by the Nigerian armed forces.
The girl speaks in the Chibok dialect.
Bring Back Our Girls spokesman Abubakar Abdullahi earlier on Sunday said at least one of the girls had been recognised by a member of the movement.
The number of girls identified from the video has now risen significantly, he said.
"We're certain that these are the Chibok girls," Abdullahi told AFP.
"We recognise up to 10 from the video," Abdullahi said, adding that he is waiting for confirmation from the Nigerian government and parents of the girls before releasing any more names.
The video shows a masked man holding an assault rifle and dressed in military clothing.
In the background, several girls wearing Islamic clothing look visibly distressed and dab their eyes. One is holding a small baby.
AFP
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- Rita Akana
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Some 13 now former hostages kidnapped by Central African rebels in the East region last March 19, 2015 have been received by Prime Minister Philemon Yang. The PM conveyed the message of the head of state to the former captives led by the Mayor of Lagdo, MAMA Abakai. They were received by Philemon yang, flanked by his close aides, including Communication minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary.
The event has been described as neglect on the part of Paul Biya, observers hold that Mr Biya is interested in receiving only ex foreign hostages at the unity palace. Because president Biya has received more than one ex foreign hostage at the Unity Palace, including the Catholic Priest and the Mounier family, many were of the opinion that the MAMA led ex hostages would also be received by Head of State.
The now former hostages were kidnapped and tortured for 15 months, they revealed that they were blindfolded for ten months, chained every day, their destination changed 12 times and were given just one litre of water for two persons per day. It has not been disclosed if the Cameroon government paid ransom o secure their release.
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- Prince Nfor Hanson
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Some 50 girls wearing headscarves are seen behind a Boko Haram militant who demands the release of fighters in return for freeing the girls.
The militant also says some of the girls have been killed in air strikes.
The group seized 276 final-year girls from a school in the northern town in April 2014.
It is believed to still be holding more than 200 of those kidnapped.
Non-Muslims were forcibly converted to Islam, and it is feared that many of the schoolgirls have been sexually abused and forced into "marriage" by their captors.
A leading member of the Bring Back Our Girls movement which campaigns for their release told BBC News after watching the video that she was terrified by what she had seen.
"Everybody should be disturbed by the conditions of the girls," Aisha Yesufu said.
'Forty married'
The video begins with a shot of a masked man, carrying a gun, speaking to the camera. He says that some of the girls have been wounded and have life-threatening injuries, and that 40 have been "married".
Speaking in the Hausa language, the gunman says the girls on display will "never" be returned if the government does not release Boko Haram fighters who have been "in detention for ages".
The video concludes with footage of bodies, said to be the victims of air strikes, lying on the ground at another location.
The militant also carries out a staged interview with one of the captives, who calls herself Maida Yakubu, in which she asks parents to appeal to the government.
Maida's mother, Esther, is one of several parents of Chibok girls who recently published open letters to their daughters detailing the pain they feel at their children's absence and their hopes for the future.
BBC
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- Rita Akana
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We write to draw your attention to the fact that Cameroon continues to arrest and torture Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) members inspite international pressure and legal counsel to the contrary. This in no way is provoking the SCNC to adopt violent reactions so that they can blacklist SCNC as a terrorist organisation . For 55 years, advocates of the Southern Cameroons independence have been killed, `maimed, imprisoned unlawfully, raped and robbed of their basic human rights and their right to a sovereign homeland.
Successive generations of SCNC activists have stood for “the force of argument not the argument of force.” This has yielded few fruits because of the intransigence of the brutal and repressive successive regimes of la republique du Cameroun. As recently as Sunday 17th July 2016, 16 SCNC activists were arrested by a mixed contingent of SED (state secretariat for defence) Public Security and Special branch police, while they waited to be served food at a roadsisde restaurant in Molyko, Buea and whisked off to police custody.
After spending four days in an airtight, dark and dirty police cell they were taken before the State Counsel who wasted no time to remand all in Prison Custody. When 14 of the activists were arraigned before Court of Firist Instance Buea, the Presiding Magistrate, Beactrice Nambangi refused to grant them bail. They are consequently still languishing in the overcrowded prison cells the Buea Central Prison. Excellency, on this score, we are appealing to you to use high offices to find a lasting solution to our plight.
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- Solomon Amabo
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At least 5 people were killed by members of Boko Haram in the attack in the village of Gambarou, not far from Mora-Waza, in the Department of Mayo-Sava,Far North Region of Cameroon.
The attack took place on the night of the 9th to the 10th of August 2016. The timely intervention of the Cameroonian defence forces and the Joint Multinational Force helped repelled the attackers thereby reducing the casualties to 5 dead and 2 injured.
Cameroonian military received assistance from the Multinational Joint Forces based in Mora who stepped in to pound the terrorists with heavy gunfire.The overpowering artillery fire from the coalition forced the insurgents to back-off and retreat to nearby Nigeria.
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- Glory Agwetang
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Subcategories
Biya Article Count: 73
# Paul Biya and his regime
Explore the political landscape of Cameroon under the rule of Paul Biya, the longest-serving president in Africa who has been in power since 1982. Our Paul Biya and his regime section examines the policies, actions, and controversies of his government, as well as the opposition movements, civil society groups, and international actors that challenge or support his leadership. You'll also find profiles, interviews, and opinions on the key figures and events that shape the political dynamics of Cameroon.
Southern Cameroons Article Count: 549
.# Southern Cameroons, Ambazonia
Learn more about the history, culture, and politics of Ambazonia, the Anglophone regions of Cameroon that have been seeking self-determination and independence from the Francophone-dominated central government. Our Southern Cameroons section covers the ongoing conflict, the humanitarian crisis, the human rights violations, and the peace efforts in the region. You'll also find stories that highlight the rich and diverse heritage, traditions, and aspirations of the Southern Cameroonian people.
Editorial Article Count: 885
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