Politics

ameroon says Boko Haram fighters attacked a command post on its northern border with Nigeria. The attack followed a series of targeted military operations in the area that the government says destroyed at least 10 bomb-making laboratories.

Cameroon government spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary says more than 100 suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked the Homeka border village command post of the multinational joint task force Monday.

He told VOA the insurgents ransacked several villages after they were pushed back by the military. He said one soldier was wounded.

He says the attack on the command post is an indication that even though the enemy is in agony, it is still capable of incessantly creating trouble. He says he wants to inform them that the military will continue to defend the country's territorial integrity.

Cameroon is one of five countries contributing to the multinational joint task force.

Cameroon sent more soldiers to the far northern border area last week after two suicide bombings in the town of Limani killed 13 people.

Tchiroma says troops have since raided eight villages on both sides of the border, killing and arresting large numbers of militants and freeing captives. He says at least 10 laboratories for the manufacture of explosive devices were destroyed.

"Arrow' offensive

He says some fighters have managed to escape. He says they believe the ongoing Nigerian and Cameroonian offensive called “Arrow” has pushed Boko Haram toward Nigeria’s northern border with Niger.

Landmines and suicide bombings have been a top challenge in northern Cameroon.

Cameroon sealed trouble spots along its border with Nigeria and prohibited gatherings outside mosques during Ramadan to try to mitigate the threat.

VOA

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Rita Akana

07.Jul.2016

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The words slogan and sloganeering have about two definitions, but for the purpose of this write-up, we are going to adopt the ones found in the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, International Student Edition. It defines a slogan as “A short phrase used for advertising something”. It also looks at the word as “A short phrase used by a political party or group of people”.
When it comes to sloganeering, the dictionary looks at it as “the use of slogans, especially by politicians who want to communicate a simple message that people will remember”. It emphasizes that “This word shows that you do not approve of people who do this”.
Away from definitions, it is important to point out here that President Paul Biya upon taking power in November 1982 coined a programme which was actually a summary of a series of codes that were intended to be the main guides and principles his government was going to work to achieve. That programme was known as “The New Deal”, later to be code-named or broken down to “Rigour and Moralization” and it was given some seemingly concrete shape when late Minister Francois Sengat Kuoh wrote the book “Communal Liberalism” and gave President Biya the authorship.
“Rigour and Moralization” made a lot of waves to the point where almost everyone saw in it dreams of a society where mediocrity would be kicked in the ass and meritocracy placed on a shiny pedestal. Thus, artistes picked on it and spread it through sound tracks, sketches and pieces of drama; it sounded the dawn of a new era where tribalism, favouritism, nepotism and all other attendant ills like bribery and corruption would find no fertile ground to breed.
As the years swept by with President Biya ignoring his own key promises to the people, it began to dawn on the minds of a cross section of the population that “The New Deal”, “Rigour and Moralization” and “Communal Liberalism” were in effect mere slogans that had nothing to do with President Biya and his governing class that was busy ridding the State of financial resources and carting same abroad.
When this set of slogans faced mixed fortunes in the 1990s, the President and his strategists redefined their approach in 2004 and came up with yet another ‘programme’, this time it was called “Greater Achievements” in English, though the French appellation was more telling; “Grandes Ambitions”. He secured a 7-year mandate on those counts and it was only at the end of the mandate that a wider section of the public understood that the era was actually one of casting only ambitions, with little or no work done. Another slogan had just slipped down the throats of the people!
Even the realization that for seven years “Greater Achievements” ended as mere words and so much ranting from a regime that excels in making people dream, dreams that never come true, did not put such a seemingly ‘promising’ strategy to sleep. Instead, in 2011, the governing CPDM came out to agree with the people that the ambitions, nothing but ambitions they spent 7 years to cast were going to be transformed into veritable achievements within the next seven years or why not less.
That is how “Major Accomplishments” came into being, or call it “Grandes Realization” in French for a greater understanding. Five years into the “Major Accomplishments” era, the super highways promised are yet to see the light of day, electricity load shedding is still the order of the day, several rural and urban communities are yet to enjoy potable pipe-borne water, road accidents are still claiming scores of lives daily and the list is long. Another slogan is quietly whistling by and there are already talks of “Greater Evaluations” to mark the next mandate that would either be anticipated or commenced in 2018.
Cameroonians in their own struggle for change, appear to have been contaminated by President Biya and his CPDM cohorts; they have reduced their struggle for change into mere words, slogans that fill the internet, particularly facebook where they come up and shout down the regime with names like: “Cameroon after Biya”, “Cameroon Political Agenda”, “Paul Biya Must Go”, “No Biya for 2018”, “Cameroon Youths for Change” and so on and so forth.
In as much as these slogans are important when it comes to formatting and reformatting the minds of the wider public, the message from Etoudi is getting clearer daily; that only action, sustained action can get President Biya up from slumber and out to retirement. Such action must be coordinated and well executed to ensure success; in fact, it should not even include political parties, as they have collectively and individually betrayed the true aspirations of the wider public for change. They did so by giving up the struggle unilaterally, by losing faith at a time the masses so dearly needed leadership to take their destiny into their own hands.
To graduate from slogans to concrete action, Cameroonians need to develop faith in the cause and stay optimistic that the future is bright. Talking about such faith, Sir William Osier said in 1910 that; “Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith…the one great force which can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible”. This means where there is no faith in a cause, there will be no will power, there will be fear and there will be failure due to lack of action.
It is important for everyone involved or intending to be involved in this struggle for change in Cameroon to align with Mike Murdock when he said; “Beginning is half the victory in any enterprise”. That thought is followed up by Christopher Morley who said “Big shots were only little shots that kept shooting”. The insistence here is on faith, commitment and perseverance- consistency in the pursuit of set goals.
As we all plan in our little corners to make the difference in this struggle, the convergence of views and the encamping of all ideas and efforts is essential. One thing, however should remain on our minds; that to spend time sloganeering is simply facing President Biya and his people on familiar terrain. This line of wisdom must always stay glued to our hearts; “Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength”

Akuroh John Mbah

Msc in International Relations,

Specialised in Communication

and International Public Policy, Excellent

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Akuroh John Mbah

06.Jul.2016

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The CPDM 3rd Deputy Mayor of Yaounde Six Council Saint ELOA BIDOUNG has disclosed he is standing against Paul Biya for the post of Chairman in the CPDM party during the party's congress this year. He says Mr Biya is tired and deserves a rest. 

The former Secretary and Councillor at the MFOUNDI VI municipality since 2007 says the reason for his position is because of the Peoples call.That many Cameroonians have been asking him to challenge Paul Biya for the Chairman of the party.

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Prince Nfor Hanson

05.Jul.2016

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 After two hours of debate last week at the National Assembly, MPs adopted the Amended version of the PENAL Code, thus adopting the entire PENAL CODE. However the section on tenant to be sent to jail in case of two months debt of rents remains. 

The June Plenary Session has ended, four bills adopted. SDF MPs who stood their grounds have just won a battle and not the War. If promulgated into law, then the country like Cameroon Bar says should start building more prisons for tenants.

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Rita Akana

04.Jul.2016

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At least ten people were killed in a suicide bomb attack Wednesday night in a town in the Far North region of Cameroon close to the Nigerian border.

“A Boko Haram suicide bomber detonated himself in the night at Djakana close to the Nigerian border, killing ten people,” a secured source speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP. The information was confirmed by another source close to the authorities of the region.

“At the time, seven people died, including the bomber. Four wounded people died later. The other injured people are at the hospital. We fear a rise in the number of victims,” the source said.

She added that most of the victims were members of the vigilante committee tasked to track down Boko Haram fighters. 

“They were gathered in a video room when the suicide bomber infiltrated and detonated his explosive device,” the source said.

No suicide bomb attack has been recorded in the Far North region in recent weeks. According to Cameroonian authorities, close to 1200 people have been killed ever since Boko Haram started attacking the Far North region in 2013.

The Boko Haram insurgency since 2009 has left 20,000 people dead and 2.3 million displaced.

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Rita Akana

30.Jun.2016

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The United Nations humanitarian chief, Stephen O’Brien has announced the release of $13 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide life-saving assistance for victims of Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria’s north-east.

According to the UN, an estimated 250,000 people are in need of help because of the loss of property due to the insurgency. The UN also stated that over 50,000 people were in need of tools for the upcoming planting season, hence the CERF funding.

“People have experienced unspeakable suffering due to the violence perpetrated by Boko Haram. We now have better access finally, and a chance to help them,” the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator said.

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Rita Akana

29.Jun.2016

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