Politics
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- Solomon Amabo
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The war against Boko Haram lent added significance to Cameroon’s annual National Day celebrations Friday. There were the usual military parades and speeches, but citizens also mobilized to honor and help the troops.
Hundreds of youths sang in front of President Paul Biya. If it weren’t for the military, they sang, their country would have been seized by Boko Haram.
Cameroon has deployed more than 8,000 soldiers to the north to fight the Nigerian terrorist group.
In hospitals around Yaounde, people donated blood all week for wounded soldiers. Among them was university student Julienne Njock, 19. She said she could not go to the front but could make this modest contribution. The teenager said she was moved when she saw wounded soldiers, some who had lost legs to amputation.
Cameroon said it needs at least 400,000 pints of blood and that shortages have forced medical staff to stop work to give blood for urgent cases.
Alvine Mvogo, 60, could not donate for health reasons. She said she was instead praying for peace to return and soldiers to come back healthy. She said Cameroon has been losing too many people.
Boko Haram began attacking northern Cameroon in 2014. Suicide bombings and raids continue.
The military said it has been struggling to meet the needs of both the soldiers and the over 200,000 displaced people who have sought refuge at camps and host communities in the north.
Military spokesman Colonel Didier Badjeck said support from the population motivates the troops. He said that even poor villagers had contributed bunches of plantains, that pastors and imams had prayed for the soldiers, and that all political parties had come out to support them Friday.
VOA
The government said it had also received over $6 million in donations from the population in the past two years to support the fight against Boko Haram.
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- Rita Akana
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The choice of May 20 for Cameroon as a national day has often been criticized, with a major question being whether Anglophone Cameroonians should mourn or celebrate the day. While some opinion leaders are of the stance that Anglophones shouldn’t mourn but celebrate, another school of thought holds that the whole idea of May 20 as national day is a sham.
Barrister Bobga: A Bamenda-based lawyer, Barrister Bobga Harmony, sees no meaning in the day. According to Bobga, Anglophones don’t have any business celebrating it because the date of the celebration has no legal bases. Bobga thinks Anglophone politicians who take part in the celebration are “political prostitutes.”
Barrister Nico Halle: “It is our national day. The world is now a global village. Cameroon is much bigger, remains united and together. Unity is strength. Our national unity and national integration is ongoing, that is why you can see all Cameroonians are together fighting Boko Haram,”
Prof Asonganyi: To Prof. Tazoacha Asonganyi, a social critic, the National Day celebration on May 20 should simply be scrapped because it is not necessary. Asonganyi insists he will never celebrate any national day on May 20. He rather suggests October 1 as national day.
Fon Angwafor III: The first class traditional ruler of Mankon, Fon Angwafor III is rather of the opinion that Cameroonians have to make do with May 20 as national day as long as the date has not yet been changed. He, however, advanced that there is no reason for the date to be changed. “We fought to create Cameroon as a nation. The UN gave us the opportunity and we voted to become one,” Fon Angwafor III affirmed.
Prof Owana: Though admitting that May 20 as national day still carries controversy between Anglophones and Francophones concerning its legitimacy, another political scientist, critic and lecturer at the University Yaounde II, Prof. Owona Nguini, avers that the day should be celebrated since it has been chosen as national day.
Ayah Paul: Ayah Paul Abine, one of the advocates general of the Supreme Court and chairman of the Popular Action Party, PAP, says “there is unanimity today among Camerounese and Cameroonians that Cameroonians are not legally part of the contemporary Cameroun. This is evident in the one momentous fact that if it were otherwise, the national day would be the first of October and never May 20.” On whether Cameroonians should rejoice or mourn over May20 ceremony, Ayah notes that “no one people are stateless.”
Barrister Ben Muna: Renowned legal luminary and former UN envoy, Barrister Ben Muna, considers the celebration of May 20 as meaningless when it is not put into the context of February 11, 1961, and October 1, 1961. “Without the 11th of February 1961 and the 1st of October 1961, we would not have had 20th of May. I really regret the falsification of these two important dates,” Ben Muna worried.
Kah Wallah: Another opinion leader who doesn’t see any reason for Anglophones to celebrate May 20 is Edith Kah Walla, firebrand leader of the Cameroon People’s Party, CPP. She advances that Anglophones in Cameroon have to collectively and constructively make their voices heard in the country. “They sit in their houses and individually grumble in their rooms. We will like to see Anglophones come out in black on Friday (May 20) and present their plight,” she stated.CPP will be organizing her routine Black Friday this May 20 and one of the themes will be: “The Anglophone problem in Cameroon,” she said.
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- Mark Bareta
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A baby has drowned in a bucket in the Chantal Biya Foundation, a state-run hospital in the capital city of Yaounde, Cameroon, according to Mowah Sixtus Mbom, editor-in-chief of the Guardian Post Newspaper.
Mbom, a Cameroonian journalist, reports that the baby is one of the conjoined twins who were recently separated in Tunis, Tunisia.
"The baby drowned in a hospital room. This is unimaginable," writes the senior reporter.
All attempts to verify the story from hospital officials have been futile.
Chantal Biya Foundation was named after the wife of Cameroon's president, Paul Biya Bartholomew Bi Mvondo.
In recent months, several state hospitals in Cameroon have come under severe criticism for poor management and government neglect. Medical doctors abandoned a pregnant woman to die with her set of twins in front of a state-run hospital in Douala, Cameroon.
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- Tapang Ivo Tanku
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Marafa Hamidou Yaya, former secretary general at the presidency, was sentenced Wednesday, May 18th 2016 to 20 years imprisonment by the Supreme Court in Yaounde. He had previously been sentenced to 25 years in prison in the first instance of the case in 2012 for alleged corruption.
The former minister was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for intellectual complicity and embezzlement. The latter is accused of embezzling 25 million euros in the albatross affair in 2001.
Marafa Hamidou Yaya was an outspoken opponent of Biya’s constitutional changes, and many suspect he faced the government’s wrath as a result.
The state counters that the investigations are meant to discourage other leaders from stealing money, but corruption largely remains unchallenged, and policymakers do not intend to root out the pervasive corruption that is systemic within Cameroonian politics.
Due to tainted rule, $152 million had been looted from the treasury, which is money that could have been used to enhance the Central African country’s lagging economy. Cameroon has suffered under lower oil and commodity prices, including a war against terrorist group Boko Haram, an organization that destabilized borders and disrupted commerce in local communities.
Cameroon was once a rising emerging market in Africa, but the world economy and fight against Boko Haram has nearly crippled the economy, and leaders made the situation worse through ineffective management and corrupt practices. Criminal transactions and deals occur brazenly in public, and Cameroon is one of the most corrupt nations in the world.
The country has vast potential and could follow strategies that would ensure success, such as diversifying the economy away from commodities and into other sectors that yield additional revenue. Biya, however, does not seem serious about meaningful changes that could have a positive impact on society.
Furthermore, the president is part of the problem, and his extended rule shows that little change will follow in a country that needs a vast overhaul in terms of governance. While he cannot take the full blame for Cameroon’s plight, he has overseen a system that does not work for the average Cameroonian, while elites are free to raid the treasury with impunity.
Biya has ruled since 1982, amassing a personal fortune in the process. He is also considered one of the world’s worst dictators, notes International Business Times. The government made examples of the recent 14 detained men, but only as scapegoats, with little reform taking place under the surface.
Cameroon stands a slight chance of an economic recovery because of its favorable agricultural landscape and precious natural resources, but this will not likely happen anytime soon under a regime intent on maintaining the status quo.
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- Rita Akana
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Several African leaders are attending the summit along with French President Hollande and top US and UK officials. The talks aim to hammer out a regional response to the group's bloody insurgency.
Leaders of Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, along with French President Francois Hollande, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, gathered in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on Saturday to discuss ways of combating a nearly seven-year insurgency by the extremist group Boko Haram.
Also invited were delegations from West African and Central African blocs, and the European Union.
Hollande's presence at the summit reflects Paris' traditional interest in its former colonies surrounding Nigeria. France and Nigeria recently signed an agreement on closer military cooperation.
Some 20,000 people have died and 2.1 million have been made homeless in the insurgency by the radical group, which is trying to set up an Islamic state in the region.
The summit is the second such high-level gathering following a first meeting in Paris two years ago to discuss strategies against the group.
Tackling humanitarian crisis
Among the topics expected to be discussed at the meeting, hosted by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, is the formal deployment of an 8,500-strong regional force, including soldiers from Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, Chad and Niger. The African Union-backed force was supposed to have begun combating Boko Haram by July last year.
The meeting is also likely to focus on ways to alleviate the humanitarian fallout from the conflict, with the state of Borno being the worst affected region. The government there has spoken of a "food crisis" among those who have been displaced, and calculated that $5.9 billion (5.1 billion euros) was necessary to restore infrastructure shattered by the violence.
Buhari had vowed to defeat Boko Haram before the end of his first year in office, but with only this month to go, that pledge is beginning to seem too optimistic. However, the Nigerian military says that the group has now been contained largely within strongholds in the Sambisa Forest, with dozens of fighters surrendering owing to shortages of food and ammunition.
US Deputy Secretary of State Blinken told reporters in Abuja on Friday that Washington did not yet consider Boko Haram to have been defeated, but conceded that the group had been "degraded."
Military operations against the group have so far been hampered by a lack of coordination between armies operating in the border areas on and around Lake Chad, where Boko Haram is known to be active. The huge lake forms the border between Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Links to 'IS'
Ahead of the summit, the United Nations Security Council issued a statement approved by all 15 members that condemned violence against civilians perpetrated by the group, which operates mainly in Nigeria.
The statement deplored the "killings and other violence against civilians, notably women and children, abductions, pillaging, rape, sexual slavery and other sexual violence, recruitment and use of children, and destruction of civilian property."
The Security Council also demanded the unconditional and immediate release of people abducted by the group, including the 219 schoolgirls kidnapped from the northeastern Nigerian town of Chibok in 2014.
The council members expressed alarm at links between Boko Haram and the "Islamic State" ('IS') group, with the Nigerian extremists pledging allegiance to "IS" last year. Western governments fear that "IS," which currently operates mostly in Syria, Iraq and Libya, could be considering extending its activities to the vast and lawless Sahel region with the aid of its African allies.
This comes amid reports that Boko Haram rebels have been fighting alongside "IS" militants in Libya.
DW
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- Elangwe Pauline
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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
# Opinion
Get insights and perspectives on the issues that matter to Cameroon and the world with our opinion section. We feature opinions from our editors, columnists, and guest writers, who share their views and analysis on various topics, such as politics, economy, culture, and society. Our opinion section also welcomes contributions from our readers, who can submit their own opinions and comments. Join the conversation and express your opinions with our opinion section.
