Politics

Reports from Jeune Afrique Newspaper indicates that there is an upcoming International Summit on May 14 th in Abuja-Nigeria with the main theme being discussions on the war against Boko Haram. Among the heads of state expected is the President of the Republic Paul Biya.

Reports from some Cameroonian media outlets are already hinting that Mr Biya will attend the conference although the cabinet of the presidency has not officially announced his participation.

All four heads of states of countries of the Commission of the Lake Chad Basin are to attend this crucial summit .At the meeting, the African leaders are expected to discuss the security challenges affecting the four countries that share boundaries with each other. 

It should be noted that in June of 205, president Buhari organized a similar summit which was

attended by three of the four African Heads of State in the Lake Chad Basin Commission.Presidents of Chad, Idriss Deby, Niger, Mahamadou_Issoufou and Republic of Benin, Boni Yayai, were all present at the summit, while Cameroon’s president Mr Biya was instead represented by his then Minister of Defence, Edgar Alain Mebe Ngo'o.

Cameroonian media sources are hinting that the Head of State who is not a fan of Nigeria is finding it hard this time around to send a representative as the Nigerian Government indicated to him Mr Biya to respond personally to the invitation of Nigerian President Buhari, who visited Cameroon in July 2015.

Details

Jackson Tantoh

27.Apr.2016

Hits: 4438

Four individuals  believed to originate from Nigeria were arrested in Minawao refugee camp, in the Far North of Cameroon over alleged links to Boko Haram, security sources told APA on Sunday.According to reports, the suspected Boko Haram fighters were arrested during a routine security check following a tip-off.

Although the identities of the quartet have not been revealed, Cameroon’s Ministry of Defence which confirmed the arrests, said they had participated in attacks inside Cameroon.

They reportedly entered Nigeria’s Minawao refugee camp as routine security checks were being conducted by the Cameroonian army.

They had sought refuge among the local population, before appearing as refugees.  

The arrests should bring the Cameroonian authorities to redouble their vigilance, especially as this is not the first time refugee camps are being directly linked with terrorists.

A few days ago, the defense and security forces had confirmed that two suicide bombers who blew themselves up in Maroua were from this refugee camp.

Details

Elangwe Pauline

24.Apr.2016

Hits: 2696

The military campaign by Nigeria and neighboring nations to combat the West African militant group Boko Haram has been hampered by a failure among those countries to share crucial intelligence — sometimes even within their own security services, American and other Western officials say.

Western partners have balked as well. The Pentagon and American intelligence services have struggled at times to provide information quickly about Boko Haram militants to the African countries — Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria — without violating restrictions on what can be shared from spy satellite imagery or electronic eavesdropping within rules for not disclosing sources and methods.

Until recently, Western officials and analysts said, Britain and the United States provided only sanitized intelligence reports to the Nigerian military. The countries feared that more detailed information might be misused by an army that human rights groups say has committed abuses against civilians as it battled Boko Haram, which has pledged loyalty to the Islamic State.

And a new intelligence “fusion center,” created in Chad as part of a multinational task force, has only recently overcome budget and staffing shortfalls, as well as lingering mistrust among the participating countries, to help coordinate operations.

“The big unanswered question right now is how much are all those five countries that are participating going to collaborate and work effectively,” Col. Robert Wilson, who commands American Special Forces in North and West Africa, said in a recent interview here, noting that Boko Haram moves easily across borders. Benin recently became the fifth country to join the coalition.

Even within the West African countries, interior ministries often do not share information about terrorist threats with their military counterparts.

In Cameroon, an elite special operations unit, the Rapid Intervention Brigade originally trained and equipped by Israel, now gets training and equipment from United States Navy SEALs and intelligence not handed over to other branches and units of its security services, Western analysts said. “It’s a confused mess,” said J. Peter Pham, the director of the Atlantic Council’s Africa Center in Washington.

American military and counterterrorism officials say intelligence sharing is a difficult issue, particularly outside established alliances. The United States confronted its own shortcomings after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, when it became clear that the F.B.I. and C.I.A. each had information about the hijackers not shared with the other. In the wake of the Islamic State attacks in Paris and Brussels in the past year, the authorities in France and Belgium, as well as throughout Europe, are seeking to fill glaring gaps in intelligence sharing.

American intelligence and counterterrorism officials said it was a challenge to share sensitive intelligence with the West African allies fighting Boko Haram and other terrorist groups. The United States has different rules for what intelligence it shares with each country, and what one country can or cannot share with its neighbor — even though all are trying to fight a common regional enemy, Boko Haram.

“Because U.S. policy in Africa is for Africans to take the lead, a lot of the challenge is building trust among the partners themselves and not generating a dependence on what information we do have,” said Alice Hunt Friend, the Pentagon’s former principal director for African affairs.

American officials said progress was being made. Initially, it took up to two weeks to release information such as an aerial surveillance photo. Now, depending on the intelligence and the country, that is down to as little as an hour, American officials said. To help speed the release of information, American analysts are being encouraged to “write to release” — mostly meaning stripping information of sources and methods to ensure broader and faster distribution to partners without dumbing down the content. Drone photos provided by the United States recently helped the Nigerian Army avoid a major Boko Haram ambush.  

Brig. Gen. Donald C. Bolduc, the top United States Special Operations commander for Africa, said that since Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, instituted military reforms in recent months, “my guys are now coffee-breath close to our partners in the Lake Chad basin.”

“As a result,” General Bolduc said in an interview last week, “we have developed relationships of trust.”

Since taking office last year, Mr. Buhari has begun a major push to rid the country of Boko Haram, which has assaulted northeastern Nigeria for years. In past months, the group has spread across borders to terrorize the country’s neighbors, too.

The nations in the Lake Chad region that have become Boko Haram’s new stamping grounds — Niger, Chad and Cameroon — have long been distrustful of one another. Mr. Buhari met with their leaders one by one, shoring up support for a campaign to join forces to fight the group.

Military efforts have freed thousands of hostages of Boko Haram, most of them women and children. Yet the effort to press them for information about fighters appears inconsistent. In some instances the hostages, some of whom have been raped, are taken to camps where humanitarian groups spend time interviewing each about psychological problems that he or she may suffer. But it appears that no one is asking about the tactics and locations of fighters, alongside whom many have lived for months.

In contrast, in Borno State in Nigeria, the military has been detaining and screening nearly everyone held hostage by Boko Haram in an effort to collect information and determine whether the individual formed an allegiance with the militants. The detentions sometimes last months, and include even children. At the Minawao refugee camp outside Maroua, Cameroon, near a part of the country where Boko Haram has launched numerous attacks, residents said no one had inquired about the fighters.

There are examples of success. A young woman trained as a bomber near the border between Cameroon and Nigeria dropped her explosives and instead ran to the authorities in the village she had been sent to blow up. Her information led to a major operation that captured and killed numerous militants, officials said.

Col. Didier Badjeck, a spokesman for the Cameroon Defense Ministry, praised the emerging cooperation among the nations. One recent operation involved 500 soldiers from Cameroon and Nigeria, and guidance from the multinational task force in Chad.

In particular, he said, intelligence from Americans has been pivotal to carrying out operations. “They’ve given us very good information, and we can verify it,” he said. “And they also have given us information that we don’t have.” Colonel Badjeck added, “It’s the first time Americans have been this involved in West Africa.”

NYT

Details

Elangwe Pauline

24.Apr.2016

Hits: 3348

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today welcomed a contribution of nearly 15,000 metric tons of food, worth US$21 million or CFA 12 billion, from USAID’s Food for Peace Program to Cameroon. This food will bring vital support to 300,000 people−refugees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and vulnerable food insecure populations−over the next three months, just when they need it most, at the onset of the lean season.

“This much-needed food−rice, split peas, vegetable oil and super cereals−comes at a critical time as the Boko Haram crisis in the north and the Central African Republic (C.A.R.) refugee crisis in the east have generated increased needs and disrupted people’s lives in already fragile areas. It will help people cope over the next three months when they are most vulnerable as the lean season gets underway, and food insecurity worsens,” said Felix B.F. Gomez, WFP Country Director in Cameroon.  

In addition to some 260,000 refugees from C.A.R. who have been taking shelter for the past few years in Cameroon’s eastern regions, the Boko Haram violence continues to uproot families from their homes, disrupt the economy, agriculture and cross-border trade in the north of the country. More than 200,000 people–Nigerian refugees and Cameroonians–have been displaced due to the Boko Haram violence; in the worst-affected areas along the border with Nigeria, 1.4 million people face hunger.

“Without this support from our long-standing partner, USAID, we would not be able to continue providing the food and nutrition assistance that people need to survive. It’s an essential contribution to stave off hunger among those who need help most over the next months, but we are concerned that without additional international support, WFP will not be able to maintain its assistance as of June/July to the refugee and IDP populations,” said Gomez.

USAID is the largest single donor to WFP’s emergency programmes in Cameroon, covering up to 25 percent of the food assistance costs in 2016, and has been one of WFP’s key supporters over the years.

While this substantial contribution enables WFP to continue its support for another three months, an additional US$36 million is needed to sustain assistance to vulnerable communities until the end of the year.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide, delivering food assistance in emergencies and working with communities to improve nutrition and build resilience. Each year, WFP assists some 80 million people in around 80 countries.

WFP

Details

Elangwe Pauline

22.Apr.2016

Hits: 2701

According to an open complaint sent to the National Executive Committee NEC of Cameroon's lead opposition party the Social Democratic Front SDF, Felix Teche Nyamusa SDF 2018 Presidential hopeful (pending primaries) has been barred from the party activities according to Cameroon media outlet hilltopvoices  

      'His Excellency, kindly digest-cum-relay this concern to the National executive committee (NEC):

I, Felix Teche Nyamusa SDF 2018 Presidential hopeful (pending primaries) have recently been blocked from attending SDF meetings or permitted to attend but stopped from making contributions under flimsy excuses!

            Its worth mentioning that Felix Teche Nyamusa is SDF militant from conception of the party in 1990 and has held positions in same at various times and levels which include Tugi ward chair, district executive member of Mbengwi and Bamenda electoral districts and member of the provincial communication desk of North West Region (then province) and currently SDF presidential hopeful for the 2018 Cameroon presidential – it was the case in a North West regional reorganization planning meeting of March 2018(at Fru Ndi’s Ntarikon residence) with the SDF national chair His Excellency John Fru Ndi in attendance where your presidential hopeful was prevented from partaking in the gathering and again in another conclave at Fru Ndi’s Ntarikon residence this time of the Bamenda II district Saturday 16, April 2016 where I was permitted to attend but again controversially censored from contributing at the deliberations! It is worth noting that I after all was officially invited to this meeting by the district chair like I have attended other meetings here at the invitation of the past chairs. Today to some militants “Nyamusa is of SDF Mbengwi Momo and he is standing presidential primaries with Chairman Fru Ndi - he should be stifled at party activities!” It is worth mentioning that the Musang ward of chairman Pa Sembi in Bamenda II is my current SDF ward. I currently reside in Musang quarter of Bamenda II. When I am in the village - Tugi in Mbengwi subdivision of Momo division, I militate in the Tugi SDF ward where I am former chair. Where ever I go be it in Douala, Yaounde, North or any other part of Cameroon as well as in the Diaspora I have always made it a duty to identify and partake in my party SDF activities   .

            My field experience over the years has exposed this unlawful, anti constitutional posture by some party zealots which hampers democracy thereby increasing apathy by discouraging aspirants and their following not only as it concern me but also with respect to other militants at various levels of the party perpetuated by (some of) the chieftains in their respective constituencies especially those afraid of competition or for sycophancy sake!

  The SDF party constitution is unequivocal on:

 

-         Part of the Preamble: - “We hereby reiterate our belief in individual freedom in the framework of a just society, political freedom in the framework of a meaningful participation by all citizens in the political process and mindful of the constitution of the Republic of law No 90/056 of 19th December, 1990.

Pledge ourselves to an open and honest endeavour in the conduct of public affairs and in a manner worthy of a free people; convinced that the enduring strength of the Nation’s political institutions depends on the restoration of multiparty democratic practices. Affirm our conviction that a political party wishing to be trusted must prove its trust in the people.

Section 7.4 , of the party constitution

(a)Every member shall have the right to vote and be voted for any office or post of the party during any election, provided that such member has been active and is a current financial member of the party; (Yaounde conv.; 16-20.04.99)

Internal rules and regulations

Part II: Nominations for election

Section 5: Nomination for the presidential election

a)     The Republic shall form one single constituency for the purpose of nominating a presidential candidate of the party. Aspirants seeking nomination shall submit themselves to the National convention specially convened for that purpose. The applicant shall be supported by no less than ten accredited members to the convention from each of at least five (5) Regions of the Republic; (Bfsm. Conv. 29-31-7-93)

b)    The candidate that wins more than 50% of the votes of the total delegates of the special convention shall be considered duly nominated; provided that he/she has no less than one third of the votes cast at the nomination in each of six of the regions in the Republic”

Thus per our SDF constitution, the presidential candidate irrespective of whether he/she holds a party executive position or just a bare militant has the entire Cameroon as his/her constituency and obviously has as a duty to sell his/her image, ideology and manifesto to fellow citizens through party meetings, rallies--- .

            It is only through this that militants, Cameroonians will know such candidate(s) in order to ascertain whether he, she or they deserve their votes at polls or not!

Hence blocking them from fully and actively participating in meetings, rallies or other party activities I think is a disservice to SDF militants in particular and Cameroonians in general; unconstitutional; undemocratic thus weakening the party to say the least!

            Comrades, this is the ordeal the party, some party members including Nyamusa your humble presidential candidate (pending primaries) have been going through and we urge the national executive council (NEC) being one of the highest governing organ of the SDF party to get involved and educate militants and sympathizers against such party absurd, debasing actions!

May God guide, SDF, Cameroon.”

Details

Bakah Derick- hilltopvoices.org

22.Apr.2016

Hits: 3228

Biya Appoints Enow Ebge as member of Electoral Board,Enow Abrams Egbe makes his come back.the former governor has been in the cold since 2012,his last job was governor of Adamawa.

The Electoral Board is actually there to ensure the smooth functioning of Elections in Cameroon and also ensure compliance with the electoral law by all all stakeholders for the purpose of guaranteeing regular, impartial, free, fair, transparent and credible polls, but its electoral board is ironically appointed by the head of state who also is viewing to run for re-elections in the upcoming presidential elections in Cameroon.  

Enow Ebge comes from Manyu Division in the Southwest Province. Ex Governor Egbe is the fourth Governor from Manyu Division after Enoh Tanjong, Peter Oben Ashu and Martin Tanyi Tiku Baiye Arikai.

Details

Prince Nfor Hanson

22.Apr.2016

Hits: 3147