Politics

Female soldiers of the National Gendarmerie corps engaged at the warfront in the northern part of the country against the terrorist sect, Boko Haram, have been praised for their unwavering courage and bravery. While presiding over a festive common meal with civilian and military female staff of the National Gendarmerie corps on March 8, 2016 at the Camp Yeyap barracks in Yaounde, the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Defence in charge of the National Gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam, urged them to remain confident that their defense of the fatherland and preservation of territorial integrity will not be in vain.

After the march past to mark the 31st International Women’s Day in Yaounde, the female staff of the National Gendarmerie corps gathered around their boss and through the department’s Gender Focal Point, Colonel Elisabeth Mindzie, praised hierarchy for progress made to ensure gender equality in their administration. Also speaking on their behalf, Major Huguette Mvogo noted with satisfaction the change in recruitment policy that instituted at least 10 per cent female recruits for every gendarmerie recruitment examination. 

In training, female gendarmes are admitted in all internships while appointments now put women in several levels of command. As example, there is one Legion commander, one Regional Gendarmerie Headquarters chief of staff, two military tribunal presidents, over 200 company commanders and a multitude of brigade commanders. “But we don’t yet have a director or a general,” the spokeswoman noted. A grievance supported by the Special Guest and Coordinator of the “More Women in Politics” Network, Pr. Justine Diffo.

In response, Jean Baptiste Bokam revisited the path covered to demonstrate hierarchy’s awareness of the woman’s undeniable role in command but urged them to sustain their quest for excellence and good work because promotion to higher grades and appointment to posts of responsibility require the permanent culture of discipline, respect of hierarchy and moral rectitude, amongst others.

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Cameroon Tribune

10.Mar.2016

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En route to the French capital, Paris, the newly elected president of the Central African Republic, Faustin Archange Touadéra made a quick stop on Tuesday in the Cameroonian capital, Yaounde. Etoudi deployed red carpet for the new strongman of Bangui. It was a triumphant return to Cameroon for this former student of the University of Yaounde I, who in 2004, had successfully defended a State doctoral thesis in Cameroon's temple of knowledge. 

President Archange Touadera was greeted upon arrival at the airport in Yaoundé by Prime Minister, Head of Government, Philemeon Yang. He was accorded military honors by the presidential guard and an official dinner at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel.

It was also an opportunity for Cameroon’s Prime Minister to waste tax payers money by setting a table of 25 seats in honor of President Touadéra. The Governor of the Central Region, prefects of Mfoundi and Mefou-and-Afamba, the government delegate to the Yaounde Urban Council all took part in the lavish dinner.

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Rita Akana in Yaounde

09.Mar.2016

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The Govornor of The Far North Region has handed out motorbikes and bicycles from the Cameroon Government  to antigang groups to monitor the porous northern border with Nigeria. Through this measure,the government hopes the youths can track down suspected Boko Haram suicide bombers.

About 50 members of an anitigang group sing and dance to local war songs as they prepare to venture into Cameroon's northern frontline with Boko Haram. They know the terrain to their finger tips and are capable of outmaneuvering the insurgents.

They wield different versions of handmade machetes, a few Kalashnikovs and anything they could use to scare off the Islamists. Since their inception, they have had some amount of success fending off an already weakened Boko Haram.

By giving the vigilantes motorbikes and bicycles, Midjiyawa Bakari, who is the Governor of Cameroon's Far North region, told DW that he hopes they can "track down unwanted visitors."

"After a long period of time spent encouraging people to contribute to the fight against Boko Haram, the inhabitants of villages bordering Nigeria have been joining these self-defense groups in large numbers," Bakari said.

"Those members that died protecting Cameroon did not lay down their lives in vain. Their country will always remember and honor them," he added.

Last year, Cameroon and its neighbors formed a military coalition and launched an offensive against Boko Haram. They took back almost all of the swathes of territories under control of the militants.

Boko Haram has resorted to carrying out lone wolf suicide attacks and is now planting landmines across the Cameroon-Nigerian border. As a result, Cameroon's army is suffering heavy casualties and cannot keep track of Boko Haram's locations. The government hopes that with local expertise and very mobile vigilante groups, the movement of the militants can be tracked.

In Kolofata, a Cameroonian border town, which has been hit several times by Boko Haram, an armed vigilante, Fon Godlove, is cruising on his brand new 125cc motorbike. Godlove is one of 50 recipients of the bikes. "This motorcycle will take me to anywhere I want to go,"Godlove proudly said.

The primary school teacher joined a vigilante group last year, because he said he was tired of running away from Boko Haram. He is aware of the dangers of confronting gun-toting militants, armed to the teeth, with crooked and rusty machetes. But he said he is not afraid to confront them anywhere.

His new motorbike will make his work much easier, he said. "Whether the road is bad or good, I am able to go with the motorcycle. It can take me anywhere - un-tarred roads, hilly places, valleys, deserts," Godlove added.

As the vigilantes received their motorbikes, Kolofata resident Dr. Awah Sadjo was among the group of onlookers. She said she understands the reasons for making the youths mobile. "The military cannot be everywhere," Sadjo said.

Sadjo lost a few members of her family during Boko Haram attacks in 2015. "We feel more secure when there are self defense groups at work. Now that they have been given motorcycles and weapons to facilitate their work, I feel happy," Sadjo added.

Another Kolofata resident, Hamadikou Falama, said Cameroon is reporting fewer casualties as a result of the work of the vigilantes. "Last week we detected three strange teenage boys in the town and when some of our members went to search them, the strangers refused to collaborate," Falama said.

"After using force, we discovered they had explosive devices that they were planning to install on our roads. One of them unfortunately escaped, but we arrested the two," he added.

(DW)

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Elangwe Pauline

09.Mar.2016

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A trend has of late been visible in Cameroon with the address of motions of support and calls for the Head of State to stand for another term of office during the next presidential election. The move initiated by supporters of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM party has obviously ignited debate across the country. Some think it is too early given that the next election, according to the Constitution, is supposed to be in 2018. The other argument is that the CPDM needed no such massive mobilisation since the by-laws of the party are clear on the issue with their chair being the natural candidate and as such, they simply ought to call for a congress to enthrone the person they want to represent them at the next presidential election. Of course, the supporters of the CPDM who take the front seat in elaborating the motions have not run out of ideas to defend the option. 

The peace and stability that Mr Biya has ensured in Cameroon over the years, the distribution of the national cake through the appointment of sons and daughters of the various localities in the country to posts of responsibility, his leadership qualities, ambitions for an emergent Cameroon by 2035, the fight against corruption, and the list continuous. The recent imposition of an unjustified war by the Boko Haram extremist group in the Far North Region of Cameroon has not only reinforced the suspicion of a conspiracy theory, but also heightened the resolve by Cameroonians of almost all strata to rally behind President Paul Biya for a stronger and conquering nation. For the past two years that the insurgency started in parts of the Far North Region with the abduction of expatriates and some religious, the Heard of State showed resolve and determination to handle the onslaught making sure that State power prevails. But with the continuous killings of young Cameroonians, innocent citizens and even people in prayer sessions being brutally slaughtered, there has been every reason for unanimous action across the board to let the enemy understood the steadfastness of the entire nation toward peace and stability. Until now, the motions of support have been pouring in from various parts of the nation and people found it as a trendy evolution. That narrative has obviously changed.

Cameroonians in the Diaspora have added their voice to the calls for Mr Biya to stand again as candidate for the next election to the post of President of the Republic of Cameroon. The fact that the justifications given by members of the Diaspora are the same as those of their compatriots back home speaks of the sense of purpose and desire for the establishment to make good certain achievements for Cameroon. CPDM supporters in the United States of America, France, the Great Britain, Belgium and others have now joined the bandwagon. The approach may not be new but the influx from several countries at the same time has been enough to attract attention as to whether it is a sheer coincidence or those involved had to consult each other before writing. It is most likely that their concern for national cohesion and the experiences that they have been witnessing in their countries of residence and at the internal level, in general, guided the foreign influx of motions of support.

The signatories must have analysed the situation of chaos and instability that exist in some countries, especially within the African Continent, and even across the globe before coming to the conclusion that the best risk for Cameroon remains Mr Biya. Also, as members of a given political party it remains their inalienable and democratic right to call for the person they deem fit to be their candidate. The timing may not be an issue and the evident way forward for other political parties in the country should be to also gird their loins and mobilise. Thus, CPDM supporters from the national territory who started the calls for Mr Biya to represent them at the next Presidential election will now feel more comforted that their comrades in the Diaspora have joined hands to ensure that their standard-bearer should not be changed. He has in the past enabled the party to achieve important victories for the party and for Cameroon as a nation and they think the same arguments are valid today for the wellbeing of the CPDM, in general, and the nation as a whole.

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Cameroon Tribune

08.Mar.2016

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Grouped as an enlarged meeting of the people of the South West Region, the local leaders of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), members of Parliament, Government Delegates, Mayors; the elite, traditional rulers and other vital forces have added their voices to the nation-wide call on the Head of State and National President of the party in power, President Paul Biya, to re-stand as candidate for the next presidential election whether anticipated, timely or even postponed. The regional call was read out and handed to the Governor of the South West Region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, for on-ward transmission during a public rally held at the Buea ceremonial ground amidst a crowd estimated beyond 5000.

On the occasion, a public rally graced by public speeches and traditional dances preceded a 200-metre walk from the Bongo Square to the new Buea Council Office. In his address as leader of the South West Permanent Regional Delegation of the CPDM Central Committee, Senator Peter Mafany Musonge said Cameroon was at a crossroads with its security and political agenda, both situations posing challenges on the Nation’s march towards the 2035 emergence plan. Reading the political board at hand, he questioned: “Should a people, so free and living in a Republic, assume silence as a posture in the face of an equation of choice?” The former Prime Minister said it is a “logical, legitimate and befitting response from a people gathered at the foot of Mount Fako to say their choice has a volcanic proportion and pregnant with fortune, hope and promising destiny for the entire South West Region and that choice is President Paul Biya”.

Mafany Musonge stated the convictions of the South West people to include “full knowledge of the man, Paul Biya, his character, vision, policy records, an astute crusader for national unity, peace and security; the man who used statesmanship and diplomatic skills to regain Bakassi from foreign occupation, the man using strategic and tactical defense measures in the fight against Boko Haram terrorism” To state the logic, wisdom and political correctness for the South West choice, Musonge brought in such socio-economic factors as the completed Mutengene–Kumba road, the Mamfe-Ekok road, the on-going Kumba-Mamfe road, the projected Limbe Deep Seaport, the Limbe Omnisport Stadium, the transformation of towns like Buea, and the preservation of CDC and PAMOL.

Hopes for road-axes under study such as Kumba-Tombel-Bangem-Melong and the Bakebe-Menji-Dschang also constitute arguments for the South West to stand as one man in favour of President Paul Biya’s candidacy for the up-coming presidential polls, the speaker underscored. Speaking on behalf of women of the South West Region, Mrs. Emenkeng Aka Thecla, member of the national Bureau of WCPDM and President of Lebialem I WCPDM Section called particularly on women to make Paul Biya their choice because statistics of women empowerment since his accession to power remain self evident. She mentioned amidst thunderous applauses10 women as members of Government today compared to only two at the time Paul Biya became President of the Republic.

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Cameroon Tribune

08.Mar.2016

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Suspected Boko Haram killers gunned down at least 9 people in Cameroon on Monday night in a sustained escalation of mass murder by a group of ruthless terrorists who have killed tens of thousands, displaced millions and kidnapped scores of women in recent years.

Local newspaper, L’Oeil du Sahel, said the four civilians were killed
in the locality of Bame near Kolofata in Cameroon’s far north along the border with Nigeria where the terrorists are based.

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Elangwe Pauline

08.Mar.2016

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