The 24th session of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the African Union which held in Addis Ababa and whose big issue was the fight against the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram has come, passed and gone with the Cameroonian dictator President Paul Biya not in attendance. Interestingly, not even an announcement on state radio and television indicating the participation of a member of the Cameroon government in the summit was made. You cannot be leading a people and you do not represent them where it matters.

This summit was not like any other!! It was indeed a Cameroonian summit for our chief executive to make his case as concerns Boko Haram incursion into our territory. It provided an international platform for President Biya to have told the world the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform and above all, it was an opportunity for Biya to have demonstrated to the world that diplomacy works and to make his vision and determination to combat Boko Haram a global issue. Biya and Cameroon lost it!! It is indeed difficult to tell what manner of a leader is President Paul Biya?

For a man who has worked extra-ordinarily hard towards keeping the homeland safe, Biya successfully brought the Republic of Chad with its dubious leadership to join the war on terror. He had a very intensive and productive meeting with Nikolay Ratsiborinski the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in Cameroon with Russia promising to help our military. The African Union Summit in Addis Ababa provided the best forum for President Biya to have said a goodbye blessing and informed the world that his score sheet was not staggering as his detractors have claimed. This is not to say President Biya has been attending African Union Heads of State Summits! But his absence from this edition was one final coup-de-grace.

Cameroon Concord has gathered intelligence that Biya drives regularly from Mvomeka’a to Yaoundé these days-a journey historically made by air using an helicopter. It is abundantly clear that at 82, you are medically advised to keep away from flying. This was also true with the Holy Father Pope Benedict. Our intelligence officers in Yaoundé have also hinted that leadership fatigue and boring French politics has prompted Biya not to meet with Pierre Lellouche and Philip Baumel, the two French deputies who rushed to Yaoundé in midweek to speak of "development and profitable growth."

President Biya’s recent anti French moves is preventing him from travelling out of Yaoundé and even from the country. His insistence that only Cameroonian army Generals loyal to him: Rene Meka and Tumenta should head the coalition troops in the Far North fighting against Boko Haram and the UN forces in Central African Republic, indicates that Biya and the French are no longer an item. However, an 82 year old man who has seen and done it all should not be sleeping with his eyes open! We of this publication feel President Biya should think and rethink things and go ahead and do the right thing by handing over to the new generation. A stitch in time saves nine

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Ngwa Bertrand

30.Jan.2015

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Some elements of the Nigerian Islamist sect Boko Haram have slaughtered 7 people on Wednesday in the town of Achigachia. 3 others were killed in the village of Gnam Gnam located some three kilometers from Waza. Part of Gnam Gnam village was also burnt by Boko Haram fighters.

Gnam Gnam and Achigachia are Cameroonian localities not far from the district of Waza, in the Department of Logone andChari deep within the Far North region. Cameroon Concord’s correspondent in Maroua revealed at the time of writing this report that the Chadian army has started deployment this Thursday morning in Fotokol. We gathered that they were given a baptism of fire by Boko Haram militants who fired seven rockets spreading panic in the city.

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Ngwa Bertrand

29.Jan.2015

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A new study shows oil-rich countries are a hundred times more likely to face foreign intervention and conflicts. The research by academics from the universities of Warwick, Portsmouth and Essex in the UK indicates that foreign governments are 100 times more likely to intervene in internal conflicts of other states, if the troubled countries are home to hydrocarbon reserves. The study examined 69 civil wars between 1945 and 1999. It said civil wars amount to 90% of all militarized conflicts since the close of World War II, and almost 67% of these have been characterized by foreign intervention.

It depicts oil as a dominant motivating factor in conflicts, and argues that hydrocarbons heavily influenced the West’s military intervention in Libya in North Africa. It also suggests oil plays a noteworthy factor in the so-called US-led coalition against the ISIL in the Middle East. Factors which played a part in influencing a foreign government’s decision to intervene included the military might and strength of insurgents on the ground, and the extent to which they sought to control valuable resources such as oil, RT reported Wednesday.

The report said foreign governments’ decision to intervene was largely dominated by their desire to control oil supplies in conflict-ridden states, while historical, geographic and cultural or ethnic ties were far less important. The researchers further noted that the United States maintains military presence in countries that produce oil, and have a long history of backing despotic regimes despite America’s supposed agenda of democratization. The study suggests the world can expect a cycle of low intervention in years to come because plunging oil prices make it a less valuable resource to protect.

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Ngwa Bertrand

29.Jan.2015

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Burkina Faso: Nine Months to Complete the Transition

Three months after Blaise Compaoré’s departure, Burkina Faso’s transition is moving forward in an uncertain context. The provisional government, with the help of its international partners, should initiate urgent reforms and ensure the October 2015 elections allow for peaceful, democratic change.

When President Blaise Compaoré was ousted in October 2014, he left the country with weak institutions and under economic strain. The provisional government, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida, has nine months left to organise presidential and parliamentary polls. Three major contradictions threaten the country’s stability: the tension between the desire for stability and the hope for radical change; the short time available in the transition to achieve vital but enormous tasks; and the need to organise polls as well as implement reforms while lacking the necessary funds. In its latest report, Burkina Faso: Nine Months to Complete the Transition, the International Crisis Group argues that to overcome these hurdles and to ensure that the army recedes from power at the end of the transition, Burkina Faso’s main actors should continue to manage the transition in an inclusive manner and receive the support of their international partners.

The report’s major findings and recommendations are:

• Burkina Faso’s transitional authorities must clearly define their priorities for the next nine months along four lines: rebuilding trust between the authorities and the population; improving the electoral law; elaborating a new draft constitution; and reforming the army.

• Dissolving the former presidential guard, the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP), must be done with great care and in constant consultation with its members. Unless RSP members are offered continued salary payment, pension rights and career progression, they could resort to violence and threaten the transition.

• To prepare for the October 2015 elections, the electoral law should be amended to allow independent candidates to contest local and legislative elections and to set a limit for financial contributions to election campaigns. In addition, the electoral commission should encourage the involvement of Burkina’s youthful voting population.

• Burkina Faso’s partners – the Economic Community of West African States, France, the U.S., the EU and Taiwan – should provide the funds needed to revise voter rolls and organise the elections. They should help in setting up the program to tackle youth unemployment promised by President Michel Kafando, and engage in dialogue with the army and military officers to make sure they relinquish power at the end of the transition.

“The transitional government will need to find the right balance between satisfying popular demands to prevent massive street protests and avoiding populist tendencies that could threaten state authority”, says Rinaldo Depagne, West Africa Project Director. “Blaise Compaoré’s departure does not mean that Burkina Faso is out of the woods”.

“Burkina Faso’s international partners must not repeat the mistake of turning a blind eye to poor governance to safeguard their strategic interests”, says Comfort Ero, Africa Program Director. “Now that the people have risen against autocracy, international partners should provide crucial financial and political support to accompany the country on its democratic path”.

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Ngwa Bertrand

29.Jan.2015

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A new study shows oil-rich countries are a hundred times more likely to face foreign intervention and conflicts. The research by academics from the universities of Warwick, Portsmouth and Essex in the UK indicates that foreign governments are 100 times more likely to intervene in internal conflicts of other states, if the troubled countries are home to hydrocarbon reserves. The study examined 69 civil wars between 1945 and 1999. It said civil wars amount to 90% of all militarized conflicts since the close of World War II, and almost 67% of these have been characterized by foreign intervention.

It depicts oil as a dominant motivating factor in conflicts, and argues that hydrocarbons heavily influenced the West’s military intervention in Libya in North Africa. It also suggests oil plays a noteworthy factor in the so-called US-led coalition against the ISIL in the Middle East. Factors which played a part in influencing a foreign government’s decision to intervene included the military might and strength of insurgents on the ground, and the extent to which they sought to control valuable resources such as oil, RT reported Wednesday.

The report said foreign governments’ decision to intervene was largely dominated by their desire to control oil supplies in conflict-ridden states, while historical, geographic and cultural or ethnic ties were far less important. The researchers further noted that the United States maintains military presence in countries that produce oil, and have a long history of backing despotic regimes despite America’s supposed agenda of democratization. The study suggests the world can expect a cycle of low intervention in years to come because plunging oil prices make it a less valuable resource to protect.

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

29.Jan.2015

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Burkina Faso: Nine Months to Complete the Transition

Three months after Blaise Compaoré’s departure, Burkina Faso’s transition is moving forward in an uncertain context. The provisional government, with the help of its international partners, should initiate urgent reforms and ensure the October 2015 elections allow for peaceful, democratic change.

When President Blaise Compaoré was ousted in October 2014, he left the country with weak institutions and under economic strain. The provisional government, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Yacouba Isaac Zida, has nine months left to organise presidential and parliamentary polls. Three major contradictions threaten the country’s stability: the tension between the desire for stability and the hope for radical change; the short time available in the transition to achieve vital but enormous tasks; and the need to organise polls as well as implement reforms while lacking the necessary funds. In its latest report, Burkina Faso: Nine Months to Complete the Transition, the International Crisis Group argues that to overcome these hurdles and to ensure that the army recedes from power at the end of the transition, Burkina Faso’s main actors should continue to manage the transition in an inclusive manner and receive the support of their international partners.

The report’s major findings and recommendations are:

• Burkina Faso’s transitional authorities must clearly define their priorities for the next nine months along four lines: rebuilding trust between the authorities and the population; improving the electoral law; elaborating a new draft constitution; and reforming the army.

• Dissolving the former presidential guard, the Presidential Security Regiment (RSP), must be done with great care and in constant consultation with its members. Unless RSP members are offered continued salary payment, pension rights and career progression, they could resort to violence and threaten the transition.

• To prepare for the October 2015 elections, the electoral law should be amended to allow independent candidates to contest local and legislative elections and to set a limit for financial contributions to election campaigns. In addition, the electoral commission should encourage the involvement of Burkina’s youthful voting population.

• Burkina Faso’s partners – the Economic Community of West African States, France, the U.S., the EU and Taiwan – should provide the funds needed to revise voter rolls and organise the elections. They should help in setting up the program to tackle youth unemployment promised by President Michel Kafando, and engage in dialogue with the army and military officers to make sure they relinquish power at the end of the transition.

“The transitional government will need to find the right balance between satisfying popular demands to prevent massive street protests and avoiding populist tendencies that could threaten state authority”, says Rinaldo Depagne, West Africa Project Director. “Blaise Compaoré’s departure does not mean that Burkina Faso is out of the woods”.

“Burkina Faso’s international partners must not repeat the mistake of turning a blind eye to poor governance to safeguard their strategic interests”, says Comfort Ero, Africa Program Director. “Now that the people have risen against autocracy, international partners should provide crucial financial and political support to accompany the country on its democratic path”.

Details

Ngwa Bertrand

29.Jan.2015

Hits: 1621