Cameroon's Prime Minister Philemon Yang has just signed the condolence book in the Yaoundé Embassy of France, Cameroon's former Colonial Master. Mr. Yang was representing head of state Paul Biya who earlier today sent a condolence letter to the French President Francoise Hollande.

 In the letter, Paul Biya condemned in strongest terms terrorism and promised to always be on the side of France to fight its enemies. In the message published on the website of the presidency, he equally extended his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved.

This is not the first time the head of state is reacting to spates of suicide attacks in France and other countries. Few weeks back it was to the president of Turkey that Cameroon's ruler extended his condolences when the airport was hit. In as much as we of Cameroon Concord agree that Diplomatic ties warrants the head of state to do so, we equally note with dissatisfaction the fact that the head of state has always reacted promptly and even gone far to show his sympathy with foreign countries when many have been dying in the far North of Cameroon but have never seen the presence of Chief of Armed forces.

Times without numbers Boko Haram has hit the Far North, hardly will the president address the nation, hardly will he attend funeral ceremonies of Soldiers organized in Yaoundé, hardly will he declare  day of national mourning. Cameroonians were surprised when the head of state declared day of national mourning to victims who died in Mecca last pilgrimage, but what about those in the far north?

In 2015, Cameroonian authorities paid tribute to 38 soldiers recently killed while fighting against terrorist group Boko Haram in Nigeria and against other militants in the Central African Republic with no word or attendence of the ceremony by Mr Biya, instead, three days later, an article was posted on the presidential website showing the president bowing before a soldier’s coffin in a fake photoshop image.At the time of the ceremony,Mr Biya was enjoying his rampant private trips to Europe and showed little concern .

 

As head of state and chief of the arm forces Cameroonians expect Paul Biya to be that president who will react immediately an incident occurs, just like what Ghanaian President did when dozens died when a truck caught fire, react like Kenyan president when terrorists attacked a school, react like Francoise Hollande who visited the site of Thursdays incident, react like Malian president who cut short his visit to Chad when rebels held visitors hostage in a Malian hotel. But NO! Instead Cameroonians are being fed with releases from the presidency signed by either Secretary General or Director of Civil cabinet, expressing condolences of Paul Biya, or better still the routine Press Conferences organized by Spokesman Issa Tchiroma Bakary.

Looking at the numerous scenarios, one is tempted to ask whether Cameroonian lives matter. What could cause a president to practically abandon his people at the time they need his moral support most. What Cameroonians need is not releases, what Cameroonians need especially those in the far North region is that soft touch from their darling president, they need the president to address them, comfort them, visit victims in hospital.

Chadian president Idriss Deby Itnu did that in Cameroon when he visited Soldiers in Yaoundé hospitals, at the back yard of his counterpart, confirming the adage that Closer to Church, far from God.

Cameroon Concord News desk can vividly remember how President Biya declared days of national mourning in 1998 when the 14 February Nsam disaster occurred ,another Day of National Mourning was declared on May 18 2007 when the Mbanga Mpongo incident took place, the plane crash which left many dead.

We think that the president can still revive such good memories when Cameroonians felt they have a leader who feels their pain and agony.
Yes Mr President You can still do it.

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Prince Nfor Hanson

15.Jul.2016

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The military days of Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari may have passed, but as the saying goes, ‘‘once a soldier, always a soldier.’‘ Buhari for the first time in a long time swapped his ‘‘Agbada’‘ (most preferred local costume) for full military uniform.

The Nigerian president reputed for his preference for local costumes accompanied almost always by a cap ‘turned on the style’ with a return to his military days. The Commander-In-Chief of the Nigerian Army in full military attire visited troops in Dansadau, Zamfara State, to mark the 2016 Nigerian Army Day.

Pictures of the president addressing troops have also received varied reactions by Nigerians on social media. It started with the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) accusing Buhari of imitating Goodluck Jonathan, who did something similar during his tenure.

That comment elicited a response from a government twitter handle.

African News

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Rita Akana

15.Jul.2016

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Morocco pulled out of the AU in 1984 over the latter's decision to accept the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a member

A Moroccan diplomatic source has said that his country will re-join the African Union after leaving 32 years ago.

The anonymous source made his comments to Moroccan newspaper Akhbar al-Youm on Wednesday, but refused to comment on whether King Mohammed VI would attend the upcoming AU summit starting this Sunday in Kigali, Rwanda.

The summit, which is the 27th of its kind, is expected to be the venue where Morocco’s decision will be formally announced, according to the source.

Late last month, the chair of the summit, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, visited Rabaat where he received Morocco’s highest state decoration.

King Mohammed’s father, King Hassan II, pulled Morocco out of the AU in 1984 over the union's decision to accept the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as a formal member.

Morocco considers the territory as part of the kingdom and insists its sovereignty cannot be challenged.

The United Nations has been trying to broker a Western Sahara settlement since 1991 after a ceasefire was reached to end a war that broke out when Morocco seized the former Spanish territory in 1975.

The UN chief wants to achieve progress in resolving the 40-year conflict over Western Sahara before he steps down at the end of the year.

Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar has been on a diplomatic offensive in recent days, according to Huffington Post Arabic, meeting with the presidents of Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan, Senegal, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast and the prime ministers of Libya and Ethiopia to inform them all of Morocco’s decision.

Morocco has special status within the AU and still has access to services available to all AU states, but remains the only African UN member not to be a member of the AU.

For this reason, some have called in recent years for Morocco to be brought back into the fold of the African Union.

“Morocco is a fully-fledged member of the African family, and no-one has the right to exclude the Kingdom from the AU,” Senegalese Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye said during King Mohammed’s visit to Senegal in May 2015. “We think that now is the time for Morocco to return to the African Union.”

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Rita Akana

15.Jul.2016

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Terrorist in Nice Truck Attack Was City Resident of Tunisian Origin

At least 84 people have died and scores have been injured after a truck crashed into a crowd of people in the south of France.

A further 18 people are seriously injured and many others hurt.

The dead include a number of children.

Witnesses described how the driver of the articulated lorry sped along a promenade packed with spectators leaving a fireworks display marking France’s national holiday.

Francois Hollande, the country’s president, said the killings were a terrorist act and extended the state of emergency for a further three months.

Euronews

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Rita Akana

15.Jul.2016

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Dozens are feared dead after a van ploughed into a crowd attending Bastille Day celebrations in the French city of Nice on Thursday night, in what local officals said was a likely attack.

• Mayor of Paris tweets in solidarity with Nice
• French prosecutor’s office says 60 feared dead

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France24

14.Jul.2016

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Nineteen contestants have filed their candidacy to run in the August 27 presidential elections to be held in Gabon.

The 19 nominations filed by the Tuesday,July 12 deadline must be validated by the Election Commission (Cenap) no later than 30 days before the election date, a source close to government told AFP.

It means that tentatively, the incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba who is seeking re-election despite claims by the opposition that he is not Gabonese, will face 18 other candidates on the ballot paper.

Two of the main opposition parties, the “National Union” (UN) and the “Rally Heritage and Modernity” party, who accuse Ali Bongo’s of being ineligible, said they filed an appeal on Wednesday with the Cenap to challenge the president’s candidacy.

They claim that Ali Bongo is a Nigerian child adopted by former President Omar Bongo in the late 1960s and further accuse him of falsifying his civil status. According to them, he cannot be a president under the Constitution, which requires him to be a Gabonese.

Electoral roll figures fall

The electoral list published last week identified 628,124 voters, down from the 2009 presidential elections, which had 813,164 voters. Ali Bongo won the polls and succeeded his late ‘father’, who had been in power for 41 years.

According to a source at the Interior Ministry, this difference is explained by the introduction of biometric electoral list in 2013: “There was a lot of duplicates on the 2009 list, which was only computerized, it is why we started from scratch with biometrics.”

Some of the leading contenders Bongo is likely to face include several former chiefs loyal to his fathers’ regime, but are now in opposition. Among others are former President of the Commission of the African Union, Jean Ping; former President of the National Assembly, Guy Nzouba Ndama and the former governor of the Bank of Central African States, Casimir Oye Mba.

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Rita Akana

14.Jul.2016

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