The event passed almost unnoticed, overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of preparations for the National Day. But it was ten years ago, in May 2014, that Cameroon solemnly declared war on the terrorist sect Boko Haram, which at the time was planning to extend its obscurantist caliphate across the Far-North Region. Less than three years later, the violent and deadly manifestations of the separatist propaganda appeared in the North-West and South-West Regions.
To date, epic battles and sheer determination have kept these two threats at bay. The situation is largely under control, despite a few atrocities here and there, but not enough to jeopardise the return to normalcy in these regions.
Beyond fighting to preserve our territorial integrity, our Defence and Security Forces are at the same time doing their best to meet the needs of the communities affected by the insecurity caused by these threats. From Bakassi to Makari, from Batibo to Gari-Gombo, hundreds of civil-military operations are carried out every year. Food distributions are organised, free vaccination campaigns are carried out even in the most remote areas, and the military even ensures the effectiveness of the education system in schools located in insecure areas.
Is laying down one’s life for one’s compatriots, feeding and caring for the citizens, educating young people and building public infrastructure not a way of protecting and promoting human rights? Cameroon’s soldiers, gendarmes and policemen do this every day with an efficiency that commands the admiration, respect, love and support of our people. How many armies in Africa, or even in the world, can claim to do so much with such devotion and efficiency?
Yet these men and women of sacrificial devotion are targeted from all sides, with vile accusations. Attacks from outside would be a lesser evil if they were not sometimes echoed and sometimes amplified by compatriots ready to blow the trumpets of denunciation, slander and vilification against their own country. What a shame!
The nagging question is: in whose interest are Cameroonians prepared to sacrifice their country, their homeland? In the 21st century, which holds out the prospect of affirmation conducive to all-round development, how can we come to beg for the return of foreign domination? Is it amnesia, bulimia or inability to be at ease with ourselves?
Amnesia can be overcome by regular reading of textbooks on colonisation, its consequences and after-effects. Bulimia can only be remedied by the ability to decide for oneself what to do with one’s wealth. As for those who feel incapable of defining their own destiny, t