War on terror

Goodluck abandons Boko Haram to Biya
- Can Biya call his Nigerian counterpart to order?
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde
It was with utter bewilderment and frustration that Cameroonians learned of a statement made by the spokesman of the Nigerian army after Cameroonian forces launched an air raid on the jihadist sect Boko Haram on Sunday, 28 December, 2014. The General blamed the Cameroonian soldiers, two days after the attack, for violating Nigeria’s airspace.
    It was the first time that alpha jets of the Cameroonian air force were coming into the scene. Their intervention followed a powerful insurgency by a large number of Boko Haram militants into the Far Northern town of Achigachia where they seized some ammunition belonging to the 42nd motorized infantry battalion of the Cameroonian army.
    However, thanks to the muscular and combined riposte of the Cameroonian air and ground forces, the assailants were pushed back into their Nigerian base.
   
    At a time when collaboration should be the watchword, the Nigerian army spokesman’s statement did not go down well with Cameroonians as well as members of the international community. Truly, it smacked of bad faith.
    Critics have described it as a blatant act of jealousy and senseless suspicion. Jealousy because whereas Boko Haram tend to overpower the Nigerian army each time they strike, they rather encounter tough times when they come face-to-face with Cameroonian forces.
    The Nigerian army’s suspicion is said to be senseless on the grounds that Cameroon has all along provided invaluable support to Nigeria in this war against Boko Haram. On a number of occasions Nigerian forces have fled the fighting and sought refuge in Cameroonian territory and they have been comfortably accommodated and later led back to their country in total security.
    Civilians in Nigeria have had the same experience. Whenever they are attacked by Boko Haram militants, many of them flee into Cameroon for safety.
    “What then is this issue of airspace violation when we have a common enemy we are fighting to overcome?” an observer questioned, visibly fuming. “Do Goodluck Jonathan and his men really know what they are doing?” Sources say with presidential election in Nigeria billed for 14 February this year President Goodluck Jonathan Azikiwe is more preoccupied with securing his reelection than fighting Boko Haram. And his Cameroonian counterpart seems to understand his dilema.
     And this may just be why in his end of year address to the nation on 31 December, 2014, President Biya hailed “some of our neighbours  who are cooperating with us to put up a common front against Boko Haram notably Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Benin.”
    Many Cameroonians are wondering aloud why President Biya can afford to be blind and complacent to such a stark reality as the non-cooperation of Nigeria with Cameroon in this fight against Boko Haram. Some are urging the president to call the Nigerian leader to order before things get out of hand.