Traditional rulers join fight against Boko Haram

By Mbom Sixtus in Yaounde

After the Nigerian Islamic Boko Haram terrorist group carried out a bloody terror attack, abducting the wife of the vice prime minister and minister delegate at the presidency in charge of relations with the assemblies in the Far North region, traditional rulers in the Centre region are mobilising resources to sensitise their subjects and to prevent any attack in the nation’s capital, Yaounde.

The traditional rulers of Mfoundi division which harbours the headquarters of most state institutions, met in Yaounde July 30 in a working session which was co-chaired by the divisional officer for the division, Jean Claude Ntila, and the president of the Mfoundi Traditional Rulers’ Association, Guy Tsala Ndzomo, who is also vice rector of the University of Yaounde I.

One of the major proposals that emerged from the session was that the traditional leaders should, through the aid of their subjects and sub-chiefs, carry out censuses in their respective jurisdictions. The first deputy mayor of the Yaounde I municipality who represented mayor, Andze Andze Emile, said that the census will enable the traditional rulers to easily identify strangers and suspects in their various localities. “Even new comers who are in Yaounde for a short visit should be included in the registry of every quarter,” he suggested.

The secretary general of the traditional rulers association, which is commonly known by its French language acronym, ACTRAM said in his address that for government to win the fight against Boko Haram in the northern regions of Cameroon, poverty needs to be alleviated, slums need to be urbanised and youth unemployment rate hastily reduced to avert possible Boko Haram recruitments. Anaba also stressed on the reinforcement of moral education as a means of getting Cameroonians to shun the dreaded Islamist group.

 Tsala Ndzomo, before presenting his exposé, called for the observance of a minute of silence for soldiers and civilians who lost their lives in last Sunday’s bloody attack. He recounted the genesis of the terror group and how their attacks spread from Nigeria into Cameroon. He said insurgents of the group got into Cameroon when they were fleeing from the Nigerian army, and since Cameroon rejected the principle of hot pursuit, the army could not come across the border. Boko Haram settled in Cameroon and the country was tagged as an accomplice by Nigerian security forces.

He said things took a twist for the worst when they started kidnappings for ransoms and later moved to attacks on security posts. He regretted that the insurgents targeted the vice prime minister, Amadou Ali in the most recent attack.

According to Ndzomo, the association decided to sensitize citizens in the Centre region when President Biya declared war on Boko Haram during a Paris heads of state summit which took place in May. He revealed that they have combed the entire centre region and the working session is just an icing on the cake.

The DO for his part, appreciated the initiative which has led to the creation of a vigilance committee which will be providing administrative authorities with information about suspicious individuals and activities in the region. A solidarity Fund was equally born out of the session to support the collective and individual activities of members of the association.

The meeting was attended by senators and members of parliament including Sen. Bell Luc Rene, former governor and vice president of the association. It was organised at a time when government is yet to issue an official statement as regards causalities from last Sunday’s attack in Kolofata, Far North region.

Meantime, reporters who visited the Maroua regional hospital after the attack told The Guardian Post that the hospital morgue was full as 24 bodies of dead soldiers in Cameroon army gear were brought in while some four others were taken elsewhere for lack of space.

The state media, for its part reported that 14 people were killed in the strike while 17 others were reported missing. Lt. Colonel Didier Badjeck, head of communication division at the ministry of defence simply told reporters to give the armed forces time to count their loses and give an appropriate report. He also said the strike was carried out by 400 assailants and the military is preparing a proportionate response to the event.

Inhabitants of the Simbock neighbourhood told The Guardian Post that more armoured vehicles left the Simbock International War School on Monday. They insinuated that the convoy was heading for the northern regions where the Nigerian Islamic sect has reinforced its material and human resources. Citizens reportedly cheered and encouraged the soldiers as they drove out of town.