President Paul Biya and First lady Chantal Biya were among the high-profile guests at the independence anniversary celebrations yesterday in N’Djamena.
Fifty years after independence, the Republic of Chad had many reasons to celebrate yesterday in N’Djamena. The presence of many august guests, made up mainly of Heads of the State and Government was an added spice on the menu of the activities. Among the many high profile invitees was the First Couple of Cameroon, President Paul Biya and wife, Chantal Biya. Their arrival last Monday January 11, 2011 at the Hassan Djamous International Airport in N’Djamena was a major crowd puller. Thousands of Cameroonians resident in Chad and the Far North Region of Cameroon thronged the airport to welcome the Presidential Couple. In song and dance, the mainly CPDM supporters made a strong and patriotic impression. Once more, Cameroonians within and without the national frontiers demonstrated total adhesion to the ideals of the New Deal and its apostle. The presence of the Presidential Couple in N’Djamena is another manifestation of strong ties binding Chad and Cameroon. The last time President Paul Biya came to Chad was during the launching of the Chad –Cameroon pipeline project. President Idriss Deby Itno and the Chadian people showered immense hospitality on their Cameroonian guest, commensurate with his status as the leader of the Central African sub-region and the main voice of the African continent in the Concert of Nations.
The Chadians are giving their own golden jubilee of independence celebration a special colouring. By moving the celebration from august 11, 2010 to January 11, they apparently intend to kick-start a new calendar year on a high gear. The new road infrastructure and building projects already accomplished in N’Djamena alone are a sterling barometer reading of the quantum leap in economic progress registered in the last few years. The beauty and attraction of independence square in N’Djamena is a symbolic pointer to the seriousness with which the Chadian nation attaches to this milestone event. Stretching through two days, the fiftieth independence anniversary celebrations of Chad reached their peak yesterday with a massive military parade watched by President Idriss Deby Itno and his august guests. The participation of a detachment of the Cameroon army in the military parade yesterday is another indicator of the multiplicity of common grounds cementing the special relations between Chad and Cameroon. Day two of anniversary celebrations today will involve mainly civilians. A huge march past of schools, higher institutions of learning, associations and other civilian outfits has been slated to take place today at the “Place du Cinquantenaire” in N’Djamena .
Chad and Cameroon are emerging stronger after celebrating the golden jubilee of their independence. The Yaoundé –N’Djamena axis remains as strong as ever and the most expressive example of good neighbourliness in the sub-region. Kousseri and N’Djamena are the staging post and a sterling example of the free movement of goods, persons and property in the African continent. The political savvy and statesmanship of President Paul Biya is highly admired in Chad. The stability, peace and political cohesion in Cameroon, are values highly cherished and admired in N’Djamena. Most Chadians count their blessings by evoking the fact that Cameroon, an island of peace and stability, is their neighbour. The last 22nd session of the Chad –Cameroon joint commission and many others in multiple domains underline the vital umbilical link between the two countries. The personal chemistry between Presidents Paul Biya and Idriss Deby Itno is a major accelerator of the increasingly re-enforced relations binding the two countries. During this fiftieth independence anniversary celebrations in N’Djamena , the link between the two presidents and the communion between the Chadian and Cameroonian people gained added impetus.
In another development, Presidents Paul Biya and Muammar Gaddafi had a tête-à-tête here in N’Djamena shortly after the independent anniversary military parade. Although nothing filtered from the meeting of the two statesmen, it is expected that issues of African interest may have been on the menu. As senior statesmen on the African continent, consultations on issues of mutual interest will always crop up. It will be recalled that on November 30, 2010 during the African Union/European Union Summit in Tripoli, the two leaders had a tête-à-tête in Libya. The N’Djamena meeting therefore, is a logical sequence to the Libya one.
