The just-ended Yaounde Summit on safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea will remain in the annals of history. The dust is yet to settle on the historic event that gathered 13 Heads of State at the Yaounde Conference

 Centre from June 24-25, 2013, to discuss repressive measures that will counteract illicit activities in the waters of the Gulf of Guinea. The two-day summit of Heads of State of the Economic Community of Central African States, ECCAS, Economic Community of West African States, ECOWAS, and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) on maritime safety and security will remain engraved in the minds of not only those who were at the venue, but especially those who today, will be counting their blessings in terms of fallouts. However, it is time for a balance sheet as those involved in the organisation of the event are analysing figures with regards to the success of the once-in-a-lifetime event.

Number Of Heads of State

If the triumph of the Yaounde summit was anything to go by, it was thanks to the attendance by a dozen Heads of State from the continent. Besides the host, His Excellency Paul Biya, Côte d’Ivoire’s Alassane Ouattara, Benin’s Thomas Boni Yayi, Burkina Faso’s Blaise Compaoré, Congo’s Denis Sassou N’Guesso, Chad’s Idriss Deby Itno, Gabon’s Ali Bongo Ondimba, Guinea Bissau’s Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo, Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, Niger’s Mahamadou Issoufou, Nigeria’s Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, Sao Tomé-et-Principe’s Manuel Pinto Da Costa and Togo’s Faure Gnassingbe, all made their presence felt in Yaounde, capital of Cameroon.  

Enthusiastic Delegations

Thirteen other African countries answered present at the summit. There was Angola, Burundi, Cape-Verde, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Gambia (represented by their Vice President), Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Sierra Leone. (Most were represented at Ministerial level). The conference witnessed one representative each from ECOWAS, ECCAS and GGC. The United Nations and African Union all sent representatives while observers also flew in from Germany, Belgium, Brazil, China, Spain, US, France, Japan, United Kingdom and Russia. Also represented were the European Union (EU), International Maritime Organisation (OMI), Maritime Organisation of West and Central Africa (OMAOC), American Command for Africa (AFRICOM) and the Centre for Strategic Studies in Africa (CESA).

400 Press Accreditations

Considering the magnitude of the high-level summit, it was but normal for such a mobilisation by the press as many at the Yaounde Conference Centre will testify. In the increasingly connected world, the Communication Commission took the bull by the horns to contribute its quota to the smooth success of the Yaounde summit.

Information garnered at the Ministry of Communication revealed that over 400 accreditations were issued to 350 local journalists and 50 to those of the international press. Cognisant of the fact that the corporate social media hub was the summit’s one-stop-shop for all the latest developments on the momentous event, two press centres were put in place. Three halls with over 35 computers were put at the disposal of journalists at the Yaounde Conference Centre while one press hall was put in place at the Ministry of Communication with over 15 computers with high-speed Internet connection, two telephone lines and one fax machine.  

Five buses put in place for journalists shuttled from the Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport where Heads of State and accompanying delegations made their entry into the country, the Yaounde Conference Centre where the event was taking place and the Ministry of Communication where they could report.

Some 300 information booklets were produced with over 1,000 out of the 1,500 press kits envisaged, distributed to give background knowledge of the summit to journalists.

A press dinner for journalists with over 400 people invited was equally organised as part of Communication Ministry’s activities to ensure a smooth summit.   

The summit equally saw the parading of special fleets of cars from the Yaounde Nsimalen Airport to hotels and the venue of the event. On board were delegations from the different countries that took part in the summit.