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Editorial Comment: Cameroon-Nigeria: Why Dialogue Must Prevail

The Nigerian Interior Minister, Abdulrhaman Bello Bandazau has been in the country since yesterday for a series of talks meant, as they say in diplomatic language, to discuss questions of common interest.

Diplomatic language aside, many issues bind together citizens on the one hand and even the governments of the two countries on the other. Take geography. There is a record 2000-odd kilometre boundary separating the two countries, one of the longest in Africa and when it comes to History, there is simply a lot to write home about, least of the issues not being the fact that parts of the territory that today constitute the Nigerian or Cameroonian political entities have, at one time been part of either country as per the configuration of today.

Nigeria’s freshly elected leaders have, virtually as a tradition, come to Cameroon even before formally taking office. And the tradition was not broken when President Muhamadu Buhari, upon taking office after last year’s election confirmed the practice by coming to Yaounde, even if with a few weeks of delay, which delay was painstakingly explained by a statement from Aso Rock, not on any intention to break a tradition, but because of an unusually-charged calendar of the President upon taking office.

When President Buhari finally came to Yaounde, obviously in vindication of the long-standing tradition, President Paul Biya in a toast at a reception at State House in Yaounde reminded him of the fact that Nigeria was a “neighbouring and brotherly country with which we have always shared strong and indestructible ties created by our geographic closeness and History.” Geography and history justify the need to work closely; but lately, the infamous Boko Haram has made cooperation a must, given not only the geo-political implications that could bring Nigeria and Cameroon into a senseless and unnecessarily other conflict, but also the disastrous socio-economic  consequences engendered by the massive movements of people across the border causing what the United Nations today describes as a humanitarian challenge whose burden is almost entirely borne by Cameroon.

Visits such as the one being effected in Cameroon by the Interior Minister of Nigeria are to be highly encouraged. On the one hand, the visit comes to keep alive the necessary dialogue expected to maintain the two sides in permanent contact, notably sharing information on what is being done and within the framework of the multi-national task force put in place between the governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Republic of Benin.

Cooperation between Cameroon and Nigeria is even more evident given the scope of the suffering of the population in the border areas and the urgent need to arrive at a combined solution in addressing the new form of terrorism being used by Boko Haram which consists of arming young girls with explosives which they let loose in public places such as markets, mosques or churches leading to heavy death tolls. Governments of the two countries must be seen to be speaking the same language in the fight against Boko Haram and the visit to the border areas and more particularly the camps hosting Nigerian refugees in Cameroon territory will help the Nigerian senior official to grasp the full measure of the ground situation and better inform whatever the Nigerians have in their mind as a solution.

The present visit should also be seen in the light of the recommendations of the 2006 Greentree Agreement between Cameroon and Nigeria over the Bakassi conflict whose agreement suggested regular meetings between officials of the two countries as a confidence-building measure. Mr Rene Emmanuel Sadi, Cameroon’s Minister for Territorial Administration is a regular visitor to Nigeria, working for the furtherance of this important confidence-building initiative and moreover, Cameroon has never undermined the importance of Cameroon-Nigeria ties.

President Biya’s remarks at a toast made during a luncheon for President Buhari at State House in Yaounde on Wednesday July 29, 2015 say it all: “I am therefore appealing, Mr President, for a fresh push to economic ties between our two countries to ensure greater solidarity and complementarity. In the same vein we should ease trade between our two countries and encourage more joint ventures involving our economic operators.” Cameroon therefore, welcomes this visit and hopes many more will follow.

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