The Head of State has made Abuja a choice destination for bilateral and regional diplomacy and his rounds in the Nigerian capital clearly indicated that posture.

What wonderful auspices for the Head of State who was setting his foot on the Nigerian capital, Abuja for the second time in two weeks just about when some very refreshing news was coming from the war front, announcing some vey significant defeat inflicted on the nebulous  Boko Haram sect by Cameroonian soldiers and leading to the capture of a warlord of no mean caliber and an Emir for that matter! This must have given the Cameroonian Head of State some celebrating stature, but for those who know him well, there was really no reason for celebration except for the fact that the defeat of the sect set some good auspices for the beginning of the summit.

The President’s very busy schedule in Abuja began with his arrival at the presidential wing of Abuja’s Nnamdi Azikiwe international airport shortly before midday. Before the Minister of Internal Affairs of Nigeria Lt Gen (rtd) Abdurahman Bello Dambazau formally received him on Nigerian soil, Cameroon’s High Commissioner to Nigeria Salaheddine Abbas Ibrahima had gone up into the aircraft and briefly concerted with the President before he came down to the tarmac to receive a bouquet of flowers from a young Cameroonian girl before from where he was led to stand before a detachment of the Brigade of Guards for the playing of the Cameroonian and Nigerian national anthems.

The President and his official entourage, comprising Ministers Joseph Beti Assomo (Defence), Lejeune Mbella Mbella(External Relations), Belinga Eboutou (Director of Cabinet), René Emmanuel Sadi  (Territorial Administration), Victor Arrey Nkongho Mengot (Special Duties) and Abdoulaye Yaouba (Minister Delegate for planning) then headed for Abuja’s central area where the Head of State took residence at the Transcorp Hilton; but not for long because he was soon whisked off for the State House at the Aso Rock villa for lunch with other leaders attending the summit including the French President Francois Hollande.

The unannounced lunch was certainly responsible for the late start of the summit initially slated for 2PM but which took off in earnest at about 3.30PM beginning with a report of the experts’ meeting read by the Foreign Minister of Nigeria, Godfred Onyeama that held before the summit and whose conclusions for the most part were going to be the basis of the summit’s decisions. Seven of the nine Heads of State present at the summit took the floor beginning with host President Muhammadu Buhari and his colleagues of France, Chad, Gabon, Niger and Senegal as well as the Secretary in the UK Foreign Office Phil Hammond, the US Deputy Secretary of State, the European Union High Representative for External Relations Federica Mogherini and a high-level representative of the Chinese government.

President Biya was the third Head of State at the podium and in his brief statement highlighted the fact that the conclusions of the first security summit held in Paris two years ago had produced very positive impacts in the fight against Boko Haram. Because of the new-found unity between the affected countries, he said the nebulous sect had now reduced its activities to suicide bombings and had no doubt that its days were counted.

The President of the Republic also had some good scores for the handling of the humanitarian crisis created by the influx of refugees and other internally displaced people which was greatly allayed thanks to the efforts of such agencies as the UNHCR or Medecins Sans Frontieres, MSF for which he expressed gratitude. President Biya was particularly grateful for the new interest manifested by his colleagues of West and Central Africa, justified by the presence of Presidents Macky Sall of Senegal, Ali Bongo Ondimba of Gabon and the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea at the summit. (See full speech published as part of this report).

On the sidelines of the summit, the President conferred for some 20 minutes with the UK Secretary in the Foreign Office, Phil Hammond. Nothing filtered out of the conclave, held in an adjoining presidential lounge at the Transcorp Hilton Conference Centre in Abuja. But as the only other Commonwealth country, apart from Nigeria, at the summit, it was normal the two leaders concert. Moreover, Cameroon maintains close relations with the UK and it was but normal not to miss any occasion to warm up these relations.

Also very noticeable was the very warm exchange held on one of the summit corridors between President Biya and his Gabonese counterpart, Ali Bong Ondimba before the President retired to his ninth floor apartments at the Hilton when night had already fallen on Abuja, ending a very busy Saturday.

Even yesterday Sunday was not so quiet for the President. At the airport before he flew back home yesterday morning, he was given a festive goodbye ceremony as ordinary Cameroonian residents of Abuja and members of his ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement seemed to be struggling for notice and notoriety as they sang out and danced visibly in support of their leader.