IS OBAMA AGAINST PAUL BIYA?

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

The recent order by American President Barack Obama sending 300 troops to Cameroon has set tongues wagging in Cameroon and Cameroonian circles as to America`s real intention and purpose as well as the likely consequences for Cameroon. Some commentators have gone as far as reading in the move, a ploy to eject Paul Biya from power.

A number of observations are worth making, one of which is that the American President himself explained that the move was intended to help Cameroon and other countries in the region threatened by the Islamist sect Boko Haram to fight the sect. We all know only too well the repeated suicide bombings that Boko Haram has unleashed in the affected areas, of which Cameroon`s Far North Region is a prime victim. We also know that the bulk of the school girls who have come to be known as known as the “Chibok Girls” who were kidnapped after Boko Haram raided its campus have still not been set free. In fact, while escapees from the sect have reported forced marriages to the girls by the Islamic militants, unwanted pregnancies as well as forceful conversion to Islam, it is now also being suspected that the young girls who have been carrying out the spate of suicide bombs might be drawn from among the captives.

Even so, the American president has made it clear that the troops will not be involved in any fighting, their role being simply to provide surveillance and intelligence support. However, one unanswered question is, if Boko Haram physically attacks the troops, will they not respond in like many? If they do, could that not lead to full scale fighting, which would be a radical departure from the initial mission?

One reason why this move by America may have shocked Cameroonians is that they were not expecting it, at least not from America. So, it generally caught them off guard. If this announcement of foreign troops being sent to Cameroon had come from the President of France about his own troops, it would have been understandable – although not necessarily cheered – considering Cameroon`s long and close relationship with France. France is, of course, well known for interfering in the affairs of its former colonies (although strictly speaking Cameroon is not one of them since part of its territory was only mandated to France rather than colonized by it). It is for that reason that France has been able to send troops to countries such as Chad, Côte d`Ivoire and the Central African Republic. However, France is still linked to Cameroon, not least through the French language which is one of Cameroon`s two official languages.

So, a question that may very well be asked is, what exactly is America doing in a country that is traditionally an ally of France more than its own ally. One answer to that question is that since the threat posed by Boko Haram has gone beyond the border of its country of origin – Nigeria -  it can now be considered to be international, in which case America has a right and a duty to intervene.

There is unlikely to be any clash of interests here between France and America because firstly, Obama`s gesture to Cameroon is coming after America had already started providing training and equipment to Nigerian forces in the fight. It will be recalled that when Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari visited the United States in July of this year, President Obama promised him military assistance to end the war. However, cross-border assistance in the fight is going both ways because France is also aiding Nigeria. In September of this year when French President François Hollande received President Muhamadu Buhari in Paris, he promised the Nigerian leader intelligence and equipment in order to boost the effort being made by the 8, 700 strong Multinational Joint Task Force task force (MJTF) drawn from Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Chad, and Benin to silence Boko Haram. Therefore, Washington`s troop deployment to Cameroon cannot be interpreted as a challenge to France.

One point we must not lose sight of is that the threat posed by Boko Haram is real and therefore requires a muscular response. To win the war, alliances are necessary. What is happening now between the United States and Cameroon is an alliance being formed to that effect. Alliances are very common in war situations. In fact, before American President Obama sent his troops, Chadian President Hissene Habre`s own had already entered Cameroon and for the same reason. Prior to that, we saw alliances being put in place when America rallied other countries to join it in the attack against Iraq. Similarly, Britain solicited and obtained America`s support in the Falklands war.  Long before any of those wars, we saw how a real web of alliances really and truly characterized the Second World War, and before it, the First World War.

Consequently, let us not unnecessarily blow Obama`s recent troop movement out of proportion.