'Economic cooperation is necessary between Biya and Buhari'

In response to an invitation from his counterpart, Paul Biya, Muhammadou Buhari, President of the Republic of Nigeria will arrive in to Cameroon for a 48-hour visit on Wednesday.

While it is clear that the issue of the fight against Boko Haram will be the center of discussion between the two men, it is important not to neglect economic issues, according to Professor Jean Emmanuel Pondi, a specialist in International Relations.

“Africa is in full economic take-off. We see that the economies which are more efficient and which have the highest rates of growth are in Africa. Nigeria took the first place in relation to the economy of the continent in October 2013. It surpassed South Africa. This issue should necessarily be concerted because terrorists contribute to economic failures. These economic failures make the bed of challenges and put people in the position of being potential terrorists like Boko Haram. If you look well into the economic aspect, it can help solve the security aspect," said the specialist who was invited to the 1 pm newscast, Tuesday, July 28, 2015 on the National post of the Cameroon Radio and television (Crtv).

According to the university lecturer, Cameroon could make significant profits by virtue of its proximity to this economic giant of Africa. "It's a very important economy and you should also know that demographically, there is a Nigerian out of 5 Africans.”

We have the chance to be the next after such an economy and we can benefit if we have our economic system in tune with this challenge. Nigeria also has a film industry that is ranked third worldwide after the United States and India with about 380 films produced per year. What is important is to know that economic significance is often preceded by a cultural significance. We saw a similar situation in the United States with the American way of life. Africa with Nigeria as the front runner is trying to show the world its culture and its vision about the world. Cameroon which is nearby is taking a number of benchmarks and I think collaboration may help one another," explained Jean Emmanuel Pondi.

Concerning the fight against Boko Haram, the former Director of International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC), expects inter alia, a "concertion on how to deal with that approach."

He is convinced that pooling of forces is necessary to overcome Boko Haram which is a transnational organization. “With a common border stretching over more than 1200 kilometers, the two countries have an interest to agree,” thought the International Relations specialist.