The presence of Chadian troops sparks debate

Last Saturday, panelists of "Electorat" on Magic FM deliberated on the presence of troops from Chad in the country.

The debate on 'Electorat' of Magic Fm on Saturday took about 80-120 minutes of the show. The debate centered on the announcement of the presence of Chadian troops to support the Cameroonian defense forces in the fight against Boko Haram.

A contingent from Chad was announced by the President of the Republic to have come to support the local army, in a statement made public by the Minister of Communication Issa Tchiroma Bakary last Thursday.

The seven panelists expressed their appreciation on this news yet shared diverse opinions on the matter.

For Political scientist Hans de Marie Ngoup, the decision of President Idriss Deby Itno "is as a result of pressure from outside, especially France".

Emmanuel Mbegnoun, communicator at the Social Democratic Front (SDF) for the Centre rose against what he calls "the victimization of financial Africa." For him, "one cannot always take France as a country which decides everything in Africa...". We present Chad as a country undergoing injunctions from France. Chad has the right to bring relief to Cameroon by itself," he said.

Alain Marc Kake, an expert thinks that their coming is late: "I think that Chad enters this war a little late though Chad's entry into the war is a good thing to prove the point that Africa can charge," he noted.

Activists like Mayi Mayi of the Union of the People of Cameroon (Upc) have clearly shown their disapproval to the presence of foreign troops on Cameroonian soil. "I am against the introduction of foreign army into Cameroon." For him, the presence of Chadian army soldiers is only "an insult to our armed forces".

The Cameroonian army is capable of defending the integrity of its territory," he said. An opinion which was not shared by the journalist Christian Lang who said that "sovereignty and defence of territorial integrity does not mean ostracism. The assistance can be given in several ways", and he welcomed the operational support provided by the Chadian army.

For Aimé Cyprien Olinga, the president of the Frente Democrático Revolucionario (FDR) said that, even if the Cameroonian army remains "a mighty army", Chadian involvement in this conflict is justified insofar as it will bring a plus of firepower against the Boko Haram sect.

For political scientist Ngoup, the assistance provided by the Chadian army comes at the right time, to the extent where the Cameroonian defence forces are in a position of strength on the ground. "When you are attacked by an enemy, if you immediately shout for help, you appear low", He emphasized that the time chosen by the highest authority of the State in his message to the diplomatic corps, and after the numerous victories of the defence forces, was good.

For Franck Hubert Ateba, President of the NGO Afric' future, ' the solution against Boko Haram is global "and concerns the entire Member countries of the Lake Chad Basin Commission.

All the panelists invited by the presenter Jean Patient Tsala at least presented a fact that the Cameroonian defense forces have so far not surrundered even an inch of the national territory to members of the Islamist sect Boko Haram.