Those who until now had doubts about the ability of Cameroonians to rally behind issues of their common good had reasons to think otherwise in 2015. The Head of State in his State of the Nation address on 31 December 2015 not only recalled such sense of general determination on the part of Cameroonians, but equally sounded the warning bell against any complaisance, noting that the achievements of yesterday must not send any one to sleep in 2016.

Undoubtedly, the most common enemy that tested the will power of the entire nation in 2015 was the obnoxious Boko Haram extremists who mounted incursions from neighbouring Nigeria attempting to take swaths of land in the Far North of Cameroon. In the process they killed, maimed, planted bombs, transformed kids into suicide bombers and at time came in colonies with the intention of either terrorising the population or over-powering elements of the National Defence forces. Fortunately for Cameroonians, the soldiers remained steadfast, giving the people reasons to mobilise and boost the morale of the military beyond any all imagination. Evaluating the results obtained from such a collective will, President Paul Biya pointed out in his New Year message that; “Nothing will undermine the resolve of our defence and security forces. Nothing will affect our people’s morale or resilience. To deal with the atrocities of Boko Haram, the Nation’s vital forces are mobilized to firmly say NO to terrorism. Better still, they are contributing to the war effort in cash or kind. Such massive mobilization has given a special significance to our popular defence strategy. The Army and Nation are working in synergy to defend our territory and our sovereignty”

The effectiveness of the general mobilisation that Cameroonians put in place could be seen from the inability of the extremists to either go beyond three divisions in the Far North Region or use their military might for more than a few months. Face with a resilient and determined military and population, the only tactic left for militants of the retrograde sect was the exploitation of naive kids to plant bombs hoping to terrify the people. Unfortunately for the extremists, the move is seemingly going to be short-lived judging from the recent reinforcement of the vigilante groups in the affected localities.

If observers have often linked Cameroonians to a nation united by football, the Boko Haram militants have proven that perception to be shallow. While political leaders took turns to travel to the Far North in support of the defence forces and show solidarity to the afflicted population, virtually all segments of the population were busy either organising the collection of food items and financial support or creating awareness across the general public on how best to contribute in keeping the national frontiers safe from any invasion. Schools, places of worship, family gatherings, village groupings and other public gatherings became ideal occasions to sensitise the public against Boko Haram and how best to protect the nation. Tips on personal security and the sense of collective wellbeing have continued to be distributed in certain circles to ensure that no one should ignore the danger of the sect to measures being deployed against insecurity.

Evidently, the recent programme by the State to distribute protective gadgets to members of vigilante groups in the Far North Region is certainly going to reinforce that determination shown by the population. People are by now fully aware that those killing in the name of religions cannot be the right persons and the reminder by the Head of State that no one should be naive to think that the war is over could not have been otherwise. Given the massive recruitments that those planning such evil had made in some localities, especially within the youthful population and their increasing use of hate propaganda, it is obvious that the best option will be to continue being watchful so that any last vestiges of the sect that is within the population should not only be pushed back, but annihilated.