The Fallen Cameroonian Captain

Up to recently, Cameroonian soldiers had been dying in the ongoing war between the Islamic terrorist group called Boko Haram and the combined forces of Cameroon and Chad.

However, a few days ago, the war took a turn for the worse when a Cameroonian captain, Matute Elvis Mbene, from Fako Division had the vehicle in which he was being driven by his driver in the war zone, exploded by a mine said to have been planted by Boko Haram. A debate on the issue is currently taking place on Facebook.

As usual, a regular Facebook participant, Dr. Susungi, has dared Paul Biya to shake off his lethargy and pay fitting tribute to the fallen army officer.

Another Facebook participant, Kinge Namanga, interjects: "Shocking! The church bells are ringing closer to home. It’s now reality. We must wake up--- all Cameroonians and rally against BH."

I say that many of us have now woken up to the reality of the war because an Anglophone captain has died in the war. Some of us even knew him personally.

So we feel directly involved and affected. What if more of them die? For now, it is only one that has fallen. What if other (Anglophone) Captains fall, and then Colonels start falling, and then Generals start falling, and we know them too??? All along, Dr. N.N. has questioned why Paul Biya as Commander in Chief has not personally got up to go and receive each fallen soldier and attended his burial.

I call that "looking at the small picture". The "big picture" should consist firstly of wondering whether the Commander in Chief is doing enough to defeat Boko Haram so that no more Cameroonians (whether they are Anglophone captains or not) continue to die, and then secondly to see how the rest of us can support the war effort. Contrary to what Dr. Susungi says, it is not Paul Biya s war alone.

There is a saying that if you want peace, prepare for war. That is because even when you are the most peace-loving country in the world, another country may still attack you. So what do you do? Do you just fold your owns and continue to declare yourself "a man of peace?" That is theory which has nothing to do with the reality on the ground.Cameroon is at war. The entire nation is at war. We are all at war!