ANALYSIS-Breaking the Silence: MP Agho Oliver Takes Cameroonian Deaths in Ukraine to Parliament
By Hans Ngala
Nearly five years since the Russia-Ukraine War broke out, what has been noticeable is the loud silence from authorities in Yaounde. While countries like Kenya and South Africa have stood up for their citizens being killed in the war and discussed in their respective parliaments about ways to stop their citizens from joining the Russian army, Yaounde has taken the opposite lane – maintaining a rather cautious silence.
According to US-based Cameroonian writer and political scientist, Dibussi Tande “There is a general Cameroonian trait of keeping bad or embarrassing news under wraps – kind of “if we don’t talk about it, it means it did not happen” Tande explains. “We see it all the time here even with the Ambazonian conflict. The army communicates only when it is absolutely necessary, nothing more. But there is also the issue of relations with Russia whom the Biya regime increasingly sees as a potential bulwark against the US and even France. So it is in Cameroon’s interest not to rock the boat and start something that will put it in the path of conflict with Russia. So the government let’s the situation to fester while hoping for the best. This is truly not a priority for the regime.”
At press time, the 4th African Regional Inter-Parliamentary Conference on Family Values and Sovereignty was scheduled to open in Accra, Ghana on June 3 through June 6. One of the speakers at the event is Cameroonian Member of Parliament (MP), Honourable Agho Oliver. Hon Agho, an MP of the ruling CPDM party told CNA: “African lawmakers are committed to stopping young Africans from joining the strange war in Russia-Ukraine”. He added that the conference is a chance for African countries hardest-hit by the Russia-Ukraine War to “see how to stop their citizens from joining this war” which he calls “strange”. To young Cameroonians, Agho says “We should not fight other people’s wars.. We know what’s good for our country. Every Cameroonian should learn from our President, Paul Biya that we don’t interfere in other country’s affairs. Paul Biya has never deployed Cameroonian troops, even under bilateral agreements to fight alongside other armies” Agho argues. “Biya has remained committed to international cooperation and only deploys troops under AU and UN peacekeeping missions”.
Agho will be speaking at the Conference in Ghana and intends to raise the issue of Cameroonians dying in the war in Ukraine. Agho says he believes the Cameroonian government was obviously not happy to confirm the 16 deaths of its citizens in Ukraine. On June 9, he will address Cameroon’s Parliament where he intends to push for more legal protections for Cameroonians in an effort to deter Cameroonian youth from joining the war.
Franklin Sone Bayen, an independent journalist and analyst takes a slightly more nuanced approach to the issue. Bayen argues that the Biya regime’s silence in the face of mounting Cameroonian deaths in Ukraine reflects two things:
- Geo-strategy: Cameroon’s strategic interests above
and - Govt survival matters more than citizens’ interests
He states that “What this means is that Cameroon’s strategic interest – and this looks more like the government’s self-protection interest – is with Russia. Governments are not moral institutions. They are institutions that operate to survive” Bayen explains. “And they can cling on to a snake in order to survive. As we understand it now, the government of Cameroon has lost face with Western governments, including France, its main historical strategic partner both economically, geopolitically, militarily and diplomatically. So the government sticks with Russia.” Bayen adds that what the public sees as the non-condemnation of Russia is because Cameroon’s government has its interests with the Russians and not with its own Cameroonian citizens. So even though Cameroonians are more than a third of all Africans dying on behalf of Russia, the regime couldn’t care less”.
In February this year, a Franco-Swiss team of investigative journalists uncovered findings which showed that nearly 100 Cameroonians had died on the frontlines in Ukraine. Months later, Cameroonian authorities only acknowledged 16 of the deaths after international and local news outlets – including here at CNA – had been consistently reporting on the mounting deaths.
This markedly reduced figures likely reveal attempts by Yaounde at downplaying the severity of the problem as it refrains from discouraging its citizens from joining Russia’s army. Yaounde has also not offered any assistance to families of victims killed in Russia nor has there been any public communication to the effect that those in Russia who may want to return home, can be assisted logistically or financially as was the case with South Africa whose government facilitated the return of some of its citizens stranded in Russia.
Some factors accounting for the large number of Cameroonians in the Russian army include Biya’s advanced age and inability to run the state, a weak economy under a lethargic Biya regime which leaves youth desperate for better opportunities abroad – even in a war zone like Ukraine and a culture of systemic corruption which makes it nearly impossible for young people to realize their potential in a country where only party loyalty – not merit – is rewarded.
When Hon. Agho Oliver addresses Cameroon’s parliament on June 9, it would be the first time that the deaths of Cameroonian citizens has been publicly and formally discussed by Cameroonian authorities and perhaps, it would be the first step in stopping or at least discouraging Cameroonians from joining the war.
