‘I love my country but nobody is safe’: the plight of Cameroon’s exiles, trapped in Nigeria

Summary

Solange Ndonga Tibesa, a Cameroonian woman who fled her homeland after being abducted by secessionists, now works in Nigeria to support refugees displaced from Cameroon. Despite living in a new country, she continues to find strength in her trauma by helping others rebuild their lives. Meanwhile, Cameroon’s embattled president, Paul Biya, seeks an eighth term as his administration faces decades of conflict and a humanitarian crisis that has displaced hundreds of thousands. The region remains divided between Nigeria and its anglophone minority, with little hope for peace until regional autonomy is properly addressed.

Additional Summaries

Paul Biya’s eighth term as Cameroon’s president hangs in the balance as his authority wavers amid a humanitarian crisis displacing millions of Cameroonian citizens in Nigeria. With over one million refugees facing acute needs and UNHCR struggling to integrate them back home after decades of civil war, the situation remains dire. Meanwhile, unresolved tensions between soldiers and separatist groups threaten to derail efforts toward regional peace, with young men labeled as terrorists now detained in prisons under tight security.

Paul Biya, Cameroon’s longest-serving leader since 1982, is poised to seek his eighth term as his campaign gains traction ahead of the country’s general elections. Thousands displaced by the ongoing conflict with Nigeria are struggling in refugee camps along their shared border, with one mother-daughter duo finding resilience in biofuel production while awaiting a return to Cameroon. Meanwhile, political divisions intensify as separatist forces accuse the central government of collaborating with external groups linked to terrorism, raising the stakes for efforts to restore peace in the region.

Photograph: Charles Platiau/ReutersIn October, Cameroon goes to the polls, with 92-year-old Paul Biya, its president since 1982, running for an eighth term. About 107,000 refugees have come into Nigeria from Cameroon alone, according to figures from the UNHCR, the UN’s refugee agency. After the first world war, it was split between the British, which also administered neighbouring Nigeria, and the French. In a 1961 UN plebiscite, southern Cameroons voted to rejoin Cameroon, while northern Cameroons joined Nigeria. “But when I see pictures of people that have been killed, I just burst out into tears because I really love my country,” she said.

Additional Summaries