West Africa: Summer Updates

Nigerian Elections: On March 28, Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressive Congress (APC) Party in Nigeria defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan in a pivotal election in the spectre of increasing terrorist activity from Boko Haram. This peaceful transition of power between not just presidents, but also opposing parties, in the presence of a brutally violent terror organization, marks one of the biggest steps the country has made toward democracy in recent years. President Buhari, a former general, proposed an ambitious campaign agenda, including a promise to end corruption, defeat Boko Haram, and end Nigeria’s oil struggles. By the beginning of June, Buhari had still not chosen a single advisor or minister to tackle these huge promises. As of July, Buhari made the decision not to choose a cabinet until September; the time has come, and many are still unaware of who will be advising the president and running the country. Buhari says his reason for the delay is“to root out corruption” before deciding the people whom he could trust. As The Caravel went to print, Buhari still lacked a cabinet.

Cameroonian Security Threats: Cameroonians continue to receive increasing threats of terrorist activity as millions of children are returning to school in September. During the 3 month break, many parents moved children, including Ahmidou Moussa, far from the conflict zones along Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria. But now that school is back in session in a country in which affordable quality education is rare, many children like Ahmidou are forced to return to their schools in towns like Mora, which borders Nigeria, in the crosshairs of the conflict between Boko Haram and the Cameroonian Military. Many teachers are refusing to return to their schools along Cameroon’s northern border because of increasing terrorist activity.

Justice for Chad: The 72-year-old former Chadian Dictator Hissène Habré was carried into court by security officers this past Monday after his refusal to take part in a trial concerning his war crimes. During his 8-year presidency, Habre was responsible for the death of about 40,000 people until he was forced out of office by a coup in 1990.

Ebola in Sierra Leone: Ebola seems to be largely under control in West Africa. In Sierra Leone, after a summer of scrupulous medical and political calculations, the last Ebola patient was released from a hospital in Freetown last week. The country must have no new cases of the disease for the next 42 days to be considered officially free of Ebola. Controlling the disease marks a huge improvement in a country and a region where just a year ago, burial teams were struggling to keep up with an overwhelming death count.