NDDRC clocks five years: Successes, challenges, way forward.

 The mandate of executing the presidential vision as sanctioned in that decree of November 30, 2018, has snowballed in different forms in the last five years. 

The report card of the institution now shows in the shed of successes, challenges and what the future holds for the Head of State’s commitment to redirect young people who have taken up arms on a path of rediscovering their destinies again.

 In chat reporters on Wednesday November 29, the National Coordinator of the NDDRC, Fai Yengo Francis, retraced what has been done, obstacles, harping on what should rejuvenate the institution’s work in the coming years.

According to Fai Yengo, that President Paul Biya, opted to create the, NDDRC, to extend an Olive branch to young people in the North West, South West and Far North Regions who had been misled, is a glaring positive record.

 The institution, he said, is a testament of Biya’s policy speech of November 6, 2018 as he took the oath of office for his current mandate. Making the promise real and reviving the lives of youngsters who had been trapped in an illusionary secessionist agenda in the North Wes and South West Regions and the terrorist Boko Haram group in the Far North Region alone, the National Coordinator said, must also come under the cloud of Biya’s achievements.

Field balance sheet

He disclosed that, in the last five years, 3,870 ex-fighters have dropped their arms in the Far North, North West and South West Regions. These, he said, have been undergoing transformation and empowerment at the DDR Centres in Bamenda, North West Region; Buea, South West Region and Meme in the Far North Region.  The figures, he said, exclude pioneer arrivals that are already integrated in society and are living normal lives again.

 Fai Yengo underscored that in terms of imbibing a spirit of patriotism and belonging to the nation, the NDDRC, has succeeded in schooling the ex-fighters to believe in the project of a one and indivisible Cameroon. This, Fai Yengo, said, is very significant given that, the Boko Haram activities and Separatist propaganda deals with the mind.

Infrastructurally, the NDDRC, has under five years, succeeded in erected ultra-modern facilities and camps for the repentant Amba and Boko Haram fighters.  The National Coordinator stated that but for the Centre in the South West Region located at Misselele that is yet to be put into use, the permanent sites in the Far North and North West Regions are now beehives of attraction.

 In building a symbiosis with the host communities, Fai Yengo talked of a social partnership through the provision of basic services such as free water to  locals.  Most people in areas where the ex-fighters are hosted, the National Coordinator said, now live like a family.

The centre in Meme, he disclosed, is peculiar in that, its construction fit into the way of life and culture of the inhabitants of the Far North. He explained that, the Centre is like an entire village with ex- Boko Haram fighters going about activities in peace. 

Some of the ex-Boko Haram fighters lodged at the Meme centre, Fai Yengo said, have refused to leave given the comfort they are enjoying at the centre.

Breaking grounds in skills acquisition, education

Fai Yengo restated that, within the scope of vocational training, the ex-fighters have received extensive skills in different fields. These, he said range from farming, to wood work, driving, electrical works, furniture among others. He said the NDDRC, has in five years acquired tractors which are used on the farm to train the ex-fighters.

 For those who took interest in furthering their education, Fai Yengo was clear that the NDDRC, has ex-fighters who enrolled in schools and succeeded in certificate exams. 

Children of ex-fighters, he also added, have been given a decent life and are enrolled in different schools.  He disclosed that, they have also received a good number of Boko Haram fighters of Nigerian nationality. These, he said, are attracted by the quality of services at the centre in Meme. The National Coordinator said, most of them find it easy to be rehabilitated at the Centre, reason they keep streaming in to drop arms.

Multiform partnerships

Beyond the socio-economic empowerment of the thousands of ex-fighters that have left the bushes, Fai Yengo stressed the multi-form partnerships that the NDDRC, has engaged with partners such as the United Nations, UN among others. 

He said, the institution under his command is currently working with the UN to harmonize a working mechanism to further enhance NDDRC’s implementation of the Head of State’s mission.

Lessons from NDDRC & elsewhere that matter 

In the pack of his push to keep the NDDRC, atop in terms of disarming young people and reintroducing them into society, Fai Yengo said, he and the members of his team have not ceased visiting some nations of the globe. He cited Nigeria, Chad, Columbia and Morocco.  In Columbia, he said, they discovered that, the ex-fighters have factories on the camps where they work.

Beyond going to learn from others, the NDDRC in five years, Fai Yengo underscored, has also been a school for delegations from other countries. The Cameroonian experience in disarmament as inspired by the Head of State, Paul Biya, the former Governor said, also has positives that most country have borrowed from.

Appreciates Defense and Security forces 

If the NDDRC can boost of hitting milestones in implementing President Paul Biya’s disarmament mission, Fai Yengo said, they have also benefited support from elsewhere. He singled out defense and security forces for constantly working with his collaborators to receive ex-fighters when they come to drop arms. He said, it is the same security forces who have been ensuring the safety of ex-fighters at the different centres.

Message to doubting Thomases

Fai Yengo   sent a clear message to critics whom he averred, have been trying to dim the light on what the institution has been doing. He directed such persons to visit NDDRC Centres nationwide and get a feel of what obtains there daily. For one thing, he said, the ex-fighters are properly taken care of.

Obstacles 

Despite the sweeping achievements of the Fai Yengo-led NDDRC team, obstacles abound. The National Coordinator told reporters that, enemies of progress and people within the government have turned around to frustrate a lofty initiative of the President of the Republic.

Some, he said, intoxicate Amba and Boko Haram fighters not to drop arms, lying that they will be killed while at the centre. 

Others, he said, have been battling to manipulate the ex-fighters already at the DDR centres to strike. Added to these, Fai Yengo, stated that there are still pockets of security threats.

 This, he noted is given that, the situation in  the North West and  South West Region is yet to be fully addressed while  Boko  Haram terrorist are yet to give up despite huge security successes in ending their incursions.

Crusades unity to ease implementation of Biya’s vision

Besides the palpable achievements in five years, Fai Yengo, reiterated the need for unity among elite and the population to ease the work of the NDDRC. He urged people to stop sitting in Yaounde and talking about a situation they don’t masters.

The assignment President Paul Biya handed to the NDDRC, Fai Yengo made bold, calls for Cameroonians to speak with one voice and demonstrate unity in helping the institution.