Ambazonia: Buhari backs Cameroon to remain united

President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria will offer its full backing to ensure that the Republic of Cameroon remains an indivisible country.

Two English-speaking regions of Cameroon have been fighting for years to break away to create an independent new country called Ambazonia.

Since 2017, armed conflict between the Cameroonian military and Ambazonian separatists has led to the death of thousands of people.

More than half a million people have also been displaced by the crisis, and tens of thousands of them have fled across the border into Nigeria.

Buhari told Felix Mbayu, a Special Envoy from President Paul Biya of Cameroon, on Tuesday, July 13, 2021 that Nigeria will look out for its neighbour's well-being.

The 78-year-old said it's in Nigeria's best interest that Cameroon remains stable, an objective he said has the nation's support.

"You will have problems if your neighbours are not cultivated. And our relationship with Cameroon had been very clear since when I was serving in the military," he said.

Buhari is himself facing secessionist challenges with separate agitations for breakaway nations in the south east, and the south west geopolitical zones.

The president has remained resolute about keeping Nigeria united and has repeatedly cracked down on the agitations, especially in the south east.

An attempt by the region to break away decades ago to create an independent Biafran nation led to a three-year civil war that killed millions of civilians.

The Federal Government recently re-arrested the wanted leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, to face charges bordering on treasonable felony.

Mbayu during Tuesday's meeting congratulated Nigeria on Kanu's arrest which is still shrouded in mystery as the Federal Government has refused to disclose which foreign country he was arrested from.

The convoy's mention of the separatist activist is likely as a result of the rumoured collaboration between IPOB and Ambazonian separatists reported earlier this year.

He said President Biya does not want Nigerian territory to be made available for the Ambazonian movement to destabilise his country.