“If They Don’t Take Their Responsibilities, The World Will Continue To Suffer.”

The year 2021 has come and gone. What in your opinion were major events that marked the year?
From the perspective of a political scientist, I think the year 2021 was an eventful one because several international conferences or grouping took place that either enhance or set the pace. These events imparted the world and Africa in particular in one way or the other. Among these events are the World Climate Change Summit (COP26) that took place in Glasgow (Scotland), to discuss about the environment and the climate. This was a very important international rendez-vous that Cameroon also took part. The conclusions that were reached at though not entirely satisfactory because some major polluters did not respect the engagements they made, during the previous Summits or refused to commit themselves were however important to chat the way forward. Don’t forget that climate change is an issue that involves each and every country, most especially the industrialized countries. The China-Africa Summit that took place in Dakar (Senegal) is also a significant event because it strengthened the existing Sino-Africa relations with African countries this time around demanding for trade equilibrium which is a vital ingredient in the relation. On the other hand, the Chinese responds through its President Xi Jinping was commendable because he did not only endorsed the China-Africa 2035 Vision, but also made salient promises in the domain of health with the pledging of 1 billion Covid-19 vaccines, education and industrialization. Turkey-Africa Summit was also important because African countries were directly involved in the discussion of international cooperation. We should not forget the changed in Germany where after sixteen years, a new Chancellor in the name of Olalf Scholtz was elected. This was a major change in the political history of Germany because Angela Merkel comes from the Christian Democratic Party, while Scholtz is from the Social Democratic Party. As you know Germany has a very strong democratic base, so the parties did form a coalition. In addition to these was the Washington Democratic Summit that was virtual under the auspices of the US President Joe Biden. There were over a hundred countries that attended with about 17 from Africa. We also had the meeting of the two superpowers China-USA which impact the world directly or indirectly. These are just some of the issues that made headlines, we do hope many positive events will unfold in the year 2022.

Among these events, Climate Change Summit in Glasgow seems to have been the most disappointing…? 
Yes, you know it is not the first time events like this are being held. I happened to have been part of the Presidential delegation to the Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, when I was minister of wildlife and forestry. So I know how discussions do go on. Each time the experts meet, they discuss nearly the same issues with major polluting countries making big promises. In Copenhagen it was the putting in place of a climate finance fund of about $100 billion a year by 2020, which was never fruitful. This time around, I hope they are going to respect their engagements. But I hope the constant meeting of world leaders and experts would certainly lead to something more serious. Whether they like it or not it is time for the greater polluters to sit-up, take their moral, political and financial responsibilities. They should make sure the floods, heavy rainfall and bush fires are something of the past. If they don’t take their responsibilities, the world will continue to suffer. However, there are hopes in 2022 because countries, China, United States, Russia, Japan and European countries are facing serious climate change than others. Instead of them engaging more in power politics, they should seek long lasting solutions because international relations require cooperation. The good thing is that in Glasgow, they recognized s...