80th Anniversary of Landings In Provence : President Paul Biya, Africa’s Mouthpiece!

History now holds that Cameroon’s Head of State, Paul Biya, echoed the voice of Africa loud and clear at the necropolis in the town of Boulouris-Saint-Raphael, south-east France. This was on August 15, 2024 during commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of Allied Landings in Provence. In effect, it was to recall an allied operation during the Second World War which led to the liberation of southern France from the Germans on August 15, 1944.
President Paul Biya was the only African leader to speak; in one of the two speeches, at the ceremony. Evocative of the high esteem France and its leader has for Cameroon and her Head of State. And in that privileged position as Africa’s mouthpiece, the Cameroonian leader used the opportunity to make his position and that of Africa clear to the world. President Paul Biya observed that there would have been no allied victory without the sacred alliance of wills, without the contribution of other peoples, without the foreigners, the blacks and others. “This struggle was waged together to defend the universal values and ideals of peace and justice... This vision recognises that each of us has an equal right to dignity,” President Paul Biya said. He underlined that the exemplary solidarity that prevailed then remains a precious lesson that all must perpetuate and pass on to future generations, to avoid the mistakes of the past. 
The “Beggar of Peace,” as the Cameroon’s first citizen is known following his plea on the UN rostrum in New York during the 72nd United Nations General Assembly; regretted the rather tumultuous nature of society today. This explains why he clearly stated that the ceremony was a call for joint conscious efforts to avoid wars and strive for a calm world where everyone lives in tranquillity. He implored all and sundry to find answers to the questions and causes that lie at...