Military Professionalism
A student’s vision for Cameroon

HE SAYS HE WAS MOLDED in the United States, having gone to West Point just after high school and now in his second year at the Kennedy School, but it’s Africa, his home continent, that stays on Emmanuel Nouga-Ngog’s mind. Especially the professionalism of its military.

“The moment people hear I’m in the military, a lot of assumptions go along with it, especially coming from Africa,” says the MPA2 2007, a captain in Cameroon’s Army Special Forces. “Some of what people believe about African militaries is true. In most African countries, the military preys on civilians. Most soldiers are uneducated. Add on top of that the general climate of corruption. The uniform opens the door. You can do anything you want. It’s the surest way to become a millionaire.”

In fact, many of his military superiors thought his going back to school was a waste of time.

“There is a general mentality among most of my peers that being in the military is an end in itself,” he says. “This is perhaps understandable in a country with a more than 40 percent unemployment rate and where the military is one of the few options available to young men and women.

“This isn’t good news for our countries. It makes international investors very reluctant to commit their resources,” he says. “I’d like to change that.”

He started this past summer, interning in Washington, DC, at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a think tank that helps U.S. policymakers formulate effective African policy and helps African leaders understand U.S. policies. While he was there, the center held a one-month training seminar for about 40 mid-level African officers to learn about the fundamentals of democracy.

“We talk about creating an investment-friendly climate in African countries, about fighting AIDS, and canceling debt, but one thing people fail to realize is that by omitting the military, we are making a big mistake,” he says. “We can avoid that by helping those guys understand the role they play in democracy building. We should do more to educate our soldiers, just like we continue to educate our teachers and police.”

Nouga-Ngog became interested in military professionalism not only because of West Point, but also because of his public service-minded family. His father and grandfather both served in the military, three of his seven siblings also attended West Point, and a brother works for CARE Cameroon, an NGO.

Asked what he plans to do after Harvard, in addition to marrying his girlfriend, Alden, whom he met when she was an exchange student staying with his family, he says he’ll go back home.

“I’ll probably work with something that involves economic development and international security,” he says. “There’s an interface between the two, especially in African countries that are either on the verge of conflicts or recovering from conflicts. Security — or the absence of it — is, and will for a long time be, a binding constraint, or a Damocles sword, hanging on the development process of African countries.” — LH