30, March 2018
Chris Anu to Launch First Ambazonia World-Wide Digital Radio 0
Ambazonia Interim Government Secretary for Communications,Hon. Chris Anu, is set on launching Ambazonia’s first digital radio with worldwide receptibility.
A few days ago, Sec. Chris put up a poster advertising the near launching of the radio on his social media platform to the jubilation of most of his fans. However, he never explained to the audience whether the radio is an Interim Government initiative or his own personal venture. Our senior political man, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai shared this soul-searching conversation with the Ambazonian Communication Secretary
Cameroon Intelligence Report: Many people seem to be very excited at the radio idea you published on Face book. But you didn’t say whether it is your own child or that of the IG. Can you clarify that please?
Chris Anu: No! It’s entirely my personal initiative. If things had gone well financially, the radio would have in fact been launched since October 30th last year. That was the plan. It was already in the pipeline before I was consulted to be part of the Interim Government. Unfortunately, funds just didn’t show up on time for me to meet the dateline.
Cameroon Intelligence Report: What is the mission of the radio and how will people in Ambaland receive its signals?
Chris Anu: Well, this is a new kind of radio that very many people in Ambaland are probably not very familiar with. This is not traditional FM, AM or SW radio. We call it digital radio. It is produced exclusively online. But we thought how many people want to sit on the computer to listen to radio, unless you are on your PC, you don’t have the time. So we thought of a way to make it accessible to everyone interested in Southern Cameroons news and events around the world to have easy access to the broadcast. So we thought about delivering the signal through an App. The App is called SCAN Radio. It is an App just like every other App. People will download it for free, do a free one time sign up and start receiving or listening to the radio 24/7.
Now, with the App, you can imagine that so long as anyone has an android phone, tablet or I Phone and I Pad, no matter where you may be in the world, all you need to do is push the App in your gadget and start listening to the broadcast. It will be in your phone, it will go anywhere with you, and tell me, who doesn’t carry an Android or Apple phone?
You asked about the mission! The mission is news, news 24/7. I’m banking on the services of reporters on the ground and those of the very many talented Ambazonian journalists to get this done. I want it to be Ambazonia’s own BBC or VOA. News every top of the hour and headlines news every bottom of the hour. In between that we will have a mixed of interviews, features and commentaries on developing stories.
Cameroon Intelligence Report: How do you compromise your position as IG communication Secretary and that of a Journalist running the radio?
Chris Anu: You surely understand that at the IG we are all volunteers’ right? That leaves us to still work for ourselves. There is no doubt that the radio will be a big asset at the disposal of the IG, but it is purely a commercial venture. It is an independent radio station and would function like any other radio does. I will have time to do lots of the programs, even reading of the news. But, it will be fully staffed so that my absence for my other ventures and business of the IG wouldn’t have to be a problem.
Cameroon Intelligence Report: Will you accept programming from other groups that share different opinion from the IG for broadcast?
Chris Anu: As far as the material doesn’t compromise our mission and goal to Buea, Yes, I will. Again, this is a commercial venture and the doors are opened to all. And I really mean all. Even people who have been mean to me are welcome. I have a philosophy that in a struggle or revolution like this, you never want to have permanent enemies, you allow everything to transit and pave way for collaboration or unity.
Cameroon Intelligence Report: So when should people expect to start listening to the radio?
Chris Anu: Right now, the App is ready, but not yet published in Play store and Apple store because we are still doing testing. It takes a little longer to get on Apple store. I believe that within ten days it should be in Play store for download. Maybe same with Apple store. Once they are launched in both stores, we will keep on with another week or two of test running to give people the opportunity to download the app before we start with proper programming. In a nutshell, it should be fully functional on or before the 15th of April.
Cameroon Intelligence Report: How do you hope to sustain the radio financially?
Chris Anu: Well, I just told you that this is a commercial venture. We hope that it generates revenue on its own, and of course, we equally looking forward to community support.
31, March 2018
Ambazonia Liberation Struggle: A Holy Odey Chi War? 0
In a village along the Kumba-Mamfe-Bamenda road, a curious trial took place one of these past weekends. At a funeral I attended, village youths gathered for grave-digging, witnessed the trial (in my presence) of three young men who the previous day had assaulted two other young men over a negligible social issue. From the brutality of the fight, it looked like a gang fight. Eyewitnesses said the attacking “gangsters” were under the influence of marijuana and Tramadol.
The first among the “gangsters” to be brought to the “dock” and ordered to kneel down, told the “jury’ that their assault was intended to punish the victims for snatching someone else’s girlfriend – she is not the girlfriend of any of the gang members.
The leader of the village youths said he wanted to know in what capacity the three took upon themselves to “discipline” the “woman-snatchers”. The gangster kneeling before the jury said they simply sought to teach the woman-snatchers a lesson as they had warned them repeatedly to leave someone else’s girlfriend alone. But word had gone around the village that the gangsters claimed they were “Amba Boys” seeking to impose order in that capacity and that they were acting under the influence of their newly acquired “Odey Chi” powers. Odey Chi is believed to be a charm that renders its users invincible and provides them protection against machete cuts and bullets.
It turned out that their claim of belonging to the Ambazonia Defence Force (ADF) or its related factions had reached the ears of “authentic” Ambazonia separatist fighters in the bush, otherwise called Amba Boys or Odey Chi Boys. Credible sources say the ADF boys visited the village at night to enquire after claims that “some rascals are using our name to commit atrocities in the village”. The graveside trial was thus staged for the attention of the “authentic Amba Boys”.
The Amba Boys stood right opposite the youth “judges”, behind the litigants and observed quietly as they testified. Someone standing by elbowed me discretely and whispered to me, “Those are the real Amba Boys.” They all carried strange amulets that looked like charms. Confused, I asked, also whispering, “Real Amba Boys how? Who are the fake ones?” Then I was told about the Odey Chi/Amba Boys claim by the gangsters.
As the trial proceeded, the other two gangsters walked to the scene. Ordered to join their “accomplice” in kneeling down, only one of them obeyed. The third resisted, haughtily ranting, boasting and daring anyone with guts to force him to his knees.
I saw one of the “VIP guests” closing in on the ranting young man. Short and stout and looking vexed, the “authentic Amba Boy” grabbed stubborn village youth by the legs, lifted him with ease and flung him to the ground, head first. He pulled out a machete from… his trouser pocket; it seemed and made a gesture like to slaughter the young man he had flung to the ground. At this, the entire “jury”, the rest of the youths present and even his fellow Amba Boys, rose like one man and pounced on his machete.
A village youth who grabbed the machete was left with a bleeding palm from the machete cut. Someone standing by said the wound could be fatal because weapons used by the Odey Chi Boys are always mystically lethal so that a mere wound or scratch from their machetes or bullets was a certain cause of death. No treatment! Minutes later, when I saw the wounded young man, he had a red piece of cloth wrapped on the wrist of his wounded hand. He said the Amba Boys gave him as an antidote.
The graveside scuffle led to a commotion that brought the trial to a premature end. The Amba Boys told the village youths not to bother. They said they would handle the matter their way and left the village.
NO RAPE, NO LOOTING, NO EXTORTION
In another village, young men with guns and machetes riding motorbikes, stopped at a sales point of smuggled fuel and whisked away gallons of fuel. The salesman and onlookers were left dumbfounded. The act looking like looting, they stayed mute, at least thankful they were not hurt. But to their utter surprise, the young men who “seized” their fuel returned the next day and paid for the fuel they took away.
Some bike riders have testified that sometimes the Amba Boys seize their bikes to get away to some location, but once there, they call someone they know to ask them to collect their bikes where they abandoned them before entering the bush, describing the place.
When Amba fighters went on the rampage at Wone village also along the Kumba-Mamfe road, where they burnt down a lugging trailer and had bloody fire-fights with defence and security forces, travelers who ran into their “checkpoints” say the boys asked for money to buy cartridges for their dane guns. Their driver offered 2000FCFA. The boys asked him to throw the money on the ground, explaining that they do not receive money directly to their hands. When they, the passengers, each offered their own share of money, the Amba Boys turned them down and said what the driver had given them was enough. Just 2000FCFA! The Odey Chi Boys only enquired whether there were any soldiers in disguise in their vehicle. After performing a ritual by swinging a machete in front of them, which it is believed, would have turned red or smeared with blood were an “enemy” in their vehicle, they were allowed to drive on.
A driver transporting me to Bamenda on March 29, told me that on his way to Kumba earlier that day he ran into the Amba Boys at Kendem village, just under 40km from Mamfe. He said all they asked from him and his passengers was, “Any Gendarme dey inside dis moto?” (Is there any Gendarme in this vehicle?). They were allowed to drive on. “Some passengers were afraid they would search and seize money and their property, but those boys do not ask for money,” said the driver.
MY PRELIMINARY CONCLUSION
As well as there are concordant testimonies and reports of neither looting nor extortion by the Amba Boys, there have equally been no reports of rape. These three are the acts of atrocity most commonly reported by guerrilla fighters for obvious reasons: they would rape women because staying in bush hideouts for long could leave them sex-starved; they would loot where they attack and leave people fleeing for their lives; they would extort from frightened persons, taking advantage of their intimidating posture with arms. Besides ransoms reportedly collected from hostage-taking, none of these atrocities have been blamed on the Amba fighters.
Short of my wished opportunity to interview the Amba Boys, one-on-one, it is generally believed that their Odey Chi cult prohibits them to have contact of any kind with women, including sex and even eating food cooked by women. I am yet to confirm that. It is said their cult equally bars them from stealing/extorting or looting. “If they do any of those, they will lose their powers and lose their invincibility,” said someone claiming to be familiar with the dictates of the cult. “That’s why some of them a killed in battle, but on the whole, most of them do not succumb to bullets, reason why they are fearless and have the courage to attack soldiers, without waiting to be attacked.”
If this is true of the Amba Boys, can’t I conclude that their war will be a sane war, one free of atrocities, and thus a Holy War of sorts? Doesn’t that impose a kind of rare discipline on the troops?
By Franklin Sone Bayen