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22, January 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Canada to lead Cameroon down the path of federalism ⁰

The announcement by the Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister, Mélanie Joly, to the effect that there is a peace process aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon has generated a lot of enthusiasm in Cameroon, especially in the country’s two English-speaking regions where many innocent civilians are still being killed and others being exploited by government soldiers sent to the regions to help restore peace and unity.

The announcement clearly points out that “Civilians are bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, with more than 6,000 people having lost their lives since 2017. In addition, nearly 800,000 people have been displaced as a result of this crisis, and 600,000 children do not have full access to education.

The announcement also underscores that Canada welcomes the agreement by the parties to enter a process to reach a comprehensive, peaceful and political resolution of the conflict, underscoring that the parties have also agreed to form technical committees to begin work on confidence-building measures.

Canada, a trusted partner around the world, holds that the agreement to enter a formal process is a critical first step toward peace and a safer, more inclusive and prosperous future for civilians affected by the conflict and the North American country is ready to provide much-needed leadership in the resolution of a conflict which has left many dead.

Canada therefore “… commend all parties for engaging in substantive dialogue. We encourage all stakeholders to support and work with the parties to advance and contribute to an inclusive process to reach a lasting and sustainable political settlement, stressing that “Canada has accepted the mandate to facilitate this process, as part of our commitment to promote peace and security and advance support for democracy and human rights. Our role also reflects Canada’s engagement to work with our African partners to build a better future for everyone.

It should be recalled that Canada does not support Cameroon’s dislocation and has underscored, through many media, that it has had significant experience with its own minorities which it intends to put at the service of Cameroon so that the different communities can live in peace and work tirelessly towards the attainment of economic prosperity.

Canada is a middle-class civilization which runs on equitable distribution of resources so that its citizens can have the best possible living conditions. Canada believes in federalism and it holds that with a federal structure, Cameroon can become the continent’s envy.

Canada’s federal system is cost-effective, and it grants the citizens unfettered access to their leaders and the right to run their own affairs except for foreign affairs, natural resources and the military. Canadian federalism diminishes conflicts among the various communities, and this has made Canada one of the best countries to live in the world.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

22, January 2023

Manyu: Oil and gas show up in Mamfe ⁰

It has been going on as rumor, but as the government has been reluctant to conduct any prospection in Manyu Division, oil and gas have begun showing up in parts of Mamfe and Besongabang.

Baku, a small river in Banya quarters of Mamfe town, has begun delivering the secrets which have been hiding for centuries in Manyu’s sub-soil.

All over the town, rivers are bearing oily films and the smell of gas is all over the town of Mamfe. Samples of the oil have already been sent to SONARA for testing and if confirmed, then Manyu Division is sitting on one of Africa’s largest oil reserves.

The same signs of a massive oil deposit in Manyu have also shown up in Ossing where the BADI river is mimicking what has just been happening in Baku in Mamfe town. It is suspected that Kembong, the division’s second largest town, might be holding massive oil and gas reserves.

The populations of Banya, Besongabang Ntenako, Nchang and Ossing might have to be displaced for the oil to be drilled and if this were to happen, then the government will end up with a massive job on its hands.

The government of Cameroon has never been transparent with the management of the country’s resources and, Indian Division which accounts for most of the country’s oil deposit, is one of the most underdeveloped areas of the country, with many of the Division’s children not even going to school.

The oil deposits in Manyu Division will have to be managed differently as the fighting in the two English-speaking regions of the country is also based on the government’s poor management of natural resources in the two regions.

Manyu’s sub-soil might just be one of those blessings which might end up as a curse. The fighting that has left the government with a bloodshot eye might intensify in the days ahead if government does not come up with a clear plan on how to engage the Anglophone Diaspora and the Ambazonian fighters who are not in any mood to abandon their objective of obtaining total independence for Southern Cameroons.

The international community has already been informed about the oil deposits in Mamfe and venture capitalists are already packing their bags to find out if the oil and gas are in commercial quantities.

Manyu’s economic and financial destiny is bound to change with the discovery of these oil and gas deposits. Manyu has many oil and gas experts, and their services will be solicited to ensure the people of this region benefit from their blessing.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with correspondent reports

21, January 2023

Yaoundé: Minister of Mines dies out of undisclosed illness ⁰

Cameroon’s Minister of Mines, Industry and Technological Development died on Saturday out of an undisclosed illness.

Two government sources hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report that he chaired a crucial meeting and received the Italian ambassador a day before he was rushed to the CNPS hospital where he died shortly after despite the so-called specialist treatment.

Gabriel Dodo Ndoke, a native of Kady in the East Region made his entry into the Biya government in January 2019 aged 48 and was painted as the youngest cabinet minister in the Ndion Ngute administration.

By Rita Akana

20, January 2023

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs issues statement ⁰

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement on the announcement of a peace process aimed at resolving the ongoing crisis in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon:

“Civilians are bearing the brunt of the ongoing crisis in Cameroon, with more than 6,000 people having lost their lives since 2017. In addition, nearly 800,000 people have been displaced as a result of this crisis, and 600,000 children do not have full access to education.

“Canada welcomes the agreement by the parties to enter a process to reach a comprehensive, peaceful and political resolution of the conflict. The parties have also agreed to form technical committees to begin work on confidence-building measures.

“The agreement to enter a formal process is a critical first step toward peace and a safer, more inclusive and prosperous future for civilians affected by the conflict.

“We commend all parties for engaging in substantive dialogue. We encourage all stakeholders to support and work with the parties to advance and contribute to an inclusive process to reach a lasting and sustainable political settlement.

“Canada has accepted the mandate to facilitate this process, as part of our commitment to promote peace and security and advance support for democracy and human rights. Our role also reflects Canada’s engagement to work with our African partners to build a better future for everyone.

“The parties to this agreement are the Republic of Cameroon, the Ambazonia Governing Council and the Ambazonia Defence Force, the African People’s Liberation Movement and the Southern Cameroons Defence Force, the Interim Government, and the Ambazonia Coalition Team. The parties further express the hope that other groups will join the process.’’

Culled from Canada.ca

20, January 2023

Senatorial Elections: Chief Tabetando is not a saint but leave him alone! ⁰

Since the country’s president, Paul Biya, announced senatorial elections in Cameroon, many reactionaries have jumped into higher gear with a view to destroying those they do not like. For years, we have not heard much that can validly destroy, Chief George Tabetando’s career, but since the elections were announced, an army of enemies has been at work, even accusing the brilliant lawyer of raping a housemaid.

It is hard to trust any human being when it comes to sex, but this allegation against Senator George Tabetando at a time when he wants to run again for the senate clearly points to the fact that some enemies have an ulterior motive, and the objective is clear – destroy a man who loves his people.

Though a CPDM senator, Chief Tabetando of Bachou Ntai has always worked for the development of his people. Chief Tabetando is not perfect and like many Manyu people, he also has an eye for beautiful women. But having an eye for the daughters of eve does not make him a bad person.

In the height of the Southern Cameroons crisis, Chief Tabetando travelled to Mamfe to plead with the young fighters for them to forgive the government and to come out of the bushes so that a peaceful solution to the conflict could be found. He was not ashamed to go on his knees to demonstrate that he was not superior to anybody. Not many top politicians in Cameroon can do that. Leave Tabetando alone!

Why is it that those allegations are only surfacing now? It is alleged that he raped the lady who braided his wife’s hair, and the act took place in the comfort of their home. How come the wife never heard the woman scream or resist the honorable and brilliant lawyer?

Chief Tabetando may be mad, but his madness surely has a method. He knows that he can take his madness away from his family and he is a man who always has his wits about him. Chief Tabetando is a barrister at law, and he understands that such an act could blow up his brilliant career and expose him to ridicule.

The Cameroon Concord News Group is not holding any brief for the honorable senator. It is just seeking to point out that Senator Tabetando’s enemies are at work. Unfortunately, they will not be succeeding this time around. The Cameroon Concord News Group will support any person elected to the senate, but it will not stand by and watch any dirty games designed to destroy a man who has always earned his keep.

Tabetando was a great lawyer, and his former clients can attest to that. As a senator, it is hard to cast him in the best possible light as he is a representative of a party which has failed to meet the glorious expectations of the nation. But as an individual, Tabetando, the chief of Bachou Ntai, deserves our respect. Seeking to sling mud at him will be one big mistake. It is time to walk away from nasty politics!

Dr. Joachim Arrey

20, January 2023

Yaoundé: Journalist Martinez Zogo abducted by unidentified men ⁰

In response to news reports that unidentified individuals kidnapped Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo Tuesday, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement calling for a fast and thorough investigation into his whereabouts:

“The recent abduction of Cameroonian journalist Martinez Zogo is deeply concerning, and authorities must do everything in their power to find him at once,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, in New York. “Authorities must take this case very seriously given Zogo’s recent investigative reporting, and ensure that those responsible for his disappearance are brought to justice.”

At about 8 p.m. on Tuesday, January 17, unidentified men abducted Zogo, editor-in-chief of the privately owned radio broadcaster Amplitude FM, near his home in the capital city of Yaoundé, according to those reports and Aristide Ekambi, the secretary-general of the National Union of Cameroonian Journalists, who spoke to CPJ by phone. Zogo’s car was found ransacked and abandoned, according to those sources.

Neighbors had seen unidentified men outside Zogo’s home several nights before his abduction, and the brakes on the journalist’s wife’s vehicle were recently tampered with, according to those reports, which said she was in an accident two days before her husband’s disappearance.

Zogo hosts a popular daily show on Amplitude FM, where he recently commented on alleged embezzlement in public-sector procurement that benefitted a prominent businessman. He also sent a dossier to several institutions and media outlets about those allegations, according to those sources.

Zogo served a two-month prison sentence for criminal defamation in 2020, as CPJ documented at the time.

Culled from CPJ

20, January 2023

Factors that will continue to shape the Cameroonian remittance market in 2023 ⁰

In the last decade, the cross-border remittance market has undergone tremendous changes evolving from traditional offerings to much faster, easier and safer payment methods, thanks to digital disruptors.

With the rise of globalization and migration, followed by the demand for cross-border payments solutions, fintech organizations’ have changed the landscape by developing digitally enabled solutions for their consumers.

The shift is positively impacting the financial industry and improving the lives of millions of people in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the first-half 2022, remittance inflows in Cameroon, via WorldRemit, totaled £75 million GBP, boosted by the rapid need for digital remittances worldwide following the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2023, it is projected the remittance industry will continue to evolve with innovation in the fintech sector at a quick pace. This will take place amidst an increasingly challenging economic environment with a continued increase in the cost of living and inflation across the globe.

With these factors in mind, remittance expert Imane Charioui, Director of Francophone Africa and Middle East, WorldRemit, shares some insights on what to expect in the Cameroonian remittance market in 2023.

Cashless transactions and mobile money

Mobile technology is a global game changer for remittances because it removes the need for costly brick-and-mortar branches. In Cameroon, digital infrastructure has evolved considerably with mobile acting as a key enabler and the primary channel for connectivity. For instance, the mobile population coverage rate for 2G is 96%, 85% for 3G and 53% for 4G.

In 2020 the Bank of Central African States (BEAC) revealed that Cameroon alone held 64.8% of all active accounts of The Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). This accounted for almost three times the number of mobile money accounts held by the Congolese (7.1 million) and almost ten times the number of accounts held by the Gabonese (2.7 million).

Additionally, Cameroon also confirmed its leadership over CEMAC’s electronic payment market by recording the highest number of transactions at 73.13%.

The increased public engagement with technology, and uptake of digital tools, are positive steps for Cameroon’s growing digital economy and the future of its fintech ecosystem in 2023.

Increased use of Money Transfer Operators (MTOs)

As online money transfer tools become more and more a part of people’s lifestyles, online money transfers will continue to grow steadily in 2023. However, the likelihood of further adverse international developments persisting into 2023 is high and the pace of remittance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa may ease to 3.9% from the 16.4% advance of 2021.

This is due to the economic outlook dimming and real wages expected to contract in the United States, and Europe where higher inflation is expected to impact areas that Cameroonian migrants reside. However, food affordability and the deterioration of real incomes across African states still indicate the need for financial support from diaspora.

As such, MTOs such as WorldRemit will continue to provide essential services to many Cameroonian families in need. ”At WorldRemit, 90 percent of money transferred to Cameroon is sent within minutes. This eliminates long wait times and complexities of traditional remittance processes. The recipients secure their money through WorldRemit’s suite of options designed for different services such as via trusted banks, mobile money, and cash pick-up locations,” said Imane.

MTOs will continue to help communities in different countries connect with their loved ones through financial support. Remittances are the backbone of many developing nations’ economies, and MTOs will keep playing their part in increasing the remittance flow.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) for WorldRemit

20, January 2023

Menchum Division: Yaoundé deploys troops after Amba fighters, herders clash ⁰

Cameroon’s government deployed at least 100 troops Wednesday to Gayama, a village on the border with Nigeria, after clashes between Cameroonian separatists and Nigerian herders left at least 12 people dead.

Cameroonian officials say the fighting broke out six days ago, after herders who crossed the border in search of food for their cattle refused to pay taxes the rebels demanded.

Abdoulahi Aliou, the highest-ranking government official in Menchum, the administrative unit in charge of Gayama, said the rebels killed two herders immediately upon their refusal to pay. The surviving herders, who are ethnic Fulani from Taraba and Benue states, returned home and organized a counterattack.

Aliou said the herders came back in huge numbers, attacked separatist camps, and killed at least four fighters. Six civilians, including the traditional ruler of Munkep village and his son, were also killed in the clashes.

Authorities say at least 20 civilians were injured, scores of cattle were killed, and homes were torched.

The Roman Catholic Church in Menchum says many civilians fled Gayama and neighboring villages to avoid getting caught in clashes between separatists and the arriving troops.

The governor of Cameroon’s Northwest region, Deben Tchoffo, said civilians should not fear the military. Speaking by telephone from the region’s capital, Bamenda, he said villagers should help the troops by denouncing rebels hiding in their communities.

“The future is bright, provided we are united against the agents of chaos that are trying to hijack our youths,” Tchoffo said. “The armed forces are bringing themselves close to the population. That is the reason why, compared to last year, things are becoming more and more normal in the Northwest region, even if we still have some hotspots.”

Tchoffo said Cameroon’s military would protect civilians in all border villages.

Separatists on social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook, acknowledged they have been battling Nigerian herders, who they say should respect their orders.

This is not the first time Cameroon’s anglophone separatists have attacked Nigerians along the border.

Last June, villagers in western Akwaya town said armed men believed to be rebels carried out a series of attacks that killed at least 30 people, including five Nigerian merchants.

The separatists have been fighting since 2017 to carve out an English-speaking state from French-speaking majority Cameroon.

The U.N. says the conflict has left more than 3,500 people dead and 750,000 displaced.

Source: VOA

19, January 2023

For Nigerian priest burned to death, it wasn’t his first brush with terror ⁰

For a Nigerian priest who was shot and burned to death Jan. 15 by Islamic terrorists inside his own rectory, it was hardly his first brush with violent anti-Christian persecution in Africa’s most populous nation.

Father Isaac Achi, who was murdered at 3:00 a.m. at Ss. Peter and Paul Parish in Niger State, had previously been the pastor at another parish outside the capital city of Abuja which was the site of a Christmas Day bombing in 2011, which left 44 people dead and at least 60 injured.

Responsibility for that attack was claimed by Boko Haram, Nigeria’s home-grown Islamic insurgency which is believed to be responsible for 35,000 deaths since it began its violent campaign aimed at establishing an Islamic caliphate in the country.

In response to the threats, Achi continuously preached a non-violent message.

In a homily delivered during a memorial service for victims of the attack at St. Teresa’s Church in Madalla, an Abuja suburb, Achi urged Christians “to learn to forgive those who deliberately hurt them.”

“Those who perpetrate evil against the state and innocent citizens require prayers from Christian faithful,” he said that day.

Two years later, Achi was kidnapped by a militant group operating in the Madalla area, but released later the same day.

In that context, Achi’s violent death a decade later seems a tragically predictable end to a life spent on the front lines of Nigeria’s increasingly perilous environment for Christians and their clergy.

Achi was one of two priests inside Ss. Peter and Paul Church when a band of roughly 15 armed men arrived Sunday. The other, Father Collins Omeh, sustained gunshot wounds while making his escape, and later recounted what happened.

According to Omeh, the gunmen arrived shouting “Allahu Akbar” and confronted him in his living quarters, demanding that he lead them through a hole in roof to Achi. Eventually, he said, they gained access to Achi’s quarters and held both priests at gunpoint.

During that time, Omeh said, the two priests prayed together and heard one another’s confessions. Afterwards Achi urged Omeh to try to escape, taking a gunshot wound to his chest while Omeh was shot in the shoulder while successfully getting away. This angered gunmen then set the rectory on fire, leaving Achi to die from his wounds, the flames, or both.

Omeh said it took local police hours to arrive on the scene, despite being called several times. Christian leaders in Muslim-dominated northern Nigeria say such delays are routine in responding to their reports of violent attacks.

Achi’s death comes amid a spate of violence in Nigeria, in which hundreds of Christians have been killed or kidnapped by Boko Haram and other Islamist sects. For many Nigerian Christians, the incident once again raises the question of why are the country’s security agencies are seemingly unable to successful combat the terrorists.

Some claim that security agencies are actually complicit in the violence, because they are profiting from it and that the “Islamization agenda” suits them because the agencies are dominated and run by the same Hausa and Fulani ethnic groups which dominate Boko Haram and other Islamist movements.

Just before Achi’s murder, representatives of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria visited President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

During the meeting, the bishops told Buhari, a Muslim and former army colonel who ran on anti-corruption platform and pledges of law and order, that “our church personnel have been frequent victims in terms of kidnapping or outright murder.”

“The Owo – Ondo State Catholic Church massacre on Pentecost Sunday, June 5, 2022, [which claimed 40 lives], is still very fresh in our hearts,” the bishops said.

Nigeria is scheduled to hold elections for the national Presidency, Vice Presidency, Senate, and House of Representatives on Feb. 23, with state-level voting to follow on March 11. Security is expected to be a major issue in all these races.

Source: Crux

19, January 2023

Archbishop Nkea says Anglophones are weary of war ⁰

After more than six years of war pitting his country’s English-speaking minority against its French-speaking majority, Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda in Cameroon says the Anglophones are weary of the conflict.

“Our people are tired of the war, and our people need peace,” Nkea said January 14.

“In the northwest and southwest regions of our country, we have seen Cameroonians exhibit wickedness against fellow Cameroonians: Homes burned, schools shut down, the destruction of goods and obstruction of the circulation of people and goods…we have seen Cameroonians torture other Cameroonians,” he said.

Nkea was speaking in the St. Anne and Joachim Cathedral in Abang, Ebolowa, in Cameroon’s southern region, during a closing Mass of the 46th annual seminar of Cameroon Catholic Bishops.

In the presence of some thirty bishops from all five ecclesiastical provinces in Cameroon, as well as representatives of bishops from neighboring Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, along with several government Ministers, Nkea spoke at length about the conflict that has so far left at least 6,000 people dead.

Over a million others have been forced to flee from their homes, and more than 70,000 others have sought refuge in Nigeria, according to the International Crisis Group.

Conflict erupted in 2016 when English-speaking teachers and lawyers took to the streets to protest, amid perceptions that the educational and legal systems in the two Anglophone regions were being overwhelmed by French-speakers with scant knowledge of local realities.

The government took a hard line, and what was initially a peaceful protest mutated into a political crisis. A separatist movement developed and took up arms demanding independence for Cameroon’s English speakers, and the formation of a new state to be called “Ambazonia.”

According to many analysts, the current conflict is a consequence of Cameroon’s colonial legacy. Initially colonized by Germany following the Berlin Conference of 1884, the country would be divided between Britain and France following World War 1.

France claimed four-fifths of the country in the post-war settlement, while Britain was given one-fifth which it administered as part of Nigeria. The two colonial powers would administer the two parts of the country, first as a League of Nations Mandate and then as an United Nations Trust Territory.

In 1960, the French part of Cameroon got its independence to become “La Republique du Cameroun.” The English-speaking part of Cameroon, otherwise known as the British Cameroons, got theirs in 1961, but both sides decided to reunite following a February 11, 1961, plebiscite.

The political elites of the two territories agreed on the formation of a federal State, with considerable autonomy for the English-speaking regions.

In 1972, however, then-President Ahmadou Ahidjo organized a controversial referendum, dissolving the federal structure of the state and replacing it with a united republic. In 1984, President Paul Biya removed the word “united” from the name of the state and Cameroon became known simply as “The Republic of Cameroon,” the name the French-speaking part of the country had adopted at independence.

Cameroon’s English-speakers saw this as an act of assimilation, and the 2016 uprising was therefore the culmination of decades of pent-up frustrations.

While the country’s Catholic bishops, especially from Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, have long called for a revision of what they see as these historical injustices, Nkea believes that everything should be done for peace to return.

“We are inspired by what we have seen in the last six years in some regions of our country,” Nkea said.

“One of the greatest negative effects of war among us is that we lose the fear of the Lord and respect for authority,” the cleric said. He said once people don’t have the fear of the Most High in them, “it is difficult to live in peace.”

The archbishop said the country’s bishops will never rest until hostilities are brought to an end.

“As we leave Ebolowa, we are determined, as individuals and as a conference, to continue working for peace, reconciliation and justice, convinced that these will bring sustainable harmony to our country.”

He then warned against efforts at political manipulation of the church.

“The Catholic Church isn’t a political party where anyone can militate according to its political manifesto,” the cleric said.

“The Catholic Church is the mystical body of Christ,” he noted and explained that both clergy and laity “must make Christ present in our world and in different societies.”

It is only when Christ is present in the different communities and in each individual, the archbishop argued, that there can be peace in the world.

“We have prayed for peace in our entire country, hoping that all the problems we are having will be resolved, and our people will once again live in peace.”

Source: Crux