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19, May 2019

Sasse Old Boys: Secretary General warns SOBA America against meddling in SOBA UK affairs ⁰

Fellow Sobans,

On 10th May 2019, the President of SOBA America published an interview conducted by Brian N. Njotsa in the 2019 SOBA America newsletter. President Mafany Itoe raised issues which misrepresent SOBA UK, the SOBA Constitution and the mediation efforts in the dispute in SOBA UK.

President Itoe was aware of the stage of the dispute now at the UK Company Names Tribunal adjudicator whilst giving his interview. His narrative was a dubious attempt to influence SOBA UK matters in favour of the splinter group which he supports. His account, albeit second hand, only goes to fuel animosity amongst members of our UK community and beyond.

Mindful of the good relationship between SOBA UK and SOBA America, and the need for continuous collaboration, we have found it necessary to respond to these unprecedented utterances by President Itoe regarding the UK association.

We denounce the following falsehoods perpetrated by President Itoe as follows;

1) That going by the Constitution (2018) the president of the splinter group is the recognised president of SOBA UK President Itoe should be well aware that there are two groups in the UK. President Akoh-Arrey is the elected president of 112 registered members of the original SOBA UK, which has been in existence for the last 48 years, a group that owns UK trademarks, “SASSE OLD BOYS ASSOCIATION UNITED KINGDOM”, and has built up and sustained significant goodwill both in its membership and the UK Cameroonian community. The second SOBA group in the UK referred to as the splinter group was constituted on 7th Oct 2017 and has a separate membership and executive. This splinter group is much smaller and has yet to publish any official registration list of its members, assumed to be circa 20.

President Itoe’s comments show his arrogance and lack of respect for over 85% of Sobans in the UK who are registered and affiliated with the original group, and whose activities are a role model for Sobans around the world. Furthermore, he asserts his personal acceptance of the unratified 2018 SOBA Constitution and on those grounds declares that the president of the splinter group is the president of SOBA UK recognised by SOBA America. We note that President Itoe also calls himself the president of Sobans in the free world but he is yet to take the 2018 Constitution signed by Prof Ephraim Ndeh Ngwafor dated 10th March 2018 to the General Assembly (GA) of SOBA America. In a recent publication he underscored the importance of the GA but he has only personally ratified the 2018 Constitution which will be incongruent with the values of SOBA America if his own GA is bypassed.

2) That SOBA Chapters are like KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) franchises It is most disconcerting to read such a weak comparison and notice misleading conclusions about the structure of SOBA by President Itoe. KFC’s franchises enter into a commercial agreement at inception to offer a well-defined product for which goodwill has already been created and royalties may be charged. SOBA on the other hand consists of members who are ex-students of Sasse College and who have a fundamental right to set up chapters, class groups or other parochial groups in the jurisdictions where they settle. The 1991 SOBA Constitution recognises this fundamental structure of SOBA and devolves powers to the members to run their affairs as they see fit, and through the operations of an assembly of members, both in spirit and in practice.

President Itoe shows a lack of insight on the practical realities when he compares SOBA chapters to KFC franchises;

Beginning with his own chapter, SOBA America, as an example, Ernest N. Tate, Esq, a legal expert in the US wrote that – “from a legal vantage point, neither SOBA America Inc nor Sasse Alumni Association, Inc have any direct legal affiliation with SOBA General or Sasse Old Boys Association in Cameroon and therefore, no constitutional amendments, resolutions, or corporate actions taken by Sasse Old Boys Association in Cameroon can affect SOBA America Inc or Sasse Alumni Association Inc, regardless of who participated in the adoption of such amendments or resolutions”.
Another example is SOBA Foundation, Germany. This chapter was set up as an NGO that receives funding from the German Government to undertake benevolent activities and operate under the terms of its set up. For many years SOBA Foundation has had no contact or affiliation to the national branch in Cameroon.
Finally, SOBA UK and SOBA Ireland are set up as unincorporated associations, and have only ever had a loose collaborative connection with the national branch, and like all other diaspora chapters, do not pay any registration fee to SOBA in Cameroon.

To this end, we categorically reject President Itoe’s comparison of SOBA to KFC.

3) Apportioning blame of mediation failure attempts to the Akoh-Arrey team Conflict resolution often requires careful consideration of the feuding parties before prescribing the engagement method. It is regrettable that mediation attempts from both the Itoe-backed team and Prof Ngwafor lacked the capability, neutrality or good faith to deliver a successful outcome. Prof Ngwafor has a history of animosity with the Akoh-Arrey team since the 2015 Sickbay MOU debacle, and therefore his intervention was biased.

The Itoe-backed mediation lacked patience with the Akoh-Arrey team who asked to get the SOBA UK GA’s opinion. These supposed mediators then called off the process prematurely to give green light to the high-handed approach of their superiors in the national branch to ban UK Sobans for life, a decision which has since been dismissed by the SOBA UK General Assembly.

In conclusion, we denounce all misrepresentations made by President Itoe of SOBA America in his interview. His intervention, whilst also taking sides, has made matters worse, not better. Our fervent wish is that he can take some responsibility and help to sort out the perilous state of affairs that his final days as president of SOBA America are turning out to be, before his departure.

Mr. John Bawak

Executive SG,

On behalf of the 112 Registered Members of SOBA UK

19, May 2019

Man Utd ‘rejected in bid for Ajax’s £35m-rated keeper Andre Onana’ ⁰

MANCHESTER UNITED have failed in a bid for Ajax keeper Andre Onana, it has been claimed.

United are said to have seen an offer of £35million knocked back by the Dutch giants for the Cameroon international.

Manchester United have seen a bid for Ajax keeper Andre Onana rejected amid doubts over the future of David De Gea

The Daily Record claims the Old Trafford club made their move amid ongoing concerns over the future of David De Gea at the club.

And it remains to be seen if they will return with an improved bid as the major overhaul at United starts to begin kicking into gear.

Onana, 25, has been an impressive performer for club and country over the past few years, leading to him catching the eye of Red Devils scouts.

But the fact the club have gone as far as making an offer suggests there is huge doubt over the long-term prospects for De Gea.

The Spanish international is about to enter the final year of his existing deal with the club who are desperate for him to commit his future there.

STALLED

But talks over a new £350,000-a-week deal have stalled in recent months, at the same time De Gea lost his form and made a series of high-profile mistakes.

There were even calls for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to drop the 28-year-old as his errors played a part in the exit from the Champions League and then the fall down to sixth in the Premier League.

United only qualifying for the Europa League next season, and Solskjaer admitting the club need a miracle to be challenging for the title next year, will also have been noted by De Gea who wants to be playing at the top level now he is in the peak years of his career.

Paris Saint-Germain have been monitoring his progress closely and United know they face a decision over whether to sell him this summer while they can still command a fee of risk losing him on a free transfer in 12 months.

Onana is regarded as a top class keeper who has been watched by a number of sides across Europe, and crucially he is still relatively young and has plenty of his best years ahead of him.

That means he fits the mould of the type of player Solskjaer and the United board want to sign as they try to build a new-look side of young players with promise.

Source: The Sun UK

18, May 2019

Southern Cameroons Crisis: The government is under enormous pressure ⁰

The Yaounde government is coming under enormous pressure. The regime that once said the form of the state was non-negotiable, is today contemplating building a federal system for the country.

The country’s Prime Minister recently indicated that the president wanted to dialogue, but would not dialogue with separatists. This position is gradually changing as the international community mounts more pressure.

The government is gradually cracking and Americans are not relenting. The government dissolving resolve can be clearing noticed as government ministers keep on contradicting each other.

Speaking on Friday, May 17 on France 24, the country’s territorial administration minister, Atanga Nji, an ex-convict, said that the president was ready and willing to dialogue with separatists. A significant shift in the government’s rhetoric.

A shift that is being welcome across the world, though many observers are still skeptical about the regime. They hold that the government must put forth a clear agenda, adding that there must be a mediator and the genuine inclusive dialogue must be held out of the country for the Diaspora and civil society to fully participate.

But before this happens, the Biya regime must change its ways. The Yaounde government must submit itself to international scrutiny.

Stopping human rights groups from coming into the country does not give the nation a good name. The International Crisis Group has been banned in Cameroon as the rights group has been very critical of the dictatorial regime.

A Human Rights Watch representative was recently refused entry into the country. Amnesty International is not given free and unfettered access to the two English-speaking regions of the country for it to document atrocities.

The government must understand that these organizations have the resources and means to conduct open source investigation to obtain the facts they need. What is the government hiding that it does not want the international community to know?

The government’s dishonesty and refusal to hold a truly genuine dialogue on the Southern Cameroons crisis has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

The Southern Cameroons Diaspora has done a good job at courting the international community and the fruits are there. Americans have embraced the cause and they are doing all they can to rally other countries to the cause.

The Americans and Canadians are pouring enormous pressure on the government. America does not want to break up the country, but it is clear when it comes to what it wants.

The US wants a federal system for Cameroon and Tibor Nagy, the American undersecretary for African Affairs, is promoting this idea and the American society has bought the idea hook, line and sinker.

This has also been the Canadian idea since the conflict started some three years ago and the Canadian government is not wavering on this.

It has the experience of dealing with minorities and can help Cameroon build a solid federal system that will make the Central African nation one of the best countries in the world.

Southern Cameroonians might have lost loved ones and homes, but they must work with the Americans to address those issues that have triggered this unfortunate situation.

Extremism in this case will be foolish. America and Canada are great allies. Do not alienate them. The Diaspora that has so far done a great job can now start sensitizing the fighters on the ground regarding the American, Canadian and UN positions.

The real work has just started and all Southern Cameroonians must make their contribution.

Dr Arrey Joachim

18, May 2019

Soccer star Ronaldo donates $1.5mn to Palestinians for Ramadan ⁰

Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has donated $1.5 million to the Palestinians in a move to alleviate the suffering of people in the besieged Gaza Strip.

He allocated the fund to the Palestinians during the holy month of Ramadan.

The soccer player has, in several occasions, denounced Israel’s atrocities against the Palestinians.

Back in 2012, Ronaldo had auctioned off his Golden Boot, the prestigious award given to the best European strikers of the season, to raise funds that were later donated to the Palestinian children.

The following year, in March 2013, at the end of the match between Portugal and Israel for the 2014 World Cup qualifiers, Ronaldo refused to exchange his shirt with an Israeli player.

The Gaza Strip has been under Israeli land, air and sea blockade since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standard of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.

Palestinians have held weekly rallies along the Gaza border to protest the siege on the enclave and demand the right for refugees to return to their homes they fled during the 1948 creation of Israel.

More than 270 Palestinians have been killed in attacks by Israeli forces ever since anti-occupation protest rallies began in the Gaza Strip on March 30, 2018. Over 16,000 Palestinians have also sustained injuries.

Source: Presstv

18, May 2019

US Democrats accuse Trump of ‘bending intelligence’ on Iran ⁰

Four US senators have sent a letter to President Donald Trump to express growing concerns on Capitol Hill that his administration is “inflating threats and bending intelligence” to justify a potential armed confrontation with Iran.

The letter, from Democratic Senators Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, and obtained by the Foreign Policymagazine, accuses the Trump administration of leading the US down a “path to another war in the Middle East.”

In the letter, the lawmakers warn that the Trump administration’s Iran strategy is “increasingly inconsistent and counterproductive” and “fits into a larger pattern of inflating threats and bending intelligence to justify dangerous, predetermined policies.”

They asked Trump to respond to their letter by June 15 with more clarification on his Iran policy.

The letter underscores the growing concern in the US Congress that the White House might stumble into an armed confrontation with Iran. It also highlights how rattled Democrats are by the administration’s overall Iran strategy.

Last week, two other Democratic senators, Dick Durbin and Tom Udall, published an op-ed in the Washington Post that delivered similar warnings.

The letter comes amid reports that Trump is angry at his National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other hawks in his administration who are pushing the United States into a military confrontation with Iran.

PressTV-Bolton, Pompeo irk Trump with Iran war threats

The four senators also said the administration’s threat assessment on Iran’s nuclear program is “inconsistent” with the findings of America’s own intelligence agencies, as well as those of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

In January, the Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said in a US congressional hearing, “we do not believe Iran is currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device.”

In February, the IAEA backed up Coats’s assertion and once again reaffirmed Iran’s compliance with its nuclear-related commitments under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“Your administration, however, is making assertions that are at odds with these findings,” the letter reads, citing Pompeo’s recent accusation that Iran was engaging in “nuclear blackmail.”

They also cited a new US State Department report that suggested Iran was not in compliance with obligations on nonproliferation.

“In sum, we fear that your administration is leading the United States down the path to another war in the Middle East, while spurning our allies and misleading the United States public,” the senators write.

Earlier this month, Bolton said that Washington was preparing for possible attacks by Iran or its allied forces in the region.

Citing those “threats,” Washington sent military reinforcements to the region, including an aircraft carrier strike group, a squadron of B-52 bombers, and a battery of patriot missiles.

Presstv

18, May 2019

Why would Francophones burn almost 250 Anglophone villages and are still burning more yet pretending to call for disarmament ⁰

Southern Cameroonians, I shall never stop reminding us, Southern Cameroonians what would happen should we surrender. Mind you that our boys called Amba boys have killed many French Cameroonians. Those killed are fathers, husbands, wives, mothers, uncles, etc to French Cameroon citizens. If we surrender, French Cameroon will say “Never Again”. How will never again be accomplished: they will make sure not one Southern Cameroonian on GZ shall live again to invoke this scene in the future.

If the media is telling lies now, it would not need to tell any lie because there will be no need. The would have been fed up with people who were at the verge of getting their freedom but gave it up for stupidity or cowardice. Let me cite a true story: a Nigerian couple in the US, broke off; after some time the woman traveled to Nigeria. On her return, she called her mother requesting to be picked up at the airport; the mother who had reconciled with her son-in-law, sent the son-in-law to pick up the daughter who was the son-in-law estranged wife. The son-in-law went and picked up the ex-wife but instead of taking her to her home, he took her to his home and slaughtered her. I pray Southern Cameroonians don’t make that mistake. It would be the worst mistake ever made by a group of people.

French Cameroon soldiers are still killing Southern Cameroonians civilians as I write. If people can go to a hospital and drag a wounded figher, pick up a baby and throw in a boiling pot of oil, break doors, meet an old woman and shoot her to kill her, etc those are not the type of people you want to reconcile and want to leave with them. God forbid, we accept to return to live with them, there will be total and complete Genocide! In the next two decades, there will be no Southern Cameroonian and no more English language in Cameroon. These actions will be silently implemented.

No Southern Cameroonian in diaspora would ever step their foot in the Republic of Cameoon. Some people will classify me as a hard liner. Tell me if I am wrong, why would they burn almost 250 villages and are still burning more yet pretending to call for disarmament. Their soldiers parading the villages, towns and cities well armed to shoot and kill? Federalists and unionists shall not be spared in the massacre. Anything Southern Cameroon will be eliminated and French Cameroonians come over and take the land. After all, they have always considered us Biafrans who came and took their land. This struggle must be executed to its logical end – Restoration of Southern Cameroon independence. NO MORE NO LESS.

17, May 2019

Another Brazil dam on verge of collapse after 230 killed ⁰

Brazilian iron ore miner Vale SA told prosecutors in the state of Minas Gerais that a dam is at risk of rupturing at its Gongo Soco mine, about 40 miles from where its Brumadinho dam collapsed, killing more than 230 people.

According to a document published on Thursday, prosecutors said Vale is predicting the dam in the city of Barao de Cocais may collapse next week if the current rate of movement in the embankment of the mine pit close to the dam is maintained.

The warning underlines ongoing concern about the stability of dams in Brazil’s mining heartland of Minas Gerais in the aftermath of the Brumadinho accident, which itself came less than four years after another deadly dam collapse at a joint venture between Vale and BHP Group.

Vale said in a late afternoon statement it remained unclear whether the slippage in the embankment would actually trigger a collapse of the nearby Sul Superior dam, but said it was raising its level of alert and readiness for such an extreme case.

Earlier this week, Vale had identified movement close to the mine, which has not been active since 2016, the prosecutors said. About 500 people seen at risk from a collapse of the dam have been evacuated from their homes since February under orders from mining regulator ANM.

Aerial view showing emergency crews using an amphibious vehicle and heavy machinery as they continue the slow process of picking through the mud looking for bodies, 99 days after the collapse of the Corrego do Feijao dam in Brumadinho, Minas Gerais State, Brazil, on May 3, 2019. (Photo by AFP)

The dam holds 6 million cubic meters of mining waste, roughly half the amount that was released when the Brumadinho tailings dam burst in late January, burying nearby buildings including a company cafeteria and a bed and breakfast.

“If the movement of the northern embankment of the mine pit continues at the same pace, the rupture may happen between May 19 and May 25, which could cause liquefaction of the south dam,” the prosecutor’s document said.

Liquefaction, in which a dam’s barrier gets weakened as it turns to water, has been pegged as a likely cause of the Brumadinho collapse. Like Brumadinho, the dam at Gongo Soco has an upstream structure, known as the cheapest and least stable type of tailings dam design.

Vale shares fell 3.2% on Thursday, accelerating their drop after the reports on the potential dam burst. Prosecutors ordered Vale to issue urgent warnings about the risks to the local population.

Authorities in Brumadinho are still recovering bodies from the collapse of the Vale tailings dam there.

(Source: Reuters)

17, May 2019

Buea Amba attack delays Dion Ngute’s Meme County Mission ⁰

The so-called Prime Minister and Head of Government Joseph Dion Ngute on Thursday witnessed firsthand the insecurity in Southern Cameroons as he continues his poorly initiated peace crusade.

Joseph Dion Ngute was supposed to hit the road early Thursday to Kumba to continue his mission but got stuck at his hotel room following deafening gunshots in Buea. Journalists as well as members of the Prime Minister’s entourage accompanying Mr Ngute to Kumba had to wait at the hotel to get security clearance.

Gunmen reportedly invaded the Mile 17 motor park fired shots and headed to Molyko forcing traders, drivers and passengers to flee.

Journal du Cameroun reported that the gunshots lasted for hours but calm has ever since returned.

Source: Journal du Cameroun

17, May 2019

UN urges support for displaced Southern Cameroonians in Nigeria ⁰

UNHCR has called for urgent support for Cameroon’s displaced as violence in the north and south-west regions continues to force thousands to flee.

Violent clashes between Cameroon’s military and armed separatists have displaced some 437,000 within the country’s borders and forced about 35,000 like Agah to seek safety in Nigeria. The displaced, the majority of whom are women and children, are mostly from English-speaking areas. They face great hardship in both countries.

Having fled with very little, their presence in already impoverished host communities is straining food resources and already limited health, education, water and sanitation facilities in these areas.

UNHCR has launched an urgent appeal to increase support for displaced Cameroonians who have survived nearly two years of ongoing violence. But of the US$184 million required for UNHCR’s operations in Cameroon and Nigeria – including US$35.4 million needed urgently for critical life-saving assistance to newly displaced Cameroonians – just four per cent has been raised.

One of three refugee sites hosting Cameroonian refugees has doubled its capacity of 4,000 and currently hosts more than 7,000 refugees. The numbers have further increased as many refugees who previously lived in the host communities have relocated to the settlements since November.

UNHCR is working closely with the Nigerian government to register all new arrivals and provide basic assistance. This includes the harder to reach refugee population living in the host communities in over 47 villages along the border, who make up over 60 per cent of the refugee population.

Source: TVcnews

17, May 2019

Southern Cameroons refugees flee clashes and find safety in Nigeria ⁰

When armed men swept into her village in North-West Cameroon, mother-of-four Loveline only had time to gather up her children and run.

“I could not take any clothes. There was shooting – they killed my uncle and shot my cousin,” says the 39-year-old.

As she fled into the bush, gunmen shot dead her husband. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the armed men douse their house in petrol and set it alight.

In another village, Myriam, 22, looked on as gun toting men stormed into her community and opened fire.

“You could see the bullets passing in front of you,” says Myriam, who escaped into the bush with her family. Returning to the house to try and retrieve their belongings, they were met with gunfire.

“You could see the bullets passing in front of you.”

“Staying in the bush with the kids is not easy,” Myriam says. “There are mosquitos, there is hunger.”

Loveline and Myriam are among some 26,000 civilians who have fled the southwest and northwest regions of Cameroon and sought safety in Nigeria’s south-eastern Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Benue and Taraba states. Women and children account for four-fifths of the population.

Anglophone residents of the country’s restive provinces have long had greivances against the largely Francophone central government. They say the country’s French-dominated legal and educational systems have left them on the margins.

This crisis erupted some three year after protests turned violent, with some calling for secession. So far this year, some 400 civilians have been killed in escalating attacks between separatatist groups and government forces, according to rights groups.

In March, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned that the plight of the refugees in Nigeria was becoming increasingly desperate. While the government has given land for refugee settlements, it is now fully occupied and more will be developed. At the same time, the provision of shelter, food, water and sanitation by UNHCR and its partners has been constrained by severe underfunding.

“The government recently provided us with other settlements but we need more resources in order to establish the settlements and receive further refugees,” says the head of UNHCR’s field office in Ikom, Mohammad Rafiq Nasry.

As the response struggles, many refugees have found support within host communities. The inhabitants of small border villages share what they have with them – food, a room to sleep or work in the cocoa plantations. Some received a piece of land to cultivate. However, solidarity alone is not enough for people who have lost everything to re-start their lives.

“I would like to receive support to start a business to allow my children to go to school.”

“To make a better living, I will have to move,” says refugee Elias Enu, a nurse turned farmer, who struggles to feed his family of 10.

Meanwhile Myriam and Loveline, who reached Nigeria empty-handed and scared after weeks in the bush, were initially given a place to stay by a local resident in Ajassor, along with their children and relatives. Together, they took turns to work and care for the children, shared food and patiently endured sleepless nights due to a lack of space.

Then, last month, the women boarded a bus to reach the Adagom refugee settlement in Nigeria’s Cross River State. They could barely hide their excitement, laughing and smiling.

“I want my children to go to school,” said Loveline, from the front seat. “I would like to receive support to start a business to allow my children to go to school.”

Myriam, too, is looking forward to a happier future. Although one day she hopes to return home to Cameroon, she knows she is stronger with Loveline by her side.

“I am happy to be here. That is why when we were told to relocated we did not hesitate to pack. Because we know the burden we have been carrying. It will be lighter here.”

Their hopes for a stable future depend in large measure on funding.

Source: United Nations High Commission For Refugees