22, December 2024
Magdeburg: Home of English speaking Cameroonians comes under attack 0
The University of Magdeburg in the Federal Republic of Germany was the first renowned German academic establishment to offer management courses in English and this attracted hundreds of English speaking Cameroonians to the city of Magdeburg.
In the late 90s, the city of Magdeburg provided a rare opportunity for several Southern Cameroons freedom fighters who were asylum seekers in the small town of Halberstadt to blend with the English speaking student community in the University of Magdeburg. Magdeburg became the home of the new Anglophone Cameroon nationalism.
Today, Magdeburg’s Christmas market is a sad sight. This should have been the busiest weekend of the season, but the whole area has been cordoned off and all the stands are shut.
Police are the only people walking around the boarded-up mulled wine and gingerbread stalls.
On the pavement, red candles flicker, tributes laid for the victims.
Lukas, a truck driver, told me he felt compelled to come to pay his respects. “I wasn’t there when it happened,” he told me.
“But I work here in Magdeburg. I’m here every day. I’ve driven by here a thousand times.”
“It’s a tragedy for everyone here in Magdeburg. The perpetrator should be punished.”
“We can only hope that the victims and their families find the strength to deal with it.”
There is sorrow here – but there is anger too.
Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.
Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said “there should’ve been better security”.
“We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly.”
Many people here see this attack as a terrible lapse in security. That is a claim the authorities reject, although they have admitted the attacker entered the market using a route planned for emergency responders.
Michael, who also came to pay tributes to the victims, said “there should’ve been better security”.
“We should have been prepared better but that was not done properly.”
Standing at the security cordon, I heard a group of locals complaining loudly about Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz and regional politicians.
“They are wasting our tax money, they are just looking out for themselves. They are not interested in us. We just hear empty promises,” one man said.
“They are turning what happened here around and want to put the blame on the opposition and use it for their election campaign,” he said.
On Saturday evening, around the same time as the square in front of Magdeburg’s Gothic cathedral was filled with mourners watching a memorial service, a demonstration took place nearby.
Protesters held a banner that read “Remigration now!” – a concept popular among the far-right – and shouted “those who do not love Germany should leave Germany”.
It is not clear yet what impact this attack may have on Germany’s upcoming election.
Germany has been hit by a number of deadly Islamist attacks in the past, but investigators said the evidence they have gathered so far suggests a different picture in this case.
Germany’s Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said the suspect appears to have been “Islamophobic”.
The suspect, Taleb Al-Abdulmohsen, is from Saudi Arabia, and his social media posts suggest he had been critical of Islam.
He also expressed sympathy on social media for Germany’s far-right political party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), re-tweeting posts from the party’s leader and a far-right activist.
Reported by Cameroon Concord News and the BBC
30, December 2024
Will Biya resign and allow Dion Ngute to be president? 0
There is no proof that Unity Palace and the Star Building have considered doing this, but according to our Cameroon Intelligence Report chief correspondent in Yaoundé, Biya is contemplating to resign the presidency after New Year celebrations to make Prime Minister Dion Ngute the president of the Republic.
Rita Akana explained this move and cited a well-placed source who met President Biya recently in Yaoundé.
President Biya was painted as having a divided mind on handing over before the elections in 2025 or running as a candidate and then step down, making the way for a Dion Ngute presidency.
“From what he told an aide late last week, he now fully understands that he no longer has the energy to run state affairs. I’m not saying that he intends to resign soonest, but that’s exactly what he is planning do,” the source said.
As 2025 approaches, many Cameroonians are concerned about the future of their country. Cameroon is at a standstill both politically and economically. The country is in dire need of an overhaul and many analysts have opined that the 2025 presidential election might reshape the country’s future.
However, though the presidential election is less than ten months away, Cameroonians are not yet aware of the candidates in the race for the Unity Palace as some political parties have not yet revealed their candidates to the public and this is indeed a cause for concern.
The 2025 presidential polls cannot be discussed without mentioning the incumbent’s name. Mr. Biya who has been in power for 42 years has the benefit of incumbency. His total control of the country’s treasury gives him certain financial advantages which other parties may not have.
However, his long stay in power might be a huge disadvantage as many Cameroonians are of the opinion that he has overstayed his welcome. His age and failing health could also be some of the annoying inconveniences which might mar Mr. Biya’s campaign.
However, some analysts say he might not run as his age has diminished his mental and physical ability. The analysts hold that he might manage the transition to ensure that his successor comes from his party to ensure that his family and collaborators get the protection they need when he leaves power.
Mr. Biya has been a fixture on Cameroon’s political landscape having been thrust into power by the country’s first president, Amadou Ahidjo, who resigned in 1982. Ahidjo saw the young Biya as an asset to the country and thought that Mr. Biya was capable of steering the country to better shores.
Unfortunately, things have not turned out as planned. The country’s economy has been in shambles for more than three decades, with unemployment reaching alarming levels. Many young Cameroonians are frustrated and thousands have left the country to try their luck somewhere else. Cameroon has not been the eldorado Ahidjo thought it would become under Mr. Biya.
Nepotism and corruption have become the country’s hallmarks. The massive, dysfunctional and corrupt civil service is full of Biya loyalists and tribesmen and this is a tough challenge the next president will have to deal with.
Currently, the government is bleeding money and in a bid to raise more money, the government is instituting more annoying taxes. The 2024 finance bill has just been passed and it is not good news to struggling Cameroonians. The new taxes will trigger a further escalation of living cost and most Cameroonians who are already in the throes of a severe crisis will have to look for creative ways to survive if they must not be rolled into an early grave by high prices.
The 2025 polls are an opportunity for Cameroonians to reshape their political destiny. The lineup of candidates is impressive. Will they vote for continuity or will they design a new path by walking away from the ruling party which has made corruption a way of life?
By Miriam Metchane Ewang