From the very beginning of the Southern Cameroons revolution, the Ambazonian Interim President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe neither looked nor sounded like a born leader. However, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is still directing the Southern Cameroons resistance and quest for independence from the Kondengui High Security Prison in Yaounde! This begs the question:  How is he doing it?

The Ambazonian leader is indeed hated and venerated in equal measure and he is currently dominating the Southern Cameroons landscape, and with it, much of the Southern Cameroons resistance map.  His abduction in Abuja, Nigeria and subsequent extradition to Yaounde, almost signaled the beginning of the end of the Southern Cameroons revolution that reawakened the national consciousness of Anglophones in Cameroon and allowed them the possibility of determining their own fate on their own land.

Frankly speaking, authentic national leaders do not arise often. They are forged more by fate and circumstance than by human design.  This is how Sisiku Ayuk Tabe came to the lime light as the Southern Cameroons leader. He has been leading Southern Cameroonians slowly but surely out of the material, political and moral devastation orchestrated by French Cameroun for 57 years. The fact that the United Nations Security Council accepted that the crisis in Anglophone Cameroon today occupies a central place in world affairs is thanks to Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his leadership style.  His removal of Dr Samuel Ikome Sako as Acting President and appointing a Vice President in the person of Dabney Yerima may be open to dispute and it may also be too early to pass a final verdict on them.

However, without the Ambazonian Interim Government and the coming of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the Southern Cameroons issue would have remained no more than yet another minor internal conflict alongside the many other crises lingering on the periphery of the United Nations’s conscience. His detractors have opined that the dismissal of Sako Ikome marred his reputation, and that directing the revolution from a French Cameroun prison is not in the best interest of Southern Cameroonians.  It is now evidently clear that Sako’s departure has paved the way for an unwavering commitment to financing Ground Zero and  diplomacy have substituted Chris Anu’s noise making ethos. The appointment of a Vice President has also proven to be a more successful path for fulfilling Southern Cameroons aspirations.

The future of French Cameroun’s union with Southern Cameroons appears bleak. But Southern Cameroonians have not been able to take advantage of the situation for the simple fact that the Ambazonian Interim Government’s authority was depleted by a period of failed Sako leadership and corruption.  The Southern Cameroons diaspora has never been so frustrated with the irresponsible leadership of Sako Ikome until recently that they faced a kind of denial and deprivation led by the man they once referred to as their powerful Communications Secretary, Chris Anu. The new Vice President has within a short period of time cut across the Southern Cameroons political and geographical boundaries and Vice President Dabney Yerima now embodies the will and aspirations of most Ambazonians.  The assertion that there are two parallel Ambazonian Interim Governments has limited credibility.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s untiring work ethic remains one of his most powerful assets that pushed Southern Cameroonians to rally behind the Interim Government. This is a man who took no break or time off from the struggle until his abduction in Nigeria when compared with Sako who including his so-called lieutenants and associates appeared with a generally more relaxed pace wasting Ambazonia money in hotels, restaurants and renting luxurious cars. Dr Samuel Ikome Sako will be remembered as a leader who manipulated his time to suit his purposes. Sako thought about nothing of summoning cabinet ministers, members of the Southern Cameroons Restoration Council and Ground Zero commanders.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe who had no traditional tools of power or control over Ambazonia land and resources used his working habits as an essential part of his influence and moral persuasion. From its very early beginning, the Southern Cameroons struggle was complicated by the North West/South West Divide that separated the clusters that constituted the Ambazonia political universe. Welding these disparate elements together and maintaining them till this day is one of the greatest achievements of the Ambazonia Interim Government under Sisiku Ayuk Tabe. Southern Cameroons liberation movements such as CAM, SCNC, SCYL never acquired an independent base or long-lasting territorial haven. But Sisiku Ayuk Tabe provided one in Nigeria which still operates after his abduction in Abuja.

By Chi Prudence Asong in London

For many months now, there has been speculation about the health of Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, who is hardly seen in public these days. There was even rumour that Mr. Biya, also known as the “monarch”, had died.

But Monday’s celebration of the country’s national day did not only confirm that Mr. Biya was still alive, it also proved that the monarch was in bad shape and was rapidly losing his mind.

Though a source at the Presidency had informed the Cameroon Concord News Group that he was gradually losing his mind, there were doubts as to the authenticity of that information.

However, a short video of the “monarch’s” wife forcing him to wave at the crowd during Monday’s event clearly confirmed that the man who once thought he was only second to God was clearly suffering from Alzheimer- a progressive mental deterioration that occurs in middle or old age, due to generalised degeneration of the brain. It is the commonest cause of premature senility and it is without a cure.

On the surface, Mr. Biya looked radiant, but underneath the foundation that had been applied to his face, is a huge story of agony, sorrow and pity. Mr. Biya who is also battling prostrate cancer and a failing heart is going through the toughest moments of his life. His failing health is affecting those around him and this has hit his wife like a ton of bricks.

She too is rapidly going down the hill. Over the last six months, she has lost more than 50kg and her hair has been falling off at a breath-taking speed. There are speculations that she could be suffering from a more dangerous form of cancer and her rapid weight loss seems to buttress this allegation.

Many of Mr. Biya’s close collaborators hold that the Southern Cameroons crisis that has resulted in the death of some 3,000 civilians has had a huge impact on Mr. Biya’s declining health.

A source close to the Yaounde strong man alleges that he regrets lots of things and he holds that the issue could have been handled differently if he had not listened to hawks in his government. The regrets are made all the more challenging by the increasing pressure from the United States, Canada and UK who are working behind the scenes to ensure that the monarch yields to their demand for the creation of a federal system in Cameroon.

Also, another source at the Presidency that elected anonymity has also said that Mr. Biya’s health is a major concern not only to his relatives, but also to his collaborators.

He added that the ailing monarch was supposed to go to Switzerland for proper treatment last month, but the information was leaked to the Diaspora and the plan was sabotaged, as members of the country’s Diaspora had announced that they would be disrupting things in Switzerland if he showed up in any of the Swiss hospitals.

“Mr. Biya is down. His health is failing him very fast. He does not even recognize those around him and this is causing many members of his government to be concerned. They know the end is near,” he said.

“All tweets you have been reading from Mr. Biya are written by his wife. She thinks Mr. Biya needs some inner peace and that could come from Cameroonians whom he has hurt so badly. The Biya family knows that the President will leave the country in a mess and this will be his legacy. Many Cameroonians will only remember him for the corruption, inefficiency and chaos that have become the hallmark of his government,” the source added.

“Mr. Biya knows that many Cameroonians have lost their lives in a war that is not even necessary. He understands that the solution to the Southern Cameroons crisis can only be found at the negotiating table and not in a battlefield, but he does not know how to come back to his words. He had declared that the form of the state was non-negotiable and that was what caused the situation to escalate. This is his greatest undoing and this is destroying him internally,” the source stressed.

“Cameroonians were right when they suspected that there was something cooking when Mr. Biya signed a presidential decree granting the Secretary-General at the presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the right to sign any documents on his behalf but they simply did not know that the president’s health was fast deteriorating,” he pointed out.

“These days, it is hard to even see the president. He now lives like a recluse and his wife is the one issuing instructions on his behalf. Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh is simply the president and this has been decided by the president’s wife who is the face behind the mask. The choice of Ngoh Ngoh is not in error. He is Mrs. Biya’s relative and he is prepared to bend over backwards just to please her,” the source said.

“The president’s wife is keeping an eye on everything and she is ensuring that those she does not trust are elbowed out of the president’s inner circle. There are internal fights among those close to the president. It is obvious that a power struggle is in the offing in Cameroon. The Betis are scared of losing power. They are aware of the mess they have created in Cameroon and their fear is that the next president will not be from their ethnic group and he might come after them. This, to them, is very unsettling,” our source concluded.

Cameroon is at the crossroads. The multiple conflicts that are tearing the country apart might only get worse over the next couple of months. Boko Haram is intensifying its attacks in the north, Central African rebels are keeping the country’s army soldiers in the east of the country awake all night while Southern Cameroonians are not buying anything the country’s Prime Minister, Dion Ngute, is selling.

They argue that the government can never be trusted and that though Mr. Ngute is from Southern Cameroons, he has lost his credibility, as he has neither acknowledged the killing of fellow Southern Cameroonians nor even expressed regret for the government’s irresponsible actions.

His trip to the two English-speaking regions has not borne any real fruits, as the killing has continued and the burning of houses by government troops has intensified.

Besides, his call for dialogue and peace is clearly falling on deaf ears and he had announced that the government could discuss with all factions in the conflict except separatists. This has offended many and from the look of things, many Southern Cameroonians hold that any dialogue that does include separatists will be a total waste of time.

The Prime Minister’s trip does not seem to receive much support from outside. The Prime Minister did not offer much in terms of how the dialogue would be conducted and where it would be held. The Diaspora will be excluded from any dialogue if it will take place in Cameroon. The country’s Diaspora, especially Southern Cameroonians living abroad, does not trust the government. The arrest of some members of the country’s Diaspora at international airports in the country has given the government a very bad name.

Besides, the repatriation of many Cameroonians with dual nationality to countries whose passports they hold has upset many and made it hard for the government to be forgiven.

The government simply has a bad relationship with its Diaspora and if the Prime Minister is serious about holding a dialogue, his government must first release those in jail and then grant a general amnesty to all those who have played a rule in the crisis that has given the government a bloodshot eye.

While the Prime Minister is giving the impression that the Southern Cameroons crisis can be addressed, members of Mr. Biya’s inner circle are more concerned with a power struggle that is hurting the country’s economy and spreading corruption and intimidation.

For now, the “monarch” is more concerned about his health than that of the country. He has had many opportunities to exit the scene with pump and pageantry, but he has squandered every single opportunity and today, he is viewed by most Cameroonians as the villain that has brought untold hardship to his compatriots.

His war against Southern Cameroons is not popular with many East Cameroonians and this is gradually breaking the country along tribal and ethnic lines. If the transition is not properly handled, the country may implode when Mr. Biya exits the scene.

The world must keep and eye on Cameroon. A brutal inter-ethnic war is simmering underneath the surface. If Cameroon goes down that path, the entire sub-region will be brought down and the world will be left with a sticky situation on its hands. The time to arrest things is now. Postponing or pretending not to see what is happening in Cameroon is simply endorsing chaos that could be very expensive.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group with files from Bamba Gaoussou in Yaounde

Fellow Ambazonians,
My dear brothers and Sisters,

Today, May 20th, the French neo-colonial regime of La Republique du Cameroun celebrated their National day. The day before Yesterday, talking to someone on ground zero, I was told the luck down was already activated. I sat back and closely watched what will happen today and you did it. 20th May is no more.

What I deduce from that is;
You are telling the world that Restoration of our statehood is the dearest thing in your hearts.
You are telling the world that it’s independence or resist forever.
You are telling the world that we know who we are and we cannot be cheated once more.
We have our International boundaries;
We have our flag.
We have our anthem.
We have enough resources to do business on our own.
We got our independence on the 21st April 1961 to take effect on the 1st of October 1961.

Now, we are asking the world that, what happened that we are where we are today? The UN, France and the United Kingdom should give us answers.
Fellow Ambazonians, We have seen our loved ones killed or torched, our homes, churches burned down.

My heart goes to you people of mile 8 Mankon and many who have lost loved ones and everything. Stay resilient because what the LRC military are doing can be summed up as the last kick of a dying horse. My team and I are willing to give any support we can at this time of crisis and will want to assure you that your homes will be rebuilt when this is over.

I want to commend the courage of the Christians of Ramah Church in mile 8, who despite the fact that their church building was burnt down, they held an open service yesterday and sang the song, higher we dey go. A song of hope for a better tomorrow May God bless you all.

My heart goes to that lady with 5 children that her late husband left her with. Their compound which was the only source of revenue for their sustenance was burned down completed. My fellow brothers and sisters, if you can offer her shelter or any kind of help, please do. I want to extend our gratitude to the gallant men and women of our self-defense forces, whom less than 3 years ago were mere students, teachers, farmers, bike rides and simple citizens, but today you are risking everything to protect the homeland.

On behalf of the people of Ambazonian, I want to say thank you for your dedication to the struggle and your effort to completely put 20th May in the graveyard. It was buried today. You have shown the world you have total control of homeland. My team and I pledge our total support to you and will make sure that you have what is needed to defend homeland responsibly.

My heart goes to the family of the baby who was shot today in Muyuka while Paul Biya celebrates. Take heart. His blood hasn’t been spilled in vain. I will work hard to make Buea a reality. I pray the Lord comfort you and all the bereaved in our land. To our chiefs, I say, you must not take any of the humiliation from this regime anymore. We are almost there and when we are there you will take your seats in our house of chiefs.

To our refugees in Nigeria especially Ogaga where there is a food problem, you shall be getting some support soon.

Fellow Ambazonians, I want to caution you not be carried away by distractions but rest assured, we are working very hard for you. Hard work means prosperity.
We have work to do not blackmailing others.
We have work to do, not to slandering others and putting us in hate groups.
We have work to do, not leading with lies and half-truths to bring fear or worry about the state of our revolution. This revolution is sound and safe in our hands and my team and I will stop at nothing to deliver.

Our revolution is repositioning in the right direction. A direction full of hope and with a resolve to bring us together for this last push to Buea. I count on your support to help my team and I push through. Ambazonia is first.

This revolution is all about you, less about me, we are in this together, Ambazonia first.
Long live the FRA,
Short live the struggle.

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.

Following his appointment as the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Cameroon Concord News Group congratulated Dabney Yerima and judged it wise for our readers to get first-hand information about this new C0-driver of the Southern Cameroons revolution train. Vice President Dabeny cautioned our correspondent not to address him as VP but simply as Comrade. Below is the full conversation with the Southern Cameroons new strongman

Cameroon Concord News Thank you very much Mister Vice President for accepting to talk to us. A new page in the struggle and a new challenge for you and your family

Dabney Yerima: My dear journalist, titles aren’t essential or important now. The central people in this struggle are the families in the forests, the refugees in Nigeria, the IDPs, the Restoration Forces and Ground Zero not titles. These title cancers in the diaspora have made us lost our focus! We need to refocus. It is my belief that every struggle goes through phases and we have gone through a difficult one recently.

Regarding the second part of your question, I wish and must say here that this is not my family struggle; this is the people’s revolution. It’s not about me or President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe!! It’s about the people of Southern Cameroons.

Cameroon Concord News Many Ambazonians agree with you that the Southern Cameroons Diaspora has been consistently inconsistent! What should be expected in the coming days?

Dabney Yerima My vision is to get all the focus on Ground Zero. You and I are very much aware that diplomacy is a slow process but we must never give up whilst doing all we can to help our people defend themselves. My goal is to use this trust conferred upon me by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe to build bridges and to get us to refocus and direct our dynamism where it matters most. Accountability and trust are earned and not dished out like kola nuts. I also will work extremely hard to build an IG that respects Ambazonian state institutions and the constitution of the State.

Cameroon Concord News A lot of tongues have been wagging ever since President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe made public the decision appointing you as Vice President! Who is Comrade Dabney Yerima?

Dabney Yerima I was born into a traditional Northern Zone family that till this day exhumes hard-work and enthusiasm. I attended Sacred Heart College Mankon and Cameroon Protestant College Bali both in Southern Cameroons before travelling to Holland over twenty years ago. I am a family man with two beautiful kids.

Cameroon Concord News Southern Cameroonians in Europe are saying that you are not a stranger to the complexity and direction of the Ambazonia debate and struggle. Is this true?

Dabney Yerima President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe pointed out to me some time ago that whenever a man is over praised, there is the danger of him becoming arrogant, so I will always check myself when dealing or reacting to what the public is saying about me. Formerly I worked as the Acting Secretary General of the SCNC and also held positions in SCACUF. In the Ambazonian Interim Government, I served as the Under Secretary of State for Home Affairs and Resource Mobilization and before that at the DOD in the logistics Command Unit.

Cameroon Concord News We gathered from our intelligence department that you were struck down by a serious illness and was never expected to walk again or stay alive but you recovered. Talk us through that experience

Dabney Yerima As you rightly mentioned, I recovered and that’s an experience which I attribute to the grace of God. God in his infinite image has provided another opportunity for me to lead his people. I am strong and doing well and ready!! But I need the support of every Southern Cameroonian and most importantly you of the press.

Cameroon Concord New When do you intend to address the people of Ambazonia?

Dabney Yerima That decision has to come from the Communications Department of the Ambazonian presidency. I believe and fervently too that it will come soonest.

Cameroon Concord News Thank you very much for your time! Hope to have more of these conversations with you

Dabney Yerima It’s my pleasure Comrade

Interviewed by our London Bureau Chief Sesekou Asu Isong and published by Chi Prudence Asong

His Excellency
Dr. Dion Ngute
Prime Minister, Republic of Cameroon

Dear Prime Minister Dion Ngute,

Allow me to congratulate you on your appointment as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cameroon. I would also like to express my admiration of your efforts aimed at seeking a long-lasting solution to the Southern Cameroons crisis that has resulted in the unnecessary death of some 2,000 Southern Cameroonians.

Your trip to the North West regional headquarters of Bamenda, despite the violence that is playing out there, is testimony to your firm commitment to seek a just and fair solution to the conflict that has put our country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

However, before focusing on your mission to the North West region, I would like to point out that l would have loved to send this letter to you through the official channel, but given that our civil service is ineffective and corrupt, I have opted to send it via this medium as I do not want it to end up as a dead letter.

Regarding your peace-seeking mission, I would like to highlight that many Southern Cameroonians, especially those who have been directly affected by this “man-made catastrophe”, are watching you very carefully as their future depends on the resolution of this conflict that could have been nipped in the bud if the government you serve had not made arrogance and repression its hallmarks.

I have personally been listening to you on your “roadshow” and I will continue to do so as you take your message of peace to our beloved South West Region next week. Like you, I am a bona fide son of the South West Region and I want peace to prevail so that our people can return to their land and live a normal life.

However, as a Southern Cameroonian, I am concerned by some of the messages you have been delivering while on your roadshow. While I welcome the message that your president, the one you serve and adore, is now open to discussions on the form of the state, I am however concerned that your mission seems to be doomed to failure, especially as your government is determined to exclude an important segment of the Southern Cameroonian population which you and your government have tagged as separatists.

For any dialogue to be meaningful, all shades of opinions must be welcomed and discussed at the negotiating table. I am an unapologetic federalist, but I hold that it is incumbent upon me to dialogue with and understand those who hold that secession is the ultimate solution.

I think those who have been calling for a separate Southern Cameroonian state have been pushed to the wall by your government and it is incumbent upon you and your government to convince them that separation is not a good option for the country. That is one job you should be prepared to handle in the days ahead.

These people have been pushed to the wall by your government’s refusal to listen to the people’s grievances for decades. Eliminating them from any dialogue might only radicalize them and make it impossible for our country to achieve the peace it needs.

These “separatists” are Southern Cameroonians too and they deserve to be heard. They must be given a chance for them to express their views so that, together, we can find a lasting solution to this unfortunate situation.

Their leaders are in jail in Yaounde and your government has been putting them through a pseudo trial that does not speak well of the country. Those in jail must be involved in the dialogue for it to be meaningful.

Allow me to point out that a first serious step towards seeking peace will be publicly acknowledging that mistakes have been made, apologizing for the lives lost and property intentionally damaged by government forces.

Mr. Prime Minister, unconditionally releasing all those who are being held in your dungeons in Yaounde will send a clear message that your government is serious about restoring peace in the country. A blanket amnesty should be granted to all Southern Cameroonians at home and abroad as a confidence building measure.

Southern Cameroonian leaders at home and abroad should be allowed to prepare for any inclusive dialogue that may be organized by your government in the presence of the United Nations and other stakeholders like Canada and the United States.

It should be underscored that there is a confidence deficit in Cameroon. Cameroonians, especially Southern Cameroonians do not trust the Yaounde government, as it is noted for speaking from both sides of its mouth. These issues require Cameroonians to look at each other in the eyes and say those home truths that will enable us make giant steps towards peace.

I am also pleased to know that you met with lawyers in Bamenda and you listened to them religiously in order to gain a better understanding of their own issues. I would like to advise that the conflict that has torn our country apart is not a socio-professional issue.

It is a constitutional and political issue that needs to be addressed in an inclusive dialogue like the one the United Nations and the International Community have been calling for over the last two years. If your government is still insisting on its own approach, then it is not yet ready to see this matter settled definitively.

It has also been reported that you advised lawyers in Bamenda not to focus on the root cause of the conflict, but rather on the way forward. I understand that you and your government want to walk away from the mess you have created but walking away from it without seeking to know what triggered it will be like striking the branches of a problem instead of its roots.

Like most Cameroonians, I would not like this ugly history to repeat itself in Cameroon. If thunder strikes twice in the same place, then we have not taken all the measures necessary to keep it at bay. It is incumbent upon us to come up with solutions that will never put future generations at risk.

To achieve this, we must carefully examine the root cause of the issue. We should not just flip the page without reading it. It is an ugly page, but we must read it to understand how it all unraveled. We should be driven by the need to spare future generations such a disaster and not by the political expediency that your government is noted for.

I know you will be heading to the South West Region next week and you will be delivering the same messages over there. I would like to remind you that you have to meet with people who will tell you the truth and not only with those who will flatter you.

While seeking opinions at home, do not forget that the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is a formidable force and its opinion must count. There is no way there can be peace in Cameroon if the opinion of the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is not taken into consideration.

The Diaspora has the resources and men to destabilize the country for a long time. Its vast financial resources can be used for development purposes if the Yaounde government partners with it in a win-win partnership. Rather than alienate this group of hard-working Cameroonians, it will be in the government’s interest to work with this Diaspora that has played a significant role in the conflict.

This situation is critical and only the truth will bail our country out of this political quagmire. This situation does not require long speeches. Many have died and many are still dying. Your soldiers are still kidnapping and slaughtering innocent civilians. Their license to kill is not yet expired. I would suggest we make these consultations as short as possible in order to commence with the inclusive dialogue Cameroonians are waiting for.

Mr. Prime Minister, I would not like to take your time. I know you are a busy person and you are honest and peace-loving. I sincerely wish you the best in your undertaking and I stand by for any input you may need in this regard.

Sincerely,

By Joachim Arrey

About the Author: The author of this letter has served as a translator, technical writer, journalist and editor for several international organizations and corporations across the globe. He studied communication and public relations at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and technical writing at George Brown College, Toronto, Canada. He also studied translation at the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters (ASTI) of the University of Buea, as well as Languages and Linguistics at the University of Calabar, Calabar, Nigeria. He holds a Ph.D. He can be reached at: arreyjoachim@hotmail.com

While the situation in the exiled Southern Cameroons Interim Government remains confused, events on Ground Zero, the US and Europe demonstrate once again that the likeliest resolution to Ambazonia’s seemingly endless USA political crisis lies in the hands of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the Southern Cameroons Restoration Forces.

The Sako Ikome failed dictatorship and the President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s decision dissolving the controversial Interim Government’s cabinet has been locked in a tense stand-off ever since a financial scandal rocked the Interim Government in the USA.

The Restoration Council dodgy effort to bring the crisis to an end has failed. Consequently, Chairman Kometa has erased himself from the annals of Southern Cameroons history. The Sako-Chris Anu’s power-play to bully President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe out of leadership appeared to run out of steam weeks ago. More nuanced efforts involving the renowned Prof Carlson Anyangwe and Seseskou Christmas Ebini have so far produced little of substance. Even Dr Fontem Neba has also declined to mediate, citing Sako Ikome’s bad faith.

The United Nations now estimates that a quarter of Southern Cameroon’s population is in need of humanitarian assistance, with almost half a million suffering from undernourishment in the forest. It also calculates another 50,000 have already fled to Nigeria in desperation. But the continuing support of ill informed Ambazonians in the USA has so far given Sako Ikome the feeling that he has survived the fallout from his leadership failure.

In part Sako has retained Chris Anu’s support thanks to differences between Chris Anu and Tabenyang Brado. But largely Chris Anu’s support to the disgraced Acting President has been bought by a promise of turning over huge swathes of Southern Cameroons financial donations to ABC TV. Chris Anu thinks this will make him fabulously wealthy through control over Southern Cameroons propaganda activities.

This is not to say that all members of the dissolved Southern Cameroons Interim Government in the USA are Sako’s true believers. Given the ruin into which Sako Ikome has led the Southern Cameroons revolution many are thought to be ready to abandon him but have lacked the necessary incentives to do so.

The decision by Chairman Kometa indicates that Southern Cameroonians in Europe and the Republic of South Africa are right to form their own bloc under the direct supervision of the leader, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.  But despite Chris Anu’s claim that Sako still has the support of Ambazonians in the Diaspora he is yet to demonstrate that Sako is backed by any more than just a few corrupt and poor religious elements in the US. Rather than rally behind the international face of the Ambazonia revolution, Kometa’s decision instead looked like another ill advised attempt by far way Ambazonians to waste the lives of Southern Cameroonians on Ground Zero.

It is far from clear if Kometa latest effort would be more successful than Sako’s previous one in Berlin, which all ended in failure. The old cabinet as decreed by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is fully back in action and donations are pouring in!! Ground Zero commanders have also refused to come over to Sako en masse! Consequently Sako has no chance of hanging on.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

I am afraid the groundwork is being laid for a Jonas Savimba and a South Sudan situation in Ambazonia especially in the light of the action of a local Amba commander meddling in matters political, matters that appertain exclusively to the civil order.

The reality is that the IG is yet to live up to expectation. There are accusations of an itching palm. There are accusations of leadership conspicuous consumption lifestyle at the expense of the Struggle. There are accusations of misconduct, contemptuous arrogance, and patronage management style.

The leadership is very divisive. It is not inclusive and accommodating. It is very intolerant of criticism and alternative viewd.

This holds no promise for democracy, free and safe political competition, robust civil society activism, and constitutionalism in an independent Ambazonia.

The leadership has fractured Ambazonians in the Diaspora and on GZ, putting them on each other’s throat.

It has not conceived or rolled out Struggle strategy and a vision for independent Ambazonia.

All one sees is groping in the dark, loud empty noises from left and right, a focus on money and power, and mere reactions to events that unfold.

People do not help things by their distortions of facts and inconsistent inconsistency.

Comrade Boh, for example, has for long attacked the IG on grounds that its head was not elected by the people by universal suffrage through the Internet. He vowed never to recognise the IG. Now he finds it opportunistically convenient to pledge ‘support’. I doubt that the person who is the object of this evanescent ‘support’ is fooled.

Further, comrade Boh gives a self-serving narrative, an ex post facto rationalisation, of the standing of Mandela while in jail.

Mandela became famous. But that is not who he was while in prison. He was an ‘extremist’ (to use the language of the French Cameroun colonial oppressor and federalists) convicted and sentenced to life for treason.

He was a felon. He was seen and listed in the West as a terrorist.

The ANC tactically decided to make him the face of the South Africa anti-apartheid struggle to mobilise domestic and international public opinion in favour of his release.

That is a common strategy now used by especially international human rights organisations to secure the release of any imprisoned prominent human rights activists.

There is another false account by comrade Boh in his write-up. Mandela did not become head of the ANC until after the death of Oliver Tambo in 1994. Throughout the time of Mandela’s imprisonment Oliver Tambo remained head of the ANC and conducted the affairs of the ANC from Norway where he was in exile. Mandela was head of the South African Youth League. At the time of his arrest and imprisonment he was the head of the ANC military wing known as Umkhonto We Sizwe.

The claim that Mandela “let his peers – Oliver Tambo, Thabo Mbeki, Desmond Tutu, Winnie Mandela etc – be the leaders of the ANC” is utterly false and a piece of historical revisionism.

Thabo Mbeki was in exile and in charge, in the UK, of ANC communication. His father, Govan Mbeki, was in prison like Mandela. Desmond Tutu was not in the ANC but was, along with Pastor Allain Boesak, a leader in the rainbow movement that joined its voice in campaigning for Mandela’s release from prison. Winnie Mandela was a combatant in her own right.

All these South African freedom fighters did not need and did not have validation or authorisation from Mandela as Boh erroneously suggests.

A final and important point to make is that throughout the Struggle the ANC never set up a government internally or in exile. Boh’s analogy in this regard is therefore illegitimate and invalid.

It is often forgotten that the original idea of an Ambazonian IG was not to ensure the governance of Ambazonia from abroad. That is infeasible. The idea was to create a directive instrument responsible for: (i) prosecuting the national liberation struggle, (ii) internationalisation and education in regarding the quest for freedom, (iii) responding to the mounting humanitarian crisis, and (iv) crafting a vision for independent Ambazonia in all areas of national life.

We may have erred in designating the instrument for action as a government. The answer to that mistake is to fix things. This necessarily involves serious critical introspection, recognition of the mistake, development and adoption of a realistic solution, and then crafting the way forward.

This exercise requires the involvement of all willing and ready Ambazonians from the four corners of the earth. In this way Ambazonians will take ownership of the way forward and run with it.

There has since been a very detrimental deviation from the primary objectives of the Struggle. The focus now is on power – government per se, appointments, offices, titles, money, conspicuous consumption.

These expendable delusional quests are the root causes of the observed francture in the Ambazonian body politic, the bitter and acrimonious intra-Ambazonian fighting including deadly fighting on GZ, and the shameless peacock syndrome exhibited by some to the disgust and contempt of the informed outside world.

These are all signs that portend an Angolan or South Sudan civil war situation in tomorrow’s Ambazonia raising well founded fears among not a few people that “this your Ambazonia thing” is hardly worth the salt and that we might as well accept the status quo.

The world is now conflict fatigued. It has no appetite for assuming the role of knight-errand going about extinguishing the ambers of conflict here and there.

Accordingly, voices are beginning to say the UK was right after all in its conclusion that we do not deserve and merit sovereign statehood and that we inexorably have to be under the tutelage of either of our adjacent neighbours.

Sixty years after that perceptive assessment we have not been able to show cause why it should be changed. Of course, in the light of GZ sacrifices, the assessment has now taken the form of a prescription for a federation in whatever form, shape or size.

I dare to suggest, against my own instincts and belief, that given this pathetic display of childishness and high degree of immaturity on our part, the federal thesis is apt to prevail on the long run if we do not change our nationally erring ways, recentre the Struggle and restructure the instrument of national liberation for better and timeous results.
[5/4, 7:20 AM] Prof Carlson Anyangwe: On the specious claim that the President and our other leaders in jail want to be “ruling from prison” this is my take:

In the past 16 months there has repeatedly been a chorus of a rehearsed line about our imprisoned leadership trying to rule from prison. That line betrays the warped mindset of its propagators who are persons consumed by and fixated with some amount of power which, on analysis, is a mere figment of the imagination.

The urgent call of the hour is the necessity of unflinchingly and successfully prosecuting the national liberation struggle. It is not ruling or governing. There is yet no state and no people over who we exercise imperium.

Ambazonia remains a contested territory. We are not in control of it yet.

The political leadership we proclaim is entirely located in the Diaspora, bereft of any privilege, power or ability to govern the land.

There is nothing to exhibit as evidence of our governance of Ambazonia. A country and a people cannot be ruled or governed from abroad without a local presence on the ground.

The colonial power ruled from the metropole. But he had an established administration in the colonial territory.

Some national liberation struggles have been successfully prosecuted while its political leadership is in a closed prison or in the open prison that the Diaspora environment is for it.

An exiled political leader of a national liberation movement in effect is in an open prison because he is constrained in many ways by the explicit or implicit requirements of his host country.

While in exile the political leadership of a national liberation movement does not and cannot purport to rule or govern the contested territory because there is a de facto or de jure authority on the ground exercising governmental functions and powers, and exacting obedience and tax from the population.

Given that situation, the political leadership in jail or abroad, of the national liberation struggle, does not govern or rule but directs the Struggle.

Nothing inhibits or precludes such direction emanating from an imprisoned leadership. There are many historical examples of this.

While in jail Mandela was able to evolve into the kind of strategic leader who, from his solitary confinement imprisonment, secretly directed the Struggle and steered secret government meetings that eventually ushered a free South Africa.

Jomo Kenyatta became the president of the Kenya African National Congress while in prison. From there he directed the liberation struggle of the party until his release in 1961 and his voyage to London the followng year to negotiate the constitutional terms of Kenya’s independence.

During his year in jail Kwame Nkrumah did not hands-off the CPP he had founded.

Nor did Robert Mugabe, Malcolm X, Robert Sobukwe, Mohandas Gandhi, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr etc etc sit in their respective prisons twisting their fingers and waiting hopefully for release on some indeterminate date before once more engaging in the fight for freedom.

By Prof Carlson Anyangwe

The much publicised ASSC Berlin Conference took place some two weeks ago. Millions of Southern Cameroonians waited in joyful hope for this event. It was attended by some of the best brains in Africa’s newest nation-The Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The one million dollar question is: Were they served a delicious menu of hope and liberation or was it another symposium that promised more than it delivered? Cameroon Concord News Group was represented by a cream of very experienced news reporters including its London Bureau Chief.

On day 1 of the conference, Cameroon Concord News and its sister publication, Cameroon Intelligence Report published a report on the Southern Cameroons demonstration outside the Nigerian Embassy in Berlin, Germany.  However, coverage of the Ambazonia Berlin Conference ended there. The protest at the Nigerian embassy was a commendable initiative by the organizers and every Ambazonian who attended the conference. Any action that takes the Southern Cameroons plight to the international stage is worthy to be praised. It was also the first time that the Acting President of the Interim Government of Ambazonia, Dr Sako Ikome visited Southern Cameroonians outside the United States of America.

Thousands of our Southern Cameroons readers have wondered aloud why we of the Cameroon Concord News Group did not produce more write-ups about the event after the first report. The truth is we watched the spectacle that was put together by the Ambazonia Interim Government in Berlin like many of our readers with anticipation. Hardworking and mission driven Southern Cameroonians in Germany did their best to welcome all Ambazonian comrades who made the trip. In this soul-searching conversation our Chairman who also moonlights as editor-in-chief, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai says the IG is now a thing of the past.

Cameroon Concord News: You were in Germany but blatantly refused to make the trip to Berlin

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: We had a very intensive and productive debate with my reporters and contributing editors in the UK, Germany and Belgium on whether we had to cover the conference. I gave the green light for them to travel to Berlin but stayed me in Mulheim because I felt we should have received an official invitation from Sako and his cabinet to cover the said conference.

Cameroon Concord News: We understand, you were constantly being briefed about the happenings in Berlin. Is this true?

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: Yes it is true! The first document that was sent to me via Whatsapp was the event flyer designed with the headline ‘the syncretizing conference’.  Either the IG didn’t understand the meaning of the word or it was deliberately employed to deceive Ambazonians. The conference was anything but syncretizing. It was so poorly executed that there was no written program to follow. Every member of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government that was present in the hall was also a Master of Ceremony. The fight for the microphone to speak gibberish was preposterous. Considering that many delegates sponsored themselves, this was a colossal waste of money for little or no benefit. The money would have been well spent in Ground Zero which was the aim of the conference

Cameroon Concord News: You reportedly ordered Chi Prudence to leave the venue. What prompted you to make such a decision?

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: Prudence and other members of the Concord team complained that they had never seen so many security clowns around one individual. Sako flew in from the US with security guards and Prudence told me they were too many. What a joke! What a waste of money. He has been caught up by the trappings of power long before he has had any. She reported to me that Sako spoke with unbelievable sluggishness, his audience was always asleep. No energy, direction or drive. One County head was unequivocal that he won’t trust Sako with a dime as he had no clue and charisma. Sako looked and acted robotic with no engagement with the audience. The disrespect he endured from his cabinet was there for all present to see. Chris Anu and other so-called cabinet ministers walked in after Sako was already in the hall. None of them showed any respect or interest whilst he was talking. It was a shame and embarrassing for all present. I had to ask Prudence to jet back to London.

Cameroon Concord News: Mister Chairman, what is your take on the Berlin Conference situation?

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: I personally believe that Berlin was a missed opportunity for Dr Sako and his team. Consequently, the IG is now a thing of the past. Ever since one cabinet Secretary publicly alleged corruption by another, Ambazonian donors have elected to stop all financial donations to the Interim Government. Berlin was a failed attempt by Sako and his acolytes to raise funds. The target was to raise $ 100,000 and claim it was for ‘Ground Zero’. But Southern Cameroonian elites who have the power of the purse knew that it was donating to fund Sako’s lavish and corrupt lifestyle. Most of the County Coordinators had other plans!  He only managed to raise$62,500 with $17,500 paid and $45,000 in pledges.

Permit me add here that hardworking Ambazonians in Germany had to pay out from their pockets for the venues, catering and hotels as the Interim Government had no money. They had to wait for the money that came in on the first day of the conference to get reimbursed. This is not what our leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe wished for our people.

Cameroon Concord News: Some have opined that you are against Sako and the IG

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: Those who maintain that view are just being deliberately stupid. I am however familiar with such things. Let me open up to you a little!! There was a lady in Berlin now being referred to as the Grace Mugabe of Ambazonia. Her real name is Irene Ngwa. I have evidence that she runs the IG with an iron fist. She personally made a telephone call to the organizers in Berlin and instructed them on what size hotel room to book for Sako and the distance between her room and that of Sako. This is shameful. Hundreds of fighters are dying daily and our people are sleeping in the forest and the IG and its official are obsessed about hotel rooms. You should also remember that part of my interview with President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe in the presence of Prof Carlson Anyangwe in London was done inside the Sisiku’s hotel room where he shared a bed with Prof Anyangwe. It was indeed a Bread and Breakfast accommodation!!  That to me was sacrifice that President Ayuk Tabe and Prof Anyangwe were showing to the people of Southern Cameroons.

Cameroon Concord News: For the first time in this conversation, you have made some disturbing revelations. Our readers would love to know more about the Grace Mugabe of Southern Cameroons.

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: I discuss issues with facts blackmailing not being part of my heritage. Irene Ngwa is the Director of Resource Mobilization at the Ambazonia Presidency, Director of My Trip to Buea Fund, Board Member of Ambazonia Treasury Board, Director and Coordinator of Amba Peace Plan, LGA by LGA. Even President Robert Mugabe didn’t have the audacity to appoint Grace to so many top ranking positions.

My Trip to Buea raised over $807,000. Just last week, the ASC published irrefutable evidence that they only received $120,000 of that fund. Sako and his gang spent all in hotels, restaurant and renting cars. They are running out of cash and like gamblers and drug addicts they wrongfully thought Berlin was going to give them a platform to raise more money to fund their Made-in-Calabar corrupt habits.

Cameroon Concord News: Southern Cameroonians are of the opinion that Sako is in constant consultation with President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: Are you kidding me? Are you for real? Are you part of this news group? You are an important person in the Concord News structure and you should be aware that Sako hasn’t had the decency to call President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the other leaders in jail since February 2019. For your information, Sako travelled to Berlin with the intention of getting that assembly to endorse him as President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. He sees himself as Head of State forgetting that he is acting for someone who is accessible by phone. Over the last few weeks his surrogates have disseminated the falsehood that the meeting in Berlin had given him a mandate to reshuffle his cabinet and create new departments. I have been informed that he has already announced his new cabinet pushing out all of Sisisku Ayuk’s men. I have not seen the so-called decree but my team in the USA is working on it.

The decision to bring in Sako was a grave error of judgment and a costly mistake by members of the Ambazonian Interim Government. I think Sako should step aside for Southern Cameroonians of goodwill to reboot this revolution. If not, serious decisions will have to be made against him.

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you very much for your time and a very Happy Birthday to you Mister Chairman

Soter Agbaw-Ebai: You are welcome

This interview was conducted by Diamond Esoh for the Cameroon Concord News Group