For more than three decades, Cameroon has made the headlines for corruption and each time a senior official is arrested, the public feels that things will get better. But for three decades now, things have moved from better to worse with the future looking really bleak.

Way back in the mid-80s, only very few people were known to have stolen state funds and this did not look like an epidemic. In 1986, two years after the country’s President, Paul Biya, came to power, there were rumors of senior officials of his government stealing state funds. He promptly organized an interview with CRTV, the country’s national network, to dispel such rumors.

In his interview, he asked for proof and many Cameroonians were displeased with his statement on national TV. Many Cameroonians thought that it was incumbent upon the government to investigate any allegations instead of asking ordinary citizens to bring any evidence in their keeping.

The business of embezzling money is very sophisticated for an ordinary man to understand and it is only the government with its vast resources that can get to the bottom of things if it really wants to know the truth in a country like Cameroon.

But the truth did not take time to come out. No sooner had the president challenged the population than the very first managing director of CRTV, Elie Florent Etouga, absconded with the corporation’s budget. This was a sign that things were not as tidy as the president had portrayed in his interview. He later came on TV to acknowledge that some of his collaborators had stolen state money and were living out of the country.

This announcement was not only an indictment of Mr. Biya’s government, but a clear indication that the president was blissfully unaware of what was happening around him. Indeed, his statement in defense of his collaborators only served as the opening of the floodgates. After Mr. Elie Florent Etouga, Mr. Messi Messi, a managing director of a popular government financial institution, also fled the country with huge amounts of money in the early 90s as Cameroonians started demonstrating for multiparty politics and as things looked like Mr. Biya was losing his grip on power.

Mr. Messi Messi later alleged that the financial institution had been ruined by Mr. Biya’s wife and her family who constantly showed up at his office with bits of paper to collect money at the behest of the president’s wife. From that date, Cameroon made its way into the spotlight for the embezzling prowess of its government officials.

The last two decades have seen hundreds of Cameroon government officials being sent to jail for embezzlement. Even a Prime Minister, Ephraim Inoni, is also languishing in jail for dipping his hands into the government’s coffers. Cameroonians now joke that there is an entire government in jail and that the only vacancy in the country’s maximum security prison, Kondengui, is the post of president.

This implies that Cameroonians are looking forward to the day Mr. Biya will be taken to jail for presiding over a corrupt system. Cameroonians are at a loss for words. They argue that much of the embezzlement cannot be occurring without the president’s knowledge. They point to the fact that most of those in prison are people who are from the president’s ethnic group or region, arguing that there should have been a well-defined background check system to ensure that the public service does not get filled with criminals.

The public has been calling for a computerization of the system to ensure that a few people do not have absolute control over state funds, but these pleas have fallen on deaf ears and the looting of the system has continued unchecked. The embezzlement of state funds has not only hurt the president’s reputation as a leader, it has also hurt the economy.

Stealing state money has become a favorite sport among Cameroonians. Most Cameroonian civil servants, especially customs officials, tax inspectors, and heads of national corporations are clearly living well beyond their means and most of them have their children out of the country, mostly in Western countries where the stolen money is safely kept.

But this week, the country has been asking if the country’s economy will ever recover following the arrest of a former minister of defense, Alain Edgar Mebe Ngo’o, for the embezzlement of billions of taxpayers’ money. Pictures of the former minister’s mansion have been trending online and many Cameroonians are shocked at the display of opulence by Mr. Biya’s ministers.

Mr. Mebe Ngo’o’s case seems to be the worst in the country’s history. His wife, children and nephews are all involved and the list of his assets has left many Cameroonians wondering if this will ever stop. For more than three decades, the country’s government has been conducting itself like a crime syndicate and many members of the president’s ruling party are considered as Mafia kingpins who hold that they are above the law.

While the country is bleeding money and jobs, many members of the country’s ruling party have become very rich. The country’s economy is in a free fall and if something is not done, it will collapse and many lives will be exposed to hardship and death. The corruption has become all pervasive and it has now reached other sectors of the economy.

Schools, banks and hospitals have not been spared by this cancer that is tearing the country apart. The country’s hospitals have been ruined by corruption and most of them are more of consultation clinics. The country’s death rate has risen and it is even unsettling to know that medical doctors are more interested in money than in the health of their patients.

Regarding the financial sector, it could be said that it too has been hit hard by corruption as a result of what is happening in government circles. Late last year, the Central African Banking Commission (Cobac) issued sanctions on Cameroonian bank managers for various acts of corruption. This followed its September 22, 2018, meeting, the conclusions of which were published by Abbas Mahamat Tolli, the commission’s Chairman and Governor of BEAC.

The concerned managers reportedly violated exchange regulations and did not comply with prudential standards. Those affected by that decision included Alphonse Nafack, MD of Afriland First Bank; Isong Udom of United Bank for Africa; Gwendoline Nzo-Nguty Abunaw of Ecobank Cameroon; Waidi Loukoumanou of BGFIBank Cameroon as well as André Alexis Megudju, Managing Director of Crédit communautaire d’Afrique, a former microfinance institution that received Cobac’s banking accreditation in March 2017.

Furthermore, Cobac also examined seven financial institutions accused of non-compliance with banking regulations, lack of internal control and money laundering, among others. According to the regulator, these institutions have freed themselves from the rules governing the foreign exchange market.

This is the story of a country that has made corruption its hallmark. The story of Cameroon’s corruption is one that will continue for a long time, as long as the government does not find anything wrong with its ways. Corruption has blighted many lives. Many young Cameroonians are unemployed and millions are looking outwards for opportunities in distant lands. Today, it is normal for young Cameroonians to hold that their country has no plans for them and this is causing the country to lose many talented people. The brain drain has reached alarming proportions and it will be difficult for the government to reverse this unfortunate trend.

By Kingsley Betek and Linda Embi

HAIL THE RULE OF LAW

 The judgment of the Nigeria Federal High Court in Abuja on March 1, 2019, declaring illegal and unconstitutional, the abduction and deportation to Cameroun of the President of the Interim Government of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, members of the Interim Government and several Southern Cameroons refugees carries significant symbolic weight.

The judgment has comprehensively determined the legal status of the abductees which was in controversy since Cameroun characterized them as terrorists on the account of alleged crimes committed against Cameroun from the territory of Nigeria; so, the Isa Tchiroma and the Court-martial alleged.  The Federal High Court of Abuja Nigeria on the territory of which the crimes alleged in the court-martial were allegedly committed has decided that they are persons who were legally in the territory of Nigeria as refugees under the protection of international conventional law at the time of their abduction and deportation.  They were not therefore terrorists nor did their presence and activities constitute terrorism to warrant their being characterized as terrorists to warrant abduction and deportation to face a court-martial.  Even if they were terrorists, international law still outlawed the abduction and deportation without compliance with the municipal and international rule of law. 

This judicial determination settles a key issue in the subsequent case brought against the victims by Cameroun, the state to which they were deported.  The failure of the court-martial in Cameroun where the abductees are forcefully subjected over their objections, to take judicial notice of the Judgment of the Abuja Federal High Court will have bilateral relations and multilateral treaty obligations consequences on the two countries, in the short and long term. Nigeria and Cameroun are state parties to the 1951 United Nations Convention on Refugees and its Additional Protocol 1967.  Both countries are state parties to the OAU 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of the Refugee Problem in Africa which came into force in 1974.

The refugee problem globally and in Africa is a matter of significant international emergency, if not a humanitarian crisis. Without the existing multilateral treaty regime to manage this humanitarian crisis, millions, of the world’s vulnerable refugee population will be pursued across international boundaries and slaughtered by the murderous regimes and criminal squads from whom they fled in the search for protection. International law mandates state parties to the Refugee Convention to open their frontiers to allow refugees fleeing from wars, genocide, crimes against humanity and other life-threatening conditions to their lives to provide them protection. International law outlaws the abduction, deportation, rendition or the refoulement of persons who have sought refugee status to the countries from which they fled. Once the status of refugees is sought or obtained, the person concerned becomes a ward of international law under the Refugee Convention and its Additional Protocol.   State Parties to the Refugee Convention are mandated to ensure compliance and indeed are obligated to submit periodic reports on compliance with their treaty obligations under the convention. Nigeria and Cameroun had a multilateral obligation to ensure that the refugee status of the abductees in Nigeria was respected and protected. Their mandate and responsibility are to the international community, since the 1951 Refugee Convention has near world wide membership.  By engaging in criminal conduct to abduct and deport the victims to face a court-martial that applies the death penalty to Cameroun, Nigeria and Cameroun betrayed, violated and endangered the multilateral treaty regime and a protected international human rights value system.

The Federal High Court Judgment provided an opportunity to Nigeria to explain to the world, the rationale and legality of the abductions.   It is significant that Nigeria did not convince the court that the abduction and deportation was informed by any compellable reasons justifiable in municipal and /or international law. Nigeria did not convince the court of any legally justified reason to violate with impunity the Nigeria Federal Constitution (1969), its multilateral treaty obligations under the UN Refugee Convention and its Additional Protocol, the African Convention, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Rome Statute. There is no compelling reason to explain why Nigeria mortgaged its reputation, its influence in Africa and its claims to lead and represent Africa as a world power at the UN Security Council to fulfil the dictatorial and criminal proclivities of a regime baying for the blood of millions of Southern Cameroonians. Hundreds of thousands of Southern Cameroonians have been deported by Cameroun from their ancestral home which are systematically torched as a deliberate government policy as senior military commanders and civilian government officials have admitted, across the border with Nigeria. The victims who at a great risk of a genocide sought international protections within the territory of Nigeria are living under continuing threat of abduction and assassination, after Nigeria provided support to Cameroun to pursue the commission of international crimes against them in the territory of Nigeria.

 The answer as to what endeared President Mohammadu Buhari to place Nigeria at the centre of an unfolding genocide, rather than acting as a facilitator of negotiations and peace may not be answered in this one critical historic judgment. Yet the judgment has the merit of laying an enduring foundation for answers to be provided within the compelling injunction of history.  The truth, it is said, will never die with those who thought they could imprison it with sheer political chicanery and stealth transborder corrupt operations. Truth is as stubborn as a rock. Nigeria and Cameroun are aware, and this is important, that the underlying cause of the war declared by Paul Biya as a proxy of France, are the resources within the territory of the Southern Cameroons.  These minerals are the umbilical cord to the perennial Nigeria misadventure that has devasted the Niger Delta, its ecosystem, maritime resources, economy and human health.  Time will reveal if there are a convergence of economic and hegemonic interests by the known yet, invisible political god fathers enforcing the genocide using Nigeria and Cameroun proxies.

I learnt from my years as a lead counsel at the Special Court for Sierra Lone, in the case of the Revolutionary United from for Sierra Leone (RUF)-Morris Kallon that minerals are the curse of Africa.  That is why Central Africa Republic has never been at peace since independence despite its mineral rich capabilities.  The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one case in point; so also, Burundi where abundant mineral resources have attracted the interest and wrath of neo-colonial economic and natural resource predators. 

The bazaar auctioning of the Southern Cameroons at independence as my late friend Dr Bate Besong stated, or the Mc McLeod slave deal, as the father of Ambazonia Fon Gorgi Dinka described it, was intended to silence the liberating ambition of Ambazonia patriots.  For the record, the slave and bazaar dealers did not know that Ambassbay from which Ambazonia derived its name, stood watch over the liberating spirit of its Ambazonia offspring.  Ambassbay is a natural environment for the sharks in the Ambazonia sea as opposed to the neighbouring sea which is inhabited by “crayfish”.  Those with a good sense of aquatic life know that a shark is not an ordinary fish, surely not a crayfish.  And this is where the difference lies.

This judgment of the Abuja Federal High Court conveys an underlying message to the abductors that the abduction of Southern Cameroons leaders and citizens will have consequences that may potentially threaten peace and security in the Gulf of Guinea. That Nigeria has become a key ally of the state actor that declared the war of choice that have the capacity  of igniting a conflagration in the Gulf of Guinea affecting its own citizens and interests on both sides of the borders, is a matter of profound concern.

The judgment is a municipal judgment on compliance by Nigeria of its multilateral treaty and constitutional obligations. Finding that Nigeria violated its municipal laws and treaty obligations, is an important contribution to international law. This judgment therefore must be served on the United Nations Secretariat, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, all the permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council through their permanent representations in New York, all ECOWAS state parties through their diplomatic representations in Abuja, the EU state parties present in Brussels, the AU Commission, and give wide publicity. 

This judgment negates the charge by Cameroun that the abductees were and are terrorists.  Nigeria did not make this charge before and during the hearing.  Nigeria should be concerned that persons found to be refugees by its own judiciary are facing a court-martial based on international and municipal violations of its own government.  With this judgment, the blood of the abductees and other Southern Cameroonians will lay on the hands of Nigeria should they be further held in violation of this judgment or should they be executed pursuant to the court-martial.

International law mandates that any offence committed on the territory of Nigeria can be investigated and prosecuted by Nigeria failing which Nigeria can send the refugees to a third country willing to accept them but not to the country from which they fled and sought refuge in Nigeria. Will Nigeria submit itself to a court-martial in Cameroun to provide evidence of acts alleged in the charges before the court-martial that were allegedly committed in Nigeria?   Does Nigeria recognize a court-martial for civilians which is international human rights jurisprudence has characterised as torture and thus illegal?  Does Nigeria by the abductions give legal approval to the crime of abduction which criminalised under the Rome Statute which Nigeria is a state party?  Is abduction of civilians not one of the crimes alleged against Boko Haram in which hundreds of thousands of Nigerian civilians have lost their lives?   The Abuja High Court trial was an occasion for Nigeria to prove that abduction is legal when conducted by a state actor but illegal when carried out by non-state actors. Nigeria failed to prove this or even convince the court that this crime may be legal under such or other circumstances. 

Nigeria under President Mohammadu Buhari tends to disobey court orders and indeed disobeyed the order of the Federal High Court in Abuja made by Justice Gabriel Kolawole dated December 2, 2016 ordering the release of Ibrahim el Zazaky the leader the Shiite Muslim Movement who was abducted by the DSS on December 13, 2015. The DSS alleged that he was detained at his own request for protection. The Judge was unpersuaded on the grounds that protective custody was unknown to law or National Security Agencies Act establishing the DSS.  Since December 29, 2015, Colonel Abubakar Malami former National Security Adviser of President Goodluck Jonathan has remained in jail despite court orders for his release.

However, in a suit brought by a constitutional lawyer Johnmary Jideobi praying the court to void the SAN of the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami for professional misconduct for advising the Federal Government to disrespect court orders, the Attorney General refused being held accountable for advising the Federal Government to disrespect court orders and that he was not informed about the detentions and so his advice was never sought in the cases. The Attorney General argued in his defence that in cases where his advice was sought, he advised, and the Federal Government complied with court orders. He cited the release on bail of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu the leader of Independent People of Biafra (IPOB) and that of the survivals of an attack on an uncompleted house in Abuja which was stormed and murdered by some operatives of the National Intelligence Services after the Nigeria Human Rights Commission ordered that victims and their dependents be compensated.

This defence by the attorney therefore begs the questions, if he was never informed how then did, he enters appearance to defend the illegal actions of the Nigeria Government? 

Africa, and African leaders should hail the Judgment of the Federal High Court of Nigeria in Abuja and pressurise Nigeria and Cameroun to execute it without delay. This judgment protects the municipal and international protections of refugees afforded by multilateral treaties and municipal constitutional provisions.  The international multilateral treaty regime has been tested and proved to be critical in checking the excesses and exactions of the world refugee crisis and the humanitarian calamity that is rocking the conscience of humanity.  In their imposed inhuman dungeons Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the Ambazonia abductees represent the face of humanity at risk.  This judgment protects that human value represented by Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.   African leaders and the international community should applaud this judgment and pressurise Nigeria and Cameroun to obey and execute it.

This judgment should be a shock reminder to everyone, the powerful and the weak, that a refugee is a protected ward of humanity and the legal regimes emplaced to protect him or her attest to this fact.  Abducting and deporting refugees to be court-martialled or placing them in harm’s way tantamount to driving a sword on the collective conscience of humanity. This should not be allowed to happen without consequences.

I have a message for those responsible for the abduction and court-martial of civilian victims. Respecting this judgment may be the only opportunity for them to avoid placing their own poisoned chalices to their own lips.  Babatoura Ahmadou with the use of terror pursued nationalists who sought refuge in foreign lands but died a refugee himself in solitude in distant Senegal.   The refugee status he imposed on others and pursued, abducted and killed or assassinated them was the status that protected and sustained him until he died. In 1968, Joseph Desire Mobutu otherwise called Mobutu Sese Seko lured and murdered Pierre Mulele over strong world-wide appeals and condemnation.  Mobutu died a miserable refugee in Morocco. The extensive empire he acquired through, murder, looting and plundering the mineral resources of his country are in ruins. The blood of the thousands he slaughtered to keep himself in eternal power still haunts the memory of him.  His countrymen and women are even traumatised, turning his extensive empire into the memorial for his innocent victims. 

This recorded history may already have extended a hand of invitation to the actors in the theatre of criminality and violations that the Federal High Court High Court in Abuja addressed in this judgment. Whether they will on their own volition abide by this judgment, is not known to me. However, this judgment is addressed to the collective conscience of Humanity represented by the multilateral treaty regime which the court found was violated.  The multilateral treaty regime must demonstrate that it has teeth and that it must not condone or encourage the impunity of state violators of their treaty obligations, lest it wrongly encourages non-state actors. Nigeria itself has a refugee problem in far and distant lands, including Cameroun. It will be unfortunate if Nigerians allow their government to determine their fate through the legitimisation of the violations found in this judgment.

I wish to conclude by addressing a few words to Ambazonians who should be strategizing on how to rely on this judgment to highlight their predicament worldwide where ever they find themselves. I am appalled by how much social media activism and sideshows are distracting them from following the rapidly evolving events that may determine their fate yet again while they are asleep or self-destructing in search of power.  While internal squabbles must be addressed, that cannot override rallying behind the Interim Government that instructed the lawyers working on this and other cases to raise the profile of the cases to the highest levers of international intervention.  While not trivialising the complaints or matters which some components of the struggle may hold dear to their hearts, and I will not and never get involved in such squabbles, I strongly advise all Ambazonians, to henceforth recognize that the Abuja abduction of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and others and their deportation to Cameroun requires a strong international legal intervention. It is a crime against the Rome Statute which Nigeria is a state party. The unwritten underpinning of the Judgment indeed has this implication. It has violated the UN multilateral treaty regime and that of the AU.

 Social media activism alone will not get this judgment executed, enforced. It will not rely on the judgment to pursue all international crimes and violations in which hundreds and thousands of civilians are systematically exterminated and civilian settlements, places of worships and hospitals are torched and reduced to rubbles.  It is therefore advisable to support the IG to move quickly to fulfil these tasks while other weighty issues are internally reviewed and quickly redressed without the intension of rocking the boat for the sake of power.  Protracted disagreement empowers adversaries. Clearly established areas of agreement should be identified, and prioritised and collective action sought to attain the position outcomes while perennial disagreements struggle for institutional solutions.  What cannot wait even for a minute are contributions intended for the collective good, the protection of victims, refugees, vulnerable categories and preventive and protective strategies.

By Chief Charles A. Taku

Presidency (1)Dr Samuel Ikome Sako is now a polarizing figure but lacks the ability to survive scandal after scandal that has rocked the Southern Cameroons Interim Government. There are presently strong calls for him to do the right thing which is simply to step down as Acting President.

Cameroon Concord News Group promised our readers a complete investigation on how Acting President Sako and the Secretary of the Economy, Tabenyang Brado spends Ambazonian money. We made that promise after we of this group told the world that Acting President Sako was still the right man for the difficult job.

Today, several lives are being lost in Southern Cameroons and also, the Ambazonia resistance is divided. Dr Samuel Ikome Sako should therefore come to the decision to resign as Acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia with immediate effect.

Members of the Interim Southern Cameroons cabinet, the leadership of the Ambazonia Self-Defense Council and County Heads should follow this push from the Cameroon Concord News Group and elect a decent man to lead the Interim Government.

Dr Ikome Sako was once a popular and respected Southern Cameroons activist both in Nigeria and the USA, and was an ardent supporter of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe from the very beginning of the revolution. But Sako’s leadership has been plagued by scandals, and his reputation for reckless spending has grown to become a political liability for the Ambazonian Interim Government and by extrapolation, the Southern Cameroons people.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group are calling on Dr Ikome Sako to step down in order for a new leader to stop the systematic looting at the presidency under his rule. Our senior international correspondent in the USA leading the Interim Government investigation reported that the office of the Ambazonia presidency spent over 123,000 dollars from February 2018-December, 2018 from one of the Southern Cameroons government’s bank accounts –Ambazonia Consulting. Fingers have been raised for the Economy Secretary to provide details from the other accounts operated by the Interim Government.

From facsimiles of documents gotten via our intelligence sources in the US, Sako pays his rents, feeds his family and pay their bills with money meant for Ground Zero operations.  We understand, the Acting President even moved into a bigger and more expensive apartment citing “security concerns” and bought new furniture with Ambazonia money. Our cream of reporters working on the Sako presidency is yet to establish who actually approved that budget and project.

Details of how the Acting President uses rental cars as he pleases also featured on the Ambazonia bank statement from the Ambazonia Consulting account. Sako also spends weekends in hotels within the Washington DC area, and again cites security concerns for this.

One of Dr Sako acolytes, Irene Ngwa attempted a justification of Sako’s hotel spree observing that “sometimes the president receives intelligence that his life is in danger and he has to leave and lodge in a hotel without his wife even knowing where he is.”  This begs the question: Who provides Dr Sako with the intelligence that always prompts him to leave his family in the supposed dangerous environment, just to spend a weekend with his bodyguards in hotels?

From the evidence we have in front of us, Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that Sako swipes the Ambazonian government debit card at restaurants such as the popular one called ‘Kitchen Near You’ during his leisure outings! In one occasion, Dr. Atianjoh Fidelis paid half of Sako’s restaurant bills to save money for Ground Zero operations.

Funds from Louisiana and the UK were directed to the Ambazonia Consulting account by Dr Sako through his security head officer Dr. Tatah. They even changed the address of the account to Economy Secretary Tabenyang Brado’s dismay.

At the time of writing this editorial, a caller from the US State of California pointed to us that the Ambazonia Economy Secretary, Tabenyang Brado lied about a 300 dollar expenditure at Costco saying that Acting President Sako went there to make photocopies. The caller whose name we are withholding opined that Cotsco is a huge general merchandise just like Walmart and does not offer photocopy services.

We also gathered from a source deep within the Interim Government that a Webmaster,Willy Munji recently made some nasty confessions over an exchange of large amounts of cheques between Tabeyang Brado and Dr Helen Akonji.

Because of this gross incompetence and fraud, there is total disarray, and complete communication breakdown including divide and rule affecting even Ground Zero. Sako has lost the credibility and moral authority to lead the Southern Cameroons Interim Government.

We now know that the Interim Government is crumbling and nobody wants Sako to continue as the leader except his close friends in crime and a few good people who are unaware of his crimes including those gullible facilitators who are happy he’s sidelining the ASC and regional coordinators in their favor.

In Europe, the US, Canada as well as in the Republic of South Africa, most of the little support Sako still enjoys outside his immediate circle, is just from three groups namely: Pro-Interim Government supporters who cannot still distinguish between Samuel Ikome Sako and the Interim Government, pro-Interim Government supporters who believe in this inaccurate stereotype that we don’t change leaders during a revolution, and finally those Southern Cameroonians who fervently believe that everything Sako does is coming from President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Acting President Sako should please go and go now!!

By Besong Eunice Nchong and Haggai Fung Achuo

Cameroon Concord News Group now has empirical evidence of the unwavering support by an overwhelming majority of Ambazonians for the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia despite the public disagreement between two cabinet members of the Interim Government.

The disagreement which was predictable might not have been entirely of the making of the two key members of the Interim Government Hon Chris Anu the Communication Secretary and Hon Tabenyang, the Treasury Secretary. The public disagreements arose from matters and circumstances which in fairness to both Honourable gentlemen, were beyond their control.  Cameroon Concord News Group and indeed most Ambazonians have observed that despite their disagreement, the two cabinet members avoided any misstep which could have threatened the Interim Government.  This was the right thing to do.  Indeed, governmental discipline, the integrity and confidentiality of governmental action in times of a genocidal war, appeared to have been in the minds of the two Honourable Gentlemen as they delivered measured public statements on the matters, they held strong views about.

The question may be asked, should the matters in controversy have been addressed in public?  In normal circumstances, the answer will be in the positive, considering the need for transparency in democratic governance that Ambazonians hope to reinstall in Buea.  Should the issues have been brought up now when Ground Zero requires undivided attention?  Ambazonians are divided in their answers?  Cameroon Concord News Group will not take a position whether it was right or wrong to bring up the problems concerning the treasury and the ABC TV network now. Indeed, the trigger for the public disagreement arose from a meeting which was neither convened by Communications Secretary Hon Chris Anu nor the Treasury Secretary Hon Tabenyang Brado.  Yet the public exposure of their hither fore internal cabinet disagreement arose because of this meeting over which they had not control.

One way or the other, the fallout from that meeting was bound to come out considering the matters on the agenda.  The fact that persons who were not members of the cabinet were involved in the meeting was bound to bring about friction or aggravate existing frictions. Disagreements are   not uncommon in every government.  The two governmental portfolios of the IG are sensitive and matters coming within the mandate of each of the departments must entail profound security considerations. The treasury portfolio of the Interim Government cannot be expected to disclose in public or in that meeting which was presided over by the President, His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe sensitive information relating to overt and covert security operations undertaken for securing the Ambazonia homeland. Cameroon Concord News Group therefore is of the considered opinion that Secretary Tabenyang provided just enough information for the public record, to await the scrutiny of the exchequer through routine governmental procedure if the Interim Government so desires.

Hon. Tabenyang Brado was bound to provide this information not because Hon Chris Anu raised the matter publicly. Far from that! The fact that cabinet level matters came for discussion under unusual circumstances and in a French Cameroun potentially compromised environment, was a potential trigger for these records to become a potential source of controversy in different theatres. Among these are persons who have evinced every attempt to undermine or topple the Interim Government from the very inception.   That was an unusual environment and unusual audience to discuss appropriation matters including that relating to the funding of ABC television network.

It may be suggested that the meeting was enlarged to include supposed county heads. But then governmental practice require that appropriation and policy matters are best discussed in the cabinet; in time of war, within the national security council comprising members of the cabinet and certain individuals. Had that occurred, the simmering tensions within the cabinet that existed but had the possibility of containment would not have elicited consequential reactions which the convenors did not anticipate or could not control.

The issues on the table were matters that required wide grass root consultation.  A mere vote among participants was never going to be considered binding by the Ambazonia Diaspora and ground zero grassroots.  That had the potential to polarize the citizenry on the watch of the President. There is a significant Ambazonia public interest imperative to make far reaching consultations before attempting to take a decision on the proposed endorsement of the ANPN conference and the proposed merger of ABC TV and SCBC.

A governmental communication network is not just about TV appearances. It has significant intelligence and security implications.  A government TV or news agency is but the public face of an elaborate cobweb of security and intelligence operations. It is a platform, a conduit and a governmental outreach to multiple complex international relations.   No government in time of war will lightly relinquish its sovereignty over its communication policy of which a TV channel and other communication networks are key components. Relying on the social media over which it has no control, will be reckless and humiliating.

Can the meeting which triggered this public disagreement between cabinet departments of the Interim Government be entirely blamed for the contentious outcome that has caused anxiety to many Ambazonians?  Had to say!  While the meeting was probably ill-conceived, it begs one issue that requires urgent attention by the Interim Government. Cameroon Concord News Group has taken the position that the meeting ought not to be organized from a constraining environment controlled by the enemy. The risk of the enemy generating hurtful intelligence from this meeting, there is a risk that French Cameroun may point to this meeting to discount or challenge the complaints that the condition of detention of the President are inhuman and violates international human rights.

The fact that this meeting occurred may be suggestive of the inexistence of a highly classified mechanism to brief the President on important matters requiring his attention and counsel. The Interim Government must therefore put in place a highly classified and security sensitive mechanism for briefing the President His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe. In fairness to Hon Chris Anu, he is on record as stating over ABC Television that when and if negotiations or the all-inclusive dialogue with French Cameroun hold, it must be Sisiku Ayuk Tabe who will lead the Ambazonia delegation. He insistently stated that there will not be negotiations or all- inclusive dialogue without the unconditional release of the President, members of the IG in captivity and all Southern Cameroonians/ Ambazonians help in captivity.

These policy statements critically undercut the misstatements of persons of bad faith who are interpreting the public disagreement which are common in democratic governments as undermining His Excellency the President,Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.  It was not disaffection that motivated the mission to Nigeria by Hon Chris Anu to declare the battle for the release of the President and members of the Interim Government. It was not disdain or disaffection that motivated his ABC TV statement about the release of His Excellency Ayuk Tabe to lead the Ambazonia negotiating team in any internationally organized all-inclusive dialogue with French Cameroon.

The ongoing public disagreement has provided an opportunity for an overwhelming majority of Ambazonians to reaffirm their support for their Interim Government and the Acting President His Excellency Samuel Sako.  In coming to this conclusion, Cameroon Concord News Group analyzed the criticisms laid against His Excellency Samuel Sako by friends, foes and opponents of the Interim Government. The interest of the foes of the Interim Government has been to wish that the public disagreement leads to the collapse of the Interim Government. It is ironic that these anti-Interim Government forces are so desperate to seek the endorsement of the Interim Government which they have publicly professed their determination to overthrow along with the established order.

The criticisms that had merit were brought to the attention of His Excellency the Acting Interim President Samuel Sako and the public at large.  An overwhelming majority of Ambazonians considered the criticisms in good faith but nevertheless expressed their support for the Interim Government and the continued leadership of the Acting President His Excellency Samuel Sako. When Cameroon Concord News Group published these expressed wishes of the Ambazonia ground zero and diaspora masses, as expected, power mongers who believed that Cameroon Concord News Group had swept the carpet beneath their feet by bringing the criticisms of the Acting President to the public domain as well as the overwhelming public continued support for his leadership and the Interim Government, expressed bitterness at Cameroon Concords News Groups.  Cameroon Concord News Group stands by this balanced, fair and candid statement reflecting the public mode, public interest and the opinion of a majority of Ambazonians.

An overwhelming majority of Ambazonians have expressed the same sentiments regarding the public disagreement between Hon Tabenyang and Hon Chris An. They, consider the disagreement as an internal cabinet matter which they want to see resolved and resolved fast.  The subject of disagreement between the two cabinet members should have been resolved without a major disagreement, had a well-designed policy towards the development of the Ambazonia patrimony been designed and implemented.  They request that one should be designed with immediate effect. The current direct public appeal for Ambazonians to contribute towards the funding and running of ABC TV would have provided an alternative source of financing.   Now that the appeal is ongoing, Cameroon Concord News Group strongly urges Ambazonians to contribute generously.  In this age of technology where international diplomatic opinion is informed by serious media communication, the Interim Government of Ambazonia cannot depend on the social media to make a compelling rendition of its strong case to governments and international public opinion.

Some social media activists have developed the use of insults and reckless language to define informed disagreement.  Secretary Chris Anu and Secretary Tabenyang have demonstrated to these social media activists that reasonable persons may strongly disagree without rocking the boat and destroying the Interim Government which has wide international and national audiences and has compel reasonable international attention.  For this reason, Cameroon Concord News Group calls on His Excellency the Acting President Samuel Sako to quickly take this disagreement out of the public domain and get the two members of the cabinet of the Interim Government to heed to the opinion of Ambazonians and resolve outstanding issues as quickly as possible.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report have consistently stated that the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is the greatest achievement in this revolution. The journey that led to the formation of the Interim Government may have been rocky. Rocky as it was, what matters is not the rocky journey but the Interim Government that was established to oversee and crystalize the realisation of Ambazonia’s 57-year-old dream of an independent sovereign Federal Republic.

The formation of the Interim Government rallied, reassured and refocused the struggle of oppressed people of Ambazonia for independence. With this appropriate leadership under His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe in place, the people of Ambazonia arose on September 22, 2017 in its overwhelming majority to express an irrevocable determination to proclaim its independence on October 1, 2017.  History has recorded that His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe oversaw the realisation of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia 57 years old dream. For this reason, he is a strong symbol of the liberation and independence of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia. Because he is a symbol of liberation, independence and freedom, the people of Ambazonia are determined to fight to the last man to free him from the captivity of French Cameroun.

The mission to fight and liberate the President, members of the Interim Government and thousands of Ambazonian’s in captivity began with the historic mission to Nigeria by Hon Chris Anu. From the Nigerian capital, he dared the opponents of Ambazonia and put them on notice that nothing will dampen the resolve of a determined people to fight till the last person standing to free the leaders of Ambazonia and the totality of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.  That mandate and the mission must continue until the liberation of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is attained.

It is a matter of profound regret that some power mongers who contested the leadership of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the Interim Government and have evinced every possible determination to derail and sabotage the IG and the liberation struggle, are up in arms organising all forms of dubious platforms to sabotage the IG and the peoples’ liberation agenda. Cameroon Concord News Group calls on the sovereign people of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia to stand on their way.

Ambazonians have resolutely sacrificed, toiled for these 57 years to liberate and re-establish their capital in Buea, with its mythical glory in freedom and democratic governance.  History has recorded that it was during the mass movement to Buea to raise the flag of sovereignty and freedom on October 1, 2017, that French Cameroun unleashed bombs on armless Ambazonia civilians with helicopter gunships killing hundreds and maiming thousands.

Cameroon Concord News Group considers it a matter of grave concern for Cho Ayaba to trivialize the sacrifices, the blood, the aspirations and will of the sovereign people of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia by daring to propagate the idea of the relocation of the capital of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia from Buea to another location in Ambazonia. If this were realised (God forbids!), it will tantamount to delivering this symbol of Ambazonian sovereignty and liberation to the enemy on a platter of 30 silvers.  The only person who would not shy away from contemplating this treachery was Iscariot. Since there was only one known Iscariot, Southern Cameroons/ Ambazonia should not tolerate the floating of this provocative idea by Iscariot’s surrogates lest it corrupts the gullible.

Being the symbol of freedom and sovereignty, the courageous self-defence freedom forces of Ambazonia are right to embark on the mission to liberate Buea, the capital of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia for this generation and generations unborn. As a state symbol of freedom and sovereignty, Buea will never ever lose its significance nor lose its symbolic relevance. It is a historical truth even to the jaundiced eye, that Buea is the internationally recognized capital of the Southern Cameroons. Only an agent of the enemy will dispute or seek to distort this fact. It is regrettable that the insane idea of relocating the capital from Buea is being fostered now to distract the attention of the people of Ambazonia from the county by county grassroots contributions to the Ambazonia self-defence war effort.

This genocidal war of choice declared by the arch terrorist Paul Biya of French Cameroun has displaced, killed, and maimed millions of Ambazonians within and out of its national territory. A key test of loyalty to Ambazonia is the individual and collective contributions to Ambazonia’s ground zero war efforts; the county by county contributions support, medical and sustenance support to the Ambazonian refugees, the Ambazonia Interim Government and symbols of the Ambazonia sovereignty. The treasury and communication channel of the Interim Government, the ABC television network are attributes of sovereign governance and must be strongly supported through the generous contributions of the Ambazonia diaspora.

Cameroon Concord News Group questions the patriotism and motivations of individuals or groups that have refused to make financial contributions for Ground Zero self-defence operations, Ambazonia refugees, the treasury of Ambazonia, key diplomatic efforts and the ABC television network to facilitate communication between the IG and the people as well as the international community. It is regrettable that some of these individuals are persistently campaigning to sabotage the IG and the people’s quest for freedom.

Milan Atam the SCCOOP leader, has not contributed to any of the liberation struggle in any of the above key areas.  He has publicly stated that his aim is to take power by any means possible and subvert the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. On occasion, he has boasted how he more than anyone in this struggle holds the key to the diplomatic community. Persons who may be bamboozled by this boastful self-glorification, are ignorant of the fact that there may be highly regarded and well connected Ambazonians in this struggle who may be working around the cloak to scale diplomatic barriers to get the much-needed attention and action in this case.  True achievers have no reason to rely on self-seeking  boasting or seek to tantalize the gullible with claims to influence in high places  and wealth to justify their claims to power through deceit rather than seeking power on the basis of their proven record of support to our refugees, the legal fund for the defence of the President and the self-defence war of liberation and Ground Zero operations to attain the objectives.

Cho Ayaba used demagogy and rhetoric to dazzle and confound gullible Ambazonians. He falsely raised the hopes that he alone possessed the military prowess to confront the enemy, liberate Ambazonians and protect the people.  A majority of Ambazonians, including the President His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the Interim Government under him, fell for that costly deceit despite the persistent warnings by Cameroon Concord News Group. On September 22, 2017 and October 1, 2017, the civilian population of Ambazonia that spontaneously mobilized in their millions to proclaim their sovereignty were attacked and hundreds were slaughtered in cold blood by the enemy and thousands abducted and carried into captivity. It is surprising that power ambitions of this individual is supported by some so-called activists and individual despite the calamitous slaughter on October 1, 2017 and his propensity to direct his guns against Ambazonia self-defence forces as opposed to the enemy.

He has caused his surrogates and activists to display sophisticated weapons sourced from social media and elsewhere as weapons distributed to his fighting forces in Ground Zero without evidence of a single battle against French Cameroun terrorist army. Like one crooked Nsoh Foncham before, some gullible activists have been quick to point to these pictures on social media as the wining AK 47 armoury.  These publicity stunts are aimed at raising money for self on the backs of the suffering masses.  A well-documented record of killing GZ fighters by Cho Ayaba’s forces do not match professed liberation claims propagated by him and his activists.

Cameroon Concord News Group strongly advises citizens of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to support ground zero self-defence war efforts.  Support for the Interim Government, contributions to the treasury and ABC television network as well as contributing for the wellbeing of Ambazonia refugees and internally displaced, the legal defence fund for the President His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, members of the Interim Government in captivity and hundreds of thousands of Ambazonia citizens illegally held captive in French Cameroun’s concentration camps are a litmus test for patriotism and recognition.   Failing this, citizens of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia should beware of cunny individuals who are in this struggle to enrich themselves or for self-aggrandisement. Lest we forget, French Cameroun has the mineral and natural resources of the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia which it steals to use to corrupt everywhere, including some Ambazonians but the overwhelming majority of Ambazonians have but the love for the Ambazonia fatherland and the personal sacrifices and contributions they are making to recover their territory and their dignity.   With more determination and support, Ambazonia will cease to be French Cameroun’s Alibaba treasured paradise. It will be liberated soon through the contributions and support of its determined citizens.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group has consistently cautioned Southern Cameroons front line leaders on the use of abusive language and blackmail against the Ambazonian Interim Government and Southern Cameroons cabinet ministers.  Good journalists and news reporters know that the international community will not use social media communication such as Face Book as basis of understanding the Southern Cameroons case.

Our recent criticism of Acting President Samuel Sako has falling on many different grounds of interpretation with some observing that Cameroon Concord News Group is seeking change at the head of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government. Far from it!! We of this publication simply want Dr Sako to sit up, go out there and meet Southern Cameroonians all over the world and motivate Ground Zero to feel him as a leader.

Until now it is only the Secretary of Communications, Hon. Chris Anu who has travelled to Europe to energize the Southern Cameroons European Diaspora base in the UK and Germany and raise funds for the struggle. That is part of the duty of the Acting President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia which he must take up immediately!

Cameroon Concord News Group has examined the leadership of Acting President Ikome Sako which we believe is fair and balance. But he needs to do a Southern Cameroons meet the people tour and raise funds for the struggle. What is actually distressing is that Acting President Sako’s inaction is affecting the European and the South African Diaspora bases including thousands on Ground Zero. Sako has very strong leadership qualities!! To be sure, he was at his best when he rejected Secretary Chris Anu’s resignation. He is level headed. He is not vindictive and he is a good communicator. Therefore, Dr Ikome Sako should take note of the Cameroon Concord News Group criticism because it was written to help him become a good Acting President.

Cameroon Concord News Group will also want the Southern Cameroons Interim Government to implement without delay the reform which Acting President Sako promised the Ambazonian people-which is to bring the county heads into government to be the direct representatives of Southern Cameroonians on Ground Zero.

We are also calling on the Acting President to improve contacts with Ground Zero through the county heads and other national and international media outlets. Cameroon Concord News Group reiterates that the Southern Cameroons Interim Government should not communicate to the Ambazonian people via Face Book because it is free for all and French Cameroun agents can either get to Face Book in order to distort or silent Ambazonian communication.

Cameroon Concord News Group also believes and fervently that ABC TV is the right thing as the Southern Cameroons Interim Government should own and run a media house. ABC TV is incorporated in the USA, regulated and protected by American constitutional guarantees which the SCBC does not have in South Africa. We got intelligence that the Yaoundé regime is now aware that the hosting satellite of SCBC is in a European country.

So far, the people who have opined that Acting President Sako should be removed from office are also not fit to govern the Ambazonian nation and its people. Cameroon Concord News Group wants Sako to sit up and we are very sure he can do it in difficult times like this!

Acting President Sako has urgent business at hand among them is rallying Southern Cameroonians to fund the defense of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe including the hundreds of Ambazonians in enemy jails all over French Cameroun. Dr Sako should put more effort for our refugees in the bushes and in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He should rally and push for more diplomatic effort deep within the UN, US Congress, the House of Common and the Bundestag.

Acting President Sako’s decision to denounce people committing crimes on Ground Zero was the right thing to do!! Cho Ayaba and his criminal gang had become a serious opponent to the Southern Cameroons revolution with kidnappings, killings, robbery and extortion from the population. All what we have seen from the Cho Ayaba gang is simply a display of guns without carrying any actions against occupying forces.

Acting President Sako should sever all relationship with Milan Atam and SCOOP. SCOOP has never contributed anything to Ground Zero or to our refugees. Dr Sako should denounce Milan Atam with the same vehemence that he denounced Cho Ayaba. Ambazonians do not need criminals to succeed in this ongoing revolution.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Before Acting President Sako Ikome took over control of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government, the Ambazonian resistance was well organized and had the active participation of Southern Cameroonians from the Republic of South Africa, Nigeria, Europe, the Scandinavia countries, the US and Canada. We had one authoritative television channel, a sea of refined Southern Cameroons elites supporting the Interim Government with ideas and money and the participation on Ground Zero exceeded that of the ANC in apartheid South Africa.

If that trend would have been allowed to continue, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia would have long been a reality similar to South Sudan.  Cameroon Concord News Group estimated that the Southern Cameroons Interim Government had more than a quarter of a million dollars after Interim President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe made a tour of Europe and the US. After the abduction and extradition of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his top aides, a Cameroon Concord News Group investigation of the Interim Government under Dr Samuel Ikome Sako found out that auditing reports of the Ambazonian Interim Government has been kept secret, due to Ambazonian unity interest.

Even after the emergence of Acting President Sako, the Southern Cameroons Interim Government received thousands of dollars from the Ambazonian Diaspora in the US and Canada including Europe without any serious demand for accountability. The present state of the Southern Cameroons revolution is a grim affirmation that becoming the Acting President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government did nothing to change Dr Sako’s old Calabar habits.

Ever since Communications Secretary Chris Anu openly accused the Secretary of Finance, Tabenyang Brado of embezzlement, Acting President Sako has not showed any signs of transparency in the funds and a detailed report on how it is being spent. Acting President Sako and a few members of the Interim Government have declined to comply with popular demand for an independent audit of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government and many Southern Cameroonians have suspended financial donations for fear that the money will end up in the wrong pockets.

The rapidly growing frustration, very visible division deep within the Interim Government including the hiring of private cars and paying of private bills for Acting President Ikome Sako while most Southern Cameroonians live in dismal conditions on Ground Zero has started to threaten Dr Sako’s leadership of the Ambazonian Interim Government.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that there was a complete cut-off from everyone within the first two weeks following his election at the head of the Interim Government, and that has continued till date. Dr Sako  does not pickup telephone calls, does not return calls, ignores text messages even from the Cameroon Concord News Group and it has become normal for Acting President Sako to go for 3-4 months without a one-on-one with cabinet ministers.

Sako’s leadership style is indeed appalling! We have recorded a sea of unilateral decisions without approval from competent departments or his immediate staff. There’s a plethora of such decisions!!  We gathered that the creation of ACCORN and the recognition of SCCOP took everyone in the Interim Government by surprise including those appointed to participate, such as Pr. Carlson Anyangwe.

Acting President Sako has transformed himself into a cult master so to speak expecting Southern Cameroonians to bow in homage!!  No one dares offers any dissenting views from that of the 2 bosses (Sako and Pr Ayim). If you do, you’re automatically anti-IG!! But we of the Cameroon Concord News Group can never be cowed down by any government!

Acting President Sako has not been consistent with leadership! When he announced ACCORN, he also told the world that he recognized SCCOP. There were conflicting signals as many Ambazonians were wondering how Southern Cameroonians were out there trying to prevent SCCOP from stifling the Interim Government, and the Acting President was making a public pronouncement that he had recognized SCCOP!!

The Decolonization Committee affair was even more controversial! The Southern Cameroons ministerial cabinet had no clue that Acting President Sako was invited to the decolonization committee as a representative of Western Sahara. The cabinet only heard about that on his 1^st of October speech! We gathered intelligence that not even Communications Secretary Chris Anu was aware. Cameroon Concord News Group believe and fervently too that Acting President Sako kept it away from his cabinet not because it was classified, but because he sees the cabinet as irrelevant.

Acting President Sako’s ill-advised decision to suspend the December ghost town operation prompted many around the world including our London Bureau Chief to start thinking that the Ambazonian leader has been compromised.  Monday ghost towns have become the most important achievement of the Southern Cameroons revolution and a de facto trade mark. It is hard to say what prompted Dr Sako to make such a move!!

Acting President Sako is not an accomplished Southern Cameroonian deep within the Ambazonian Diaspora community in the US and this is creating a lot of alacrity in the struggle. In suspending the ghost towns, he went all alone to do it!! He posted a message on the cabinet forum stating “Tomorrow I will be making a speech and in that speech, I will announce the suspension of ghost towns for the month of December”.

Three senior cabinet members (Chris Anu, John Egyawan and Caleche Bongo) advised that it was going to be a costly mistake to suspend ghost towns and he shouldn’t do it. Acting President Sako ignored them, did not say a word and went ahead and announced his decision the following day and the backlash was unimaginable.

Our correspondent in the United States of America confirmed that even the Ambazonia Self-Defense Council, ASC and Ground Zero commanders were not aware of Acting President Sako’s decision. He only reversed course and rescinded that decision when he realized Ambazonians decided to ignore him and staged the worst ghost town ever.

One of the major failures of the Sako administration centres on the Cho Ayaba London Oil Deal. Southern Cameroonians thought rightfully that the London scandal had provided them with an opportunity to put an end to the Cho Ayaba-ADF distraction!! By some strange happenstance, Acting President Sako came up with a letter, expressing solidarity with Cho Ayaba. Again this was another unilateral decision that left everyone deep within the Interim Government scratching their heads. The problems are endless. In the second part of this series on Acting President Sako, we shall be examining why as Acting President, Sako has never stepped his legs on European soil and also how he and the Secretary for the Economy spend Ambazonia money.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Things are falling apart for the Southern Cameroons revolution and the members of the Ambazonian Interim Government can no longer read from the same script. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group recently rejected the resignation of Secretary Chris Anu and we advised that cabinet issues be kept as a nuclear secret. To be sure, nothing seems to interest the Ambazonian cabinet ministers and they have blatantly refused to see how they can jointly strategize to forge ahead with the struggle while keeping their differences aside.

While free speech and democratic debate may justify some of the outings of the Ambazonian cabinet ministers, we of this publication are asking how they help Southern Cameroonians to terminate the cases brought by a vicious sanguinary regime against their leaders. Does a debate surrounding Ambazonian leaders organizing meetings with other leaders wanted by the enemy help or provide the enemy with evidence against the leaders and the Southern Cameroons cause? Who gains from this infighting deep within the Interim Government concerning meetings supposedly organized from the enemy’s dungeon?

Yesterday’s audio by Chris Anu questioning the integrity and honesty of the Secretary of State for Finance has reportedly made matters worse and more intractable. In the words of our London Bureau Chief, “The Southern Cameroons revolution is now facing a hydra-headed crisis.”

Reacting to Secretary Chris Anu’s audio message, a spokesman for the Secretary of State for Finance told Cameroon Concord News Group that “It is a smear campaign against Hon. Tabenyang Brado because of disagreement on the proposed conference.”

We understand the long standing differences between Chris Anu and Tabenyang Brado emerged ever since the creation of ABC TV. Why Communications Secretary Chris wanted $9500 a month for satellite cost and an additional extra $3500 a month for salaries, the Secretary of State for Finance has always maintained that the ABC remains a good idea but it’s also not sustainable.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group had opined late last year that $13000 a month for just 6 hours of broadcasting was not good value for Ambazonian money. We also had reliable information that ABC had no viable business plan to grow into financial independence at a time when there are more pressing financial challenges for the Southern Cameroons struggle.

The Secretary of State for Finance has hinted Cameroon Concord News Group of his decision to make public a full detailed financial statement of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government from November 2017 when the Ambazonian government was formed to December 2018. Our primary worry is that His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe’s involvement in these controversies is already creating a rift among Ambazonians in captivity in Kondengui. They are in their thousands.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe should have remained the mythical and emblematic leader that he is rather than a factional leader. Cameroon Concord News Group is of the opinion that if by any reason some Ground Zero commanders come up against his decisions and interventions then that may further weaken his authority. Acting President Sako, Communications Secretary Chris Anu and others even not as leaders may move back to their activist roles and continue the struggle but the loser will still be President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and his ability to hold and influence the struggle together.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group support his leadership but disagree with his involvement in the current controversy. Dr Akwanga and Barrister Agbor Balla who were in the enemy’s dungeon can tell him how the enemy operates. Atanga Nji, Laurent Esso and Momo who are controlling that prison are very ruthless. Very soon the Pen’s, Mancho’s even Tassang who is an arch enemy of Milan may disagree with President Ayuk Tabe and the split will continue outside and cause more harm.

Cameroon Concord News Group is concerned that President Ayuk Tabe’s involvement may find its way into his case and provide the enemy with evidence to allege that he is directing military operations from inside his detention center. We wonder what his lawyers are doing.

For President Ayuk Tabe to be too trusting to summon and preside over these meetings from the enemy’s jail is a grave error and a costly mistake.  Even most sympathizers and supporters may be very disappointed in the short and long term. This meeting was unnecessary and counterproductive and even harmful. We wish Chris Anu did not address it in public at all. We wish the damage can be mitigated by nobody keeping the talk about the meeting and the fallout alive. To be complacent in the enemy dungeon is a grave costly error.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai