Cameroon is on the threshold of a disaster. If care is not taken, the world might play spectator to an orgy of killing in that part of the world. Over the last two years, the world has been having a taste of what might happen after the October 7, 2018 polls in the country’s English-speaking regions.

The anger and frustration in many towns and cities in the country could reduce the slaughtering that is playing out in Southern Cameroons to a dress rehearsal. The English-speaking regions have become the theater of mass killings. Some 4,000 Cameroonians have already lost their lives, including close to 2,000 army soldiers.

So far, the conflict in Southern Cameroons has been localized. The government has been working very hard to ensure that it does not spread to East Cameroon, but this might change very soon due to the presidential poll that will take place on October 7.

The elections are coming with pressure and this election could be that factor that might tip the country into the type of conflicts Africans are used to seeing. According to the  International Crisis Group report, while political tension are growing as the presidential election approaches, the government has not come up with any framework for dialogue between Yaoundé, the opposition and civil society.

The government seems to be adopting the same strategy it employed during and after the 2011 presidential poll. The government is known for breaking the main social movements, isolating the most vociferous leaders and activists and recruiting leaders from the usual sources of opposition, such as students, street vendors, commercial motorcycle drivers and others from the transport sector. Recently, it has expanded its surveillance networks across social media, especially Facebook and Whatsapp.

This strategy could prove counter-productive. By decapitating these movements, the government loses its understanding of working class dynamics and hence its insight into how the population mobilizes. The absence of leaders means that when violence erupts, as with the serious riots in February 2008, there is hardly anybody in civil society or in the opposition to moderate the rioters and dialogue with the government.

The most challenging thing now is that opinions by ordinary people are increasingly radical. In Douala and Yaoundé, dozens of young people interviewed by Crisis Group think they should “make themselves heard by doing what the Anglophones are doing”. Some go so far as saying: “since the government and opposition are both against us, we might as well spoil everything so that nobody wins, the report adds.

Since 2017, intercommunal tensions have worsened throughout the country. On social networks and in the media, journalists, politicians, academics, activists and other civil society actors speak in terms that stigmatize ethnic groups. While ethnic divides are nothing new in Cameroon, the approaching presidential election is aggravating them as leaders of the governing party and the opposition use them to create or consolidate their political base. There is a danger that ethnic antagonisms will mirror political tensions and exacerbate any violence that may occur in the electoral period, the report says.

“In recent years, the government has used the tense security situation to further reduce civil liberties. For example, it has used the antiterrorist law passed in 2014 against journalists and civil society. Since 2017, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and the Ministry of Communications have explicitly threatened journalists and sought to regulate the media more frequently,” the report adds.

To stave off criticism, the government is also restricting public expression by banning demonstrations organized by the opposition and civil society. Some in civil society have responded by not seeking the authorization to hold their marches. With the exception of the Stand up for Cameroon movement, they have, however, been careful not to express political grievances. They limit their demands; regularly emphasizing that their actions are not political and that they are not calling for the departure of Biya, no doubt to avoid harsher repression.

The journey down the dangerous path is relentless and the leaders seem to be enjoying their own dangerous rhetoric. They are working hard to stifle opposition and this has resulted in a brutal crackdown on journalists, activists, lawyers and others. This crack-down on civil liberties is accompanied by a hardening of attitudes towards international partners and international organizations. Yaoundé responds angrily to the smallest criticisms and maintains a stern attitude toward diplomats in the capital and international organizations.

A part of the population, whom the government has recently convinced that there is an international conspiracy to destabilize the country, approve of this attitude. The government is gradually leading the country down a dangerous path; a path that has seen many other African countries and today, those countries are suffering from the effects of such a mentality.

The October 7, 2018, poll remains a tough challenge to the country. Even the ICG report underscores that the political climate is tense, the economy shaky and much of the country insecure and it is torn between Boko Haram in the Far North and a conflict in the English-speaking regions. Intercommunal tensions are worsening not only in Southern Cameroons but also in other parts of the country.

However, the government and armed Southern Cameroons separatists still have time to declare a ceasefire to improve prospects for polling in areas affected by the conflict. But this might not happen as the separatists are prepared to disrupt the elections. Outside powers do have a role in this. They could push both sides to declare a ceasefire or even press for an inclusive dialogue that will spare the country and the region the bloodshed that has been noticed in other African countries.

The ICG report also underscores that the government should take steps to curb rhetoric stigmatizing specific ethnic groups and it should do a lot to sound more conciliatory. After the vote, both sides should support efforts by religious leaders to hold an Anglophone General Conference. Such a conference could help lay the ground for a national inclusive dialogue that is necessary to resolve the Southern Cameroons crisis that is already in its third year.

“The danger of violence around the vote in Anglophone regions is high. But other parts of the country could also be affected, even if the postponement of the parliamentary and municipal elections to October 2019, which carried their own danger of localized friction, has mitigated some risks. As Election Day approaches, tensions are growing and the government has become harder-line, opting for repression and peddling conspiracy theories in response to demands for social and political reform. Embryonic movements are emerging across the country, which reject the election. Some of them call for a popular insurrection to unseat Cameroonian President Paul Biya. In the Anglophone regions and parts of the Far North, insecurity may hinder the smooth conduct of the vote,” the report says.

The presidential election on October 7 will take place in an unprecedented political and security climate for Cameroon. Lack of clarity on the country’s future is worrying. Governance issues and the succession to Biya, now 85, are of pressing concern. Reducing the risk of violence during the election, including by security forces, is a precondition for putting Cameroon on track towards a peaceful transition. The priority for the incoming government will then be to organize a national dialogue to resolve the Southern Cameroons crisis, the report concludes.

Compiled by Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, Kingsley Betek and Irene Nayongo.

The 2018 presidential election campaigns have just a week to go and the signs are not good for Cameroonians who have been struggling to stop their government that appears to be made up of ‘foreign’ mercenaries.

Over the last 26 years, there have been many elections in Cameroon and the ruling party, considered by an overwhelming majority of Cameroonians as a crime syndicate, has won most, if not all of the elections. The 2018 campaigns were launched a week ago, but the candidate of the ruling party, Paul Biya, only came out on September 29, 2018 to start campaigning.

The opposition candidates have been all over the country to seek votes that may take them to the Unity Palace, but what they are oblivious of is the fact that presidential elections have never been won in Cameroon via the ballot boxes.

In 1992, the SDF candidate, John Fru Ndi, proved that an incumbent could be defeated. He pulled crowds and told the right stories. His stories were music to many ears, but he and his party failed to figure out that the Supreme Court which was acting for the constitutional council, had other plans.

The results were released in favor of Mr. Biya who was popularly unpopular across the country. The country’s Supreme Court judges were Mr. Biya’s protégés and given their loyalty to such a brutal dictator, they could not publish the real results which were in favor of the SDF candidate.

In 1992, there was a small coalition, but other major parties had refused to join the Union for Change that was supposed to represent the opposition. Bouba Bello and Adamou Ndam Njoya felt they had more governance experience than Mr. Fru Ndi. They therefore decided to betray the people of Cameroon.

Mr. Bouba Bello has since then been an ally of the ruling party to the detriment of the people who are still under the yoke of an incompetent dictator whose penchant for waste is legendary. It should be recalled that Mr. Bouba Bello was directly involved in the 1984 coup d’état that almost resulted in the overthrow of Mr. Biya.

Mr. Bouba Bello had fled to Nigeria after the coup. He only came back when a general amnesty was granted to those who had been implicated in the coup. And all of this came about when Cameroonians fought tooth and nail to bring about multiparty politics in Cameroon.

The failure of the opposition in 1992 to engineer a strong coalition in the presidential elections of that year was the opposition’s greatest undoing. But has today’s opposition learned any lessons? From every indication, thunder might be striking twice in the same place. The opposition is yet to learn the lessons of the past.

The faces might have changed, but the mentality us still the same. While new faces have jumped into the political arena, the mentality of the past seems to be at work. The new faces in Cameroon’s political landscape may be different, but the thinking of those on the opposition has not changed that much.

Every Cameroonian erroneously thinks that he is presidential material. He selfishly holds that he is more intelligent than his compatriots. And this thinking is standing in the way of efforts aimed at unseating a dictator who is only counting on his rigging ability.

Part of the election rigging process is for the ruling party to argue that if the opposition was not divided, it could win the election.  But deep in the minds of ruling party supporters, they know that the opposition does not need to unite in order to win Mr. Biya who has been in power for 36 years and has nothing to show for his long stay in power.

The country’s economy is on its knees. The unemployment rate is unprecedented in this country that is endowed with enormous human and natural resources.  Corruption has become the government’s hallmark and it has indeed been institutionalized. Mr. Biya is the main engineer of this corruption and he has been using the country’s treasury as his personal ATM.

For 36 years, Mr. Biya and his government have failed to live up to the glorious expectations of the population. The country is bereft of basic infrastructure. Its roads are among the worst in the world. The railway network has collapsed and the country’s clinics are nothing more than consultation clinics.

Politically, Mr. Biya is considered as the worst catastrophe that ever visited the country. Cameroon is more divided today than it has ever been. Nepotism is the order of the day and people from the president’s ethic group are those who are running the show.

Though his ethic group accounts for less than 10% of the country’s population, they account for more than 70% of the country’s government. This has created a feeling of frustration among other ethnic groups which some allege are already talking about revenge once Mr. Biya leaves office.

With such a dismal economic and political performance, there is no way Mr. Biya could win the 2018 presidential election if it was free, fair and transparent. Today, Cameroon is on the brink of a civil war. The government has unleashed its militia and untrained soldiers on Southern Cameroonians who have been complaining of marginalization for more than five decades.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in less than two years as a result of the conflict pitting Southern Cameroonians against the government. Over the last month, government militia and soldiers, most of which are constituted of young Betis who are mad that power is slipping through their fingers, have been killing young male adults in the English-speaking region indiscriminately.

More than 200 villages have been burnt and children and old people have been burnt in their homes by government troops who enjoy using collective punishment as a tool to intimidate the population.  Over the last two weeks, more than half a million Southern Cameroonians have fled to East Cameroon in search of a safe haven.

More than a million have fled to Nigeria where they are living rough. Those who escaped to East Cameroon are still in trouble as the government has systematically and continuously arrested many of them who are seeking refuge in Yaounde or Douala.

As a justification for their arrest, the country’s defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, last week released a press statement indicating that there were separatists among English-speaking Cameroonians who had escaped the government’s military brutality to Yaounde.  Ever since that release was published, more than 2,000 Southern Cameroonians have already disappeared in Yaounde and thousands are concerned about their safety.

Meanwhile, those who do not have the means to travel to East Cameroon are being mowed down by government troops who have been given a license to shoot and kill. Last week alone, more than 500 innocent civilians were gunned down by army soldiers.  Yesterday night in Buea, a lady was pulled out of her home and shot in the leg by a Beti soldier.

In Bachou Ntai, many residents were slaughtered on Saturday, September 29 by army soldiers who were angry that pictures of Mr. Biya had been torn down by angry youths who held that the ruling party must not hold its campaign in their town.

Among those killed is the nephew of the Senate vice-president, Chief George Tabetando, who has been in favor of the killing of Southern Cameroonians.  With such a picture, there is no way the ruling party, that is being accused of having mismanaged a strike by teachers and lawyers, can win an election in Cameroon.

But if opposition parties have to make hay of the government’s incompetence, they must realize that making common cause will help them achieve their goal – unseating Mr. Biya and his ruling crime syndicate.

The major opposition parties must come together to give the people a chance at making their dream come true. Cameroonians are sick and tired of the government they have; a government that has been conducting itself as a bunch of mercenaries.

There is a huge need for a coalition. This will not be necessary in a transparent system, but since Cameroon is a country soaked in corruption and abnormalities, the ruling party must be denied that argument that will justify its rigging of the election.

Opposition leaders must shrink their egos. They must understand that they are operating in a system that has been designed to favor Mr. Biya.  They have to enhance their chances and this can only be achieved through a solid coalition that will render the ruling party’s rigging machinery ineffective and inefficient.

By Kingsley Betek

Since 2016, Cameroon, the West African state most famous for its soccer prowess, has descended into conflict. With the country voting in an already discredited presidential election on 7 October, the need for strong leadership from the Catholic Church has never been greater.

The roots of the conflict

Cameroon’s English-speaking minority claims it has been increasingly marginalized by the Francophone majority since gaining independence. Of 32 cabinet members, only one is Anglophone, even though English speakers represent 20% of the population. In 2016, the government tried to impose Francophone judges in the Anglophone region’s courts, and to force the French language on its schools. This led to peaceful civil protests such as strike days when shops and schools closed. The authorities responded with disproportionate force, inadvertently fueling a militant secessionist movement. An example of this heavy-handed reaction, as reported by the impartial human rights watchdog, Crisis Group, was a government helicopter hovering over a church, shooting unarmed worshippers as they emerged.

The conflict deepens

The security situation is deteriorating rapidly. Dozens of secessionist leaders who were detained in January remain incommunicado, adding to Anglophone grievance. A recent Amnesty report describes the army’s scorched earth tactics, with 106 villages in the North West and South West regions raided, looted, and burned. Their ethnic cleansing strategy is working: 200,000 have fled into the bush, while 20,000 are in refugee camps in Nigeria.

Social media heightens the sense that English-speakers are being persecuted. Stories of government soldiers torturing and humiliating Anglophones are common, as are disturbing videos of human rights violations circulating online. In this tense atmosphere, there are rumours that political prisoners are being sprayed with chemicals that make them unwell. Cameroon authorities have reportedly denied visas to the International Committee of the Red Cross. On September 10th, soldiers demanded that doctors at Bamenda hospital hand over wounded patients, suspecting them of being rebels, rather than civilians caught in cross fire. There are also unconfirmed reports from the Africa-based Centre for Human Rights and Democracy that the government now requires Anglophones to have internal travel permits. Amnesty estimates 400 people have been killed, although sources in Cameroon believe the figure is much higher, claiming that there are mass graves in the bush.

The authorities’ harsh response to early peaceful protests has led to a polarization of opinion within the besieged Anglophone community. Secessionists are now using extreme violence, targeting security services and government representatives, and punishing civilians who fail to back their vision of a new independent Anglophone country called Ambazonia. Schools not participating in the general strike are being attacked, with 70 torched since 2016. Teachers and students have been seized, and parents are withdrawing their children from schools. The principals of several secondary schools have been kidnapped as retribution for keeping schools open. On an anecdotal level, a Catholic nun reports to your correspondent that her town is surrounded by forces from both sides, effectively holding civilians hostage; people who have fled to camps fear imminent attack; and members of the Diaspora worry constantly about the safety of their family back in Cameroon.

Although the Anglophone Diaspora has appealed to the UK, its former colonial power, it is clear from answers to Parliamentary questions from Lord Alton among others that Britain will go no further than appealing for dialogue. In the run up to Brexit, establishing trading relations is a priority; in June, the government announced that UK interests had signed a natural gas deal with Cameroon worth £1.5 billion. Furthermore, the international community is unlikely to apply pressure to Cameroon’s leader, Paul Biya, while his country’s troops are battling the Islamist terrorists, Boko Haram, in the Lake Chad region.

What can the Catholic Church do?

The church commands the respect of all sides of the population; it is seen as a legitimate voice of civil society. From the beginning of the current crisis, Anglophone faith leaders have called for inclusive talks aimed at finding a peaceful, federal approach, devolving some powers to disenfranchised English-speaking regions. These calls were first ignored and then rejected by Biya’s government. As secessionists have adopted increasingly violent means, the Francophone authorities have hardened their position, refusing to negotiate with terrorists.

The 85-year-old Biya will most probably be re-elected in October, after a process that will fail to meet international standards of free and fair elections, as it usually does in Cameroon. Observers fear that the closing days of the election campaign may spark even more violence. Biya, who has been in power since 1982, seems determined to ignore Anglophone calls for dialogue. Meanwhile, it is noticeable that few French-speaking faith leaders have expressed solidarity with their opposite numbers in the Anglophone region, or have put pressure on Biya to compromise.

In November there will be a conference of faith leaders, convened by the Anglophone churches. This is an opportunity for French-speaking Catholics to join moderate Anglophones in calling for inclusive dialogue to resolve the country’s crisis by non-violent, constitutional means. The church is in a unique position, with the moral authority to push the government into negotiations. The continuing disengagement of many Francophone faith leaders is unhelpful at best. While brave Anglophone priests and bishops demonstrate the courage to seek a peaceful and moderate way forward, they deserve the active support of their fellow religious leaders among the French-speaking majority.

Source: Independent Catholic News

When Paul Biya of French Cameroun rushed his Secretary-General Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh to London a few months ago to sign an oil deal over the oil resources of Ambazonia, Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report in an editorial called on the Serious Fraud Unit of the British Police, the FBI and the Ambazonia Federal Criminal Investigation Department to initiate criminal investigations and the prosecution of all the persons and entities involved in this criminal oil deal. Cameroon Concord News Group cautioned that the deal was intended to generate money to buy weapons to prosecute the genocide against Ambazonia. A majority of Ambazonians condemned the criminal deal. They overwhelmingly supported the call for the investigation and the prosecution of the culprits.

The Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia promptly harkened to the people’s call and initiated complaints against the bloodletting criminal and commenced diplomatic efforts to stop the criminal deal. Thousands of Ambazonians world-wide threw their overwhelming support for the measures taken by the Interim Government to preserve our oil resources and the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and individual citizens of Ambazonia in Britain and other parts of the world, mounted diplomatic efforts in Britain for this blood oil deal to be nullified.  The diplomatic efforts began paying off with British members of the House of Commons bringing up the crimes committed against Ambazonians for debate during parliamentary sessions and with other arms of government.

The momentum and pressure were on when Cho Ayaba devised a means of delegitimizing the criminal complaints of Ambazonia over this criminal blood oil deal. He hoped to sign a contract legitimizing this fraudulent and criminal deal on behalf of Ambazonia for his self-interest.  It could not have been intended to be a separate contract over the oil fields which a British Government department had welcomed and celebrated and which were under legal and diplomatic challenge by the Interim Government and the people of Ambazonia.  No reasonable person would have expected that a British oil firm would get into an oil deal which was already recorded in official records and publicly celebrated by a member of government, Dr. Liam Fox.

The supposed plank was played on Ayaba by persons he knows so well and who have previously worked with him. The actions of these individuals within Ayaba’s organizational network might have its motives. And more will be known so long as Ayaba and his surrogates continue to attack them in the social media. Falsely accusing every person else but Ayaba and his organization and their greedy motives which Cameroon Concord News Group had long warned against is childish.

If these persons who allegedly set him up were not well known and trusted by him, how come a whole Commander-in-Chief who wants people to trust him for operational command decisions fall so easily to the prank?  How does he expect the international community and Ambazonians to trust a Commander –in- Chief and supposed political leader who lacks a sense of discernment, is gullible, greedy and vulnerable?   How can he be trusted with diplomatic and security confidences? How can he be trusted with the lives of more than eight million Ambazonians? If he is a committed warlord that he wants everyone to submit to his authority and command, why can he not learn from the Niger Delta Avengers how they are treating oil cartels illegally exploiting oil in their territory and devastating their environment? Did they struggle to sign oil deals with predatory murderers knowing that the oil firms although on the surface are independent of each other but operate as a cartel against the interest of the masses in the exploited territories?

The actions of Ayaba show that he still does not know the motivation against the annexation, colonization and genocide of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The war and genocide against the Federal Republic of Ambazonia are indeed about the appropriation of the oil fields and natural resources that Ayaba went to London to sell off for his personal gain. Without the oil, France will never have connived with Britain to steal the natural resources of Ambazonia and slaughter millions of Ambazonians over these 67 years. It is for this oil that many Ambazonians are dying for the fatherland, many slaughtered, and many more driven to refugee camps. It is about this oil that His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, members of the Interim Government, Mancho Bibixy and thousands Ambazonians have sacrificed their liberty and lives. It is about this oil that the independence of Ambazonia was stolen.

Cameroon Concord News Group is surprised by the fact that a few opportunists are struggling to justify the actions of Cho Ayaba and blaming the majority of Ambazonians who have and are sacrificing their lives to defend and protect the fatherland.  Ayaba and his surrogates go so low and equated what happened to him to the abduction of His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the Interim Government in Nigeria. That is an insult to the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The criminal operation against President Ayuk Tabe was carried out by three countries, with the support of the oil cartel. Cho Ayaba went to London hoping to sign a contract selling off Ambazonia for personal gain. The countries are Nigeria, France and French Cameroun. The Cho Ayaba’s scandal was an operation launched within his inner operational cycle by persons he has worked with, whom he knew and for reasons which will be known with time exposed him for what he is. The tough guy whom his surrogates are projecting in him pales in the face of the prank he fell into. No tough guy is that cheap to get. Not one claiming to be an army commander.

The conduct of Ayaba must be strongly condemned by all reasonable people. Ayaba needs to respect the call by a majority of Ambazonians to shelve his greedy warlord ambition and work with the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to genuinely defend the restoration of independence which was declared by His Excellency Sisiku Ayuka Tabe on the 1^st of October 2017.  The overwhelming mandate which the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia gave the Interim Government under His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe on 22 September 2017 to declare the actualization of independence on 1^stOoctober 2017 now devolves on the Interim President His Excellency Samuel Sako.  Cho Ayaba cannot sincerely say he is fighting to defend the actualization of the independence declared by the Interim Government while fighting to destroy the Interim Government. His conduct in wanting to legitimize the sale of Ambazonia oilfields in a criminal oil deal is a serious crime against the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. His conduct in attacking and kidnapping or killing other self defense forces within the national territory of Ambazonia must be opposed and denounced.  He should be apologizing like the prodigal son seeking to be allowed back into the fold, instead to attacking the sovereign will of the people of Ambazonia.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Asu Vera Eyere

Cameroon Concord News Group has consistently warned Ambazonians to critically scrutinize the intention of individuals laying claims to leadership to the Ambazonia liberation struggle before investing their trust in such leaders.  A critical test of leadership rests on the ability of a presumptive leader to selflessly champion the defense of the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia who are victims of the ongoing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Such a leader must make a public and unimpeachable commitment to Ambazonia’s individual and collective self-defense until the invading enemy is chased out of the territory and every death suffered in the hands of the enemy accounted for and avenged.  The leader must not be a gullible power seeker, money-monger and a ruthless war lord.   War lords do not lead wars of liberation. War lords lead internal revolutions for political change. The reason is obvious; war lords do not emerge by the will of the people, and do not seek the mandate of the people for the realization of their objectives. War lords concentrate power in their hands, administer ruthless justice without due process, do not respect the laws and customs of war and mercilessly execute their own people who dare challenge their personal power with sadistic arrogance.

Cameroon Concord News Group in its cautionary editorials in the past anticipated the possibility of some opportunists claiming leadership of the Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia struggle not for the public interest but for their selfish interest. Cameroon Concord News Group ventured to mention names of some of such opportunists.  Ambazonians did not take the cautionary postings serious enough to take precautionary measures to abate the prejudice caused by these individuals.  Among the persons mentioned by Cameroon Concord News Group, was Ayaba Cho Lucas.

Cameroon Concord News Group authoritatively cautioned Ambazonians about this individual because a cross section of our cream of intelligence reporters serving with Cameroon Intelligence Report observed him from proximity for over a decade.  His acts and conduct, his war lord proclivities, his avaricious greed, his intermittent unstable miens, his unguarded flippancy and his reckless disregard for collective leadership, have a potential to imperil the self-defense war of liberation.  Time has proved Cameroon Concord News Group right.  His penchant for ordering the attack of self defense units fighting for the freedom of Ambazonia for refusing to submit to his command is treacherous.

Batibo was virtually freed by the self- defense forces of Ambazonia when he laid ambush and abducted not the enemy who are torching our towns and villages, raping our girls and women, executing the genocide of our people but the heroic Ambazonian liberation forces who had routed the enemy from that local government area of Ambazonia.  The immediate fallout of this treacherous attack which deprived our fighting forces of their fighters and weapons was that the enemy returned to Batibo which was virtually liberated and continued to slaughter our armless civilian population virtually unchallenged.

Cameroon Concord News Group today saw a video on social media where some Ambazonians confronted Cho Ayaba in London where he went hoping to sign an oil deal over Ambazonian oil resources with a British Firm.  This encounter exposes the gullibility, vulnerability and greed by Ayaba Cho Lucas who purports to be a commander-in-chief of the Ambazonia Defense Forces. Because he is blinded by greed, self-interest, power-mongering, his sense of discernment and security are blighted. He is not a risk worth relying on for leadership.  The cost of gratifying and worshipping a warlord can be costly unless promptly unchecked.  Ambazonians beware!

Sacrifices made by Ambazonians at home and abroad must not be taken for granted by power and pecuniary interests of a single individual.  This struggle is not about power. It is about the individual and collective survival of the people. It is about defending the total independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.  Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the charismatic President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia cautioned Ambazonians that the Ambazonia liberation struggle was more than any single Ambazonian. That must be the threshold on which we must judge our leaders.

Cameroon Concord News Group, at the threshold of a so-called “reboot conference” called in Washington DC shortly after the abduction of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the interim government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, made an urgent call for Ambazonians to reboot the reboot conference. The intention of that conference was evil. It was not for the good of the self-defense of the people of Ambazonia against the ongoing genocide by French Cameroon. It was intended to quickly kill the interim government which an overwhelming majority of the people of Ambazonia craved for and put in place under the leadership of His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Cameroon Concord News Group pointed to the fact that the said conference was initiated by a consortium of strange bed-fellows, united only by their hatred for the interim government and their greed to exploit Ambazonians for money.  The gravamen of their hatred was that the interim government had deprived them the legitimacy to raise money from the Ambazonia Diaspora using the liberation struggle as opposed to their self-interest. Prior to that and now, Boh Hebert has never ever given an account of the money raised using Morrisc, Cho Ayaba with a war lord mentality has never been accountable to anyone. Ebenezer Akwanga has suffered so much in the liberation quest and no one can doubt his commitment to the cause. However, he might have been railroaded to that conference because he wrongly believed the interim government might inhibit his ability to prosecute the self-defense war independently. But that was only part of the story. He might not have known the pecuniary motivation for the conference and the potential of Paul Atanga Nji infiltrating it through the gullible instincts of some of the participants.

The most serious affront to the people of Ambazonia is the fact that the so-called conference was called shortly after His Excellency the President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the interim government were abducted and French Cameroun with the support of Mohammadu Buhari intensified the abduction, slaughter and genocide of Ambazonia. In the conference resolutions, nothing was said about these critical issues that concerned the individual and collective survival of Ambazonians.  The meeting was indeed a front for racketeering and scamming on the blood of Ambazonians.  Neither  Boh Herbert, Mbah Akuro nor Edwin Ngang endorsed the self-defense option taken by Ambazonians worldwide, home and abroad and the interim government for the collective survival and the liberation of the fatherland.  Boh Herbert issued a press statement denouncing the self-defense option and tacitly placing the blame for the war on its Ambazonian victims.

The revolution was saved by Chris Anu, who despite the risks flew to Nigeria to confront the Buhari accomplices of the abduction of Ambazonia leaders and the genocide against Ambazonia in their own territory.  Chris Anu provided Ambazonia and the interim government, a platform and a voice to denounce the abduction of His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the interim government members of Ambazonia. He addressed press conferences, forced the UN to issue a public statement condemning the abductions and stating that there abductees were under the protection of international law when they were abducted.  That statement from a UN department that claimed jurisdiction over the abducted Ambazonia leaders provided a strong legal backing to the Ambazonia cause, its interim government and the potential bases for accountability for the international crimes committed in and out of Ambazonia against Ambazonian citizens. The Rohingya decision at the ICC recently has critically put the perpetrators of these crimes on notice.

Thanks to Chris Anu, the interim government survived a coup mounted by French enemies of Ambazonia and from within by greedy power and money mongers. This is the main reason for their passionate hatred of the Secretary of Communication the Right Hon. Chris Anu.

The interim government of Ambazonia is the best thing that ever happened in this war of liberation and self-defense. When Ambazonians selected His Excellency Samuel Sako as the acting president of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, they were guided by the charisma, humility, dedication, patriotism and commitment to the collective good of the people that His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe embodied. They were looking for an Ayuk Tabe in our interim leader. The sense of collective leadership and humility are some of the strongest Ambazonia values that distinguishes Ambazonia from French Cameroun.  Also, following on the footsteps of His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, His Excellency Samuel Sako has buried for good the divide and rule tactics of the enemy, French Cameroun. He has kept faith with the trust placed on him by a majority of Ambazonians despite the tactics of greedy power and money-mongers to derail his focus. Remain focused sir!  Ground zero needs your undivided attention now than ever.

Cameroon Concord News Group was dismayed about the so-called collaborative conference which took place in Washington DC among the so-called front-line leaders. Cameroon Concord News warned swiftly that the conference was a strategic mistake. Cameroon Concord News Group cautioned against calling persons who do not believe in self-defense, are not committed to assisting our refugees abroad and at home and have not fully committed to the defense of the Ambazonia homeland as front-line leaders. It came as no surprise that their participation was motivated by the possibility that money was going to be raised to support the ground forces engaged in the Ambazonia self-defense war of liberation which they hoped to blackmail the interim government to share among them. The refusal of the interim government to fall into this scam is a vote of confidence to the interim government for defending the public trust and standing by our fighting forces for which the contributions were intended.  That is what leadership is about.

Cameroon Concord News Group once more calls on Ambazonians and the interim government to exercise caution when characterizing persons and organizations that are not in support of the self-defense of Ambazonia, are not assisting the refugees and are not strongly committed to supporting and assisting the fighting forces as frontline leaders. Inviting them to strategic meetings concerning the self-defense and refugees support efforts of Ambazonia is nothing short of placing a poisoned chalice on the lips of a determined Ambazonia liberation struggle and its interim government.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, also known as the monarch, is finally back to the nation’s capital, Yaoundé, after a stop-over in Switzerland for a quick health fix.  Mr. Biya had travelled to China some two weeks ago for the Africa-China Summit where he was supposed to persuade Chinese businesses and investors to come and invest in his war-ravaged country. Mr. Biya has also been sucking up to the Chinese government, hoping that it will grant it some loans and grants. But the Chinese are not ready to pour their money into a dry hole.

The Biya government is noted for its recklessness and even the Chinese hold that it would be foolhardy to give huge amounts of money to a government that has constantly proven that it is incapable of managing its own affairs. While in China, Mr Biya and his entourage toured a plane manufacturing company and even signed an agreement for the purchase of a presidential jet.

But this jet will not be delivered anytime soon. Cameroon has not got the resources to make a huge down payment as requested by the Chinese. Cameroon is cash-strapped and with its economy bleeding money on a daily basis, it will be hard for the government to find the resources to meet its commitments vis-a-vis the Chinese.

The country’s traditional business partners are hastily pulling out of the country due to a brutal civil war in the two English-speaking regions which account for more than 60% of the country’s wealth. Mr. Biya and his government have been running the country like a private farm and he has been using the national treasury like his personal piggy bank. The conflict in his country has taken a turn for the worse, with many citizens fleeing the war zone.

Over the last week, residents of the two English-speaking regions have been leaving the place following threats by Southern Cameroonian fighters to implement a strict movement of goods and persons within the region from September 16, 2018 to October 7, 2018 as presidential elections approach.

Campaigns for presidential elections scheduled for October 7, are currently underway and Southern Cameroonian fighters have vowed to disrupt an election they consider as foreign.  While other candidates are on the ground canvassing for votes, the incumbent, Paul Biya,has not been seen anywhere close to the voters.

It is generally held that Mr. Biya, considered by the ruling crime syndicate as its natural candidate, will not campaign but will emerge as the winner in an election that has already been rigged. Mr. Biya’s heart and prostate have been an issue to the 86-year-old who still wants to rule the country for the next seven years.

For 36 years, Mr. Biya had not built any world-class hospitals in his country, no good roads, and the country’s railway system has simply collapsed. For more than three decades, the narcissistic monarch has been using his country’s treasury as his personal ATM. When travelling abroad, Mr. Biya always has more than 50 persons in his entourage and all of these people are lodged in five-star hotels.

Besides, members of his entourage, the monarch also uses expensive escort services when he is abroad. His love for young girls is costing the country an arm and a leg. He has a Ghanaian doctor in Geneva who screens all the young ladies he uses to satisfy his carnal desires.

It is alleged that he dislikes preservatives that is why the ladies are thoroughly screened for HIV and other communicable diseases. Noted for his incompetence and manipulation, the monarch has plunged his country into a deep economic crisis and a long civil war that has already resulted in the killing of some 4,000 Cameroonians, including young army soldiers.

The Southern Cameroons crisis that started as a demonstration by teachers and lawyers has taken a turn for the worse. The adverse impact of the conflict is now spilling over into East Cameroon and this is a nightmare to government officials who are scared of a general revolt in East Cameroon.

Food and housing prices have gone up and many cities that are receiving these displaced persons do not have the proper infrastructure to deal with such a situation. According to a Douala City Hall official, the migration of Southern Cameroonians to the city of Douala is not only costly; it is also a major risk. He pointed out that among the displaced could be the fierce fighters who may use the situation to wreak havoc on innocent citizens in the city.

He regretted that the government was letting this situation to spiral out of control, adding that if immediate action was not taken, the entire country could become a war zone. According to a source close to the Unity palace, Mr. Biya is very disappointed with the Chinese.  “The president looks a little rested. It appears he got the right care in Switzerland. However, he is not very happy with the Chinese,” he said. “He was expecting a huge chunk of money from the Chinese which could have helped to finance his campaign,” he added.

He pointed out that “with Western nations very reluctant to put any money into the hands of this regime, it will be hard for the government to carry out any meaningful projects.” “I think we are not yet out of the woods. Even if Mr. Biya is considered a winner in the upcoming election, this country will still face serious issues,” he stressed.

“With the conflict spiraling out of control, it is clear that Mr. Biya cannot handle the disaster that is playing out in the North West and South West regions. The situation is too big for him. He cannot handle it,” he said. “We have the worst roads in Africa and the unemployment rate is unacceptable. I am scared for our country. We are in for tough and rough times,” he said.

“We may not even have the money to comply the infrastructure we are developing for the upcoming AFCON. I am confused and so too are millions of Cameroonians. Which roads will national team supporters be using to support their teams which will be moving from town to town?”he quipped.

The source that elected anonymity questioned the president’s silence over the disaster playing out in the two English-speaking regions of the country, adding that the worst was yet to happen. “Many people have been killed and more than a thousand soldiers have died. At what point will the president step in to roll back this disaster?” he asked.

“Though the president is back home, I know he will soon be returning to Switzerland which more like home to him. His health is failing and we are all concerned. He will not be campaigning, but he will win. The election has already been rigged in his favor,” he said.

While the monarch is back, nobody is sure that something positive will happen. Mr. Biya knows he is on his way out, but he wants to take the country down with him.  The world has to intervene if it does not want Cameroon to be another “Rwanda”.  Biya has failed Cameroon and if he stays on for seven more years, the country will surely hit the bottom of the abyss.

By Kingsley Betek in Yaounde
A Cameroon Concord News Group Production

The Southern Cameroons crisis which started as a demonstration by teachers and lawyers in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions is finally migrating to East Cameroon, as thousands flee Southern Cameroons following threats from Southern Cameroonian fighters to stage sporadic attacks on soldiers and punish civilians who have been cooperating with the Yaoundé government.

All major cities in Southern Cameroons have become beehives as helpless civilians struggle to find a safe place before the expiry of the deadline given by the fighters. Buea, Mamfe, Limbe, Bamenda and Kumba have all witnessed huge crowds struggling to leave, following warnings from Southern Cameroonian fighters that from September 16, 2018, all roads will be blocked and there will be no movement in the region.

More than half a million people have, on Wednesday, been seeking ways to leave the region as presidential elections scheduled for next month approach. Southern Cameroonian fighters have warned civilians in the two English-speaking regions not to participate in the elections as they are considered foreign and illegal.

It should be pointed out that Cameroon will be holding presidential elections next month and the incumbent is widely expected to win.  Many analysts hold that much will not change in the country and the conflict tearing the country apart may only get worse if Mr. Biya wins the elections.

So far, the government has not issued any statements to reassure the fear-stricken population and local officials have been tight-lipped over the displacement of over half a million people in the region. Meanwhile, the fighting between restoration forces and army soldiers has intensified.

Over the last week, more than 200 civilians have been killed in the region, while some 50 army soldiers have been sent to an early grave by restoration forces. The government has been struggling to localize the Southern Cameroons crisis, but as the fighting intensifies, many people are seeking refuge in the French-speaking region of the country.

The mass movement of Southern Cameroonians into other parts of the country has resulted in escalating food and housing prices. The high living cost is keeping government officials in cities such as Yaoundé and Douala awake all night, as they fear that the increasing pressure might cause the cash-strapped Francophone population to rebel against the government.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has taken its toll on the country’s economy, with state corporations such CDC, the country’s second largest employer, laying off many of its workers. For the country’s lone oil refinery, SONARA, the times are getting tougher by the day. Southern Cameroonian fighters have their eyes on this corporation which they accuse of shipping their oil wealth to East Cameroon.

They also hold that the corporation is being managed by French-speaking Cameroonians whom they accuse of treating Southern Cameroonians with disdain. This has been one of the many sticking points in this conflict that will have a long lasting impact on the country for many decades.

The hardest hit is PAMOL. The palm oil producing company located in Ndian Division, has simply shut down operations and more than three thousand workers have been sent home, following disruption and threats by Southern Cameroonian fighters.

The country’s economy has taken a nosedive due to the disruption of economic activities in the two English-speaking regions of the country. It is estimated that the economy is losing more than CFAF 6 billion a day and the government needs more than CFAF 10 billion a day to prosecute the war that is not going to end anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the government is frustrated with what is happening in the northwest and southwest regions of the country. All attempts to bring things under control have failed. Its divide and rule tactics have failed and even money has not been able to douse the fire.

Earlier in the year, the government had thought that kidnapping and repatriating Southern Cameroonian leaders to Yaoundé would help weaken the rebellion that has successfully given the country a bad name. Though some 47 Southern Cameroonian leaders, including Sisiku  Julius Ayuk  Tabe, are in jail in Yaoundé, the insurgency has grown by leaps and bounds.

The Diaspora has been financing the war and the fighters on the ground have been giving the government a run for its money. So far, more than 1,000 army soldiers have been killed while it is estimated that some 3,000 civilians have been murdered by government troops.

The government’s strategy of collective punishment and the burning of home have not produced the desired results. On the contrary, they have been counterproductive.  Many moderate Southern Cameroonians have been radicalized by the government’s strategy and this is making it hard for the soldiers to wrap up things militarily.

In a desperate move, the government has issued a warrant of arrest for many members of the Interim Government, including Dr. Sako Ikome and Mr. Chris Anu. The warrant, signed by the country’s national security boss, Martin Mbarga Nguele, urges all Cameroon embassies abroad to take appropriate measures and if possible kill those whose names feature on the warrant. The government seems to have been cornered. It is fighting with its back to the wall. A war it thought it could wrap up in a few weeks is unfortunately taking too long.

Cameroon is in a tight spot. The world cannot continue to play spectator to this unfortunate situation. Many lives have been ruined and the end is not in sight.  While the country is bleeding, its leader, Paul Biya, is clearly missing in action. His incompetence, tribalism and nepotism have reduced a once prosperous economy to a living hell for many Cameroonians.

Mr. Biya who is the architect of the civil war spends most of his time out of the country due to his failing health. For 36 years he has not been able to build a state-of-the art hospital in Cameroon.

He is currently in China. Since going to China for the China-Africa Summit, Mr. Biya has not returned to a country whose economy is begging for an extreme makeover. The days ahead will be challenging for the country. The upcoming election may tip the country into political chaos.  Mr. Biya is very unpopular, but he is intent on ruling the country again for seven more years.

Cameroonians are tired of Mr. Biya and his old cabinet. They know elections will not address the issues. Mr. Biya has never won an election and it is clear that he will rig the election to stay in power and this does not augur well for the country.

A victory for Mr. Biya will imply Cameroonians will have to put up with a civil war, unemployment and a rising wave of internally displaced persons. The world has to step in. Cameroon needs help. The killing has to stop, but it will not stop if Mr. Biya and his cohort continue to lord it over their people.

By Kingsley Betek