On the night of Saturday, October 28 to Sunday, October 29, 2017, unidentified people set fire on the home of Felix Agbor Balla’s parents in Manyu Division. Before fleeing, the arsonists also desecrated the grave of Balla’s late father. CIR’s Chi Prudence Asong in the following conversation with our chief political man, Soter Agbaw-Ebai examines the Barrister Agbor Balla factor in the Southern Cameroons struggle.

Cameroon Intelligence Report: The net is wash with criticisms of Barrister Agbor Balla’s stance on issues back in Southern Cameroons.  As a trusted friend and brother, have you spoken to him?

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai: I have had several telephone conversations with him and I guess he is succeeding in his UK mission.

Cameroon Intelligence Report:  Many Southern Cameroonians seem to hold that he has played into the hands of the CPDM government, especially as he is calling for the resumption of schools.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai: My dear Prudence, many Ambazonians believe school resumption is a good thing, but there must be preconditions. Southern Cameroonian critics are mad at Agbor Balla for not playing up the preconditions as stated by the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council.

Cameroon Intelligence Report:  Maybe Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho Balla is not aware of the position of the Governing Council.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai:  He is very much aware. I even got one of our senior editors to communicate that to him and in that correspondence to Barrister Agbor Balla, we stated some of the preconditions such as:

1. Release of Southern Cameroonians who are in jail across the country;
2. Granting of amnesty to those who are out of the country;
3. Holding of genuine dialogue with Southern Cameroonian groups, most of which are out of the country.

Cameroon Intelligence Report:  Many Southern Cameroonians still hold that separation is the ideal option

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai: You should be saying this to Mr Agbor Balla not me.  I hold that if there is genuine dialogue, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime and the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council can find ways to narrow their differences and maybe find a long-lasting solution to the issues

Cameroon Intelligence Report: What did you say to Barrister Agbor Balla when he arrived the UK?

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai:  I suggested to him to tone down his rhetoric on school resumption and place his focus on clear preconditions. As a media and public relations person, I can tell you without fear of contradiction that some of his interviews are instead hurting his credibility. I dedicated my whole life fighting against this Francophone issue of North West/South West Divide, I am sad to say that my own brother, who supported me in those bad days when the late Peter Agbor Tabi and John Ebong Ngole wanted my head, is now the one fanning the flames of North West/South West Divide. Balla’s action is indeed fanning the flames of the North West/South West Divide. I am very disappointed.

Cameroon Intelligence Report: Some political commentators are saying Barrister Agbor Balla is offering something new out of the current situation

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai:  I understand he says he does not believe in extremism.  But I tell you what? It’s getting harder for some of us in the media to sell his side of the story. He will surely have to come up with a new strategy that will make him more marketable. Southern Cameroonians have been counting on him and he must not forget that the freezing of schools was a strategy that was used to secure his release and many hold that its use will go a long way in helping those who are still languishing in the unpleasant jails in Cameroon to regain their freedom. Cameroon Concord News Group has hinted Barrister Agbor Balla that the majority of Southern Cameroonians are not buying into what he is selling.

Cameroon Intelligence Report: Did you suggest anything new to him?

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai: I told you at the beginning of our conversation that I got our senior editor to write to him a letter. In that document, Cameroon Concord News Group suggested to Agbor Balla that he should refocus his mission and the main point should be the release of those jailed and the granting of amnesty to all those in exile. The other issues are being handled by the Governing Council.

Cameroon Intelligence Report:  What was his take on the letter?

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai: He thanked our editor for the letter.  However, you are aware that I am not a Barrister! I am only a news reporter.  Someone somewhere should tell Barrister Agbor Balla again that the Southern Cameroons crisis is a reality and it will be unfortunate to let the public perceive him as a sellout.

Cameroon Intelligence Report:  Suggest to me what Barrister Balla can do now for the struggle

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai:  My team has made it clear to the Barrister that with the report of the International Crisis Group out, we think it is time for all Southern Cameroons groups to continue to work together to get the Biya regime to the negotiating table.  We believe the pressure must continue as the international community’s ramped up rhetoric against the regime should be seen as fodder to the Southern Cameroons cannon. My team has told Balla that he can always count on our public relations expertise, provided he engages in actions that will make Southern Cameroons a better place than he met it.

Cameroon Intelligence Report: Are you aware that Barrister Agbor Balla’s family home has been burnt down?

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai: I have heard about it. He is even lucky they did not set fire on his late Dad’s grave!! The elders of the Manyu State advised him to be careful with public statements which may make him unpopular on all fronts.  Let me tell you what Barrister Agbor Balla does not know and why he should listen to people like me! Anglophone elites in Government pose a greater threat to him because they think he is online to take over their positions. The problem with Balla is not because he advocates Federalism. Dr Munzu does and was invited to Atlanta and London by Southern Cameroonians to speak about it. The problem is that Balla said he advocated a United Cameroun implying the status quo. Critically he said there was no need for a UN intervention despite the fact that the UN and AU have insistently stated that they were prepared to facilitate dialogue. Taking a public stand against that position is troubling. Indeed the UN Secretary General Personal Representative for Central Africa had been involved in shuttle diplomacy in this regard. Finally Balla doesn’t state clearly whom he is talking for. It seems like he is pushing a personal agenda now. These are my observations.  He seems to have burnt bridges on all sides but his immediate adversaries are the Southwest CPDM elite and Government operatives who may have been complicit in burning down his village. If not them who can go to his village undictated to torch his family house? The same village that honored him upon release from detention?

Cameroon Intelligence Report: Thank you Mr Chairman for your time

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai: Happy Bank Holiday to you Prudence
Culled from Cameroon Intelligence Report

Since Cameroon came into the spotlight for marginalising its English-speaking minority, the country’s economy has continued its onward march to the brink of collapse and government actions are not helping matters. The country’s authorities have continued with their spending spree which many economists and observers consider as a game of self-destruction that might lead to a popular uprising.

Recently, the government sent huge delegations to Western capital to explain to the Diaspora what little actions it had taken to appease Anglophones. The mission was a huge flop with some of the delegations meeting stiff opposition from the same Diaspora they were supposed to share perspectives with. The ruling party delegations that cost the country a whooping USD 500,000 left Western countries with no success and the government has been working hard to hide the true amount spent on those futile missions from a hungry and desperate population. Right from the beginning, Members of the same delegations knew that they were heading for a mission that was doomed to failure, especially in countries such as the United States, Canada, Belgium and South Africa where there are huge concentrations of Anglophones. The anger and disappointment of the Anglophone Diaspora have been felt across the world and it was, indeed, ill-advised for the government to undertake such a project at the time it did.

But faithful to its policy of self-destruction, the ruling CPDM, known in Cameroon as a crime syndicate, saw it as an opportunity to put some money into the pockets of their friends and party faithful. From this failed mission, it was believed that the ruling party and the government would learn some of the hard lessons of life. But learning and doing the right thing do not seem to be in the party’s DNA. Cost-cutting does not exist in the government lexicon. This has recently been demonstrated by the big bill the president has imposed on the country after living abroad for close to onemonth due to health issues. The president’s medical vacation has cost close to USD 2 million in a country wherein millions are sick and unable to buy even the cheapest generic medication for their debilitating illnesses. This figure includes the cost of a chartered flight that brought the president and his entourage to Yaounde sometime last week.

However, it should be pointed out that this figure does not include the numerous plane tickets that were bought for many government officials to go to Geneva to address issues facing the country. According to our sources at the presidency of the republic, the country’s president, Paul Biya, while lying in his sick bed in Geneva, had been pulling the strings from the Intercontinental Hotel where he had an entire floor reserved for him and his team of about 50 staff, including domestic servants and body guards. He had a suite reserved for himself where only his aide de Camp, Joseph Fouda, could have direct access to the ailing “monarch”.

His collaborators such as Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh (Secretary-General at the Presidency) and Jean Nkuete (CPDM Secretary General) were always flying back and forth to have documents signed, while the Prime Minister, Yang, Philemon, who has been quietly sidelined, spent most of time his at Mont Febe to disguise his frustration with a government that is simply using him as a window dressing to appease Anglophones. He is hardly aware of what is happening, as most of the decisions are taken at the Unity Palace and without his knowledge, our sources at the presidency intimated.

As the Southern Cameroons crisis deteriorates so too is the country’s economy, but this does not seem to deter the government from playing its old games. While the president and his men were burning through money like wild fire in Geneva, his ruling CPDM party hastily organized desperate and hungry Southern Cameroonians, commonly known as elites, to head to their constituencies to convince their people to turn their backs on a revolution that has not only crippled the courts, but has also kept Southern Cameroonian students away from school for more than a year.

Even kids knew that such a mission was doomed to failure as Southern Cameroonians were still burying their dead and licking the wounds they had sustained on October 1, 2017, following a failed declaration of independence. More than 300 persons were rushed to Southern Cameroon on a mission that has not posted any impressive results. These rejected and shameless elites invaded the region like ragweed, but despite the food and drinks they took with them, there is nothing to show for their presence in the region. Southern Cameroonians have made up their minds. They want errors of the past to be corrected and they insist that courts and schools will only resume when the government sets the stage for genuine dialogue. They also argue that for genuine dialogue to take place, those in jail must be released and a blanket amnesty granted to those who are currently living in exile.

Today, there are more than three million Southern Cameroonians living abroad, with the current crisis creating more than 60,000 refugees and more than 100,000 internally displaced persons. It should be noted that some 50,000 Southern Cameroonians crossed over to Nigeria after October 1, 2017, following the failed independence declaration, as refugees and they are being taken care of by the Nigerian government. Certain villages in the Akwaya sub-division have simply vanished from the map, as mothers and children have crossed over to Nigeria while boys and men are still hiding in the jungle for fear of being killed by government troops who went on a killing spree in Manyu Division because the Interim Chairperson of the Southern Cameroons Governing Council hails from there.

In trying to repress Southern Cameroonians and force peace on them, the government and its surrogates have ended up creating a pretty mess. Besides, the financial mess created by the president and his men due to poor judgment and huge hospital bills, there is also a huge political mess that has drawn the international community’s attention. Around the world, many people and leaders are blaming the government for the escalation of the crisis. They argue that instead of opting for dialogue, Mr. Biya and his collaborators have always resorted to colonial-style methods which have plunged the country into a serious political crisis.

They point out that the arrest and transfer of Southern Cameroonian leaders to Yaounde in January 2017, coupled with the disconnection of the Internet only made things worse, as the entire world condemned the violence that was unleashed on innocent Southern Cameroonians. The Southern Cameroons crisis has been going on now for one year and instead of taking concrete measures or implementing reforms that can help keep the country together, Mr. Biya has been ignoring the English-speaking minority, believing that time will help address his problems for him. But his attrition strategy is collapsing and woefully too, as many Southern Cameroonians are prepared to stay the course.

Ever since he returned from his “native Switzerland”, the “monarch” has resorted to his old ways. While the world is expecting him to be proactive, Mr. Biya has disappeared from public view and is very much preoccupied by his failing health. The Southern Cameroons crisis is robbing him of his sleep and despite the sleeping pills he has been eating like candy, the “monarch” is still restless and not having a good night’s sleep, claiming that Southern Cameroonians have ruined his legacy.

A recent report on the crisis by the International Crisis Group puts the blame squarely on the government and this has earned the much-respected group a ban from Cameroonian soil. According to the report, “Cameroon must urgently rethink a policy of ‘murderous repression’ in its restive English-speaking regions or risk the crisis spiraling into an armed uprising,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) warned Thursday, October 19. In a report on the political crisis in the Central African nation, the NGO said“the government’s crackdown on the Anglophone minority had failed and had only served to fuel a clamor for independence,” adding that Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, 85, must act swiftly to find a serious political solution to the crisis, urging the international community to speak out firmly against state violence that has resulted in the loss of many lives. “If he hopes to avoid an armed uprising in Anglophone regions, which would without doubt have an impact in the Francophone zone, the Cameroonian president must go beyond superficial measures and take responsibility in order to find political solutions to the crisis.”

If the government thinks its raids and massacres will address the Southern Cameroons crisis, then it is not aware of the danger that is staring it in the face. Its management of this unfortunate situation has been, at best, mediocre, and this has created a big mess which it must clean up. The inability of officials to use the right language during this crisis speaks to their belief in ferocious brutality as the charm that can that roll back this problem that still has many more scenes that will surely be playing out in the days ahead. The government has to change its strategy. Cameroon is going down the drain. The economy is suffering and the people’s confidence in their leaders is on the wane. It is time to consider dialogue; indeed genuine dialogue, as that magic wand that will restore peace in a troubled country. Arrogance and recklessness will not cut it. If Mr. Biya is really  concerned about his legacy, then this is the time for him to step up to the plate to prove that he has what it takes to hold the country together. Presidential decrees have failed. Peace missions have only delivered more violence. The military has instead angered the people. What other card is left, if it is not dialogue?

A Cameroon Concord News Group Production

The Republic of Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, on October 21 landed at the country’s main international airport in Yaounde where he was welcomed by his entire government and many ruling party supporters. He received in audience the eighty-three-year-old senate president, Marcel Nyat Njifenji, who is a long-time friend of the ailing president and a stalwart of the ruling party. Mr. Biya also received the National Assembly Speaker, Cavaye Yegue Djibril, who struggles to carry himself around. Mr. Cavaye Yegue Djibril has been in the national assembly for more than half a century.

The government of Mr. Biya is full of octogenarians who have been in the corridors of power for more than sixty years and are prepared to ruin the country before leaving the world. Also on hand to receive the 85-year old dictator were a bunch of dancers and Anglophone students recruited to demonstrate that the country was one and indivisible. But the reality in the two Anglophone regions is unfortunately different. Following the declaration of independence on October 1, 2017, by the two Anglophone regions, many Anglophones were killed at the behest of the country’s president whose methods of governance of choice are intimidation and corruption. This has caused almost all Anglophones to see secession as the only option that can bring them peace.

However, behind the scenes and numerous cameras that were on hand to welcome the president, is the fear that anything might happen anytime soon as Mr. Biya’s collaborators are aware of his deteriorating health and are scared that hemight be back home just to bid farewell to them and his family, as his failing health will surely take a nosedive in the weeks ahead. The Anglophone problem is a nightmare that will not go away anytime soon and this will surely take a toll on the old president’s health. Even before heading to New York last month, Mr. Biya had to stop over in Geneva for him to get a medical boost from his doctors, but the long trip to New York was so demanding on him that he had to return to Switzerland for more medical support that is costing the country an arm and a leg. Our source in Geneva advised that Mr. Biya who addressed an empty hall at the United Nations last month had been in Switzerland for almost a month where he was receiving treatment for a malignant cancer that is robbing the dictator of his strength and happiness. According to our source, besides cancer, Mr. Biya is also dealing with high blood pressure and a failing heart that may give up anytime soon.

According to images beamed by the country’s national television, Mr. Biya had a hard time alighting from the chartered aircraft that brought him back to a country that is facing serious socio-political challenges. Mr. Biya whose real age is not known, has,over the last months, had a hard time sleeping, our source at the presidency said, adding that the “Monarch” has, over the last month, been chewing sedatives like candy, a situation that is concerning to his entourage, especially his wife who is gradually coming to terms with the fact that she will soon be a widow. It is rumored that the “Monarch” has headed home with an entire pharmacy, with sedatives accounting for about 60% of all the medicines that were on the chartered flight.

Other sources close to the government stress that Mr. Biya’shealth has been a problem for many years, but it took a turn for the worse when Anglophones decided to challenge his authority. He had declared in January 2017 that the form of the state was non-negotiable and since January, Anglophones at home and abroad have been working hard to make the Anglophone crisis a millstone around his neck. The government has since January tried to take a few cosmetic measures to appease Anglophones, but the English-speaking minority has been resolute and determined to walk away from a union whose foundation is, at best, shaky.

Around the world, many people and leaders blame the government for the escalation of the crisis. They argue that instead of opting for dialogue, Mr. Biya and his collaborators have always resorted to colonial-style methods which have plunged the country into a serious political crisis. The arrest and transfer of Anglophone leaders to Yaounde in January 2017, coupled with the disconnection of the Internet only made things worse, as the entire world condemned the violence that was unleashed on innocent Anglophones. The Anglophone crisis has been going on now for one year and instead of taking concrete measures or implementing reforms that can help keep the country together, Mr. Biya has been ignoring the English-speaking minority, believing that time will help address his problems for him. But his strategy of attrition is failing and failing woefully, as many Anglophones are prepared to stay the course. Currently, schools and courts are not in session in the Anglophone regions and the massive slaughter of Anglophones on October 1 has pushed many youths out of the country, with thousands currently training in Nigeria in order to launch a massive offensive when the time comes. Before October 1, a few bombs had gone off in Bamenda and Douala, but the discovery of another bomb on October 20 in a school in Bamenda has left many parents on edge.

Currently, the ruling CPDM has taken its show to the road,with the Prime Minister, Yang Philemon,heading to Bamenda to preach peace and unity to Anglophones who have decided to be deaf to whatever so-called Anglophone elites will be preaching to them. In the South West region, these CPDM militants are all over the place like a bad rash, but they are not posting any good results as the people are simply ignoring them. The timing of the visit is indeed ill-advised as Anglophones are still mourning their dead while others are still living in the jungle due to the fear struck into their minds by the rampaging and trigger-happy government troops.

The Anglophone crisis has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons and this has caused the United Nations, the Vatican, and other international organizations to call for inclusive dialogue that will result in the building of a  country that will meet the needs of both Anglophones and Francophones.  “Cameroon must urgently rethink a policy of ‘murderous repression’ in its restive English-speaking regions or risk the crisis spiraling into an armed uprising,” the International Crisis Group (ICG) warned Thursday, October 19. In a report on the political crisis in the Central African nation, the NGO said“the government’s crackdown on the anglophone minority had failed and had only served to fuel a clamor for independence,” adding that Cameroon’s President Paul Biya, 85, must act swiftly to find a serious political solution to the crisis, urging the international community to speak out firmly against state violence that has resulted in the loss of many lives. “If he hopes to avoid an armed uprising in Anglophone regions, which would without doubt have an impact in the Francophone zone, the Cameroonian president must go beyond superficial measures and take responsibility in order to find political solutions to the crisis.”

As Mr. Biya returns home, he knows he has a sticky situation on his hands. He might have declared at the beginning of the year that the form of the state was non-negotiable, but with the crisis escalating by the day, he must understand that the solution is at the negotiating table. Violent repression and corruption will surely not cut it. Allowing government surrogates to spread across the Anglophone regions like ragweed to talk peace to a hurting people will not yield the results he is looking forward to. He must remember that the Anglophone crisis is a crisis that will not go away anytime soon if proper measures are not taken. Years of marginalization have emboldened the people. This problem will continue to stalk Mr. Biya and his government for a long time, especially as the Anglophone Diaspora is involved. This is a Diaspora that is rich and has the capacity to destabilize the government. It will be preposterous to hold that the issues will go away by throwing money at them or by simply ignoring them. These problems have been around for more than half a century and if they are not properly addressed they could result in a popular revolt that will drag dissatisfied Francophones into the struggle.

By the editorial team

Long ruled by a vicious, malicious and a sadist passing for a Roman Catholic , Cameroon could soon be in the hands of a military thug who may be more in tune with La Republique’s  overwhelmingly young population currently hostile towards the people of Southern Cameroons for their lack of understanding of the political history and reunification agreements that were signed in 1961.

The young man in question is a Beti-Ewondo army colonel (names withheld), whose role in the killings of hundreds of Southern Cameroonians last week has been highly appreciated by many French Cameroun political elites. But few in Yaoundé now expect a swift transition without chaos.

From his Intercontinental hotel apartment in Geneva, Biya ousted the vastly more experienced Anglophone military officials from command operations including Brigadier General Elokobi Daniel Njock,  General Ivo Yenwo and the newly appointed General Ekongwese all of whom have good working relations with the powerful Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Rene Sadi.

The move laid the foundation for the genocide currently going on in Southern Cameroons and ended a period of uncertainty within the Anglophone military top brass. It also raised questions about the wisdom of empowering an inexperienced army colonel so quickly when General Rene Meka is still in control.

In some ways, the decision was to assist the youthful defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo who has been having major difficulties dealing with the old guards in the army hierarchy.  Roughly 80 percent of  senior French Cameroun military officers are above the age of 70 and there is no one among them who has cultivated an image as a dynamic leader, keen to take a dying nation into the modern era.

Added to this funny arrangement is what they call in La Republique “reserve generals”. These are retired army generals who are still under the government’s payroll and are still enjoying all the benefits of a senior official in the Cameroun army. They include Pierre Semengue and Tataw James.

The young Francophone colonel has pushed to increase the influence of the Rapid Intervention Battalion and the National Gendarmerie who are roaming the streets and public places of every Southern Cameroons state, counties and villages, interfering in private lives.

The killings of dozens of Southern Cameroonian citizens and the policy of militarization of the territory however, has been reckless. This policy has prompted even the moderate leadership of the outlawed Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium led by Barrister Agbor Felix Nkongho to join in resisting talks orchestrated by Prime Minister Philemon Yang and accusing Yaoundé of following an “extremist ideology”.

Biya has indeed created problems for Cameroon as a nation and for Nigeria following the influx of thousands of Southern Cameroons refugees into Ikom, Calabar and some to Lagos. The gang of young Beti-Ewondo officers now running the political show in Yaoundé have found common cause with anti Anglophone cabinet members such as the Minister of Justice, Laurent Esso who despite having Anglophone children in his first marriage with Justice Arrey gave his blessings to the genocide going on in West Cameroon, the Minister delegate in charge of the gendarmerie, Jean Baptiste Bokam, Higher Education Minister, Fame Ndongo, Communication Minister, Issa Tchiroma and Defense Minister Beti Assomo.

In addition, the young soldiers have picked an unnecessary fight with the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church in Southern Cameroons, partly because the Bishops did not cite with the Biya regime and support the crackdown like the Francophone Bishops have done.

The young soldiers and the hardliners in government have acted without thinking through the consequences. So, Biya has turn back to his Anglophone Prime Minister Philemon Yang for redress. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think it is too little too late. Philemon Yang is not a wise and trans-formative Southern Cameroons politician. For the time being, he needs the guidance of more experienced hands, including men like Barrister Ben Muna and former governor David Aboum, whom many Southern Cameroons political elites consider their best friend in La Republique du Cameroun.

Prime Minister Philemon Yang said he was carrying a message of “peace and hope” from President Biya to the people of the Republic of Southern Cameroons. Yes Mister Prime Minister, for your information, “You do not talk peace with a friend or a brother!! You talk peace with an enemy.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon Concord News Group

The Anglophone crisis that has rocked Cameroon over the last twelve months seems to be heralding the end of an era that has brought pain and suffering to citizens of this country. The government’s reaction to demonstrations on October 1, 2017, has left the world, especially the international community, in great shock. It is alleged that more than one hundred people have been killed across the Anglophone region, with over three hundred missing and some two hundred injured. Today, the entire region has been militarized and the citizens are not allowed to move from one location to the other. Anglophones seem to have been rolled back into the dark ages against their wish. It also seems the government is helping to enforce the ghost towns that have been going on in the Anglophone region for one year.

In Manyu Division, in particular, it is extremely hard for the population to venture out. Many young men have been arrested and taken to unknown destinations and thousands have fled their homes and are now sharing space with dangerous snakes and tigers in the Manyu jungle. Some have headed to Nigeria where they are seeking refuge and waiting for the day they will run into arms to come back to liberate their fatherland from the control of those they consider as an army of occupation. Traveling to Nigeria has become very challenging. Residents of Manyu Division are being compelled to buy a pass just to get to the border with Nigeria and they are being obliged by government troops to pay all types of fees, with the most ridiculous being a development fee that goes into the pockets of the army soldiers who since October 1 have been running amok in that part of the country. It is like Cameroon has gone back to the dark days of apartheid when black South Africans had to obtain passes in order to move from one city to the next.

In border villages and towns like Ekok, Otu, Agborkem German and Nsanarakati, army soldiers are abusing the people, especially women. Many young girls are being abused and raped on a daily bases and the population does not know who to turn to for protection and services that are supposed to be provided by a responsible government. For those who have escaped, the unfortunate thing is that many of them may never return home, especially those who are hiding in the jungle as the conditions out there are not the best, especially with the heavy rains that are making the jungle inhabitable.

Today, Nigeria is home to about half a million Anglophones who are seeking refugee status. With the anger and frustration of having been marginalized and chased out of the country, these young men will surely constitute a strong pool of angry fighters if they lay their hands on weapons. Instead of fighting secession which is an idea with appeasement, the government has decided to kill an idea with bullets and guns and this is unfortunately not producing the desired results. The government has failed to understand that sometimes it is better to catch flies with honey. Using vinegar all the time may not be the best way to approach something that only exists in the mind.

In an environment of tension, it is always advisable to use the right words in order not to cause the situation to further deteriorate. But government actions over the last months leave much to be desired. Even declarations from the Minister of Communication, Issa Tchiroma, are not helping, as his language and choice of words are designed to further upset and alienate Anglophones.

Many Anglophones have been calling for his dismissal for months now. Mr. Tchiroma himself is an ex-convict, as he was among the coup plotters who almost took down Mr. Biya in 1984 in a coup that resulted in the deaths of more than one thousand northerners. Many Cameroonians hold that if the president could pardon Mr. Tchiroma and other coup plotter who almost killed him, why would he not come down his ivory tower to dialogue with Anglophones who are simply expressing their anger and frustration with a system that has robbed them of their dignity? They point out that Mr. Tchiroma has no moral standing to call on soldiers to kill other Cameroonians. They argue that a coup d’etat is more dangerous than a peaceful protest, adding that if the president could give Mr. Tchiroma a second chance to the extent of appointing him a minister, why does he think he has to rejoice when Cameroonians of English expression are being mowed down by soldiers who get paid with taxpayers’ money?

Anglophones have clearly stated their problems. A strike that started with lawyers and teachers was allowed to quickly degenerate into calls for federalism that waspromptly rejected by the government, with the country’s president, Paul Biya, stating that the form of the state could not be discussed. This has put him in a tight spot and, today, he does not know how to eat the giant humble pie he had made for himself. Anglophones are not backing down. The deployment of troops across the region is not synonymous with a return to the old days. While the country has been caught up in unprecedented turbulence, Mr. Biya is in Switzerland battling with cancer that is more dangerous than Anglophones who have robbed him of a good night’s sleep over the last year.

But all hopes are not lost. Mr. Biya’s era is gradually petering out and this is the time for those in leadership positions to start thinking of a new republic; a republic that will be predicated on justice and human rights. Many people have lost their lives in this struggle that will surely continue once the numerous troops in the Anglophone region get withdrawn. The school year has been ruined by the government’s action, but things can be dealt with in a different manner. Brute force will never cause the Anglophone problem to vanish. Anglophones have proven that they can stay the course.

Anglophone lawyers have gone without a salary for one year and the population has suffered a lot of abuse, but their determination to bring about change is still intact. The government has a few more opportunities to spare Cameroon the agony and death that other countries have gone through. The solution to the Anglophone problem is at the negotiating table. The government has to swallow its pride and accept that there is no return to the status quo ante. Cameroon will never be the same again and instead of killing and maiming ordinary citizens, it is time to meet Anglophones halfway so that the new republic’s future can be discussed.

Mr. Biya clearly belongs to the past. If he will be returning home, it will only be to bid farewell to his friends and family. Time and health issues have cut him down to normal human proportions. No matter how hard he tries, he will never reinstate the attractive aura he once had. He has wasted the goodwill Cameroonians had granted him when he came to power in 1982.  He has succeeded to transform Cameroon into a vast open air landfill. Cameroon ranks among the most underdeveloped countries on the face of the earth despite its natural and human resources.

Cameroon is bereft of infrastructure. Its hospitals have been reduced to consultation clinics. Its roads have consumed more lives than HIV and malaria put together. Cameroonians have lost faith in the government. Years of unemployment have reduced them to sorry spectators of events in their own country. Many have died of preventable illnesses and for many, the shadow of uncertainty is permanently looming large on the horizon. With Boko Haram ruining lives in the North, Central African rebels staging sporadic attacks in the East and Anglophones determined to pick up arms against the Yaounde regime, the government cannot afford to be blind to the importance of dialogue. Dialogue holds a lot of hope. It will prevent bloodshed and it will keep the country together. It will be wrong to miss an historic moment again. This crisis has gone on for one year. One year is too long. Mr. Biya’s men must be courageous enough to kiss him goodbye. His days are over. Like every mortal, he belongs to the ash heap of history. It will be wrong for those around him to spend time trying to save him. It is better to save Cameroon, as each and every Cameroonian will pass away, but Cameroon will be there forever.

The editorial Desk

Cameroon Concord News/ Cameroon Intelligence Report Inc

Since the government of Cameroon brought death and destruction to its people in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon on October 1, 2017, an uneasy calm has enveloped the English-speaking regions of the country. The government’s raid is reported to have killed more than fifty people, with the international community calling for an investigation to shed more light on this troubling situation. Meanwhile, other organizations such as the Commonwealth, Francophonie and the African Union have called for restraint, while the United States has come out to decry the recklessness displayed by the government in its efforts to take the wind out of the struggle’s sail; a struggle that has played out in the country for almost one year.

Today, the country is going through its toughest moments, with its unity and indivisibility being put to the test. Anglophones are determined to walk away from the union and this is meeting stiff opposition from the government. Manyu division, which is considered by the Biya government as the Southern Cameroons Governing Council’s stronghold, is in total lockdown and residents have been advised to stay home. Even the sick do not have the right to go to the hospital, with many young men living in the dense equatorial forests where they are seeking refuge after government troops went on a killing spree on October 1.

Many young men have been shot in the foot and their homes have been destroyed in a raid many hold they are being punished for coming from the same region as Mr. Ayuk Julius Tabe, the Southern Cameroons Governing Council’s interim chairperson. Many West Cameroonians will remember this for a long time and it will strengthen their belief that they do not have a place in a united Cameroon that still considers them as second-class citizens, though in recent times, government officials, such as Mr. IssaTchiroma, the country’s communication minister, have been singing that Cameroon is one and indivisible.

As late as Sunday, October 8, 2017, the government was still arresting youths in places like Mamfe, Mile 16, Buea, Muyuka and Kumba in the South-west region in the false belief that the Anglophone crisis would disappear. The government is still stuck in the past as it thinks that brute force and manipulation can put an end to this crisis that has proven that the country’s unity is predicated on false and unreliable pillars. It is surprising to see that a government is treating its citizens with such disdain and it still believes that those citizens will accept its version of unity. The government’s response is not only making life hard to the residents of the Anglophone region, it is also radicalizing even the moderates who have been calling for dialogue with a view to seeking a long-lasting solution to the crisis that has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

The government erroneously holds that its military actionsin the English-speaking region which have attracted a lot of condemnation across the world were designed to serve as a strong message to secessionists. It holds that those actionswill break the back of the Anglophone struggle that has been going on for almost one year. But the use of weapons against unarmed citizens does not look like an action that will restore peace and unity in the restive Anglophone regions. While there is some calm, it cannot be said with certainty that the grievances put forth by the English-speaking minority have been definitively dealt with in a military way. The calm is unsettling and it speaks to the tough times awaiting a country that is in the throes of a severe economic and social crisis.

From every indication, it is clear that militarizing the Anglophone region and preventing Anglophones from moving around freely will not restore the peace many people have said can only come through genuine and honest dialogue. On the contrary, the raids have left Anglophones with a deep feeling of bitterness and revenge which many people fear may come in a way nobody might be suspecting and this will surely complicate things and diminish the chances for any meaningful dialogue. Prior to last Sunday’s decision by the government to implement its plan, considered by many Anglophones as a genocidal plan, a few bombs had gone off in Bamenda and Douala and this does not augur well for a country that is in the throes of a terrorist menace in the northern region. Anglophones hold that the complete lockdown of the region and the shutting down of the Internet are ploys by the government to hide its atrocities and the true figures of the casualties.

Many question the rationale behind such extreme measures and clearly point out that if the government had yielded to calls for dialogue, things would have been easily sorted out and the country would have stopped being in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. They argue that the government’s action has simply put an end to the academic year as parents and students are scared of possible reprisals from those whose relatives have been killed or hurt by government troops. They point out that the ghost towns will intensify and this will further destroy the economy that is already on its knees.

The statement by the Southern Cameroons Governing Council’s chairperson on Sunday, October 8, 2017, speaks to the determination of Anglophones to stand up to a government that has been ineffective and arrogant throughout this crisis. It is obvious that Cameroon will be going through a rough patch as many Anglophones are prepared to hit the government where it hurts the most. The Governing Council’s Chairperson has called for his compatriots back home to remain firm and hopeful, adding that their freedom will not be given to them on a platter of gold. He urged them to avoid the blame game and embrace the struggle that will bring a different life to Anglophones who have been victims of marginalization for more than five decades. His speech, which was broadcast live on the Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Corporation, speaks to the determination of Anglophones to address, once and for all, those issues that have hurt them for a long time.

If the government thinks its raids and massacres will address the Anglophone crisis, then it has not understood the scope of the problem. Its management of this unfortunate situation has been, at best, mediocre. The inability of government officials to use the right language during this crisis speaks to their belief in brute force as the magic wand that can kiss goodbye to this problem that still has many more scenes which will surely be playing out in the days ahead. By militarizing and locking down the Anglophone region, the government is clearly helping to implement the ghost towns that have been going on in that region for one year.

The government might have been ineffective in dealing with this crisis, but it has the possibility of working with other stakeholders as well as the international community to lay to rest this crisis that is giving it a bad name. If the country’s president thinks that silence is golden in this context, then he has no clue of what is playing out in his country. Cameroon is imploding and it needs sound and effective leadership. His long and unexplained absence from the country clearly point to his inability to hold the country together. It is time for Mr. Biya to understand that a country belongs to the people and not to one person. Nobody, no matter how important, can be a president without a people. If he is sick, as it is rumored, then it is up to him to do the honorable thing. It will be wrong for him to bequeath chaos to the people of Cameroon once he leaves the political scene. The situation is serious and time is of the essence. He should not wait for a response from proponents of restoration before he wakes up from his long slumber. This response may not be the best and it may come in the form of a mushroom cloud and this will only make matters worse. There is still time for dialogue and it is up to the government to take the first step.

 
By the Editorial Desk
Cameroon Concord News Group

October 5, 2017.

Dear Fellow Anglophones:

I know you are still shocked by the scale of what happened on October 1, 2017, in our beloved country. It is unfortunate, indeed revolting, that such disproportionate force had been used on armless and peaceful demonstrators. We wish other methods could have been used to resolve the issues that have pitted the English-speaking minority against a government that has decided to bring death and destruction to its own people. My heart really bleeds for the families that have lost loved ones and those who have been physically and psychologically scarred.

Of course, it will be hard to forget such ferocious brutality and I know your minds are full of revenge. I clearly understand your pain and your pain is clearly mine. We never chose to be Anglophones. We were born in West Cameroon by our parents who were made Anglophones by the United Nations against their will. It was never their choice. It was an imposition that has hurt us for more than five decades and if proper measures are not taken, it will hurt future generations. But revenge has never really addressed any issues. A progressive people never really focus on the negative side of things. Progressive people will always stick to the positive side in order to come up with new and innovative ways that will help to cushion the impact of any disaster that has befallen them.

Our people are in dire straits and this is the time they need some consolation from us. I know a lot has been published about Sunday’s violence, but talking and writing will not address all the issues. We currently have many people lying in hospitals across West Cameroon and I know many people want to help. This is a great moment for us to further tell the world that we are united for a purpose and that the slogan – one-for-all and all-for-one – is real.

To this end, we should immediately set up a Gofundme for those who are in agony in our hospitals. Our minds are full of the milk of human kindness. Let us share that milk with those who are struggling to save their lives in our hospitals. Of course, we will not always agree on many things, but when we disagree, we should avoid to bedisagreeable. Issues of money can easily split people, but since we know why we are raising these funds, we should go ahead and do it in a way that will portray us as a constructive people.

However, be mindful that there will be detractors who may use this opportunity to split us, but we must stick together as a people with a common objective. We may not be able to repair the damage done to the bodies of our brothers and sisters by the bullets sprayed by the country’s military, but we can make them and their families know that we can be there for them in their darkest moment.

The last time I checked, we are over two million abroad and if each of us chips in just a dollar, we will be able to pay for hospitalization, medication and a little gift for those of our brothers and sisters whose lives are hanging by the thread in our hospitals back home. There is power in numbers, let us make the most of our numbers. I have no illusions that some people will not contribute, as they don’t agree with what our brothers back home have been doing. Some of us are still in denial of the marginalization that has been ours for more than five decades. I will urge those who believe in this cause which is designed to right the wrongs of the past to be tolerant of their views. We must understand that it takes all sorts to make the world. But we must act like Jews who believe in collective action to improve upon their fate.

Let us also understand that there will be time for the bereaved families to bury their dead. And when that time comes, we should be there, at least financially, for those families that have lost their loved ones.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the moment for us to ensure that those families that are in pain get some relief, no matter how small. I know such fundraising initiatives had existed when this struggle started. I would urge all Anglophones of goodwill to set up bank accounts wherever they are, especially in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, Germany, France and Nigeria where there are huge concentrations of Anglophones. Let us understand that united we stand and divided we fall. We may disagree on the final objective, the strategy to achieve our goal and who should be our leader, but we must agree that those who are in pain need our help. Let us not fail them as they and their families are looking up to us. This is not the moment for us to start bickering on who is a federalist or a secessionist. Let us bear in mind that the big picture is for our people to know a better life.

Thank you for your understanding and may God bless you all.

Joachim Arrey

About the Author: The author of this piece is a keen observer of Cameroon’s political and economic landscape. He has published extensively on the country’s political and economic development, especially in the early 90s when the wind of change was blowing across the African continent. He has served as a translator, technical writer, journalist and editor for several international organizations and corporations across the globe. He studied communication at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and technical writing in George Brown College in Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator and holds a Ph.D.

The Anglophone problem which started like a joke has finally spiraled out of control following the slaughtering of some twenty armless Anglophone protesters in various cities across Southern Cameroons. The protesters had been out to celebrate their independence on October 1, 2017, but were interrupted by security forces who had received orders to shoot and kill from the country’s president, Paul Biya, who is currently living in a five-star hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is doing battle with prostate cancer and other old-age related diseases. Mr. Biya has presided over the country’s destiny for thirty-five years and has nothing to show for all the time he has been leading the country. He has surrounded himself with some “beni oui oui” who are doing their best to loot the country.

Yesterday’s killings have not only jeopardized any chances of dialogue with striking Anglophones, they have also heralded the beginning of a new phase in the struggle to liberate Southern Cameroons from the yoke of Francophone-French condominium. Speaking to a Southern Cameroons Governing Council insider in Washington via phone who also opted for anonymity, www.cameroonconcordnews.com gathered that Anglophones will continue to mount pressure on the crumbling government using all the means available to them. The insider advised that the gloves were off and that the pain and frustration of the people of Southern Cameroons must be taken to the enemy.

He said their response to the slaughtering of fellow Southern Cameroonians will surely come in a different form, advising that Anglophones have the means and resources to make the government pay for the deaths of innocent Anglophones. He pointed out that for so long, the SCNC and the Governing council have been working together to ensure that ordinary Francophones do not get dragged into the conflict, but after yesterday’s killings, it is clear that the equation will be altered to ensure that those who have died must not be forgotten.

“I can tell you, for sure, that the gloves are off. It is hard to dialogue with a government that is intent on killing Anglophones as if their lives mean nothing. We regret the loss of life, but beginning today, those on the other side of the Mungo will also have to have a taste of what we have been going through. They have been sitting on the fence for too long and their position can be interpreted as an endorsement of the death the government is inflicting on our people,” he said.

He added that “we never chose to be Anglophones, but we have the right to live our lives based on our culture which I think the government of Cameroon must respect. It must also understand that we are different. Our mentality does not allow us to accept injustice for too long. We are unlike our Francophone brothers who have lived under oppression for decades and will never rise up against injustice.”

He stressed that Anglophones would go underground to wreak havoc on French and Francophone interest in Southern Cameroons, adding that we will not surrender until the injustice of the last fifty-six years is corrected.
“Our parents lived in a prosperous and functional parliamentary democracy which made us the envy of many African countries. We had a parliament and a Prime Minister. We voluntarily opted to join our Francophone brothers in 1961 and today they are treating us like animals, with television journalists and Francophone governors branding us as rats and dogs,” he said, stressing that “we will never be cowered into submission by a bunch of people who are ruling their country as if they are mercenaries.”

With more than two million Anglophones out of the country, with high concentrations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, it is likely that most of these people will be happy to raise funds so as to engage the expiring government of Mr. Biya into running battles that may result in many more deaths, our insider said, adding that it is impossible to eat omelet without breaking eggs. “We regret the loss of lives, but we must move forward and we must implement the next phase of our plan.”

“Cameroon is at the crossroads. The country will never be the same again. We may not achieve all what we want, but we have proven that a minority is capable of bringing meaningful change to a country that is being ruled by people who are not patriotic,” he said.

“Francophone must join us if meaningful change has to occur in Cameroon. Their indifference is annoying. The battle lines have been drawn and everybody must choose their side. The government has delivered death to us on many occasions, though we have all along been calling for sincere dialogue. But this cannot continue for too long. Our people have a right to self-defense and we in the Diaspora owe them the duty of providing the necessary resources for them to achieve that goal,” he stressed.

We will fight the government city to city, house to house and street to street until it will run out of steam. We have the wherewithal and there is a pool of willing fighters back home to deliver the punch that will daze the moribund government,” he pointed out, adding that “there will be collateral damage, but that will surely help our leaders to put on their thinking cap.”

From every indication, Cameroon is down a slippery slope. The international community still has enough time to save lives. It will be morally wrong for it to let the situation to escalate before it starts looking for ways to mediate. Cameroon is gradually imploding. With Boko Haram insurgents blowing up people in the north, and central African rebels launching attacks in the east of the country, it will be dangerous for the government to wait for Anglophones to transform themselves into walking bombs before it can think of genuine dialogue. Despite yesterday’s killings, there is still room for dialogue. Many mistakes have been made and the handling of the Anglophone crisis right from the beginning has been at best mediocre. There is still a lot of time for the international community to save Cameroon and that time is now. Cameroon is begging for help and the world should not be looking the other way while the country keeps on bleeding.

A Cameroon Concord News Production
By the Editorial Desk