Over the last weeks, the government has been talking about dialogue and how the grievances of the Anglophone minority are being addressed in order to restore the country’s shaky peace. Current efforts by Anglophone Cameroonians to ensure an end to the marginalization it has suffered for fifty-six years have really hit the target and are serving as a bitter pill for the government to swallow. Though the government has been bending over backwards to address some of the issues the country’s English-speaking minority has complained about, it sometimes still resorts to its old tricks to find out if some of those outdated pranks can actually produce the desired results. Instead of doing the right thing, it has been urging its surrogates to engage in operations which the population considers as provocative and meaningless.

Over the last months,it has organized several sporting events in Buea and Bamenda, as well as ferrying criminals and unemployed Francophones to the English-speaking region for them to march during national events such as the Youth Day which took place on February 11 and Labor Day on May 1, believing that such activities will help dissolve the will and determination of a people whose resolve is unbreakable. West Cameroonians know that there is something in the offing regarding the upcoming National Day on May 20, which is highly contested by the English-speaking minority. By engaging in such disgraceful activities, it is clear that the government is still finding it hard to swallow the bitter pill the English-speaking minority has administered to it. Its underhand operations aimed at stifling the civil disobedience are simply giving the country a bad name and eroding Cameroon’s image as an oasis of peace in a sea of turbulence. The world is watching Cameroon in bewilderment and disgust as the country slides down the slippery slope of chaos. The inability of the government to find appropriate solutions to this issue has brought it down in everybody’s estimation.

Wont to imposing its will on the peace-loving people of Cameroon, the Cameroonian government initially felt its authority had been called into question by the English-speaking minority and it was time for it to display its muscles. The government of Cameroon, that has always thrown dust into the eyes of the international community by brandishing its pseudo-democratic credentials, lost control of itself and unleashed a reign of terror on students and lawyers who were simply demonstrating their frustration with a political system that has never really taken their plight into consideration when it comes to planning the country’s development. The government’s iron-fist approach has caused peaceful demonstrations to become a months-long civil disobedience, with courts and schools in the English-speaking part of the country remaining closed for over seven months.

However, despite the ferocious brutality, the English-speaking minority has made up its mind and is very determined to stand its ground. With their leaders languishing in jail and after more than five decades of marginalization, with thousands of lives destroyed and about 30% of the region’s population living in exile, it will be hard to placate West Cameroonians into being part of this union that has brought more pain than pleasure to them.

Today, the government has figured out that intimation will not cut it. It is seeking ways to engage the English-speaking minority in a dialogue that will appease them and rebuild confidence in a country that has neglected 20% of its population for more than five decades. In a bid to convince the rebelling West Cameroonians, the government is acknowledging some of its mistakes and it is trying to yield some grounds vis-à-vis the demands of the English-speaking minority. Its surrogates are currently speaking a different language and all those who tried to argue that there was no Anglophone problem, have all eaten their words. Issa Tchiroma, Fame Ndongo, Atanga Nji and Laurent Esso are all keeping a very low profile to ensure that they do not make a bad situation worse. Their arrogance and lack of sound understanding of the current breed of Anglophones is responsible for the escalation of the conflict in Cameroon. They simply did not understand that after five decades of marginalization, West Cameroonians had left the country in droves and after many years abroad, they have become a formidable political force that cannot be overlooked. They even failed to understand that a monkey does not provoke a lion where there are no trees. Home-based Cameroonians know the source of their strength, especially their financial power. The government has taken a blow to the liver and West Cameroonians are simply not scared of it. It must look for new and innovative ways to engage with an intellectually-sound and financially rich Anglophone Diaspora if it really wants to lay this issue to rest. But it must first of all release all those kidnapped and taken to Yaounde.

The government is calling for peace, but West Cameroonians are not buying into whatever peace it is selling. The government seems to be talking to a wall and the proof of its failing efforts is the boycott by West Cameroonians of all the events it has been organizing in the English-speaking part of the country ever since its stand-off with the English-speaking minority started. It will be preposterous for the government to think that it can deceive West Cameroonian into forgetting the Kafkaesque brutality that was unleashed on them by their own government. If there has to be any dialogue, then there must be some confidence building measures. The government has to swallow its pride and accept that things have changed and that Cameroon will never be the same again. The Anglophone minority has changed Cameroon for good. No dialogue can take place when Agbor Balla, Paul Ayah, FontemNeba and Mancho Bibixy are still in jail, with many others still on the run. It is hard to talk about peace when many have been killed and hundreds are still fleeing for their lives. If the government is serious about restoring peace, it must start by releasing all those who have been jailed and granting amnesty to all those who have fled the country. It should also be prepared to account for all those who have been killed. A lot of things can be forgiven, but they will never be forgotten. West Cameroonians will be happy to bury their heroes on their own land and they will want to make sure that they have not lost their lives in vain.

The government has gradually been displaying its “olive branch” though West Cameroonians hold that its intentions may not be genuine. It has, on several occasions, spoken from both sides of its mouth and this is not inspiring confidence. It has promised that West Cameroonians will have a section at the School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM), the school that trains civil administrators and magistrates in Cameroon. Common law will be used in English-speaking parts of Cameroon and Francophone judges and magistrates will no longer be posted to West Cameroon, except they have a good understanding of Common Law. In the same vein, Francophone teachers will stop plying their trade in the English-speaking part of the country given that their rudimentary knowledge of English is hurting many West Cameroonian kids.

Its restoration of the Internet in West Cameroon is a step in the right direction, but the disconnection of the Internet for almost a hundred days is one thing that has hurt many Anglophones. It did not only roll them into the dark ages, it also hurt the sources of their livelihood. The Internet blackout has brought untold hardship and pain to firms and citizens of the affected regions. The South-west region’s Silicon Mountain is today struggling. While some of the start-ups are returning, West Cameroonians are still not sure that all of them will return to the Southwest regional capital of Buea. Banks, micro-finance institutions and money transfer agencies are gradually picking up. The Internet blackout has been a disaster to the English-speaking region’s economy and the ghost towns designed to draw the government’s attention to the people’s plight is sapping the economy of its vitality. But West Cameroonians understand that to eat an omelet, you must break eggs. If the ghost towns can help West Cameroonians have a better destiny at the end of the process, then they are prepared to follow the instructions of their leaders. They hold that fifty-five years of sheepish subservience to the Yaoundé government have ruined the destinies of their children, with many living in exile.

Also, the creation of the bilingualism commission is one of the measures the government has taken to address some of the issues raised by Anglophones. Its creation did not generate any excitement among West Cameroonians. Members of the commission have recently been appointed by the country’s president and while it is too early to judge the commission’s work, it is clear from the appointments that the government is not ready to walk away from its old ways. The commission is being chaired by Peter Mafany Musonge, a former prime minister, who drew a lot of flak following a hate speech delivered in Buea, the south west regional capital, against North westerners. The commission’s decision to tour West Cameroon has come in for castigation as many see the tour as a waste of taxpayers’ money. The commission’s work has been clearly cut out and touring the English-speaking region of the country will not change a lot as many on the commission belong to the ruling party which is wont to doing things for political expediency. Mr. Musonge, himself an Anglophone, has been a magnet for controversy. His knowledge of bilingualism and multiculturalism leaves much to be desired. He is being castigated for using his political office to feather his nest. Many West Cameroonians, especially those in the Diaspora, question the rationale behind the appointment of a man who is struggling with age and health issues to lead a commission that is supposed to foster mutual co-existence in the country. Many, especially among the Anglophone Diaspora, argue that such an important commission should have been the subject of wide consultations with opposition parties and the Diaspora that has become a formidable political and economic force in Cameroon. The Diaspora contends that the government is still ignoring Anglophones and their problems though there are four West Cameroonians on the twelve-member commission.

If the government of Cameroon needs genuine peace, then it must start practicing justice. Instead of considering the West Cameroonian as an enemy, it should see him as a resource,a fellow citizen in his own right, who if well utilized, could make significant contributions to efforts at lifting the country out of poverty. It must also consider West Cameroon, not just in terms of its resources, but also as a region that is in dire need of development. It should be pointed out that West Cameroon accounts for about 60% of the country’s wealth. It is blessed with many resources, including oil, gas, diamond and timber. Its rich sub-soil has brought lots of economic benefits to the country. For four decades, the Rio Del Rey estuary,located in the southwest region, has been the source of more than 90% and at times 100% of all the country’s hydrocarbons, specifically oil.In 2014, Cameroon exported US$5.88 billion worth of products, of which US$2.65 billion, about CFAF 1,650 billion, was from crude oil. This is a significant amount of money and some of this money should be reinvested in the region, especially in Ndian Division where the oil fields are located.

The government’s failure to equitably share the country’s oil wealth is one of the issues that is hurting many West Cameroonians. Instead of viewing demands by West Cameroonians as a display of arrogance and a bitter bill, the government should see the current situation as a wake-up call. After fifty-six years of marginalization, West Cameroonians feel it is time to try other things. The unity they had sought with East Cameroon has only brought them untold hardship and pain. They want a real evaluation of the situation and they are brandishing federalism and secession as possible options. The government has to listen to them if it really wants to come up with a lasting solution. Injustice has caused West Cameroonians to see rebellion as a means of liberation. The government must now come to the table with good policies that will ensure that Cameroon remains one and indivisible. It must shun manipulation and it must embrace political transparency, social justice and genuine unity through a system the people will choose. Cameroon can still be indivisible within a federal structure. The United States, Canada and Germany are all united countries within a federal structure. It is time for the government to take the right measures for Cameroon to be spared the scourge of conflict that has affected many of its neighbors. Cameroon stands to gain if its leaders listen to those who feel marginalized. The Anglophone problem may be a bitter pill, but it should also be seen as the pill that sometimes cures many diseases. If the government can swallow its pride, then it will stop seeing the Anglophone problem as a bitter pill. It will instead view it as an opportunity to redesign the country’s fate and future.

 By Dr. Joachim Arrey

Cameroon Concord News Group

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 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, Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator and holds a Ph.D.

There is a letter in circulation from the Catholic Bishops of Cameroon signed by the Arch Bishop of Douala. This is a second letter written by the Bishops of Cameroon. Like the first letter, this letter fails to clearly identify the problem the writers purport to be concerned about. I find the use of contentious slogans like safeguard of “unite nationale” and similar language which Isa Tchiroma has consistently used in relation to the subject matter of the Bishop’s letter troubling.

The good news is that the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda came out with a comprehensive letter that dispassionately identified the profound causes of the crisis and made attainable reasonable proposals for comprehensive dialogue for the resolution to the crisis. Significant national and international actors have since endorsed the proposal of a comprehensive dialogue to resolve the crisis made by the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda. From the late palliatives announced by the government, it is obvious that some of the proposals made by the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda might have influenced governmental action; at least too little, too late. It is discernible from an anxious reading of the first letter of the Bishops of Cameroon that of the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and the present letter of the Bishops of Cameroon that the latest letter of the Bishops of Cameroon is actuated by political rather than Christian motivations.

The Christian value of their letters is mitigated by the vacuous content on details and rigour in confronting the truth that the Gospel of the Cross teaches. Their peers in the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province and a significant number of clerics from many denominations have contemporaneously denounced the ongoing egregious violations on armless citizens, the politicization of military justice, the genocide, the cultural genocide and several international crimes that have shocked the conscience of humanity in the territory of the Southern Cameroons. These late and timid reactions expose these prelates as shepherds that abandoned the flock in time of need. I find their timid condemnation of the frivolous and vexatious cases against the Bishop and Church of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda and the religious leaders of other Christian Churches surprising and unjustified. There are discernible attempts made by the Bishops of Cameroon in their two letters to impute some form of blame on Southern Cameroons civilian victims for articulating their grievances through peaceful and legal means guaranteed by multilateral treaties which Cameroon is state party. By omission or by practicing the gospel of Pontius Pilate, they may by default be emboldening and strengthening the hand of tyranny.

Their unfortunate ploy to balance their cursory concerns of the legally and morally unjustified use of excessive force by state actors who are bound by the Geneva Conventions (1949) to respect the sanctity of civilian lives, avoid actions in their deployments that will harm civilians and civilian targets is regrettable. If the actions of these prelates are intended to secure a place for them in a future comprehensive dialogue to resolve the crisis, I am afraid, they have overplayed their relevance. The crisis concerns the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda. The Bishops of this Ecclesiastical Province have spoken and we have taken note. Along with the Church, they are presently persecuted by proxy using senior members of the military who by military discipline will not form or be members of activist civil society associations. The bastardisation of the educational system harms Catholic education and the social teachings of the Church. The question, I must ask, who stands to gain from these crimes? And who stands to gain from the persecution of the prelates and church leaders? The spiritual underpinnings of these actions and the ruthless attempts to control, dominate and terrorize every person and institution that stand on the path of those who hope to eternalize power by mystical spiritual means are in the public domain. Some call it spiritual warfare. We Christians are ready and prepared for this phase of the battle as well. This is therefore a time for a profound critical re-commitment to our Christian faith and to the tenets of freedom and justice.

As a Catholic Christian, I strongly urge the Bishops of Cameroon to advice the government of Cameroon to critically read the letter of the Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Bamenda in which they confronted the truth with biblical inspiration and the faith in the Christian values.

For this reason, the letters are unnecessary and unwarranted.

Chief Charles A. Taku

The ILA (Nigeria) Committee on Justice and Human Rights, acting under the protective mandate of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, is concerned over the ongoing events in the Republic of Cameroon and has considered it imperative to add its voice to the variously expressed opposition to the wanton violation of the rights of the people of  English speaking Provinces of Cameroon by the Government of the Republic of Cameroon.

The facts upon which the intervention of the Committee is established, as verified by CNN, Amnesty International and the African Bar Association, are as follow:

1. That residents of Cameroon’s two English-speaking provinces have longstanding grievances against the largely-francophone central government, complaining of economic marginalization and the imposition of French legal and education systems upon them;
2. That in November and December 2016, Anglophone lawyers led protests against the use of French in courts, resulting in clashes with police in which protesters were killed;

III.         That the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium (CACSC) and Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), responded with series of strikes and “Operation Ghost Town” – a form of nonviolent resistance that requiring all supporters to stay at home;

1. That following the strikes, schools and courts in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon have been shut since November 2016;
2. That on January 17, the government banned the CACSC and the SCNC, holding them responsible for the protests. The CACSC President Nkongho Felix Agbor-Balla and Secretary General Dr. Fontem Neba were arrested on charges relating to terrorism, and are yet to regain their freedom and have not been offered all the necessary facilities for fair and impartial trial.

Being aware that the issues leading to the current impasse are not new, the Committee takes cognisance of the following:

(a)  that the current situation is intimately linked to the events that occurred in British Southern Cameroon in the context of decolonisation having its root in the League of Nations Mandate System that partitioned Cameroon between Great Britain and France and which culminated in the plebiscite of the United Nations on Southern and Northern Cameroon independence question;

(b) That matters arising from the plebiscite have been a subject of litigation and discussion at several international forums, particularly, at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the African Commission on Human and Peoples;

(c) That the Committee is aware that the facts presented to the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights on the Southern Cameroon (‘Ambazonia’) in the case of Gorji-Dinka v Cameroon (2005) AHRLR 18 (HRC 2005), particularly, paragraphs 2.1 to 3.2, were unchallenged by the government of Cameroon;

(d) The Committee also takes cognisance of Kevin Mgwanga Gunme et al v Cameroon (communication 266/03) in which, after it had painstakingly considered the position of both parties, the African Commission made the following findings:

• On the facts presented that Cameroon’s law enforcement officers were employing torture, amputations and denial of medical treatment to suppress the Southern Cameroon question, against the claim of government of Cameroon that the agitators had perpetrated terrorist acts in the country, the Commission found Cameroon liable, emphasising that the methods employed by Cameroon were unjustified;
• On the imposition of French on the Anglophone regions, the Commission found that it was wrong for institutions, such as banks to force Southern Cameroon based companies to change their basic documents into French in violation of Article 2 of the African Charter;
• On the failure of Cameroon to guarantee fair trial to the Anglophone activists, the Commission found Cameroon in violation, for:

–       transferring individuals from Southern Cameroon to Francophone Cameroon for trial by military tribunals,

–      denying interpreters to those  tried in civil law courts;

• The Commission found (concerning the individuals that were tried in French without the help of interpreters) that, having denied them the opportunity to adequately prepare their defence, Cameroon violated articles 7.1.b, 7.1.c and 7.1.d of the Charter.
• The Commission was categorical in finding that the tendency of military tribunals is to act as an extension of the executive, rather than the judiciary, and that they are not intended to try civilians but to try military personnel under laws and regulations which govern the military. The Commission finds that trying civilians by the Yaoundé and the Bafoussam Military Tribunals was a violation of the right to fair hearing;
• The facts before the Commission showed cases of suppression of demonstrations with excessive force as well as the unlawful arrest and detention of protesters, peaceably exercising their right to freedom of assembly. The Commission found that some of the detained persons were acquitted while some died at the hands of security forces or in detention. The Commission found Cameroon in violation of article 11 of the African Charter.
• The Commission also condemned the relocation of business enterprises and location of economic projects to Francophone Cameroon, which generated negative effects on the economic life of Southern Cameroon as a violation of article 19 of the Charter.

(e) Having carefully considered the similarities of behaviour of the government of Cameroon that gave rise to the aforementioned cases to those now being employed by the government (and which show that Cameroon failed to implement the recommendations of the Commission), it is the view of this Committee that for their currency and relevance to the presence situation, fitting to adopt and reiterate the recommendations and to strongly urge the Cameroonian government to take all necessary steps to implement the findings as an important step towards the resolution of the historic Southern Cameroon question.

(f)   Accordingly, we call on the government of Cameroon to, among others:

• release forthwith all those who are currently detained or are being tried for and in respect of matters arising from the southern Cameroon question;
• commence a process of national dialogue and payment of compensation to all individuals whose rights have been violated by the unwarranted use of force by the government of Cameroon against the people of Anglophone regions of Cameroon.
• address the grievances expressed by the English speaking Provinces of Cameroon through its democratic institutions. The 1993 Buea and 1994 Bamenda Anglophone conferences raised constitutional and human rights issues which have been a matter of concern to a sizable section of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon for quite a long time;
• immediately begin sincere, inclusive and purposive process of consultations towards the amendment of 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon to address the demands of the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, particularly since it did not accommodate the concerns expressed through the 1993 Buea Declaration and 1994 Bamenda Proclamation;
• abolish all discriminatory practices against people of Southern Cameroon, including equal usage of the English language in business transactions;
• stop the transfer of accused persons from the Anglophone provinces for trial in the Francophone provinces;
• ensure that every person facing criminal charges be tried under the language he/she understands;
• locate national projects, equitably throughout the country in accordance with economic viability as well as regional balance;
• enter into constructive dialogue with the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon, and in particular, CACSC and the SCNC, to resolve the constitutional issues, as well as grievances which could threaten national unity; and
• to carry out judicial reform towards guaranteeing the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.
• That the Southern Cameroonians’ should cooperate with sincere and meaningful attempts by the government to resolve their grievances by constitutional means.

Dr Amos O Enabulele,

Chairman

ILA (Nig) Committee on Justice & Human Rights

“…We are not indebted to the Reason of man for any of the great achievements which are the hallmarks of human action and human progress. It is not Reason that besieged Troy; it was not reason that sent forth the Saracen from the Desert to conquer the world; that inspired the Crusades; that instituted the Monastic orders; it is not Reason that produced the Jesuits; above all, it was not Reason that created the French Revolution. Man is only truly great when he acts from passions; never irresistible but when he appeals to the imagination…”

Benjamin Disraeli- Coningsby.

Eric Chinje, is a household name in Cameroon’s political and media landscape, who has burnished his bona fides, with stints at the World Bank, African Development Bank and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, in London. With his current position as CEO of Africa Media Initiative, he has a conspicuous soapbox that could be used as a stepping stone into Cameroon’s evolving political landscape.

Those who have known the flamboyant and high-flying journalist cum international civil servant, are convinced that by championing the cause of “middleman” in the present “David versus Goliath” struggle, between Southern Cameroonians and the Biya dictatorship, he is doing exactly that: staking his claim a problem solver.  Mr. Chinje’s political instincts tell him that a political crisis is a terrible thing to waste, and that this is a good opportunity for him to soar. But he is grossly mistaken.

HERE IS WHY

                Unlike Muna, who outsmarted Foncha, with a breakaway Cameroon Union Congress (CUC) by joined Ahidjo’s Union Camerounaise (UC), leaving  Foncha’s KNDP,  in the cold, Eric Chinje, has no such political constituency. He is banking on his “popularity” with the Francophone elite, who are convinced that he is a valuable interlocutor, with a huge following in the younger generation of Southern Cameroonians. His most fervent admirers and detractors agree, that he lacks the depth of though and clairvoyance, that is the stock in trade of great men who chart the course of history.  We have seen the plight of those we thought were visionaries in the 1970, like Ndiva Kofelle Kalle who lauded the ill-fated union as a new experiment in nation-building in Africa. Today, he is licking his wounds at the footstool of an egocentric Fru Ndi, and forced to be the advocated of a disreputable Marafa Amidou Yaya, while watching the ruins of his nation-building experiment crumble into chaos.

                The dirty little secret that Mr. Chinje is hiding is that his ambition to become Minister in the Biya government, have been thwarted again and again.  Notwithstanding  the fact that  during the launching of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in 1990, when six students were gunned down, it was  Eric Chinje and Zacharie Nginman, who read out Fame Ndongo’s diabolical claim, that the students had been stampeded to death!

                As Editor-in –Chief at CRTV, Mr. Chinje, at the apogee of his professional career, had the rare opportunity, for an Anglophone,  to conduct a televised exclusive interview with Paul Biya during which, he flattered the dictator by telling him that, when Cameroonians look at him they see a “transparent” man. Biya retorted in his Machiavellian style, by telling Mr. Chinje, that he could just shake his head, and Mr. Chinje would cease to be Editor-in –Chief!  Mr. Chinje does not seem to have gotten the message, that cowering and cringing before dictatorship is an exercise in futility. Like most Anglophone elite, he suffers from the Stalin-and-the plucked –chicken –syndrome, where he is forced to return to his tormentor to pick up the crumbs, for his sustenance- a political iteration of the Stockholm syndrome!

ANGLOPHONE POLULISTS AND THEIR ECHO CHAMBER

As Eric Hoffer puts it, one of the surprising privileges of intellectuals,  is that they are free to be scandalously asinine without harming their reputation. The intellectuals, who idolized Stalin while he was purging millions and stifling the least stirring of freedom, have not been discredited.  But as Mr. Chinje will find out, wisdom required self-discipline and an understanding of the realities of the world, including the limitations of one’s own experience and of reason itself.

Mr. Chinje seems to be oblivious of the international context, and the changes that are occurring in France’s stranglehold on its sphere of influence in Africa. We are all aware that the tricks of   De Gaulle and Jacques Foccart, cannot be replicated in the Africa of today. The revelations of Pierre Messmer, about the unconscionable union and the Foumban fraud, are not lost on the younger generation of Southern Cameroonians. They are painfully aware that, there is no middle ground in this struggle, and that neutrality is complicity with the oppressor.

THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED.

                Mr. Chinje fails to understand, that the blood that has been spilled for the liberation of the colonized people of the Southern Cameroons, has created a critical mass in the younger generation that has transformed the struggle. For instance, those who are spearheading the struggle today, are the children who saw the dignity of their parents crushed, during the usurpation of 1972. The sting of the humiliation of those who left the civil service in Buea, and Bamenda, and had to become unrecognizable minions to their arrogant Francophone bosses in Yaoundé, is evergreen in their memories.  Dr. Fontem Neba, for instance, is  a young leader who grew up hearing his father , Shu Fontem, a journalist at Radio Buea, stand up against  the Ahidjo dictatorship, in programs such as “Where are We” ,which was a precursor to the famous “Cameroon Calling” that launched the multi-party movement in the 1990s, sending journalists and university professors to the  Kondengui jail, and triggering a strike in the University of Yaoundé, that lead to the GCE Board, the Buea University, etc.  Yet, these were outgrowths of the mustard seed that was sown by Gorgi Dinka and Albert Mukong, the legendary voices that are still being echoed by the younger generation of leaders all over the world.

A BRIGHT FUTURE.

As one travels from, Washington, DC, to Dublin in Ireland, to Brussels in Belgium, to Den Hague in Holland, to Paris, London and South Africa, one is blown away, by the breathtaking intellectual power of Southern Cameroons! At the International Criminal Court (ICC), the list of professionals looks like a rolodex of a future Southern Cameroons administration. Why would all these PhDs, and other super-empowered Southern Cameroons, be so devoid of a winning strategy as Mr. Chinje posits?  Of course, there is no mathematic formula for solving the riddle of reclaiming the independence of a colonized and annexed country. Since AAC1 in Buea in 1993, 43 countries have gained their independence, and each one had its own trajectory. Vaclav Havel, secured the Velvet divorce in 1993, and two countries were born without bloodshed.

 Today, leaders like Felix Agbor Balla, have the courage to tell the Cameroonian nation that self-determination is a right guaranteed by the Universal Declaration of Human Right s of 1948.

THIS FIGHT IS OUR FIGHT !

Since Biya threw the gauntlet with his 1984 decree, Southern Cameroonians have been girding their loins for the ultimate fight for their motherland.  But as we have seen, anyone can start, but only the thoroughbred will finish. Each generation, rises from relative obscurity to fulfill or betray its destiny. These 40 year olds,  seem determined to fulfill, conserve, criticize and create a brighter future for their children,  than the one their parents bequeathed to them.  They are aware that the world hates change, but the only thing that has brought progress is change.

As I admire Mr. Chinje’s grey-bead,   I have learn to listen, to  what the younger generation is telling me :  that –we will never give up so long as we know we are right; we believe that all things will work out for the Southern Cameroons if we have the grit to hang on till the end; we will remain courageous and undismayed in the face of all odds; we will resist all intimidation and offers of bribes intended to deter us from our goal; we will take new faith and resolution from the knowledge that all successful men and women have had to fight,  defeat and adversity; and that they will never surrender to discouragement and despair no matter how daunting the obstacles that we confront.

We live in interesting times. Those without arms are writing with their legs and obtaining degrees. When Orville and Wilbur Wright left Ohio to Kitty Hawk, North Caroline, to observe the flight of birds as they were working on their flying engine, the Nobel Prize winning Physicists in 1903, stated with authority that the idea of a flying machine was against the laws of physics. The Wright brothers, derided as the two bicycle boys were laughing stocks. But today, travel by plane is so obvious that one wonders, why it was such impossibility in the 1903 world. Miracles are still possible, and one is about to happen, my prayer is that I and Mr. Chinje should live to see it happen.

By Larry Eyong

Contributing Editor

Cameroon Concord News Group

POINT OF NO RETURN:

For the shortsighted “leaders” who negotiate their freedom with the dying Biya kleptocracy, this is myopia.

You must have the “stick-to-it-tiveness”, the grit, the perseverance and the patience to endure the pain to the end, else, you will become a relic of history.

Remember, the road to every revolution is lined with the carcasses of leaders who gave up too soon.

Hold on for one more day!. The war of Biya’s succession will soon burst the abscess! We will secure our borders when the battle for power in Yaounde, starts between the Zoetele group, the Bamilekes and the Northerners.

Biya has been preparing for this fight for more than thirty years! That is the trajectory of all pro-French dictatorships in Africa, Cameroun cannot be the exception.

Of course, it is not easy. But, giving in now, is collective suicide. He who will move a mountain, starts by moving the first stone. You have already moved the first stone. Hang in there! We are cheering you on, and praying for you.

But if you stumble…you are on your own….across the bridge, there is no more sorrow…there is no more pain….the sun will shine…and we’ll never be unhappy again, because we will be masters of our own destiny.

By Larry Eyong

Over the last weeks, the government has been bending over backwards to address some of the issues the country’s Anglophone minority had complained about with a view to bringing back peace to the country. Initially, the government felt its authority had been challenged by the English-speaking minority and it was time for it to show its teeth. But the English-speaking minority has made up its mind and is very determined to stand its ground. After more than five decades of marginalization, the people of the South West and North West regions strongly hold that bullies can never change and the only things they understand are a strong language and an iron fist. The government has tried to show its teeth,but constituted mostly of octogenarians,its old teeth lack what it takes to threaten anybody and its muscles have been worn out by time and are bereft of the strength that can strike fear in a well-organized and determined Anglophone minority.

Today, the government has figured out that intimation belongs to a distant past and the changing times have transformed dialogue into a more effective silver bullet. It is acknowledging its mistakes and it is trying, albeit with difficulties, to yield to new ways that have fostered peace and unity in other parts of the world. Its surrogates are on all media platforms trying to preach peace and mutual respect that have been lacking in Cameroon for many decades. It has clearly stated its intention to dialogue and bring the country together, though Anglophones hold that genuine unity can only take place in a highly federal structure. Over the past weeks, the government has published several press releases relating to the current crisis that has weakened its authority, sapped Anglophones of their patriotism and robbed the economy of the momentum it has gathered over the last decade.

The government is gradually making some meaningful concessions, although Anglophones are skeptical as the government has fallen short of their glory and has, on many occasions, spoken from both sides of its mouth. Anglophones will finally have a section at the School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM), the school that trains civil administrators and magistrates in Cameroon. Common law will be used in English-speaking parts of Cameroon and Francophone judges and magistrates, whose presence in the English-speaking part of the country has been the bone of contention, will be withdrawn. Similarly, Francophone teachers will stop plying their trade in the English-speaking part of the country as their knowledge of English is, at best, rudimentary.

However, no time frames have been set for the implementation of these measures and this explains why Anglophones are skeptical.The government is used to producing press releases and setting up commissions that have never delivered any results. Investigations are never conclusive and could sometimes take decades to complete. Victims of unfortunate situations are rarely compensated or bad situations are hardly addressed as a result of these press releases and commissions. The government will have to work hard and long to convince Anglophones that its intentions are genuine and will produce the desired results.

Similarly, the government, last Thursday, April 20, 2017, reestablished Internet connection in the two English-speaking regions of the country, after close to a hundred days of total Internet blackout; a decision that has been highly contested and criticized both in Cameroon and abroad. In Cameroon, the Internet shut-down has virtually ruined the economies of the two English-speaking regions and the unemployment rate in these regions is astronomically high. The South-west region, which was home to many start-ups, has witnessed significant lay-offs as Silicon Mountain, patterned on America’s Silicon Valley, has disappeared because during the crisis, the start-ups simply relocated to other parts of the country. Though Buea, the South-west region’s capital, has some of the best conditions and facilities for these start-ups, many south-westerners are concerned that those start-ups may never return to Buea, especially if South-west elites and administrators do not adopt a more conciliatory approach to problem-solving.

Abroad, the international community has been very critical of the government’s decision to disconnect the English-speaking part of the country from the rest of the world by pulling off the Internet plug. Embarrassed by the situation in Cameroon, the UN Secretary-General dispatched his Acting Special Representative in the Central African Region, François Loucény Fall, to Cameroon to deliver his message of frustration with the government’s handling of the Anglophone situation. Anglophones across the world have made it a duty to embarrass the government and draw attention to their plight regardless of the forum or context. Last week’s drama in a World Bank forum where attention was drawn to the Anglophone plight was the last straw that broke the camel’s back. The international community could no longer sit and watch the government of Cameroon embarrass it. A clear message was delivered to the government and the Internet was restored forthwith.

International pressure has been brought to bear on the government. It is helping the Cameroonian government to work towards addressing a situation it created. Today, it is seeking to foster dialogue, but many Anglophones are still skeptical about the government’s intentions. Many Anglophones have been asking lots of questions ever since the government expressed its intention to dialogue with Anglophones. With whom does it want to discuss when their leaders are still languishing in jail for drawing its attention to the plight of Anglophones? Besides, what form will that dialogue take? The current government, which has been in power for almost 35 years, has not got the habit of listening to views that are contrary to its ideas. Will it be able to listen in order to gain a better understanding of the issues that have been hurting Anglophones for fifty-six years? Who will participate in such a dialogue? Will federalism and secession make it to the agenda of the dialogue? While government actions have attracted some admiration from some observers, others argue that for real peace to return to Cameroon, the government will have to take a holistic approach to addressing the Anglophone problem. This implies that federalism and secession will have to be on the table and other unsettling issues like natural resources management and the principle of derivation will take centre stage.

It should be recalled that what caused the problem to escalate was the killing of many innocent Anglophones during the strikes and demonstrations. Many Anglophones were brought down by government bullets and many more Anglophones have died in detention either due to poor detention conditions or torture by some overzealous elements in the regime and police. This is even one of the issues that is making genuine dialogue almost impossible. Will the government be able to deal with this bitter pill when the time comes? Will it confidently account for all those who have been killed? Information from government sources which have elected to be anonymous alleges that some of those arrested have been tortured to death and they claim to know where these victims have been buried in mass graves. Will the regime accept that those mass graves be visited? Anglophones hold that these issues and more will be brought to the negotiating table at the right time. The government has many bitter pills to swallow. It is already feasting on a giant humble pie, but the pills that will be served by Anglophones are made from coloquintida and they are very bitter. Anglophones will want these issues to be addressed once and for all and for this to happen, the government must accept that the excessive powers it has wielded over the last fifty-six years will be significantly eroded. Cameroon will never be the same again as Anglophones have successfully weaponized civil disobedience. Political and civil disobedience has become their weapon of choice when it comes to dealing with a government that has inflicted untold hardship on them.

Similarly, petroleum management will also be one of the issues that will put the government in a very bad situation. For more than forty-five years, the management of the country’s petroleum has been shrouded in mystery.The country’s oil fields are located in the South-West region and this region has been complaining of marginalization regarding the sharing of the country’s oil wealth. Cameroon is among the few countries in the world without the principle of derivation when it comes to managing natural resources. The country’s lone refinery, SONARA, is located in the Anglophone coastal city of Limbe, but 95% of its employees are Francophones who have, unfortunately, been treating the locals with contempt. No Anglophone has ever headed SONARA even when many of them are qualified. The government will have to look into this matter if it does not want to have another hot potato on its hands. Putting off the resolution of this issue is like downloading responsibilities onto future generations. This injustice has been there for decades, it needs to be addressed within the context of the Anglophone crisis to ensure that the country does not go through another period of turbulence. The holistic approach advocated by Anglophones requires that this issue be tabled.

Over the last six months, the country has been heading to the abyss of despair as the government stood its ground that the form of the state was not up for discussion while Anglophones across the globe have been calling for federalism, and in some cases, they have been urging the United Nations to intervene and even participate in any dialogue the government might propose. They say they need a neutral third party to sit at the table as the government has lost its credibility. This brings to mind the following questions? Who will participate in the dialogue? Will the Diaspora be properly represented? The government has the nasty habit of manufacturing leaders for the people, but the current Anglophone crisis has proven that those “leaders” have only been representing themselves and their families and most of them have been feeding the government with wrong information about their popularity. They have been using their positions to feather their nests, an issue that will surface during such discussions. For Anglophones, the current Anglophone political elite needs to be renewed. Peter Mafany Musonge, Yang Philemon, Atanga Nji, Elvis Ngole Ngole, Benjamin Itoe, and Dorothy Njeuma all lack the credibility and popularity to represent Anglophones in a forum wherein an important issue as the country’s future will be discussed. If the government wants real dialogue to take place, then it must look beyond this group of people who have used the government as their personal ATM (Automated Teller Machine) for years.

It should also be noted that the current crisis has brought in new political actors into the political arena. The Anglophone Diaspora has proven that it has the political capital to play a key role in the country’s political future. It has become a formidable political force that cannot be overlooked. Over the last six months, it has helped to make the Anglophone region ungovernable and it is looking forward to participating in any dialogue that will deliver a better future to a country that has been beset by man-made problems. The Anglophone Diaspora deserves a comfortable place at the table where it will make significant contributions that will help put Cameroon on a new path that will lead to political stability, economic prosperity and social peace. Leaving the Anglophone Diaspora out of the talks on the country’s future will be the right recipe for political instability in Cameroon. The Anglophone Diaspora is rich, educated and intellectual. It has been responsible for the education of many people in Cameroon and it has been paying the piper. It surely wants to call the tune and it is more than prepared and willing to share its experience with Cameroonians in all spheres of life, including politics.

The upcoming dialogue proposed by the government is an opportunity to help the country heal. It will be a platform for Cameroonians to redesign their country and future. Fifty-six years of a hastily negotiated marriage between Anglophones and Francophones have not produced the desired happiness. Anglophones may be angry, but they will be happy to have a federal republic that will enable them run their own affairs. While this is a key demand, it must be borne in mind that the solution to the Anglophone problem must be holistic in nature. Focusing on certain sectors of the society will surely not produce the peace and harmony all Cameroonians are hankering after. This is the moment to evaluate the past. It is not the time to tinker and give positions to friends and others who are loyal to party ideology. The renewal of Cameroon’s political elite is long overdue. The dialogue called for by the government is an opportunity for Anglophones to tell the government a few home truths. However, all the parties must understand that they have to make concessions if Cameroon has to be strong and united within a highly federal system.

By Dr. Joachim Arrey

Cameroon Concord News Group

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 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, Toronto, Canada. He is also a trained translator and holds a Ph.D.

The government of Cameroon yesterday restored Internet connection in the Country’s Anglophone region following pressure from the International community that has clearly frowned upon the government’s decision to roll back the English-speaking minority into the dark ages. The Internet disconnection which lasted some one hundred days, has brought untold hardship and pain to companies and citizens of the affected regions. The South-west region’s Silicon Mountain, modelled on the American Silicon Valley, has died a natural death as many of the start-ups have simply relocated to other parts of Cameroon where there was Internet connection during the crisis and nobody is so sure about their return to Buea; a city that offers some of the best facilities  and infrastructure for start-ups. Banks, micro-finance institutions and money transfer agencies have been the greatest victims in this battle of wills that is still playing out.  It should be recalled that Internet was disconnected in January 2017 when West Cameroonians decided to draw the international community’s attention to the Kafkaesque oppression and marginalization they have suffered for more than five decades.

Things came to a head when videos of the government’s ferocious brutality on innocent and armless striking lawyers and students made their way to the global arena. The world was shocked to see that a government could react to peaceful protests with such brutality in an era wherein social media can capture and broadcast everything in real time. The government’s response simply qualified the country for the global hall of shame and, ever since, the world has been seeing Cameroon and its leaders in a different light. The country’s image has been terribly dented and its leaders have gone down in everybody’s estimation. However, this is not the first time Cameroon has been dragged, screaming and kicking, to the global hall of shame by its own leaders. Under former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge, Cameroon was dragged to this same hall of shame following its election as the most corrupt nation in the world for two years running.

The international community has been very critical of Cameroon because of the atrocities committed in West Cameroon since the commencement of the contention between the government and the English-speaking minority, especially as the region was disconnected from the rest of the world because of the government’s decision to pull off the Internet plug. Speaking recently after a visit to Cameroon, the UN Secretary-General’s Acting Special Representative, François Loucény Fall, decried the terrible conditions in which Anglophones had been subjected. “This is a deplorable situation,” he said on April 13, 2017, after a four-day visit, adding that “…I am convinced that this important tool for development, communication and collective development will be gradually re-established throughout Cameroon.” Mr. Fall, who also heads the UN Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), reviewed the state of affairs in the country and assessed the impact of recent measures taken by the Government to address the concerns of English-speaking lawyers and teachers.

“I had fruitful and hopeful exchanges with all the stakeholders,” the Special Representative said at a press conference in Yaoundé on April 12. He met with Government officials, members of civil society, opposition leaders, members of the diplomatic corps and the UN system.He also met with people wrongfully arrested and detained in connection with the situation in the north-west and south-west regions, including Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla and radio broadcaster,Mancho Bibixy. He encouraged the Cameroonian Government to take all the measures it deemed appropriate, as soon as possible, and within the framework of the law, in order to create conditions conducive to building the confidence needed to end the crisis.

The government’s decision to restore the Internet is, for sure, the outcome of the meeting between Mr. Fall and government officials. It should also be recalled that the Vatican has not been indifferent to the plight of West Cameroonians. The Anglophone problem was at the centre of discussions between Mr. Biya and the Pope during Mr. Biya’s visit to the Holy See. The Anglophone problem is a real millstone around the government’s neck and it is doing all it can to rid itself of it. But its bad faith of the last five decades has caught up with it.  Anglophones are skeptical of whatever measures the government is taking. They have, on many occasions, been victims of the government’s deceit and this has caused them to throw confidence to the wind.

While the government’s decision to restore the Internet has been hailed by many people around the world, many observers still hold that the government can still do more to appease the marginalized people of West Cameroon. The country’s English-speaking minority has made its mind known and its willingness to resist any further marginalization has been clearly communicated to the government. Restoring the Internet is one move that could imply the government might be willing to dialogue. But there are still many obstacles in the way of genuine dialogue.

Federalism and the imprisonment of Anglophone leaders are still sticking points which need to be addressed before any serious dialogue can take place. Anglophones do not trust the government and despite explanations by some government surrogates that some of these issues could only be addressed over the long term, Anglophones hold that such tales should be told to the marines. They have heard a lot of promises and many, if not all, have been broken by a government they believe does not deserve their respect and attention.

Anglophones hold that the government likes speaking from both sides of its mouth and that if earlier measures taken by the government do not get implemented, they will continue to defy government authority. They point to earlier promises made by the government, arguing that it has reneged on many of its promises before, many of which are always designed to score political points and ensure the status quo does not change. Over the last six months, the government has used a battery of policy options and measures to ensure schools resume in the Anglophone zone, but the English-speaking minority has remained firm in its peaceful civil disobedience and this is a huge challenge to a government that is not used to dialogue. It’s militarization of the Anglophone region and imprisonment of Anglophone leaders after dialogue with them failed to produce the results the government expected are clear testimonies to the allegations Anglophones are leveling against the government.

It should be noted that Cameroonians will be going to the polls in 2018 to elect a new president and parliamentarians. The government is very concerned about its popularity in the Anglophone region. The current conflict has dealt a devastating blow to the ruling party that has been in power for more than five decades with no real development results to show for it.  Anglophones have made up their minds and they are seriously calling for a renewal of the Anglophone leadership. Many Anglophone leaders are either too old or ineffective to represent their people. Yang Philemon and Peter Mafany Musonge have run the country as Prime ministers during tough times, but their handling of the Anglophone crisis clearly tells the world that they belong to the past. Anglophones no longer respect them and they are taking their cue from outside and not from people who have done their best to betray their confidence. For officials such as IssaTchiroma, Fame Ndongo and Laurent Esso, they are simply wishing for this problem to be over. They have been having huge nightmares and the fear of being cut out of government has been stalking them like a stubborn shadow. They are those who caused the problem to escalate with their rhetoric that only inflamed Anglophones.

Denying the existence of an Anglophone problem did not cause the issue to go away. Today, they are quick to recognize that Anglophones have problems and they claim they are working hard to address some of them. If they had been a little wiser, they would have understood that since humans are sometimes made to eat their own words, it is always good to keep those words soft and sweet. All of them have been eating giant humble pies ever since they found out that the Anglophone problem will not go away anytime soon.

Anglophones are today enjoying the Internet they have been asking for, but that does not imply they are happy with the government that has killed and maimed their brothers who did not commit any crime. They were simply calling for a federal system that would protect their culture and guarantee their rights in a united, but federal Cameroon. Freedom of speech, they hold, is their inalienable right enshrined in the country’s constitution. While there is room for forgiveness, Anglophones hold that anything short of a federation will be a betrayal of their brothers who have lost their lives just to bring a better life to all Cameroonians. They argue that the pressure on the government must continue until all those arrested are released unconditionally. The Diaspora is still active and the government needs to understand the great role the Diaspora has played in this situation that has left it with a black eye. True dialogue cannot take place without the Diaspora taking its place at the table. If the government fails to recognize this, then it will continue to flog a dead horse as the civil disobedience will continue.

Dr. Joachim Arrey

Contributing Editor

Cameroon Concord News Group