Southern Cameroons Crisis: Chasing the shadow ⁰

The Southern Cameroonian rebellion which has been robbing the Yaounde government of its sleep is gradually stallling not because Southern Cameroonians are tired of fighting those who have polluted their lives for more than half a century, but because some of those who are supposed to point the population in the right direction have simply lost their way.

Of course, the revolution has received major setbacks, especially with the arrest of the Southern Cameroonian president, Julius Ayuk Tabe, whose leadership had galvanized the entire population of Southern Cameroons both at home and abroad during his short time at the helm of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government.

During his time, Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe spent his own money to carry out certain missions, though Southern Cameroonians were pouring money into the Interim Government accounts as their way of supporting those on Ground Zero who were taking the brunt of the Yaounde regime’s anger.

Southern Cameroonians in Australia, Japan, Nigeria, South Africa, Germany, France, Belgium, the USA, the UK and Canada gave huge sums of money to enable the Interim Government to function properly and to sell the Southern Cameroonian’s sorry plight to the international community.

Mr. Julius Ayuk Tabe’s effective charm offensive designed to bring the conflict in Southern Cameroons to the fore was never in doubt. His trips abroad informed the world that Cameroon’s English-speaking minority was being marginalized to extinction.

He took risks and the Southern Cameroonian population saw him and still sees him as the poster boy of a revolution that will not be going away anytime soon though some issues have cast doubts on the quality of some of those who pass off as leaders of the revolution.

Once Mr. Ayuk Tabe was arrested, a new interim administration was given the mantel of leadership. Southern Cameroonians were looking forward to seeing the same quality of leadership that Mr. Ayuk Tabe had demonstrated, but they were very disappointed because the interim government, led by Sako Ikome and Chris Anu, was a gross mistake that has become a long nightmare that will not be going away anytime soon.

Millions of Southern Cameroonians are still not believing lots of things and many hold that a miracle could still occur and that Dr. Sako Ikome and his cohort could still engineer something that could leave the Yaounde government in a state of fear.

But Dr. Sako and his friend, Chris Anu, lack what it takes to strike fear in a government that has already been brought to its knees by courageous Southern Cameroonian fighters.

The inefficiency of the Sako interim government and the embezzlement of the people’s resources engineered by Chris Anu have simply stemmed the flow of money into their coffers and this has impacted their ability to operate freely, although they have successfully embezzled some USD 1.250 million from the people’s coffers.

In terms of morality, President Julius Ayuk Tabe had raised the bar way too high for morally bankrupt and attention seeking criminals to operate without the people seeing through them.

While the people of Southern Cameroons cannot throw this capital gang of criminals in jail, they can punish them financially and they have simply stopped putting their money in unsafe hands and this is hurting the Sako Ikome limping interim government.

But instead of addressing the real issues that have caused the people to lose confidence in Sako Ikome and his team, Chris Anu has resorted to chasing shadows instead of the object.

He has successfully recruited Barrister John Fru Nsoh, a miscreant who missed the dangerous police nets of the  Yaounde government and now erroneously holds that President Julius Ayuk Tabe is the source of his problems, including his incurable erectile dysfunction and diabetes.

Both John Fru Nsoh and Chris Anu have transformed Mr. Ayuk Tabe into their favorite punching bag. They seem to hold him responsible for their interminable financial issues in the United States.

The people of Southern Cameroons are not going to give Chris Anu their money and it is not their reckless and purposeless punching of a man who placed the people’s interest above his that will change the minds of Southern Cameroonians.

The people of Southern Cameroons have never admired rogues and it should be known that their disdain for the Yaounde government derives from the corruption and embezzlement that are indeed the hallmarks of a government led by a dying 88-year-old president.

They cannot be frowning at such indiscipline just to smile at a bunch of lazy and helpless pastors – Chris Anu and Sako Ikome – who before the crisis could not even afford a used car but are now driving top-of-the-line vehicles.

While they are enjoying their loot, John Fru Nsoh, a man who should be back in Cameroon to put his legal knowledge at the service of the insurgency, is hoping that the two Hell-bound pastors will one day extend their hand of charity to him.

He has been holding briefs for them and to demonstrate that he is loyal, he has been publicly insulting Sisiku Ayuk Tabe albeit in a strain of English that leaves much to be desired.

Many Southern Cameroonians are really surprised why Chris Anu and his unemployed barrister have decided to make Mr. Ayuk Tabe their target instead of a government that is hellbent on maintaining them in the stress of exile.

For the people of Southern Cameroons, the Yaounde government is their enemy and seeing Chris Anu and John Fru Nsoh taking aim at a man who does not even call their names is at best worrisome.

Southern Cameroonians cannot and will never be distracted by this duo that has missed its way. Chris Anu and Sako Ikome might have dealt the revolution a blow, by embezzling the money that was earmarked for arms, but the people of Southern Cameroons remain steadfast to their dream of having an independent country and they prefer to put their money in the right hands.

They clearly hold that it is better to send the money to the fighters on the ground who are giving the country’s army soldiers a run for their money.

Targeting President Julius Ayuk Tabe is not only morally wrong, it is outright insane, especially as Southern Cameroonians still see Yaounde as the source of their problem.

Why would any sane Southern Cameroonian ever single out a dying Achidi Achu as his target when it is clear that the Yaounde government is that target any and every Southern Cameroonians should be fighting against? This will be stupidity in its superlative degree. Southern Cameroonians should not be confused here. Why spend a lot of energy on a man who has been jailed in a sick and old body in his native Santa why there are Yaounde army soldiers all over Southern Cameroons and they are maiming and killing Southern Cameroonians with impunity?

The focus for now should be the fighting on the ground and not President Julius Ayuk Tabe who will never betray the aspirations of the people of Southern Cameroons.

President Julius Ayuk Tabe is in jail and the enemy is not even mulling the possibility of releasing him and his collaborators. So why the obsession about a man who is still faithful to his principles and to the people of Southern Cameroons? What crime has he committed that makes Chris Anu and John Fru Nsoh to be insulting him on a daily basis?

This is the time for all Southern Cameroonians of good will to come together in order to mount enormous pressure on a government that is grossly insensitive to the plight of the Southern Cameroonian.

Instead of spreading hate and division, can Chris Anu and John Fru Nsoh understand that they are in exile not because of Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, but because of a government that has already killed more than 5,000 Southern Cameroonians in a conflict that could have been simply avoided?

What value are Chris Anu and John Fru Nsoh adding to the rebellion by punching President Ayuk Tabe even when he is down? Will their continuous divisive strategy and actions ever lead to an independent Southern Cameroons?

It is time for Southern Cameroonians to take a long and hard look at those who pass off as their leaders. Genuine leaders unite. They wash their dirty linen at home and not in public. They know how to place the general interest above personal interest and they are usually driven by the desire to achieve results. Do Chris Anu and John Fru Nsoh really fit this mould? It is up to the Southern Cameroonian to make this decision, but time is of the essence. A reasonable people do not chase shadows. They chase the objects.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Group Chairman/Editor-In-Chief