Another Investigation Commission

President Paul Biya of Cameroon

The aftermath of the train derailment at Eseka in Cameroon has come with a litany of accusations and counter accusations. The state through the minstry of Transport, Public works, Camrail and its main partner Bolloré have all had to defend themselves against media reports, testimonies on what might have caused the accident. With growing national and international pressure, it was but normal that the Head of State had to create a national investigation team to probe into the root causes of this derailment. But Cameroonians are sceptical and (rightfully so) about the commission put in place by the Head of state.

President Paul Biya Reacts:

The commission has the Prime Minister (Philemon Yang) as president and members being; the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seal (Laurent Esso), the minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation (Rene Emmanuel Sadi), Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Supreme State Control (Mbah Acha née Fomundam Rose), Secretary of State to the Minister of Defense, in charge of the Gendarmerie (Jean Baptiste Bokam) and finally the delegate general for National Security (Martin Mbarga Nguélé). The secretary of this commission shall be the Permanent secretary of the National Security council (Paul Atanga Nji). This commission has 30 days to avail its report. Three problems can be identified with this commission. Namely; the problem of Credibility, Historical experience from previous commissions and the confidentiality of reports.

1. Credibility:

In many ways, this investigation team is fundamentally wrong. All of the members of this team are of the executive arm of the government. It is not morally and professionaly right for them to investigate actions in which they are the main initiators. There would be a huge problem with independence and conflict of interest. It will be difficult for them to identify the root causes of the accident and report as such. Besides, what if it went that during the investigation the PM was found wanting? Not only would it be difficult to write against him but it will also be impossible to incriminate their hierarchy. Above all even if the commission ends up having a wonderful report, Cameroonians wouldn’t give any credibility to the report given this composition. Credibility is a very sensitive issue. Once people lack confidence in a team, suspicion comes in, it’s difficult to rebuild.

In most advance countries, either an independent commission is used or a parliamentary inquiry team. Talking about an independent commission, there are men and women of valour in Cameroon who have unanimity as to their moral probity, neutrality and diligence. Couldn’t we have taken some of our religious leaders, civil society actors and media men to do a thorough investigation? The victims of the accident may well be thinking that, if these same people who caused us this misery are the same to investigate, then it’s not worth of any optimism.

2. History of unproductive commissions:

Cameroon is noted and notorious for creating an avalanche of institutions to solve a single problem. Corruption, Unemployment, Water Crises etc are some of the sectors with a plethora of insignificant and miserable institutions. Cameroonians are not new to Commissions of Inquiry decreed by the head of state. Let me list a few for our understanding;

• During the 1990 world cup, Cameroonians contributed money to support the national football team. That money got missing between Cameroon and New York in the hands of Augustine Kontcho K. A commission was created-Where are the results?
• Another commissionwas created to unravel what happened during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa-We are yet to see the Recommendations, because fecafoot and sports in general is still poorly managed.
• Renowned Journalist, Bibi Ngota died while in pre-trial detention in Kendengui prison and the reasons to his death are still unknown-At least to the public.
• Vanessa Tchatchoua’s Baby was stolen from a hospital in Yaoundé. Till date, she hasn’t had her baby even though a commission was created to investigate.

3. Confidentiality:

It is true that the report of certain investigations cannot be made public for safety and security reason. But issues of public concern should be treated as such. This case warrants that the general public should be informed of the recommendations. We are not interested in names, but  the systemic issues that can remedy and prevent a reoccurrence.

Conclusion

When I remember how the Head of Sate left the Airport on Sunday to the Unity Palace, i am tempted to ask. Would it not have been ideal to stop at any of the hospitals in Yaoundé where victims and mourning family members were? Nonetheless, this is neither peculiar nor extraordinary. When Cameroonian soldiers were slain during the fight with Boko Haram, Idriss derby of Tchad came to Cameroon and visited injured soldiers in Hospital, while President Paul Biya was in his mansion in Yaoundé.  It’s about time the powers that be take responsibility and show some respect to Cameroonians. The executive arm of the government cannot continue to play with the intelligence of Cameroonians. The commission that was created flies in the face of logic and is repugnant to natural justice. Its again time for more ethnic and tribal cleavages amongst the elite in Yaoundé at the detriment of the man on the street.

I hope one of the recommendations that will be arrived at, would be to reduce the size of the government. Too many ministers and some don’t even know what they are doing. A country that has 5 Ministries just for Education is doomed. The crises in Eseka showed how uncoordinated government actions are. Nobody knew what to do and were acting in Silos. Had there been communication amongst the Ministerial portfolios, Cameroonians would have been informed that a temporary bride could be available in about 8 hours. I am sure that the mad rush to the train stations would have been avoided, and Camrail would not have decided to add the 8 extra Coaches. That was a sign of no leadership, no vision and no coordination. 

Moses Ngwanah

Government Officials in Cameroon and the Eseka Train Derailment: Lessons Learnt.

Black Friday
Events that propelled Cameroon to the international stage last weekend (October 21^st and 22^nd 2016) is an eloquent evidence of the deprave state of management of public affairs in Cameroon. As often said, it never rains, but it pours. Maybe on Friday October 21^st after the heavy rains that night, it also decided to pour. 
A bridge at Manyai a locality in the Nyong and Kelle division of the centre region collapse thereby cutting the road into two. Circulation came to an abrupt stop. Passengers Cars, Lorries and goods could no longer make their way either into or out of Yaoundé and Douala. Cameroons’ most busy road and central Africa’s principal economic road has brought misery to businessmen and road users. 

A country where bad governance could be seen even on the president’s face had to concoct means to go around this malaise. This highway breakdown happened at about 1:00am in the night of Thursday breaking Friday, but it was only until hours later that a crises meeting was chaired and some ridiculously thoughtless decisions were taken by transport minister. Meanwhile the Public works minister was first on the scene and with dexterity ordered a makeshift bridge. His efforts were commendable. But where was the Engineering Unit of the Military (Genie Militaire)? It was embarrassing to see some other engineers do this Job when we have a Military Engineering Unit. In poorer countries like Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, and Senegal, temporary bridges have been constructed for less than 8 hours by the Genie Militaire.

Origin of Crises
Left with little or no options; and given that Camair-Co had only 2 planes that were Airworthy and operational, it became incumbent for the government to decipher a handy solution. That was time enough and an opportunity for Mebe Ngoh to bring his military type administration into practice. Straight to Camrail “Carry as many passenger as you can, add any available coach”. Any layman at this point will acclaim the minister, but underneath, it was very apparent that the decision was not only wrong, but also imprudent. 

Transport in General (Air, Land-Rail and Road, Maritime) have some standards to adhere to and the worthiness of the Equipment used is primordial. In this case, neither the Rails nor the Coaches were in a good technical state. But the minister Didn't really care much. The train finally took off for Douala from Yaounde and the rest is history. 

False Alert and Curiosity.
News that that train had derailed even before it happened was indicative of the fact that, the locomotive engineer/train driver knew it was going to happen and called his colleagues not to go behind. They all knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. And again, the minister’s interview that was recorded at 11:00am before the derailment was played during the 1:00pm news on CRTV just minutes after the derailment. What a moment of reckoning. Cameroonians heard their transport minister saying there is no derailment and a few minutes on, the same CRTV announces a derailment-Curious isn’t it.

Images of the Train Accident at Eseka

Emergency Strikes 

The heartbreak is on, the worst case scenario is true, shit has hit the fan and everybody has to act and act quickly. So then an helicopter to #Eseka is ideal to take four government officials (Transport, Health, Social Affairs, Secretary of state for national Gendarmerie) with Cameramen and Journalist. In an Emergency situation, in a town where health care is rudimentary at best; where there are little or no ambulances; the hospital is old, understaffed, under equipped etc, the basic logic would have been to go with some First Aid workers, Emergency Equipment and Facilities. Surprisingly our top notch ministers from Yaoundé didn’t see it crucial. Emergency Response Planning is a coordinated set of activities first aimed at saving lives, rehabilitating and assisting survivors and effective communication. None of these looked like a priority of the mission to #Esseka. We were later told that by 4:00pm, the Prime minister held a crises meeting with respect to that. If this isn’t a disgrace, it’s an insult to Cameroonians. (http://www.cameroonweb.com/CameroonHomePage/NewsArchive/Le-drame-d-Es-ka-n-tait-pas-in-vitable-Protais-Ayangma-392447). 

Lessons

1.  The response from the local population of Eseka was remarkable and worthy of a “Thank You”. Their involvement in lifesaving gestures were overwhelmingly virtuous.
2. Cameroon is a recreational country for its leaders. Nobody takes responsibilities for any action even in horrendous situations like this. Accountability is none existent.
3. President Biya once again took Cameroonians for granted. He signed a presidential decree Saturday declaring Monday a national day of mourning while out of the country, yet it was written below “Signed in Yaoundé”.
4. Our Political parties again failed us. No official communique from any major opposition party except CPP of Kah. Not even the UPC where the accident occurred in the stronghold.
5. President Paul Biya was as of Friday 21^st of October away for 35 days. Nobody questioned his where about and what he was doing. He returned Sunday with his darling wife dressed in an outfit whose colour doesn’t symbolise mourning-At least for my eyes.
6. President Paul Biya declared Monday 24^th a National day of mourning in Cameroon. Neither was he in Church, at the crash site, wore black nor even made a speech-Special isn’t it?
7. The self-important Transport boss of Cameroon should have taken his due responsibility and leave the stage-Resign.
8. Cameroonians have shown their Collective Resignation and lack of action again. A lot of happenings have gone unchecked by the population. Between Douala and Nkongsamba in the Mungo division, over 200 people have died since January 2016, issues at public hospitals in Douala and Yaoundé of negligence have all been quite.

Conclusion

We can make-believe as much as we want, But  Fru Ndi, Kah Wala, Kamto, Makak, Sousthene Fouda, Jean Jaque Ekindi, Anicet Ekane etc, cannot change Cameroon. First, the main and strongest opposition party in Cameroon (SDF-By numerical data) is too far away from the epicentre of power. Secondly, the SDF enjoys and appreciates their second political party status in Cameroon which is a design of President Paul Biya. Thirdly, their chairman is old and feeble and lastly, both Biya and Fru are fighting to be considered the architects of peace in Cameroon. 

As posited in Africa's Crisis of Governance By Tunde Obadina, An underlying cause of many of the manifestations of bad governance, including political repression, corruption and ethnic sectarianism, is the endeavour by the ruling classes to be and remain part of the global elite despite their nation's poverty. Africa's tragedy is not that its nations are poor. The tragedy is that it lacks ruling classes that are committed to overcoming the state of poverty. Real politics here has little to do with social and economic reconstruction.

Like Martin Luther King Jnr also said in 1955 during The Montgomery Bus Boycott: there comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression. There comes a time, my friends, when people get tired of being plunged across the abyss of humiliation, where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair. There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life's July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November. There comes a time. Cameroon may and should immediately revert the sequence of mishaps, without which-there will come a time. And unless and otherwise the ruling class becomes accountable to the people-There would be that time.

Moses Ngwanah.

The mystery of Africa’s disappearing presidents-Case of Cameroon

African Union Heads of State 

The political Agenda in Cameroon and most African countries has always cantered on its all-powerful presidents. These are the people who will decide for there to be electricity, decides when justice should be served, where a road should pass, when to have a drop of water, let alone which clinic or hospital should have aspirin and drip set etc.  Cameroonians have resigned their thinking and actions to when and how it pleases the head of state. If he uses a word in his speeches, it becomes a national slogan-National Integration-Grand Ambition, Greater Achievement, Emergence by 2035, Android Generation, Digital Economy etc. It makes us wonder whether our intellectuals and politician don’t have an idea on how to run their respective Universities, Ministries or Municipalities, if it were not for the all-knowing, all generous, peace crusader, number one sports man, number one peace lover, the God given messiah etc, Cameroon would still be in the doldrums of poverty.  One would have expected that, with all this authority and power given to an individual, he would be able to transform Cameroon like Gadhafi did in Lybia. But the reality on the field is gruesomely contradictory.

Questions to be answered

 As we speak today the 20/10/2016, it is reported that president Biya has been out of the country for 106 days in the course of 2016. He was last seen in Cameroon on September 16 when he left for the UN submit. Since then, there hasn’t been any communication whatsoever about his where about. These are not innuendos that he might be in some difficulty, but Cameroonians are so accustomed to their interminable leader who has made himself indispensable such that his absence is a logical foundation of concern. In this sphere of obscurity, there are many a question on every tongue and no one to answer them.

1. Has he gone for his usual rest, considering the workload in Cameroon?
2. Has he gone to accomplish family problems with his incommodious daughter?
3. Has his wife taken a step backward in a bit to make herself more heard like Aicha        Buhari?
4. Is he disturbed with the recurrent memoranda coming in everyday?
5. Could the change in some key diplomatic missions in Cameroon be a worrisome          thing for him?
6. By any means, are Anglophones any nightmare to him?
7. Has the “alive-death-alive” life of A. Shekau of Boko Haram give him something to        worry about?
8. Is he sick?
9. Is he ok and just Chilin out and ready to come and change his government?

This doesn’t change much to the debate, as sooner or later the bipolar communication minister, will call the national and international press to tell them the Head of state is doing great, strong and very healthy. There is nothing to worry about. He will be right when he does so, given that once the president was framed dead, but when he came back, he gave Cameroonians a rendezvous for 20 years. We are less than 5 years away from the 20 years. But come to think of it, even the sycophants, zealots and self-proclaimed Biyayist of the regime are worried about his state. At 83 he’s not getting younger and nature has time for everything.

Not as though anybody wishes somebody dead, but it is also judicious and rational to know that no human being is eternal. No matter how we love him and how lovable and adorable he is, we are all mortals. And in a country as complex as Cameroon, it is important, he traces his transition to avoid an event of power tussle in Cameroon. Today, if we read the political game in Cameroon we can see how almost every segment of the people of Cameroon are trying to have an advantageous position. The most talked about petition from the Beti people of Mfoundi is just a yardstick that shows the conflicts between the Bulus and people of Nanga Eboko in their interest to take power should there be a vaccum. The assertion in the Memo that the CPDM is headed by a Bamilike (Jean Kuete) and the second in state protocol (Senate-Marcel Niate) again is Bamilike has no justification in a republic, but an attempt of positioning. Albert Dzongangs response was just in line with the same politics. The meeting of the 44 families that make up the “Mfoundi People” on October 19^th 2014 as a riposte to the Memo is a further and eloquent testimony of the same strategy. The controversial political Scientist, Dr. Mathias Eric Nguini Owona has also taken his position close to power after accepting to throw flowers on the first ladies actions. Today he claims to be a chntal biyayist. What a world!

Continental Precedence

Only that, in most African countries, we have always heard the president’s entourage say their President is safe and sound. Only for things to turn around sour in a couple of months or years. President Peter Mutharika returned to Malawi on Sunday Oct. 16, just as he’d promised. Mutharika left to attend the United Nations General Assembly mid-September and just didn’t come back. His cagey communications team would not divulge the leader’s itinerary, sparking rumours that he’d died, and the hilarious hashtag #BringBackMutharika.

Mutharika is the latest African president to disappear without a word to his people. Communication between leaders and their constituents often grow quieter after elections. Poor public relations are a signal of the lack of accountability and transparency displayed by many African leaders. Mutharika’s jaunt in New York had nothing on Cameroonian’s president Paul Biya’s spontaneous stays at European hotels. In 2009, his three-week holiday in La Baule, southern France cost $40,000 a day (26Million CFA XAF). This time, he was intercontinental hotel and chit-chats have it that he has left the hotel. But where on earth is he? “Like any other worker, president Paul Biya has a right to his vacations,” information minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary said at the time. Biya has been in power since 1982. But this time, one Cameroonian won’t let Biya catch a break while his country suffers. In a video that is going viral on social media, an unidentified man stands outside the Intercontinental in Geneva, condemning Biya and his entourage for living in a hotel for two months while Cameroonian’s struggled to make a living back home.

“I’ve come back again to the Intercontinental to make a fuss, to ask what are you still doing here? What do you do everyday?” the man shouted, continuing to berate Biya until hotel staff shooed him away. He staged the same protest earlier this year and vowed to return until Biya went home.

The physical absence of leaders further exposes poor leadership. In many instances a president’s illness—or death—has given way to a power vacuum. The offices these disappearing presidents occupy (when they’re around) center around personalities and their allies, rather than creating strong institutions that serve the people.

Malawians in particular have every right to be suspicious of a disappearing leader: In 2013 an already dead president Bingu wa Mutharika was still connected to life support and flown to South Africa for medical treatment, according to a report by the Global Post. An inquest into his death showed that his allies tried to keep up the lie to avoid swearing in then deputy president Joyce Banda in order to clear the way the way for his brother, Peter Mutharika (the younger Mutharika eventually had to win an election to gain power).

Across the border, death rumors that proved to be true plagued Zambia’s last two presidents. President Michael Sata disappeared from public view in 2014, missing an address to the United Nations and Zambia’s 50th independence celebrations. He joked in parliament, “I am not dead,” when he resurfaced, but died a few months later in October 2014 of an undisclosed illness.

Sata’s predecessor, Levy Mwanawasa, had a stroke at an African Union summit in Ethiopia and was whisked away to France where he was declared dead at age 58 in 2008. Mwanawasa’s office spent some energy during his term dismissing rumors of the late president’s ill health. In Guinea-Bissau, president Malam Bacai Sanha died of an undisclosed illness at age 64 in a Paris hospital in 2012. The president was also in and out of hospital during his term. Rumor had it that he was suffering from diabetes, but his office was never open with the public. Diplomats told the press he’d been in a coma before his death. Togo was the first in this form of “democrazy”. The then president Gnassingbé Eyadema was in power for 39 years until his death in 2005. But before that, there had been gossips about his death on several occasions. Even when he died, his entourage did everything possible to keep the news behind in a bit to get his son to power (Faure Eyadema). His son was then a minister, he was made an MP, made speaker of the assembly all within 48 hours before declaring his father’s death.

It’s an all too familiar story for many Africans: Leaders’ whose aides swear they’re fit as a fiddle, dying in office under a cloud of mixed messages. A politician admitting to ill health the way Hillary Clinton did during her campaign, expressing vulnerability and displaying openness, is almost unheard of on the continent, even for leaders who have been firmly ensconced in office for years.

Africa’s longest serving ruler, Omar Bongo died of cancer in a Spanish hospital in 2009. Just hours before his death was publicly announced, officials angrily denied reports of his death and banned Gabon’s media from discussing the president’s health. Ethiopia’s longtime ruler Meles Zenawi’s illness was described as “minor” just weeks before he died in a Brussels hospital in 2012, aged 57.

In Next door Nigeria, in 2010, president Umaru Yar’Adua’s death caused a constitutional crisis. The severity of Yar’Adua’s illness was hidden from the public and some politicians, as Yar’Adua failed to formally transfer his powers to his deputy president Goodluck Jonathan before being airlifted to Saudi Arabia. The latest gaffe by current president Muhammadu Buhari shows that Nigeria still hasn’t learned how to control the message.

Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe is the president who always resurrects from death rumors. President Mugabe’s regular trips to Asia for medical treatment often spark rumors that the president has died. The 92-year-old’s trips are often unscheduled, or change abruptly, leaving citizens in the dark. The international and local press and opposition parties monitor every stumble, but his office swears he’s healthy. Exasperated Zimbabweans have taken to tracking Mugabe’s plane for news on the president’s whereabouts. The last time death rumors swirled, Mugabe played along.

Watching Mugabe’s every step and stumble.

“Yes it’s true I was dead and I resurrected as I always do,” he told journalists waiting on tarmac where his plane touched down. When reporters joked with him, asking if they were speaking to a ghost, he said “once I get back to my country I am real.”

Lessons

African leaders leaving their countries to receive medical treatment shows what little faith they have in their own public healthcare system. In Recent weeks, Cameroons most caped and emblematic Captain Rigobert Song was medially airlifted to Europe, just like the Centre Region Governor-Otto Wilson. Most Government officials in Yaoundé and Cameroon are quick to rush to France for medical care. Even the wanted former Minister of Finance Essimi Menye, used it as his alibi to leave Cameroon. The regime in Yaoundé’s refusal to be open and honest with the public further shows a disregard for the people who put them in power, and in turn erodes public trust in the leaders themselves. As Africa’s population becomes younger, citizens in the information age are unlikely to accept miscommunication from much older leaders. The age of the impenetrable strongman leader is will soon be over, African presidents have to learn to talk to—and account—to their people. This is the information age and there are millions of ways to get information across today. The African youth are more conscious, engaging and knowledgeable.

When it is Time: Common Law Lawyers Continue With their one week Strike

Oui or Yes of 1972 in Cameroon

The historical background of Cameroon has once again been the fulcrum of discontent amongst its citizen. Cameroon is a special and unique country within the African sphere and the world platform. The country that was first idolised by Portuguese fishermen in 1472 who were amazed by its diversity and numerous species of prawn over river Wouri. This pushed them to call the Wouri “Rio Dos Cameros”-River of prawns. Then came the Germans who actually defined what was then known as Kamerun. But the most intriguing thing was the defeat of the Germans during the First World War. Cameroon like any other German territory was kept as a protectorate territory under the League of Nations and subsequently partitioned between the British and French.

Historical Context

In 1960, through a Plebiscite English speaking Cameroon-West Cameroon voted to join their “brothers” east of the Mungo. The tenets of this reunification were crystal clear-A federation, Two peoples with same rights and privileges, two official Languages, Education, Legal etc etc and the the country would be the Federal Republic of Cameroon. That was only short-lived as barely 12 years after- on may 20^th, 1972 a referendum was initiated to vote against the federal system for the creation of a unitary state against the wish of the Southern Cameroonian Minorities and against the principles that were enshrined in the constitution. This vote that had as Option “OUI-YES” was overwhelmingly voted for by the majority east Cameroon-La Republique. Southern Cameroonians felt the pinch of the deception and started crying foul. 



The regime in place, didn’t care much and continued with its scheme to assimilate a people. One of the two stars on the flag was removed, the name changed from Federal Republic to United Republic of Cameroon. And in 1984, through a presidential decree, the present Head of State changed the name of the country from United Republic of Cameroon to Republic of Cameroon. Southern Cameroonians felt betrayed, assimilated, annexed, debunked of their identity and saw this as a deliberate and systematic attempt to erode a people of their history, culture and identity. Tensions started building up and lead into a new dawn that started in the early 90s.

Multiparty Politics

The advent of multiparty politics in Africa and Cameroon. The Social Democratic Party was born and Southern Cameroonian immediately identified themselves with its leader –The Tazochia Asonganyi, Prof. Kalle K,  Fru Ndi, Ben and Akere Muna, Assiga, Akoneteh etc. It was some glimpse of light in the tunnel, but after the 1992 presidential Elections where the SDF claimed victory, the story became different. In a bit to get their messages across, Southern Cameroons elites decided to hold an “All Anglophone Conference-ACCI in Buea in 1993. On April 2-3 1993, anyone who was someone in the Anglophone community in Cameroon trudged to the Mount Mary Hospital – Buea for a constitutional therapy. This meeting showed that, when one people with one tradition gets together, they can for once be united. I was a little secondary school boy during this period in GBHS Mbengwi. My Language teacher then-Pa Mundam, told us, your destinies would be discussed in Buea this weekend. To me, this was like saying, we were going to have a new president. But, I didn’t care much and waited to see what will happen, until when the GCE Board was created. He majestically came to class and reminded us that, our struggles are paying off. I didn’t really know the essence of the GCE board let alone an Anglophone Conference. I was a local Bamenda boy, who knew Cameroon was just a wonderful world. Then I paused for a while and asked myself, why is it that almost all newspapers (Cameroon life) with great writers like Francis Wache, Bate Besong, Mbella Sone Dipoko, Tande Dibussi, Nouck Protous, Victor Ngoh, Charly Ndi Chia had captions related to this? Then came the version 2 of the All Anglophone Conference. This time in Bamenda as tradition required.

The Dawn

This episode ended with little more than the GCE Board and the SCNC, but there is an upsurge of another set of leaders in the person of Barrister Nkongho Felix Agbor, Bobga Harmony and Abeng Roland who in May 2015 signed a memorandum in Bamenda and later in 2016 a declaration in Buea calling on the Head of State to look into problems plaguing the common law system in Cameroon. Their arguments have been very coherent, well-articulated and convincing. And as the voice of the voiceless, it has never become more opportune for them to act in Unison as they have. There is no Taboo in asking for the rights of the people we protect, there is no wrong in saying that were are SCNC-That’s our history and so, the entire NW and SW see in them people who can revert the annexation trend going on. Their efforts have seen sympathy from other domains of national life within the Southern Cameroons. The desire to keep our history, heritage and Identity is unconditional.

Just like Mwalimu George N. Posted on his website(http://www.gngwane.com/2015/05/why-all-anglophones-are-members-of-the-scnc.html) , Why all Anglophones are Members of the SCNC: Before and after the All Anglophone Lawyers’ Conference of 9th May 2015, claims and insinuations were linked to the real or imaginary interference of the Southern Cameroon National Council (SCNC) with the deliberations and outcome of the conference. As would be expected the conveners of the conference have gone at length to dissociate themselves from SCNC control as if the SCNC was a pariah organisation.

SCNC is a product of the All Anglophone Conference (AAC) of 1993 and 1994 that brought together different shades of Anglophone opinion to be crystallized into a common vision. It was only after the Cameroon government failed to take on board proposals by the AAC that a new pressure group emerged like it is often the case in liberation theology to give visibility, potency and geo-political relevance and space to the Anglophone struggle.  It is here that the SCNC was born. It was no more a liberation of a people as it was for a territory that freely opted for a Union in 1961 but got short changed on 20 May 1972 with a unitary state.

And PIET KONINGS and FRANCIS B. NYAMNJOH “The Anglophone Problem in Cameroon” Also posit that, With the exception of those who are closely allied to the regime in power, the Anglophones have become  increasingly  aware  of  the importance of united action, and the positive response of concerned activists in both the South-West and the North-West to invitations to participate in AAC I and II is proof that the old provincial divisions have been somewhat reduced. The brutal clamp-down authorised in the South -West during the 1993 anti-smuggling campaign was  a decisive factor in drawing several hesitant members of the elite there into the ranks of the pro-federal pressure groups; and not even the appointment  in  September 1996 of  a  South -Westerner  as  Prime Minister  appears  to  have  affected  that - especially  since  Musonge made a ` false start ' by appointing as chief of cabinet someone from the Littoral Province.

The Government's continued denial of any ` Anglophone problem ' in Cameroon, and its determination to defend the unitary state by all available means, including repression, could lead to an escalation of Anglophone demands past a point of no return.

It is always difficult to have a united front. In fact not all South African supported Mandela in his struggles with apathied. It is obvious that some people will be bought over in this struggle, but the leaders must ensure that they remain coherent and avoid ambiguity. The resignation of Harmony Bobga as the representative of the Bar General Assembly in the northwest is an eloquent testimony and a clear indication of his mental strength and leadership. Barrister Kemeni and Barrister Nico Halle, might have tried their game, but the lawyers in the Northwest and Southwest have shown that, they can stand those intrigues. Some regime fanatics will pick and choose in order to discredit these actions, but the momentum remains with the lawyers.

Our government should also know that, it’s not only the legal domain that is in this struggle, even the educational, transport, health, cultural, sporting fields are all eviscerated. In fact, in the 1960s, Tiko was an international Airport, and where are we with it today? The lawyers from the Common Law system must remain firm and friendly. They have a majority in the bar council of Cameroon and had a bar council before the la Republique. When Folon refused to translate the French anthem into English, he did it for a reason. The regime in Yaoundé has the obligation to respect the constitution of Cameroon. It flies in the face of logic that, Cameroon in its constitution is defined a bi-jural country yet, there is no school that trains magistrates on common law practice. Cameroon still ratifies international treaties with little or no respect to its bilingual nature. A people pushed to the world, might just negotiate a bend of no return.

Moses Ngwanah

The Problem of the Beti People in Yaounde

Onambele Zibi-Notable of the Beti Ethnic Group in Mfoundi

So much headlines have been made this week regarding a supposed Memorandum written by Beti Notables of Mfoundi origine. Onambella Zibi who is claimed to be the author of this memorandum has accused the Head of State-Paul Biya for persistent and consistent neglect towards the Beti people of Mfoundi Division. Their grievances stems from the apparent absence of sons and daughters of Beti origin found in the circles of power in Yaoundé. It is important to note that, Yaounde-the capital city of Cameroon is found in Mfoundi division which is the ancestral soils of the Beti people.

Context

The United Nations and many international structures have a special recognition for indigenous people in the UN Declaration for indigenous people, the UN affirms that all doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally condemnable and socially unjust. It further states in Article 8 (http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/DRIPS_en.pdf)

1. Indigenous peoples and individuals have the right not to be subjected to forced assimilation or destruction of their culture.
2. States shall provide effective mechanisms for prevention of, andredress for:

a)      Any action which has the aim or effect of depriving them of their integrity as distinct peoples, or of their cultural values or ethnic identities;

b)      Any action which has the aim or effect of dispossessing them of their lands, territories or resources;

c)      Any form of forced population transfer which has the aim or effect of violating or undermining any of their rights;

d)     Any form of forced assimilation or integration;

e)      Any form of propaganda designed to promote or incite racial or ethnic discrimination directed against them.

This is an indication that even the United Nations is aware of some of the difficulties that Indigenous people go through and the Beti People of Yaoundé are no exception. It will be repetitive to list the problems already highlighted by the Memorandum, but like any other indigenous group of people, the need the government to protect them. Onamebele Zibi acted on behalf of his people who oft suffer from cowardice and double standards. 

Political Game

After the publication of this memorandum, Sons and Daughters of the Beti Clan have been present to give their opinions on the issue. What intrigues me is that, nobody has been able to deny the problems enlisted by the memorandum, rather, they are dissociating themselves from the letter. They are more interested in playing the game of compromise and seeking self-aggrandisement. But this is to be expected in a country like Cameroon where the Mundus Operandi for the power in place is to divide and rule. The game has been so refined that most communities tend to accuse one another for their predicaments, rather than seeing the hand of the regime in place. On many TV talk shows in Cameroon, guest panellist agree to a Beti problem, but uncharacteristically play the blame game amongst themselves. Claiming the problem of the Beti man is the Beti man himself. That is a very clumsy way to look at the problem and will only heighten the deep rooted differences amongst the elites of the Beti people.

Some people even claim that, the Notable-Onamebel Zibi is ethnocentric and is pulling Cameroon years behind. I dare to challenge them to Franz Fanons book-The wretched on the earth. All Cameroonians are first of all members of their ethnic groups before being Cameroonians. We are first of all, Bassa, Bayangi, Bamilike, Beti, Bafut etc before being Cameroonian. And our values, traditions and customs is what makes us a people and unique. So there is no way, a notable from one ethnic group wouldn't want to talk about his ethnicity. It would be abnormal to have expected him to be writing on the problems of the Mankon Man, Bakweri, Douala, Banso etc. In the same light, some have counted the number of government officials from Mfoundi, accusing Onamebele of wishing that they should give them more. This again sounds ironical for those who still think Onambele is wrong. Cameroon has been designed to celebrate appointments than a kilometre of tarred road. Recently the whole of the ocean division was in absolute pump with the appointment of Charles Ndongo and Melom as Managing Directors of CRTV and the Ports Authority of Kribi respectively. So why would the people of Beti not ask for their own share of positions.

The government of Cameroon should rethink its development policy and the protection of indigenous and minority groups. The appointment of Government Delegates after the 1996 Municipal and Legislative elections was a brief, insufficient and inappropriate response to this issue. There are a lot of other methods to protect local communities and bring them into the main stay of national life. This Memorandum is one too many in a series of them coming from the east, adamawa, north and far north regions. The Anglophones too are at the doors knocking. My plea to the Beti people is to close their ranks and ask for their fair share. Then to Onambele Zibi, if he’s the author of this Memorandum, he should stay put and remain steadfast. After all not all blacks in South Africa were with Mandela, neither all Blacks in the US voted for Obama let alone accepted Martin Luther King. Harriet Tubman once said “I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.”

Who is Next

Tension mounts as Anglophone lawyers down tools

Tension mounts as Anglophone lawyers down tools

The president of the general assembly of the Cameroon bar association regrets resignation of a close aide and erroneous accusation

Harmony Bobga, representative of the general assembly of the Cameroon bar association for the country’s North West Region has resigned in protest of a communiqué reportedly ordered by Barrister Ntumfor Nico Halle. The communiqué which Ntumfor debunked, states that the Bar association distances itself from an on-going strike by Common Law lawyers.

Ntumfor however told Blasting News this morning that it is rather unfortunate that his representative resigned because of an erroneous communiqué. “I did not say the bar association distances itself from the actions of Common Law lawyers. If there is anybody who champions the Anglophone course in this country, it is Nico Halle,” he argued. He noted that he had asked Barrister John Kameni, his representative in Fako Division who wrote the communiqué on his behalf, to modify it.

Speaking to Blasting News this morning, Barrister Kameni confirmed it is he who distances himself from the strike action of the Common Law lawyers. He said he has corrected the communiqué as Ntumfor ordered. The modified communiqué reads: “The President of the general assembly of the Cameroon Bar Association upon traveling to Yaounde to meet the Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals to discuss salient issues on the translation of the OHADA uniform act, announces to all lawyers that he is in total negotiations with the Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals for the effective translation of the OHADA uniform act.”

Disagreements
It also states “He also makes it clear that the minister of state has immediately ordered his technical staff to accelerate and come out with the translated version of the OHADA uniform act as soon as possible.” Kameni however casts doubts on the move. He suggested it is absurd for lawyers in Cameroon to request their government to translate into English, a document supposed to be written in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese by a council of ministers.

This, he said, is the job of the council of ministers of member countries of the OHADA uniform act. He however emphasised that the modified release is the only valid communiqué. The leaders of the strike however insist the Bar Association President should write a disclaimer against the erroneous communiqué to make the second one valid.

Felix Nkongho Agbor Balla, President of the Fako Lawyers’ Association, FAKLA, Philip Awutah Atubah, President of the Meme Lawyers’ Association, MELA, Harmony Bobga-Mbuton, President of the North West Lawyers’ Association, NOWELA, Emilien Ngangjoh Sopseh, President of the Manyu lawyers’ Association, MALA, maintain Ntumfor would be responsible for the acts of his subordinate if he does not issue a disclaimer.

Vote of no confidence
Barrister Agbor Balla warned, “He should not be surprised if we decide to boycott all activities of the Bar Association and even go as far signing a Vote of No Confidence against him. He should do things the way they are supposed to be done. Kameni is my brother and friend but always tries to please the system (government).”

Barrister Kameni for his part admitted that the fact that Common Law lawyers respected the call to down tools in an indication that the leaders have their support. Yet he said the strike proponents are backing a secessionist movement, SCNC which is fighting for the Independence of the former British Cameroon, currently administered as Anglophone regions of the Republic of Cameroon. He said they are also trying to win the hearts of Anglophone lawyers who will vote in forthcoming Bar elections.

To Barrister Agbor Mballa, “those are the rantings of a confused person”. He and other leaders share the argument of the resigned representative of the Bar Association in the North West region, Barrister Bobga. He notes in his resignation letter that neither the Bar Council nor Bar Association has ever officially and specifically addressed the concerns raised by Common Law layers since their first stormy meeting in May 2015

Source: kinnaka's blog