Nobody knows the Anglophone problem better than Biya, except perhaps those who are older than Biya in the likes of Nfon Mukete. Biya was there at the very beginning till now. He participated in all the grand decisions that were taken against Anglophones. What then was the relevance of creating the Musonge Commission when Biya knows the problem so very well?

What were the results of the BIYA commission that was created by Ahidjo to cater for the Anglophone problem?

If the Biya commission was bent on solving the problem, how come the Anglophone problem resurfaced more than 40 years later with more virulent claims than it was in the 1970s?

What is the guarantee that the Musonge commission will do any better?

History has revealed that the greatest way of killing a problem LRC style is by creating a commission.

When LRC was preparing for the last AWCON, 13 Commissions were put in place. When it was realized that things were not moving, a 14th Commission with a huge budget assigned to it was set up to investigate why the 13 other commissions were not working.

Commissions are used as a subterfuge to divert political attention from solving the problem.

The relevance of the commission with regard to the Anglophone problem is questionable, mindful of the fact that there was a commission headed by Biya, Abuem A Tchoyi and Dorothy Njeuma as those that are still alive. Then there was the Buea Declaration in 1993 (AAC 1) where all Anglophone grievances were spelt out. Then the Bamenda Declaration 1994, AAC2 where yet again Anglophone grievances spelt out. Then the resignation letters of Foncha and Muna to Biya when 1994 Constitutional Consultative talks failed and the duo threw the towel. The Duo mentioned that they tried to meet Biya on several occasions to explain these grievances but Biya kept turning them down. That is how Biya replaced Muna with Fonka Shang Lawrence, believing that the latter will be sober but it proved the contrary and the latter was replaced in so little time. Anglophone grievances not new here as we can see and Biya understands the problem better than us all. If the Biya commission didn’t resolve the problem, where is the guarantee that the Musonge commission will do any better? Abouem made so much noise when the crisis started in 2016. George Ngwane was one of the advisers to the Consortium. Why is it that both have gone mute ever since their appointment to the Commission? One would have expected Abouem A Tchoyi who understands the problem very well to be at the fore front if truly the commission intends to solve the problem.

Why didn’t Musonge visit Ayuk Julius and others in order to get the opinion of the Diaspora? As it stands, the Diaspora are in control now so why table a conclusive report without seeking the face of the Diaspora?

Most disturbing of all situations is internally and externally displaced people whose houses have been burnt. Does [provide an enabling environment for the displaced to return] imply the full reconstruction of the over 80 burnt villages? When government asks them to return from bushes, where do they return to when villages have been burnt? Peoples documents have been burnt and many are without ID cards because as they escaped the fighting with no time to collect identification papers which stayed behind and were burnt by LRC forces. What becomes of them? Will the Government reconstruct these homes? How many hundred years will it take to reconstruct over 80 communities and where will the displaced be within the period of wait, in refugee camps?

I didn’t read about the dead, those who were denied dignity in life and even in death. They were denied the right to a decent burial. Human beings who were made in image and likeness of God were buried worse than dogs. Even our family dog had a more decent burial than our deceased brothers and sister. I never read anything in that regard. Instead, I read about the return of Amadou Ahidjo’s corpse for a National Burial. I can only question the relevance of the return of this corpse to appeasing Anglophones. If my memory doesn’t fail me, Ahidjo was the author of this problem, from Foumbam in 1961, to 1972 referendum and so on. What is the relevance of the return of Ahidjo’s corpse to the Anglophone problem?

This Divide and rule game beats my imagination. Patricia Scotland of Commonwealth visited Buea but did not Bamenda. To make it worse, Bamenda wasn’t represented in the Buea meeting. Now Musonge commission visits Bamenda and immediately publishes results.

One would have imagined that the same scenario be replicated in Buea before tabling the report. Why is the NW speaking up and the SW is quiet? What do we make out of this;

That the SW doesn’t have any interest to defend in the Anglophone problem and they are contented with LRC domination of the Anglophones.

The Anglophone problem is a GRAFFI AFFAIR, as Musonge, Nalova Lyonga and others said, because the SW are a peace-loving people and it is the ‘graffis’ that are disturbing the peace here

To give the SW a good name and to give the NW a bad name

Indicates that the SW are already captured by LRC and they pose no threat to the National Integrity and are ready to follow Biya anywhere he goes. In this regard, Musonge will remain the Political Leader of the region, the only cock that can crow, while Elung Paul will be the next PM and Tabetando will surely head the next Senate. As a consequence, the entire region can be sacrificed.

Come to think of it, the SW has been most affected by this struggle so far, in almost all the divisions. At the start, the SW was lagging. The entire Manyu, entire Lebialem, entire Kupe Muanenguba, parts of meme, parts of Fako, parts of Ndian have been affected, as opposed to just Boyo and Momo, with the exception and perhaps the unfortunate Santa incident. So why doesn’t the SW have a say in the Commission. Even on the date of this publication, there were armed confrontations in Lebialem, Ekona, Ekombe, Mbalangi and other SW locations with many SWners killed.

LRC has always ensured that we remain divided, right in the days of Ahidjo where southern Cameroon was divided into NW and SW and both camps were put at permanent loggerheads with each other. To compound the problem, Ahidjo and Biya insisted that there be no direct access to both regions, regardless of the fact that both regions were side by side, sharing a common boundary. One had to leave Bamenda and pass through two LRC Regions before getting to Buea. What we have as the Mamfe-Bamenda road is a fabrication of the GREEN TREE accord that was imposed by the UN as part of the

resolution of the Bakassi crisis and not because LRC was ever willing to link both regions. The plan has always been to divide us. Unfortunately, the people have understood this dirty game and are working against it. No amount of manipulation can divide the people again.

When Musonge openly accused the graffis, the agenda was to distance the SW from the struggle but it failed woefully. As we can see, different communities have come up with their defence forces that are made up of solely the indigenes of that area so there is nothing like graffi manipulation as was the case in the past.

Federation was cited in the report as a solution to the current crisis. I ask myself how Musonge arrived at that, besides, what type of Federation are we talking about here and how the federation will be settled. Will it be imposed on us by Presidential Decree or by Popular vote? Are we talking about a 10 State, 5 State, 4 State, 2 State Federation? Besides, what gives Musonge the impression that the people want a Federation? we welcome the much talked about dialogue but the golden question remains;

Who will be dialogued with?

LRC claims it will not dialogue with terrorists, secessionists.

There are some Anglophones who do not recognize the IG.

Then we have the indifferent that are cynically sitting on the fence and waiting for the outcome.

Then there are some of us who have stolen so much money from the corrupt system and we want it to continue so that we remain on the winning side.

Then there is the anti-graffi group who prefer a ten-state federation, which won’t be different from the ten regions we have now.

Then we have the sex slaves who want a decentralized state

Then we have those who want a return to 1961 federation,

Then we have the SDF and its 4-state federation

Then we have LRC evil scheme of creating bilingual regions or 4 state federations where SW and LITTORAL, NW and OUEST will be linked up, under the evil guise of killing the Anglophones completely.

Then we have the restorationists who form a great part of the Diaspora.

With so many Anglophone extremes and with diehard opponents holding their grounds firmly I can only most humbly suggest that a free and fair REFERENDUM be organized for Anglophones to determine their fate once and for all.

There is a trap here because we hear of many francophones turning the problem into a national problem, citing how we need a national dialogue so that peace can come to this country. That is how the return of Ahidjo’s corpse was brought into the table and we have heard many francophones saying that the problems raised by Anglophones are found in other regions as well. We need to beware of manipulation. There is an Anglophone problem that is different from any other domestic problem so let’s not fall into the 1972 trap where everyone voted instead of just the Anglophones.

Ambe Emmanuel,

Contributor to BaretaNews