As JANUARY 2017 approaches so many things run through my mind in regard to the Anglophone problem in Cameroon.
Now while some people may believe that things will not go as the Anglophones wish, I’m optimistic that no matter how long it takes, from now on … this time around the wheel of change is here to stay till its purpose is fully achieved.
We pride ourselves in the pledge our elders had made years ago when this plight started taking an international turn at the United Nations – “WE WILL GET WHAT WE WANT WITHOUT THE RULE OF THE GUN BUT WITH THE POWER OF THE PEN AND ARGUMENT.” I can see this happening now – a PEACEFUL but POWERFUL walk!!!
We have had our point of view, there are some people torn in between, and others have had their own view but the truth remains for the Anglophones:
(1) If you agree with HON. JOSEPH WIRBA that ‘the governors, the D.O.s and all the administrators sent to West Cameroon are out there behaving exactly like an army of occupation,’ then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
(2) If you agree with the Bishops of Kumbo, Kumba, Buea, Mamfe and the Archbishop of Bamenda, that THERE TRULY IS AN ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM with roots since 1961, that has led to discontent among the people and spiralled through the Cameroon government’s:
i) Marginalisation of Anglophones in Human Resource Development and Deployment – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
ii) The undermining of the English language as an official language in Cameroon – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
iii) The Flooding of Anglophone Cameroon with Francophone Administrators and Workers who hold very little respect for the dignity of the people – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
iv)The mismanagement of ‘West Cameroon’ patrimonial infrastructures for the regions’ economic development – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
v) The ‘Francophonisation’ of the English Educational Subsystem and the Common-Law System – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
vi)The exclusion of qualified Anglophones in admissions into state professional schools – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
vii) The Erosion of Anglophone Identity through the misleading argument that an Anglophone is anyone who can speak English, ignoring the fact that this reaches out especially to a core of values, beliefs, customs, and ways of relating to the other inherited from the British who ruled this region from 1916 to 1961 – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
(3) If you believe that there have been attempts to distort our history by some academic authorities to suit the purposes of a government that undermine the cry of a distraught people – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
(4) If it matters to you, that our own brothers are still in jail probably being tortured as we speak, for seeking justice – and if you fear that the worse may happen to them and we may never see them again – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2 and request for their immediate release.
(5) If you agree that for Anglophones to grow politically, socially, economically and culturally we need to be in charge of our own development and administration – then JOIN THE WALK ON JANUARY 2.
By Bari Fanso
For BaretaNews
