HOW DO WE SOLVE THE ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM? SUNDAY 21ST JAN. 2018
By Dr. Nick Ngwanyam, MD. St Louis University Institute of Health Bda. Tel/whatapp 237 677764674 www.stlouisbamenda.com
PART A
What is the Problem? ( marginalization). Why did it degenerate? ( Lack of truth, elites not helpful). Understanding Cameroon and the other actors.( governance, failing economics, youth problems, favoritism, failed agriculture, failed education, failed justice system). Who is an Anglophone?( Anybody with genetic material originating from the North and South West Regions. Speaking English does not define the Anglophone).Understanding the metaphysical control of the world systems. ( God and the Devil fight for our hearts. Who is in control of Cameroonians, their thoughts, actions etc? Which master are we as a people serving?) Why do we glorify and rejoice in the death of others? Is that of God? Why kill? What are the things that motivate man? Who is your God? ( Money? Power? Materialism? Fame? Women? Houses? Cars? Enjoyment?)
PART B
Understanding God ( Love, Life, Truth, Soul, Spirit, Infinite Intelligence, Principle and a lot more). o Understanding success= helping others to grow and be even better than you. Help others to rise higher than you are without ever expecting them to pay back to you. They should pay back to common good. o Understanding Good Governance ( Merit, Excellence, Common Good). o Understanding the Farmer Principles (sowing and reaping, adding value to something before you take out the profits. Never eat the seed). o Understanding that EVERY THING depends on sound economic principles. Poor economics breeds chaos. ( Add value to systems, earn more, spend less, DO IT YOURSELF.. D.I. Y.) o Building the capacities of youth to do it themselves… Sound Education ( STEM… Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics PLUS Management/Leadership/ Entrepreneurial Skills). Cause e-learning in the country by reducing the cost of internet communication and making this tool available and affordable everywhere in the nation.
PART C
THE ANGLOPHONE PROBLEM
(Problem of power sharing, governance, self-determination, accountability, respect, responsibility, empowerment etc). There are three Anglophone groups.
A) Ambazonian… Wants a separate state. B) Federalist ( 2,3,4, 10, 11 states within the union). C) The Unionist ( A Greedy Lot, not trusted by the population, self-seeking, never tell H.E. President Paul Biya the Truth. Are responsible for causing 80 percent of the problems and fueling the escalation). (Proponents of a One strong central government. Sees no need for change and is contented. Believes in the iron fist….they are the elites and high civil servants from Yaounde and those occupying juicy posts. They benefit directly or indirectly from the chaos and upheavals and are not genuinely interested in positive change nor for solutions to come quickly. In that event they lose power, financial benefits and other perks. They love and enjoy the status quo).
PART D
The Solutions are three fold based on the three types of Anglophones described above.
UNIONIST APPROACH
The Unionist started the problem, fertilized it and enjoys it. He has come to the end of the road and he has no place in modern Cameroon. He has no solutions to the problem because he is actually the creator and sustainer of the problem.
SEPARATIST APPROACH
Wants two separate republics.
I understand that they have a strong case that is backed by the United Nations. The logic therefore, warrants that the fight is at the United Nations and international courts along with diplomacy to find a lasting solution in their favor.
It will be interesting to make the following observation that VIOLENCE from both sides will NEVER solve the problem.
We have glorified death and suffering. This is not the way forward. Whether we do so because we are provoked, or for self-defense makes no difference to the outcomes which is death and suffering that earns no dividends.
It only adds to losses. If the dead could come back, then there could be a point. Lives of the citizens and the soldiers are all precious. Causing abortions is just as bad in case you did not know this. Let us be ProLife. It is true that students were brutalized by the military in Buea, lawyers were also brutalized when they asked for a simple thing like… translate the OHHADA Law into English.
Violence escalated in Bamenda on the 8th of December with reported deaths of civilians because of ego problems.
There was a failed dialogue process because the principles of dialogue were not respected when trying to solve the teacher and lawyer problems so the balance tipped over to the radicals on both sides of the divide.
Police killed civilians, civilians killed gendarmes, police and the army. Arson set in and anarchy gained ground. Violence begets violence.
WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO LIVE TOGETHER IN PEACE? ( FEDERALIST/DECENTRALIZATION)
PROPOSED SOLUTIONS FOR THIS OPTION TO WORK.
A) UNDERSTAND THAT A SECULAR STATE does not mean that the state should function without God’s Principles.
B) CHANGE THE CURRENT GOVERNMENT AND REDISTRIBUTE POWER. Too many ministries doing almost the same thing and stepping on each other’s toes, (effective and unaccountable, corruption on the rise). Re-engineer the government for effectiveness and productivity.
C) CHANGE THE NAME OF CAMEROON to ?
D) MODIFY THE CONSTITUTION . (Create a post of Vice President. Elections should be done with President and vice president running on the same ticket upfront. Presidential debates should be held on Life TV and Radio for president or vice to sell their products to the electorate. If a Francophone is Present, the Vice is Anglophone; If an Anglophone is President, the Vice is Francophone. Presidential terms should be limited to a maximum of 2 terms starting in 2025. It should be clearly stated that if a president is Anglophone, the next to replace him or her is automatically a Francophone. Some ministerial posts should not be limited only to Francophones. This destroys the sense of belonging and gives the impression that Anglophones are either incapable or cannot be trusted. The electoral process should be improved upon. Use the money spent on the Senate now, to build computer manufacturing plants for our youths and improve on agriculture.
E) FEDERATION/DECENTRALIZATION. Whatever the case may be, let citizens elect their governors, delegates, mayors and administrators who are accountable to them. The population should have the powers to hire and fire. Currently most of these persons chosen by the president are very arrogant, insulting, unrepentant, tell lies and are headstrong because they have learnt to cook the system and stay in place. They have no business with the population and as long as they and their families can eat to their fill, they careless about the masses. The budgets for development and managing local units should be given to the people in the periphery and not managed from Yaounde.
F) ENAM Is this structure a blessing or a curse on the people? It needs to be studied scientifically and necessary adjustments made in that structure. It should be part of a university system and their products should be challenged and also used in a world market. They should be competitive and have the skills to fit into other molds. For instance, if we take our ENAM graduates and give them France to manage; the question that arises would be this: how long will they survive before the French people will chase them out of office? Why so? That is the true acid test. If they cannot do it in France, then one understands why we seem to be in such a mess and thus this calls for the re-engineering of the ENAM concept. Rwanda, Ghana, Tanzania are the best countries in terms of governance, development and economic growth. The question is whether they have ENAMS. How do they get to manage their nations the way they do?
G) PARTY POLITICS. There are only two parties in Cameroon. Right and Left. Anything else is in between. That is why we hear of presidential majority and opposition group. Forget the three hundred political parties. That is a sham. If we take the CPDM, they have the power and are governing. Congratulations. However, we should realize that the CPDM is not one amorphous unit nor is the SDF a one thinking-cap fit all arrangement. There are conservatives and progressives in both camps. Most elites in the CPDM would not want change because that rocks the boat for them. However, there are good people with good ideas in the CPDM in the likes of Hon. Martin Oyono from Kribi. The CPDM needs more youths to come with android ideas to the fore front. The progressive wing needs to replace the conservative wing so that the country can be liberated to breathe some oxygen. The SDF like all the other opposition parties also need to make changes bringing on board new persons with new energies and fresh ideas. We are currently a politically stale nation. It is foul-smelling. We need fresh air in the houses. When the SDF makes a few noises in parliament, those activities are only skin-deep and if you asked them to willfully resign so that the younger generation should take over and do better, none of them will move. Self-interest is killing the nation. SDF or CPDM is the same thing. What we need in politics is a younger generation of forward looking youths who are God Fearing. They should work above all for common good, respecting man and God. They should be the salt and the light of the earth irrespective of their party leanings. Being Muslim or Christian, Francophone or Anglophone is irrelevant. Being God Fearing and working with the Wisdom of God and growing His Kingdom in Truth will liberate the nation.
H) RESPECT FOR MERIT AND EXCELLENCE. This cannot be over emphasized. Today, we have kids who are highly connected who show up from school with no skills and nothing in their heads bossing their well- grounded elders who lack connections. This breeds a lot of negative energy in the systems.
I) CREATE A FAST-TRACK OFFICE TO FIGHT CORRUPTION. This office should operate under the Prime Minister or Vice President as the case may be. We should teach everyone to record conversations with other persons who might want to take advantage of them. These could be used as direct evidence to nail perpetrators of evil. This office should have open doors. Suppose you have a file that someone is sitting on; then show up with evidence at this office. The office takes over the issues from you and sets the records straight in 2 weeks. The guilty party is sent to court for correctional measures. This will stop corruption in Cameroon overnight. The government has to put her foot down because the people in privileged positions are taking advantage of others. This is so especially in the taxation, judiciary, customs, police, ‘concours’, health sector etc.
J) IMPROVE ON THE ECONOMICS. CHANGE THE DYNAMICS. God has blessed us with so much. We are a rich country and we have everything. What we lack is discipline to do what is right and true. Currently, our motives are tainted. We lack respect and love for ourselves and others. We lack the capacity to add value to ours systems. We lack the technological and managerial capacities to solve our own problems. We have to learn to clean our noses and our shit. How comes we are unable to clean our streets and towns ourselves. We need foreign companies to help us. What a shame. Someone has to help us to cut our tree trunks. Helps to transport and take them to the market. Sells these for us and pays us a token. Then we take this money and give it away to the Chinese, because we have to pay for their rice and then to Moroccans for their fish. Then we buy a lot of wine from other nations and sometimes water. We eat drink, piss, shit and make merry. We turn around and are surprised that there is a rebellion in the house? We should use what we have to create better schools that teach our children the art of creating jobs and solving problems ourselves. This will put power and money into their hands. There will be no peace if the youth problems are not addressed be they Anglophones or Francophones. We could blame Libyans for what they are doing to our children. In fact the trouble is with us and not Libyans. We must do what is right.
K) A LITTLE LECTURE ON VIOLENCE AND DIALOGUE. Do you know of any war that was ever ended without frank and genuine dialogue? It does not exist. Confrontations might stop on the battle fields but bitterness, fear, mistrust and lack of peace continues to brew on the inside. The problem is on the inside buried within the soul and the spirit. It is not on the flesh. Bullets kill the flesh yet the soul and spirit live on. Why are blacks still unhappy in America even though slavery was ended a long time ago? There is a war on the inside. To stop the war on the outside, the war on the inside has to be dealt with. That is why the whole Cameroonian army will never win the war against Anglophones because the battlefront is on the inside and not on the outside. That is why the separatist should change tactics as well for violence never brings any fruit. Listening and understanding each other is the way forward. The Americans and the Russians have the strongest infantries in the world. In any conventional war fare on the ground without the use of nuclear arsenal, no one will win. They could fight for fifty years, there will be no winner. To stop the war, they will be obliged to sit at the round table and talk to each other with respect. This is what the government and the Anglophone community need to do that makes sense. War has no place. Killing and hurting each other is useless and adds insult to injury.
Do we really want peace in Cameroon? Then the only way is to do it God’s way. We must seek to think, live and practice the TRUTH in LOVE and RESPECT for each other. We have to value each other and give everyone enough space to express their God given talents in the interest of common good. No one should tell the other when he should be making babies with his wife. Human wisdom has got its limits. The Ambazonians and the government must seek the ways of the Lord. Our country, though secular, must function with the Fear of the Lord. We must work according to principles and not feelings. The people need Justice and Unity. They need Peace. These things cannot be bought with money. They cannot be achieved through the barrel of the gun. They cannot be forced not dictated. The magic solution is to build bridges of TRUST by using TRUTH and LOVE.
15 comments
We called for some white God and the Devil came.
Where was God when our women were been raped, our men executed,
our boys massacred, our lively hood been stolen from us,
our land, nation, sold to Europeans, Asians, foreigners, …
We are taking our lives back into our hands. You mother fuckers can
call us all the names you want, terrorist, separatist, secessionist,
We are not scare of you, your white God or your European masters.
We die for our freedom. We are going to kill you people just as you are
killing us and we shall see which white man is going to come and fight
along side you.
No peace with devils, hell is coming to everyone in Ambazonia, better
be prepared.
I really doubt that federation will work. First of all that type of state is very strange for francophones. Their majority reject it. Moreover the autonomy would mean the loss of thousands of jobs for francophones in Ambazonia (West Cameroon). I doubt they are willing to do so. I appriciate your approach and the way of your free thinking reflects our mindset. But I have serious doubts. A fourth option is to separate and go for a lose confederation with French Cameroun.
Malis, we are a people steep in cultural values. That is why we should learn to disagree without using profanity.
Meanwhile, is it not “frank and genuine dialogue” that was requested for by the teachers and lawyers? And what was the response of the thug Called Biya. Instead of sending people to engage in genuine dialogue with the teachers and lawyers, he thought he could intimidate them by having military men fill the room to create an oppressive atmosphere. When that did not work he had his slave boy Ghogumu run back to him and we know what happened next.
Furthermore, let us understand that the Bible is made up of the Old and New testament. We should stop talking as if the Bible is just made up of the New Testament. In the Old Testament, acting in self defense is totally acceptable.
Thanks Nick for the analysis. biya is not going to dialogue with Ambasonia the way the UN or whoever thinks How does a slave rider(biya) dialogue with a slave (Ambasonia)? What modalities can be followed to dialogue with biya? No one is talking or writing on the modalities of dialoguing with biya. biya understands dialogue as declaring war on the poor people of Ambasonia. To biya dialogue is killing of Ambasonians or forcing them out of their ancestral lands. The UN calls for dialogue but is short on how to dialogue. The AU gives biya the upper hand by asking people to go dialogue under biya’s terms. Where is the dialoguing table and in which country is it to take place?
Shout as loud as you want about dialogue. biya does not dialogue and will never with the people of Ambasonia Biya kills and will continue killing -that’s how he is dialoguing NOW. Let’s wake up and defend ourselves.
You cannot cheat the laws of nature. Natural law is based on justice and equality. If you follow that principle its leads you to an independent Southern Cameroons (Ambazonian).
The solution is not federation, decentralization, or separation. The solution is to apply the principle of justice and equality. That principle will lead you to the correct solution. This does not apply just to this case. Did applies in any disagreement of conflict.
Frank and genuine dialogue is the way forward. People like Malis and the dumb gov`t in the LRC are just part of why this country cannot move forward. The writer raises a lot of good points that are likely going to move us forward. We have been in this for too long to know that Paul Biya is out of ideas and has surrounded himself with people who think just like him. Even with state of the art weapons, MR. Biya should know that he cannot win this war. Mr Paul at one point has to swallow his pride and understand that he cannot win all the times. Biya has so many times proven that he is as dumb as a brick and as gullible as himself. Easily deceased by his cronies and made to believe that everything he hears is true. Just an example why in the first place he cannot be a leader and has dragged this country for 36years to the worst the country has ever been. Any forward thinking Cameroonian knows Biya should have resigned and instead of resigning he is planning to stand for the upcoming elections. What a shame to the forward thinking people of Cameroon. They are two thinks that are going to fix this problem, Southern Cameroonians marching to Buea under the guise of a new government and a new State or a total change of the failed regime in Yaounde starting with the dumbest president who deserves a spot in the world Guinness book of records.
Biya is aware about the fact that if he starts negotiations with us, which are inevitable, he will appear weak. That is his major concern. But Ambazonian people I can assure you that this will happen. What we have to do is to render plans and possibilities. What we need is a referendum. We need to push that. The people of Ambazonia shall decide in which form they want to co-exist with the people of LRC. Either full independence, which might take few years to adapt or an federation of equals. The last one shall be based one the idea of 1961. Autonomy over judicary, education and economy.
George, we don’t need any referendum because LRC is already collecting photos and fingerprints of Ambazonians living in LRC. Rigging process has started already. Given what has happened , it is better for us to go our separate ways.
My dear Tabot in a democracy you need a legimidation in the things you do. Since we want not only to fully restore our independence but also to establish a true democracy that is the only way. I heard about that with the fingerprints and photos. But I give a piece of s*** on that. A referendum will be held under supervision of major stakeholders such as UN and EU. There must be strong measurements in place to avoid any cheating.
Thank you Nick.Dialogue is the only way forward.killing each other is not the solution and would never be.This K leg dictator have really damaged this country for the past 36 years now and should just please!step down and leave us alone to arrange and build a new nation that would be suitable for all cameroonians to live in peacefully and happily.With all the resources we have we deserve better not so? Right now as i am writing hearing heavy gunshots at mator the outskerts of Kumba.
You’re correct. But the stiff resistance and self-defence will push them on the dialogue table. Take care.
Dialogue to be initiated by who and when? The tough mans way out is to kill burn down villages and stay in power. Go ADF go tigers go warriors and go and go
Any Tom,dick and Harry can make noise without condemning biya for his evil regime, killings, genocide and under development,SCs liberation was not born in Oct 2017,on the 90’s lcr biya french Cameroon killed and exiled many, many generations of SCs know their history SC is not and will never be part of french Cameroon, dialogue at this stage will be a weakness on seperation after the arrogance and killing of biya and his regime, we shall fight,fund the struggle,kill as many enemies in lrc until they realise that they should have had dialogue,respect and listen to the people of SCs,we will establish Buea as our capital sooner,lrc does not rule SCs, all those bribery elites will have to run for their lives and that of their beggars families, with them and the many Fons, chiefs who are slave bribery traitors have encouraged, slums, poverty, unemployment, disrespect for their citizens
@Ndolloz stop wasting your time and think for a minute, violence only call for violence. Cameroon is not Biya property, after him the country will remain. So lets stop advocating for killings and destructionds, dialogue is the best way forward.
There was no document signed in this njumba girl /boy friend married which should have made the two to become one….. so I don’t know why LRC is finding it hard to let us go. Anywhere monkey d work baboon de chop,yi get bee hives for southern Cameroons.biya be ready to give an account before the God who created the lives that your armies are destroying at your command. Your day of judgment will surely come .