On Tuesday, 9th August 2016 BaretaNews made public a photo of Minister Tchiroma in front of the White-House, USA. You can read our analysis here http://bareta.press/usa-minister-tchiroma-tastes-freedom/ . However, Elonge Ekalele, BaretaNews commentator resident in the USA disagreed with us. He went ahead to school BaretaNews. Read his reaction.

Baretanews, I find your comment illogical, irrational and very unreasonable and this is why.
Before we start talking about freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom of taking a picture in front of the White House, is it possible that we take a step backwards to find out how long and what type of work was put into, before America acquired such Freedom today.

A typical African today want to copy but refuses to work towards moulding its own. Even the United States today is still struggling with all its Freedom that you and I carry on our heads and make crowns out of it, but we refuse to understand the history, the struggle, the human sacrifice that occurred before this Freedom was born. It has taken the United States of America over 200 years to come to grips with its freedom with its independence, with its equality. But as naive as we are, being the type of Africans that we are today, we just think Freedom is a handout.

No, sir, we have to work towards achieving freedom Liberty equality, that will be African. We have to exercise the same patience that the United States of America exercised, that Europe exercised to achieve freedom. Democracy and freedom cannot be forced on people, cannot be forced on Nations. Check out the Middle East today and check out what the continent of Africa is today and give me an answer.

Africa will reach a point of no return if all we do is keep comparing apples and oranges refusing to do the work but relying on borrowing and begging as we do today. Our continent will fail, if we do not build a democracy and freedom that will work for the continent that’s my argument. Reading your analysis about the photo taken in front of the White House made me almost choke in laughter.

You ask some rhetorical questions that made me wonder what was going through your mind about President Paul Biya. “Why,” you asked “is he living in fear? Why would Cameroonians harm a president they voted and love? Didn’t he say he was elected by a majority of Cameroonians?”

These were the questions you asked about President Paul Biya. Even today in the United States of America President Obama has more Secret Service on him, bigger than some villages in Africa.
Believe you me President Obama is as popular amongst the commoners, in America today. That is if you discard what the right wing in America say about Barack Obama.

The question I have for you Baretenews was, why does President Obama move around with all this Village of Secret Service offices if he is this popular? Why was President Kennedy a very popular president in the United States of America assassinated shot and killed by an assailant? Why was President Reagan shot and survived a bullet wound or wounds?

The point I’m trying to make here is that it does not matter a president’s popularity. There some wackos out there who know nothing but to hate, who know nothing but to try and take people’s lives. That is the reality we are facing today even in the 21st century. As an African, privileged enough to be born in Cameroon I see a brighter light at the end of the tunnel.

The oldest African nation is just 60 years old. It has taken 300 years and over to build democracies in Europe and the United States. My prediction is that it will not take Africa that long. Slow and steady Africa will win the race someday. Let us continue to work towards that goal. Please join me in keeping hope alive.

By Elonge Ekalele