Editorial

The massive whirl wind that swept across state universities on Wednesday, June 28 had a catch that did not in any way shock the English speaking regions of the country. Pauline  Nalova Lyonga Limunga's tenue as Vice Chancelor of the University has been terminated. Flushed by the same system she fought so hard to protect, news of her promotion to retirement took the social media on a melt down not because of her brilliant academic prowess which makes her a monumental figure amongst the Anglophone intelligencia . But because her time at the "Place to be" was everything but a peaceful one. A reign of strikes after strikes, brutal face off with the student union and her role in fueling the Anglophone crisis are part of her perilous 5 year stay at UB.

Nalova's rise to the position of Vice Chancellor in 2012 was greeted with alot of mixed feelings . On one hand,   her fellow Bakweri brethren on campus  saw it as a chance to break free from what they lamented as maginalisation from their North Western brothers led by  most venerated Prof Vincent P.K Titanji, V.C at the time. Though we cannot independently verify the authenticity of the claims, one could smell an atmosphere of fustration amongst the Fako indegenes who were not comfortable having a man from the North West at an insititution planted in their land. It is even alleged Prof Titanji's inability to handle some pressing crisis situations during his reign was as a result of a carbal mounted by native Bakwerians at the Central Administration to fustrate his actions.   But on the other , Nalova was a fine academic breed chosen from within the institution . A University don with sterling qualities as a scholar-researcher, she is known for her no-nonsense approach to academic matters. Within academic circles, Lyonga is recognised as a fine brain – brilliant and articulate. She is said to have drank deeply from the wells of two giants – the intellectual juggernaut Fonlon and the management maestro Prof. Dorothy Njeuma – a combination that should make UB respect the Fonlonian prerequisite that a University, worthy of its name should gravitate around the tripod of a University Library, Bookshop and Printing Press – infrastructure sorely lacking at that time.

The outgoing Vice Chnacellor Titanji told reporters during the handing over ceremoney that , the new VC will face challenges, “they are enormous. But, if she assumes her responsibility and creates an enabling culture and ensures that the challenges are shared, then, she will overcome. In other words, she must put in place a new team with fresh ideas. If she considers the challenges as tasks to be tackled by her alone, then, that will be a clear recipe for failure.” It was evident the words of the outgoing VC were more of an advice,  it was a prophesy which like others hinged on time, could not fail to come to fruition.

Barely a year into her mandate, Nalova's "clear receipe for failure" began with a brutal crackdown on the student union, UBSU. A symbol of anglo saxon democracy within the university milleu, UBSU protested against the university's policies. On Wednesday, February 6, 2013 Executive members of the University of Buea Students’ Union, UBSU,  called for a strike action. In an eight-point memorandum addressed to the Vice Chancellor,  Nalova Lyonga, UBSU  demanded  that online registration problems in the university be given  prompt attention, that on-campus businesses, especially photocopiers, should be reinstated to  facilitate the teaching and learning process, that students should be allowed to seat for  examination upon part payment of their registration fees of FCFA 25,000,  and that various modes of transcripts be respected and made available on time to stop exploitation of students.

According to reports, On day one of the protest, the Vice Chancellor was temporally held hostage by the striking  students for over three hours in her car as she made her way into the campus early that morning.  Four students were arrested in the process  and two released few days later after paying FCFA 700, 000.The UBSU president Ronald Minang, is  declared missing and discovered 10 days later on February 21, 2013 in Muea – a locality in Buea  Sub-Division in the South west Region- in a pretty bad shape. Mr. Minang says he was kidnapped  by unidentified assailants and taken to an unknown destination where he was compelled at gun  point to sign some documents related to demonstrations in the university. By refusing to sign  the papers calling off the strike, Minang says he was given the beating of his life and released  in a degrading health state. Before Minang’s abduction, he posts a notice informing protesting  students that the “meeting with the Vice Chancellor … ended in a fiasco. Our VC came and was  dictating to us, it was not a dialogue forum anymore.” The VC of the university in response  organizes a press conference and refutes claims that she has not been open to dialogue with the students. Recurrent conflicts with the student body finally led to its disollution by the Vice Chnacellor, killing a strong arm of the University governance system.

As external shocks were weighing in on her administration, internal cracks began show up. Stiff disagreements with the lecturers trade union, SYNES charcaterised by stony high handedness was another unpleasant pill for the disgruntled teaching body to take.  On many occasions, it was Higher Education boss Jeacque Fame Ndongo who had to make fruitless trips to Buea to dialogue with the lecturers over unpaid research allowances and other dues. Demands that were timidly resolved under her tenue.  The open face off with the pioneer Director of the Kumba based Higher Technical Teacher Training ciollege, Prof Joyce Endeley over the running of the school needs no introduction. She is reported to be behind the sacking of Prof Joyce Endeley and the appointment of Prof  Agbor Ntui considered by many as a stooge.Meanwhile, she is alleged to have flooded the Central Administration with close aides who were incompetent in their duties. The result has been a scandalous discovery of a racket of fake credential amongst the personel .

But the final nail on her coffin was the disastrous handling of the last student protest which triggered the Anglophone crisis. UB students had on November 28 suffered untold torment, rape and looting in the hands of troops deployed to ‘quell’ a sit-down strike on their campus against obnoxious policies of the Nalova administration. The angry students, protesting for the first time in 3 years  were denouncing an extra 10.000FCFA for late registration, the absenc e of a recognised student body  as well as transparency in the award of Presidential grants when they  were brutally molested by security forces . The heartless forces chased them right to their homes where they suffered untold misery.   Okalia instead blamed the disaster on the UB Vice Chancellor, VC, Dr. Nalova Lyonga.The Governor said he was coerced into signing the order to dispatch armed troops to clamp down on the protesting UB students.The Governor was quoted as saying that as a father he could not remain insensitive to the cry of the UB administration, as such he was forced to dispatch troops to the University campus to quell the students’ protest.

Following the strike action of SYNES members, Nalova fruitlessly issued threats to the student and teaching community for them to resume school. Her use of force sharply contrasted with her colleague of the University of Bamenda who employ a more careful approach towards the crisis. Prof Theresa Nji had suspended classes and told students to go home in the heart of the shootings in Bamenda. She openly called on the government to find a favourable ground for dialogue to ensure that lecturers demands are met for them to  get back to the classroom. While her docile approach earned her admiration from the English speaking community, demands for Nalova's head on the chopping board flooded social media over her harsh and catastrophic handling of the crisis.

Nalova Lyonga has been swept by the wind from Etoudi . And while the move has been hidden under the vast change in Higher Education personel . Its no doubt a direct response to her failures at the University which has resulted in a thorny issue for the institution and government. She leaves UB with a legacy of pain, hate and anger from the entire university community and the population. Some of her teaching staff are languishing at the Kondengui detention Centre while others are at large simply because they stood against her policies. With little remorse over her back door exit, others want severe measures to be taken against her for attempted man slaughter and violations of fundermental human rights as well as mismanagement of univeristy funds. There is no doubt Nalova Lyonga has fallen on the negative side of the prestigious UB and now stands as the most unpopular VC in the history of the academic jewel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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28.Jun.2017

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Hon Joseph Wirba has resurfaced from self exile, 6 months after a brutal man hunt for his head was launched by the country's Police Chief and Biya's Bulu kingpin, Martin Mbarga Nguele.  His only crime has been speaking the whole truth over Government's inhumane treatment of the Anglophone Problem.  The use of firepower by heavily armed combat ready troops on unarmed and helpless civilians, harassments,  intimidation and provocation in the North West and South West regions since the eruption of the crisis had reached fever pitch, boiling in the heart of a small but hard figure who was poised  to defend his people from the ills of a brutal and violent regime.

The man who unsettled the National Assembly and defied its Speaker during the November session looked relaxed as he made his way into the Glass House with a huge file, probably containing results of extensive research he could have carried out during his forceful narrow escape, demanding that the standing orders of the house be changed to include the Anglophone wahala. Wirba's stormy return was no good signal for Cavaye Yegue Djibril who had  earlier received lashes from fellow regime barons for allowing the audacious and fearless warrior of Nso ignite a revolution which has spread like wild fire not only  in his hometown Kumbo but also the entire Anglophone part of the territory. An attempt by the Speaker to stop him was just like drawing a line for him to cross. And for a man who had previously dared the same opponent in his own  fief, Wirba did not disappoint.

For many who thought he had negotiated his comeback with the establishment and would digest the Speaker's dictatorial move, Wirba took Cavaye and other colleagues back to classroom, teaching them  the basics of why they are Parliamentarians in the first place. Just when the "tres Honorable" was yet to digest his own dose of the 101 lecture, he proceeded by  launching a virulent invitation on the Police boss to come seize him from the rostrum of the National Assembly.

Wirba's heated verbal duel with the House Speaker was enough illustration to prove he was unfazed with the mission allowances and the splendor offered to MPs for the session. A strong signal for the dysfunctional system  to understand that they won't have rest if they continue circumventing the Anglophone Problem.

Observers have been quick to draw similarities with the famous WWE Superstar The Undertaker who would resurrect after his opponents thought they had knocked him out in a wrestling match. The regime who was exhausted from fruitless deals with the Consortium and resorted with a ruthless witch hunt of its leaders could have been popping bottles of wine thinking it's arbitrary use of force had put them on a strong position. But it is clear the drama this week in Parliament has demonstrated that the Anglophone crisis is deeper and broader than even those who carry it can imagine. it will require more than routine gunshots and teargas to silence the people.

At a time when the arrest and escape of the struggle's  flag bearers had ushered in a ferocious power tussle amongst demi gods and fragmented a once unified people, the return of Wirba is expected to give the crusade some sort of leadership stability, that is if all actors agree to down self aggrandizement, stop intimidation of contrary views and create an avenue for true reconciliation.

An arrest warrant still hangs over Wirba's head and though he still enjoys immunity, his future is still clouded in uncertainty . For an unpredictable regime that violated all set rules and abducted a Senior judge at the Supreme Court in January, intimidated  the son of one of the people's finest politicians through a  summon and used an unholy Parent Consortium to try Church leaders in court,  Wirba's settlement on enemy territory worries the very heart of Southern Cameroonians . The regime critics say will do all it takes to wipe him out. But Wirba's courage in the face of the unknown as curious as it seems clearly depicts a man who is coming with renewed energy in the struggle. Time will surely not disappoint to show his people what he is bringing back from exile.

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Jerome Ngwa

23.Jun.2017

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Cameroon will become an emergent nation by 2035. That is the utopian nation of Paul Biya, who will be over a hundred years old by then, if...
Cameroon will certainly attain emergence but not thanks to words like Biya's.
Concrete actions are the only vehicle to transport such transformation.
Until we understand who we are and what we have, we will continue to make noise while others fly quietly.
By no means will Cameroon shake from this position if the gap between the  taxpayers and "taxconsumers" widens every day.
You can't expect a country to make money from taxpayers when white collar-job persons ride in air-conditioned cars..., with drivers; live in luxurious houses, eat   extravagant meals... when the taxpayers are jumping from left to right under the control of hunger.
No country will develop when the public sector is in a constant, disastrous competition with the private sector.
"[...]Most of the richest businessmen in Cameroon are civil servants," Honorable Joshua Osih observed on Cameroon Calling,CRTV, on Sunday.
To back up this assertion, we can turn back to the story of the civil servant whose multimillion castle raised eyebrows in the country and beyond about two months ago.
When the public had got too interested in and critical about the story, some voices came up to justify the sources of the wealth.
They claimed that besides being a 'hard-working' civil servant, Mr Felix Samba is a farmer.
There is certainly nothing wrong in being hardworking and having a farm.
But we need to adapt to our situation.
If Cameroon is not very 'rich', let our ministers ride the vehicles that suit their country.
Let our administrators dress, eat and live like the leaders of a country struggling to grow.

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Rita Akana

18.Jun.2017

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The Biya's regime hurriedly launch a vicious terrorism bill that was aimed at targeting Anglophone nationalism.

Those who are being detained in Yaoundé and purportedly charged with terrorism were instead kidnapped by state thugs without any weapons.

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Bernard Ngouche Ndim

08.Jun.2017

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Only a decaying people will"re-elect" a president like Paul Biya, given the stinking state of affairs in the country.
Paul Biya has certainly been in power for over three decades already but that is not our major concern now. What we decry for the moment is the attitude of the president towards his people.
A man who calls himself president yet remains almost indifferent in the face of heart-breaking tragedies is not  a leader at all.
Biya has such terrible attitude of remaining silent even when scores of Cameroonians perish in disastrous incidents. Sometimes,only useless messages of "sympathy" are passed by a governor , a divisional officer or by the so-called spokesman of the nation.
In a country where the president knows why they are in power, a tragic event like the mysterious death of Bishop Jean Marie Benoit Balla would have received great attention from the presidency. The president would have addressed his people, particularly  the bereaved family, in a bit to make them feel home.
Even when scores of people perished in the Eseka train derailment in 2016 , the president did not take a moment to visit the scene of the tragedy. Instead, he shamefully declared a national mourning day, something that just anyone can do without any fore reflection.
Can Biya not copy the examples from his counterparts?  Theresa May of the United Kingdom reacted directly to the Manchester bomb last that killed some 22 people and injured dozens more. Even Donald Trump condemned the attack, calling the terrorists"losers".
Such cases are uncountable, even in Egypt recently with the attack on Christians.
The president could use intermediaries at times but not all the time.
If age is his problem, let him rest. He is officially 84.
He could only unilaterally declare war against Boko Haram while in France but cannot directly sympathise with the victims of the insurgency today.
We may not have to talk again about his unwillingness to have a real dialogue with competent labour unions in order to solve the problems raised by Southern Cameroons.
It will therefore be irrational for Cameroonians to "choose him again" during the 2018 presidential election.

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Tasha Seidou

03.Jun.2017

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The illusion that the other side of the hill is green must be discarded.
African Countries as well as African citizens must start shaping their destinies in a common bond aimed at building new horizons of sunshine and billions of opportunities.
I have observed with so much pain the fact that the Financial law of all French speaking Countries is drawn in France.

These laws are drawn with vodoo intention and African wealth is strangulated in the spiritual realm through a Franco-Afro occultic arrangement called FrancAfric. The franc masonaries have ruined African countries because the wealth is controlled by them and the dregs shared by their lackies fondly called African Head of states.

African countries need to denounce the so much trumpeted France African summits. What does France have as wealth to be robbing shoulders with other richly endowed Countries of the world. How can France be keeping our foreign reserve in its treasury whereas the French franc had been defaced and made absolute?

African Universities should design Courses that will train their students to acquire knowledge and not certificates.These new orientation will stop this mad flow of Africans towards Europe and America. This will equally stop this maddening rush of Africans to move to Europe at all cost even if it means being eaten by sharks.

The amount of deaths in the belly of the Mediterranean sea is unfortunate, regrettable and so remorseful.

Today there is that yearning for a new start having in mind the pride of Africans and the yearning of a spiririco-physical and phychological liberation of the African psyche.
Africa and Africans have lived this falsehood of inferiority complex whereby Westerners continue to spread the lie that they brought Education to Africa.

Let's remind them that Egyptians had a language and its writing and Arabic was the language of research and knowledge transmission in the University of Timbuktu. Being one of the oldest University is a tale tell story that Africans were better than they are at moment after their savagious experience in the hands of the West through slavery,colonization and neocolonialism.

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Bernard Ngouche Ndim

01.Jun.2017

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