Southern Cameroons

After reading through this post elsewhere by Ndi Ngam i thought it worthy of sharing here, have a read.

Teachers, whom a few months ago in Cameroon were dismissed as an inconsequential bunch at the fringes of society, have made a name in the historical annals of our country by proving to the world that “small no be sick”. The battle these gentlemen and ladies, alongside the Common Law lawyers of West Cameroon, waged against an insensitive government has been sanctioned with an unprecedented victory.
However, sight should not be lost to the fact that this success was, to a large extent, due to the massive and unflinching support they got from the quasi totality of West Cameroonians because of the soundness and legitimacy of their claims. In fact, the teachers’ and lawyers’ cause tore open the cosmetic scar that veiled the festering wound of discontent born of the marginalization of Anglophones.
Now that the teachers have scored this major victory it will be suicidal for West Cameroonians to abandon them to themselves at this critical moment when the cause has to be pursued to its logical conclusion. We have to stand by them especially at a moment they are grappling with a hot, very hot potato in their hands – what it takes to call off their strike action.
Nature abhors a vacuum and at a time when the only credible advocate, the Consortium, has been outlawed in Cameroon, it is high time an organ speedily set up to champion the cause. Since it is claimed that the Consortium was acting out of the ambit of the law, who else can constitute such an organ other than… the LAW MAKERS??!!
Yes, I think that this is the ideal moment for the peoples’ representatives to stand up like one man, irrespective of party affiliation, discipline, lines or whatever, and speak for the peoples of West Cameroon! (After all, they displayed such solidarity a couple of years ago when they disregarded party leanings to fight for and defend their rights and PECUNIARY advantages in Parliament!) Yes, this is a golden opportunity for all West Cameroon Senators and Parliamentarians to spearhead the fight through a (Wirba-led?) umbrella organization which will, among other concerns:
1. defend and follow-up the gains made by the teachers (for a brighter future of West Cameroon’s youth through a sound system of education) by ensuring that ALL the items examined and approved by the Ghogomu Committee are fully implemented and within the agreed time frame;
2. press for the release of the young people arrested during the strike action or failing this, seek their transfer from the Yaoundé prison cells to the jurisdictional area of their origins;
3. make a strong statement in defense of the constitutional provisions that give West Cameroonians full rights as citizens of this country and not a people reduced to playing second fiddle to their Francophone counterparts;
4. engage government in a continuous process of frank, open and sincere dialogue on the other burning issues of West Cameroon like the equitable distribution of the national cake with West Cameroon having its fair share;
5. persuade the government to live up to its several failed promises and commitments of infrastructural development in West Cameroon;
6. spearhead the fight for the establishment of the TRUE history of Cameroon based on facts like the Bishop’s memorandum, the Abouèm à Tchoyi write-up and the several informed write-ups on the issue;
7. impress on the government, through every intellectual and legal argument available, that a federal form of government for Cameroon will not only make the country strong and united in its diversity but will accelerate development and speedup the attainment of the much talked-about Vision 2035.
If the parliamentarians fail to act accordingly, they should bear in mind that elections are around the corner and ONLY those with our cause in heart will represent us come 2018!
I think it is high time for the government to realize that it is bad politics to always sweep the dirt under the carpet or play the ostrich. It should be brave enough to incise the abscess now instead of waiting to amputate the limb when things get out of control. It should be bold enough to call the people together and present a mea culpa so as to right the wrongs of the past. FACTS are STUBBORN! Its arm-twisting tactics are ill-timed and uncalled for: banning the Consortium and the SCNC now is just giving the two organizations even more exposure and popularity…
God save the Cameroons!