Cameroon: Felix Agbor Nkongho – “We Reject the Visits of Elites” (14.10.2017)
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Archive for the tag “Cameroon”
Opinion: President Biya, do you think your so special? I ask, because you have no rights to oppress the Anglophone-Cameroon!
“We have been suffering for 56 years. 56 years is not 56 days.” Police have shot dead at least eight people in the Anglophone region of Cameroon, on the 56th anniversary of its independence from Britain” (Channel 4 News, 02.10.2017).
The current situation in the Anglophone Cameroon is unjustified. It’s like the lazy-king, the one who was supposed to be educated and city slick politician bringing a difference in the early 1980s are now acting as if it’s mid 1980s again. The Southern Cameroon deserves better, they deserve to treated with justified means, not being oppressed and killed. They have been for decades silenced, the second class of the Republic and been the laughing stock of the Republic of Cameroon. That has worked well for the now wealthy and dictator for life President Paul Biya. Because of his allies in the West, like France and United States, even his ability to be involved in the United Nations. That has given him power and legitimacy to silence the English-speaking Cameroonians. They are now tired of it and they are now reporting of the violence, killings and arrests done by the central french-speaking government.
Why you think you can do this President? Do you think you are so special? That no-one will question it, well, I will since the reports are staggering and insane. You are supposed to represent these people and be their leader. They have rights and could go out of the Republic and become a separate state. Even if the United Nations or any other state gives it direct legitimacy. Since they are being killed, detained and arrested by your men and woman. They are seeing your police officers and soldiers in their villages and towns, as they are securing the curfew and stopping demonstrations. To stop the separation of the Southern Cameroon and their former federal republic, that made a decision in the past because of United Nations and pressure on the leadership to join French-Cameroon and not Nigeria. But, let us look at the Biya complex for a moment!
Southern Cameroonians as “Second Class” citizens:
“While Biya has increased spending in west Cameroon and has even made some speeches in English, the US Embassy reports that these moves to appear to have only partially allayed complaints among Cameroon’s English speaking minority about their “second-class” status. In the past year, for example, English-speaking apprehensions have been fanned by the highly publicized arrest and trial of two anglophone doctors, a controversial education reform bill that appeared to tilt in favor of French speakers, and a clampdown on the English-speaking press after the publication of articles critical of Biya. Although discontent probably will continue, we believe west Cameroonians recognize that their minority status limits their political options and leverage” (CIA, 1984).
Vote for “White Box”:
“Realizing its relatively weak political position, the OK made an about-face and decided to support the KNDP in the 11 February 1961 plébiscite. In that élection, Southern Cameroonians were expected to vote on the two alternatives for independence that the United Nations had imposed after the leaders of the two major parties had failed to agrée on a common solution. The two alternatives were: independence by joining the independent Fédération of Nigeria or independence by joining the independent Republic of Cameroon. Although its leaders had previously directed most of their criticisms at the KNDP, they eventually realized that the KNDP did not only represent a better alternative to the KNC’s support for intégration with Nigeria, but that it also stood a better chance than the OK of winning. In fact, in one of its campaign fliers, the OK encouraged Cameroonian to vote for the « white box » (representing the KNDP) by emphasizing that voting for the « white box » implied that custom barriers will be removed and sovereignty maintained within the free world of nations” (Takougang, 1996).
Biya as the Lazy King:
“Biyaism is an anti-people code that breeds apathy, dereliction of duty, and resentment. Emvana writes, “Biyaism is a theory that is transcendent, complex, rippling and iconoclastic. It is a theory that must be studied profoundly in order to steer clear of associating it with apathy, absenteeism and sloth” (27). He argues that Biya is a “Lazy king” who listens to no one else’s voice but his own. Biyaism as a governmental paradigm draws its strength from ontological sadism. According to Emvana, Paul Biya is a sadist who “…who loves to make people tremble.”(243). As he sees it, it is this sadistic penchant for deriving pleasure from the sufferings of others that has driven Mr. Biya to have recourse to occultism: “Paul Biya has a mystical relationship with power…” (29)” (Vakunta, 2012).
Politics of the Belly:
“Politics in Cameroon remain a genre of ‘les politique du ventre‘ (‘politics of the belly’): An ongoing dictatorship characterised by personal enrichment for politicians and their cronies; in this system, politics is a time to eat and eat well. In Cameroon the regime is defined by the relative absence of the leader. By this I refer to the visible invisibility of the dictator, who is jokingly ‘more outside his country than in it’ and who is rarely seen physically or publicly by the people – indeed, Biya does not grant interviews, either domestically or internationally – but who exists everywhere in image. Symbols of the ruling party and the president – including pagnes (clothing fabric/ tissue) decorated with RDPC insignia and the face of the president, campaign T-shirts from every campaign of the last 25 years (given free of charge to Cameroonians as an impetus to vote for Biya), official Biya portraits in every public office, campaign posters in private homes and businesses, billboards of Biya’s grinning face at the entrances and exists of most towns – abound. The president himself is rarely seen outside these static images” (Murrey, 2012).
While it has been 11 months of curfew and oppression in the Southern Cameroon. Long part of this time, the President and his family has been Europe. Now he is spending time at the InterContinental in Geneva, Switzerland. While he is eating and filling his belly on state reserves and his wife buying luxurious artifacts, parts of Cameroon is burning. People are arrested, taken away from their villages, lingering in jail without trial, people in villages are in the bushes while the military are doing random killings.
Therefore, that he repeats the violence of the early 1980s to keep power. Proves that his rule has gone full-circle. Just as his early rule started to cement his control, he uses the same tactic again. While he is still not in the press or having interviews. Not having a public persona, but his orders are killing, detaining, curfew and totalitarian means that is suffocating the English-Speaking Cameroonians. This is impunity and shouldn’t be acceptable.
The internet in the parts of Cameroon is turned off. The military trucks are riding around collecting victims, the corpses are driven away to unknown locations, this is all to hide evidence of the crimes don by the state. The Lazy King is doing a giant job and a horrendous acts against humanity. The innocent are dying so the French-Speaking Cameroon can control minority of English-Speaking Cameroon. The forged Republic and the dictator are enjoying the spoils in Switzerland, while parts of the county is in turmoil. This should be sanctioned and stopped. The English-Speaking Cameroonians deserves better, all of Cameroon deserves better than this.
President Biya isn’t so special and unique to get rid of this problem. That the oppression in the regions of the English-Speaking is now insane. Is when Catholic worshippers was detained at GM Buea by the Police, only two of them freed after Bishops added pressure for their release. Clearly, nothing is holy and the control level of the state has gone overboard. The police continue to break into houses and gun-shots are heard in the region.
The abusive acts of the Republic under the rule of Biya has nothing positive to give the region of South Western and North Western Cameroon. They are really just trying to silence them. Biya should be condemn, he should be sanctioned and he should be banned from traveling and spending time abroad. Since he now lives lavish in Europe, while the military and police are taking away every piece of freedom for their own citizens. Because of their language and their will for liberty. Peace.
Reference:
Central Intelligence Agency – Directorate of Intelligence – ‘Cameroon: Challenges to Biya’s leadership’ (December 1984) link: https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP85S00317R000300120003-2.pdf
Murrey, Amber – ‘THIRTY YEARS OF PRESIDENTIAL RULE IN CAMEROON’ (07.11.2012) link: https://blog.politics.ox.ac.uk/thirty-years-of-presidential-rule-in-cameroon/
Takougang Joseph. The « Union des populations du Cameroun » and its Southern Cameroons connection. In: Revue française d’histoire d’outre-mer, tome 83, n°310, 1er trimestre 1996. pp. 7-24;
Link: http://www.persee.fr/doc/outre_0300-9513_1996_num_83_310_3395
Vakunta, Peter Wuteh – ‘Paul Biya’s Machiavellian reign over Cameroon’ (18.07.2012) link: https://www.pambazuka.org/arts/paul-biya%E2%80%99s-machiavellian-reign-over-cameroon
