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MjadalaAfrika: Debate Africa Mjadala means Debate in Kiswahili, which is one of the official languages of the African Union. The first ever candidates' debate for the Chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission will take place on December 9, 2016 at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The debate is organized through the AU Leadership Academy. "Africa Leadership Debates", dubbed MjadalaAfrika, offer platforms for key stakeholders in various sectors of society to discuss the range of opportunities that can be harnessed to ensure Africa achieves its goals for integrated and sustainable development and transforming the continent to become a major player in the global arena.
The debate will give candidates an unprecedented occasion to speak to African citizens, popularize the AU, and articulate their vision for an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa.
The incumbent Chairperson of the AU Commission, the Hon. Nkosazana DlaminI-Zuma of South Africa, chose not to run for re-election. At the AU Summit in July, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda, no candidate got the required 2/3 of the vote to emerge as the winner. The contest was suspended. The new election will take place on January 30-31, 2017 at the AU Summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Meet the Candidates:
Hon Dr. Pelonomi Venson- Moitoi of Botswana.
She is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Republic of Botswana.
Hon Moussa Faki Mahamat of Chad. He is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Economic Integration, Chad.
Hon Agapito Mba Mokuy of Equatorial Guinea.
He is the Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Equatorial Guinea.
Hon Dr Amina C Mohamed of Kenya.
She is Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade
Profile
Dr. Abdoulaye Bathily of Senegal.
Quotable Statement:"I am African first before being a Senegalese." Dr. Bathily is a former Minister of State at the Presidency of Senegal and former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General for Central Africa. The debate will be held before a live audience comprising members of the AU Executive Council, members of Permanent Representatives Committee (PRC), AU Commissioners, media personnel, and invited guests.
The event will be live streamed to the entire continent and internationally on the AU live stream link, which is available on the AU website. It will also be broadcast live. The details will be made available soon. The profiles of the all the candidates will be available at the AU website when they are uploaded. |
The Gambia turns a page. President Yahya Jammeh conceded defeat after a shock election loss on December 1, 2016. The President-elect, Adama Barrow, is a former Contemporary African Diasporan.
As a former economic migrant, Mr. Barrow understands the draw of Europe for young, poverty-struck Gambians fleeing in huge numbers to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.
"There is a crisis in the Gambia, that's why everyone is taking the Back Way (migrant route)," he said, mindful that riches seldom await those leaving their homeland.
"You hear the name Europe, you think it's heaven. It's never like that," the president-elect said.
Courtesy, AFP. The president of The Gambia's Independent Electoral Commission, Alieu Momarr Njie announces presidential election results in Banjul, The Gambia, Dec. 2, 2016.
Based on the final count of Gambia's 53 constituencies broadcast on state TV, Mr Adama Barrow received 263,515 votes, claiming 45.5% of the vote compared to Mr Jammeh's 212,099 with 36.7%, and 102,969 votes or 17 per cent for Mammah Kandeh, the leader of the only opposition party not to back Mr Barrow.
That turnout was about 65% of Gambia's nearly 900,000 registered voters, out of a population of about 1.9 million.
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A political novice, President-elect Adama Barrow, a softly spoken businessman, previously had little public profile. He will be the third Gambian head of state since the country's independence in 1965. Mr. Barrow told the Guardian that Jammeh had called him to concede defeat with the words: "Congratulations. I'm the outgoing president; you're the incoming president."
In a televised statement, President Jammeh said the vote had been "the most transparent election in the whole world," adding that he would not contest the result. "I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr Adama for his victory. It's a clear victory. I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best. As a true Muslim who believes in the almighty Allah I will never question Allah's decision. You Gambians have decided," he said.
The prerecorded message then cut to a shot of Jammeh phoning the president-elect.
"Hello, are you hearing me?" President Jammeh asked the President-elect, grinning widely on his mobile. "I wish you all the best. The country will be in your hands in January. You are assured of my guidance. You have to work with me. You are the elected president of The Gambia. I have no ill will and I wish you all the best."
Even the head of the electoral commission, Alieu Momarr Njie, seemed stunned by Jammeh's rapid concession.
"The president is magnanimous enough to accept that he had lost the election, and he will call the new president to congratulate him as well as to pray for peace and tranquility," he said after announcing preliminary results. "It's very rare, this present situation now, in Africa that this happens."
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By Evelyn Joe Dear Cameroonians, Africans, and Friends:
Clouded by contesting claims, status of resolutions, stalemates or breakdowns, and even the intent of the disputes, what is undisputed in the on-going strikes by English speaking lawyers and teachers in Cameroon is the right to non-violent protests. Police and military brutality to repress civilian expressions should be condemned in no uncertain terms. In ironical twists, the crackdowns on peaceful protesters fuel the very circumstances the government is trying to prevent - violence and justifications for civilian outcries. For example, Mr. Sam Nyambi, a Diasporan who wrote from Cameroon, in response to a post I made on face-book asked, in other words, what is to be gained by police inciting civilians? You may read the mail at intervals; it has varied themes. More important, it seeks to place the important grievance of the legal and teaching professionals at the center of the crisis; not the periphery where it has been relegated in the local, national and international spheres - and social media. At the end, a tea conversation with foreign journalists and staffers who curiously zeroed in to understand how dynamics fit into calling on the British, Donald Trump, US Congress, United Nations, etc., provides some insights on the politicking. The enabling Cameroon/African identity predated the European Age of Enlightenment and the genius thrived. What heritage is being defended? We ran out of time. But not before the lesson of the ancient Sultan of Foumban on identity and ingenuity, and rolling the drums for anti-colonial heroes - a contrast to what is claimed today. You may read samples of opinions at the end of the mail.
Different Interests: Trays in the Frays
The English speaking lawyers have legitimate grievance with profound urgency that speaks to their profession. This has been has been overshadowed, which makes it difficult for those who genuinely want to situate the problem in a context that can be resolved without being dragged into pre - determined politicking. Of course, Contemporary Diaspora is an integral part of their country's citizenry, as evidence has it, with the same rights to discuss and participate on any issue, which affects them.
Cameroonian Diaspora is one of the African Union Member States that has Diaspora voting rights - meaning those living outside the country can vote from their place of residence outside Cameroon and Africa. Based on the policies, African countries define their Diaspora members as those with origins from their countries - migrants and subsequent generations, regardless of whether they acquire any other citizenship and effects. Almost all discussion groups include members on the continent and in the Diaspora. So yes, there is no question that all the actors are within their rights to agitations dealing with national affairs.
What is the point? Some journalists wanted to know where the petitioners and marchers are coming from.
Finding its way to the center, and pivoting from different angles, the many forms of championships and leaderships of the Southern Cameroon movements see the strikes as opportune avenues to drive the goal of independence or secession, complete with mantras, raising funds, and other exhortations. From the Diaspora defending Anglophone - ness, some say it is to help "our people," other varieties tout armed struggle or resistance. For the sane or cruel police or military on the ground, it is anybody's guess when they encounter true or false talk, a spoil for a fight. An unpatriotic shame is supposed to drown the dissenting or alternative opinions of Cameroonians who hail from the two English speaking regions. They disagree on a separate country or just two federated system as opposed to ten. A dog whistle to Cameroonians from the eight French speaking regions is to transmit guilt by omission to support the measures defined by Southern Cameroon movements. However, the salient question is not black and white, either/or, to Cameroonians who choose not to be pinned on sides. For some who define their identity outside colonial boxes, it is nonsense altogether. Emphatically stated, this is not an Anglophone vs Francophone matter that should pit citizens against each other and tear down the interwoven fabric of the Cameroonian community at home or anywhere. More meaningfully, the legitimate grievance of the lawyers should be addressed on the merits and not as opportunistic stepping stone to ends that they did not espouse.
There is no cause here worth the spill of blood.
Bringing the Legitimate Issue to the Forefront
On October 11, 2016, Anglophone (English speaking) lawyers began a strike on factual grounds that are stabilizing factors of nationhood - fairness and equity.
ONE
A lightening point is the OHADA: Organisation pour l'Harmonisation en Afrique du Droit des Affaires" - translated in English as the "Harmonization of African Business Law." OHADA is based on modernized (Napoleonic) French law and was adopted by 15 West and Central African nations on October 17, 1993 in Port Louis, Mauritius. Today, 17 African countries have adopted OHADA. In practice, they use the French legal model. The stated rationale was to facilitate and encourage domestic and foreign investments in the member states. Almost all of the signatories are former French colonies. The only non-French countries are Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau. But there is one notable bond: All participants are tied to France's "Franc currency."
The fact that no English speaking nation adopted OHADA would have, ordinarily, flagged questions on systemic difference.
Created in 1993 in another age, it does not serve the AU's Agenda 2063 regional integration goals because OHADA endorses and enables colonial barriers in the regions. For example, Africa's powerhouses - Nigeria, Ghana - are in West Africa and not using OHADA. So the neat argument of harmonization falls flat, it is outdated, or it needs to be revisited to account for systemic differences in the regions.
Agenda 2063 is implemented in Five Ten-Year Phases. The first Phase is 2014-2023. It is not anti-harmonization; in fact, it promotes harmonized education and training systems that are essential for the realization of intra-Africa mobility, academic integration, and commerce through inter-regional cooperation.
The grievance of the lawyers is one of mindlessness application that results in punitive effects, which can be remedied without negating the benefits of constructive harmonization.
Cameroon is supposed to be a bilingual country and, therefore, sensitive to the practical implications of OHADA in the two regions where some legal practitioners did not study, and the population does not use, the French legal model. Whether OHADA is translated into English is irrelevant because the issue is the content and system of the law.
For example: There is considerable transfer of cognitive and academic skills across languages. If someone studied contents in math, sciences or law in French or Spanish, they do not have to relearn the same contents in English. They can articulate and apply the same knowledge in English or any language they are proficient in. Crisis arises when practitioners did not learn those contents in any language and/or the prevailing system is at variance with what is being imposed. Given the above, it is not clear what the Prime Minister and the Justice Minister would resolve without eliminating this system as a requirement in the two regions where lawyers and clients, and even the Magistrates, may be unfamiliar with. What is profoundly at stake is that the education and experience of the lawyers are invalidated. The government can examine the facts and circumstances; the undue burden; and proceed with the remedies. Incidentally, the AU is having a 5th Forum on International Law next week. OHADA will be discussed. The Continental Education Strategy Africa (2016-25) is attached, which seeks to harmonize education in Africa while redressing the retarding colonial legacy. See end of the author's write up.
TWO Another point of contention in a bilingual systems goes beyond business law to functional systems: the lack of mastery of the English language by French speaking magistrates in the two English speaking regions. This puts both the lawyers and their clients at legal risk when the magistrate cannot communicate or understand what is communicated in cases he or she is presiding over. On closer examination, same will apply in the French speaking regions where the magistrate cannot communicate at proficiency level in French. A marked difference with the first crisis is that it is language competency; not technical competency or the system of law or education. How Cameroon deals with the facts of bilingualism is a test of her national character and stabilizing factor. Resonating Foul The minority English speaking regions did not invent colonialism and how the spoils were divided after World War 1 between France and Britain. They inherited the colonial language and system. When a unitary government maintains, introduces, and applies policies that are prohibitive due to language and institutional differences, the effects constitute an Anglophone problem. I hasten to add that neither French nor English speaking Cameroonians chose this problem. It is a problem perpetuated or neglected by the government by what it does or fails to do. It is within its ability to ensure fairness and equity, and work with stakeholders whose abiding interest is peaceful means to engaging solutions.
Those outside the realm of solutions that are possible without altering the geographical sovereignty of Cameroon are talking of something else. They can do so. However, injecting variant end-goals in the legitimate claims of the lawyers and teachers is opportunism at play. Reflections and Reality of Africa's Integration Away from Colonial ID. A significant percentage of the African citizenry in Africa and in the Diaspora is unaware of the trend towards integration. For examples, all countries in the CEMAC zones use the CEMAC passport, same for all countries in West Africa using the ECOWAS passport. In 2018, when the African passport becomes available to every citizen, those in Africa and in the Diaspora will have the African passport replacing what they have today. Within integration, there are local, national and regional systems and treasures; just like in any other geo - polity in the world. No other African nation has Cameroon's colonial problem. Western bilingual/multilingual nations have handled the official language diversity with admired constructiveness. No other population around the entire world defines its identity and heritage in terms of colonialism. In fact, Africans systems are moving away from the alien defects that colonialism imposed. The Au Aspiration 5: An Africa with a strong cultural identity, common heritage, values and ethics addresses: inculcating the spirit of Pan Africanism; tapping Africa's rich heritage and culture to ensure that the creative arts are major contributors to Africa's growth and transformation; and restoring and preserving Africa's cultural heritage, including its languages.
Not unexpected, Cameroonians who say they are fighting to liberate and celebrate their Anglo-saxon culture from the United Kingdom (UK), with particular vehemence for Francophones (making no difference between government and ordinary people), deserve special and curious attention - in a league of their own. It is unclear whether the UK and British people reciprocate by way of the passion of intensity, identity and solidarity. The above was part of the tea conversation with keen or amused discussants, in a "get together" that includes non-African journalists, hill staffers, and others who follow international happenings. As end the session, news on the Gambian election flashed in our devices. This tells you the type of group - in style and substance with global interconnection. In best practices, even African countries unburdened by differences in colonial tongues and systems are consolidating their indigenous African identity and institutional heritage. For example, this year, the East African Parliament adopted Swahili has an official language after it became official languages in some of the countries. A journalist noted how President Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya) and the then President Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania) engaged their Diaspora constituencies in Swahili, which projected a soaring sense of African cultural pride. He played the Youtube videos on his cell phone.
What is the matter with Anglo-saxon heritage in Cameroon, there are all sorts of movements on face-book? The question from a gentle lady, in a tone of an anthropologist focused on a discovery, caught me off guard because I was more interested in clarifying the legitimate grievance of the lawyers and solidarity support of the students.
As I took a sip of Ethiopian tea, and before I could process the question, an African American community advocate was beside himself:
You mean these new Negroes from Africa are marching, petitioning the US congress, Anglophonie British Embassy, Francophonie French Embassy, UN Offices to save their colonial image in Cameroon? Am I missing something? Sensing that the more sensational aspects of the protests have relegated the lawyers' strike or human rights to secondary issues in the social media, there was no need forcing a concentration. So I talked cultural heritage! with relevance to the point.
Here is my summary as I now held their attention on the sensation of identity.
King Ibrahim Mbouombouo Njoya (1860-1933) was a Sultan of the Bamoun people of Foumban in the French speaking region of Cameroon.
His Royal Majesty invented the Bamoun script, which is a syllabic system for writing in the Bamoun language. He built a printing press and a royal library. You all can go there today on a heritage tour. The Palace Museum holds his meticulously kept administrative records and legal codes.
MsJoe, you said legal codes? I was politely interrupted by the question. Me: Yes, legal codes. There is a festival there every two years. I opened a small file with my own cell device and continued:
This African King wrote poetic treatise on esthetics, listing over 200 criteria for appraising the beauty of women; wrote and complied an elaborate volume on pharmacopoeia - the medicinal compounds to make drugs to cure diseases; and wrote a detailed history of the Bamoun Kingdom. This happened before Francophonie or Anglophone culture in Cameroon? A smile was forming around the edge of the mouth of the African American, attired in suit, and on break from a legislative session, just a walking distance from the Capitol. He also said something about the US unemployment rate being at the lowest since 2007 as he looked at the message on his cell. I continued:
Yes, Cameroon with a K was ruled by Germany. There was no Anglophone or Francophone. In 1904, King Njoya visited the German governor's mansion in Buea, now in the English speaking region. He noted and insisted that his Bamoum culture and people could do better than what he saw. He then constructed a three-story mud-brick palace with vaulted ceilings and elaborately engraved wooden shutters.
Queen Amina of Zaria, Nigeria, did wonders in civilization before the White man came.
So Cameroon had no Anglophone or Francophone culture, the King produced these and Queen Amina was a woman? Another question from a curator.
Me: Yes. Even in the English speaking areas, you can visit and get the history. Yes, Queen Amina was a woman. I continued:
In 1919, following the World War 1, Cameroon was divided between Britain and France, which resulted in the administrative and linguistic division of the country, with implication on what we have today.
King Njoya's innovations and cultural finesse incurred the wrath of the French colonial administrators; just as African cultures were destroyed throughout Africa.
Now the questions were coming at a more frequent pace. Me: France carried out a system of assimilation.
With nodding affirmation, a discussant chimed in: Yes, they had Africans in their parliaments. Some wore suits and danshikis.
I continued:
France imposed its language and administration throughout the territory and feared that the brilliant and astute Sultan would try to reunite and form alliance with the English speaking regions of Cameroon, which were controlled by the British. They destroyed the indigenous systems, including schools, smashed the printing press, and deposed the King in 1924. He was forced into exile in Yaounde, now the capital city in 1931. He died two years later, in 1933, and humiliated while on exile. The same thing happened, in relative degrees, in the English speaking regions where England ruled her subjects as a condominium - indirectly, and allowing customary laws.
Okay, why are the Anglophones not telling the world about the customary law and defending their own culture, they had none before they were discovered? Native Indians preserve their culture in America. This question from a radio talk show producer cracked up every one.
So all of these protests have nothing to do with any Cameroon culture and identity?
This question from a staff at the UN had me struggling to maintain a straight face, suppressing a laughter, because she had attended an All Cameroonian festival years back. My answer: In one of the reports, I learned a traditional ruler, Fon Abumbi 11 of Bafut, from one of the English speaking regions, was among the negotiators with the Prime Minister to resolve the issues raised by the lawyers and teachers. He was educated in both systems. Leaders of his standing can tell the difference between heritage and cultural identity and identity politics. So he is bilingual? The follow-up question.
Me: I guess so. My Mom taught him when he attended Lycee Buea in the English speaking region and he attended the University of Yaounde in the French speaking. The Prime Minister is bilingual. He is from the English speaking region.
It was now an open ended conversation. The unanimous understanding among people of varied background is that the precipitating issues are based on the colonial linguistic and administrative structures in formal settings; not any indigenous culture and way of life. It was hard to image how in the daily hassles of life, ordinarily Francophone and Anglophone, beset by the same realities, would see any need to fight each other. The former British Cameroon was administered as Northern Cameroons and Southern Cameroons. The Muslim-majority Northern Cameroon opted for union with Nigeria and the Southern area voted to join Cameroon. In Nigeria, there is no Northern Cameroons identity or cultural problem. What was the relevance of this particular narration? The international community, just as the local community, may read the more sensational headlines from face-book and partisan write-ups that are more in supply than reporting that provides the facts. The space for intellectual, philosophical and practical discourse in non-personalized ways is limited.
Closing
Those who shed their blood, lost life or limb for Cameroon's liberation came from the French and English speaking regions in Cameroon and would never have sweated to erect or maintain any colonial form - they rejected it. Roll the drum called out: Ruben Um Nyobé, (Cameroon) Félix-Roland Moumié (Cameroon) Ndeh Ntumazah (Cameroon) Abel Kingué (Cameroon) Castor Osendé Afana (Cameroon) Inspired by liberators such as: Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana) Patrice Lumumba (Congo) Abdel Nasser (Egypt) Frantz Fanon (Algeria) Ben Bella (Algeria) Modibo Keita (Mali) Sekou Toure (Guinea) Patrice Lumumba (Congo) Julius Nyerere (Tanzania) And more Break was over and time to leave. The Continental Education Strategy for Africa is attached below. Pan African Lawyers may help in addressing the harmonization of African legal studies, laws and legal systems.
Africa is ushering into an era that most observers and pundits are predicting will determine its destiny as the continent of the future. But to fulfill this promised bright future, the continent has to come to terms with its education and training systems that are yet to fully shed the weight of its colonial legacy and its own tribulations as a relatively new political and economic entity and player in the world arena. In the bid to "create" a new African citizen who will be an effective change agent for the continent's sustainable development as envisioned by the AU and its 2063 Agenda, the African Union Commission has developed an Africa comprehensive ten-year continental education strategy.
This strategy is driven by the desire to set up a "qualitative system of education and training to provide the African continent with efficient human resources adapted to African core values and therefore capable of achieving the vision and ambitions of the African Union. Those responsible for its implementation will be assigned to " reorient Africa's education and training systems to meet the knowledge, competencies, skills, innovation and creativity required to nurture African core values and promote sustainable development at the national, sub-regional and continental levels". The following guiding principles and pillars are articulated to guide the implementation of the Continental Strategy as reflected in twelve Strategic Objectives supported by specific areas of work as follows.
Guiding principles:
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Knowledge societies called for by Agenda 2063 are driven by skilled human capital. -
Holistic,inclusive and equitable education with good conditions for lifelong learning is sine qua non for sustainable development -
Good governance,leadership and accountability in education management are paramount. -
Harmonized education and training systems are essential for the realization of intra-Africa mobility and academic integration through regional cooperation. -
Quality and relevant education,training and research are core for scientific and technological innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. -
A healthy mind in a healthy body physically and socio-psychologically-fit and well fed learners.
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From:"Peter Wuteh Vakunta [AFOaKOM]" <AFOaKOM@yahoogroups.com>
Date:Mon, 28 Nov, 2016 at 9:07 am
Subject:Re: [AFOaKOM] The gendarmes of La Republique
We need to kick butts of these assholes in uniform out of Bamenda. Read my piece: Peter Wuteh Vakunta, Ph.D. Chair,Department of Global Languages & Cross-Cultural Studies Director, Multicultural Engagement and Global Awareness (MEGA) Center Fulbright Scholar Program Liaison University of Indianapolis 1400 East Hanna Avenue Indianapolis,Indiana 46227 United States of America Excerpts:
"Any secession in Cameroon will exacerbate ethnic conflicts and not fix it. When ethnic minorities secedes, another ethnic group(s) becomes a minority within the new state and the former prosecuted becomes prosecutors. Another difficulty for secession to occur in Cameroon is that not all Anglophones leave within the seceding area, and people will have to make choices on where to live and belong. This will separate families and create even smaller minority groups, exacerbating ethnic conflicts within both states. As one of the highly heterogeneous nations in the world, Cameroonians must embrace the multitudes of beliefs, languages, religions, traditions, cultures, and customs that our beautiful country offers. Our diversity is our greatest strength, and bilingualism should be an avenue for sustainable competitive advantage for the Cameroonian nation state. We need a revolution and injection of new leadership to solve our problems and move forward as a nation, not callous calls for secession.
Augustine Enow Agbor Proudly Cameroonian -------------------------------------------- On Thu, 12/1/16, Tchouteu Janvier j_kamerun@yahoo.com [camnetwork] < camnetwork@yahoogroups.com> wrote: Subject: Re: [camnetwork] Re: [cameroon_politics] What is the Anglophone Cameroonian Identity? To: " camnetwork@yahoogroups.com" < camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>, "Cameroon Politics" < cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com> Date: Thursday, December 1, 2016, 1:18 P Massa Ben,
How e dey like sae you trong head so! You don't seek my opinion or feelings or reasoning before you write, do you? You cannot penetrate my soul on how I would
perceive your thoughts or ideas, and neither can I penetrate yours. I write what I understand, what I believe and what I think is universally acknowledged.
I have never wavered in my position for more than three decades. I am an Anglophone Cameroonian, albeit an Anglophone Cameroonian Union-Nationalists who will never conciliate with the evil system and who still cherishes the vision shared by Cameroonian civic-nationalists on both sides of the River Mungo who fought and died for, and who voted for the reunification and independence of the lands of the former German Kamerun (British Cameroons and French Cameroun). I hold the establishment (the French-imposed system) responsible for that.
If you think the fundamentals of what I wrote about are wrong, then say so and we can debate logically about it, if not, then let's tap on our compatibilities and work together on dismantling this system. I don't see you or the position you represent as an enemy, or even an opponent. We are partners, if you know what I mean.
All the best, Janvier Chouteu-Chando On Thursday, December On Thursday, December 1, 2016, 7:39 PM, 'Pa Zama' via ambasbay < ambasbay@googlegroups.com> wrote:
Mr. Atemkeng.,
It is surprising that with eye witness accounts of what the invading troupes of la Republique are doing on our territory, some southern Cameroonians can still have the temerity to voice the word federation. Those Southern Cameroonians who are so much in love with federation, have the right to cross the Mungo and Matazem and join their brothers and sisters of la republique du Cameroun. IT HAS BEEN A REAL NIGHTMARE LIVING WITH THESE PEOPLE. AS WE WILL SOON ACHIVE OUR FREEDOM, I WILL STRONGLY OPPOSE ANY DIPLOMATIC TIES WITH SUCH A CALLOUS COUNTRY.
I would like to insist here that all Southern Cameroonians are people whose both parents are native Southern Cameroonians. I also want to insist that people of la republique origine who have sent their children to our schools must take note that we have been erroneously using the term Anglophone to mean those people of the Southwest and North West Provinces.
With the maltreatment we have received from the people of la republique du Cameroon for fifty five years, we must CLEARLY identify ourselves SO THAT THERE SHOULD BE NO AMBIGUITY AT ALL This is what I have done over the years. I Know who I am and can therefore not take the name OR IDENTITY of someone else.
Is it not a pride to say I am from the Southern Cameroons, the soon to be AMBAZONIA?
PLEASE, LET US BE PROUD TO CALL OURSELVES BY OUR NAME.
GOD BEING OUR HELPER WE MUST GET THERE. WE MUST GO ON OUR KNEES EVERY MORNING AND EVENING PRAYING TO OUR HEAVENLY FATHER TO LEAD US TO OUR FREEDOM FASTER THAN WE EXPECT. PA ZAMA
I have heard many people advocating for Federalism. When I read the thoughts above, I realised that this man was speaking what I have been saying but had not come about to writing it. So please read and pass it on. We do not need federation, we need two separate Cameroons.
Here Below is the original email:
FEDERALIST SHOULD MOVE TO CAMEROUN: DO NOT INTOXICATE THE RESISTANCE Who would grant us a federation? Who has proposed a federation to us that we talking of accepting a federation? You have not understood the colonial mind properly!!!!!!!! They undermine us, disdain us, simplify us, believe they can fool us forever and ever! They have never so much as even admitted that there is a problem, and now, we step down again to say we want a federation. How? How? Who would grant you that federation that you are talking about? Who? Let us bet: if they will even look at you when you talk of a federation! Such a move is a sign that we are too incapable of resisting the occupation and that it may go on.
1. There are no legal grounds for a federation. Accepting a federation means that we abandon the claim of our territory being colonized; we give Republique du Cameroon a continual claim over the AMBAZONIA (Southern Cameroons') territory. We have said over and over again that our territory is illegally occupied by Republique du Cameroun. And nothing could be more true! If we reverse course now and say we accept federation, we are virtually asking a foreign country and an occupying force to grant us a federation. This will undermine their regard for us even more! I fear that such a move will diminish even the small regard they had for us, but even worse, that they will never accept it! Even if there is a federation of 10 states, we shall only be two out of ten. When the federation was one-to-one, we never managed to get a say. How do we intend to have a say in an 8 to 2 federation?
2. Who is going to negotiate the federation or guarantee its existence? I assure you over and over again that Republique du Cameroun would never grant you any federation in which they do not retain controlling power! Such a federation will breakdown in no time. Accepting a federation that nobody has proposed to you is only a terrible sign of weakness.
3. We have a very strong case for independence, which we will obtain if we keep insisting. There is absolutely no reason to backdown from that position. It may take a little time, but it will happen.
4. In any federal parliament, they will always be the majority, and use their majority to overturn everything we agree upon or to prevent laws that favour us from being passed. And they will never accept a federation in which they have not put all mechanisms from preventing us from ever separating.
5. A federation means that Republique du Cameroun will forever have a right to bring in troops to stop any attempt of separation! Thus willfully accepting a federation is a kind of death sentence we are passing on ourselves. Remember: if we accept a federation, we cannot subsequently argue against it the way we have argued against the federation they imposed on us. And we have no power now to obtain the kind of federation that would serve our best interest!
6. Remember the 1961-1966 federation and its constitution. See the absolute terms that were put in that constitution to say that no proposal to change the federal status of the country will be accepted. What happened? They reversed it in no time. And they will, if they were ever to accept the idea of a federation, which I tell you now, they will not accept.
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To Lead You Must be a Servant
-----Original Message-----
From: Mishe Fon [camnetwork] <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>
To: ambasbay <ambasbay@googlegroups.com>; cameroon_politics <cameroon_politics@yahoogroups.com>; camnetwork <camnetwork@yahoogroups.com>
Cc: fakonet <fakonet@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Dec 1, 2016 9:08 pm
Subject: [camnetwork] Re: Cameroonians in Politics - THE CONCLAVE
Mr Kemah Did you even listen to your inner self before you wrote this? You are asking "your people" to stop a legitimate popular uprising against all manner of injustices because "you, Dr Ekema and his cohorts want to enjoy christmas festivities" and your guarantee to them is that you will call the Prime Minister (your paddyman) to present the case of an entire population? I must be the insane character here. What is really wrong with us? Honestly, I taya we people. Even that francophone buffoonish character who ran for President (to pocket his own njoh 20 million CFA bribe dished out by CPDM), Jean Djeuga would not publicly display this level o f insensitivity and would have tempered his comments with matters of such extreme importance. Talk less of a "respected" Cardiologist who will want to be taken seriously. I sincerely hope it was a bad joke. Mishe Fon
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Without going into details of the on going STRUGGLE for freedom & social justice in English speaking Cameroon territories, I am appealing for a BREAK. No protests, No strikes, release of all UB students for us to enjoy Christmas.
Please be reminded that our land , the English Speaking Territories is of Christian Faith. Therefore, I am asking all the various factions to display some degree of Calm . And most importantly, I will make the effort to ring the PM, the Chief Justice to release all the students currently in detention. My understanding is that they are short of an ID. Please let family members of the detained students own up to the courts for their loved ones to be identified and released.
To my fellow diaspora residents, I must admit that there are numerous schools of thoughts on how to go about this STRUGGLE. The vast majority advocating full blown secession( SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS). The other minority advocating a German -Style Federal Republic( WEST CAMEROONIANS).
As an Intellectual with no political ambition( since the death of my son), I remain convinced that we should get ourselves involved in an open , frank and honest dialogue with ourselves, including our francophone brothers. This will happen under the umbrella of a political name called " THE CONCLAVE".
The CONCLAVE, ideally should take place in a neutral soil. Preferably , London, Brussels or Washington DC.
Like our Francophone brothers are saying, they are also experiencing frustrations from this administration. Therefore, it is a nice idea to come up as a united front ahead of the conclave. Details of the conclave will be circulated in due course. In the interim , representatives of the various professional bodies on the ground including frontline activists taking part in the STRUGGLE will be invited to attend for the CONCLAVE.
Strategic discrepancies in this STRUGGLE ie some for federalism, others for independence indirectly reflects a high risk of blood shed if we fail to congregate before the head of state leaves power following a natural course.
In summary, I am pleading for us to be calm and focused. The BREXIT & US presidential results have fuelled domestic violence and hatred in some households. This should not be our portion. The risk of a full blown civil war after a longstanding regime is very likely according to statistics. Let us be wise and work towards this CONCLAVE.
Happy peaceful and no protest XMAS.
Please give this contribution a wider audience and to our francophone brothers.
Thanks.
Papa Fred London.
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| | November 2016
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda
"The AU needs to put out a "Monroe doctrine" of sorts to all and sundry. Otherwise, the present African leaders will have let down Africa like the pre-colonial chiefs did between 1400 and 1900 when the European imperialists slowly penetrated Africa while these chiefs could not unite to defend us against the slave trade and colonialism."
President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda Speaks: CASUALTIES OF WESTERN "NEO-IMPERIALISM" AND AFRICAN WEAKNESS In recent months, two western ruling groups have suffered defeat in the elections. Although it is not the culture of Africans to talk about other people's "houses" (internal affairs of other people), I feel compelled to comment on the events in the USA, Britain and Hungary in recent times because they are somehow connected with Africa and the Middle East. In the month of June, our friend David Cameron suffered a defeat in the UK in a Referendum as to whether to remain in the EU or not. In the month of October, the Government of Hungary called a Referendum against immigration to the chagrin of elements of the elite in Europe where the voters rejected the refugee policy of the EU and, recently, Mr. Trump won the election in the USA against our longtime friend, Hillary Clinton. Although Hillary won the popular vote, Mr. Trump won the Electoral College vote. That is their system which we must respect. Although there are other reasons that we outsiders cannot easily know, there is one factor that has turned into a curse for the perpetrators. This is the factor of conducting wars of aggression against Sovereign States that are, moreover, members of the UN. In the last 16 years, since the attack on the twin-towers, in New York in the year 2001, the USA and the other western countries have attacked Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Of these wars by the West against Independent and Sovereign States, two were clearly wars of aggression; they were unjust wars. It is only the war in Afghanistan that was a just War because some confused group, called Al-Quaeda, intoxicated with religious chauvinism, had carried out aggression against the USA. It was correct that the USA responded and dislodged the Talibans and their allies, Alquaeda, from Afghanistan. We all supported this.
It is the other attacks that were wrong and unjust. These were the attacks on Iraq and Libya. In the case of Iraq, it was said that they had weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological and chemical). In the end, those weapons were not there. In any case, who is supposed to have the weapons of mass destruction and who is supposed not to and why? Why doesn't the world concentrate on getting rid of those dangerous weapons rather than waging wars to maintain monopoly over those criminal and cowardly weapons? Why do some countries want to maintain monopoly over those criminal and cowardly weapons? In the case of Libya, it was because Gaddaffi was about to launch a counter-attack to recapture the City of Benghazi in an internal civil war. It was to "protect" the "people" against the "regime" ─ the same imperialist arguments that were used in the last-but-one century ("spreading civilization", etc). Cameron was about to add Syria to the list, when the UK Parliament rejected his efforts in 2013. In the end, these wars of aggression against Sovereign States, have generated human catastrophes that have few equals in the history of the world. I, certainly, did not know that there were 1.5 million Christians in Iraq (2003). Since the 2003 Iraq war, Iraq Christians have been relocated to Syria. Currently, apparently, there are 275,000 Christians in Iraq; 500,000 Yazidis in Iraq; 2.9 million Christians in Syria, etc. Until the recent upheavals in those areas, these Christians and Yazidis were living in these areas. The authoritarian regimes of the area notwithstanding, those groups were living there quietly. Hundreds of thousands of refugees started heading for Europe. In the USA, there was talk of allowing in the Syrian refugees. Both the movement of refugees into the EU and the talk of them coming to the USA, generated a backlash from some of the locals, not without justification. With different and conflicting cultures, big infusion of refugees into countries, can, in the long run, create conflicts. In Uganda, we allow refugees from Africa because they are part of the Bantu, Nilotic or Cushitic communities that are already part of Uganda. In fact, you cannot easily tell the difference between these African refugees on the one hand and the Ugandans on the other. Middle Eastern and African groups flooding into Europe and the USA, could have a different impact. Cynically speaking, though, the USA and EU should not complain about Africans and Arabs flooding into those countries as refugees. They are the ones that had invaded our countries as imperialists, in the first place. The USA was built by African slaves. Be that as it may, the promoters of attacks in the Middle East and North Africa, provoked a human exodus that has caused the backlash bringing down Mr. Cameron and Mrs. Clinton. Although immigration is not the only reason that brought down those groups, it is certainly one of them. The question then, is: "Were these deliberate imperialist designs or were they just mistakes?" The Western countries and Africa need to scrutinize this issue and come up with correct answers. When I was in Germany in the month of June, journalists from the Newspaper Die Spiegal asked me the following question: "Last year, 1.3 million refugees came to Germany, mainly from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, but also from Africa. Many believe this is only the beginning of an exodus to Europe. What do you suggest to stop this wave of migrants?" I answered the questioner that I could not answer that question at that time. I knew that it was a delicate problem for people like Mrs. Clinton who had been involved in the attack on Libya that had turned into such a disaster. I am now released from that obligation. That is why I have written this missive. The present African leaders are, however, also co-guilty in this matter. We should never have allowed external powers to attack any part of the African soil without our permission. I had fought Gaddafi two times: 1972 and 1979. I needed no lectures on the positive and negative points of Gaddafi. However, to allow the former colonial countries to attack any portion of Africa without a response from us, was betrayal. To be fair to the African leaders, one could say that we were taken by surprise. Even me, I did not believe that Western leaders could be so reckless as to do what they did in Libya. However, attack Libya, they did. What is the contingency for the future and how do we rescue Libya? We recently had a meeting in Addis Ababa and told all and sundry that AU intends to rescue Libya and we also made it clear that future attacks on African soil without coordinating with AU are not acceptable, to put it mildly. Can Africa defend African soil? Very much so. In the 1960s, a few frontline States ─ Tanzania, Zambia and Botswana ─ supported by the socialist countries and working with the Liberation Movements in the occupied African countries, defeated Portugal in Mozambique and Angola, Ian Smith in Zimbabwe and, eventually, the South African racist regime which had manufactured nuclear weapons to intimidate us, as well as its colonial government in Namibia (SWA). All these colonial dictatorships (in Angola, Mozambique, Rhodesia ─ Zimbabwe, Namibia ─ SWA and South Africa), were either supported or encouraged by some of the Western countries. The other countries that stood with the Liberation Movements were Algeria, Egypt and Guinea-Conakry; even Nigeria, under the Military Government, took a patriotic position. Africa today, the weaknesses notwithstanding, is much more capable than we were in the 1960s. The problem is lack of consistent unity. Lack of cohesion is Africa's problem. When the USA was still young, in 1823, one of their Presidents, James Monroe, in order to shield the Americas from the rapacious European countries, promulgated the Monroe doctrine which stated: "Further efforts by European nations to take control of any independent state in North or South America would be viewed as 'the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States'. At the same time, the doctrine noted that the U.S. would recognize and not interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries". The AU needs to put out a "Monroe doctrine" of sorts to all and sundry. Otherwise, the present African leaders will have let down Africa like the pre-colonial chiefs did between 1400 and 1900 when the European imperialists slowly penetrated Africa while these chiefs could not unite to defend us against the slave trade and colonialism. Before the Western countries killed Gaddaffi, Libya, in spite of its small population of only 6 million people, had the second biggest amount of electricity in the whole of Africa after South Africa and was becoming a big source of investments for the rest of Africa as well as a market for African products. Hundreds of thousands of Africans were also working in Libya during that time. The destruction of Libya has also led to terrorist groups invading Mali, Cameroon, Nigeria, Niger, etc. Why should Africa tolerate such disruption on her territory caused, in part, by foreigners? That was one reason Uganda intervened in Somalia. We could not tolerate the importation of the Middle Eastern nonsense of intolerance, allegedly on "behalf of God", into Africa. We had to let those confused people know that Africa has its owners, the Africans. The same message needs to be sent to the Western aggressors. Our Lord's Prayer says in part:"Thou shalt not lead us into temptation but deliver us from evil". Africans should not tempt greedy or confused foreigners into the temptation of interfering with us by being weak. I cannot end this missive without talking about the foreign agents that masquerade as freedom fighters. This is a subject I talk about with a lot of authority. Freedom fighters do not need foreign fighters to fight for them. They fight for themselves. Who fought for us? Genuine Revolutions do not need foreign invasions. Who caused the Russian Revolution in 1917? Who caused the victory of the Chinese Revolution in 1949? Who caused the changes in the Soviet Union? Who has caused the recent Trump victory in the USA? Which foreign actors caused the victory of the Brexit vote in the UK? Who caused the Iranian revolution in 1979? Did foreigners cause these changes? Not at all. On the contrary, the foreigners, in the majority of them, tried to stop these changes but failed. Therefore, the adventurism of some groups in the West, should not be camouflaged as fighting for freedom. Many of the stooges of foreign interests or local oppressors spend a lot of time looking for foreign sponsors rather than looking for ways of how to reconcile with their own people. That is the litmus paper test for pseudo-freedomism. Authentic freedom fighters will sustain themselves even if they do not have external support. They certainly do not need foreign troops. Pseudo ─ freedom fighters, on the other hand, are always calling for foreigners to interfere in their affairs. It is a vote of no confidence in oneself to call for foreigners to fight for you? It is, therefore, wrong for foreigners to eagerly rush into local situations in support of local stooges or opportunists. Those foreigners become part of the problem and not part of the solution. Local factions should be encouraged to reach compromise rather than getting foreign sponsors to suppress and ignore their domestic rivals. Anyway, for now, the adventures of the Western countries into North-Africa and the Middle-East, have caused human disasters in those target areas but also political casualties in the countries of the aggressors, not to mention the nationalist backlash against "Western liberalism". "Whatever a man sows, that is what he will reap", it says in the Book of Galatians, Chapter 6, verse 7. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Gen(rtd)
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