I am Cameroonian but I don't like the Reunification.

Side view of one of the tribunes built for celebrations

As we speak Buea, the host city of celebrations for the 50^th anniversary of Cameroons Reunification, is wriggling to the erratic rhythm of preparations for the said anniversary. As a Cameroonian and resident of the host city, I should logically be excited about the celebrations if for anything the developments this event will bring to the city. Permit me surprise you, I am not the least excited. As a matter of fact, I hate the entire event and all what it represents. I prefer the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope. 

I hate the Reunification celebration but not for the reasons some might suspect. 

I hate the Reunification

So based on the foregoing I should be a supporter of all things, especially celebrations of the journey we have travelled so far as a political unit. I should be a ready-made cheerleader for all the moments of national merrymaking for the "high" notes we have hit as a people. I should but I am not. In blunt terms, I practically hate the long-awaited celebration of the 50 anniversary celebration of the reunification of the English and French-speaking components of Cameroon. I am not a neither a secessionist nor their sympathiser.

Why

To be sincere with you guys, I must admit that there is generally just one reason why I hate the celebration of the Reunification. I hate it because  rather than  being a platform for Cameroonians to meet and articulate courses of action for casting our unity in steel, it appears to me as the umpteenth crystallisation of all the ailments affecting our country and the most credible  explanation of why we are still marking time when our peers of yesteryears are   soaring. Let me explain:

1: Time consciousness and unfulfilled promises

Despite giving the impression with the setting of the 2035 time limit for emergence that it had now realised that time is of the essence, the current government of Cameroon has through its handling of the preparations so far indicated otherwise. The celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Reunification was first announced in December 2010 by  President Paul Biya. But three years later the host city is still to see the anticipation transform into actual celebration. Sure, construction works to accommodate the celebration are taking place but the actual promised celebration is still to take place. Do this disregard of time and its symbolism augur well for a country that is trying to play catch up in the development race? Is this silence with regards to the actual date for the celebrations not a setting the stage for low secessionist voices to become audible? The answer in my opinion to all these answers is yes. Celebrating such a major milestone in Cameroon’s political evolution belatedly suggests, if not is, a blatant absence of consideration for time as well as its symbolic significance. It also reminds onlookers of the regimes reputation of not fulfilling promises.

2: Development is the President and the President is development

Prior to the announcement that it would host the Reunification celebrations, the host city Buea was just like other Cameroonian towns in need of infrastructural developments. March pasts and other state organised public celebrations were held at Bongo’s Square with participants marching uphill tediously. But when the Reunification celebrations – to be presided over by President Paul Biya- were announced, two new tribunes will pop out of the ground. Some roads have at last received a coat of tar and some old ones are finally being marked adequately. Other construction works are taking place. This was the same scenario in Bamenda last year 2013 with the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the Armed Forces where some constructions works took place. This approach to things begs one question: so if the Reunification celebrations weren’t set for Buea and the President wasn’t to preside, the town would never have gotten two new tribunes? Would its long wait for more tarred roads have continued? The situations suggest that only the announced presence of the President of the Republic can kick-start the construction of highly needed infrastructure in some towns. This possibility is pretty scaring because the development of the nations about 360 towns – if we go by the number of councils- cannot be tethered to the arrival or not of one man. This is a myth that must be crushed pitilessly because it justifies the mediocrity noticed amongst the President’s subordinates. Each government official needs to know that he/she can autonomously spearhead development at his/her own level. Development and President Paul Biya should not be even perceivably synonyms else regions which our  history or politicians haven't made natural host of some historically- significant event will have to continue their long wait for development. 

3: Another instance of sustainable underdevelopment

As I said, infrastructural developments are taking place in anticipation of the celebrations but these are nothing but temporal fixes to embellish regional circumstances since the world will be ogling Buea during this period. Roads are finally being tarred and the inhabitants are grateful but provision isn’t made for cables or pipes before the tar is poured even though we all know sooner and not later it will be necessary to embed some cable or some pipe for some reasons. When this need arises, the roads being tarred will be tampered with and its slow destruction will begin. Sometime in the future money will have to be allocated again to re-tar a road that had already been tarred. This is unfortunately the vicious cycle being witnessed. It is a disheartening instance of unsustainable development: developments that will soon demand repairs or replacement instead of addition and extension. This vicious cycle entails repetition and wastage.

4: Politics at the expense of the future of the youth

Under normal circumstances, the graduation ceremony of the University of Buea would have taken place sometime in early December 2013. But due to the not-yet-slated and but announced coming of the President of the Republic to Buea for the Reunification celebration, no date has so far been announced  for the graduation ceremony and in the meantime the students are  stranded. Those who wished to get even their attestations and move on to further academic pursuits or start the job-search odyssey are grounded because the date for the graduation has not been slated because (in the Vice-Chancellor’s words) of circumstances “beyond their control”. This makes you wonder what the graduation of a school has to do with an event whose actual date of celebration is not known. It also makes you wonder why the already bleak future of the youths has to be held hostage by politicians and their machinations. Wasn’t it known since December that it was impossible for the celebrations to be held in December since most of the major construction works were hardly halfway done? The Vice –Chancellor has sure issued a notice saying students should go get their certificates but the poor drafting of the notice and its confusing interpretations have only worsened the situation. 

5: The smell of corruption in the air

Unjustified rumours and prejudices aside, I won’t pretend to master the ebb and flow of financial management. I will only state that I recently heard a taximan say in his taxi that he had heard over the revered national radio’s flagship English talk show Cameroon Calling that the money underwriting these construction works weren’t planned for in the national budget. If the funds for these works aren’t provided for in the national, where do they come from? Are they from the rumoured unaudited “black box” at the Presidency from where money is freely taken to carter to sudden needs? These are mere allegations but they fuel perception and perception is said to be everything. There is the smell of corruption in the air.

Preferring the Race of Hope

As most patriotic and not jingoistic Cameroonians, I would like to like the Reunification Celebrations but then again it is hard given the circumstances. As such, I prefer the 2014 edition of the Mount Cameroon Race of Hope. This is because I hear the prize money has been increased to 10 million CFAF for the first placed runner and this means this year’s race will be more exciting. Also its organisation has returned to the world-renowned brewery brand that made it famous. The race date has been  set for February 15, 2014 and the presence or absence of the President of the Represent won’t affect its holding. Most importantly, I prefer the Race of Hope because it will bring all Cameroonians- French and English speaking- together for a cause that unites us yearly and not only once every 50 years.

The real price of chewing gum in Cameroon

A few months ago I found myself standing on a dusty street far away in a village in the North West Region (for connoisseurs, I was in Kom, Boyo Division to be precise). After an 8 hour nocturnal journey from Buea, I alighted from the 30 seater bus and stepped into a hail of wails, tears, sobs, sadness and melancholy; simply put a mournosphere. As the corpse was lowered from the top of the bus and taken away, I unleashed a huge yawn and didn’t like the feedback; I had to brush my teeth. After briefly rummaging through my backpack I discovered that I had done it again: I had forgotten my toothbrush. For my self-confidence, peace of mind and the comfort of those who might stand within my breath’s sphere of influence during the day, I knew I had to do something and quick.

The price I know

So I sought and headed for a small provision store nearby and asked for my favourite brand of chewing gum  - It is Cameroonian made but don’t see anything patriotic about my choice; we Cameroonians are very loyal to our national brands – so long as they are still within our financial reach.  In exchange for the CFAF 100 I handed the storekeeper,I was surprised when I got 8 instead of the standard 6 chewing gums I get in Buea for the same sum. I could have quietly walked but the honest boy within and inquisitive me connived and sent me into a wondering spiral that would end with a question? Was this rural lady mistaken? Far away from the money-mindedness and greed of urban life, could she be the last honest shopkeeper in Cameroon? Was she even the regular shopkeeper or was she sitting in for someone? I thought of not pressing my ‘luck’ and leaving quietly but I wanted to know the real price of my favourite brand of chewing in my own country beloved fatherland Cameroon. So I asked the lady how much the gums are sold and she replied 8 for a CFAF 100. I left and went about my chewing gum teeth – brushing endeavours. One question had been answered but another had reared its ugly head in its place: was it my memory playing tricks on me or don’t I vividly remember my secondary school economics teacher telling teenage me that the closer a product is to its place of manufacturing the lower its price and vice versa? If yes, why was my favourite brand of Made-in-Cameroon chewing gums cheaper hundreds of kilometres away from its place of manufacturing Douala and more expensive just a few kilometres away –in Buea- from its place of birth?

An ‘insider’ attempts to answer my question

After the funeral, I returned to my city of residence and quizzed an insider - my neighbourhood shopkeeper to be precise - on why the same chewing gums were cheaper further away from their place of manufacturing than closer to it. In his defence, (since he had just sold the same brand of gum at 6 for CFAF 100 to me) he said a lot of things; most of which left me unconvinced and as confused as I had returned from Kom. One of them was that this situation could be because after being manufactured, the gum was smuggled in huge quantities to Nigeria and then back into Cameroon through the North West reason for the cheap price up there. I found this argument utterly unbelievable.  Won’t transportation cost ultimately make the smuggled gum as expensive as unsmuggled gum? To his credit however, he offered an argument that struck some chord with me. To better explain himself, he used bananas as an example, saying that though they were ‘made’ Buea and its environs, they were cheaper in Douala than in Buea because as major demand hub huge quantities are taken there to meet the demand and this often results in supply surpassing demand and lower prices. This was a plausible argument I thought but it was not a plausible argument for my current chewing gum dilemma because both products had core differences which their made prices susceptible to very different factors which could not be interchangeable ex is a manufactured good while the other is a farmed product. In other words I still couldn’t explain the significant price discrepancy between the same products in the same country with a free market economy. With the appearance of this expression ‘free market economy’ in my field of thought, it finally dawned on me that I had been barking up the wrong tree – like most Cameroonians?-. I had begun my investigation with the wrong premise. The issue was not my proximity to the plant where my favourite gums were manufactured: this is a microissue and so subservient to the macro and main issue which is economic model practised in Cameroon. If  journalists and politrickians are right then my fatherland is a free market economy. Really?

Cameroon a free market economy?

Generally-speaking and going by my government’s disposal of major companies like SONEL, CDC Tea, CAMRAIL, Cameroon is a free market economy. Cameroon is (or supposed to be) a country where the price of my favourite bottom-of-log gum should be set by how much is produced, how much is consumed and in how long. But even a cursory look at the Cameroonian economoscape would provide ready-made arguments in rebuttal of our free market economy status. 

We are in a free market economy but now and again we hear government promoting a certain price list for basic commodities which businesses must comply under threat of severe penalty.

We are a free market economy but at the beginning of each month, special discount sales are organised by the various regional delegations of commerce. 

We are a free market economy but government and the AES SONEL (the American-owned company to whom legated our electricity sector to) were locked in dispute because the latter had decided to increase the unit price for electricity.

We are in a free market economy but price hikes are always blamed on fuel price hikes.

So?

Don’t get me wrong, I am not excoriating my government for trying to alleviate our misery with piecemeal measures, far from it. I am merely advocating for conscious and judicious use of foreign concepts since these concepts imply a string of things which we cannot always afford. I am rising up in words (not arms) against indiscriminate use of high sounding words which upon close introspection makes the government look and sound like a dishonest and/or confused bunch. Let’s guard against unfiltered borrowing and importation less we ensnare ourselves like we already are: if we hadn’t blindly signed up for things like human rights and co. Western countries and their acolytes won’t be calling us names, at the least not with the same ease, as they currently are because we've said ONE BIG HELL NO to homosexuality liberalisation. Just saying.

The headache of dual nationality in Cameroon

Ama Tutu Muna: Cameroon's minister of arts and culture

I was channel flicking recently when I stumbled on a regular talk-show program (“Tous Azimuts” it is called) on one of Cameroon’s  privately-owned TV stations (LTM TV to be precise). On any other day I would have flicked on but the presence of a diverse panel as well as their respective passionate commitment to their points of view caught my eye and convinced me to watch on. I must admit the talking point was rather mouth and ear watering, so to speak.

 That infamous ministerial decision

 The talking point when I joined the programme was the decision by Cameroon's minister of arts and culture to challenge the election of Ndedi Eyango -allegedly American- as President of Cameroon's artists' copyright management body SOCAM because of his “dual nationality” which Cameroon’s law on nationality doesn’t recognise except implicitly regarding Cameroonian women who marry foreigners - Section 32(1) of Law No 68-LF-3 of 11^th June 1968. To the average informed Cameroonian this is an old mole -ridden issue that had been making headlines recently with renewal of the conviction, for embezzlement, of “soi-disant” French – Cameroonian Michel Thierry Atangana.

Despite the allure of the onslaughts, sometimes gratuitous, on Minister Ama Tutu Muna’s intelligence and stewardship of arts as well as cultural matters in Cameroon, the almost dogmatic resolve and patronising absolutism of some of the panellists, I was sustainably struck by one thing: the reasons advanced by some of the panellists on why Cameroon needs to adopt a more liberal posture regarding nationality.  

Bad reasons why Cameroon needs a more liberal posture on nationality?

During that talk show, most of the panellists delved into effect and fear mongering. To some Cameroon needs to extensively recognise dual nationality because of the effect it would have on Cameroon. Not recognising dual nationality will make Cameroon lose out on some of the good reputation it sucks associatively from names like Richard Bona; Cameroon would have to return the football trophies it won with “dual-nationals” in its ranks, Cameroon would be justifying the Tunisian complaint filed against it at FIFA after our qualification for the Brazil 2014 World Cup on the grounds that players like Tchouopo – Moting were not eligible to play for Cameroon due to their dual nationalities.  Cameroon would be unjust to its remittance-sending diaspora etc.

Good reasons

 I concur generally with the panellists that Cameroon needs to change its current conservative stand on dual nationality. In this world of globalisation and unavoidable cultural intercourse, every country needs tolerant nationality laws, if not to legislatively respect the international trend, to embrace its culturally-diverse elements and give them room to express themselves through recognition of their multiple identities. 

However we should avoid doing a good thing for the wrong reasons.

Ndedi Eyango: challenged SOCAM president

Furthermore our calls should not be informed by the fear or any of the reasons advanced by the panellists stated above. This is an erroneous premise to build on since we must not lose sight or under look the implications of being a national of a particular country - this by the way is an important piece of the dual nationality puzzle. In seeking wider legislative recognition of dual nationality, we must endeavour to priorily answer the following questions: what should being Cameroonian mean? Should it mean nothing more than recognition and affirmation of our descent?  Shouldn’t it imply whole wholehearted devotion to a particular community? Shouldn’t it mean undivided subscription to a set of values and beliefs? Shouldn’t it at some point be synonymous to unalloyed allegiance to one flag and fatherland? Our degree of comfort (or discomfort) and consensus with the answers to the above questions should inform the framing of any eventual amendment of Cameroon’s current position of dual nationality. I am quite sure somebody will ask whether in today’s global village any country can afford an uncompromising appreciation of the issue. But then again this doesn’t mean it is a perspective we should lose sight of in the current debate. The underlying issue here is definition. If ever a bill attempting to modify Cameroon’s current legislative position regarding nationality is ever tabled, its content should be a reflection of how we define what it means to be a national of Cameroon and whether this is compatible with dual nationality. 

 Conclusion

Dual nationality is a double-edged we should cautiously wield. The core question every country seeking to adopt it liberally is whether nationality means belonging to a particular society and subscribing fully to all its customs and traditions or is it nothing more than a formality? As such, can someone really be for example both American and Cameroonian at the same time? Can you simultaneously advocate social, moral and legislative tolerance as well as   vituperation of something like homosexuality?  This is a practical dimension of the issue.

And so?

If Cameroon’s government  ever decides to amend the country’s law on nationality,  it should remember that as much as it should make allowance for our diaspora, even foreign born, to connect with their country of birth or descent, it should not turn being Cameroonian into a consolation prize it dolls out. It should guard against opening the doors too wide to Western-leaning mind-sets seeking to radically distort our way of life or perverting our political processes with the hard-currency and extreme liberalism at their disposal. In short Cameroon should be made to mean something. Hiring persons even of Cameroonian origin to some positions like the President of an association like SOCAM should not necessarily lead to cries of foul play on grounds of nationality. This should simply be viewed as the hiring of a foreign hand to help steer Cameroon in the right direction.

Cameroon: There is no Anglophone Problem - Part 1

How do I begin this? Well....Okay. Amidst the fervour of the belated celebration of Cameroon's Reunification, I was struck by a question asked by a friend on social media and the reactions that followed in its wake. The question was 'Existe-t-il réellement un problème anglophone au Cameroun ? and this far it has left a trail of reactions on both sides of the language divide. This piece is a reaction to the question and to some of the  reactions to the question.

Which Anglophone  Problem?

I don't know if I was pushed by the quest for a refreshing angle to this piece or by an unsettling feeling that there is a problem with the coinage ' Anglophone problem' but as I set out to write this post I found myself searching for the definition of the mundane word problem (I didn't have a problem with the definition of the word Anglophone). As per the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary I stumbled upon, this word means (1) a thing that is difficult to deal with or understand; and (2) a question that can be answered by using logical thought or mathematics. So logically I asked myself if Anglophone Cameroonians are something difficult to deal with or understand? I don't think so else the advocates of Reunification would not have advocated for it. Neither are they a question that can be answered by using logical thought or mathematics? This pre-analysis led me to the realisation that this association of Anglophone and problem in the same term is a serious misnomer  that (1) perverts credibility of the grievances Anglophone Cameroonians have by pegging it to a negative especially in the minds of their Francophone counterparts and (2) distances any curious onlooker from the grievances themselves. Let me explain. 

The problem with problem

The word problem is negatively connotated in society thus it usually alienates and not enlists people's attention or sympathy. This bad reputation tends to affect all other entities that flock with the word Problem. How many times have you been asked to replace the word problem with challenges in a report? If you haven't yet been asked to do, ask a friend?

Summing up Anglophone Cameroonian grievances into the term Anglophone problem  often leads to the question of which problems which in turn means more efforts must be expended to elucidate the grievance whereas if the label Anglophone discontent, disgruntlement, frustrations or the highly politically incorrect marginalisation is used it would readily lead to the question of what are they discontented,disgruntled or frustrated  about?

This is why I think there is no Anglophone problem. I think there is Anglophone discontent, disgruntlement, frustration and marginalisation. Whether or not this is justified and anchored in fact is a song I'll sing another day so stay tuned for Part 2 of this Post.

P/S: Lol. Please don't go telling on me that I am a secessionist or one of their sympathisers because I am none of those. I am not one of those who thinks further fragmenting Africa along colonial lines is the way to go. I

Full list of Heads of States Attending Mandela Funeral

Afghanistan, His Excellency Hamid Karzai, President	Mozambique, President of Mozambique, HE Armando Emilio Guebuza
Algeria, His Excellency Mr Abdelkader Bensalah, Speaker of the Council of the Nation (Senate) – rank above the Prime Minister	Namibia, His Excellency Hifikepunye Pohamba, President
Angola, His Excellency Mr Manuel Vicente, Vice President	Niger, His Excellency Issoufou Mahamdou, President
Argentina, Mr Amado Boudou, Acting President of Argentina	New Zealand,  Right Hon John Key, Prime Minister
Australia,  His Excellency Mr Tony Abbott, MP, Prime Minister	Nigeria, His Excellency Goodluck Jonathan, President
Bahamas, Right Honourable Perry Christie, Prime Minister	Niger, His Excellency Mahamadou, President of Niger
Bangladesh, His Excellency Mr Md. Abdul Hamid MD ABDUL, President	Norway, His Royal Highness Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway
Belgium, His Royal Highness King Philippe	Pakistan, His Excellency Mr Mamnoon Hussain, President
Benin, His Excellency Boni Yayi, President	Palestinian State, His Excellency Mahmoud Abbas, President
Botswana, His Excellency Lt Gen. Seretse Khama Ian Khama, President	Portugal, His Excellency, Anibal Cavaco Silva, President
Brazil, Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff, President	Saudi Arabia, His Royal Highness Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, Crown Prince
Burundi, His Excellency Pierre Nkurunziza, President	Saharawi Republic, His Excellency Mr Mohamed Abdelaziz, President
Canada, His Excellency Stephen Harper, Prime Minister	Senegal, His Excellency Macky Sall, President

CHAD, His Excellency Mr Idriss Deby Itno, President	Serbia, His Excellency Tomislav Nikolic, President
China, His Excellency Li Yuanchao, Vice President,	Seychelles, His Excellency Mr James Alix MICHEL
COMORES, His Excellency Dr Ikiliou Dhoinine, President	Spain, His Royal Highness Felipe de Borbon, The Prince of Asturias
Congo (Republic of the Congo ), His Excellency Mr Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President	Sri Lanka, His Excellency Mahinda Rajapaksa, President
	Sudan, His Excellency Bakri Hassan Salih, Vice President
Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo), His Excellency Joseph Kabila, President	Suriname, His Excellency Desire Delano Bouterse, President
Cote d Ivoire, His Excellency President Allassane Ouattara, President	Slovenia, His Excellency Pahor, President
Croatia, His Excellency Josipovic Ivo, President	South Sudan, His Excellency General Salva Kir Mayardit, President
Cuba, His Excellency Raul Castro Ruz, President	Sweden, His Excellency Fredrik Reinfeldt, Prime Minister and Her Royal Highness Crown Princess Victoria.
Denmark, His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Federick	Switzerland, His Excellency Mr Ulrich Maurer, President
Djibouti, His Excellency Ismail Omar Guelleh, President	Swaziland, His Excellency Dr Sibusiso Dlamini, Prime Minister
Ethiopia, His Excellency Ato Hailemariam  Dessalegn, Prime Minister	Suriname, His Excellency Desire Delano Bouterse, President
Equatorial Guinea, His Excellency Mr Obiang Mbasogo, President	Tanzania, His Excellency Dr Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President
France, His Excellency, Francois Hollande, President	Timor-Leste, His Excellency Kay Rala Xanana, Prime Minister
Finland, His Excellency Sauli Niinisto, President	Tunisia, His Excellency Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, President
Gabon, His Excellency Ali Bongo Ondimba, President	Trinidad and Tobago, His Excellency Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister

The Gambia, His Excellency Prof Alhaji Dr Yahya AJJ Jammeh, President Sheikh	Uganda, His Excellency Yoweri Kagota Museveni, President
Ghana, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, President	United Arab Emirates, His Excellency Sheikh Nayahan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Culture – Special Envoy of the Emir
Germany, His Excellency Joachim Gauck, President	United Kingdom, His Royal Highness Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Prime Minister David Cameron
	United States of America, His Excellency Barack Obama, President
Guyana, His Excellency Donald Ramotar, President	Venezuela, His Excellency Nicolas Maduro Moros, President
Guinea, His Excellency Prof Alpha Conde, President	Zimbabwe, His Excellency Robert Gabriel Mugabe, President
India, His Excellency Pranab Mukherjee, President	Zambia His Excellency Michael Sata, President
Ireland, His Excellency Michael D Higgins, President	Arab States League, His Excellency Amb Samir Hosny, Minister
Italy, His Excellency Enrico Letta, Prime Minister	African Union Commission, Her Excellency Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, Chairperson
Japan, His Imperial Highness, Crown Prince Naruhito	Commonwealth, His Excellency, Mr Kamalesh Sharma
Jamaica, Her Excellency, Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister	European Council, His Excellency Mr Herman van Rompuy, President
Jordan, Her Royal Highness, Queen Rania Al Abdullah and His Excellency Prime Minister Dr Abdullah Ensour	Mexico, His Excellency Enrique Pena Nieto President of Mexico
Kenya, His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, President	Mauritius, His Excellency Dr the Honourable Navinchandra, Prime Minister
Korea (South), His Excellency Hongwon Chung, Prime Minister	Mauritania, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz,  President
Lebanon, His Excellency Mr Najib Mikati, Prime Minister	Malawi, Her Excellency Joyce Banda, President
Lesotho, His Excellency, T Thabane, Prime Minister	Grand Duchy of LUXEMBOURG, His Royal Highness Henry of Luxembourg, The Grand Duke

Liberia, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President

As culled from www.nehandaradio.com today.