By Neba-Fuh
If
historical facts are indisputable, then October 1 is a day no true
Southern Cameroonian would like to
'celebrate' positively. 1st October
1961 was the worst day in Southern Cameroons history! It's the day
Southern Cameroons was 'forced' to become part of La Republique du
Cameroun. It was that day
Southern Cameroonians became slaves under a
regime which was a by-product of colonial brewing. Southern Cameroons
was annexed on
1st October. Southern Cameroons never gained independence on October 1!
Therefore, activities of October 1 are suppose to be somber, reflective, and resistive! It is suppose to be a waking call to those lukewarm skeptics who have always tried to situate the Southern Cameroons struggle in a closet, unconvincingly distorting historical facts and myopically refusing to leap beyond the blame game involving Foncha,Endeley, Muna,Mbile and Co. in the 1960s British- UN fiasco.
The Southern Cameroons issue is not an idealistic battle, it is a realistic one ! Historical facts intimidate the Yaounde regime. La Republique pretends to despise the struggle but spends sleepless nights planning to forestall any move concerning the cause. They downplay the cause but secretly admit its inevitability. If only the Yaounde oligarchy were wise enough to face the Southern Cameroons problem head-on, we won't have been where we are now.
It
should be recalled that the All Anglophone Conference(AAC ) of 1993
primordially had limited secessionists' tendencies on its agenda. At that
time when Southern Cameroonians had braved through sub human treatment
from La Republique, when their common heritage had been hijacked , and
their commonwealth plundered; 'secession' was still looked upon as a last
resort, even though the radicals thought otherwise.
1993 was a
missed
opportunity for La Republique to engage in a meaningful dialogue with
the think tanks and even the Southern Cameroons players of the 1961
fiasco who happened to have been still alive then.
The semblance of the so called Tripartite Talks wasn't a good enough forum to trash the Southern Cameroons problem. The Southern Cameroons issue involves an inter-state dialogue and wasn't supposed to be mingled with talks that involved petty opposition parties whose aims have never been anything short of egoism and personal interests. That said, the Talks , that triggered the convening of the AAC 1 was an opportunity for La Republique to review the then past 32years of the failed union and engage in a dialogue that COULD have yielded some compromise. Biya with his usual arrogance couldn't permit that to happen. They shelved the proposals of the AAC 1 and continued with their egocentric, brutal and exploitative annexation of Southern Cameroons.
Any Camerounais
or Southern Cameroonian who denies or downplays the Southern Cameroons
problem OR even tries to equate it to any other minority problem in The
Cameroons must surely be unschooled about his country's historical
heritage, ignores the daily discrimination of Southern Cameroonians in
every activity of the failed union, egoistic, or just a sycophant. We
can tolerate those Camerounais who acknowledge the
Southern Cameroons problem but differ in method on how to solve
the issue.
If
you think that almost all Southern Cameroonian statesmen, even those
who were architects of this mess have acknowledged the problem of the
failed union with La Republique before dying, then who am I
to refuse
it, besides the fact that I have been a victim? If you think that
Southern
Cameroonian quislings serving in La Republique regime have outrightly
acknowledged the problem even as they pretend to be serving as
ministers in a country that despises them, then who are you
to deny or
minimize the Southern Cameroons problem?
It irks me that at this point in time when valuable time should be used to restructure and engage fully in the struggle, we are still caught up in the ambush of brethren who refuse to acknowledge the cause. The greatest of ignorance is he who knows not and knows not that he knows not.
Presently the arrogance and nonchalance of the Yaounde regime is becoming sour. They can't hide from the nightmare of their own design. They arrest Southern Cameroonians, torture them in torture chambers and leave them to die. Then publicly, they deny or downplay the Southern Cameroons problem. Sometimes they find it difficult to charge them in their injustice chambers. Even when they do trump up charges, their prosecutors are often found wanting in evidence. Then they use their caprices to sentence compatriots.
How I wish October 1 was just one of the many days we should be
engaging
in the struggle energetically? The option La Republique has pushed us
to is nothing short of the extreme.
The
coordinating panel of the struggle is still to wade away differences
and walk their talk together. Compatriots need constant leadership and
guidance. The intelligentsia needs to way in. Finances are needed.
No other time has the Yaounde regime been so panicky than now. They are losing control! That's why basic human rights are at its worst now since the early nineties. There is increased censorship, meetings are banned, intimidation is a daily tool, the regime is facing its greatest opposition from inside its own house. Generals are suspects. Insecurity is on its highest-banks are robbed even in the presence of an abundance of military men- these same men who will not resist to release their triggers on innocent unarmed citizens. The centre is no longer holding!
Destiny of time is calling the struggle to be more engaging. We cannot control what happens in La Republique, but we can coordinate what happens in our land. That's our unalienable right. The route to freedom is never an easy ride. If you are scared of the ride, then the freedom seed has not been planted in you. Freedom's hurdles are always the next stepping pads for a higher goal in the quest of it , and except we reach that top, we will call no day our Independence Day!
Chicken-hearted folks will celebrate the coming home of heroes. They
will party heroically at victory's square-their battleground, but will
still fail to regret why they never joined the fight. We will not
reproach them, for we never fought for us alone. We fought for the
common good, so that not only our children will live in dignity, but
theirs too.
God bless us!
Last Cry Of The Millennium(1999)
Southern Cameroons-The Way Forward
The Constitutional Manipulation And The Southern Cameroons Problem
Is The Front Becoming Fun? Part 1
Is The Front Becoming Fun? Part II
February 11 -Eclipsing Its Historical Significance
20th May -The Day They Stole Our Star
Comments