October 1, Presidential Election And The Southern Cameroons' Struggle

By Neba-Fuh

It is not just coincidence that the individual:  who initiated publicly the call to revise the constitution to allow Biya to rule ad infinitum,  who heads ELECAM, who nominated Biya to be confirmed as Chairman of the CPDM in a  recently held congress, who is the Campaign manager of the CPDM, who is the spokesman of the recently re-ignited  Presidential Majority, who has  made the  highest donation so far  for the CPDM campaign etc; are all of Southern Cameroonian extraction.

 

The Yaounde regime of the Republic of Cameroun has always sought to feign legitimacy by using quislings of the Western side of Moungo, even when it publicly snubs the plight of the Southern Cameroonian people . Egoism has often been the catalyst activating most of these short-witted politicians '...to serve as gatekeepers and scavengers for a government that denies them an identity and disrecognises their predicaments as a community...' as Professor Nyamnjoh B.F puts it in his  paper 'Construction and Deconstruction: Anglophone or Autochtones? (1999)' 

 

Let no one whose origins are pegged on the other side of the Moungo develop goose bumps when we talk Southern Cameroons. The struggle for an independent or dignified Southern Cameroons has nothing to do with victimizing those of our brothers and sisters whom by birth or affiliation adopted this better model of life. Afterall, if  by mere  residence(not naturalization) in a country more than 5000 miles away, one is solicited to take part in their political life by  voting , what more of one's kin next door. The Southern Cameroons' struggle is foremost a quest for the restoration of an institutionalized identity, whose effectiveness stood the test of time prior to the 1961 fiasco, and furthermore, is better than the french model.

 

October 1 is an important historical date to every serious citizen. It is not a day to  celebrate but to reflect and contemplate a common destiny . Coincidentally this year is the fiftieth anniversary of the 1961 fiasco that subjected Southern Cameroons to its present fate. It is a day to reflect on how far we've come and what efforts we need to accelerate in this journey. For those who think the so-called annexation by The Republic of Cameroun is an  'undoable' 'everlasting' binding knot, you are mistaken.  Even in extreme conservative Christian marriages, divorce is recommended when important tenets of marriage are not upheld.  Therefore even if  the 'union' was  legally binding, it will be myopic and naive for Southern Cameroonians not to agitate in case of glaring  breaches of the 'agreement'. The reality since 1961 involves not only breaches  of human dignity and inalienable rights, it also involves  exploitation and misuse of natural resources, as well as subtle attempts to annihilate a people's  ethical culture.

On the eve of a presidential  election in the Republic of Cameroun, in which Southern Cameroonian citizens are running to unseat an iron fisted dictator, it is important to reflect on their stance on this unhealthy state of the union.
It took a moderate like De Klerk to release a Mandela from prison, which later reversed the history of a people oppressed. Therefore, the inability to bar Southern Cameroonians from taking part in the politics of the Republic of Cameroun leaves us with nothing but a tactical approach to the struggle- a multi-faceted approach. Since the struggle this far has been void of an armed approach, it will be restrictive and unprogressive to pursue the Southern Cameroonian struggle in a uni-facet fashion mainly on resignation. Afterall, if we possess their identity cards,carry  their passports and  land on their airports, why can we not penetrate their system and fight it from there?

The Southern Cameroons' case is like a 'divorce' case  where one party is making his/her case for divorce on grounds of irreconciliable differences, and the other party is uncompromising. Legal minds hold that  it is often difficult, or it takes a long time to convince a court to grant a divorce under such circumstances-irreconciliable differences only; but if one of the parties was  provocative and  physically confrontational , it won't take long for a sitting court to arbitrate and enforce a divorce decree. The Southern Cameroons case is not even at this level of 'marriage' and 'divorce', for there is no binding document!  Not to lose the sense of the analogy above , one can draw a technical unparralleled situation with the Southern Sudanese case. .. They were like that 'provocative and physically confrontational' partner. They got what they wished for by all means possible.

All five  Southern Cameroonians running for president are no newcomers to the plight of Southern Cameroonians. Paul Ayah, John Fru Ndi, kah Walla, Ben Muna and George Nyamndi are not unaware of the herculean task they are into, as they run for president,just because of their origin, even if the majority votes for them, .  I am sure they are relying on some international interventionist simillar to  the 'Ivorian saga' at the end. The simple fact that an alliance among the opposition candidates is becoming difficult to achieve, talks volumes about the opposition  political set up.

 Even in this political confusion, none of these candidates has denied the struggle we decry everyday. Ahmadou Ali's recently published remarks on wikileaks was just in line with  Fru Ndi's mockery by politicians of the other side of the Moungo:'... that he can only become president when they decide so... not by the ballot box'.

Paul Abine Ayah in an article, reacting to the ACHPR Banjul ruling, titled: 'Southern Cameroons: The Best Option'  published on Ambazonian People Forum on October 14 2010,  said amongst other things: 'They (The Republic Of Cameroun) are under a duty to invite the State of Southern Cameroons to constitutional talks for an association or integration. That should be now and not tomorrow! Nothing afterall stops any Anglophone radicals from departing from the force of argument tomorrow!

  Kah Walla in a political meeting in Bamenda, reacted to Former Governor George Achu's concern(via an envoy) on her candidacy being a distraction to the struggle, by saying:  “I am running for President in a country, which today, is called the Republic of Cameroon. I believe my stand on the Anglophone Issue is as follows: there have been historical wrongs factually; there have been historical discriminations, factually; we must sit down as a nation and dialogue on those historical wrongs and historical discriminations; we must acknowledge our differences and make decisions as to how we are going to move forward as one unified Cameroon that is strengthened in its diversities.'' 

These candidates may just be  unsolicited advocates of a cause engraved in our common heritage and well-being, but how they intend to get to that point where they can effect change, without understanding the prerequisite of a unified opposition platform, is a mystery. A real mystery!

As for those  compatriots who are defying the repressive regime of Yaounde to highlight  the struggle  on  this memorable day, we join you in your courage and hope that the recent move by all factions of the Southern Cameroons' struggle to congregate under one umbrella reserves nothing but a force that will yield good results for a future generation, if not ours.

Comments

[Va Boy]

Kah Walla is being quite naive about Southern Cameroonian issues. It is time to move on. This indirect approach to solving our predicament is based on abandoning our historical and legal power and relinquishing our identity. It is like negotiating from a weak position. It actually endangers Southern Cameroonians, what these people are doing. Ordinary Southern Cameroonians should refrain from participating in these fake elections.