Editorial: And my Tears Stopped Flowing!

It was a sunny day in Douala and people were going about their normal activities as I drove into Bepanda from shooting in Limbe. Suddenly there was commotion in the place, as I wound down to find out what was happening, I heard cries of indignation and before I could ask passersby what was happening, my eyes beheld what in other spheres would have been a sacrilege of the first order; a statue of one of the venerated architect of our statehood, John Ngu Foncha was being dragged along the streets by a policeman looking angry that someone dared to honour someone who ought to be placed on the "slaughter" of history.

That day, I understood what it meant to be regarded as an "enemy" in a house you believe to be your own. That incident did not make me a militant for for change or for Anglophone renaissance, it simply strengthened my resolve not to be on the wrong side of history. It made me understand the need not to be on the fence when it mattered most to be in the fray. I knew from that moment that even in God's Kingdom, the "Red Line" had been crossed.

I am sorry if I appear to be taking so much of your time, but it may be nice of you if you follow me through this journey. It is 4,30 am where I am battling with my health and I have been winning this battle against sickness because of hope; the joy to see that what only ten years ago seemed a forlorn dream is about to happen in my lifetime; that Anglophones are nearing the finishing line.

The events of the past two days, the unfortunate and astronomical rise of conspiracy theories meant to cast a shadow on that lofty dream sent me into tears all night, but at this moment, the tears are gone. The reality is here; that the hour just before dawn is the darkest! Darkness does mot give up to light without a fight; that is why Christians hang on the Biblical quote which says tears will last an entire night, but joy comes in the morning.

We are all Wrong
The stone throwing and insult trading going on right now should have have been expected. If Simon Peter could deny Jesus Christ his master whom he so loved three times in just one night, then we should be allowed to make our mistakes. And shamefully I also got caught in the fray, in fact we are all wrong. A lot of us may even be the true authors of what we are accused of, but we must remember that it took Jesus- God to rebuke the devil who had exploited Peter's weakness to tempt his master. Thus the famous phrase " get thee behind me Lucifer". Jesus rebuked the devil and not Peter.

No wonder, one-time US President, Theodore Roosevelt once said "He who makes mo mistakes, makes no progress". The mistakes we have all made these past few days have shaken the foundation of our unity so violently and all of us can now see that our house is still on sandy soil. This should be God's perfect plan to let us heal our land, takeaway our imperfections and drain off the bad blood so that we enter into the new country more united and more resolute to do good to one another than it would have been the case.

All of Us are Winners
When you see a man eat and drink and then tells you " God is a fool", do not hate him, do not chastise him, just seek to understand that he is undergoing a transformation. It has got right to the point where that which we hold sacred is in the market place and no one can tell for sure today with whom lies the truth; we shall all be winners in this if we put down our arms and think of the common good of all. Let the healing process begin now and end no more. We must he's ourselves first before calling on others to do same. Wherever you are and whatever you were planning to do to hit the "other" camp, put down your arms and try rather to contribute in making peace. That is how we shall all emerge as winners.