Politics

About 600 Cameroonians are taking part in a special forum at the Yaoundé Conference Centre today Wednesday June 28.
The forum, dubbed FODIAS2017, brings together Cameroon and its citizens living abroad.
The event ends on Friday. 
Cameroon and her diaspora population want to concretise abstract bonds and develop the land.
The first ever, this forum will provide a platform for project bearers to showcase their potentials.
Chosen fields include health, education and training, green economy, economics and finance,ICT, social security, tourism, sport, arts, and culture.
Cameroon intends to build solid and permanent communication links with its children living abroad. Several millions of Cameroonians live out of the country, as they seek greener grass on the other side of the fence.
However, Cameroon has begun a campaign to discourage its citizens from travelling to the Middle East, especially Dubai, where they are believed to be 'badly' treated. Dubai has become the watchword of most Cameroonians. This is even visible on posters in major cities of the nation. 

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Tasha Seidou

28.Jun.2017

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The massive whirl wind that swept across state universities on Wednesday, June 28 had a catch that did not in any way shock the English speaking regions of the country. Pauline  Nalova Lyonga Limunga's tenue as Vice Chancelor of the University has been terminated. Flushed by the same system she fought so hard to protect, news of her promotion to retirement took the social media on a melt down not because of her brilliant academic prowess which makes her a monumental figure amongst the Anglophone intelligencia . But because her time at the "Place to be" was everything but a peaceful one. A reign of strikes after strikes, brutal face off with the student union and her role in fueling the Anglophone crisis are part of her perilous 5 year stay at UB.

Nalova's rise to the position of Vice Chancellor in 2012 was greeted with alot of mixed feelings . On one hand,   her fellow Bakweri brethren on campus  saw it as a chance to break free from what they lamented as maginalisation from their North Western brothers led by  most venerated Prof Vincent P.K Titanji, V.C at the time. Though we cannot independently verify the authenticity of the claims, one could smell an atmosphere of fustration amongst the Fako indegenes who were not comfortable having a man from the North West at an insititution planted in their land. It is even alleged Prof Titanji's inability to handle some pressing crisis situations during his reign was as a result of a carbal mounted by native Bakwerians at the Central Administration to fustrate his actions.   But on the other , Nalova was a fine academic breed chosen from within the institution . A University don with sterling qualities as a scholar-researcher, she is known for her no-nonsense approach to academic matters. Within academic circles, Lyonga is recognised as a fine brain – brilliant and articulate. She is said to have drank deeply from the wells of two giants – the intellectual juggernaut Fonlon and the management maestro Prof. Dorothy Njeuma – a combination that should make UB respect the Fonlonian prerequisite that a University, worthy of its name should gravitate around the tripod of a University Library, Bookshop and Printing Press – infrastructure sorely lacking at that time.

The outgoing Vice Chnacellor Titanji told reporters during the handing over ceremoney that , the new VC will face challenges, “they are enormous. But, if she assumes her responsibility and creates an enabling culture and ensures that the challenges are shared, then, she will overcome. In other words, she must put in place a new team with fresh ideas. If she considers the challenges as tasks to be tackled by her alone, then, that will be a clear recipe for failure.” It was evident the words of the outgoing VC were more of an advice,  it was a prophesy which like others hinged on time, could not fail to come to fruition.

Barely a year into her mandate, Nalova's "clear receipe for failure" began with a brutal crackdown on the student union, UBSU. A symbol of anglo saxon democracy within the university milleu, UBSU protested against the university's policies. On Wednesday, February 6, 2013 Executive members of the University of Buea Students’ Union, UBSU,  called for a strike action. In an eight-point memorandum addressed to the Vice Chancellor,  Nalova Lyonga, UBSU  demanded  that online registration problems in the university be given  prompt attention, that on-campus businesses, especially photocopiers, should be reinstated to  facilitate the teaching and learning process, that students should be allowed to seat for  examination upon part payment of their registration fees of FCFA 25,000,  and that various modes of transcripts be respected and made available on time to stop exploitation of students.

According to reports, On day one of the protest, the Vice Chancellor was temporally held hostage by the striking  students for over three hours in her car as she made her way into the campus early that morning.  Four students were arrested in the process  and two released few days later after paying FCFA 700, 000.The UBSU president Ronald Minang, is  declared missing and discovered 10 days later on February 21, 2013 in Muea – a locality in Buea  Sub-Division in the South west Region- in a pretty bad shape. Mr. Minang says he was kidnapped  by unidentified assailants and taken to an unknown destination where he was compelled at gun  point to sign some documents related to demonstrations in the university. By refusing to sign  the papers calling off the strike, Minang says he was given the beating of his life and released  in a degrading health state. Before Minang’s abduction, he posts a notice informing protesting  students that the “meeting with the Vice Chancellor … ended in a fiasco. Our VC came and was  dictating to us, it was not a dialogue forum anymore.” The VC of the university in response  organizes a press conference and refutes claims that she has not been open to dialogue with the students. Recurrent conflicts with the student body finally led to its disollution by the Vice Chnacellor, killing a strong arm of the University governance system.

As external shocks were weighing in on her administration, internal cracks began show up. Stiff disagreements with the lecturers trade union, SYNES charcaterised by stony high handedness was another unpleasant pill for the disgruntled teaching body to take.  On many occasions, it was Higher Education boss Jeacque Fame Ndongo who had to make fruitless trips to Buea to dialogue with the lecturers over unpaid research allowances and other dues. Demands that were timidly resolved under her tenue.  The open face off with the pioneer Director of the Kumba based Higher Technical Teacher Training ciollege, Prof Joyce Endeley over the running of the school needs no introduction. She is reported to be behind the sacking of Prof Joyce Endeley and the appointment of Prof  Agbor Ntui considered by many as a stooge.Meanwhile, she is alleged to have flooded the Central Administration with close aides who were incompetent in their duties. The result has been a scandalous discovery of a racket of fake credential amongst the personel .

But the final nail on her coffin was the disastrous handling of the last student protest which triggered the Anglophone crisis. UB students had on November 28 suffered untold torment, rape and looting in the hands of troops deployed to ‘quell’ a sit-down strike on their campus against obnoxious policies of the Nalova administration. The angry students, protesting for the first time in 3 years  were denouncing an extra 10.000FCFA for late registration, the absenc e of a recognised student body  as well as transparency in the award of Presidential grants when they  were brutally molested by security forces . The heartless forces chased them right to their homes where they suffered untold misery.   Okalia instead blamed the disaster on the UB Vice Chancellor, VC, Dr. Nalova Lyonga.The Governor said he was coerced into signing the order to dispatch armed troops to clamp down on the protesting UB students.The Governor was quoted as saying that as a father he could not remain insensitive to the cry of the UB administration, as such he was forced to dispatch troops to the University campus to quell the students’ protest.

Following the strike action of SYNES members, Nalova fruitlessly issued threats to the student and teaching community for them to resume school. Her use of force sharply contrasted with her colleague of the University of Bamenda who employ a more careful approach towards the crisis. Prof Theresa Nji had suspended classes and told students to go home in the heart of the shootings in Bamenda. She openly called on the government to find a favourable ground for dialogue to ensure that lecturers demands are met for them to  get back to the classroom. While her docile approach earned her admiration from the English speaking community, demands for Nalova's head on the chopping board flooded social media over her harsh and catastrophic handling of the crisis.

Nalova Lyonga has been swept by the wind from Etoudi . And while the move has been hidden under the vast change in Higher Education personel . Its no doubt a direct response to her failures at the University which has resulted in a thorny issue for the institution and government. She leaves UB with a legacy of pain, hate and anger from the entire university community and the population. Some of her teaching staff are languishing at the Kondengui detention Centre while others are at large simply because they stood against her policies. With little remorse over her back door exit, others want severe measures to be taken against her for attempted man slaughter and violations of fundermental human rights as well as mismanagement of univeristy funds. There is no doubt Nalova Lyonga has fallen on the negative side of the prestigious UB and now stands as the most unpopular VC in the history of the academic jewel.

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28.Jun.2017

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At least one medical aid worker is believed to have died in a Boko Haram attack on Monday night in the Far North of Cameroon.
The attack was perpetrated on a health centre in the Alagarno locality, around Waza Park, L'Oeil du Sahel reports.
Huge medication is believed to have been looted in the attack. 
This comes at a time when the fight against the terror group is growing rather shaky. Some Cameroonian soldiers fighting the insurgency went on strike recently due to concerns about unpaid money.  Chad is threatening to pull out of the Multinational Joint Task Force battling the terror group. Chad has complained of growing financial difficulties. 

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Rita Akana

27.Jun.2017

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Meanwhile the leader of the gangster regime “papa” Paul Biya is being called upon by his followers from North to South, East to West, and even out of the country to present his candidature for the upcoming presidential elections next year, despite his over 30 years of arbitrary rule, others think enough is enough, including some of his close collaborators.

These close collaborators as analysed by Camer News, stand as a big obstacle to Biya in obtaining a sixth mandate for himself. Whether already in Kodengui or still moving around scot-free, they pose a big threat to Chantal’s husband given that they have foreign support which is making them stronger than he thinks.

 Before the beginning of every of his mandates, according to Camer News, Biya always wanted a perfect government for himself and that is why he made sure he instructed the members of his government and their leader the Prime Minister, to leave no stone unturned to brilliantly transform the economic situation of the nation in terms of development, in order to improve the living conditions of the population.

All of these dreams have never been realised. Times without number, President Biya has signed documents authorising his so-called big projects which never end up being a reality. “I expect from this government, a new page as it engages in its specific duties, especially in those sectors where regular inactivity have set in. I equally demand of them manifestation of cohesion and solidarity in the exercising of their duties, which is a tenable asset of success”; those were His Excellency Biya Mvondo’s words during a council of Ministers which was held on the 03^rd of July 2009. Four days after this, Philemon Yang was handed over the keys of the Star Building. In spite of all of this talking, Biya’s directives were never respected or executed.

 Ministers, who are supposed to remain within the confines of their gruesome salaries, do not do so. They have big crocodile eyes that cannot stay of the contents of public coffers. They want to sweep everything away, not even accomplishing what they were appointed for.

Unfinished projects are now the order of the day. A good number of minister have been sent to languish behind bars in Kondengui, for swindling state funds, which were supposed to be used for State projects. These projects usually end up halfway or are not even started. There is the Bamenda ring road which is yet to be a full reality, as it is not yet complete. There are other domains of development, like the Lom Pangar hydro electric dam which Cameroonians wonder if they are eternal projects that don’t get terminated. This does not even move those in power to change their behaviour. They still keep on stealing money which does not belong to them.

If an investigation is done, it will be discovered that, all those who accuse others of embezzlement and secession, are the real secessionists themselves. They just want to hide behind and do their bad deeds.

At this point in time, even if Biya surrounds himself with the top body guards in the world, his security will still be at the mercy of some of his close collaborators who are just waiting for his downfall, not even for the good of Cameroon but for their own personal gains.

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Eyong Orlando

27.Jun.2017

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The US Ambassador to Cameroon might soon be heading to the Unity Palace for another chat with Paul Biya  following concerns raised by two members of the United States Congress. Anthony Brown and Jamie Raskin  from the State of Maryland have asked the White House through the US secretary of State, Rex Tillerson  to take a close interest in the ongoing Anglophone crisis.

In a circular dated, Monday June 26, the duo said they were increasingly disturbed by reports of intimidation employ by the Government on English speaking Cameroonians who are protesting policies that marginalize them. They noted that violence has  instead increased in the Anglophone regions despite government assurance that the situation is under control. Tactics used by the government so far has not been convincing for the Congress men.

The Maryland representatives have also called on the Executive to look into various forms of abuses by the Cameroon military in the Far North region. Condemning acts of violence, extortion, intimidation and torture  meted to harmless civilians.  

They have urged the Department of State that has been silent until  now to make a statement and tell Congress the action it hopes to take to address  the socio - political crisis in the English speaking regions as well as humanitarian concerns in the Far North regions.

Earlier, some Congressional Representatives also expressed concerns over Cameroon's use of US aid in the anti terror campaign .  The US Government has been assisting the Cameroon military in the war against Boko Haram supplying military and intelligence. But it is being alleged that resources are being ferried to the Anglophone regions to suppress civil liberties.

Measures taken by the Biya regime, amongst them the recruitment of 1000 Bilingual teachers to teach Science and  Technical subjects as well as English speaking personnel in courts, the  creation of a Common law department at ENAM and a bench at the Supreme Court not leaving out a Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multi Culturalism as superficial. As critics still believe it won't restore the dignity of Anglophones who have enjoyed  second class citizenry in Cameroon for half a century.

Members of the outlawed Consortium and other Anglophones arrested from the North West and South West regions are still under pre trial detention with no materialization of the trumped up charges against them.

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27.Jun.2017

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The Member of parliament for the Jakiri special constituency in Bui division of the Northwest Region, Honourable Joseph Wirba, revealed yesterday 25 June on Equinox TV that, nothing will stop him from fighting for the freedom of his people, even if it means being kicked out of the Social Democratic Front(SDF) Party, as related by Cameroon-info.net.

One of the things which pushed Wirba to make such declarations was Ni John’s statements which had it that, even though the honourable had been fighting for the good of the people, he didn’t take authorisation from the SDF political party where he belonged.

The Southern Cameroons’ hero equally made mention of the fact that, there are some of his colleagues who say he has carried the Western Cameroon case on his head. He challenged them saying that, it is the same way he carried the case of the SDF some 27 years ago, which they are now feeding on.

Joseph Wirba profited from the “The Inside” program on Equinox, to rectify some misconceptions that people had about him. He said he was not ready for any position in the SDF, as opposed to what many had been thinking. Some even suggested that he wanted to take over from Ni John Fru Ndi, a rumour he vividly shunned down.

The popular Bui son in this Anglophone struggle, stormed parliament in November last year 2016, enumerating a platter of things Southern Cameroons had been deprived of for years now by La Republique. He had to go into hiding after being hunted before reappearing a few days ago to continue with the struggle.

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Eyong Orlando

26.Jun.2017

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