Politics

Mwalimu George Ngwane, renowned writer and notorious Pan Africanist who is equally a Chevening, common wealth, Rotary and United Nations minority rights fellow in Geneva, Switzerland has in an interview granted to Cameroon Concord proposed that the best solution to the ongoing crisis in Anglophone Cameroon is to conduct a referendum.

The scholar who was recently called up as a member of the adhoc committee headed by Paul Gohgomo opined that while some Anglophones are for independence others are for the institution of a federal government and in a bid to ensure that every one is given the chance to choose among the two, a referendum like that conducted in 1961 when West Cameron became a state should be carried out in Camerroon.

Speaking to Cameroon Concord just before he was called up to the adhoc committee, George Ngwane who is executive director of the Pan African Association, AFRICAphonie and author of over seven books including “The Cameroon condition”, “The Mungo Bridge” and “Settling Dispute in Africa” among others explained that in the near future a referendum could just be the best way as it will help Cameroonians of the English Speaking expression who for over two months now have been on strike to decide their faith.

His words “…now the question is, would most Anglophones prefer a federalist structure or go for an outright independence? But I think the way to either of them can only through a referendum and now it is incumbent of the powers that be or the policy makers to understand that there is a possibility of creating a referendum like it was done in 1961 and 1972 when West Cameroon state was destroyed. Therefore there is a possibility of also doing a referendum in the years ahead for Anglophones to equally decide their future within or without Cameroon”

Commenting on the aching silence of the Etundi resident, which has been on everyone’s lips lately, George Ngwane who aside publishing his own newspaper equally writes and acts as an editor for numerous international magazines and newspapers was categorical that “anyone who is used to President Paul Biya will not be surprised that he is silent but that does not speak well because the more you keep silent the more the issues escalate and I would say that his silent has further radicalized the position of those who were moderate.”

“When I return from the United Nation some weeks ago, one of the items I wrote in one of the papers that its time Biya makes a public statement about the Anglophone problem, something he has never ever done since he became head of state. It is time to address the Anglophone problem as a separate problem that beset Cameroonians”

To him, the consequences of the strike action are deeper that the government thinks and not only will it take Anglophones a long time to bounce back especially as all sectors of the economy is affected but he fears that is nothing is done urgently more havoc will plague the two English speaking regions of Cameroon.

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Amos Fofung in Buea

16.Jan.2017

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Half Mile, the main commercial hub of the city of Victoria in West Cameroon is in chaos this morning over the partial respect of ghost town declared by the Consortium.

As other towns in West Cameroon brought activities to zero, Monday, some shops in Victoria were open while some bike riders were going about their activities disrespecting the call for a ghost town.

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Peter Nsoesie

16.Jan.2017

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Common Law Lawyers of Southern Cameroon extraction in practice and Spirit, meeting in a general Assembly yesterday in the Olive city of Kumba have created a committee to draft a Two State Federation Constitution that will be followed by a Referendum wherein ONLY Southern Cameroonians will vote.At the conference yesterday at PYC Fingo-Kumba, most Common Law Lawyers, i spoke with told me in the affirmation, we are not going back, its now or never. Here is the full details of the Proclamation: CAMEROON COMMON LAW LAWYERS’ CONFERENCE.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
KUMBA
JANUARY 13, 2017

PROCLAMATION
CONSIDERING the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948;
CONSIDERING the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966;
CONSIDERING United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1608 XV of 21st April 1961;
COGNIZANT of the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers Conference Resolutions of the 9th day of May 2015;
COGNIZANT of the Cameroon Common Law Lawyers Conference Declaration of the 13th day of February 2016;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Resolutions of the Constituent Assemblies of the four Common Law Associations (FAKLA, MELA, MALA and NOWELA) of the 6th of October 2016;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Resolutions of the Constituent Assemblies of the four Common Law Associations (FAKLA, MELA, MALA and NOWELA) of the 15th October 2016;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Resolutions of the Constituent Assemblies of the four Common Law Associations (FAKLA, MELA, MALA and NOWELA) of the 28th October 2016;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Resolutions of the Constituent Assemblies of the four Common Law Associations (FAKLA, MELA, MALA and NOWELA) of the 4th of November 2016;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Resolutions of the Constituent Assemblies of the four Common Law Associations (FAKLA, MELA, MALA and NOWELA) of the 15th of November 2016;
TAKING INTO ACCOUNT the Resolutions of the Constituent Assemblies of the four Common Law Associations (FAKLA, MELA, MALA and NOWELA) of the 30th of December 2016;
Meeting in Kumba, this 13th day of January 2017, we, the Common Law Lawyers of Cameroon do hereby agree and Proclaim as follows:

1- That we ratify and approve all actions and or engagements undertaken by the Presidents and executive of our various Associations on behalf of Cameroon Common Law Lawyers between the 13th of February 2016 till date.

2- That the Cameroon Common Law Council is this day dissolved and the following members unanimously elected as the steering Committee of the Cameroon Common Law Bar Association:
– Harmony Bobga
– Agbor Balla
– Sopseh Emillien
– Eyambe Elias
– Kemende Henry
– Ebah Ntoko Justice
– Mbokeh Divine
– Njualem Charles
– Sone Ngole Edward
– Mbah Eric

3- These elected Officials are designated our sole representatives in the various Committees set up and or contemplated by the Government to seek lasting solutions to the grievances contained in our different Memoranda.

4- That we remain resolute on the attainment of all the objectives contained in our previous Resolutions and Declarations.

5- That in this regard, proposed draft bills shall be presented to the Government on the Amendment of the Constitution to accommodate the demands including a call for a Referendum reserved exclusively for those who voted (South West and North West Regions) in the United Nations supervised plebiscite of 1961 on the form of Government that will best suit their aspirations and way of life this day.

6- We reiterate the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all persons arrested from the beginning of our sit-strike and carted away to Yaoundé and other destinations (not ascertained by us for now).

7- We call on ALL Common Law Magistrates to examine their consciences and join this struggle instead of sitting and determining Suits in the absence of Lawyers and in process occasioning gross injustice to Litigants by violating their rights to fair trial.

8- We applaud the support of the Common Law Lawyers and the Constituent Assemblies for the Monday 9th January 2017 “Ghost Town” called by the Cameroon Anglophone Civil Society Consortium and encourage all to continue to lend their support to the coordinated actions of the said Consortium.

9- A Commission for the drafting of a Federal Constitution to revisit a two State Federation is hereby created and the following members elected thereto:
– Sonkwa Victorine
– Tifuh Ochard Nkeng
– Mokom Jude
– Buriya Atuabo Unuase
– Ntuiabane John
– Pascal Nanje Meloko
– Nalowa Bih
– Mbuya Gladys
– Ajong Stanislaus
– Molongwe Imoh
– Legenju Vitalis
– Forbishi Edward Ndikum
– Pende Eddie Nelson
– Tchana Anthony
10- That we shall reconvene in April 2017 in Mamfe to assess the level of implementation of this Proclamation.
And the Strike Continues
Done at Kumba, this 13th day of January 2017.
OBENSON GREG
Chairman

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Rita Akana

14.Jan.2017

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Meeting with Government delegation:Consortium leaders diffuse previous reports that they had been held hostage in a video released a couple of minutes ago in Bamenda-North West regional capital.

The leaders in their own words say they are not being forced to sign any documents.They pleaded for the crowd to abstain from violence, destruction and injury.Meeting still going on.

The Consortium will have a Press Conference tomorrow at the Presbyterian Church Center in Bamenda but will brief the crowd once they leave the Governor's office.

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Rita Akana

13.Jan.2017

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After last Monday's  Ghost Town Operation that grounded activities in the two English speaking regions of Cameroon (North West and South West Regions) pundits and political observers have begun questioning the power the government exercises over these two Regions.
This can be attributed to the fact that on Monday January 9, 2017, which was the day for the resumption of the second term for the 2016/2017 academic year, the Anglophone consortium had announced that no school or business activity will be functional in the above mentioned regions.

But in its usual mannerisms, Paul Biya’s 34 year-old government has since the commencement of the Anglophone strike last November 2016, used all means ranging from attempted bribery, intimidation, threats, manipulation and even arbitrary arrests, instead of finding solutions to the concerns raised by the consortium. It has tacitly decided to go the Judas way.

Numerous press releases, radio announcements and reports were done via the state media, CRTV, stating that effective classes will resume as per the academic calendar. In an interview last week before the Ghost Town was observed, Tassang Wilfred, one of the members of the Consortium said “come Monday 9, we will see who controls Bamenda.”

The government, after dispatching a handful of Ministers with bags of money to bribe the teachers and traditional rulers in an attempt coerce their subjects into calling off the strike in both the North West and South West Regions, saw their efforts thrown to the trash as the Ghost Town Operation was a heavy success.

Political pundits have since then applauded the unity and togetherness expressed by Cameroonians of the English speaking expression, who for decades now, complain of gross injustice and marginalization. What was termed the Buea declaration now goes by the name “the Anglophone problem.”

While the academic year throughout Cameroon risks being cancelled by the United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization, UNESCO, if the students do not return to school this week so as to complete the required 900 hours of lecture a year, the government is on a hot seat as dialogue stalls.

A local newspaper reported that the strike might have just revealed how less popular the Anglophone Ministers including the Prime Minister who hails from the North West Region, are. After repeated attempts, they could not calm their people down; talk less of persuading them to call off the strike.

This, one can conclude, just goes a long way to show that these appointed Ministers have no influence on their people as not even spending a weekend with them can cause them to change their minds. To be continued…

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Emergency Admin

13.Jan.2017

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Even though from all indications the elected municipal head of the Buea Council, Mayor Ekema Patrick Esunge seems to be upholding to his electoral promise, his political adversaries and challengers have vowed not to relent their efforts in damaging his reputation and putting the people of Buea and Cameroon at large against him.

Recently, a group of irate citizens have taken to the social media, creating fake Facebook accounts using his name and photograph to make nasty comments about blazing issues and the current political atmosphere in the country all geared at making him seem as a traitor to English Speaking Cameroonians.

“Equally, with the “Breaking news” syndrome that has taken the social media like a wild fire in a forest, political opponents of the Mayor whose records of socio-economic development are crystal clear for anyone to judge have decided to sit in their rooms and cook fake messages, using photo shopped images and pre-edited audio clips to tannish his image calling him a traitor to the Anglophones.” An admirer of the young yet development prone Mayor told this reporter.

     
It is against this backdrop that Mayor Ekema who is primarily targeted by a group of political henchmen who brandish themselves as the “godfathers” of politics in Fako in a press conference granted to announced the special New Year eve gala organised on the 31st of December 2016 decided to take some time out to talk on the social media injustice against his personality.

Addressing pressmen, the Mayor announced that when he first hatch  the plan for a gala night which was a platform to commune with denizens of Buea after a hectic year and to celebrate and give thanks to God, some people took to the social media describing his action as politically motivated stating that he wanted to used it as a rally to campaign for 2018.

Equally, 24hours before the program news went rife on the social media that the main guest artist Petite Pay had turned down the Mayors invitation to perform at the gala night organised at the independent square in Buea. The Mayor refuted this claims and indeed on the gala night the Douala-based ace artist together with his entire crew were all present body and soul.

While taking out time to explain that social media news can indeed be verified, the Mayor called on the educated population of Buea to make used of their android devices and verify the authencitity of a picture or a post before taking it for the gospel truth and sharing it. He further warned that all those levelling threats against his life using the social media have been reported to the administrative and legal department.

One of Mayor Ekema’s close aide who spoke to this reporter noted that one hour before the gala night started some paid hoodlums of his political adversaries who have paid some media organs to constantly seek the bad part in everything down by the Mayor came and snapped the chairs as they were been arranged and put on social media deceiving people that the event had being boycotted.

The collaborator noted that the program started a little late due to the fact that many church services were scheduled for that evening. While re-echoing that investigations had being opened to bring the perpetuators to book, social media users have been advised to take any information with a pinch of salt.

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Amos Fofung in Buea

13.Jan.2017

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