Nobody
knows the Anglophone problem better than Biya, except perhaps those who
are older than Biya in the likes of Nfon Mukete. Biya was there at the
very beginning till now. He participated in all the grand decisions that
were taken against Anglophones. What then was the relevance of creating
the Musonge Commission when Biya knows the problem so very well?
What were the results of the BIYA commission that was created by Ahidjo to cater for the Anglophone problem?
If the Biya commission was bent on solving the problem, how come the
Anglophone problem resurfaced more than 40 years later with more
virulent claims than it was in the 1970s?
What is the guarantee that the Musonge commission will do any better?
History has revealed that the greatest way of killing a problem LRC style is by creating a commission.
When LRC was preparing for the last AWCON, 13 Commissions were put in
place. When it was realized that things were not moving, a 14th
Commission with a huge budget assigned to it was set up to investigate
why the 13 other commissions were not working.
Commissions are used as a subterfuge to divert political attention from solving the problem.
The relevance of the commission with regard to the Anglophone problem
is questionable, mindful of the fact that there was a commission headed
by Biya, Abuem A Tchoyi and Dorothy Njeuma as those that are still
alive. Then there was the Buea Declaration in 1993 (AAC 1) where all
Anglophone grievances were spelt out. Then the Bamenda Declaration
1994, AAC2 where yet again Anglophone grievances spelt out. Then the
resignation letters of Foncha and Muna to Biya when 1994 Constitutional
Consultative talks failed and the duo threw the towel. The Duo mentioned
that they tried to meet biya on several occasions to explain these
grievances but Biya kept turning them down. That is how Biya replaced
Muna with Fonka Shang Lawrence, believing that the latter will be sober
but it proved the contrary and the latter was replaced in so little
time. Anglophone grievances not new here as we can see and Biya
understands the problem better than us all. If the Biya commission didnt
resolve the problem, where is the guarantee that the Musonge commission
will do any better? Abouem made so much noise when the crisis started
in 2016. George Ngwane was one of the advisers to the Consortium. Why is
it that both gave gone mute ever since their appointment to the
Commission? One would have expected Abouem A Tchoyi who understands the
problem very well to be at the fore front if truly the commission
intends to solve the problem.
Why didnt Musonge visit Ayuk Julius
and others in order to get the opinion of the Diaspora? As it stands,
the Diaspora are in control now so why table a conclusive report without
seeking the face of the Diaspora?
Most disturbing of all
situations are internally and externally displaced people whose houses
have been burnt. Does [provide an enabling environment for the displaced
to return] imply the full reconstruction of the over 80 burnt villages?
When government asks them to return from bushes, where do they return
to when villages have been burnt? Peoples documents have been burnt and
many are without ID cards because as they escaped the fighting with no
time to collect identification papers which stayed behind and were burnt
by LRC forces. What becomes of them? Will the Government reconstruct
these homes? How many hundred years will it take to reconstruct over 80
communities and where will the displaced be within the period of wait,
in refugee camps?
I didnt read about the dead, those who were
denied dignity in life and even in death. They were denied the right to a
decent burial. Human beings who were made in image and likeness of God
were buried worse than dogs. Even our family dog had a more decent
burial than our deceased brothers and sister. I never read anything in
that regard. Instead, I read about the return of Amadou Ahidjos corpse
for a National Burial. I can only question the relevance of the return
of this corpse to appeasing Anglophones. If my memory doesnt fail me,
Ahidjo was the author of this problem, from Foumbam in 1961, to 1972
referendum and so on. What is the relevance of the return of Ahidjos
corpse to the Anglophone problem?
This Divide and rule game
beats my imagination. Patricia Scotland of Commonwealth visited Buea
but did not Bamenda. To make it worse, Bamenda wasnt represented in the
Buea meeting. Now Musonge commission visits Bamenda and immediately
publishes results.
One would have imagined that the same scenario
be replicated in Buea before tabling the report. Why is the NW speaking
up and the SW is quiet? What do we make out of this;
That the SW
doesnt have any interest to defend in the Anglophone problem and they
are contented with LRC domination of the Anglophones.
The
Anglophone problem is a GRAFFI AFFAIR, as Musonge, Nalova Lyonga and
others said, because the SW are a peace-loving people and it is the
graffis that are disturbing the peace here
To give the SW a good name and to give the NW a bad name
Indicates that the SW are already captured by LRC and they pose no
threat to the National Integrity and are ready to follow Biya anywhere
he goes. In this regard, Musonge will remain the Political Leader of the
region, the only cock that can crow, while Elung Paul will be the next
PM and Tabetando will surely head the next Senate. As a consequence, the
entire region can be sacrificed.
Come to think of it, the SW has
been most affected by this struggle so far, in almost all the
divisions. At the start, the SW was lagging. The entire Manyu, entire
Lebialem, entire Kupe Muanenguba, parts of meme, parts of Fako, parts of
Ndian have been affected, as opposed to just Boyo and Momo, with the
exception and perhaps the unfortunate Santa incident. So why doesnt the
SW have a say in the Commission. Even on the date of this publication,
there were armed confrontations in Lebialem, Ekona, Ekombe, Mbalangi and
other SW locations with many SWners killed.
LRC has always
ensured that we remain divided, right in the days of Ahidjo where
southern Cameroon was divided into NW and SW and both camps were put at
permanent loggerheads with each other. To compound the problem, Ahidjo
and Biya insisted that there be no direct access to both regions,
regardless of the fact that both regions were side by side, sharing a
common boundary. One had to leave Bamenda and pass through two LRC
Regions before getting to Buea. What we have as the Mamfe-Bamenda road
is a fabrication of the GREEN TREE accord that was imposed by the UN as
part of the resolution of the Bakassi crisis and not because LRC was
ever willing to link both regions. The plan has always been to divide
us. Unfortunately, the people have understood this dirty game and are
working against it. No amount of manipulation can divide the people
again.
When Musonge openly accused the graffis, the agenda was to
distance the SW from the struggle but it failed woefully. As we can
see, different communities have come up with their defense forces that
are made up of solely the indigenes of that area so there is nothing
like graffi manipulation as was the case in the past.
Federation
was cited in the report as a solution to the current crisis. I ask
myself how Musonge arrived at that, besides, what type of Federation are
we talking about here and how the federation will be settled. Will it
be imposed on us by Presidential Decree or by Popular vote? Are we
talking about a 10 State, 5 State, 4 State, 2 State Federation?
Besides, what gives Musonge the impression that the people want a
Federation? we welcome the much talked about dialogue but the golden
question remains;
Who will be dialogued with?
LRC claims it will not dialogue with terrorists, secessionists.
There are some Anglophones who do not recognize the IG.
Then we have the indifferent that are cynically sitting on the fence and waiting for the outcome.
Then there are some of us who have stolen so much money from the
corrupt system and we want it to continue so that we remain on the
winning side.
Then there is the anti-graffi group who prefer a
ten state federation, which wont be different from the ten regions we
have now.
Then we have the sex slaves who want a decentralized state
Then we have those who want a return to 1961 federation,
Then we have the SDF and its 4 state federation
Then we have LRC evil scheme of creating bilingual regions or 4 state
federations where SW and LITTORAL, NW and OUEST will be linked up, under
the evil guise of killing the Anglophones completely.
Then we have the restorationists who form a great part of the Diaspora.
With so many Anglophone extremes and with diehard opponents holding
their grounds firmly I can only most humbly suggest that a free and fair
REFERENDUM be organized for Anglophones to determine their fate once
and for all.
There is a trap here because we hear of many
francophones turning the problem into a national problem, citing how we
need a national dialogue so that peace can come to this country. That is
how the return of Ahidjos corpse was brought into the table and we have
heard many francophones saying that the problems raised by Anglophones
are found in other regions as well. We need to beware of manipulation.
There is an Anglophone problem that is different from any other domestic
problem so lets not fall into the 1972 trap where everyone voted
instead of just the Anglophones.
AMBE EMMANUEL