Camasej North West: The Tale of Money Teller Machine Hook by Old Banknotes

By Fai Cassian Ndi

Choves Loh                                       Comfort Musa

The North West Chapter of the Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists-CAMASEJ, a one-time enviable and vibrant journalist’s association is wallowing in the gutter and in self skirmishes. Last weekend, the unknown but not hidden agenda to revive that association emerged like the Levantine spirit to push aside the Comfort Musa led Executive. Whether the Comfort Musa led executive has failed or whether it was the presence of the same Levantine spirit that could not allow them to excel remains another question that could only be deciphered by psychologists. The story is seemingly that of a money teller machine hooked by the presence of old banknotes. The truth is that CAMASEJ North West contentiously sang into the doldrums. Everyone saw it going yet nobody was complaining. Obviously, CAMASEJ National President Tricia Oben was aware that the association had lost its dynamics yet she was mute. 

However, if there is one sentiment that tied together everything the Musa Comfort led executive did right in CAMASEJ North West and everything they did wrong, it was the naïve, innocent optimism. It showed itself right from the beginning when they inherited an epileptic association from the Tanteh Vitalis led executive where Comfort Musa was formerly Secretary General. Yet none of them had the inkling of how soon they would put back the one-time dynamic association on rail. Collective interest turned individuals. Group dynamics was eclipsed. The rationale was then formulated over seminars and who would attend and who would not as well as media coverage. The last song that the Wimbum mafia took CAMASEJ hostage died naturally and new claims of emerged from the wilderness. Those who could have advised were on treetops castigating how the association was bestowed into the hands of a little school girl. But who take the blame? Everybody!!! The failure of CAMASEJ old brooms to look into the mirror of time rapidly remains another pulse that hooked the machine. 

The impulse underlying the muscular intervention of Choves Loh and others to revamp the epileptic association is quintessential given that the action came out of something very deep in the psyche of the die-hard members. The impressive turnout at last CAMASEJ meeting indicated a can-do optimism hanging on the face of Choves Loh who had the conviction that every problem has a solution if people will just be reasonable, some sort of a normalization strategy by Choves Loh, National Vice President of CAMASEJ. Having stepped into CAMASEJ with the conviction that everything was possible and everything made sense, Comfort Musa and Co may hence be wise enough to understand that in CAMASEJ nothing was possible and nothing made sense. 

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