Opinion: The Way Forward for Cameroon

BY DR NICK NGWANYAM, MD. SUNDAY OCTOBER 8, 2017

Dr. Nick Ngwanyam

Good morning dear Brothers and Sisters,

‘Brothers and sisters’ refers to all Cameroonians irrespective of region, color, language and creed. The nation has been going through a lot of pain and we all have to rise up and solve the problems generated under the banner of the Anglophone Problem. We have been faced with a lot of challenges that will not be going away any time soon.

We have the capacity to solve the problems if we choose to. We can fight and kill ourselves if that is what we want to do. But wisdom calls us to address ourselves intelligently and lovingly to our problems and solve them now once and for all. We have to lay a solid foundation otherwise we set the stage for more turmoil tomorrow when our grandchildren will come of age.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES WE HAVE IN CAMEROON?

●    The Anglophone problem is top on the list.

●    Our neglect of the youth; caused and enhanced by a poor educational system that has failed to build our capacities for solving personal and community problems. Our certificates are like fake currency with no intrinsic value. Our heads are full of theories and our hands lack skills.

●    Corruption, non-respect for merit, inertia, lack of accountability; favoritism and tribalism have eaten the nation down to her soul (poor governance).

●    Greed, individualism, lack of the sense of common good is settled in our DNA. This is second nature to us.

●    Generalized poor infrastructural development all over the country and a failed private sector are not helping matters.

●    A Failed Agriculture (we import most of what we eat, rice for instance).

●    Failed Economy (we depend only on sales of natural resources, we produce nothing and import everything else that we need).

●    Violence, Boko Haram, crime and many other evils are generated by lost hopes in the people.

●    We suffer from a chronic disease called inferiority complex so we care more for ego than productivity. Ignorance and irresponsibility crush us daily. (Do you know who I am? Do you know whom you are talking to? Do you know my connections in Yaounde?)

Well and above all, we do not FEAR GOD in this nation.  Even some churches have turned into money making rackets and some men of God steal. We have forsaken God’s ways. We look for quick miracles and quick fixes and we blame our failures and lack of self-discipline, diligent work after proper training on witchcraft and the Devil.  Thus we cast and bind everything with the blood of Jesus. We lead our lives with human wisdom and lean on the devil, money, power and materialism for support. Oh men of little faith! How we as individuals and the nation perish for lack of knowledge about the Kingdom of light.

We are spiritual prostitutes. We are not aware of our souls and the Spirit of God that yearns to dwell in us; to lead and guide us daily in our travail and existence.

HOW DO WE FIX THE COMPLEX PROBLEMS?

We certainly need a magic wand that will do the trick for us.

Primo, we need a God consciousness in the nation.

It is not about a God of Miracles, Free Meals and Healings. It has nothing to do with double portions of blessings because of our tithes.

This money for miracles is armed robbery; deceit and a misrepresentation of God and how his Kingdom operates.

He is not bought and sold. His blessings are free. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all these other things shall be added unto you. It is simple. You need no other doctrine. It is free. All you need is your personal commitment to the Kingdom and the King.

Just TRUST HIM, LOVE HIM, COMMUNE WITH HIM.  Love your brother as yourself; if you did, you will not kill others. We kill for bread. What a shame.  God does not need your money to bless you. He needs your FAITH, TRUST and TOTAL SURRENDER TO HIM. We need TRUTH for Truth is GOD.

We should not lean on our understanding nor on our lands, gold, silver, armor, guns and chariots.

Secondo, we need a new form of the state to help us manage and develop better.

The United Nations recently wrote to say that the territorial integrity of the state should be maintained and that there should be true and frank dialogue in the nation. We cannot do anything and succeed if we do not follow the instructions of the United Nations. Some people call it a toothless bulldog. That is a huge mistake. You dig your own grave when you neglect her.

One of the key areas that have to be looked at would be the form of the state which will help us fight corruption, create jobs, grow our economy and bring development more rapidly. We have two options here. We are faced with either decentralization or federalism.

I will try to describe a form of government that you have probably not heard of before. Necessity is the mother of invention and I was looking for an acceptable formula that will address all or worries and appeal to the 250 tribes in Cameroon.

Our new state should have Federalism and decentralization principles combined as explained here below.

FEDERAL CONCEPT

●    There should be two federal states (East and West Cameroon).

●    There should be a federal capital city (Yaounde)

●    The capital of West Cameron should be Buea.

●    The Capital of East Cameroon should be new and built on the banks of the River Sanaga on the way to Bafia.

ADD DECENTRALISATION TO THE FEDERAL CONCEPT

If you leave East Cameroon as it, the 8 Regions will still suffer the weight of the centralized government in Bafia.

It is therefore, necessary to cause decentralization within the federal states. That way, the people of the South West Region will not be threatened or feel marginalized by the North West brothers.

The federal structure protects the Anglophones from the crushing Francophone majority and the cultures would not be clashing ever so often again.

ARGUMENTS AGAINST FEDERATION.

Many ill-intentioned people have argued that to have two governments is expensive.  Our current government has three times the number of ministers and high level functionaries of the same status than we actually need to be effective and efficient. Check with France and Germany.

The excuse about expense is a ploy to derail. This is not true. It is to maintain the centralized government in which there are no checks and balances, no accountability where favoritism and corruption abound. Those that have the right connections to sip into the nectar love this arrangement and would fight toe and nail to protect it. It is difficult to abolish a productive farm.

Some say that Federalism is a step away from secession. This is another ill-intentioned reason to create fear and confusion in the people for no good reason. Germany, Britain, America, Canada, Belgium are all Federated and well developed. The UN is the guarantor.

MANAGING THE ADMINISRATION, ECONOMY AND BUDGET IN THE FEDERAL ARRANGEMENT

FUNCTIONS OF YAOUNDE ( Federal Capital City).

It takes care of the army, Foreign Affairs, Ministers (state policy), Presidency and National Assembly (National Laws and Policies).

Yaounde is responsible for major infrastructure like damns, major road networks of the nation, telecommunication, airports, seaports; collecting and disbursing the national budget.

FEDERAL STATES

They carry out local development; they run schools, hospitals, and other ministerial departments at their levels. They pay civil servants and sort out retirement issues etc.

THE BUDGET ( hypothetical case).

Let us say that a total of 4000 billion is raised by Yaounde for a fiscal year.

1000 billion of this or so is retained by Yaounde to run her own programs as above.

About 1000 billion is set aside and redistributed to the other Regions in the country that have generated the budget. This avoids the kinds of problems that the Nigerian government is facing with the Delta communities that produce oil, but do not seem to enjoy from the proceeds. Thus people of the East Region would benefit from their wood, gold and more. Those of the Centre would benefit from their cocoa, timber and people from the South west will get a cut from their oil and the CDC.

The rest of the 2000 billion is shared to the ten regions almost equally. However, a little mathematical bias is introduced to take care of the population size, development needs and more. This way, the extreme North will have a little more than the South Region.

CONCLUSION

This is a template I am putting out to help us think our way through the impasse. It might not be perfect. It could be misunderstood and would probably be rejected by people on both sides of the divide. Again, this is just to help us to be reflecting as we forge ahead.

We need to think our way through this difficulty and I hope that the Church and the United Nations plus some good will Cameroonians that are God fearing will join the government bench in the near future for this frank  and open dialogue that has been prescribed by everybody as the way forward. There should be no taboo subjects during the dialogue.

It is understood of course, that we need a new government in place; that people can trust before such a dialogue can take place.

In case I have inadvertently offended you, please, ‘kill’ the message and not the messenger.

Sign

Dr. Nick Ngwanyam, MD.  www.stlouisbamenda.com

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Opinion: Dialogue?

By Dr. Nick Ngwanyam, MD.

Dr. Nick Ngwanyam

Which dialogue? With whom, where, when, why, what and how? These are the many questions that are being asked now. Everyone says genuine, frank and inclusive dialogue without taboo subjects. Beyond the pain and agony, people are asking these questions and have genuine reasons for doing so. Dialogue in Africa means different things to different persons with expected different outcomes. The worst part is when resolutions are shelved and never implemented.

As I meditated on these questions and listened to many persons I realized they all have reasons to wonder and complain. If we do not try to first understand the path we want to travel, then we shall certainly be heading for the rocks for lack of the road map. And the road is complicated and thorny. Like anything else that we do, we must understand the principles, the Physic, Mathematics and the Chemistry. The salt and the light must be Truth and Love in the respect of Common Good.

Everything worth its while in life must work on principles. When you avoid principles you build on a faulty foundation that must crack with time for that also is the law of nature. No solid constitution and nation can thrive on half measures.

I remember my mother cooking ‘corn chaff’ when I was a kid. It is a mixture of beans and corn in which there are no standard ratios. I have observed my wife cooking it as well and no batch tastes like the other. The recipes are slightly different but some principles are constant.

For starters, she kicks off with the corn. She can decide to peel off the coating on the grains to improve on the cooking time and change the taste. She can pound that off like the Muslims do, or boil the maize with wood ash and wash after a while to get rid of the coating. There are some techniques used in machines to do the trick. Sometimes, she just cooks through the thick coat for hours on a fire of pounded sawdust until the maize is done.

It does not matter the nature of the corn nor its species, she can just cooking it for as long as it takes and it will be done. You can swear on that because that is Physics and Chemistry working together. My grandmother in unaware of Physics and Chemistry but makes use of the principles daily. She knows the importance of time and seasons, when to prepare, sow and harvest; how to tend to the crops for a good yield.

THE WHY AND HOW OF OUR DIALOGUES.

We need to have more than one dialogue in different settings because the problems are complex. We are building a new car and different parts and systems have to be built in different locations then brought together to make a functional whole. One dialogue cannot do it. We need three micro dialogues and two macro dialogues.

1)    H.E. Prime Minister Yang and Peter Mafany are on the field for the first micro dialogue. They are testing the waters with one foot and taking the psychological temperature of Anglophones while letting out the steam from the pressure cooker. They might be gathering some talking points for solving the Anglophone problems and gauging where the anger lies. Everyone knows that Anglophones have been marginalized and are angry about it. They cannot understand why they have been treated as second class citizens in a union that they embraced with a lot of hope and optimism many years ago. Lost hope can be a difficult issue to reconstruct.

2)    Anglophones need an AAC 111. This will bring together Anglophones of all shades and opinions to talk to themselves and get to a common plat form before setting out to the Macro Dialogue A. AAC 111 will crystallize issues into concrete form so that these will be presented as one coherent file and thus speak with one voice for the good of this nation. Attending ACC 111 would be Dr. Munzu’s camp, SCACUF and the GC, banned consortium members and individuals including Barrister Balla, Akere Muna, Nico Halle and leaders of teachers’ and lawyers’ associations. We are thinking of different church leaders and stand-alone figures like H.E. Christian Cardinal Tumi. The Chiefs and Fons, women’s representatives, youth representatives, transporters and okada representatives, university dons, the intelligentia, political party representatives and other positive and forward looking elites. Representatives of the Diaspora have a lot to offer.  ACC 111 will come out with a list of persons that will attend the Macro Dialogue A and speak for the people.

3)    The Macro Dialogue A would be between H.E. President Paul Biya and the government team on the one hand and AAC 111 Anglophone representatives on the other hand. A third party to such talks to ease communication and understanding would be the United Nations, America, Canada, German, Britain and France. This meeting is held in the country after general amnesty to all participants to allow for free access and frank talk.

4)    There should be a micro dialogue amongst Francophone communities and Regions. They should seek to discuss what it takes to grow our economy, fight corruption, respect others especially Anglophones; and what needs to be done for effective human development and transfer of technology into this nation for industrialization. They should learn the concepts of self-governance and what it takes to be proactive.

5)    A Macro Dialogue B will bring Anglophones and Francophones together to learn the concepts of ‘vivre ensemble’ in mutual respect and love.

For these dialogues to take place, we need to emphasize the point that the current government has lost her voice, credibility and authority over the people. This is so because of arrogance and the inability to address the basic needs of the communities. State authority cannot be decreed or dictated. It is a function of love and genuine respect for each other. Respect is not a one way traffic in which the common man must swallow as gospel truth what comes from above. It is earned by living and practicing the truth. Nothing damages relationships more than lies telling and the absence of the Fear of God.

It therefore, makes sense to say that the people expect a new and credible government to help this nation get unto new shores.  H. E. President Paul Biya in December 2013; said this current government suffers from inertia (inability to solve problems proactively), individualism and poor governance ( corruption). They should take the blame for the current crisis because they are not aware that a stitch in time saves nine. New wine cannot be put in old wine skins and you cannot repair a torn old dress by stitching to it a new piece of cloth which makes a bad situation worse.

To add insult to injury, some government ministers and high ranking officials along with self-seeking journalists refer to Anglophones as dogs, cats, rats and more that ought to be eradicated. This is not very nice for a people who seek to live and grow together. Anglophones need an apology for this kind of talk.

 I must say that violence has been witnessed on both sides. The lies telling and social media intoxication is just so amazing. I am so ashamed of Anglophones who called for children to be killed and yet when people eventually die one way or the other, we scream about genocide when we did contribute to it directly or indirectly by asking our children; some currently on mbanga and tramol; to face the military while indoctrinating them to believe these are toys.

We say we are showing up in Tiko to declare our independence and it never happens, and yet no one gives us an explanation for such an absence. We say the UN helicopter has landed in Tiko with pictures to buttress yet pictures of such a presence are those with General Tumenta who died over a year ago. Someone owes us an explanation.

If the military are toys, then we cannot be running away from them and seeking refuge in foreign lands. How could we arrest DOs, SDOs and governors and imprison in chief’s palaces? How many of such were arrested? What happened to them afterwards? How do you evaluate such a strategy? How many people died because they wanted to carry out the arrests while facing toy guns? Does it make sense now as we look back? I am not saying the killing was a right thing to do. People could have been arrested and held down while waiting for the tramol to wear out and right thoughts to settle in. Killing unarmed civilians is a subject of a different debate.

Two days ago, a military truck probably lost its brakes and ran into people causing injury and death in Buea. Some say it was deliberate with over 50 persons killed. Some say 1 or two were killed with many injured. What is happening here? Where is the truth? Where are the bodies of the 50 dead, and what are their identities?  How many people were shot from helicopters? This can easily be verified even after 60 years by studying the bones of the dead. It can never be hidden.

I read that someone from the UN is coming to Cameroon and the tone on social media goes up to reinforce ghost towns and encourage others to do what they must do to stop children from going to school. Then when schools are burnt and a girl’s arms are chopped, the leaders do not want to accept responsibility for the violence on the BBC. We say we are winning big in the face of violence and when questioned we deny it in the same breath. This confuses me to the core. If it is not right, do not do it. If you think it is right, do it and take responsibility for it. Which actions in your opinion qualify as terrorist acts?

What drove me made this morning was a message circulated to the effect that following the 1^st October upheavals, 400 persons were arrested and locked up in the premises of Amour Mezam and later on ferried in Amour Mezam buses to Yaounde. These are all lies and incite violence and destruction of others for no good cause. Hatred and negative manipulation are certainly not the ways of God. We say we are Christians and we do horrible things that we cannot be proud of.

Another embarrassment was the news about the burning of Prof. Sessekou Ayuk’s house and destruction of his plantations in his native village. Barrister Agbor Balla visited in person and took a picture in front of this property in the company of the regent of that village. Everyone was silent and said nothing after this truth was made public that his houses are intact.  It is not fair to incite and sow hatred and anger just to make political gains.

As we ask for justice and God’s favor, we should make sure that we are in good standing with God. The government also has some hands cleansing to do. For every lie and manipulation you do, you kill someone and the generations after him. Only the truth and God’s love can set us free.

Dr. Nick Ngwanyam, MD.  www.stlouisbamenda.com

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

North Korea: U.S. Places B-52 Bombers On High Alert

The tension in the Korean Peninsula is gradually taking a different dimension as the U.S. Air Force is preparing to place its fleet of nuclear-armed B-52 bombers on 24-hour alert for the first time since 1991.

Report quoted a U.S. Military Chief Gen. David Goldfein, as saying that the escalating tensions with North Korea had made the deployment of the bombers inevitable.

However, Defense officials denied to Fox News that bombers were ordered to go on 24-hour alert.

“This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared.

“I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more for the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we’re prepared going forward,” Goldfein said.

Goldfein noted that in a world where “we’ve got folks that are talking openly about use of nuclear weapons,” it’s important to remain alert and think of new ways to be prepared.

“It’s no longer a bipolar world where it’s just us and the Soviet Union. We’ve got other players out there who have nuclear capability.

“It’s never been more important to make sure that we get this mission right,” Goldfein added.

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, home of the 2d Bomb Wing and Air Force Global Strike Command, which manages the service’s nuclear services, is being renovated, Defense One reported, so that B-52s would be ready to “take off at a moment’s notice.”

The B-52, which can fly up to about 50,000 feet and at supersonic speeds, has the ability to release a variety of weapons, including cluster bombs, gravity bombs and precision guided missiles.

The long-range bomber can also unleash both nuclear and precision-guided conventional ordnance.

The 24-hour alert status for B-52s ended in 1991, in the waning days of the Cold War.

Source: Fox News

 



When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

FIFA to Modify Nationality Rules

FIFA is set to relax its nationality rules to help players who have represented another country easily switch loyalty.  FIFA is considering changing the rules that govern a player’s eligibility to represent a national team, BBC Sport reports.

At present, players who have played a competitive international for one team cannot switch to another national side.

Cape Verde’s football federation has proposed this rule be relaxed in cases where a player has played only once or twice for a national side.\

“There are so many issues that have popped up,” said FIFA’s Victor Montagliani. “The world is changing.” 

“Immigration is changing. There are nationality issues that pop up all over the world – in Africa, (and) there are issues in Asia and CONCACAF.

“So it’s a good time to have a look at this and see if there are solutions without hurting the integrity of the game.” 

The Canadian, who heads up FIFA’s stakeholders’ committee, is president of CONCACAF, which represents North and Central America as well as the Caribbean federation.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

This is the Reason Why More Women are Adopting Single Motherhood

A prominent marriage counsellor has enumerated the reason why many modern women do not find marriage as attractive as previously thought of, thereby choosing to raise their kids by themselves.

Dr Rose Chukwuma, a marriage counsellor and psychologist, on Saturday said more women were embracing the concept of having children outside wedlock to avoid marital disappointments.
Chukwuma, in an interview in Abuja, said that single parenting, which was once frowned upon due to cultural and religious ethics, was fast becoming the norm.

“More women have come to the conclusion that men no longer take marriage seriously.
“Women are scared of either finding out that their partners might be involved in infidelity or being hurt in other ways, thereby causing them to rule out the thought of getting married.
“More women are also becoming financially independent, with many of them having their own jobs and businesses, thanks to the gradual achievement in equal rights across the world and improved education

“However, most women naturally want to become mothers so they decide to have children without the attachment of a man,’’ the marriage counsellor said.

The psychologist added that some women would rather have children while single to prevent eventualities of being unable to have children with future partners.
“Women normally get pressured by society to get married but it seems the pressure is having less effect on women these days.

“Women don’t want to be pressured into getting married but they know that as they age, their ability to have children reduces, so they rather have a child when they can while searching for their potential life partner,’’ she said. Chukwuma said that there were favourable ways for women who were open to the concept to have children without depending on a life partner.
“Modern day women don’t want to stress themselves with the issue of a possible divorce after being dedicated wives.

“There are opportunities made available for women who wish to start a family unit without a man, these include adoption, artificial insemination and the old-fashioned mode of pregnancy.
“We should keep in mind that most of the women who choose to get pregnant the normal way usually don’t request for financial support from the man chosen to get them pregnant.’’
“Some people are opposed to the idea of women having children alone because they believe that single parenthood is not good for children; however, we have seen many people who were raised by single parents that became wonderful adults.

“We just hope that the concept of marriage becomes strengthened over time but I support any woman who chooses to go down this path,“ she said.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)