Journalists Threaten to Boycott Public Events

Journalists of the private media based in Bamenda, regional capital of the North West are threatening to boycott all public events organized by the administration. The Bamenda based journalists are angered by what they described as administrative bottle necks in the field aimed at frustrating their activities. A majority of those who spoke to us affirmed that they will give a blackout to all government events in as much as the administration doesn't stop intrigues. It should be noted that a fortnight ago, Bamenda journalists frowned at the manner at which the communication unit of the Governor's office is operating. The journalists  were further angered by the fact that the Secretary General at the Governor's office who summoned a meeting to instill some order, described the journalists as " an embarrassment"  to the administration.   A description which according to NW Chapter President of CAMASEJ should be withdrawn because "one cocoyam cannot spoil a basket full". The accumulated grievances between Bamenda journalists and the Communication Unit of the Governor's office finally exploded during the visit of Minister Jules Doret Ndongo to the flood victims at Bebessi in Ngoketunjia. Sources say the journalists said the administration was making things difficult for them in the field and that even access to information and other practical modalities is reserved only to the state own media and some newly (recruited of the 25.000) at the Governor's office and the Regional Delegation of Communication for the North West Region. Allegations are rife professional associations and syndicates have agreed that the private media should boycott all events organized by the administration in the region.
Ebune Confiance, SG to the Governor's office is also quoted to have told journalists that the administration will make sure that the laws are implemented. Journalists were told to deposit copies of their newspapers at the SDO's office as well as Governor and the state counsel. According to eyewitness account, the Communication unit has been segregative in dishing out invitations to media houses for coverage. More so, it is even alleged that competent and practicing journalists were being sidelined while the staff of the delegation of Communication were constantly invited to cover events whereas they do not represent any media organ. This morning we gathered journalists of the private media have vowed to boycott all events organized by the administration in the region.


When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Devastating Flood Hits NW, Hundreds Go Homeless in Widikum

 Hadiz Ibrahim

Saturday 7, 2012 was a black day in Widikum in Momo Division of the North West Region of Cameroon as heavy rains rendered hundreds homeless. Hundreds of houses are reported to have been destroyed by the flood as many villagers watched helplessly their lifetime investments being carried away. Even though no human casualty was registered, the level of destruction caused by the flood in Widikum is estimated in hundreds of millions of FCFA. Eye witness accounts that it is thanks to the timely intervention of the Member of Parliament for Widikum, Hon. Ewi Francis, who mobilized youths to come to the help of the population who were caught in the mad rush for lives that no human casualty was recorded. Yet a Commission headed by the Divisional Officer for Widikum is in the field working to establish the damages caused by the flood. The situation according to what we gathered is precarious as it is feared that the pools of water could generate into another problem. As for those who have lost all their belongings, the risk of an outbreak of malaria is very imminent. "We are trying to see how we can get some mosquito nets for the victims" Hon. Enwi Francis explained to this reporter on phone.

Since government machinery is always slow, public opinion is skeptical as to whether children who lost all their items will go back to school. Some schools are reported completely empty as pupils and students have neither pencils nor books.  Locals are talking of over 200 houses that have been destroyed with content completely watched away.

It should be recalled that a month a go, it was Babessi in Ngoketunjia that was hit by flood where 95 households were rendered homeless. It is not yet clear whether another philanthropist will emerge like was the case with Babessi where HRH Fon Chafah mobilized elite to come to the rescue to the population before government intervention. However, Minister Delegate in the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralization, Jules Doret Ndongo visited the area on instruction of President Paul Biya where he dolled out FCFA 80 million as government support to victims.
However, it should be noted that environmentalists are of the opinion the rains have been too heavy this year as compared to the past years. More so, many of the disasters are linked to climate change giving that in areas like Widikum, which formerly was a forest area majority of the trees have been destroyed exposing the earth to erosion. 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Marafa Writes Cameroonians, Says the Future is Now!!

 

My first words after my unjust condemnation, September 22, 2012, are to express my gratitude for the moral support you have given me since my imprisonment.

This is the confidence that you have kept, despite these slanderous campaigns that I drew courage and determination to write these letters that have paved way for hope of change in our country.

I humbly ask you to give me your support, not only because it will help me through this ordeal, but also because through that we can together, change our country.

Indeed, it is because you support me that the current Head of State, who has never shown the slightest concern for our countrymen in pains, and fear, because of my condemnation programmed to snick to the North, moved, to Garoua and Maroua to  visit the affected populations.

This is because you supported me and together we confront the current Head of State to undertake reforms promised for ages, and that our country so desperately needs. These include the new electoral code and consensual institutions under the Constitution, namely the Senate and the Constitutional Council, Institutions to guarantee a peaceful transition.

It is the support you give me that we will push the current Head of State to actually fight against corruption and to bring to justice the real perpetrators of embezzlement of public funds, some parading today in the Government, while evidence of their malfeasance are established.

Support I ask of you is to bring me moral support. In any case, it should not promote violence or disorder or public order.

stronger with your  support, I solemnly pledge to you to continue my struggle for the trust of Peace, security, justice and shared prosperity, to which we all aspire.


Dear Compatriots,

After the horrors of school and floods, Cameroonians will renew with the feeling of poverty, water shortages, power outages, hospitals decay, insecurity, the decline of existing infrastructure or the inability to build new, once again, the tender for the second bridge over the Wouri has been declared unsuccessful! While the start sites of the east and west entrances of the city of Douala is referred to Calends Greek!


After the farce my trial which was purpose other than to depart from public life, and especially to divert your attention from the dismal failure of the current policy, Cameroonians will soon propose other judicial antics just to clear any responsibility for the current Head of State in the political deadlock, economic and moral where cornered Cameroon.


Yet, in this period you are assailed by doubt and gloom, I am sending you a message of hope for change. I am convinced that now, the prison where I am assigned and the place where you are, we can work together to curb the progressive lowering of our country.


For this, there is no need to wait seven years or I do not know what other term. For us, for all those who do not intend to discouraged, THE FUTURE IS NOW.


My Dear Compatriots,

Life is a strict teacher. The tests of today require me to give a rigorous account of my will, my commitment and my ability to lead our country on the path of change and hope.

I'm ready.
Long live the Republic.
Long live Cameroon

 Marafa H Yaya



 Chers Compatriotes,

Mes premiers mots après ma condemnation inique, le 22 septembre 2012, sont pour vous exprimer toute ma gratitude pour le soutien moral que vous m'avez apporté depuis mon emprisonnement.

C'est dans la confiance que vous m'avez gardée, malgré ces campagnes calomnieuses, que j'ai puisé le courage et la determination d'écrire ces lettres qui ont ouvert la voie et l'espoir du changement dans notre Pays.

Je vous demande avec humilité de me maintenir votre soutien, non seulement parce qu'il m'aidera à traverser cette épreuve, mais aussi parce que grâce à lui, nous pouvons ensemble, dès maintenant, changer notre Pays.

En effet, c'est parce que vous me soutenez que l'actuel Chef de l'Etat, lui qui n'a jamais manifesté la moindre sollicitude pour nos compatriotes dans la peine, et qui craignant, en raison de ma condemnation programmée, de s'aliéner les populations du Nord, s'est déplacé, en catimini, à Garoua et à Maroua auprès des populations sinistrées.

C'est parce vous me soutiendrez qu'ensemble nous contraindrons l'actuel Chef de l'Etat à engager les réformes promises depuis des lustres, et dont notre Pays a tant besoin. Il s'agit notamment du nouveau code electoral consensuel et des Institutions prévues par la Constitution, en l'occurrence le Sénat et le Conseil Constitutionnel, Institutions garantes d'une transition pacifique.

C'est parce que vous me soutiendrez que nous pousserons l'actuel Chef de l'Etat à lutter réellement contre la corruption et à traduire en justice les vrais auteurs de détournements de biens publics, dont certains plastronnent aujourd'hui au Gouvernement, alors que les preuves de leur forfaiture sont établies.

Le soutien que je vous demande de m'apporter est un soutien moral. En aucun cas, il ne doit favoriser ni la violence ni le trouble à l'ordre public.

Fort de votre soutien, je m'engage devant vous solennellement à poursuivre mon combat pour qu'advienne au Cameroun LA SOCIETE DE CONFIANCE porteuse de la paix, de la sécurité, de la justice et de la prospérité partagée, à laquelle nous aspirons tous.


Chers Compatriotes,

Après les affres de la rentrée scolaire et des inondations, les Camerounais renoueront avec le sentiment de pauvreté, les pénuries d'eau, les délestages, la décrépitude des hôpitaux, l'insécurité, la déliquescence des infrastructures existantes ou l'incapacité d'en construire de nouvelles : une fois encore, l'appel d'offres pour le second pont sur le Wouri vient d'être declare infructueux ! Tandis que le démarrage des chantiers des entrées Est et Ouest de la ville de Douala est renvoyé aux calends grecques !


Après la pantalonnade de mon procès qui n'avait pour autre objectif que celui de m'écarter de la vie publique, et surtout, de détourner votre attention de l'échec cuisant de la politique actuelle, les Camerounais se verront bientôt proposer d'autres bouffonneries judiciaires dans le seul but de dégager toute la responsabilité de l'actuel Chef de l'Etat dans l'impasse politique, économique et morale où se trouve acculé le Cameroun.


Pourtant, dans cette période où vous êtes assailli par le doute et la morosité, je vous adresse un message d'espoir dans le changement qui vient. Je suis persuadé que dès maintenant, de la prison où je suis assigné et de la place où vous êtes, nous pouvons agir ensemble pour freiner l'abaissement progressif de notre Pays.


Pour cela, il est inutile d'attendre sept ans ou bien je ne sais quelle autre échéance. Pour nous, pour tous ceux qui n'entendent pas céder au découragement, L'AVENIR C'EST MAINTENANT.


Mes Chers Compatriotes,

La vie est un maître sévère. Les épreuves qu'elle m'impose aujourd'hui sont le moyen de lui rendre un compte rigoureux de ma volonté, de mon engagement et de ma capacité à conduire notre Pays sur le chemin du changement et de l'espoir.

Je suis prêt.
Vive la République.
Vive le Cameroun.


Marafa Hamidou Yaya



When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

The BBJ 2-Affair: U.S. Supreme Court May Give Yves Michel Fotso Reason Denied in Cameroon

  By The Oregon-Cameroon Connection
 Having been updated by correspondents covering the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., TOCC takes a front row seat in the high-profile case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., number 10-1491 before America’s High Court.  TOCC’s own Elizabeth Armstrong reports that Kiobel, one of the Supreme Court’s “biggest human rights cases in years”, is rich with good omens for the federal case of embattled Cameroonian business mogul, Yves Michel Fotso.  The case is Fotso v. The Republic of Cameroon, et al., cause number 6:12-cv-01​415-TC before the federal district court in Eugene, Oregon.
       Both the Kiobel and Fotso cases are based on the “Alien Tort Statute” (ATS), a law that got popular in the 1980s as a way to litigate international human rights claims in American courts.  Esther Kiobel filed what became her U.S. Supreme Court case for her husband and several other Nigerian protestors injured during government violence allegedly instigated by Royal Dutch Petroleum Company in the oil-rich Ogoni region in the Niger Delta.  Kiobel now lives in Dallas, Texas which is where Fotso legal advisor, Professor Ndiva Kofele-Kale, teaches law at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law. This U.S. trained lawyer and native of Cameroon confirmed that the “United States Supreme Court is the nation’s highest court.  When it rules, all subordinate courts are expected to comply and apply and all of America listens.”
       Professor Kofele-Kale reports being “guardedly optimistic” about the outcome of Fotso’s federal case despite concerns over non-Americans suing in U.S. courts expressed by multiple U.S. Supreme Court Justices.  Justices Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, and Sonia Sotomayor emphasized the need for a factual connection between ATS claims and the United States.  Alito asked with regard to the Kiobel case, “why does this case belong in the courts of the United States when it has nothing to do with the United States other than the fact that a subsidiary of the defendant has a big operation here?”.
       Of course, Fotso’s federal claims are premised on a contract reached in the United States by the Republic of Cameroon and a U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee among others.  TOCC detailed the underlying events, commonly known as the BBJ-2 Affair, in its debut issue.  In response to the story, an American constitutional law scholar explained that “Cameroon sought the assistance and protection of Oregon’s bankruptcy court, only to essentially disavow its related settlement agreement and the bankruptcy court judgment that followed.”  He continued, “it’s ironic that American taxpayers helped pay the cost of Cameroon using one of their federal courts and enjoying certain legal rights that the African Republic seems to have denied its own citizen, Yves Michel Fotso.” 
       A lawyer for Royal Dutch Petroleum argued that the Kiobel case “has nothing to do with the United States.”  Professor Kofele-Kale says the Fotso case has “everything to do with the United States in a variety of ways.”  Another American law professor is credited with saying that “Kiobel raises perhaps the largest question of them all:  the relationship between America and the world.”  It seems the BBJ-2 Affair puts a question mark behind considerations of America’s relationship with the Republic of Cameroon and Cameroon’s relationship with the world.  Stay tuned


When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Who Emerges CAF African Footballer of the Year? (Here are the 34 Nominees)

 A list of nominees for CAF African Footballer of the Year 2012 has been made public. According to the release, some 34 players will compete for the CAF Football of the year. The list contains two Cameroonians namely; Alex Song of Barcelona and Nicola Nkoulou who plays for Marseille in France. Out of the 34 players, only two players playing in the African Continent have been nominated. They are Youssef Msakni – Esperance (Tunisia) and Stoppila Sunzu – TP Mazembe (DR Congo). The rest are in Europe, America and Asia. (Full list)
1.Abdelaziz Barrada – Getafe (Spain) and Morocco
2.Adel Taarabt – Queens Park Rangers (England) and Morocco
3.Alain Sibiri Traore – Lorient (France) and Burkina Faso
4.Alexander Song – Barcelona (Spain) and Cameroon
5.Andre ‘Dede’ Ayew – Marseille (France) and Ghana
6.Arouna Kone – Wigan (England) and Ivory Coast
7.Aymen Abdennour – Toulouse (France) and Tunisia
8.Bakaye Traore – AC Milan (Italy) and Mali
9.Cheick Tiote – Newcastle United (England) and Ivory Coast
10.Christopher Katongo – Henan Construction (China) and Zambia
11.Demba Ba – Newcastle United (England) and Senegal
12.Didier Drogba – Shanghai Shenhua (China) and Ivory Coast
13.Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu – Udinese (Italy) and Ghana
14.Emmanuel Mayuka – Southampton (England) and Zambia
15.Foxi Kethevoama – FC Astana (Kazakhstan) and Central African Republic
16.Gervinho – Arsenal (England) and Ivory Coast
17.Hilaire Momi – Le Mans (France) and Central African Republic
18.John Obi Mikel – Chelsea (England) and Nigeria
19.John Utaka – Montpellier (France) and Nigeria
20.Kwadwo Asamoah – Juventus (Italy) and Ghana
21.Moussa Sow – Fenerbahce (Turkey) and Senegal
22.Nicolas N’koulou – Marseille (France) and Cameroon
23.Papiss Demba Cisse – Newcastle United (England) and Senegal
24.Pape Moussa Konate – FC Krasnodar (Russia) and Senegal
25.Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – St Etienne (France) and Gabon
26.Rainford Kalaba – TP Mazembe (DR Congo) and Zambia
27.Seydou Doumbia – CSKA Moscow (Russia) and Ivory Coast
28.Seydou Keita – Dalian Aerbin (China) and Mali
29.Sofiane Feghouli – Valencia (Spain) and Algeria
30.Stoppila Sunzu – TP Mazembe (DR Congo) and Zambia
31.Victor Moses – Chelsea (England) and Nigeria
32.Yaya Toure – Manchester City (England) and Ivory Coast
33.Younes Belhanda – Montpellier (France) and Morocc
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

France Will Continue to Give Consular Protection to Michel Thierry Atangana, Diplomat Says

Ndi E. Ndi
 French Ambassador to Cameroon, Brumo Gain has made pertinent remarks in relation to the jail term slammed on Michel Thierry Atangana.  The French diplomat said "I read with disappointment the judgment yesterday October 4 by the Mfoundi High Court oin the case between our compatriot Michel Thierry Atangana the State of Cameroon.
While following the case with extreme vigilance, yet took the interest of its citizen Michel Thierry Atangana which according to the French diplomat, "France has of course no intention to interfere in the judicial process. Here as elsewhere, it is the policy of never commenting on court decisions. I will therefore refrain from commenting on the verdict by the court yesterday".
 Even though the diplomat refused to comment on the judgement, he however observed that "Let me, however observe that the sentence imposed on Mr. Atangana is particularly heavy. He has already served a substantial prison sentence. It is more than 5475 days - 15 years ago - that he is incarcerated. Such a long period is likely to break the strongest of men".
 He also observed that " Cameroonian authorities have legal system has basis that would allow them to show leniency to a litigant who has already largely paid his debt vis-à-vis society. I express the wish that Michel Thierry Atangana  gains his freedom as soon as possible.
  Considering the fact that Michel Thierry Atangana though born a Cameroonian, he later obtained French Citizenship, the French diplomat concluded that "in the meantime, we will continue to fully exercise consular protection of France for Mr. Atangana, in accordance with international law, including the relevant provisions of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 24 April 1963. 
It should be noted that Michel Thierry Atangana and Titus Edzoa were arrested and have been in detention for more than 15 years. They are accused of embezzling state funds. However, President Biya's critics say the fight against embezzlement and corruption has been transformed into a sink hole for character assassination and settling scores. 



When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Marafa Letter Launches another Unguided Missile, Talks of a Non Violence Revolution in Cameroon

 (English Version on this site latter)

NON VOILENCE RÉVOLUTION

J'ai toujours considéré moi-même, en premier lieu, comme un patriote camerounais. Je suis un prisonnier condamné qui dessert vingt cinq ans de fausses accusations politiques contre moi. Tout d'abord, je tiens à dire que l'idée que la lutte menée au Cameroun est sous l'influence du peuple ne va pas. J'espère alors que la vie peut m'offrir l'occasion de servir mon peuple et ...
ma... ke mon humble contribution à leur lutte pour la liberté. Le nationalisme au Cameroun que pour l remarquable est le concept de liberté et de respect pour le peuple camerounais sur leurs propres terres. Le document politique le plus important jamais adopté par notre indépendance par nos maîtres coloniaux est « notre liberté ». Il n'est pas un plan directeur pour un pays libre. Elle appelle à des emplois pour les jeunes, mais pas la nationalisation par ce président ; Il prévoit la liberté des taux d'imposition pour les entreprises, importation, exportation, banques et industrie du monopole, parce que les grands monopoles sont détenues par vous uniquement et sans cette nationalisation domination ethnique pourrait se perpétuer.
Immédiatement, j'avoue que j'étais une des personnes qui ont contribué à former son gouvernement. Je nie que j'ai été responsable de plusieurs lois qui manifestement ne relèvent pas la politique du gouvernement. Tous les moyens légitimes d'exprimer l'opposition à ce principe avaient été fermées par la législation, et nous avons été placés dans une position où nous avons eu à accepter un état permanent d'infériorité ou de défier le gouvernement. Nous devrions choisir de défier la Loi. Certaines choses ont dit jusqu'à présent à la Cour sont fausses. Je ne nie pas, cependant, que j'avais prévu de sabotage. Je n'a pas prévu cela dans un esprit d'insouciance, ni parce que j'ai tout l'amour de la violence. J'avais prévu elle par suite d'une évaluation calme et sobre de la situation politique qui a surgi après des années de tyrannie, l'exploitation et l'oppression de mon peuple par ce président.
Aujourd'hui, je suis attiré par l'idée d'une société sans classes, une attraction qui vient en partie de notre lecture des pères fondateurs et, en partie, de mon admiration pour la structure des sociétés au Cameroun au début. La terre appartenait à la tribu. Il n'y a aucun riche ou pauvre, et il n'y n'avait aucune exploitation. Nous acceptons tous la nécessité d'une certaine forme de développement pour permettre à notre peuple à rattraper les pays les plus avancés de ce monde et de surmonter l'héritage de l'extrême pauvreté. J'ai acquis l'impression que l'autre parti politique considère le système parlementaire de l'Ouest comme réactionnaire. Mais, au contraire, je suis un admirateur. La pétition de droit et de la déclaration des droits sont des documents conservés dans la vénération par les démocrates du monde entier. J'ai beaucoup de respect pour les institutions britanniques et pour le système judiciaire du pays. Je considère le Parlement britannique comme l'institution la plus démocratique du monde, et l'impartialité de la magistrature ne manque jamais de susciter mon admiration. Le Congrès américain, que la séparation du pays des pouvoirs, ainsi que l'indépendance de la magistrature, suscite en moi des sentiments similaires.
La plainte des camerounais, cependant, est non seulement qu'ils sont pauvres et les puissants sont riches, mais que les lois qui sont faites par les puissants sont conçus pour préserver cette situation. Il existe deux façons de sortir de la pauvreté. La première est par l'éducation formelle, et le second est le travailleur acquiert une compétence supérieure à son travail et donc des salaires plus élevés. Camerounais sont concernés, que ces deux avenues d'avancement sont délibérément réduites par ce président. Le gouvernement a toujours cherché à entraver les Camerounais dans leur quête de l'éducation. Environ 60 % des enfants du Cameroun dans le groupe des 7 à 14 ans ne fréquentent pas l'école. Pour ceux qui le font, les normes sont très différentes de celles offertes aux enfants riches. C'est sans doute conforme à la politique de l'éducation. Les gens qui croient en l'égalité ne sont pas enseignants souhaitables pour les autochtones. Quand mon ministère contrôles native education il va savoir pour quelle classe de l'enseignement supérieur originaire est montée, et qu'il aura une chance dans la vie d'utiliser sa connaissance.
Les peuples camerounais ne faisaient pas partie du gouvernement et n'ont pas fait les lois par lesquelles ils étaient régies. Nous avons cru dans les mots de la Déclaration universelle des droits de l'homme, que « la volonté du peuple doit être le fondement de l'autorité du gouvernement » et pour nous d'accepter l'interdiction équivalait à accepter le silence des camerounais à tout jamais. Réponse du gouvernement a été d'introduire des lois nouvelles et plus sévères, afin de mobiliser ses forces armées et d'envoyer des véhicules armés et des soldats en cantons dans une démonstration massive de force conçu pour intimider les gens. Le gouvernement a décidé de régner par la force seule. Quels ont été, nous, les dirigeants de notre peuple, de le faire ? Nous avons n'eu aucun doute que nous devions poursuivre le combat. N'importe quoi d'autre aurait été abandon abject. Notre problème n'était pas si se pour battre, mais concernait la manière de poursuivre le combat. Mais la dure réalité qu'aucune révolution de 50 ans a porté le peuple camerounais rien mais des lois plus répressives et les droits de moins en moins. Il y avait eu violence en 1992 après l'élection présidentielle ; Il y avait la violence en 2008 pour la situation économique ; Il y avait la violence dans les universités pour les frais d'éducation des sommets. Chaque perturbation a souligné la croissance inévitable entre les camerounais de la conviction que la violence était le seul moyen de sortir - il a montré qu'un gouvernement qui utilise la force pour maintenir son règne enseigne les opprimés d'employer la force pour s'opposer à elle. Je suis venu à la conclusion que rester tout à fait dans ce pays était inévitable ; Il ne serait pas réaliste de continuer. Cette conclusion n'était pas facilement est arrivée à. C'est seulement quand tous les autres avaient échoué, lorsque tous les canaux d'été à l'intérieur l'homme qui avait été prescrite pour moi, qu'il a été décidé d'embarquer dans des formes non-violentes de lutte politique. Je peux seulement dire que je me suis senti moralement obligé de faire ce que j'ai fait.



Mon combat est contre les difficultés réelles et non imaginaires, ou, pour reprendre les termes du procureur de l'état, « soi-disant difficultés ». Fondamentalement, mon combat contre deux caractéristiques qui caractérisent la vie camerounaise au Cameroun et qui font partie de la législation. Ces caractéristiques sont la pauvreté et le manque de dignité humaine, et je n'ai pas besoin du président ou du soi-disant « juges » de m'apprendre au sujet de ces choses. Mais c'est une terre de contrastes remarquables. Le puissant profiter de ce que peut être le plus haut niveau de vie dans le monde, tandis que l'impuissance vivre dans la pauvreté et la misère. La pauvreté va de pair avec la malnutrition et la maladie. La tuberculose, la pellagre et le scorbut apportent la mort et la destruction de la santé. Mon combat est véritablement nationale. C'est une lutte du peuple camerounais, inspiré par leur propre expérience et de leurs propres souffrances. C'est une lutte pour le droit de vivre. Pour le reste de ma vie je vais me consacrer à cette lutte du peuple du Cameroun. J'ai lutté contre la domination du président. J'ai chéri l'idéal d'une société libre et démocratique, où toutes les personnes vivent ensemble en harmonie et égalité des chances. C'est un idéal qui je l'espère à vivre et à atteindre. Mais s'y a besoin, c'est un idéal pour lequel je suis prêt à mourir.



Marafa H Yaya

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

B'da Ring Road: The Calamity of the Biya Regime

 Editorial of the Month: Farewell to the Mud and Welcome to Dust
By Fai Cassian Ndi

The Ring Road in Tears

I have often heard people say that it is forbidden to make a critical judgment analysis on the neglect of the Bamenda Ring Road by the Biya regime and that making such a critical judgment is like writing  satanic verses that lead to divine sentence. But let the word go forth from this time and medium to friends and enemies of progress alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation that will talk than die in silence. That the people of Donga Mantung Division have been tempered with carelessness by the Biya government through a former Minister of Public Works (whose name I have just forgotten) when he Ambassa Zang (I now recall his name) told Chinese counterparts that the ring road was not a priority for the Biya Government is an indisputable human rights abuse. Since 1948, the Bamenda man has reluctantly accepted the slow shame of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed and to which the nature of this country and the powers that be have imposed. In fact if a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it can never save the few who are rich.
When government institutions were the pillars of moral value, any statement made publicly by the Head of state of this great nation Cameroon was never suspected to be an “April fool” kind of merrymaking. Any public pronouncement of the Head of State was considered by all and sundry as part of the Presidential largess that the President dishes out every time he visits any locality. Such a pronouncement was considered as a symbol of decorum because such promises were immediately followed up and realized within the shortest time possible. I remember my father once told me that President Biya once declared that he was personally going to supervise the construction of the Bamenda Ring road. Yet 23 years have come and past since he made that promise and the Bamenda Ring  is still in tears. Traveling from Jakiri to any part of Donga Mantung Division is not just a nightmare but demands a week of serious fasting and prayer because you never know when you will get to your destination. I do not know whether it is the influence of the Western culture that has transformed government institutions into negating its people or influence of politics that has made Head of States to forget what they say immediately it is done. However, anyone who would maladroitly sit on the fence to declare that the Bamenda Ring Road is not a necessity or a priority should be considered as being in a state of sin. Being a respecter of the institution that President Biya incarnates and the powers that he wields, the pressure suddenly became unbearable when I spent over 4 hours on the same spot along the Ndu-Nkambe stretch of the ring road.
Even though there is a statement in the Bible which states that people should not pass round for judges on others, I believe it is often quoted out of context because the Bible still tells us that people should be judged if their acts are injurious. I am aware that this critical judgment analysis is badly needed. It is imperative because the Ring road is in tears again  and the bells of anguish are being heard signaling that Donga Mantung Division may cease to exist in the map of this country. I am also aware that this bit will offset many people but it is a fact. Even so, who is even going to twist my arm for speaking the truth? Is it not a democratic right for the people of Donga Mantung to have a good access road and even enjoy more as a border Division?
 Calamity, calamity…………
Notwithstanding, if anyone takes this judgment for an offense, believe me it is positive insults. And if today some of our leaders no more command the powers they use to exercise, it is because of the copious counterfeited promises they make. I recall a former Minister once asked me in Yaounde whether the Bamenda Ring road had any economic values. It pains and kills my imagination as well as the picture post-card I got from my father that they decided to unite with La Republique because of what was happening up the road. 50 years after reunification the situation of this road is more pathetic than before. When I look across the river and see the road network, I cry for my Fatherland. When I see politicians taking false oaths because they have their interest to protect and like Achidi Achu who after his appointment as Prime Minister declared that he was the Ring Road, I pity myself why I was born a Cameroonian. In fact I disagree with people who would say that it is the notion of personal aggrandizement that has pushed the Biya regime to loose sight of reality. And to me, it is some sort of a mental torture that is being exercise.
The North West Region has had the privilege to produce two Prime Ministers but the notion that Biya appoints ministers to work for their people did not work. None of them created the unexpected like late Pefok who rejected a speech from the Yaounde cronies and doled out one from his pocket to tell President Biya what the Bamenda man thinks is like waiting for exhale. When Rt Hon. Achidi Achu was appointed Prime Minister, he told North Westerners that he was the ring road. It was a bitter pill but  we accepted and swallowed it. Yang Philemon also had the good fortune to be appointed Prime Minister and since charity begins at home and justice next door, work on the Bamenda –Nkambe Stretch of the ring road will end in Kumbo while Kumbo-Oku will be tarred. Anyone who has been on this road any of these days will agree that to travel to Donga Mantung Division, it demands serious fasting and prayers. No pregnant woman can travel on this road especially as the rains are heavy. The story of the ring road is not only that of pools of water but the sory that at this time of the year every small hill always make a name. It may sound ridiculous but the truth is that traveling from Bamenda to Donga Mantung demands two sets of dresses, one for the mud and another to wear at the destination. The state of nature of the Bamenda Ring road has made it in such a way that it is the nature of the weather that determines the transport fare to Kumbo and Nkambe.
In case of any disaster as was the case of Lake Nyos, evacuation of victims will not just be be problem but would contribute to destroy lives that would have been saved. If we go by the popular saying that where the road passes development follows, then the people of Donga Mantung Division who rely on the Ring Road will never dream of any meaningful development.
Every similar proposal here has bogged down until it was too late to save any lives. Anything newspapermen can write about this in their own papers will help. It will help to save lives, the lives of people like ourselves. I wish I were eloquent, I wish I could put down on paper the picture that comes to me from the restrained of anger. I need not dwell upon the authenticated horrors of the Nazi internment camps and death chambers for Jews. That is not tragic but a kind of insane horror. It is our part in this which is tragic. The essence of tragedy is not the doing of evil by evil men but the doing of evil by good men, out of weakness, indecision, sloth, inability to act in accordance with what they know to be right.
The ring road, until its termination, presents the classic existential argument about the existence of God or a higher power: if he did and does exist, then the only natural choice is to become a disciple; but if he did not, then there is no afterlife, then life is meaningless outside the present moment. Hence, there is nothing to be done except to live every moment without a thought to the next. The state of nature of the Ring Road has made Donga Mantung an Island on land which makes them to feel and to be powerless to influence the life of society by which their own life is governed. Change can occur only by a great increase of participation and responsibility on the part of those who now are well fed and amused but are excluded from effective participation in political decisions or in the policies of the institutions and enterprises they work in.
Today, thinking and feeling are more and more separated from each other, and this separation leads either to an almost schizophrenic intellectualism or to a neurotic, irrational emotionalism. Only if emotions and reason are brought together can man function in a way which makes life interesting and hence creates the possibility of a productive life. To put it briefly, what Donga Mantung people need is not speeches but a road that can make life more meaningful and bring back humanity from the wilderness closer to the people. God bless Donga Mantung Div.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Paul Biya: A President Betrayed by the People He Appoints

Nail-er

Paul Biya

In all honesty and fairness to ourselves and nature, no one deserves our sympathy; no one craves more for our empathy than the man known as the President of the Republic, Paul Biya. Whenever I look at the position of a President what comes to mind is the popular saying that “uneasy lies the head that wears the crown” but in the case of President Biya, I am not at ease with just the word uneasy, I am of the judgment that a better adjective should be coined out to put a figure on the level of psychological trauma and physical nightmare that his occupation of the seat of presidency has fetched him especially as many of his collaborators, I mean he ends up sending an entire cabinet (ministers and directors to prison) for embezzling public funds.
Without being told, if Mr. Paul Biya had an inkling of how his days at the helm of power would look like, I am very much sure that he would have refused to appoint some of his gullible ministers and directors.  Being the man in the forefront to sail this ship of a nation to its harbor of development, he has no option than to accept all the financial calamities. If he had known that midway into this voyage, pirates out of the blue would spoil his trip by robbing it of the crispy and ecstatic elation that comes with an expedition, he wouldn’t have attempted taking up the gauntlet when it was thrown at him in 1982. But then, just like every other being of nature dispossess, his proficiency to make out or to disentangle what the next day could look like let alone years after was lacking. Eventualities which not even science and the so called futurologists could have pre-empted an answer.  Being a politician, Paul Biya rushed to the occasion in ecstasy thanking God for political elevation not knowing that the journey in no time would go from joy to sorrow. Now that majority of the sorrows are being contributed by his cabinet ministers and directors, there is no gainsaying that he is a President that has been betrayed by those he appointed to mount the most prestigious positions in the country. He forgot the dictum that joy has a slender back that breaks so soon. Not that he is a bad President, but that he appoints Ministers and Directors that would spare no efforts to siphon funds allocated for development is an indisputable fact. The very people who say he should arrest economic thieves are the people saying today the arrests are on drummed up charges and that the personalities in prison are those who were eyeing his seat. Too bad anyway!!!
To some, Paul Biya is nothing more than a weakling, some have seen him as a victim riding on a tiger of circumstances, to some others, he was meant to be the president of this behemoth of a nation and to many more, his persona is disliked by the gods that reigned supreme from the underworld. Paul Biya’s political programmes have been judged from its budding stage as the best in theory but has always been frustrated in implementation by his closest collaborators. Look at the number of SGs at the Presidency arrested. Some say his god is always by him.
Whether true or false, here is a man, whose every attempt to sailing this nation to the harbor of development has neither germinated let alone, yielded a fruit. Creating a bar parlour in Cameroon nowadays is easier than obtaining a birth certificate. Cameroonians are therefore encouraged to drink their sorrows from the bottle of a beer. Yet here is a man who few years ago during his campaign days forced us to pull out our diaries to write down the many dividends of democracy we shall be getting in exchange for our high priced votes at the polls. “OYE!!! Advanced democracy. When Paul Biya announced the New Deal Policy its flames caught admirations. No assessment was done but yet before Greater Ambitions came to daylight, it was prematurely swept  away by Greater Realization policies. At the 21st Century, he finally landed Cameroonians in another ship known as Greater Accomplishments with a vision this time. When he announced the putting into effect of the Greater Accomplishments, saying that the entire country will be transformed into a vast construction site, some of us bought helmets. The vast construction sites are now becoming a vision that will take Cameroonians up to 2035. But Paul Biya is the man who in those days was seen as the ‘messiah” that was to come and take Cameroon to that land flowing with milk and honey. How and why Biya’s nomenclature was all what he needed to earn a landslide victory at every poll remains a myth. Yet it is only in Cameroon that election results are known before the polls! In order words, they call him Paul Biya and we thought the power and marvel attached to his name, would translate to his strides in governance, but years into the social contract Cameroonians entered with him, he has proven not to be a man that is worth contracting with no thanks to the greatest factor that has beleaguered his administration though. The glory in Biya’s name has ended up into an irony of a life time. But why is it that everything about him amounts to have been diverted by the people he appoints? In a single phrase, here is a man who said yes, but his collaborators always say no. Whenever I ponder over it, it makes me lose sleep and forces the tears out of my tear duct.
Everything about his Ministers and Directors has been on the dwindling side, not even a single sector of the economy is exempted from this onslaught of malady in his government I am sorry to say.
The Ugly
Our health facilities have come at their lowest ebb, education have been left crippling, the fight against embezzlement and corruption one need not be told has come down to nothing more than mere fiction,(settling scores) our roads have become as gullible as death traps (Bamenda Ring Road being a perfect example) while the list published by CONAC with cabinet ministers are still singing the song of the CPDM, as for insecurity, do I still have to talk about it? …….The sport sector, we have before now  always used as a consolation prize or something to look back at and dry our tears is a sacred cow in Biya’s of government and sorrows/agony. These and many more are the ugly situations that has wrapped and consumed Cameroon and many years before now, had no shoes. The joy that comes with being the first citizen has been unjustly traded by barter for sorrow. How can a president ever be happy when torrents of sad news keep drumming within the confines of his eardrum every now and then? The oath of office he took upon assumption of office to the effect that he shall protect the lives and welfare of all the citizens has amounted to nothing but a false oath. What could you not say of a president that has been robbed by his closest collaborators? Oh! The only thing Cameroonians are waiting for is a beer name “Biya”.

 Coming Up: 
Moh Sylvester: A Blessing or Poisonous Gift to Anglophones
Balick Awah Fidelis: The Small Quaarrelsome Talking Cricket 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

ELECAM Defies Electoral Laws to Launch Biometric Registrations

By Baweson Nfor
The Director of Elections Cameroon-ELECAM has announced that  voter recompilation using the biometric technology will start on October 3, 2012. According to the Release signed by Mohamman Sani, the exercise shall commence on October 3 as cited above and will run through February 28, 2012. Some opposition leaders are already talking of the violation of Sections 74 (2) and 75 (3) of Cameroon Law No. 2012/001 0f April 19, 2012 relating to the Electoral code. According to Section 74 (2) “The annual revision of the electoral registers shall commence on January 1 and ends on 31 August of ever year”. However, sources link to ELECAM office hinted that ELECAM Director drew inspiration from Section 7 (3) of the Electoral Code which provides; “In case of recompilation of electoral registers, the Director General of ELECAM may extend the period provided for in section 74 (2) above by no more than three months. But given that the entire electoral register was completely blank, public opinion is questioning whether the rules of the game have not violated. More so, the period announced by ELECAM is more than 3 months as provided for by the law. Notwithstanding, the process for the first biometric registration is Cameroon has been announced and every one of voting age has as civic responsibility to get register in order to vote in the upcoming Legislative and Municipal elections. Opposition leaders have cried fouled that if Elections Cameroon is not stopped, it is already a strategy to rig elections. More so, Oshi Joshua, SDF Vice National Chairman is quoted to have lambasted the approach by Elections Cameroon arguing that if Cameroonians are not vigilant, elections the outcome of the registration process will be catastrophic due to many maneuvers. Yet, Fonkam Azu'u is mute over the accusations and really full of himself that he is giving a deaf ear to the issues raised by the opposition. 




When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

At SDF NEC: Kambiwa Mocks at Osih Joshua

 The incident that took place in South Africa where Chantal Kambiwa outsmarted Ni John Fru Ndi’s candidate is yet to settle down within the SDF party.  At the last NEC meeting that took place in Bamenda a forthnight ago, Kambiwa Chantal who crushed Osih Joshua in an election in South Africa to emerge as Socialist International representative demonstrated to NEC members that she is an iron fist. Chantal Kambiwa is quoted to have told Osih in his face that he (Osih) lacks competence in international politics. Allegations are rife at that Kambiwa Chantal during the heated debate also drew admiration  when she told NEC what many never knew. Kambiwa ridiculed Osih Joshua when she revealed that he (Oshih) submitted her candidature. She failed short of almost telling Fru Ndi that "Chairman, you are telling a lie". NEC members we gathered were shocked at the revelations made by Chantal Kambiwa. Fru Ndi who played the advocate, we gathered was also shocked at the way Kambiwa  vibrated. (But could not say Chairman you are lying) NEC members according to the hint observed that Osih Joshua wanted to play a smart one over Kambiwa but was hooked. The Eye is aware that the heated debate split NEC members into camps with Chantal Kambiwa having the highest supporters.
 However, the last NEC members also observed with indignation the fact that President Biya has ignored the Babessi flood victims yet made a trip to the Northern region. The programme for the National Convention of the SDF was also made public. According to the Programme, the 2012 National Convention shall begin on October 10 with a Special meeting of NEC while the arrival of delegates and accreditations will be on October 11. On October 12, SDF Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi shall also make his policy speech while the next day, elections into NEC shall be conducted. The SDF shall use the conference to test what it has been advocating for since 1990, the single ballot.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Franklin Ndzi Nformi: The Pictogram of Fame

 Speaking People (Meet the Young Dynamic Man who is Making the Difference)
 

Franklin Ndzi Nformi flanked by wife, others

The most comfortable act on earth they say is to fulfill ones dream. Franklin Nformi Ndzi is one of those young men not born with a golden spoon but hard work and determination drop by drop has raised him to prominence. In veracity, a driving force that is setting the pace for him to accomplish his early days childhood dream that to work is to pray.

In fact judging from what the great and influential 18th century writer and social critic, John Gardner had this to say of other great leaders, Franklin Nformi Ndi has “a significant role in creating the state of mind that is the society. Though young he can serve as symbols of the moral unity of the society. To Gardener, “great leaders can express the values that hold the society together. Most importantly, they can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations carry them above the conflicts that tear a society apart, and unite them in the pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts”. John Gardner might have been writing about his 18th century Europe, but the issues he raised then are as urgent today as they were then. Issues of leadership, moral unity, values and principles, and above all, conflict are as poignant in today’s society as they were in the 18th century.

Our societies, talk less of such people in Cameroon. Yet we had to move into the wilderness to look for one of such leaderships. In fact a Role Model as prescribed by Aristotle in his concept. To begin with, Franklin Nformi Ndzi has functioned like a leader from childhood. As Lewis H. Lapham puts it “Leadership consist not in degrees of technique but in traits of character; it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort, and it imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint”. What we can learn from Franklin Nformi Ndzi’s humble beginning is that “Leadership has not come in short supply. On the contrary, it has been an extremely scarce commodity. The past generation of those who have passed around as leaders have done every other thing but lead, for, as the Ralph Nader put it centuries ago: “The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not followers”. 

Franklin: The True Leader

This pictogram of fame hails from Ndu and to begin with, Franklin Ndzi is not just a leader of great qualities but a man never to pigeon hole with. Even though some people are of the opinion that far away hills always look very green, at his young age, “Frank” is as frank is his mane and trendy as the word celebrity.  He is jam-packed with the character and sense of right and wrong. Coming close to Frank will on no account be of any regret for he is a combination of many good things in one individual. To begin with, Franklin Ndzi is the President of the Cameroon National Youth Council in Ndu and a prominent member in the Donga Mantung Bureau.

With the Cameroon Youth Council, he gradually transformed the lives of young boys and girls to reflect optimistically. The young innovative Franklin started his way to celebrity when he was still in college as he convinced all his classmates to join the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement-CPDM. That was when he started building for himself a reputation that portrayed a great difference with his peers. The truth about Frank is that he is first of all extremely audacious and result-oriented. While in the CPDM he joined the PRESBY and the YCPDM to occupy the privileged positions. Being a young man did not encumber him from performing the most demanding and strategic role for the party. Franklin Ndzi is a good public speaker and a perfect one of course, from the agglomeration of his education and surroundings, he is not just a product of excellence but also, he is well-groomed and buoyant. When it comes to youth mobilization, he remains an observable verity and a pack of greatness that no one can put down in Ndu. The gospel truth about this great rising political genius is that he has the God-given flair and magnetism that easily attracts and convinces people. Talking about development, Frank supports all development initiatives and he is always part of it. When ever two or three people meet to talk development, he is always present.

He has all the characteristics that are the marks of prominence of a leader. Get him any time and challenge him to a political debate or even from sleep and you would realize that he is the breed of new leaders Cameroon need to effect positive thinking in contemporary society. If you want to enjoy Frank do not go to challenge him, go to discuss with him and you will not regret for having met such a super intelligent and dynamic young man.

Franklin Nformi Ndzi: The Award Winner

Franklin Nformi Ndzi is Sub Treasurer for Oku. Meet him in his office and you will confirm that he never leaves what should be done today for tomorrow. In fact, a young seasoned administrator who is admired and loved by everyone. Being a Christian and God fearing too, he believes like Martin Luther King that “working is praying”. Like Pastor Kent who said that every human natured person is made up of the human and the divine and that when the divine overrides, the human one becomes closer to God, Franklin Ndzi won the admiration of Cameroonians to the point that he was voted as the Most Devoted Young Leader by readers of The Eye Newspaper.

As a matter of fact, this young dynamo was catapulted to the position of sub treasurer after he served in Divisional treasury in Nkambe with dexterity. By making work the divine with the human as a pairs, this great supporter of President Biya has always been apt to tell youths that those who want development should support President Biya because he is the guarantor of development. His influence throughout Ndu has not only been limited to youth development and promoting youth football. It has also been about his beliefs that a better way to bring meaningful development to your area can be through politics. He then decided to fine-tune politics with his technological aplomb. As frontline militant of the CPDM who believes that for now, it is only the CPDM that can change the lot of his people, he decided to offer his time and experience to the building of a good image for the CPDM in Ndu, and from the time he was still in secondary school. His new generation militancy and his non-confrontational nature won for the CPDM many sympathizers. Interestingly, many of his lovers in the development domain continued to remind him that they love him as a person but that he was riding the wrong horse. As convincing as a church priest, he could hammer a point that will guide them to understand that they should follow real power that signs for development projects. And that meaningful development only comes from government. Gradually, Ndu has changed and his contribution to the changing political landscape is not relegated but rather it is appreciated by many as a political strength.

What makes him different from others is that he does uncommon things in a very common manner that always attracts public attention. To describe Franklin Ndzi as genius is give honour where it is outstanding.

After a careful assessment of the potentials of those who passed round as leaders in those challenging times, Gardner was forced to come up with what he considered qualities of a good leader. In doing this, he had no bias or no particular individual in mind. His postulations on a good leader corresponded with what yet another greater leader of all times, Martin Luther King said. According to Martin Luther, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus”. Martin Luther King was simply overwhelmed by the quality of leaders around him as they fought the battle of equality between black and whites in the United States of America. Martin Luther was appalled not only by the number of quack but also kangaroo leaders that were doted in the black and white communities in the United States soon after independence. He saw in most leaders the individuals who rather than mold consensus in times of conflict went searching for consensus. He was also bothered about a leadership that was not committed and purposeful. His worries soon found expression in Dan Marino,sr’s reflections that “Leadership, I think you must have that, particularly when a team’s on the field, they look to you. In critical situations, they look into your eyes to see if you’re there. If you’re not there, they start quitting”. Most of our leaders have fallen into this category. They quit even before the game is over, not knowing that the game does not end with the referee’s last whistle or when the crowds go home. It ends hours and years after the real match was played.

When others are singing a hymn, the level-headed Franklin Nformi Ndzi is singing a lullaby. When others think they have reached the end of the road, he thinks the journey is only beginning. When others are taking only their needs into consideration, Franklin is taking his abilities. Like a true leader, he does not wait to be told what to do, he goes ahead and does what he thinks is for the interest of a greater majority. He will also be there when the real match is played for the importance of compassion and every Cameroonians to guarantee unity, peace and serenity.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Sammy Mbgatta: Looking to the Stars As the Limit

 Speaking People (Meet Sammy Mbgatta) 
By F C Ndi

Sammy Mbgatta

Great people have come to their standing not simply by vision, pragmatism, charisma, trust, and consensus building, but also by lucky circumstances that favoured their goals. No one should put too much stock in circumstances, though. The most accomplished people have been their own best ally in achieving their high standing because they do common things that command respect and admiration.

The CPDM Section President for Misaje cum Municipal treasurer for Nkambe Council is one of the young visionary and charismatic leaders who never put too much stock in circumstances to rise to prominence. His spectacular success in life from a humble background underscores the point. From a council cashier to a municipal treasury while at the same time having served as 1st Deputy Mayor at a very young age, Sammy Mbgatta rose up the ladder as a technician in Council systems. He has served in Belo as municipal treasurer before being transferred to Nkambe in the same capacity. Sammy Mbgatta could be likened to Farfre in the Mayor of Casterbridge who is clutched with the God given charm that everything he “touches is bound to prosper”.

When Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said: “Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time” he was talking about the likes of Sammy Mbgatta. Thomas Carlyle complemented Wadsworth when he said that ‘Man is only truly great when he acts from his passions’. The name Sammy Mbgatta has become a household name not only among the hard-to-reach and underserved segments of our population but also within political circles for his passion to add value to the value of life. This treasury worker from very humble beginnings can be said to have done what Napoleon left undone especially in the domain of social change and social transformation

Sammy Mbgatta has toiled  labourously for the past two decades to transform lives and build common frontiers for all segments of society in the Bebe Community especially Bebekette where he hails. In doing this, he followed the principle outlined by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow that ‘heights by great men reached and kept were not obtained by sudden flight but, while their companies slept, they were toiling upward in the night’ burning the midnight candle of work before making the difference in life. Sammy Mbgatta could have decided like others to do the simple things, but because he believes like Lance Armstrong that ‘Greatness is not a measure of how great you are but of how great others came to be because of you’, he decided to work for the decentralized struture and lowly in our society. Like Bill Copeland he believes that ‘the trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score’. Today, he is scoring because of that firm believe and hard work.

In all what he does, he believes like Harry S. Truman that ‘we must build a world, a far better world - one in which the eternal dignity of man is respected’. In trying to build this world of respect and dignity, a people who are not only made in the image of God but people who are only differently able. His input in the social domain and politics seeks to bring back human dignity into all of God’s creation.

Unlike many  Cameroonians who spend time today asking what Cameroon has done to them, Mr. Sammy Mbgatta rather advise Cameroons like J.F Kennedy that ‘Ask not what your country has done for you, ask what you can do for your country’. It is in this light that for quite sometime now, Sammy Mbgatta has not only been seen a role model in Misaje Sub Division but has been supporting the education of youths.

He is one of the few Cameroonians who think it does not take the masses to change the world. Like Rosa Park, Sammy Mbgatta believes that his actions, though modest they maybe, can change the world. And he is so crazy about it. Today others think he had effectively removed the mountain of poverty in the lives of most poor and disabled persons. Of course, the might have done that but as the Chinese proverb holds ‘A man who removes a mountain begins by carrying away small stones’. Sammy Mbgatta started small, and those who know him insist he has come a long way as he began from very humble beginnings. He only believed in the beauty of his dreams and had the courage to pursue them as Walt Disney put it: ‘All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them’. Sammy Mbgatta has that courage and much more. He is also a man of vision and action. Vision and action are two cardinal ingredients for success and as the Japanese proverb hold: ‘vision without action is daydream; Action without vision is nightmare’. He neither daydreams nor entertains nightmares. This is because of his zeal to recreate the world and knowing like Abraham Lincoln that ‘the best way to predict the future is to create it’, he put into his vision the necessary ingredients that make for social change.

Sammy Mbgatta: The Role Model

Mr. Sammy Mbgatta is an authentic role mode. As Aristotle demonstrated, role models are people whose examples can be emulated. To say that Sammy is a role model is to say that many a Cameroonian youth can look up to him. With the prevailing situation of moral decadence and bad behaviour from the elders, youths hardly have anyone to look up to. What makes Sammy Mbgatta different from others is that he is young and dynamic reasons why the few remaining good examples like Sammy Mbgatta need to be commended and recommended. He has proven that the real opportunity for success is found within the person not the job. As a role model he has laid a foundation for a stronger and healthier society. By all standards, he is a successful young man whose deeds and actions continue to change lives.

As Sidney Greenburg puts it: ‘A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him’ thus making the difference people need in society. In trying to build a healthier society, he has not given in to detractors. As a veritable role model, he has used all the bricks that have been thrown at him to build rather than destroy. Having grown up from a humble beginning to the high ladders of life, Sammy’s story is one of those interesting tales that would always attract public attention.

Sammy Mbgatta remains a man of great spirits. As a man of great spirits, he has always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds. Animated by the fact that life has two primary choices, which is accepting conditions as they exist, or accepting the responsibility for changing them, Sammy chose to change the conditions of all across Misaje Sub Division and Donga Mantung as a whole.

Sammy Mbgatta: The Politician 

One of the characteristics of Sammy Mbgatta is that he is a public speak and clutches with the magnesium that attracts people. It is not by error that he was elected CDPM Section President for Misaje. Meet him in the field talking politics and we would agree with me that every step and move he takes attract people. Sammy Mbgatta entered politics at a very tender age. In 1996, young Sammy Mbgatta was elected as the 1st Deputy Mayor for Misaje Council while (present mayor) Nkenda Simon Sunde was elected 2nd Deputy. He served the council with a lot of dexterity and later worked hard to becoming an expert in council management after graduating from CEFAM in flying colours. At the age of maturity, he was voted CPDM Section President for Misaje. The moment he was elected Section President, Sammy started transforming politics into a game for development and not false promises. If the political landscape in Misaje is what it is, greater appreciations go to Minister Fuh Calistus and Sammy Mbgatta for the unique touches they are giving politics.

Even though a busy man, he is constantly in the field refreshing memories and winning more militants.

When two or more are gathered to talk positively about the CPDM in order to galvanize more support for President Paul Biya, he is always present. As a genuine politician, he has demystified the long established notion that politics is a systematic organization of hatred. As perfect as he is, he has made politics and development bedmates. He does not only preach politics of development but puts it in practice himself.  Sammy Mbgatta one of the pillars on which the CPDM can lean in Donga Mantung Division. The history of politics in Donga Mantung can never be completed if Sammy’s name is not mentioned. To conclude, he is a force to reckon with and a heavy weight in the field of politics.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa

Musa Shey Nfor: The Epitome of Ambidexterity

 Personality of the Month
By FC Ndi

Musa Shey Nfor

The world has produced many great leaders; many of whom society has always looked up to for inspiration. These leaders have laid foundations of some of the important events in history. Their actions and deeds changed the face of society and proved instrumental in revolutionizing the sector they lead. They are held in high regard for their work, and their success stories continue to inspire many. Their leadership has brought about a dramatic change to the world and deeply impacted society. .Meet Musa Shey Nfor our Personality of the month

Musa Shey Nfor is the President of the Cameroon Credit Union League-CamCCUL, the leading microfinance in Cameroon and the President of the Bamenda Police Cooperative Credit Union-BAPCCUL. He is also the National President of the Association of Micro finance Establishments in Cameroon (ANENCAM) And beside that he is the North West Regional Delegate for the Chamber of Agriculture. When Queen Latifah once declared that “It’s not always easy to do the right thing. But, doing the right thing makes people strong, it builds character, it forces people to make decisions based upon beliefs and not what other people think. In life, and in business, leaders have to stand for what they believe in and sometimes they have to stand alone. But, what makes a leader is having the courage and convictions”, there is no doubt that she was talking about the likes of Musa Shey Nfor. Infact, Musa Shey Nfor is not alone in believing that this generation is unique in its ability to eliminate lethal poverty, the kind of poverty that kills. Since everyone is motivated differently, being a leader requires a careful blend of leadership characteristics and skills. Anthropologists long established that a leader must have a vision to where he can see his success. This means he has the drive to succeed and fulfill his vision. He can not sit and just hope for something to happen. He has to make it happen. In other words, a leader must be a person who is “on top of their game” for the betterment of all.

Musa Shey Nfor: The Veritable Role Model

Musa Shey Nfor is a household name in Cameroon and a man of international reputation for his capability in handling issues with a lot of dexterity. In fact few have ever fitted in the above description like Musa Shey Nfor the present President of CamCCUL whose innovative ideas have gradually transformed the microfinance sector in Cameroon. Such a bold vision is inspirational and it was unthinkable just a few generations ago. Microcredit has emerged in recent decades as an indispensable tool in the fight against poverty in rural and urban set ups in Cameroon, and it is thank to his leadership skills. Ever since he took office, one of the first and most obvious guiding principles of the microfinance movement seems to be respected for the potential of market forces, especially as all actions are properly channeled. Likewise by his aptitude the sector has moved from a state of gloom to be an indispensable ally in poverty alleviation. For this reason, the suggestions for renewed leadership are not prescriptive, e.g. providing a specific descriptive in the trends for exercising effective and ethical results (socially conscious and accountability).

The most interesting thing is that in order to maintain the public goodwill in the sector, he puts the welfare of members first. Musa Shey Nfor believes that one of the prerequisites to success is to deal with moral sensitivity and transparency. To him, microfinance revolution honors the dignity of each person by providing access to capital markets and new services  that are not currently provided by others like the collaterals.

When ethicists write about human rights, often they cite the right to food, shelter, health care, and even employment, but rarely access to collateral free credit which Musa has demonstrated is one of the cornerstones on which humanity relies. When he started implementing reforms especially the OHADA Law, those who thought they could transform the network into extraordinary affair were quick to climb on tree tops. But change as often said is the most dreadful thing that human beings resist. There is bad reason for this because those who would always see nothing good in anything except in the form of bread discovered that their interest were at stake.

Musa Shey was naturally born a leader, because he clutches with the God given charm that flows along with success.

At the Bamenda Police Credit Union where is also President for example  membership, savings, loan consumption and payment have increased geometrically, a mark of efficiency that catapulted him to the position Bamenda chapter President of CamCCUL. The Bamenda Police Credit Cooperative Credit Union also expanded. New branches were created and the most recent being the Ndu and Nkambe Branches. His talent at the helm of the Credit Union Movement has not only improved on social values but has galvanized financial support for the microfinance movement nationwide to the point that he was elected the National President of ANEMCAM.

Integrity as they say is another essential quality a leader must have in order to do well in office. Musa Shey Nfor’s actions have had the same feelings inside. This is a kind of person who can be trusted because he never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. He displays integrity in order for his people to trust him because within him lies honesty and dedication.

Musa Shey Nfor is very intelligent. Since intelligence is a factor in leadership he makes sure that all actions amplify advantages and nullify disadvantages, as well as knowing when to act offensively and defensively.

From being self-confident to having strong initiatives, Musa Shey Nfor has all the characteristics that make up a leader which are vast and different depending on whom he leads. In Musa Shey Nfor’s case, self-confidence is what enables him to complete his goals successfully. He takes advantage of timing to strike when the challenger is puny, and recoil when they are brawny.

Trustworthiness, intelligence, fairness, humility and compassionate are the pillars on which Musa Shey Nfor’s leadership skills stand and as a matter of fact trustworthiness is what allows his followers to know they are acting usefully and without harm. Intelligence is what enables him to plan and strategize, carefully and patiently in order to implement with diligent every resolution of the General Assembly. Fairness also enables him to put discipline and hard work while humility enables Musa Shey Nfor to strive in  challenging situations which are very complicated and challenging. Since a leader’s skill is measured through concrete realizations, his presence at the helm of CamCCUL can easily be assessed even by the common man.

However, since kolanut as they say last long in the mouth of those who cherish it, Musa Shey Nfor recently validated that he is a leader with extra abilities. The ongoing reforms and the harmonization of the OHADA laws within the credit union system is also an indicator that he is not just a modernizer but a man who sees tomorrow.

Musa Shey Nfor: The Genius   

Contemporary society, sociologists say is nothing without people with extra abilities, genius. In fact, role models are people whose examples can be emulated. To say that Musa Shey Nfor is a role model is a fact. A critical analysis of his achievements has proven that he is a multifaceted dynamo. In CamCCUL for example, he is celebrated for the numerous programmes and projects he lobbied and obtained both at national and International levels. The Agrifin project, the FIMAC loan scheme and the collaboration with MTN are tangible examples. Beside that the construction of CamCCUL head office in Bamenda also corroborates the greatness in him. Under his reign, he has succeeded in giving almost all CamCCUL Chapters befitting buildings that reflects his vision as a leader. Anyone who has had the good fortune to be in Bamenda should praise Musa Shey Nfor for the construction of the CamCCUL head quarter (seven storey building). This is just one of his legacies and defines the leader he is. To conclude, Musa Shey Nfor is also North West Delegate for the Chamber of Agriculture where within a very short time, he has injected hope in the sector. Meet him for a discussion to discover leadership skills.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa