tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89744344639507917502024-03-12T20:01:30.558-07:00DR. VAKUNTA'S STRADDLING THE MUNGOThis blog features Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta's write-ups spanning various genres:essays, fiction, translations,book reviews, opinion pieces and more.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-74981232587784200512022-03-24T11:23:00.001-07:002022-03-24T11:23:12.980-07:00<p> https://www.postnewsline.com/2022/03/-book-review-in-the-united-states-of-africa-by-abdourahman-waberi.html</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-69597602074999414732021-10-18T12:59:00.001-07:002021-10-18T12:59:16.696-07:00 Professor Vakunta's Articles in Palapala Magazine<p> https://fakoamerica.typepad.com/palapala/2008/08/mosquito---a-po.html</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-7889745154406192012021-10-18T12:57:00.001-07:002021-10-18T12:57:02.293-07:00 Professor Vakunta's Articles on Upstation Mountain Club<p> https://www.postnewsline.com/peter-vakunta/</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-72627776413903766932021-10-18T12:55:00.001-07:002021-10-18T12:55:28.495-07:00 Professor Vakunta's Articles in Pambazuka<p> https://www.pambazuka.org/taxonomy/term/5367</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-2734492098034665742021-10-18T12:43:00.001-07:002021-10-18T12:43:17.886-07:00 Link to Professor Vakunta's videos<p> https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=vakunta</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-26117736313603517422021-10-18T12:37:00.002-07:002021-10-18T12:38:55.786-07:00 Link to Dr. Vakunta's books <p> https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vakunta&i=stripboo<a href="https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vakunta&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss" target="_blank">https://www.amazon.com/s?k=vakunta&i=stripbooks&ref=nb_sb_noss</a>s&ref=nb_sb_noss</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-2396593396683644462021-02-21T12:09:00.002-08:002021-02-21T12:09:15.712-08:00 Just Published!<p>https://www.postnewsline.com/2021/02/-just-published.html</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-42105380707386454282021-02-06T05:17:00.002-08:002021-02-06T05:17:16.797-08:00<p><b> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">ARTICLE FROM THE UK
GUARDIAN</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><b>
By Marina Hyde</b><br />
<br />
Date: Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 4:13 PM<br />
Subject:<br />
ARTICLE FROM THE UK GUARDIAN<br />
*TRUMP*<br />
By Marina Hyde -<br />
<br />
No grace, no dignity, no humility, no magnanimity, no class, no morals, no
empathy, no soul. He has no friends, not even a dog.<br />
<br />
His wife can’t bear his touch, his daughter can’t avoid it. Devoid of humour he
doesn’t make jokes, he doesn’t laugh. Not ever. An occasional dismal rictus, a
necrotic gash in his ochre-lacquered face-bladder signifies nothing more than
his satisfaction in transacting failing with no compensating virtues. A craven
coward. A sociopath. A serial rapist. A racist. A quisling. An opportunistic
grifter. An inveterate cheat. A deceitful toad. A chronic liar. A shameless
braggart. An ignoramus who lacks curiosity. He doesn’t read, he doesn’t care.
Trump is a ridiculous, combed-over cartoon villain, a deranged clown with a
face sprayed the colour of hang-over piss and toilet paper stuck to his shoe,
whose wits are defeated by an open umbrella.<br />
<br />
Rake the forests, nuke the hurricanes, inject the bleach, water bomb Notre Dame
Cathedral, trade Greenland for Puerto Rico. Trump’s pompous idiocies are
exceeded only by his appalling ignorance. Crediting the British with the
foresight to build airstrips in the war of independence 110 years before the
Wright Brothers first took flight, revealing the hitherto unknown Himalayan
countries of Nipple and Button, accusing Baltic leaders of starting Balkans
wars!<br />
<br />
This clueless buffoon brags that he was able to keep the crayon inside the
lines on his dementia test. Accusing Trump of a lack of self-awareness is like
accusing Myra Hindley of poor child care standards. The Grand Fubar of
dysfunction, the maestro of petty vindictiveness, of malice and resentful belligerence
is testing coup options yet America flatters itself as being “the world’s
greatest democracy” much to the bemusement of observers here in Oz. It’s beyond
our imagining that we’d ever have a bloated braggart, a liar, a hypocrite, a
lazy shirker, a crony-stacking blame shifter at the helm filtering Murdoch’s
kidney stones through his teeth while monetizing a pandemic for the benefit of
rich mates. Oh… what?<br />
<br />
Trump, if he’d had the imagination, would’ve considered handing out small-pox
infected blankets in Democrat-leaning districts but it’s too late now. A
majority of Americans have said enough is enough. After 4 years of
what-the-fuck-has-he-done-now, 46,123 tweets and 20,000 documented lies while
in office to 9th July 2020 he’s been reduced to pathetic whimperings from his
puckered-sphincter pout, playing his invisible accordion to an audience of
gormless dullards, fellow hucksters and his retinue of fawning toadies,
thralls, invertebrate lickspittles and hangers-on whose fealty is demanded but
never reciprocated and who had neither the self-respect nor the courage to call
out the capture of the US by an amoral, moronic lunatic.<br />
<br />
We cannot know what tipped the scales against Trump. No lie has been too
outrageous, bragging about sexual assault was just locker-room talk, five
bankruptcies are apparently indicative of an astute businessman, stealing from
a children’s cancer charity is fake news. Being laughed at by foreign leaders
meh, because y’all –“Merica!” Throwing meat to Boogaloos, Proud Boys, Klansmen
and Call Of Duty cos-players was addressing his base. Perhaps it was inciting
violence from uniformed goon squads sooled onto lawful BLM protesters that
crossed the line. Perhaps it was the denigration of war dead and veterans as
losers and suckers by adraft-dodging, yellow, mangy dog that did it. More
likely it was 11 million Covid-infected Americans, a quarter of a million who
died while the orange blobulator ignored it, denied it, played it down,
finger-pointed and then looked for ways to exploit it for his own advantage.<br />
<br />
There is no excusing Trump, there is no sympathy that should be wasted on this
pathetic parasite.<br />
<br />
History should not record him as some sort of tragic King Lear but as an
effluvium, a discharge from the bowels of a diseased system; a funk that has
now been shared. He had always exhibited the narcissistic and antisocial
personality disorders of a lack of empathy, grandiosity, lying and deceit,
indifference to conventional laws or rules or morality that characterize a
despot. But he possessed none of the cunning, artifice, commitment to a cause
beyond himself, the political skills of a Stalin or the oratory of a Mussolini.
He had no ambition beyond the grift and the trappings – palaces awash with
potentate kitsch, a yearning for military parades, a pneumatic wife and his
narcissistic cult of personality. He has no talent beyond the con, he’s a
schmuck with the dumb luck to be born into wealth that metastasized B-grade
celebrity into A-grade larceny.<br />
<br />
Fittingly, he’s spending his last days shaping his own humiliation. It’s an
Armando Iannucci script playing out in real life. If Trump was to be found
drooling in a pool of his own piss ala Stalin or dragged Sadam-like from his
bolt-hole it would be the most metaphorically noteworthy achievement of his
time in office.<br />
<br />
Gone too will be his dreadful spawn. Ivanka’s in-it-up-to-her-nose-job
reputation may limit her future career prospects to hand-job supervisor at a
New York sperm bank while Uday and Qusay could end up in Ryker’s Island trading
sexual favours for lines. Jared Kushner may get a gig at a Madame Tussaud
exhibit of auto-matronic rentboys. Melania, no doubt, would enjoy the embrace
of a Justin Trudeau look-alike cabana boy, chuckling at the thought that Trump
has only Rudi Guiliani left to go through the pre-nup looking for loopholes.<br />
<br />
The end of America’s nightmare is near. However it plays out over the next two
months, Trump is finished.<br />
<br />
The irrelevant man.<br />
<br />
A loser.<br />
<br />
Bro, this is long but if you like literature, this is for you. Please read the
following and see how kontri tok di work for pipo wey na dem kontri tok. See
how English woman take finish with Trump.<br />
<br />
AN ARTICLE FROM THE UK GUARDIAN<br />
by Marina Hyde<br />
<br />
Date: Thu, Jan 14, 2021 at 4:13 PM<br />
Subject:<br />
ARTICLE FROM THE UK GUARDIAN<br />
*TRUMP*<br />
by Marina Hyde -<br />
<br />
No grace, no dignity, no humility, no magnanimity, no class, no morals, no
empathy, no soul. He has no friends, not even a dog.<br />
<br />
His wife can’t bear his touch, his daughter can’t avoid it. Devoid of humour he
doesn’t make jokes, he doesn’t laugh. Not ever. An occasional dismal rictus, a
necrotic gash in his ochre-lacquered face-bladder signifies nothing more than
his satisfaction in transacting failing with no compensating virtues. A craven
coward. A sociopath. A serial rapist. A racist. A quisling. An opportunistic
grifter. An inveterate cheat. A deceitful toad. A chronic liar. A shameless
braggart. An ignoramus who lacks curiosity. He doesn’t read, he doesn’t care.
Trump is a ridiculous, combed-over cartoon villain, a deranged clown with a
face sprayed the colour of hang-over piss and toilet paper stuck to his shoe,
whose wits are defeated by an open umbrella.<br />
<br />
Rake the forests, nuke the hurricanes, inject the bleach, water bomb Notre Dame
Cathedral, trade Greenland for Puerto Rico. Trump’s pompous idiocies are
exceeded only by his appalling ignorance. Crediting the British with the
foresight to build airstrips in the war of independence 110 years before the
Wright Brothers first took flight, revealing the hitherto unknown Himalayan
countries of Nipple and Button, accusing Baltic leaders of starting Balkans
wars!<br />
<br />
This clueless buffoon brags that he was able to keep the crayon inside the
lines on his dementia test. Accusing Trump of a lack of self-awareness is like
accusing Myra Hindley of poor child care standards. The Grand Fubar of
dysfunction, the maestro of petty vindictiveness, of malice and resentful
belligerence is testing coup options yet America flatters itself as being “the
world’s greatest democracy” much to the bemusement of observers here in Oz.
It’s beyond our imagining that we’d ever have a bloated braggart, a liar, a
hypocrite, a lazy shirker, a crony-stacking blame shifter at the helm filtering
Murdoch’s kidney stones through his teeth while monetizing a pandemic for the
benefit of rich mates. Oh… what?<br />
<br />
Trump, if he’d had the imagination, would’ve considered handing out small-pox
infected blankets in Democrat-leaning districts but it’s too late now. A
majority of Americans have said enough is enough. After 4 years of
what-the-fuck-has-he-done-now, 46,123 tweets and 20,000 documented lies while
in office to 9th July 2020 he’s been reduced to pathetic whimperings from his
puckered-sphincter pout, playing his invisible accordion to an audience of
gormless dullards, fellow hucksters and his retinue of fawning toadies,
thralls, invertebrate lickspittles and hangers-on whose fealty is demanded but
never reciprocated and who had neither the self-respect nor the courage to call
out the capture of the US by an amoral, moronic lunatic.<br />
<br />
We cannot know what tipped the scales against Trump. No lie has been too
outrageous, bragging about sexual assault was just locker-room talk, five
bankruptcies are apparently indicative of an astute businessman, stealing from
a children’s cancer charity is fake news. Being laughed at by foreign leaders
meh, because y’all –“Merica!” Throwing meat to Boogaloos, Proud Boys, Klansmen
and Call Of Duty cos-players was addressing his base. Perhaps it was inciting
violence from uniformed goon squads sooled onto lawful BLM protesters that
crossed the line. Perhaps it was the denigration of war dead and veterans as
losers and suckers by adraft-dodging, yellow, mangy dog that did it. More
likely it was 11 million Covid-infected Americans, a quarter of a million who
died while the orange blobulator ignored it, denied it, played it down,
finger-pointed and then looked for ways to exploit it for his own advantage.<br />
<br />
There is no excusing Trump, there is no sympathy that should be wasted on this
pathetic parasite.<br />
<br />
History should not record him as some sort of tragic King Lear but as an
effluvium, a discharge from the bowels of a diseased system; a funk that has
now been shared. He had always exhibited the narcissistic and antisocial
personality disorders of a lack of empathy, grandiosity, lying and deceit,
indifference to conventional laws or rules or morality that characterize a
despot. But he possessed none of the cunning, artifice, commitment to a cause
beyond himself, the political skills of a Stalin or the oratory of a Mussolini.
He had no ambition beyond the grift and the trappings – palaces awash with
potentate kitsch, a yearning for military parades, a pneumatic wife and his
narcissistic cult of personality. He has no talent beyond the con, he’s a
schmuck with the dumb luck to be born into wealth that metastasized B-grade
celebrity into A-grade larceny.<br />
<br />
Fittingly, he’s spending his last days shaping his own humiliation. It’s an
Armando Iannucci script playing out in real life. If Trump was to be found
drooling in a pool of his own piss ala Stalin or dragged Sadam-like from his
bolt-hole it would be the most metaphorically noteworthy achievement of his
time in office.<br />
<br />
Gone too will be his dreadful spawn. Ivanka’s in-it-up-to-her-nose-job
reputation may limit her future career prospects to hand-job supervisor at a
New York sperm bank while Uday and Qusay could end up in Ryker’s Island trading
sexual favours for lines. Jared Kushner may get a gig at a Madame Tussaud
exhibit of auto-matronic rentboys. Melania, no doubt, would enjoy the embrace
of a Justin Trudeau look-alike cabana boy, chuckling at the thought that Trump
has only Rudi Guiliani left to go through the pre-nup looking for loopholes.<br />
<br />
The end of America’s nightmare is near. However it plays out over the next two
months, Trump is finished.<br />
<br />
The irrelevant man.<br />
<br />
A loser.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 12.0pt;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-43857872127269202882021-02-06T05:06:00.001-08:002021-02-06T05:06:31.168-08:00<p> </p><h3 class="entry-header" style="background-color: white; color: #6d0f0f; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, hiraminpro-w3, "ms mincho", serif; font-size: 22px; margin: 0px 0px 5px;">Lament of an Ambazonian Revolutionary</h3><div class="entry-content" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #333333; font-family: georgia, "times new roman", times, hiraminpro-w3, "ms mincho", serif; font-size: 13px; margin: 5px 0px; position: static;"><div class="entry-body" style="clear: both;"><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><strong> <span style="font-size: 14pt;">By Professor Peter Wuteh Vakunta</span></strong></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><img alt="Amba flag" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c824e53ef026bde9ffa52200c img-responsive" height="237" src="https://jimbicentral.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c824e53ef026bde9ffa52200c-800wi" style="margin: 0px 0px 5px 5px;" title="Amba flag" width="372" /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Weep not child!<a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/10/-lament-of-an-ambazonian-revolutionary.html#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="color: #790000;">[i]/</a></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">My heart bleeds for you!/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I weep for all the/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Lost souls of Ambazonia!/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Strangers in their homeland/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Beasts of no Nation/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I lament for the unborn kids/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Of the Republic of Ambazonia/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Hijacked kith and kindred/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I mourn for the Six School/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Kids murdered in Kumba/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Decimated by the vampires of Paul Biya/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">On October 24, 2020 in the restive/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Town of Kumba in a school/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Sandwiched in Fiango neighborhood/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The Infamous Mother Francisca/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">International Bilingual Academy/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We shall never know/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The real motives behind/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">This gruesome murder but be it/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Known that this infamy was not/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The handiwork of Ambazonian/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Freedom fighters; rather it was a/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Machination by the Biya Regime/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">To baptize Ambazonian</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Freedom Fighters as Terrorists/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Hogwash! Baloney!</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I HAVE A DREAM…</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">That one day Ambazonia/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Will be free. Utterly free/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Free! Free! Free at last!/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">From the rubble of decay/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">And of decrepitude/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Will rise a New Nation/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Rejuvenated Republic of Amba!/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not by thunderstorm/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not by tornado/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not by hailstone/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Nor by neck-lacing/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not by house-torching/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Nor by manslaughter/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not by kangaroo courts/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">But by the mettle and bravado/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Of diehard Ambazonians/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Armed with the resolve to be free!/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">We’re birds of passage/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Of good omen/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Of bad omen/</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Of mixed omens.</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"> </p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><strong>Peter Wuteh Vakunta, Ph.D.</strong></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><strong>Endnotes</strong></span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">-----------</span></p><p style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/10/-lament-of-an-ambazonian-revolutionary.html#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="color: #790000;">[i]</a> Title of a novel by Ngugi wa Thiong’o</span></p></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-15565377073185717032021-02-05T16:17:00.003-08:002021-02-05T16:20:32.200-08:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2N0oD_waV8/YB3gjgT0odI/AAAAAAAAEUU/Vy8Tu3s_RbwODQyN7nbGZVTnenJVvJ12QCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/DSC02604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="402" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-k2N0oD_waV8/YB3gjgT0odI/AAAAAAAAEUU/Vy8Tu3s_RbwODQyN7nbGZVTnenJVvJ12QCLcBGAsYHQ/w441-h402/DSC02604.JPG" width="441" /></a></div><br /> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Acephalous IG: Locusts of Ambazonian
Revolution</span></b><p></p><p><br /></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">By<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Peter Wuteh Vakunta, Ph.D <o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">When did torrential rains</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Start to fall on Ambazonians?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Where did rain clouds gather?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Was it at Foumban</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Or at Ntarikon Park?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Who created the Infamous</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Interim Government (IG)?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Is it Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Or Deacon Wilfred Tassang?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Where does Agbor Felix Balla Nkongho</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Feature in all this hullabaloo?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Take the pulse of the Revolution—</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">A War of Attrition</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Or Liberation Struggle?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Moving TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse)</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Or Sinking Titanic in need of S.O.S?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Man no run!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Man no die man no rotten!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In this day and age,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Who heads the Amba Revolution?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Is it Nitwit Samuel Ikome Sako</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Or Ninety-Nine Sense Christopher Anu?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Or is it bird of ill omen</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Lucas Ayaba Cho?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">What does the acronym SOCADEF stand for?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Southern Cameroons Defense Force!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Who is Commander-in-Chief of SOCADEF?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Is it Ayaba Cho Lucas or</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Or the Maquisard,<a name="_ednref2"></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/peter.vakunta/Desktop/Manuscripts%201/Acephalous%20IG-Poetry.docx#_edn2"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref2;">[ii]</span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref2;"></span></a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref2;"></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Kondengui prisoner without a crime,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Ebenezer Derek Mbongo Akwanga?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">These are locusts,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Not bona fide leaders</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Hell-bent on crippling the struggle</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">By double dipping in</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">La</span></i><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> <em>mangeoire de la révolution<a name="_ednref3"></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/peter.vakunta/Desktop/Manuscripts%201/Acephalous%20IG-Poetry.docx#_edn3"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref3;"><strong>[iii]</strong></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref3;"></span>,</em></span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Wheeling and dealing</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Through kleptomania</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Locusts /</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">These nefarious insects do not build</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They destroy!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They dilapidate!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Crogg/crogg/crogg/</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They have destroyed the Revolution!—</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They have demoralized</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Our fighters on GZ!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Locusts /</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Cragg/cragg/cragg/</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Bastards! Assholes!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Emasculators of justice!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">These hoodlums don’t nurture/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They devastate with impunity!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They don’t lead;</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They mislead!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They don’t build;</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They self-destruct!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Ambazonia’s gravediggers!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They have destroyed our struggle!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Crigg/crigg/crigg</span></em><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Locusts,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">These insects are hard</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">At work destroying</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The legacy bequeathed</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">To Us by Forebears</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Locusts are in charge of</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Our Collective Dream.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Shall they make or mar?</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">That is the question!</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">It’s a trap/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">A REAL booby-trap/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For unsuspecting insects of prey/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">An insidious entanglement/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">For unwary human beings/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Our Battle is locked/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In a multitude of cobwebs/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Caught we are/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In ego consciousness,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">In our web of intrigues.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Nonetheless…/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I have a dream that one day/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Southern Cameroonians will bounce /</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Back to sanity/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">On that day/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Ambazonians will know</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Who the real leaders were/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I have a dream…/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">That though the blows may be hard</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">On Ambazonians/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">They shall pull the punches/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Stay the course/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">And see light at the</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">End of the tunnel</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I have a dream…/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">That one day Ambazonia/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Will be free…free at last! /</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">I shed tears for Ambazonia/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">You know why merciful Lord/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Tears of muteness/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Frustration/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Sorrow/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Despondency/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Angst/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Melancholy/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Trauma…/</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<u><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br clear="all" style="break-before: page; mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" />
</span></u>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u> </u><strong><u><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Notes</span></u></strong></p>
<p><a name="_edn1"></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/peter.vakunta/Desktop/Manuscripts%201/Acephalous%20IG-Poetry.docx#_ednref1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn1;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">[i]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn1;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn1;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">
Headless</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><a name="_edn2"></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/peter.vakunta/Desktop/Manuscripts%201/Acephalous%20IG-Poetry.docx#_ednref2"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn2;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">[ii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn2;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn2;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> Someone who
lives underground</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p><a name="_edn3"></a><a href="file:///C:/Users/peter.vakunta/Desktop/Manuscripts%201/Acephalous%20IG-Poetry.docx#_ednref3"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn3;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">[iii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn3;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> Public
coffers</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in; margin: 0in 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-80831812393675042022020-05-21T12:13:00.001-07:002020-05-21T12:30:25.366-07:00 Securing the Linguistic Base<a href="https://www.facebook.com/peter.vakunta/videos/10223212780210449/UzpfSTEzMTE3NjkwNzg6MTAyMjMyMTMwMjc4OTY2NDE/">https://www.facebook.com/peter.vakunta/videos/10223212780210449/UzpfSTEzMTE3NjkwNzg6MTAyMjMyMTMwMjc4OTY2NDE/</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-17100673522183139162020-03-09T12:58:00.000-07:002020-03-09T12:58:06.187-07:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Just
Published: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nation at Risk: A Personal
Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis</i> by Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">
i-Universe, Inc., Bloomington.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2012. 206
pp. Paperback $14.00. ISBN 978-1-4697-9974-2<span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I am obligated to concede that the overall tenor of
my remarks in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nation at Risk: A Personal Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis</i> </b>could
easily be misconstrued as requiem for what we now know as the Republic of
Cameroon. So, let me caution from the outset that this is not the intent of
this book, the sole purpose of which is to shine the searchlight on the
dysfunctional government of Cameroon under President Paul Biya, a minuscule man
and matching mind, endowed with a gargantuan ego. Those who wish to comprehend
the apocalypse toward which the Cameroonian nation is being propelled by the
rogue governance of Mr. Biya will do well to study the mind of the man at the
helm. Mr. Biya enjoys playing at and for power. The diabolism inherent in the
phenomenon of power is something he relishes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, the politics of power is for him, an intellectual challenge. Thus,
manipulation, divisive tactics, cajolery, patronage, double-talk, exploitation
of weaknesses, blackmail, backstabbing, occultism, cronyism, influence
peddling, and the cultivation of apparent detachedness form the armory of this
wily politician nicknamed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L’homme Lion</i>
or Lion Man</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The thought behind the crafting of this book was
nourished by the fervent belief that change is the offspring of </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">audacity and strength of
character necessary to break out of the mold of conventional reasoning, the temerity
to pose intriguing questions that have never been asked before, the
perspicacity to imagine things as they have never been fathomed before , the courage
to challenge the status quo, the rebelliousness needed to express new thoughts
at the risk of being pilloried, and the desire to be free from the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shackles of mental servitude that confines
people in perpetual paranoia of offending people at the helm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I subscribe to the aphorism that a modicum
of measured resistance, controlled defiance, and reasoned disobedience are
recipes for positive change in the community of humans. The fear to offend the
untouchables of our society inhibits our ability to engage in constructive
criticism in which resides the capacity of a society to change and evolve. Our reluctance
to hold our leaders accountable hinders our ability to rise up against abuse of
power, injustice, corruption, and impunity. For thirty years, Cameroonians have
been victims to one man’s Machiavellian dictatorship; they have seen how one
man—Mr. Paul Biya—surrounded by a cabal of tribesmen has hijacked the entire
governmental apparatus with the aid of the military and stayed in power anti-constitutionally.
Like all global dictators, Mr. Biya</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has learned the ropes of despotic governance quickly:
once in power, put people of your tribe in key positions: military generals,
ministers, beef up your personal protection, that way, you cannot be overthrown
by a coup d’état, bribe the military by means of disproportionately elevated
salaries given that soldiers are the mainstay of a dictatorship. This is the
dictatorial blueprint the tenets of which serve as Mr. Biya’s governmental
modus operandi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Armed with a mix of nihilistic contraptions, Mr. Biya has developed a
callously thick skin; he no longer feels accountable to the people of Cameroon.
Elections are rigged with impunity year in year out, opposition party leaders
are cowed into submission through torture and blackmail, the nation’s wealth is
brazenly misappropriated by Mr. Biya, his wife, Chantal Biya, and close circle
of cronies, nicknamed ministers who live in opulence. In contradistinction,
impoverished Cameroonian rank and file are left to their own devices in a land
bereft of good roads, urban transportation system, hospital supplies, home
industries, and schools. The youths are at daggers drawn with a leadership that
has failed to acknowledge their existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The average Cameroonian finds it hard to understand why their president
has mortgaged the nation’s natural resources—crude oil, forest products, land,
and minerals. Little wonder, a critic of Mr. Biya’s regime, George </span>Ayittey,<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> has painted the
following portrait of him: </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">A suave bandit who has reportedly amassed a personal fortune
of more than US$200million and the mansions to go with it, Biya</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has beaten the opposition into complete
submission. Not that he’s worried about elections—he has rigged the term-limit
laws twice to make sure the party doesn’t end any time soon (Ayittey, 2011:15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The
impotency of Cameroon is a reflection of Mr. Biya’s sense of failure as a
statesman. Power has corrupted him absolutely, and all the more disastrously
because he has come to identify Cameroon and her natural resources with his own
personal wealth. Mr. Biya has no compunction about reducing Cameroon to a
wasteland, as long as he survives to preside over a mere name. Totally lacking
in vision and moral rectitude, he is like a mole trapped in a warren of
tunnels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Interestingly,
Mr. Biya has no idea what country he is governing. Beyond the reality of a
fiefdom that has dutifully nursed his insatiable thirst for power and
transformed him into a tin-god, he has only superficial knowledge of Cameroon.Consequently,
he is incapable of grasping what is being conveyed to him about the legitimate
grievances of a marginalized constituent of the fragmented country he
rules—Anglophones</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">— these people who speak with the
resolute voice of self-determination. In Mr. Biya’s mind, these people could
not possibly be part of the Republic of Cameroon that he knows. It is only by
eliminating Anglophones entirely that Cameroon can become the entity that Mr.
Biya recognizes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">When
the French pressured Cameroon’s first postcolonial Head of State, Mr. Ahmadou
Ahidjo, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to grant Mr. Biya occupancy of
the presidential palace at Etoudi in 1982, I admonished that Mr. Biya would
prove more ruthless than his predecessor. There were many who thought then that
I was being overly alarmist. Now, of course, we know what stuff the man is made
of, and the worst I am afraid, is yet to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mr. Biya will be satisfied only with the total annihilation of every
aspect of Cameroon that he cannot mentally grasp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will find peace and solace only in
silencing the voices whose language he cannot comprehend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In sum,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nation
at Risk: A Personal Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis</b></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>is a compass intended to give
Cameroonians a sense of direction as they grope around in search of light at
the end of the proverbial tunnel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It behooves
Cameroonians of all creeds </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">to come to the
realization that people deserve their leaders. Most importantly, they must
rethink the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">sagacious
words of </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Edmund
Burke who once said: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is
for good men to do nothing."<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The didactic value of
this book resides in its comprehensibility to people from all walks of life and
social strata eager to know what makes Cameroon tick. The language is free of
verbal sophistry. Casual readers and professionals with a genuine interest in the
geopolitics of Cameroon would find this book a delight to read. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "calibri";">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nation at Risk</i>, Peter Wuteh Vakunta, a prolific writer in his own
right, has successfully pieced together a compelling narrative of the many
facets of the crisis that has plagued Cameroon during the more than
three-decade presidency of Mr. Paul Biya. Lucid and captivating, this landmark
volume provides a seminal contribution to readers’ appreciation of the social,
political, economic and cultural events that have shaped Cameroon's history
from the time of independence from colonial masters to date. Vakunta’s
penetrating analysis of the lackluster governmental modus operandi of President
Biya is a must read for all Cameroonians and friends of Cameroon who feel
deeply about the future of this often forgotten African nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Peter Ngwafu Ajongwa , </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt;">Associate
Professor of Public Administration and Political Science & Director, MPA
Program at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Albany State University. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /><span style="font-family: "calibri";">
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/a-list-of-famous-edmund-burke-quotes/reference"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.ranker.com/list/a-list-of-famous-edmund-burke-quotes/reference</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-64817637816890301832020-03-09T12:57:00.000-07:002020-03-09T12:57:01.388-07:00<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Task of the Cameroonian Intellectual</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Peter Vakunta, PhD<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">At a time when the Republic of
Cameroon is squirming under the pangs of misgovernment, bastardization of
political power, lethal tribalism, and endemic corruption, it is germane to
pose the following thorny questions: what does it mean to be an intellectual in
Cameroon today? Are Cameroonian intellectuals merely servants of special
interest groups or do they have a greater social responsibility? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I see it, the Cameroonian intellectual has
the choice either to side with the downtrodden and marginalized or with the
powerful. Without fear or favor, the genuine intellectual has to have the
courage to blow the whistle on blatant human rights violations. Most
importantly, the intellectual must have the forum in which to talk back to
authority, the more so because unquestioning subservience to authority in Cameroon
and elsewhere in contemporary society is tantamount to a threat to an active
and sane intellectual life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this
essay, we will endeavor to address these issues as eloquently as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Celebrated literary and
cultural critic, Edward Said, sees the intellectual as a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>scholar whose role it is to speak the truth to
power even at the risk of ostracism, imprisonment or death: “Real intellectuals…are
supposed to risk being burned at the stake, ostracized, or crucified”(7).
Thinking along the same lines, Jacoby (1987) defines the intellectual as “an
incorrigibly independent soul answering to no one” (quoted in Said, 72). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both Said and Jacoby agree that the
intellectual is supposed to be heard from, and in practice ought to be stirring
up debate and if possible controversy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In light of the status quo in
Cameroon under the presidency of Mr. Paul Biya, it behooves the intellectual to
speak the truth, ruffle feathers and rock the boat without caring whose ox is
gored. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must caution that speaking the
truth to authority should not be construed as some sort of Panglossian<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a>
idealism. Speaking the truth to the powers-that-be amounts to carefully
weighing the options, picking and choosing the right one, and then sagaciously
articulating it where it can do the most good and trigger desired change. The
Cameroonian intellectual’s voice may be lonely, it nonetheless, has resonance
because it associates itself the aspirations of a people, the common pursuit of
a shared ideal—the Summum Bonum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Said observes that “the hardest
aspect of being an intellectual is to represent what you profess through your
work and interventions, without hardening into an institution or a kind of
automaton acting at the behest of a system…”(121). He further notes that the
intellectual who claims to write only for himself or herself, or for the sake
of pure learning , or abstract science is not be, and must not be believed. To
my mind, nothing is more reprehensible than the intellectual frame of mind that
induces avoidance, the turning away from a principled position which you know
to be the right one, but which you decide not to take. You shy away from
appearing politically ‘incorrect’; you are scared of seeming untowardly polemical
because someday you hope to earn a big prize, perhaps even a ministerial appointment
or ambassadorship in your home government. In the eyes of a bona fide
intellectual, these habits are corrosive par excellence. If anything can
denature and neutralize an intellectual it is the internalization of such
nefarious habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Personally,
I have encountered these corrupting habits in one of the toughest unresolved
problems plaguing the wellbeing of Cameroonian polity—the Anglophone Problem,
where fear of speaking out about one of the thorniest national questions in
Cameroonian history has hobbled, blinkered and muzzled many who know the truth
and are in a position to serve it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black;">The Cameroon Anglophone Problem manifests itself in the
form of vociferous complaints from English-speaking Cameroonians about the
absence of transparency and accountability in state affairs, in matters
relating to appointments in the civil service, the military, the police force,
the <i>gendarmerie </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">and the<i> </i></span>judiciary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In short, the Anglophone Problem raises questions about
participation in decision-making as well as power-sharing in a country that
prides itself on being Africa in miniature. The Anglophone Problem is the cry
of the disenchanted, the socially ostracized and the oppressed people of
Cameroon. Anglophone Cameroonians incessantly lament over the
ultra-centralization of political power in the hands of a rapacious Francophone
oligarchy based in Yaoundé, the nation’s capital, where the Anglophone with
limited proficiency in the French language is made to go through all kinds of torture
in the hands of supercilious-cum benighted Francophone bureaucrats who look
down on anyone speaking English. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></span></a> Richard Joseph
talks of “the neutralization of Anglophone Cameroon” on page 82 of his seminal
work, Gaullist <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Africa: Cameroon under
Ahmadu Ahidjo</i> (1978).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Despite the
abuse and vilification to which outspoken advocates of self-determination for Anglophone
Cameroon may be subjected, the truth deserves to be spoken, represented by an
unafraid and compassionate intellectual. The Cameroonian intellectual need not
climb a mountain or rooftop in a bid to declaim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The genuine intellectual must speak his or
her mind quietly and clearly where they can be heard. Most importantly, they
should present their views in such a manner as to drum up enough support for an
ongoing process, for instance, the cause of justice for marginalized Anglophone
Cameroonians. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Informed Cameroonians know
that the statutes and constitutional stipulations on official bilingualism in
Cameroon, for instance, is a sham. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Arguing along similar
lines, Ayafor posits: “There has been unrelenting efforts and frustration at
the fact that language policy has not contributed to national integration
through linguistic fusion” (2005, 140). Unlike most other African countries
which give pride of place to indigenous languages, French and English,
languages of predatory imperialists, remain official languages in Cameroon in
stark contradiction of the national constitution which stipulates: ‘The State
shall guarantee the promotion of bilingualism throughout the country. It shall
endeavor to protect and promote national languages (Article 1.3: 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">No intellectual can speak up at all times on every single issue
plaguing national life. But, there is a compelling duty to address the
constituted and authorized powers of one’s own country, which are accountable
to citizenry, especially when those powers are exercised in a manifestly
abusive, arbitrary, and disproportionate manner. For the Cameroonian
intellectual, there is no sitting on the fence; there a reality to be faced,
namely that Cameroon is an extremely diverse nation with over 236 indigenous
languages and cultures, an abundance of natural resources and accomplishments,
but it also harbors a redoubtable set of internal inequities and inequalities that
cannot be ignored, not the least of which are unsound regional development
paradigms and human rights abuses. Cameroon is a signatory to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed in 1948, reaffirmed by
every new member state of the UN. Cameroon is also a signatory to solemn
international conventions on the treatment of workers, women, and children.
None of these documents says anything about less equal ethnic groups, tribes or
peoples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aforementioned instruments stipulate that all
human beings are entitled to the same freedoms. Of course, these rights are
callously violated on a daily basis in Cameroon. Joseph decries human rights
abuses and oppression in Cameroon as follows: “Not only has the political
system been devised to deprive the citizen of any real say in the choice of his
governors, he has also been divested of any control over their
actions…confronted with concerted abuse by agents of state… the people of
Cameroon are legally powerless”(115).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Faced with this state of affairs, the onus rests with the
Cameroonian intellectual to raise moral questions as they involve one’s homeland,
its power, and its mode of interacting with its citizens. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This does not mean opposition for opposition’s
sake. What it means is asking questions, making distinctions, and committing to
memory all those issues that we tend to gloss over in our rush to collective
judgment. Arguing along similar lines, Said maintains: “The intellectual today
ought to be an amateur, someone who considers that to be a thinking and
concerned member of a society one is entitled to raise moral issues at the
heart of even the most technical and professionalized activity as it involves
one’s country…”(82). There has been a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lot of idle talk lately about something called
‘political correctness,’ which Said qualifies as “an insidious phrase applied
to academic humanists, who, it is frequently said, do not think independently
but rather according to norms established by a cabal of leftists…”(77). The
caveat is that blind adherence to this dogma is likely to curtail individual
and collective freedoms. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The corollary
is that the intellectual does not represent an inviolate icon but a personal
vocation with a slew of issues, all of them having to do with a hybrid of
emancipation and civil rights issues.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In a nutshell, intellectualism
in Cameroon should be deemed fundamental to the attainment of knowledge and
basic freedoms. Yet, these constructs acquire meaningful interpretation, not as
abstractions but as experiences actually lived by the individual intellectual.
This is true of intellectuals in Cameroon as it is of intellectuals elsewhere. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, the fundamental task of the Cameroonian
intellectual is explicitly to rationalize local problems, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>universalize national crises, assign greater
scope to the sufferings of his or her people, and last but not least, to
associate those experiences with the suffering of underprivileged global
citizens. This does not imply being an arm-chair critic of the home government
at all times, but rather of thinking of the intellectual vocation as
maintaining a state of constant alertness, of a perpetual willingness to not
let half-truths blind us from seeing reality through a broad prism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Notes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">P</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">erson who views a situation with unwarranted
optimism. [cf. Dr <i>Pangloss </i>, a character in Voltaire's <i>Candide </i>(1759)]</span></div>
</td>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "calibri";"> </span></o:p><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ample light has been shed on this issue in my
book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cry my Beloved Africa</i>(2008)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Works cited <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Ayafor, Isaiah, Munang. “Official Bilingualism in Cameroon: Instrumental of
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Integrative
Policy?” In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Proceedings of the 4th
International Symposium <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">on Bilingualism</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">.Ed. James Cohen et al., Somerville: Cascadilla Press,
2005.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Cameroon, Government. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Constitution of
the Republic of Cameroon</i>. Yaoundé. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Government
printer, 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Jacoby,
Russel. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Last Intellectuals: American
Culture in the Age of Academe</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">New York: Basic Books, 1987.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Joseph,
Richard<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Gaullist Africa: Cameroon under
Ahmadu Ahidjo</i>. Enugu: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1978.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Said,
W. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Edward. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Representations
of the Intellectual</i>. New York: Vintage <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Books, 1994.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Vakunta,
P.W.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Cry my Beloved Africa: Essays on the
Postcolonial Aura </i>in <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Africa: Bamenda: Langaa, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Voltaire. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Candide</i>. Paris: Haitier, 1986.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">About
the Author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "cambria" , "serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Professor
Vakunta teaches at the United States Department of Defense <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Language Institute, POM-CA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-66193650175268190842020-03-09T10:17:00.002-07:002020-03-13T10:39:45.290-07:00 Genesis of the Ambassonian Revolution<br />
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I</span></b><b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">ntroduction</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Genesis of the Ambazanian Revolution</span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> is a walk down
memory lane. It encapsulates the events that preceded the uprising of
English-speaking Cameroonians against the government of President Paul Biya in
2016. This write-up is construed as a requiem for what used to be known as the
Republic of Cameroon. The overriding objective of this article is to shine the
searchlight on the manner in which the dysfunctional government of Paul Biya
constitutes the raison d’être of the unsightly genocide that is ongoing in
Cameroon. Those who wish to comprehend the apocalypse toward which the
Cameroonian nation has been propelled by the rogue government of Mr. Biya would
do well to study the actions of the men at the helm of government in Cameroon.
Paul Biya and his henchmen have toyed with power to the detriment of
nationhood. This is a compelling narrative of the many facets of the unresolved
perennial socio-political problems that have snowballed into what has been
christened the Anglophone Crisis, or the Ambazonia Revolution. This captivating
write-up provides readers with an insight into the social, political, economic
and cultural events that have spurred English-speaking Cameroonians to take up
the cudgels to do battle with their oppressors. It is a riveting account of the
manner in which Paul Biya’s lame-duck government has systematically
underdeveloped Cameroon to the point of no return. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You might have read <i>Animal
Farm,</i> the 1945 classic written by George Orwell. Many in my generation
had to read this book in order to sit for the London General Certificate of
Education (GCE) examination. Over the years I have come to see the relevance of
the message in Orwell’s novel even more as I ponder the ongoing
Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. The plot of the book is centered on the
dissatisfaction of farm animals who felt they’re being mistreated by Farmer
Jones. Led by the pigs, the animals revolted against their oppressive master,
and after their victory, they decided to run the farm themselves on egalitarian
principles. However, the pigs became corrupted by power and a new tyranny was
established. The famous line: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more
equal than others” (92) still rings true to date and reminds me of the fate of
Ambazonians in that eerie farmland code-named <i>La République du Cameroun</i>.
The socio-political status quo in Cameroon at present is a parody of <i>Animal
Farm.</i> The novel is a replica of what has come to be referred to as the
Anglophone Question, in other words, the Anglophone Crisis.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Anglophone Question</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After fighting together to free Cameroon from
French and British hegemony, French-speaking Cameroonians now tend to lord it
over their English-speaking compatriots. There is no gainsaying the fact that
there exists a generation of English-speaking Cameroonians who now find
themselves at a historical crossroads and would like to know where they belong.
Many Anglophone Cameroonians are now asking themselves why they are condemned
to play second fiddle in the land of their birth. The unfair treatment meted
out to English-speaking Cameroonians by arrogant, condescending francophone
compatriots in positions of power is a time bomb that needs to be defused before
it explodes to do irreparable damage. Unfair discrimination sows seeds of
discord regardless of where it is practiced. Prejudice, in all its shades and
colors, is deleterious in all parts of the world. A celebrated American
literary icon, Maya Angelou (1986) once said: “Prejudice is a burden which
confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible.”
(p.5)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The cohabitation between Anglophone and
Francophone Cameroonians has been branded a marriage of convenience by scholars
and students of post-colonial politics in Africa. In fact, the uneasy
co-existence between these two linguistic communities has been likened by some
critics to the attitude of two travelers who met by chance in a roadside
shelter and are merely waiting for the rain to cease before they continue their
separate journeys in different directions. No other metaphor could better
depict the frictional coexistence between Anglophone and Francophone
Cameroonians. More often than not, the perpetrators of this macabre game of
divide and rule are the French-speaking political leaders who take delight in
fishing in troubled waters. They divide in order to conquer to the detriment of
the wretch of earth<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref1"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref1;"><span style="color: #790000;">[i]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref1;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref1;"></span>,
or the proverbial man in the street. In so doing, they stoke the flames of
animosity and whip up sentiments of mutual suspicion and distrust between Anglophones
and Francophones at the expense of nation-building. Many of them have been
heard to make statements intended either to cow Anglophones into submission or
to incite them into open revolution such as the Ambazonian revolution which we
are witnessing today. These self-styled leaders have mounted the podium a
zillion times to chant to the entire world that there is no Anglophone Problem
in Cameroon. This type of hogwash has now come to bite them in the butt.
Nemesis has uncanny ways of getting at its culprits. The plain truth is that
there is a palpable feeling of discontent and dissatisfaction among Anglophones
in Cameroon. Questions that remain unanswered as we trudge through the
Anglophone conundrum are numerous: Are Anglophone Cameroonians enjoying equal
treatment with their Francophone counterparts in the workplace? Are Anglophone
Cameroonians having their fair share of the national cake? Do they feel at home
in Cameroon? These and many more interrogations constitute what has been
labeled the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Cameroon Anglophone Question manifests
itself in the form of complaints from English-speaking Cameroonians about the
absence of transparency and accountability in matters relating to appointments
in the civil service, the military, the police force, the <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref2"><i>gendarmerie </i></a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref2;"></span><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn2"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref2;"><i><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ii]</span></i></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref2;"></span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and the </span></i><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">judiciary. In short, the Anglophone
Problem raises questions about participation in decision-making as well as
power-sharing in the country. This is not a figment of any Anglophone
Cameroon's imagination. It is real, tangible and verifiable. The Anglophone
Question is the cry of an oppressed people, lamenting over the
ultra-centralization of political power in the hands of a rapacious oligarchy
based in Yaoundé, the nation’s capital, where Anglophones with limited
proficiency in the French language are made to go through all kinds of odds in
the hands of cocky Francophone bureaucrats who look down on anyone speaking
English. The Anglophone Crisis stems from the supercilious attitude of
French-speaking Cameroonians who believe that their Anglophones compatriots are
less intelligent, sloppy and worse still, unpatriotic, and therefore, should be
asked to seek refuge in another country! This francophone bigotry compounded by
superciliousness has given rise to the rampant use of derogatory
slurs such as” <i>les Anglophones sont</i> <i>gauches</i>”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref3"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn3"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref3;"><span style="color: #790000;">[iii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref3;"></span>,
“<i>c’est des ennemis dans la maison</i>”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref4"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn4"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref4;"><span style="color: #790000;">[iv]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref4;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref4;"></span>,
“<i>ce sont les biafrais</i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref5"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn5"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref5;"><span style="color: #790000;">[v]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref5;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref5;"></span> and
so on.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The outcome of this anti-Anglophone sentiment
is the Ambazonian War which the world is witnessing today. Francophone
Cameroonians have the misconception that Anglophone Cameroonians are unreliable
and untrustworthy, and thus, undeserving of positions of leadership. This
explains why key ministerial positions are the preserve of French-speaking
Cameroonians. Such ministries include: Defense, Finance & Economy and Territorial
Administration. It should be noted the current Minister of Territorial
Administration, Paul Atanga Ngi, is a rarity in Cameroonian body politic. Mr.
Biya chose Atanga Ngi because he hails from Bamenda, the hotbed of Anglophone
rebellion in Cameroon. Ngi is there to perform Biya’s dirty job. This
notwithstanding, Anglophobia has also led to the appointment of Francophones
with no working knowledge of the English language to ambassadorial positions in
strategic countries such as the United States of America, Great Britain,
Germany, Nigeria and South Africa where they wind up making a complete fool of
themselves linguistically and culturally speaking. The presidency of the
Republic and its ancillary organs are “no-go” zones for most Anglophone Cameroonians.
Although political appointments in this country ought to be done in conformity
with the constitutional “regional balance paradigm”, it is common knowledge
that distrust of English-speaking Cameroonians has made the implementation of
this constitutional stipulation a dead letter over the years. It should be
noted that the relegation of Anglophone Cameroonians to the periphery in
matters pertaining to political appointments has nothing to do with competence.
In fact, the cream of Cameroon’s intelligentsia are Anglophones thanks to the
existence of world-class Anglo-Saxon secondary schools such as Sacred Heart
College in Mankon, St. Joseph’s College in Sasse, Our Lady of Lourdes in
Bamenda, Cameroon Protestant College in Bali and a host of others that have
churned out well-groomed administrators, scientists, technocrats, and more.
These colleges are trail-blazers and cradles of the solid general education
that English-speaking Cameroonians identify with.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sadly enough, the administrative system in
Cameroon does not reward merit. In fact, the requiem for meritocracy was sung
in this country the very day the colonizers left for Europe. Giving reward to
those who deserve it has no place in Cameroon. Corruption and nepotism are the
yardsticks used in the selection of candidates to work in the public service
and other workplaces in this unfortunate geographical expression called<i> Ngola<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref6"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn6"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref6;"><span style="color: #790000;">[vi]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref6;"></span></a></i><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref6;"></span>.
Little wonder, the Berlin-based watchdog, Transparency International, has
declared Cameroon one of the most corrupt nations in the world. In the same
vein, Marilyn Greene (2005)<b>, </b>Press Fellow<b> </b>from
the United States of America, in an interview with Jeff Ngwane Yufenyi in
the November 23, 2005 edition of the <i>Post</i>, pointed out: “Corruption
is a plague affecting everyone from top government officials to poor folks in
the street.”(1) She made the statement in Bamenda as a reaction to the outcry
on corruption in Cameroon at the opening of a two-day seminar on Media
Excellence in Cameroon. Corrupt practices affect the manner in which revenue
from natural resources is used in Cameroon. Statistics indicate that about
sixty percent of Cameroon’s wealth in natural resources is located in
Ambazonia, the English-speaking part of the country. Yet the Francophone region
takes the lion’s share of the national budget intended for building roads,
hospitals, schools and other social amenities.This state of affairs has been
described by some critics as jungle justice. We are where we are today in
Cameroon, saddled with an Elephant in the house because of mutual
misunderstanding between la <i>Répulique du Cameroun</i> and Southern
Cameroons<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref7"> </a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref7;"></span><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn7"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref7;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[vii]</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref7;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Open hostility toward Anglophones reached its
acme many years ago when English-speaking Cameroonian students protesting
against discrimination on the basis of the language of instruction at the
University of Yaoundé went on strike and chanted the “We shall overcome”
rallying song. Francophone members of government with limited proficiency in
the English language accused them of singing the national anthem of a foreign
country, namely Nigeria, and told Anglophones students to go and live in
Nigeria if they were not happy in Cameroon. In other climes, these officials
would have been asked to resign without further ado. Not so in Cameroon where
nonsensical statements such as the aforementioned actually earn accolades. In a
similar vein, the Anglophone clamor for the decentralization of the political
system in Cameroon has been branded by some narrow-minded Francophones as an
Anglophone-<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref8">Bamileke </a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref8;"></span><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn8"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref8;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[viii]</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref8;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> conspiracy to
overthrow the government of President Paul Biya Mbivodo. Political myopia is
one of Cameroon’s cankers. There has been unbridled attempts by French-speaking
Cameroonians to whip up anti-Anglophone sentiments in order to score political
points. The Cameroon GCE Board imbroglio that bred fire and brimstone in the
early 1990s is a case in point. The saga to create a separate examination board
for the General Certificate of Education Examination for Anglophones brought
Cameroon to a virtual standstill because French-speaking Cameroonians could not
fathom how Anglophone underdogs could have the temerity to demand equal
treatment with their overlords. There is no gainsaying the fact that the
colonial linguistic legacy that makes Cameroon a bilingual (English and French)
post-colony is a divisive factor.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Language Question in Cameroon</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The question of language policy in Cameroon
remains a bone of contention. There is no language policy put in place to
prevent the marginalization of linguistic minorities. The interpretation of the
letter and spirit of the law is left to the whims and caprices of
French-speaking judges who are ignorant of how the Anglo-Saxon judicial system
works. It should be noted that one of the events that triggered the outbreak of
the Ambazonian War was a strike led by Anglophone lawyers<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref9"> </a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref9;"></span><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn9"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref9;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ix]</span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref9;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. The disparity between
the Anglo-Saxon Common Law system inherited from Great Britain and Francophone
Napoleonic legal system has resulted in several instances of miscarriage of
justice in Cameroon. Miscarriage of justice was self-evident, for
example, during the infamous Yondo Black trial way back in the 1990s when an
Anglophone witness was deprived of his right to testify on the grounds that the
presiding judge could not understand English. One wonders what has become of
the pool of translators and interpreters who are vegetating at the Presidency
of the Republic and other ministries in Yaoundé.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Cameroon Radio & Television (CRTV) is
another case in point. It has been so “french-fried”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref10"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn10"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref10;"><span style="color: #790000;">[x]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref10;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref10;"></span> that
ninety-five percent of the programs are broadcast only in French to the
detriment of English-speaking Cameroonians. Programs in English obtained from
overseas are rapidly translated into French to serve the needs of the
Francophone majority. The language of training and daily routine in the
military, police and gendarmerie is French. This is the root cause of the
Anglophone crisis in Cameroon. There is no turning a blind eye to it. It
will come back to haunt not just the present generation of Cameroonians but
also posterity. It may even affect Africa as a whole because Cameroon is,
indeed, Africa in miniature. The onus is on Cameroonians to face reality and
seek a lasting solution to this perennial problem. Of all the burning issues
that remain unresolved in Cameroon in the wake of independence, the language
question is the thorniest. The imbroglio has degenerated into the well-known
identity crisis among English-speaking Cameroonians, a crisis which this writer
has captured in a poem titled “Identity Crisis”:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I don’t quite know who I am.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Je ne sais pas au juste qui je suis.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some call me Anglo;</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">D’autres m’appellent Frog.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I still don’t know who I am</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Je ne sais toujours pas qui je suis.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My name c’est Le Bamenda;</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My name is L’Ennemi dans la maison;</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My name c’est le Biafrais;</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mon nom is underclass citizen;</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My name c’est le maladroit.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Taisez-vous! Shut up!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t bother me!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ne m’embêtez pas!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t you know that je suis ici chez moi?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vous ignorez que I belong here?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I shall fight to my dernier souffle</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To forge a real name pour moi-même.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You shall call me Anglofrog!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vous m’appelerez Franglo!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Shut up! Taisez-vous!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t bother me!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ne m’embêtez pas!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Vous ignorez que I belong here?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don’t you know que je suis ici chez moi?</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I shall fight to my last breath</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To forge a real lingo for myself.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I’ll speak Français;</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Je parlerai English</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Together we’ll speak camfranglais;</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">C’est-à-dire qu’ensemble,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We’ll speak le Camerounisme,</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Because ici nous sommes tous chez nous</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A bon entendeur salut!</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He who has ears should hear!<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref11"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn11"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref11;"><span style="color: #790000;">[xi]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref11;"></span></a></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref11;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">More than forty years after accession to
political independence, it is unimaginable that there is no reliable indigenous
language policy in Cameroon. Unlike most other African countries
which give pride of place to their indigenous languages, French and English,
languages of colonial masters, remain the official languages of Cameroon in
stark defiance of the national constitution (1996) which stipulates:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The State shall guarantee the promotion of
bilingualism throughout the country. It shall endeavor to protect and promote
national languages (Article 1.3: 5)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this regard, Cameroon stands out as a sore
finger in the African linguistic landscape. The question that begs asking here
is why Cameroon, which boasts two hundred and forty-seven indigenous languages,
does not have an official indigenous language policy. How come we are still
dressed in borrowed robes many decades after independence? How can we talk of a
Cameroonian national identity without an indigenous language policy? Are
Cameroonian policy-makers oblivious of the fact that language conveys the
culture of a people? Language does not only serve as the cultural repertory and
memory-bank of a people; it is also an embodiment of continuity and change in
the historical consciousness of a community of speakers of the language. Each
native language in Cameroon reflects the concerns, attitudes and aspirations of
its speakers. In other words, our indigenous languages carry with them the
habits, mannerisms, and identity of its native speakers. Don’t Cameroonians
have the right to articulate their own cultural identities? They cannot portray
their cultural identities by speaking in foreign tongues; by bowing to
assimilation. Bjornson (2001) has described assimilation in Africa
as: “The adoption of European tastes, languages, customs, and colonial
government policies by Africans.”(p.19) Arguing along similar lines in his
world acclaimed song <i>Redemption Song</i> (1980), late Bob Marley
urged colonized peoples the world over to “emancipate themselves from mental
slavery.” Language is the soul of a people. Language transports culture. If you
destroy a man’s language, you have destroyed the man. Sadly enough,
Cameroonians relish borrowed cultures to the detriment of their indigenous
cultures. We continue to speak in foreign tongues many years after the
departure of our banana-skin former masters. This is attributable, in the most
part, to government lack of interest in promoting indigenous language
education. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This leaves us with the irksome feeling that
we have not yet liberated ourselves from mental slavery. Is it not true then
that a true slave is not necessarily the one in chains? The acculturation that
has taken deep root in Cameroon has had as a corollary the denigration of our
traditional values. How many times have you heard mind-boggling comments like “<i>this
man na kontry, he no sabe tok gramma”<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref12"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn12"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref12;"><b><span style="color: #790000;">[xii]</span></b></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref12;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref12;"></span> </i>in
reference to someone who strives to promote his mother tongue by speaking it as
often as he can? Confiant et al. (1993) perceive this self-abnegation as an
anomaly and points out that the tragedy of the colonized is the servile manner
in which he tries to “portray himself in the color of elsewhere.”(p.80) Franz Fanon
(1964:15) describes Africans who behave in this manner as people having “black
skin” but wearing “white masks.” To fight cultural imperialism, it is incumbent
on Cameroonians to defuse what Ngugi wa Thiong’o (1986) calls the “cultural
bomb”. He maintains:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[…] But the biggest weapon wielded and
actually daily unleashed by imperialism against that collective defiance is the
cultural bomb. The effect of a cultural bomb is to annihilate a people’s belief
in their names, in their languages, in their environment, in their heritage of
struggle, in their unity, in their capacities and ultimately in
themselves.”(p.3)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Language experts have pointed out that
multilingualism is indispensable in today’s global village. In fact,
monolingualism, they argue, is now an anachronism in the contemporary
multicultural societies in which we live. Bilingualism is an added advantage to
the bilingual individual and to the nation as a whole given that what is
acquired in one language is transferable to the second language. This
is an enriching acquisition. It broadens the mindset of individuals in the
linguistic community, and lubricates social intercourse. Studies have shown
that multilingual individuals exhibit a higher degree of cognitive ability than
monolinguals. Surprisingly, Cameroon’s bilingual education system has proven to
be a nonstarter on account of tribal hostility and bigotry. The linguistic
question is an offshoot of the animosity that separates Anglophones from
Francophones in Cameroon. Revolting disdain for the English language has led
French-speaking Cameroonians to downplay the use of English as an official
language although the constitution of the Republic of Cameroon (1984) is
explicit: “The official languages of the Republic of Cameroon shall be English
and French, both languages having the same status.” (Article 1.3: 5)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It needs to be pointed out that the second
fiddle role that has been assigned to English-speaking Cameroonians by
French-speaking members of government has made the implementation of the
nation’s bilingual education program a stillborn. There seems to be a
deliberate attempt on the part of Francophone Cameroonians to undermine and
eventually destroy the Anglo-Saxon culture in Cameroon. Among their many
grievances, Ambazonians are protesting against linguicide (linguistic genocide)
in Cameroon. It irksome to realize that in some English-speaking towns and
cities in Cameroon such as Buea, Tiko, Kumba, Bamenda, Bali, Nso and Nkambe
one finds billboards with inscriptions written in French only. Tiko,
a town in the South-West province is a case in point. At the entrance into this
town, there is a billboard that reads: “Halte Péage!” [Stop Toll Gate!]How do
the powers-that-be expect the average man who has never been exposed to French
to understand what this inscription means? The case of Tiko is not an isolated
one. There are myriads of such billboards throughout the national territory.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Similar linguistic hotchpotch is found at the
Nsimalen Airport in Yaoundé. At Nsimalen commuters find some stomach-churning
gibberish that reads: “To gather dirtiness is good.” This is a word-for-word
rendition of the French: “ramasser la saleté c’est bien.” The French in this
sentence leaves much to be desired. But it is even more annoying to
realize that there is no English language translation of the notices posted on
the billboards. The creators of this unintelligible stuff know very well that
in bilingual countries the world over, all official communication: billboards,
memos, letterheads, road-signs, application forms, court forms, police
documents, health forms, driver’s licenses and hospital discharge forms are all
written in the official languages of the country in question. Failure to do so
is tantamount to a violation of the constitution, an illegal act punishable by
law in any country where there is rule of law. I have no doubt at all in my
mind that diplomats accredited to Yaoundé find our official language policy and
its implementation utterly ludicrous. More often than not, one finds on
billboards inanities such as: “Not to make dirty is better”. This
incomprehensible inscription is meant to be a translation for: “Ne pas salir
c’est bien.” If the situation were not so grave one would be laughing but the
language question in Cameroon brooks no laughter.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Public authorities, namely mayors,
governors, divisional officers, police officers and gendarmes are expected to
maintain zero tolerance in upholding Cameroon’s bilingual policy. Breaches of
official language policies ought to be punished. It should be noted that there
is a pool of translators and interpreters at the Presidency of the Republic
spending time on trivialities. Why not use them to perform this important task?
These technocrats who were educated with money collected from Cameroonian
taxpayers should be made to serve the nation by translating official documents
aimed at public consumption. Let myopia, bigotry and blind allegiance the
powers-that-be not deter them from valuing the priceless work that translators
and interpreters are capable of doing for the nation.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Personally, I couldn’t care less how much
cosmetic surgery French-speaking Cameroonians want to perform on the language
of Voltaire. As a matter of fact, psycho-sociological factors have made me
totally callous to the mastery of Voltaire’s mother tongue beyond the ability
to ask for water to drink when I am on a visit to the world of <i>La
Francophonie</i>.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_ednref13"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_edn13"><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref13;"><span style="color: #790000;">[xiii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref13;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _ednref13;"></span> If
I have acquired a smattering of French it is because it enables me to put an
additional loaf of bread on the dining table. What I do care very much about is
the need to do justice to every indigenous language community in Cameroon. I
care very much about my own mother tongue, <i>Bamunka</i> that
occupies its own spot in the linguistic landscape of Cameroon. It is the duty
of each and every Cameroonian to prevent the demise of their own indigenous
language, the more so because language abuse has become the hallmark of formal
education in Cameroon. The importance of indigenous languages has been stressed
by scholars in the field. It is noteworthy to point out the views of Nkrumah on
the role of autochtonous languages as an indispensable part of our heritage. In
his speech titled “Ghana is Born,” Nkrumah sees the use of European languages
in Africa as one of the problems compromising the freedom, equality and
independence of African countries. He thus suggested the following blueprint:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It is essential that we do consider seriously
the problem of language in Africa[…] Far more students in our universities are
studying Latin and Greek than studying the languages of Africa. An essential of
independence is that emphasis must be laid on studying the living languages of
Africa for, out of such a study will come simpler methods by which those in one
part of Africa may learn the languages in all other parts.(Quoted in Kwame
Botwe-Asamoah, 2005, p.747)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this discourse, Nkrumah not only saw the
danger in neglecting indigenous African languages, but he also
underscored the significance of the linguistic factor in African unity, the
more so because as Ngugi (1986) points out, ”Every language has a dual makeup;
it is both a mode of communication and a bearer of culture.”(p.13) Asante
(1988) has a point when he posits that “If your God cannot speak your language,
then he is not your God.”(p.4)Years ago, I read some material that lent
credibility to Asante’s charge of linguistic abuse in postcolonial Africa. The
offensive document that I read was the C.A.P examination in Cameroon. The
following is an excerpt culled for Francis Nyamnjoh’s (1996:114) book:</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Each candidat should pick by bilot a sujet.
Each sujet is mark over 40 marks. For each port, candidat shall establish the
working mothed card. Fill in the analysis car in annexe B.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Anyone in his right mind reading this except
should be wondering what on earth is going on in Cameroon. One wonders how
Anglophone learners are expected to succeed in an examination in which the
phraseology of the questions has been tinkered beyond intelligibility. The
unintelligible stuff cited above was meant to serve as an examination that
would determine the fate of thousands of Anglophone students who had spent four
years studying at technical colleges nationwide. Little wonder they fail in
drones. The good thing about this conundrum is that Anglophone parents and
teachers are not willing to allow this sort of linguistic bastardization to go
on forever. This rape of the English language speaks volumes about the
disrespect that Francophone educators and decision-makers have for
English-speaking Cameroonians. When the erstwhile Minister of National
Education, Robert Mbella Mbappe, was confronted by some irate Anglophone
parents and teachers over the tinkered nature of the aforementioned examination
and called for the need for an independent Examination Board for Anglophones,
here is the response he gave to the representatives of TAC and the SONDENGAM
Commission: “You can do whatever you like with your so-called GCE board, none
of my children studies in Cameroon.” (Op cit, 114) It is hard to believe that
these words are coming out of the mouth of a Minister of National Education,
paid with taxpayers' money. In another country, he would have been asked to
step down from his position without ceremony.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Conclusion</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In this article, we have endeavored to show to
what extent the language question has fueled the flames of discontent among
English Speaking Cameroonians and engendered the ongoing fiery Ambazonian War.
It is one of the root causes of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis. It would amount
to living in fool’s paradise to dismiss the legitimate complaints of
English-Speaking Cameroonians as the ranting of a few disgruntled individuals
as some French-speaking Cameroonians have claimed so far. When all is said and
done, Cameroonians must ask themselves the inevitable question: Is there light
at the end of the tunnel as far resolving the Anglophone Crisis is concerned? As
far as this writer is concerned, the response is in the affirmative. What needs
to be done at this juncture given that the smoldering flames of discontent have
metamorphosed into a bush-fire, is to cease acting the ostrich. Paul Biya and
his cohort must take giant steps toward addressing the Anglophone Crisis by all
means necessary. If convening a national conference would serve this purpose,
there is no reason why Cameroonians cannot be given the opportunity to sit down
and talk this problem through. Cameroonians are living in what some
perspicacious observers have termed “pre-independence nostalgia.” In other
words, post-colonial Cameroon has gotten to a point where some Cameroonians
think back wishfully about the days of colonial administration! </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nearly sixty years after gaining political
independence, it is a shame to realize that Cameroon is still tied to the apron
strings of France. By now, Cameroon should be in a position to assert itself
and conceive a framework that would lead her toward lasting peace and
prosperity.Most importantly, Cameroon needs capable leadership. Paul Biya is a
senile lame-duck president and should be overthrown pronto. The people that
govern Cameroonians today are absentee landlords with no vision at all. Under
an enlightened leadership endowed with goodwill, Cameroon should be a
terrestrial paradise.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">All in all, I have argued throughout this
article that the root cause of the ongoing imbroglio in Cameroon stems from the
linguistic and cultural dichotomies that distance Anglophone Cameroonians from
their Francophone compatriots. I further contend that on account of the
Anglophone Question, Cameroon has remained an open sore on the African
continent for far too long. Cameroonians of all walks of life cannot continue
to turn a blind eye to this problematic status quo. In the words of Ngugi
(1986): “They must discover their various tongues to sing the song: ‘A people
united can never be defeated.” (3) In order to salvage Cameroon from the
brink of collapse, Cameroonians at home and in the diaspora must take a number
of realistic measures:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cameroonians have to get
rid of the colonial mentality and assume the posture of architects of their own
destiny. The belief that international goodwill will solve our perennial
problems is a fallacy. We must be prepared to look one another in the face and
say: look, this is where we went wrong; it is time to correct mistakes of the
past and move on toward seeking a long-lasting solution to the Anglophone
Question.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 43.5pt; margin-right: 7.5pt; margin-top: 3.75pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cameroonians must make
sure that their hard-won political independence is not a sham. To put this
differently, political independence must be backed by economic freedom. This is
the point Ngwane (2004) underscores when he wonders: “Of what use is political
freedom without economic emancipation?”(14)Ngwane’s question is not an idle
one. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 3.75pt; margin-left: 43.5pt; margin-right: 7.5pt; margin-top: 3.75pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; tab-stops: list .5in; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Last but not least, the
question of Ambazonian autonomy, in other words, total independence for
the Republic of Ambazonia must be on the table for discussion sooner rather
than later. Time is against Cameroonian stakeholders.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Works cited<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Angelou, Maya. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">I know Why the Caged Bird Sings. </i>New
York: Random House, 1986.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Botwe-Asamoah, Kwame<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Kwame Nkrumah’s Politico- Cultural
Thoughts and Policies: An <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>African-Centered
Paradigm for the African Revolution</i>. New York: Routledge, 2005.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cameroon. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon</i>.
Yaoundé: Government of Cameroon, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>1984.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Confiant, et al. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Eloge de la créolité</i>. Paris: Gallimard, 1993.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Marley, Bob. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Complete Lyrics of Bob Marley: Songs of
Freedom</i>. London: Omnibus, 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Nyamnjoh, Francis. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Cameroon GCE Crisis: A Test of
Anglophone Solidarity</i>. Bamenda: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Langaa, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Orwell, George. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Animal Farm.</i> New York:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Harcourt, 1946.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 7.5pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 7.5pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Wa Thiong’o,
Ngugi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Decolonizing the Mind</i>. London: Heinemann, 1986.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Notes</span></b><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
<br />
</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn1"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref1"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn1;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[i]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn1;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn1;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Reference to Franz
Fanon’s book titled <i>The Wretched of the Earth </i>(1963)</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn2"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref2"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn2;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn2;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn2;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Police force in the
French-speaking region of Cameroon and other francophone countries.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn3"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref3"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn3;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[iii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn3;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn3;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Anglophones are
clumsy</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn4"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref4"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn4;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[iv] </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn4;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn4;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">They are enemies in the
house.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn5"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref5"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn5;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[v]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn5;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn5;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> They are Biafrans</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn6"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref6"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn6;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[vi] </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn6;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn6;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Native name of Cameroon.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn7"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref7"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn7;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[vii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn7;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn7;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Southern
Cameroons is the name given to the southern part of the </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Nations_Mandate"><span style="color: #790000;"> territory</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> under </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Cameroons"><span style="color: #790000;">British
administration</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Africa"><span style="color: #790000;">West Africa</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Since 1961 it has been part of the Republic
of </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon"><span style="color: #790000;">Cameroon</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">, where it makes up
the </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Region_(Cameroon)"><span style="color: #790000;">Northwest Region</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southwest_Region_(Cameroon)"><span style="color: #790000;">Southwest Region</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">. Since 1994, pressure
groups in the territory have sought independence from the Republic of Cameroon,
and the Republic of </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambazonia"><span style="color: #790000;">Ambazonia</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> was declared by the Southern Cameroons
Peoples Organization (SCAPO) on 31 August 2006.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn8"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref8"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn8;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[viii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn8;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn8;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Though francophone,
the Bamileke have more in common, culturally-speaking, with English-speaking
compatriots than they do with French-speaking Cameroonians.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn9"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref9"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn9;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[ix]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn9;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn9;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Common
law lawyers of Anglophone Cameroons were said to have
written an appeal letter to the government over the use of French in courtrooms
in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon. In an effort to
protect the English culture, they began a sit-down strike in all
courtrooms on October 6, 2016. It all began with a call for sit down
strike from all court actions after a meeting of Presidents of the lawyers’
associations from the Northwest and Southwest regions held on the 6<sup>th</sup> of
October 2016. The lawyers blamed the failure of government authorities to
respond to their demands and appeals. This culminated in the decision to launch
protest marches in Bamenda in the Northwest and Buea and Limbe in the
Southwest.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn10"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref10"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn10;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[x] </span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn10;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn10;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Tailored to meet the needs of French-speaking Cameroonians.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn11"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref11"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn11;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[xi]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn11;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn11;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> Poem published in the author’s poetry anthology, <i>African
Time and Pidgin Verses,</i> Duplico, 2001.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn12"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref12"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn12;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[xii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn12;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn12;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> This man is uncivilized; he can’t speak English.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_edn13"></a><a href="https://www.postnewsline.com/2020/03/-genesis-of-the-ambazonian-revolution.html?fbclid=IwAR37RkQiR5jiqMKHqDvypoG86cZBHNDUKPygPrJbC9--x2m92sb7KCqR-2g#_ednref13"><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn13;"><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">[xiii]</span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn13;"></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: _edn13;"></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <i>La Francophonie</i> is an international
organization of French-speaking countries and governments. Formally known as
the <i>Organisation internationale de la Francophonie</i> (OIF) or
the International Organization of La Francophonie, the organisation comprises
fifty-five member states and governments and thirteen observers. The
prerequisite for admission is not the degree of French usage in the member
countries, but a prevalent presence of </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_France"><span style="color: #790000;">French
culture</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> and </span><u><span style="color: #790000; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language"><span style="color: #790000;">French language</span></a></span></u><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> in the member
country’s identity, usually stemming from France’s interaction with other
nations in its </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Georgia",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-53871779996690965792016-08-08T14:09:00.002-07:002016-08-08T14:10:08.814-07:00<h3 class="entry-header">
<span style="font-size: large;">Pogroms in the Rainbow Nation’s Prison-House of Political Dwarfs</span></h3>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><img alt="46724725-coffin" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00d8341c824e53ef01bb092828c8970d img-responsive" height="292" src="https://jimbicentral.typepad.com/.a/6a00d8341c824e53ef01bb092828c8970d-800wi" title="46724725-coffin" width="390" /></span><br />
<br />
<strong><span style="font-size: 14pt;">Peter Wuteh Vakunta, Ph.D.</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Recourse to the term ‘pogrom’ seems a
befitting epithet to describe the wanton killings and verbal vendettas
that characterized the campaign rallies preceding the August 3 local
government elections in the rainbow nation of South Africa. As in the
past, the running of this year’s elections has been tainted by
cut-throat competition, unbridled recourse to racial slurs, ethnocentric
witch-hunting, mudslinging, and outright physical elimination of
political opponents much to the dismay of shocked citizenry nationwide.
Little wonder, the slogan “use the ballot, not the bullet” became the
rallying cry of petrified political militants and observers during the
run-up to the municipal elections. To date, South Africa boasts scores
of political parties, some as thinly populated as the average household
in the country. The major contenders in this year’s polls are the
African National Congress (ANC), Democratic Alliance(DA), Economic
Freedom Fighters(EFF), Inkatha Freedom Party(IFP), United Democratic
Movement(UDM) and National Freedom Party (NFP).Some political
light-weights vying for votes are the African People’s Convention (APC),
Congress of the People (COP), African Christian Democratic Party
(ACDP), and the South African Communist Party among others.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">The mind-boggling anomaly about the
just concluded municipal elections in South Africa is the penchant for
lethal inter-party rivalry among contestants. In a bid to canvass for
votes for the ruling party (ANC), incumbent president, Jacob Zuma has
simply tossed decorum to the dogs and resorted to name-calling and
racial slurs to cast aspersions on political opponents. Speaking to
throngs of party supporters in Polokwane in the Limpopo Province on July
26, 2016, the president singled out his most dreaded political
opponent, Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)
party and called on voters to shun the EFF on the following terms:
“Don’t vote for the boy from Limpopo” (<em>Sowetan</em>, July 26, 2016,
p.12). In yet another tirade, Zuma likened Malema to a liar: “Don’t vote
for the party of the boy from Limpopo who is disrespectful and a liar” (<em>Sowetan</em>,
July 25, p.4). There is consensus among the rank and file in South
Africa that President Zuma’s political rants are preposterous and
unbecoming of a president. Zuma has repeatedly taken pot shots at the DA
party, accusing it of being a race-conscious party. At the same time,
he appoints members of this party as ambassadors. It is this incongruity
and selective amnesia that Thembo Sono alludes to when he posits that
Jacob Zuma’s racist taunts reach “lunatic proportions when he himself
appoints DA white members as ambassadors, like Douglas Gibson, while
denouncing Maimane for consorting with whites”(<em>Sowetan</em>,July 22, 2016.p.20). It should be noted that Mmusi Maimane is leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Writing in the same paper, Richardson
Mzaidume took umbrage at the president’s comments: “It’s very
unfortunate that during his campaign for votes, President Jacob Zuma,
infamously known as the dancing truant, used racism to drive his point
home” (<em>Sowetan</em>, p.12). Zuma has repeatedly referred to the
Democratic Alliance (DA) party as a resurrected National Party (NP), the
party that institutionalized apartheid in South Africa. Mzaidume
qualified Zuma’s remarks as unfortunate and points out that “Zuma is not
just the president of black people but also of the same whites he is
now blasting. The ANC also has a sizeable number of white members” (<em>Sowetan</em>, July 26, 2016, p.12).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">A spate of politically motivated
murders has left militants of all political parties petrified. The
killing of two Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) members by suspects allegedly
wearing ANC t-shirts was reported in the <em>Sowetan</em> (July 27,
2016, p.8). The paper reports that Bongani Skhosana, age 29 was shot
dead while returning from an IFP door-to-door campaign. Skhosana was
wearing the party’s t-shirt when he was shot four times in the stomach
by a man wearing an ANC t-shirt. Another IFP party militant, Siyanda
Mnguni, was shot and killed outside a tavern just hours after Skhosana’s
killing a street away. Mnguni was also wearing an ANC t-shirt. These
gruesome murders have sent chills down the spines of candidates who have
been nominated by their wards.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Nationwide, voters are crippled with
fear of being killed for simply exercising their constitutional right to
vote. Indubitably, this status quo is a slap in the face of the
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) which seems to be a toothless
bull dog. In spite of these ‘pogroms’ jeopardizing the likelihood of
free and fair elections in South Africa, the IEC has remained indolent
and incapable of taking bold steps to put an end to the blatant abuse of
citizens’ right to choose their own leaders. In a desperate plea, to
the IEC, chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party, Blessed Gwala wrote:
“We call on the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) to ensure that
there are consequences for those who don’t adhere to the electoral code
of conduct. When acts of violence or intimidation take place, it’s a
direct challenge to the IEC and police as perpetrators of such violence
are testing the resolve of the IEC to ensure that there are free and
fair elections”(<em>Sowetan</em>, July 27, 2016, p.8).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"> Truth must be told. Given the current
state of affairs in South Africa, the notion of free and fair elections
is a tall order. These acts pose a daunting challenge to the
democratization process in the country. As Mmusi Maimane puts it, “…
elections and the campaigns by political parties are, by their very
essence, a festival of the democratic process of electing leaders” (<em>Sowetan</em>,
July 27, 2016, p.16). Speaking in the same vein, Deputy President,
Cyril Ramaphosa hit the nail on the head when he observed that these
killings defile South Africa’s “… democratic intent as a nation”(<em>Sowetan</em>,
July 25, 2016). He underscored the fact that South Africa’s ethos was
about giving people a choice and this meant zero tolerance for the
status quo where murderers are given the right to choose who should be
elected to govern. The Deputy President made these remarks on his
campaign trail in Tembisa, a township next to Pretoria in Gauteng
Province.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">To date, scores of political party
militants have been murdered. These include militants from the African
National Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party and National Freedom Party. One
of the politically-motivated killings that have shocked the entire
nation is the slaying of Kyanyisile Ngobese Sibisi, the ANC Women’s
League secretary in Kwazulu Natal. She was a candidate in Ward 20 for
the local government elections. The <em>Sowetan</em> reports that
Kyanyisile Ngobese Sibisi was shot eight times with an AK-47 by gunmen
traveling in a car. One of Kyanyisile Ngobese Sibisi’s comrades said
that Kyanyisile Ngobese Sibisi did not want to stand as councilor but
the party had persuaded her to accept the nomination because of her
qualities. Clearly, the murder of this woman is a portent illustration
of the triumph of mediocrity over meritocracy in the rainbow nation of
South Africa. Adumbrating this theme further, Prince Mashele makes the
following suggestion: “The best solution would be for a political party
to adopt meritocracy as a guiding principle in choosing and replacing
candidates for political office. This may seem banal, but strict
adherence to it can save lives and build a better society” (<em>Sowetan</em>, July 25, 2016, p.15).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Though the motives for these murders
are yet to be unraveled, the grapevine has it that those who are killed
will be replaced by murderous aspirants. But the Independent Electoral
Commission has bad news for the hopefuls: “All the councilor candidates
who have been recently killed across the country will still be fielded
to contest their respective wards in the upcoming local government
elections” (<em>Sowetan</em>, July 27, 2016, p.4). In an article titled
“Assassinated Candidates Can Still Be Elected,” Independent Electoral
Commission Chairperson, Kate Bapela, explained: “The law did not allow
the Commission to do anything now in terms of getting the candidates
replaced. There is no time to replace the deceased candidates before the
elections which are scheduled for next week” (p.4). She further shed
light on what will transpire after the August 3 ballot: “We will go with
the candidates who were nominated. Just after the elections we will
have to hold by-elections in all the affected wards” (p.4).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Interestingly, interparty warfare does
not seem to be the lone canker eating into the very fabric of South
Africa’s polity. Intra-party strife is sounding the death knell of the
country’s political superstructure. Political murders continued to haunt
South Africans of all stripes as they headed to the polls on August 3,
2016. In an article published in <em>Sowetan</em> (July 25, 2016),
Prince Mashele opines that “Speculation is rife within communities that
the killings are by ANC members who covet positions held by those
murdered, the logic being that the dead shall be replaced by the
murderers within the party”(p.15).</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">In sum, there is no gainsaying the
fact that South Africans have their job cut out for them. Tata Madiba
Nelson Mandela, who spent twenty-seven years of his life in maximum
security prisons for championing the cause of Black liberation in South
Africa, must be turning several times in his grave right now. The onus
rests with voters who have the yam and the knife. They must exercise
their voting right to oust bad leaders who relish the thought of
stirring the hornet’s nest for personal gain. Such unpatriotic leaders
ought to be replaced with good ones. To do so, voter education is
crucial. South Africans must shun tribal politics; they must steer clear
of political hawks that swoop down on the electorate with hollow
promises on the eve of elections and vanish like the whirlwind in the
dusk of elections. I was visiting friends in South Africa during the
pre-election period and noticed how some ill-informed voters were easily
bought over with ephemeral stuff such as free blankets and cheap food.
Voters must be wise enough to exercise caution in distinguishing voting
for the kind of change that builds and solidifies the rainbow nation
from the brand of tribal politics that has the potential to tear the
nation into shreds by bloating the ego of a rapacious oligarchy resident
in Pretoria.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;"><strong><u>About the author</u></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 14pt;">Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta is Professor
of Global Languages and Cross-Cultural Studies at the University of
Indianapolis, United States of America</span></div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-90917105163777074222014-12-14T15:31:00.002-08:002014-12-14T15:32:03.962-08:00<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Linguistic Apartheid and the Quest for Freedom and Identity in Cameroon<o:p></o:p></span></strong></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAJ850TLmM4/VI4WqHDkWcI/AAAAAAAABHU/EHgJycpJB3Y/s1600/DSC00840.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CAJ850TLmM4/VI4WqHDkWcI/AAAAAAAABHU/EHgJycpJB3Y/s1600/DSC00840.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span></span> </div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD— University of Indianapolis, USA</strong></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>Introduction<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The language question in
Cameroon has become the elephant in the room. Of all the burning issues that
continue to plague Cameroon, the language question is the most problematic.
This paper argues that Cameroon’s Official Bilingual Policy has fallen short of
expectations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We propose a Quadrilingual
Language Policy that would lay the foundation for effective Multilingual Education
that guarantees national unity and integration. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our model incorporates Cameroonian official
languages, indigenous languages and a lingua franca—in our case Cameroon Pidgin
English (Cameroonian Creole). The merit of this MODEL is that it would
normalize Cameroon’s linguistic anomalies. More than five decades after gaining
token independence from imperial powers—France and Great Britain; Cameroon
still does not have an implementable language policy that protects linguistic
minorities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Writing along similar lines,
Ayafor (2005)notes that “language policy and planning suffer a political
hijacking in which language measures are monopolized by political authority and
are used as a form of blindfolding against the civil society and linguistic
principles”(138). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This political bad faith
violates Article 1:3 of Cameroon’s national Constitution which puts French and
English at par. It states: “</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The official languages of the Republic of Cameroon shall be
English and French, both languages having the same status. The State shall
guarantee the promotion of bilingualism throughout the country. It shall
endeavor to protect and promote national languages.” The fundamental flaw of this
constitutional stipulation on official ‘bilingualism’ is that it fails to
provide a clear working definition. It is not clear what level of linguistic
proficiency must be attained by Cameroonian citizens in order to demonstrate
officially sanctioned bilingualism. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Worse still, the constitution glosses over the
dichotomy between individual and state bilingualism. In a linguistically
pluralistic nation such as Cameroon, Bilingualism could mean anything from
fluency in English and French; English and a national language; French and a
national language; Pidgin English and a national <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>language; a national language and another national
language, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, proficiency in
any of these languages could vary from zero to near-perfection. It is in this
perspective that Rosendal (2008) makes the following observation: “The extent
of bilingualism in French and English in Cameroon is hard to estimate.
Bilingual proficiency varies from zero to near perfect at the universities,
depending on how semi-bilingualism, functional bilingualism and passive
bilingualism are defined.” (25) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An
interesting dimension of the discourse pertaining to official bilingualism in
Cameroon is its correlation with biculturalism. Scholars such as (Echu, 2012;
Tadadjeu, 1975; Fonlon, 1963, 1969) have pointed out that biculturalism is an
integral component of official bilingualism. Sadly enough, official bilingualism
in Cameroon has been treated with such levity that it has virtually been
rendered dysfunctional. Jikong (1983) attributes the failed implementation of
Cameroon’s official bilingualism to inadequate language planning. That’s why <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bobda and Tiomajou (1995) observe that “In Cameroon
there is no government position on language policy and planning apart from the
statement that French and English shall be the official languages of the
Republic”(127). <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">To put this differently, Cameroon’s
official bilingual policy has been presented as a mere statement of intent.
According to Soule (2013), “the State is doing quite a lot to ensure the
promotion of bilingualism, as stated in the Constitution, but is doing very
little to ensure practical implementation of bilingualism”(13).There is no
legislation on the practice of bilingualism in Cameroon. Consequently,
Cameroonians who infringe the constitutional stipulation cited above cannot be
held accountable because there is no institution charged with the implementation
of the nation’s bilingual policy. Though strongly articulated in policy
documents, Cameroon’s bilingual policy remains a mere manifesto on paper. In
daily practice, French has dominance over the English language in the spheres of
administration, education and the media. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The position of dominance accorded the
French language is attributable to the absence of an effective language policy
that safeguards the rights of linguistic minorities. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This status quo does not bode well for the
nation’s quest for freedom and identity because as Echu (2004) would have it,
“The Policy of official language bilingualism has created an
Anglophone/Francophone divide in Cameroon that is seen in recent years to
constitute a serious problem for the State” (6). Thus, though conceived to play
the role of a unifying factor, Cameroon’s official language policy embodies germs
of disunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lackluster
implementation of the nation’s language policy has been described by scholars
as a harbinger of national disintegration</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> (Soule, 2013; Echu, 2004; Ayafor, 2005; Tiomajou, 1991;
Bobda and Tiomajou, 1995).</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> Ayafor for instance, argues that “language has become one
major factor among the socio-political grievances of Anglophones’ so-called
‘The Anglophone Problem’ since 1980s” (133).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The ‘Anglophone Problem’ stems from</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> the second fiddle
status assigned to English-speaking Cameroonians by francophone members of
government. This probably explains why in English-speaking towns and cities
such as Bamenda, Buea, and Tiko, to name but a few, there are billboards and
toll-gates with inscriptions written entirely in French. Rosendal (2008) notes
that “bilingual policy implies that official documents and laws are published
in both languages” (29). These examples lend credence to the fact that English
remains a mere afterthought in the minds of government officials in Cameroon. In
Cameroon official documents such as decrees and more are endorsed with an
official seal and their content implemented without official versions in
English. It is not uncommon to find English translations of important
government documents fraught with mindboggling spelling and grammatical errors.
These are pointers to the fact that the implementation of Cameroon’s official
bilingualism has failed woefully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">There is no gainsaying the fact that what prevails in Cameroon today is tantamount
to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">linguicide,</i> a term used throughout
this paper to describe the linguistic genocide that has been given leeway
in Cameroon. Linguistic genocide is observable in all spheres of government
business. In the judicial branch of government, the interpretation of the
letter and spirit of the law is left to the whims and caprices of
French-speaking judges who are ignorant of how the Anglo-Saxon legal system
functions. This has resulted in countless miscarriages of justice.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> For instance, a
travesty of justice was evident during the infamous Yondo Black trial<a href="file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/ASA%202014%20PAPER%20BIS.docx" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">[1]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a>
in the 1990s. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The National Radio and Television Corporation (CRTV) is
another case in point. The preponderance of French news at the CRTV is no
secret to anyone living in Cameroon. During electoral campaigns, little or no
time is allotted to the campaign speeches of Anglophone opposition leaders
desirous of addressing the nation in a bid to sell their political platforms.
The language of instruction and daily routine in Cameroon’s armed forces,
police and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">gendarmerie</i> <a href="file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/ASA%202014%20PAPER%20BIS.docx" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">[2]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a>is
French. Anglophones recruited to serve in these forces have to fight or flee;
in other words, they must learn French or perish. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Such is the crux of the Anglophone Problem in Cameroon. To
eradicate these policy bloopers and save Cameroon from linguistic
disintegration, this </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">paper proposes a Quadrilingual Education System that is linguistically
inclusive. Our model is calqued on previous models proposed by two of
Cameroon’s most acclaimed experts in the field of early childhood second
language acquisition, namely Bernard Fonlon (1963) and Maurice Tadadjeu (1975).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>A Quadrilingual Educational Model in Cameroon<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The Model that we propose is anchored on the acquisition of four (4)
languages: English, French, a National Language and a Lingua Franca (CPE)
before the Cameroonian child gets to University. We argue that a quadrilingual
education model that gives pride of place to the acquisition of both official
and national languages serves as a catalyst for the attainment of national
unity and economic advancement; the more so because language constitutes the
bedrock of nationhood and self-identity. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In our conceptualization of the Quadrilingual Model we have espoused
the<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stance of Tadajeu (1975) who argues
that “if language is to be the primary concern of the primary school then there
is no reason for not including the vernacular languages in the curriculum at
this level”(58). Tadajeu actually echoes Fonlon’s thoughts on this theme: “I
must confess that the expression Cameroon bilingualism is a misnomer. It would
be correct to speak of Cameroon trilingualism because even before the Cameroon
child comes to school to learn English and French, he should have already
learnt his own native tongue” (“A Case for Early Bilingualism…,”p.206). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other scholars in this field have argued for
the inclusion of indigenous languages in the educational system in Cameroon (Mba
and Chiatoh, 2000; Todd, 1983; Chumbo, 1980; Ngijol, 1964; Achimbe, 2006).
Achimbe argues that the language education policy in Cameroon largely ignores
the importance of national languages. As he puts it: “In promoting its
bilingual language education policy, the government has largely disregarded the
multilingual make-up of the country. Indigenous languages play only a secondary
role…” (96). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Similarly, Tadadjeu advocates the inclusion of national languages in the
education system in Cameroon in his trilingual Education Model. The
Quadrilingual Model proposed in this paper envisages the inclusion of a lingua
franca (Cameroon Pidgin English) for several reasons. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>Lingua Franca as Component of the Quadrilingual Model<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The rationale for including CPE in our model is three-fold. First, the
number of households in Cameroon where Pidgin English is the primary language
of communication is on the increase. Just as French and English are mother
tongues for the majority of urban kids today, Pidgin English has supplanted
these hegemonic languages in many homes, especially in instances of mixed
marriages between Francophone and Anglophone Cameroonians. Second, Pidgin
English is the only language spoken by over 85% of Cameroonians. According to
Achimbe (2006), Pidgin English acquired a national character, “representing the
mother tongue of fifty percent of the population” (99). He further notes that
Cameroon Pidgin English (CPE) is fast becoming the mother tongue in some urban communities.
Breton and Fohtung (1991) buttress this point when they refer to Pidgin English
as a language of “wider communication in Cameroon” (12).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mbangwana (1983) lends credence to the
importance of Pidgin English as a lingua franca in Cameroon as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Pidgin English is very crucial as a communication bridge, for it links an
Anglophone to a Francophone. It also links an Anglophone to another Anglophone,
an educated Cameroonian to another educated one, a non-educated Cameroonian to
another non-educated one, and more importantly an educated Cameroonian to a
non-educated one(87).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ayafor (2005) recognizes the importance of lingua franca in language
planning in Cameroon when he underscores “the role of Pidgin English as a
linguistic bridge between the two linguistic communities both in official and
private domains” (128). He further notes that Pidgin English in not only the
most widespread variety of English but it is the only language in Cameroon with
the pragmatic ability to function as a contact language for all linguistic
groups.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The third reason for incorporating Pidgin English into the Quadrilingual Model is
that Pidgin English is no longer just a language of the streets. It has evolved
into a medium of literary expression. Cameroonians are now producing works of
literature in Pidgin English. A few examples would drive home the point:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Majunga Tok: Poems in Pidgin
English</i>(2008), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">CamTok and Other Poems
from the Cradle </i>(2010),</span><span class="italique"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> African Time and Pidgin
Verses(2001)</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN">Stories from Abakwa</span></i><span lang="EN"> (2008), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Je parle camerounais</i>
(2001), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moi taximan</i> (2001)and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Temps de chien</i> (2001).<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">What we would like to do at this juncture is provide a succinct description
of the Quadrilingual Model. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>A Blueprint for Quadrilingualism in Cameroon<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">In our conception of a Quadrilingual Education System in
Cameroon,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we have made a clear
distinction between a first official language(O1), which is the medium of
instruction and the second official language(O2) which is a subject to be
learned at school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the same time, we
have underscored the dichotomy between a national language (indigenous
language) and a lingua franca (</span><span class="oneclick-link"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">hybrid</span></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> <span class="oneclick-link">language</span> <span class="oneclick-link">used</span> <span class="oneclick-link">as</span> <span class="oneclick-link">a</span> <span class="oneclick-link">means</span> <span class="oneclick-link">of</span> <span class="oneclick-link">communication</span> <span class="oneclick-link">among</span>
<span class="oneclick-link">speakers</span> <span class="oneclick-link">of</span> <span class="oneclick-link">other</span> <span class="oneclick-link">languages). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
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<span class="oneclick-link"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The long-term objective of the Quadrilingual Education System would
be to prepare Cameroonian learners linguistically for university studies. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ideal would be to see each Cameroonian
child literate and fluent in their mother tongue or a related regional
language, the two official languages as well as a lingua franca as they work
their way toward university studies. To be labelled fluent, the individual must
be able to function at level 3 of the Inter-Agency Language Roundtable Scale of
Descriptors.</span></span><a href="file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/ASA%202014%20PAPER%20BIS.docx" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">[3]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span class="oneclick-link"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span class="oneclick-link"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><strong>The Quadrilingual Blueprint<o:p></o:p></strong></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>Primary School
Level<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">At the primary school level, the mother tongue should be
the medium of instruction and the first official language (English for
Anglophones and French for Francophones) would be a curricular subject. This
stipulation would apply to both rural and urban schools. A proportionate number
of indigenous language teachers will have to be trained in order to see this
project through.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><strong><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Secondary School
Level<o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">At secondary school level, a gradual switch would be made
to the learner’s first official language (English for Anglophones and French
for Francophones) as a medium of instruction. The mother tongue, lingua franca
and second official language (French for Anglophones and English for
Francophones) should become curricular subjects. This model ensures that
learners are exposed to three languages before they get to High School. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the end of secondary school, the
Cameroonian child should be Quadrilingual in the strict sense of the word as it
is used in this paper.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>High School Level<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">At high school level German, Spanish, and Latin courses
should be replaced by courses in Cameroonian indigenous languages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, some language majors would be
encouraged to participate in indigenous language literacy programs. No specific
modifications are anticipated at this level as regards the teaching of French
and English, except where instructional pedagogies are concerned.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Wingdings; mso-fareast-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">§<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>University Level<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">At university level two things could occur. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-text-indent-alt: -.25in; text-indent: -1in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span>i.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The extension of current indigenous language courses in a
bid to transform them into inter-lingual translation courses covering all
national languages as well as Pidgin English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Program designers and coordinators could conceive incentives that would
encourage a greater number of students to sign up for languages related to their
own mother tongues if there are no courses in their mother tongues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 1in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-text-indent-alt: -.25in; text-indent: -1in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span>ii.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Students with linguistics as minors or majors could be
encouraged to take indigenous language literacy courses that would enrich their
mastery of the phonology, morphology and syntax of indigenous languages.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conclusion<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">This paper has unearthed the root causes of the bilingual
policy abortion in Cameroon. Incontrovertible evidence has been unraveled to
lend credence to the contention that Cameroon’s language policy is a
non-starter and has, therefore, failed to serve as guarantor of national unity
and territorial integration. To fill this lacuna, this paper has proposed a Quadrilingual
Blueprint that is inclusive of Cameroonian national languages and Pidgin
English. The merit of this paper resides in its broadening of the
scope of the national language policy discourse in Cameroon by arguing for the
inclusion of indigenous languages and Pidgin English. Most importantly, it has
made the point that national language policy decisions ought to be made on the
basis of sound pedagogic principles rather than on the whims and caprices of
uninformed political role-players. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><strong>Works cited<o:p></o:p></strong></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Achimbe, Eric A. “Anglophonism and
Francophonism: The Stakes of (official) Language Identity in </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Cameroon.” <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Alizés: Revue angliciste de la réunion</i> 25/26(2006):
7-26.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Amvela, Zé. “English and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">French in
Cameroon: A Study in Language Maintenance and Shift.” In Echu </i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">G.
and Grunstrom, W.A. (eds.) Official Bilingualism and linguistic Communication in
Cameroon.</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>New York: Peter Lang,
1999.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ayafor, Isaiah, Munang. “Official Bilingualism in Cameroon: Instrumental or
Integrative <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Policy?’ <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Proceedings of the 4th International
Symposium on Bilingualism</i>. Ed. James <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Cohen et al., Somerville: Cascadilla Press, 2005.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Bobda,
S. and Tiomajou, D. “Integrating ESL and EFL: The Cameroonian Experience,” In
British <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Council, Senegal. Across<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the West African Divide. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Proceedings of the West African English </i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Language
Conference</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">, Mbour, Senegal, 1995.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Breton, Roland and Fohtung, Bikia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Atlas administratif des langues</i> <i>nationales
du Cameroun</i>. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Yaoundé,
Paris: CERDOTOLA, CREA – ACCT, 1991.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Cameroon,
Government. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Constitution of the Republic
of Cameroon</i>. Yaoundé: Government <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>printer, 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Chumbo,
B.S. “Language and Language Policy in Cameroon,” In Kofele Kale (ed.) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Experiment in</i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Nation-Building:
The Bilingual Cameroon Republic since Reunification</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">. Boulder:
Westview <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Press, 1980.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Chumbo,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>B.S.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Pius Tamanji. “Linguistic Identity across the Borders of Cameroon
Triangle,” In </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Kweshi K. Prah (ed.)
(2000):53-74.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>March 12, 2014 from <a href="https://www.indiana.edu/~iulcwp/pdfs/03-"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">https://www.indiana.edu/~iulcwp/pdfs/03-</span></span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>echu03.pdf<o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p>_______________.
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>February 12, 2014 from <o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span></strong><a href="http://www.inst.at/trans/16Nr/01_5/echu16.htm"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">http://www.inst.at/trans/16Nr/01_5/echu16.htm</span></span></a><strong><span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<strong>_______________.
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>January 13, 2012 from </span><a href="http://www.linguistik-/"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">http://www.linguistik-</span></span></a><span style="background: white; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>online.de/18_04/echu.html<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">_________________. “Influence of Cameroon Pidgin on the Linguistic and
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>of the French
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.indiana.edu/~iulcwp/wp/article/view/03-03"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">https://www.indiana.edu/~iulcwp/wp/article/view/03-03</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Echu, G. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">and Grundstrom, A.W.
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Literatures</span></i><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> . New
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Fonlon, Bernard. “The Linguistic Problem in Cameroon: An Historical
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>(1969):5-50<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">____________________. “A Case for Early Bilingualism,”<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> ABBIA</i> 4 <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>(1963):56-94<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<strong><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></strong></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Fouda,
Mercédès. </span><em><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Je </span></em><span class="spipsurligne"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">parle</span></i></span><em><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span></em><span class="spipsurligne"><i><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">camerounais</span></i></span><em><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">: pour un renouveau francofaune</span></em>.Paris: <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Hirsch, E.D. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cultural Literacy: What
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Jikong, S.Y.
“Official Bilinguallism in Cameroon: A Double-Edged Sword,”<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Alizés:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Revue angliciste de </i></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">la
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Kouega,
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span class="italique">English
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Kuitche, F. Gabriel. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Moi taximan</i>. Paris: L’Harmattan, 2001.</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">_____________________.</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Mbangwana, P.N.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Invigorative and Hermetic Innovations in
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Nyamnjoh
Francis. <i>Stories from Abakwa</i>. Bamenda: Langaa Research and <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Publishing Common Initiative
Group, 200</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">7.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Rosendal, Rove<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Multilingual Cameroon: Policy, Practice,
Problems and Solutions.</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Gothenburg: University of Gothenburg Press, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Soule,
S N. “Official Bilingualism in Cameroon: Farce or Reality? The Need for Texts
to Govern the </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Practice of Official
Bilingualism in Cameroon,” Retrieved on October 2, 2014 from <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=official
bilingualism in cameroon: farce or <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>reality%3f the need for texts to
govern the practice of official bilingualism in cameroon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Tadadjeu,
M. “Language Planning in Cameroon: Toward a Trilingual Education System.” In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Patterns in Language, Culture and Society:
Sub-Saharan Africa</i>. Ohio:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>University
of Ohio Press, 1975.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Tiomjou,
D. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bilingualism in the Mass Media in
Cameroon</i>:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Sociolinguistic Analysis of Cameroon <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Radio
Television</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">. (Unpublished Dissertation)<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">.</i> Yaounde: University of Yaounde.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Todd, Loreto. "Language Options for
Education in a Multilingual Society: Cameroon."In Kennedy, Chris (ed.): <i>Language
Planning and Language Education</i>. London, 1983. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"> </span></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(255, 249, 238); line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Vakunta, P.W. Majunga Tok:
Poems in Pidgin English.</span></i><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">
Bamenda: Langaa <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(255, 249, 238); line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>RPCIG, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(255, 249, 238); line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">_________________________.<span class="italique"> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Time and Pidgin
Verses</i></span>, Pretoria, Duplico, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(255, 249, 238); line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: rgb(255, 249, 238); line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">__________________________. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cam Tok and Other Poems from the Cradle</i>.
Bamenda: Langaa RPCIG, 2010.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Wolf,
H.G. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">English in Cameroon: Contributions
to the Sociology of Language</i>. Berlin: Mouton de <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Grutyer, 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><strong> Notes</strong><br />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/ASA%202014%20PAPER%20BIS.docx" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">[1]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">On April 4, 1990, the Yaounde military tribunal was the focus of
national and international attention as arguments in the trial of Yondo Black
Mandengue and 10 others began. They had been arrested in February of that year
for trying to create a political party. Officially, however, the accused were
charged with holding clandestine meetings, fabricating and distributing tracts
hostile to the Government, rebellion, and insulting the Head of State. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/ASA%202014%20PAPER%20BIS.docx" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">[2]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;">Police officers in francophone countries<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="background: white;">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/user/Desktop/ASA%202014%20PAPER%20BIS.docx" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="color: #993200;">[3]</span></span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span></a>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 9pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The following
ILR descriptions of proficiency levels 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 characterize
spoken-language use. Each higher level implies control of the previous level’s
functions and accuracy. </span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">A skill level is assigned to a person through
an authorized language examination called the Oral Proficiency Interview(OPI). Examiners assign a level on a variety of
performance criteria exemplified in the descriptive statements. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoFootnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-87751802381839565002013-10-27T16:30:00.001-07:002013-11-26T19:39:58.916-08:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-58904488970965104182013-06-03T14:08:00.002-07:002013-06-03T14:08:32.593-07:00
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KgNGcOX_dWs/Ua0Ew7aYgDI/AAAAAAAAAHE/sJ7JNMuXitg/s1600/DSC00146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KgNGcOX_dWs/Ua0Ew7aYgDI/AAAAAAAAAHE/sJ7JNMuXitg/s320/DSC00146.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></b> </div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Task of the Cameroonian Intellectual<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 20pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Peter Vakunta, PhD<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">At a time when the Republic of
Cameroon is squirming under the pangs of misgovernment, bastardization of
political power, lethal tribalism, and endemic corruption, it is germane to
pose the following thorny questions: what does it mean to be an intellectual in
Cameroon today? Are Cameroonian intellectuals merely servants of special
interest groups or do they have a greater social responsibility? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I see it, the Cameroonian intellectual has
the choice either to side with the downtrodden and marginalized or with the
powerful. Without fear or favor, the genuine intellectual has to have the
courage to blow the whistle on blatant human rights violations. Most
importantly, the intellectual must have the forum in which to talk back to
authority, the more so because unquestioning subservience to authority in Cameroon
and elsewhere in contemporary society is tantamount to a threat to an active
and sane intellectual life. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this
essay, we will endeavor to address these issues as eloquently as possible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Celebrated literary and
cultural critic, Edward Said, sees the intellectual as a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>scholar whose role it is to speak the truth to
power even at the risk of ostracism, imprisonment or death: “Real intellectuals…are
supposed to risk being burned at the stake, ostracized, or crucified”(7).
Thinking along the same lines, Jacoby (1987) defines the intellectual as “an
incorrigibly independent soul answering to no one” (quoted in Said, 72). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Both Said and Jacoby agree that the
intellectual is supposed to be heard from, and in practice ought to be stirring
up debate and if possible controversy.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In light of the status quo in
Cameroon under the presidency of Mr. Paul Biya, it behooves the intellectual to
speak the truth, ruffle feathers and rock the boat without caring whose ox is
gored. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must caution that speaking the
truth to authority should not be construed as some sort of Panglossian<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a>
idealism. Speaking the truth to the powers-that-be amounts to carefully
weighing the options, picking and choosing the right one, and then sagaciously
articulating it where it can do the most good and trigger desired change. The
Cameroonian intellectual’s voice may be lonely, it nonetheless, has resonance
because it associates itself the aspirations of a people, the common pursuit of
a shared ideal—the Summum Bonum.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Said observes that “the hardest
aspect of being an intellectual is to represent what you profess through your
work and interventions, without hardening into an institution or a kind of
automaton acting at the behest of a system…”(121). He further notes that the
intellectual who claims to write only for himself or herself, or for the sake
of pure learning , or abstract science is not be, and must not be believed. To
my mind, nothing is more reprehensible than the intellectual frame of mind that
induces avoidance, the turning away from a principled position which you know
to be the right one, but which you decide not to take. You shy away from
appearing politically ‘incorrect’; you are scared of seeming untowardly polemical
because someday you hope to earn a big prize, perhaps even a ministerial appointment
or ambassadorship in your home government. In the eyes of a bona fide
intellectual, these habits are corrosive par excellence. If anything can
denature and neutralize an intellectual it is the internalization of such
nefarious habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt 2.25pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Personally,
I have encountered these corrupting habits in one of the toughest unresolved
problems plaguing the wellbeing of Cameroonian polity—the Anglophone Problem,
where fear of speaking out about one of the thorniest national questions in
Cameroonian history has hobbled, blinkered and muzzled many who know the truth
and are in a position to serve it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black;">The Cameroon Anglophone Problem manifests itself in the
form of vociferous complaints from English-speaking Cameroonians about the
absence of transparency and accountability in state affairs, in matters
relating to appointments in the civil service, the military, the police force,
the <i>gendarmerie </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">and the<i> </i></span>judiciary.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In short, the Anglophone Problem raises questions about
participation in decision-making as well as power-sharing in a country that
prides itself on being Africa in miniature. The Anglophone Problem is the cry
of the disenchanted, the socially ostracized and the oppressed people of
Cameroon. Anglophone Cameroonians incessantly lament over the
ultra-centralization of political power in the hands of a rapacious Francophone
oligarchy based in Yaoundé, the nation’s capital, where the Anglophone with
limited proficiency in the French language is made to go through all kinds of torture
in the hands of supercilious-cum benighted Francophone bureaucrats who look
down on anyone speaking English. <a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif";"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></span></a> Richard Joseph
talks of “the neutralization of Anglophone Cameroon” on page 82 of his seminal
work, Gaullist <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Africa: Cameroon under
Ahmadu Ahidjo</i> (1978).<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Despite the
abuse and vilification to which outspoken advocates of self-determination for Anglophone
Cameroon may be subjected, the truth deserves to be spoken, represented by an
unafraid and compassionate intellectual. The Cameroonian intellectual need not
climb a mountain or rooftop in a bid to declaim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The genuine intellectual must speak his or
her mind quietly and clearly where they can be heard. Most importantly, they
should present their views in such a manner as to drum up enough support for an
ongoing process, for instance, the cause of justice for marginalized Anglophone
Cameroonians. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Informed Cameroonians know
that the statutes and constitutional stipulations on official bilingualism in
Cameroon, for instance, is a sham. </span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Arguing along similar
lines, Ayafor posits: “There has been unrelenting efforts and frustration at
the fact that language policy has not contributed to national integration
through linguistic fusion” (2005, 140). Unlike most other African countries
which give pride of place to indigenous languages, French and English,
languages of predatory imperialists, remain official languages in Cameroon in
stark contradiction of the national constitution which stipulates: ‘The State
shall guarantee the promotion of bilingualism throughout the country. It shall
endeavor to protect and promote national languages (Article 1.3: 5).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">No intellectual can speak up at all times on every single issue
plaguing national life. But, there is a compelling duty to address the
constituted and authorized powers of one’s own country, which are accountable
to citizenry, especially when those powers are exercised in a manifestly
abusive, arbitrary, and disproportionate manner. For the Cameroonian
intellectual, there is no sitting on the fence; there a reality to be faced,
namely that Cameroon is an extremely diverse nation with over 236 indigenous
languages and cultures, an abundance of natural resources and accomplishments,
but it also harbors a redoubtable set of internal inequities and inequalities that
cannot be ignored, not the least of which are unsound regional development
paradigms and human rights abuses. Cameroon is a signatory to the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, adopted and proclaimed in 1948, reaffirmed by
every new member state of the UN. Cameroon is also a signatory to solemn
international conventions on the treatment of workers, women, and children.
None of these documents says anything about less equal ethnic groups, tribes or
peoples.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The aforementioned instruments stipulate that all
human beings are entitled to the same freedoms. Of course, these rights are
callously violated on a daily basis in Cameroon. Joseph decries human rights
abuses and oppression in Cameroon as follows: “Not only has the political
system been devised to deprive the citizen of any real say in the choice of his
governors, he has also been divested of any control over their
actions…confronted with concerted abuse by agents of state… the people of
Cameroon are legally powerless”(115).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Faced with this state of affairs, the onus rests with the
Cameroonian intellectual to raise moral questions as they involve one’s homeland,
its power, and its mode of interacting with its citizens. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This does not mean opposition for opposition’s
sake. What it means is asking questions, making distinctions, and committing to
memory all those issues that we tend to gloss over in our rush to collective
judgment. Arguing along similar lines, Said maintains: “The intellectual today
ought to be an amateur, someone who considers that to be a thinking and
concerned member of a society one is entitled to raise moral issues at the
heart of even the most technical and professionalized activity as it involves
one’s country…”(82). There has been a <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>lot of idle talk lately about something called
‘political correctness,’ which Said qualifies as “an insidious phrase applied
to academic humanists, who, it is frequently said, do not think independently
but rather according to norms established by a cabal of leftists…”(77). The
caveat is that blind adherence to this dogma is likely to curtail individual
and collective freedoms. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The corollary
is that the intellectual does not represent an inviolate icon but a personal
vocation with a slew of issues, all of them having to do with a hybrid of
emancipation and civil rights issues.</span><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">In a nutshell, intellectualism
in Cameroon should be deemed fundamental to the attainment of knowledge and
basic freedoms. Yet, these constructs acquire meaningful interpretation, not as
abstractions but as experiences actually lived by the individual intellectual.
This is true of intellectuals in Cameroon as it is of intellectuals elsewhere. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thus, the fundamental task of the Cameroonian
intellectual is explicitly to rationalize local problems, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>universalize national crises, assign greater
scope to the sufferings of his or her people, and last but not least, to
associate those experiences with the suffering of underprivileged global
citizens. This does not imply being an arm-chair critic of the home government
at all times, but rather of thinking of the intellectual vocation as
maintaining a state of constant alertness, of a perpetual willingness to not
let half-truths blind us from seeing reality through a broad prism.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Notes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> <span style="color: black; mso-themecolor: text1;">P</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-themecolor: text1;">erson who views a situation with unwarranted
optimism. [cf. Dr <i>Pangloss </i>, a character in Voltaire's <i>Candide </i>(1759)]</span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Works cited <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Ayafor, Isaiah, Munang. “Official Bilingualism in Cameroon: Instrumental of
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Integrative
Policy?” In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Proceedings of the 4th
International Symposium <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">on Bilingualism</span></i><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">.Ed. James Cohen et al., Somerville: Cascadilla Press,
2005.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Cameroon, Government. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Constitution of
the Republic of Cameroon</i>. Yaoundé. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Government
printer, 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Jacoby,
Russel. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Last Intellectuals: American
Culture in the Age of Academe</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">New York: Basic Books, 1987.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Joseph,
Richard<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. Gaullist Africa: Cameroon under
Ahmadu Ahidjo</i>. Enugu: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Fourth Dimension Publishers, 1978.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Said,
W. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Edward. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Representations
of the Intellectual</i>. New York: Vintage <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Books, 1994.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Vakunta,
P.W.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> Cry my Beloved Africa: Essays on the
Postcolonial Aura </i>in <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">Africa: Bamenda: Langaa, 2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">Voltaire. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Candide</i>. Paris: Haitier, 1986.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 200%;">About
the Author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Professor
Vakunta teaches at the United States Department of Defense <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Language Institute, POM-CA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-1222470661705581692013-03-15T13:00:00.001-07:002013-03-15T13:00:41.083-07:00Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-88606511644489700692013-03-15T12:33:00.002-07:002013-03-15T12:33:46.958-07:00
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;"></span></b> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OnSfTkG6a0Y/UUN3UqWBqeI/AAAAAAAAAGY/egJznnNbzmg/s1600/DSC00148+(1).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OnSfTkG6a0Y/UUN3UqWBqeI/AAAAAAAAAGY/egJznnNbzmg/s320/DSC00148+(1).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;"></span></b> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;"></span></b> </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;">Dissent as a
Higher Form of Patriotism: Reflections<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;"><o:p><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;">Peter Wuteh
Vakunta, Ph.D<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Many
of us who pontificate about the dissonance between dissent and patriotism
remain oblivious to the fact that these are actually very loaded terms. It is a
slippery route to walk when we obstinately cling to the antiquated idea that
any intellectual or scholar who takes his/her country to task is ipso facto
placing himself/herself in the camp of the unpatriotic. One of the most
celebrated<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>intellectuals of our time,
Edward Said, argues in his seminal book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Representations
of the Intellectual </i>(1994) that “One of the shabbiest of all intellectual
gambits is to pontificate about abuses in someone else’s society and to excuse
exactly the same practices in one’s own” (cited in Chomsky, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Common Good</i>, 102). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Closer home, Cameroonian scholar Bernard
Nsokika Fonlon (cf. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Genuine
Intellectuals: Academic and Social Responsibilities of Universities</i>, 2009)
subscribes to Said’s worldview. Arguing along the same lines, celebrated
Nigerian novelist, Chinua Achebe <span style="color: black;">contends that one
common feature of underdeveloped nations is the tendency among the ruling elite
to live in a world of make-believe with regard to matters pertaining to
patriotism. He remains adamant that "spurious patriotism is one of the
hallmarks of Nigeria's privileged classes whose generally unearned positions of
sudden power and wealth must seem unreal even to themselves"(35). Achebe's
definition of a true ‘patriot’ is one "who will always demand the highest
standards of his country and accept nothing but the best from his people. He
will be outspoken in condemnation of their shortcomings without giving way to
superiority, despair or cynicism." (35)<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In the second quarter of the nineteenth century a Russian
aristocrat named Peter Chaadayev was portrayed as insane by order of Czar
Nicholas I for publicly describing his country as a backward nation caught up
in a narrow and boastful nationalism. Chaadayev subsequently defended his
patriotism—and the views which had incurred the Czar’s displeasure—in an essay
entitled “Apology of a Madman” (1837). “Believe me,” he wrote in the concluding
paragraph of the essay,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I cherish my country more than any of you… But it is also true
that the patriotic feeling which animates me is not exactly the same as the one
whose shouts have upset my quiet existence… I have not learned to love my
country with my eyes closed, my head bowed, and my mouth shut. I think that one
can be useful to one’s country only if one sees it clearly; I believe that the
age of blind love has passed, and that nowadays one owes one’s country the truth.
I confess that I do not feel that smug patriotism, that lazy patriotism, which
manages to make everything beautiful, which falls asleep on its illusions and
with which unfortunately many of our good souls are afflicted today (cited in Giffin
and Smith, 1971, p.316)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In
the essay that follows, I deplore what I regard as a growing tendency among
Cameroonians to equate expression of dissent with lack of patriotism.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="color: black;">I insist that to
criticize one’s country is in itself an act of patriotism. To criticize </span>Cameroon
<span style="color: black;">is to do it a service and pay it a compliment. It is
service because it may spur the country’s leaders to perform better than it is
doing; it is a compliment because it evidences a belief that the country can do
better. In a genuine democracy, dissent is an act of faith; it creates room for
checks and balances. Like medication, the test of its efficacy does not reside
in its taste but in its effects. The test of its value is not how it makes
people feel at the moment, but how it inspires them to act together in the long
term.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Criticism may embarrass the folks
at the helm in Cameroon in the short run but it will strengthen their hands in
the long run; it may destroy a consensus on policy while expressing a consensus
of values. There lies the ambivalence of the term ‘patriotism.’ Woodrow Wilson
once said that there was “such a thing as being too proud to fight;”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> there is also, or ought to
be, such a thing as being too confident to conform, too strong to be silent in
the face of apparent error. In sum, criticism is more than a right; it is an
act of patriotism, a higher form of patriotism that may elude the feeble-minded.
Criticism connotes a higher degree of patriotism than the familiar rituals of
national adulation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I may shock some of my readers by insisting that it is not a
pejorative term but a tribute to say that Cameroon is worthy of criticism.
Nonetheless, if I am charged with lack of patriotism on account of my conviction,
I would respond with words borrowed from Albert Camus: “No, I didn’t love my country,
if pointing out what is unjust in what we love amounts to not loving, if
insisting that what we love should measure up to the finest image we have of
her amounts to not loving…”(1974).The root causes of Cameroon’s pitiful
performance on the international scene are not a mystery to any keen observer
of the political circus that the country has become— tribalism, corruption,
impunity, myopia, mutual distrust, constitutional rape and blind allegiance to
inept leaders. My question is not whether or not Cameroon can overcome all the
fatalities associated with arrogance of incumbency. My concern is the modus
operandi needed for this beautiful but misdirected country to get out of the
quagmire.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="color: black;">I believe that Cameroon
has all it takes to be a great nation; I also believe that it is falling short
of its priced ideals—good governance, accountability to citizens, fair play and
sustainable development. Gradually but unmistakably, we are succumbing to the
epidemic of power abuse perpetrated by the Beti<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></a> oligarchy in Yaoundé. In
doing so Cameroon is not living up to her capacity and promises to its
citizenry. The measure of the shortcomings of our leaders is the measure of the
patriot’s duty of dissent. The intellectual has a critical role to play in
blowing the whistle on the failings of our leaders.</span> The role of the
intellectual in enlightening the rank and file and setting records straight for
posterity is crucial. In doing so, the genuine intellectual must strive to
distinguish himself/herself from "okrika" or "kokobioko"
intellectuals.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></span></a>
In the work referenced above, Said examines the ever-changing role of the bona
fide intellectual in the task of nation-building. He suggests a recasting of
the intellectual's vision to resist the lures of power and money. Said
concludes that it is the role of the intellectual to be the voice of integrity
and courage, able to speak out against those in power.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
The discharge of this vital duty is seriously handicapped
by an unworthy tendency to fear serious criticism of our government. In the
abstract we celebrate the freedom of expression that was won at a great price
in the 1990s following the launch of John Fru Ndi’s Social Democratic Front
(SDF) party.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></span></a>
Prior to this era, intolerance of dissent had been a well noted feature of
Cameroonian national character. Joseph Richard (1978) attributes this state of
affairs to the reign of terror for which the Ahmadou Ahidjo regime was
notorious. Cameroon lived with a hangover of this period until the Ntarikon
watershed event.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[v]</span></span></span></span></span></a>
Profound changes have occurred in the wake of the Ahidjo regime yet it remains
to be proven whether or not the recognition of the right of dissent has gained
substantially in practice as well as in theory. I believe that our school
system can be indicted in this respect. It seems to me that our universities
are churning out products that are lacking in rigorous independent thinking.
Universities have a special obligation to train potential public servants in
strategic thinking and equip them with the wherewithal to dissociate loyalty to
an organization from blind allegiance to personality cult. It is an extremely
important service for the universities to perform because the most valuable
public servant, like the true patriot, is one who gives a higher loyalty to his
country’s ideals than to its current policy and who, therefore, is willing to
criticize as well as to comply.</div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
In a nutshell, suffice it to say that we must nurse
the germ of dissent that lies in gestation in all of us. We must come to terms
with the fact that patriotism can be interpreted in two ways. If it is
interpreted to mean unquestioning support of existing policies, its effects can
only be pernicious and undemocratic, serving to accentuate differences rather
than reconcile them. If, on the other hand, patriotism is understood to mean
love for one’s country that pushes one to <span style="color: black;">always
demand the highest standards of one’s country, and to accept nothing but the
best from one’s leaders, then and only then does it become a lasting basis of
national strength. Or as Mark Twain would have it, “It were not best that we
should all think alike; it is difference of opinion that makes horse-races” (Giffin
and Smith, 320). Like Chaadayev, I do not believe in smug patriotism; I abhor
that lazy patriotism which manages to make everything seem beautiful— patriotism
that falls asleep on its illusions. I was raised to question authority and will
continue to hold leaders of the country that I love the
most—Cameroon—accountable. I have done so in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Nation at Risk: A Personal Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis (2012)</i>
and will continue to do so until the powers-that-be in Cameroon regain their
sanity.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;">About the
author<o:p></o:p></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: black;">Dr. Peter Wuteh Vakunta is a professor at the
United States Department of Defense Language Institute in California, USA.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">Notes<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div style="mso-element: endnote-list;">
<br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Cited in</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Against the
Grain</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">,
p.317)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref2" name="_edn2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ethnic group of the incumbent<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Hollow intellectuals<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div style="line-height: 150%;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">The <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Social Democratic (SDF) Front</span> is the main opposition party in
Cameroon. It is led by Ni John Fru Ndi and receives significant support from
the Anglophone regions of the country. The SDF was launched in Bamenda on May
26, 1990 in opposition to the ruling <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cameroon_People%27s_Democratic_Movement" title="Cameroon People's Democratic Movement"><span style="color: blue;">Cameroon People's Democratic
Movement</span></a>. Following the launching rally, six people were killed by security
forces.</span></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref5" name="_edn5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[v]</span></span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
This author has fictionalized this episode in his book of poems titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ntarikon: Poetry for the downtrodden </i>(2008).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Works
cited<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Achebe, Chinua. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">An Image of Africa and the Trouble with Nigeria</i>. London: Penguin
Books, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">1983.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Camus, Albert. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Resistance, Rebellion and Death </i>(Translated from<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the French by Justin <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Obrien).New York:
Vintage Books, 1974.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Chomsky, Noam<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">. The Common Good</i>. Tuscon: Odonian Press, 1996.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Giffin C. Frederick and Ronald D. Smith.
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Against the Grainst: An Anthology of
Dissent, Past <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">and
Present.</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> New York: New American Library, 19701.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Joseph, Richard. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Gaullist Africa: Cameroon under Ahmadou Ahidjo</i>. Enugu: Fourth
Dimension<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Publishers, 1978.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Said, W. Edward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Representations
of the Intellectual.</i> New York: Pantheon Books, 1994.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Vakunta, W. Peter W. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">A Nation at Risk: A Personal Narrative of
the Cameroonian Crisis.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Bloomington:
I-Universe, 2012.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">_______________. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ntarikon: Poetry for the Downtrodden.</i> Bloomington: AuthorHouse,
2008.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p> </o:p></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-64436506316452388642012-10-28T03:18:00.002-07:002012-10-28T03:25:35.551-07:00<br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_j_-eoTcoDw/UI0GFLBULsI/AAAAAAAAAEk/txgp34KUwZ4/s1600/DSC00570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_j_-eoTcoDw/UI0GFLBULsI/AAAAAAAAAEk/txgp34KUwZ4/s320/DSC00570.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Unraveling the Leadership Conundrum in Cameroon</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">By Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<strong>Introduction</strong><br />
<br />
Nations rise and fall due to a myriad of factors. The Republic of Cameroon is one such nation. The trouble with Cameroon is simply a failure of leadership. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the Cameroonian character. There is nothing amiss with the land or climate of Cameroon. The Cameroonian problem is the unwillingness of its leaders to rise to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership. A constructivist approach to leadership might induce favorable change but in order to effect lasting change, it must be followed up with a well-conceived agenda of reform which Cameroon stands in dire need of today. We all know that before he fell from grace to grass, Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni had developed a reputation for ruthlessness sufficient to transform Cameroon from one of deontological demagoguery to one of civil service buoyancy. Inoni’s case is patent proof that the character of one man can trigger quantum change in a people’s social behavior. <br />
<br />
We know alas that Inoni’s transformation was short-lived because his modus operandi was outlandish to the unwritten law of the majority in Cameroon. In short, Inoni’s new agenda was perceived as a storm in the ethnocentric tea-pot that Cameroon has become in this day and time. Let me be clear on this: I am not prescribing ruthlessness as a qualification for leadership in Cameroon. Far from it! What I am saying is that Cameroon is not beyond repair. What I am hinting at is that Cameroon can change today if it discovers leaders who have the will, the ability, and foresight to effect change. Such people are rare in our country were corruption and reckless abandon have become leadership qualifications. However, it is the duty of enlightened Cameroonians to lead the way to the discovery of those rare gems in a land bereft of exemplary leaders. If this conscious effort is not made, good leaders, like good money, will be driven out by the bad.<br />
<br />
Whenever two or three Cameroonians meet, their conversation soon slights into a litany of reasons why Cameroon is not functioning. The dysfunction of Cameroon has become the subject of daily small talk, in taxis, on bendskins, in off-licenses, in matango clubs and circuits. Interestingly, there is a great danger in consigning a matter of life-and-death to the daily routine of small talk. No one can do much about bad weather; we have to accept and live with it. But national bad habits are a different matter altogether. We resign ourselves to them at our peril. <br />
<br />
<strong>Dire need for enlightened leadership.</strong><br />
<br />
The intent of this article is to challenge resignation to bad governance. It calls on all thoughtful, patriotic Cameroonians to rise up and reject those habits that tend to cripple our aspiration and inhibit our opportunity to become a modern and attractive addition to the community of civilized nations. Cameroon has many thoughtful men and women of substance, a large pool of talented people. Why is it then that all these patriots make so little impact on the life of our nation? Why is it that corruption, gross inequities, shameless vulgarity, greed, and ineptitude seem so much stronger than the good influences at work in our country? Why does the good in us seem so frail in the face of forces of evil?<br />
I believe that Cameroon is a nation favored by Providence.<br />
<br />
Take a look at the extraordinary talents of our sportsmen, musicians and scholars. Look at the vast human and natural resources with which Cameroon is endowed. All these bestow on our country a role in Africa and the world at large. The malaise that should incessantly haunt our leaders (but does not) is that they have betrayed irretrievably Cameroon’s destiny in the community of nations. The countless billions that a generous Providence has poured into our national coffers in the last three decades (1982-2012) would have been enough to launch Cameroon into the middle rank of developed nations and transformed the lives of our needy compatriots.<br />
<br />
But what have our leaders done with the money? Stolen and salted it away in private bank accounts overseas! They have squandered it on uncontrolled importation of all kinds of useless consumer merchandize from all the nooks and crannies of the globe. They have embezzled it through inflated contracts to an increasing army of party loyalists who have neither the desire nor the competence to execute the contracts. A cursory look at all the unfinished buildings in the city of Yaoundé tells the whole story. Our national wealth has been wasted on bloated salaries awarded to the military whose primordial function is to prop up a moribund regime headed by a lame duck president.<br />
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Our billions have been squandered on escalating salaries of a grossly overstaffed and unproductive public service. Billions more have been wasted on salaries paid to ghost workers. At the time of writing this piece, information divulged by the Minister of Finance and Economy indicates that an operation code-named “Mboma” has uncovered 45000 ghost workers on Cameroon’s civil service payroll whose salaries cost the government a whopping $10 million a month! Compatriots, we have lost the twentieth century and are now bent on ensuring that our children also lose the twenty-first? Many mantras account for this state of affairs but the mother of them all is the word tribalism.<br />
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<strong>The Canker of tribalism in Cameroon</strong><br />
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Nothing in Cameroon’s politics captures her problem of aborted national integration more graphically than the mixed fortune of the word tribe. The lexeme tribe has been construed at one time as a boon, and rejected at another as a bane, and finally smuggled in through the backdoor as an accomplice. In Cameroon the word tribe has an ominous odor. Someday, when we shall have outgrown the canker of the politics of ethnicity, the import of what I am saying in this article will sit well in the minds of Cameroonians.<br />
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In spite of our protestations, there is plenty of work for tribe. Our threatening gestures against it have been premature, half-hearted or plain ineffective. A Cameroonian child seeking admission into a state school, a student wishing to enter a university, a college graduate seeking employment in the public service, a businessman or woman tendering for a contract, a citizen applying for a national ID or passport, or seeking access to any of the avenues controlled by the state, will sooner or later fill out a form which requires him to confess his tribe (or less crudely and more hypocritically, his region of origin). <br />
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Intelligent and profitable discourse on tribalism is often thwarted by hollowness. What is tribalism, you may ask. I will spare you the convoluted academic definition of the term and rather refer you to a trite one provided by Chinua Achebe in his seminal work titled An Image of Africa (1983). According to Achebe, tribalism could be defined as “discrimination against a citizen because of his place of birth” (27). Everyone agrees that there are manifestations of tribal culture which we cannot deplore, for example, ethnic foods, peculiar dress codes, music, folklore and more. <br />
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As a matter of fact, many of these cultural attributes are positive and desirable because they confer richness to our national identity. But to debar anyone from working anywhere in his country or from participating in the social, political and economic life of the community in which he chooses to live on the basis of tribe is another matter altogether. Our constitution outlaws it. Yet prejudice against outsiders or strangers is an attitude one finds everywhere in Cameroon. The graffi people are seen as anathema in the South-West region of Cameroon. They are given all sorts of derogatory names including come no go! Not long ago, the Bamileke were targeted for expulsion from Yaoundé because the Beti bought line, hook and sinker into this whole fallacy of Anglo-Bami conspiracy to overthrow one of theirs, Mr. Paul Biya.<br />
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As I write this piece, cries against undesirable Bamis are still echoing throughout the Center Region. But no nation can tolerate such prejudice without undermining its own progress and development. We not able to make laws that purge people’s minds of narrow-mindedness and prejudice but the State and all its institutions must not give leeway or condone unethical practices. Recently, I was writing a letter of recommendation for a student seeking admission into the California State University at Monterey Bay. The form had the following direction in bold print to recommenders: “Please make no statement which would indicate the applicant’s race, creed or national origin.” Proponents of the Cameroonian system, if system it is, may point out that the United States of America is 200 years old while Cameroon is only 50.<br />
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This notwithstanding, we must never lose sight of our declared ambition to become an advanced nation in the shortest possible time.One common feature of underdeveloped nations is the tendency among the ruling elite to live in a world of make-believe. This is what celebrated Nigerian fiction writer, Chinua Achebe calls “the cult mentality” (29) that leads backward people to believe that someday, without any effort on their part, a fairy ship will dock in their harbor loaded with all the treasures they have always dreamed of possessing. <br />
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Listen to Cameroon’s political leaders talk about their country as a great nation. Cameroon is not a great country by any stretch of the imagination! It is one of the most disorderly nations in the world; it is one of the most corrupt, inefficient and insensitive nations on the globe! It is dirty, callous, dishonest and vulgar. If wishes were horses Cameroonians would ride but there is no free ride in life. I believe that hopeless as we are today, Cameroon is not totally unredeemable. Our situation is critical but not hopeless.But we should not lose sight of the fact that every single day of neglect brings Cameroon closer to the brink of collapse. <br />
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The task of pulling Cameroon back and turning it around is clearly beyond the contrivance of the mediocre leadership that we have today. It calls for greatness and selflessness, two qualities that our leaders sorely lack. Cameroonians are what they are today only because their leaders are not what they ought to be. Cameroon has been less than fortunate in its leadership. The young Republic emerging out of a dual colonial contraption found Ahmadou Ahidjo, a benighted semi-illiterate as their first president. The rest is history. Today, we have a sanctimonious megalomaniacal hypocrite, Paul Biya, as Head of State. A basic element of this mishap is the conspicuous absence of intellectual rigor in the political thought of our leaders—a tendency to pious materialistic woolliness and self-centered pedestrianism.<br />
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<strong>Loose talk about patriotism</strong><br />
<br />
The often adumbrated Cameroonian ideal is patriotism. So important is it to us that it stands inscribed on our coat-of-arms and so sacred that the blood of many nationalistic Cameroonians was shed (1955-1971) to uphold it.But come to think for it, how valid is this notion of patriotism as an absolute good? Quite clearly it is malarkey . Patriotism can only be as good as the purpose for which it is desired. Even more so, it is can only be as good as the leaders of our nation lead by example. The generality of Cameroonian leaders, including the president himself, are French citizens first and then Cameroonian as an appendage. Therefore, we cannot extol the virtues of patriotism without first satisfying ourselves that the end to which it is directed is unquestionable.<br />
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The point I am making is that ‘virtues’ like ‘patriotism’ and ‘unity’ are not absolute but conditional on their satisfaction of other purposes. As Achebe points out, “Their social validity depends on the willingness or the ability of citizens to ask the searching question” (33) . This calls for some degree of mental rigor, a quality for which Cameroonians, unfortunately, are not famous. In spite of much loose talk about patriotism from those at the helm there is no doubt that Cameroonians are among the world’s most unpatriotic people. This is not because Cameroonians are particularly evil. In fact, they are not. It is rather because patriotism, being part of an unwritten social contract between citizens and the State, cannot exist where the State or its leaders renege on the agreement (Achebe, 1983). It is indisputable that the ideal of patriotism is unattainable in a country as badly run as Cameroon is today.<br />
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Spurious patriotism is the stock in trade of Cameroon’s privileged classes whose unearned positions of power and opulence seem unreal to compatriots. Let’s be mindful of the fact that patriotism is an emotion of love and trust directed by a critical intelligence.A genuine patriot demands from the leaders of his or her country the highest standard of comportment and allegiance to national ideals and will accept nothing short of the best from these people. S/he will be outspoken in the denunciation of governmental shortcomings without sinking to smug superiority or cynicism. That’s how I perceive the concept of patriotism.<br />
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One sterling act of selfless leadership at the top, such as a firm refusal to be corrupt or tolerate corruption will not only send positive signals to the citizenry but would also arouse sensations of wellbeing and national pride throughout the nation. An example of such selfless leadership occurred in Tanzania in the 1960s when news broke out that President Julius Nyerere after paying his children’s school fees had begged his bank to give him a few months’ grace on the repayment of the mortgage on his personal house (Achebe, 1983). Upon hearing this news, Tanzanians walked around six feet tall. They did not need someone to give them lectures on patriotism. When talk about patriotism is spurious, the end result is the reign of mediocrity and mutual distrust nationwide.<br />
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<strong>Tribalism as requiem for meritocracy</strong><br />
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Favoritism based on tribal affiliations is damaging to social morality on account of the harm it does to meritocracy. There is no better summation of what prevails in Cameroon than Father Eugene’s lament. He points out that in Cameroon “peace and stability are seriously threatened by the cancer of tribalism that has eaten deep into every fabric of the society” (Effort Camerounais, 2012). He further notes that the obsessive feeling of loyalty to one’s own tribe, party or group to the exclusion of others continues to fuel disdain, scorn, mutual suspicion and distrust among Cameroonians and is fast destroying the fragile strings that hold the nation together. He grieves over the fact that Cameroon is a country where tribalism has been raised to the pedestal of a national culture that pervades every discourse, controls the way people think and defines what they oppose or support.<br />
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The most aggrieved is the nation itself which has to contain the legitimate grievances of wronged citizens; accommodate the incompetence of a godfathered citizen and endure a generalized decline in morale and subversion of efficiency engendered by an erratic system. Social justice is not only a matter of morality but also an issue of systemic efficacy and effectiveness. Cameroon is a country where it would be difficult to point to one key position that is held by the most competent technocrat the nation can find. I stand to be corrected! Post-independence Cameroon has displayed a compulsive tendency to opt for mediocrity and compromise, to pick second or even third rate individuals to handle our national affairs. And the end result? We have always failed and will always fail until we muster the guts to put merit back on the national agenda. There is nowhere better to locate the failings of our government than in our national soccer team, the Indomitable Lions, where indiscipline, mismanagement and impunity have reduced them to the status of tamable lions! The nation’s public utilities constitute another sore point.<br />
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<strong>Collapse of Cameroon’s Public Utilities</strong><br />
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Look at our collapsing public utilities. Our national airport in Douala is an eyesore. The building is in a state of decrepitude. Sections of it are in total darkness, the light bulbs having blown out ages ago. The water system is dysfunctional. There is no toilet tissue anywhere in sight. Yet, the Head of State and his gang of Ali Baba thieves spend the nation’s revenue from the sale of oil, forest products and more on personal investments abroad! The Yaoundé-Nsimalen International airport is in a worse state of disrepair.Where is our SOTUC, the urban transportation system that catered to the needs of the indigent? Ponder the state of our roads, the so-called axes lourds. Are they roads or alleys of death? Mr. Dakole Daïssala killed it and went scot free! Obtaining potable drinking water in Cameroon could be likened to the myth of Sisyphus. <br />
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The distribution of water nationwide is the responsibility of the National Water Company of Cameroon (SNEC). Despite its efforts to provide water to the population, the supply remains grossly lower than demand. The coverage of big urban centers needs major improvement. Rampant corruption, myopia and plain imbecility have hindered the search for long-term solutions. Many of us who travel only to Europe and America may be deluded into believing that our inability to provide and maintain basic infrastructures and utilities is a common feature of African countries. This not true at all!I spent five years of my life working for the South African government in Pretoria. To my utter astonishment there was no power failure throughout my entire sojourn in South Africa. The OR Tambo International Airport and others are world-class airports.<br />
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During my recent stint in Burkina Faso, a country often touted as the poorest country in the world, I noticed to my dismay that there was no power failure throughout my stay in the capital city Ouagadougou; the taps in the hotel room ran all the time with the kind of pressure one sees in Western hotels. My hotel room was modest but impeccably clean.On the contrary, I am still recovering from the diseases I contracted after spending a few nights in hotels in Douala, Yaoundé, Mbanga and Bamenda during my recent visit to Cameroon in July of 2012.<br />
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In the preceding paragraph, I have attempted to drive home the point that the denial of merit in the national system could have wide-ranging ramifications that impact the manner in which goods and services are doled out to citizens. Worse still, it may even occasion the total collapse of the public utilities system as is the case in Cameroon today. We refuse to see what we do not want to see. That is the reason why we have not brought about the changes which our country must undergo in a bid to avoid being written off by the international community. The rank and file that our leaders take for granted are not amused; they do not enjoy their perpetual state of servitude and indigence. We often say mindlessly that politics is a game of numbers. So it is. Power belongs to the masses because they have the numbers. When they can no longer bear the brunt of governmental ineptitude, they will rebel. When they rebel they will do it knowing that God loves them otherwise He would not have made them that many! The file and rank hardly tolerates indiscipline from their leaders.<br />
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<strong>Unbridled Indiscipline and Impunity Nationwide</strong><br />
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Indiscipline and the attitude of Je m’en foutisme pervade our national and personal lives so thoroughly that one may be justified in qualifying the condition as the second identity of Cameroonians. We see and hear of impunity and misconduct in our homes, on school premises, in the public service, in the private sector, in top government positions, at the Presidency of the Republic, in the judicial branch of government and at the National Assembly. The malady takes so many different forms that a comprehensive definition would be hard to come by. Achebe defines indiscipline as “a failure or refusal to submit to one’s desires and actions to the restraints of orderly social conduct in recognition of the rights and desires of others”(45).<br />
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The motive for indiscipline is self-interest. The outcome is the abandonment of self-restraint in pursuit of the goal. The risk of indiscipline degenerating into lawlessness is particularly acute when large numbers of people are involved as is the case in Cameroon. This tends to engender a cult of misconduct, a situation where people who nurse a sense of fair-play are derided and ostracized. Cameroon is a country with an eccentric minority who can restrain themselves and an overwhelming majority who just cannot. This leaves the minority of reasonable Cameroonian citizens feeling like a bunch of sane people trapped in a dangerously rowdy mental asylum. This conundrum is compounded by corrupt practices.<br />
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<strong>The Bane of Corruption</strong><br />
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It would be impossible to quantify the amount of money that is squandered in Cameroon everyday through corrupt practices, underhand deals and white collar thievery. Corruption has grown enormously in variety, magnitude and brazenness since the ascension of Mr. Paul Biya to the helm in Cameroon because the Beti oligarchy in Yaounde perpetrates budgetary abuse and political patronage. Mr. Biya condones corruption because his tribesmen are the biggest looters. Cameroonians have grown accustomed to his silly interrogation où sont les preuves?This is the way the president dismisses cases of wanton looting of the national coffers brought to his attention. Public funds are routinely doled out to political allies and personal friends in the guise of contracts to execute public works of one kind or another. <br />
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Generally, these political contractors have no expertise whatsoever or even the intention to perform the job. They simply sell the contracts to third parties and pocket the commissions running into millions of CFC francs. Although Cameroon is arguably one of the most corrupt nations in the world, it is only lately that Mr. Biya has begun to make top-ranking public officers to face the music for official corruption. The imprisonment of Marafa Hamidou Yaya, Jean-Marie Atangana Mebara, Ephraim Inoni and Yves Fostso thanks to Mr. Biya’s Operation Sparrow Hawk have set tongues wagging as many Cameroonians question the frankness of the president’s on-going war on corruption and embezzlement of public funds when he cannot lead by example. Had Biya started his 30+ rule in Cameroon this way, we wouldn’t be where we are today saddled with elephantine debts to service year in year out.<br />
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From fairly timid manifestations in 1982, corruption has grown bold and ravenous. Cameroonian civil servants have become more reckless and blatant in their pursuit of ill-gotten wealth through corrupt practices. We are living witnesses to the failure of the executive branch of government to stem the tide of rampant corruption that now threatens to paralyze our nation in every sinew and limb. There is no question that it will take some time to correct this irksome situation that has built up over the years, assuming we want to correct it. But to initiate change the President of the Republic must take and be seen to take a decisive first step toward ridding his administration of all persons on whom the slightest whistle of corruption and scandal has been blown. If he would summon the courage to do that then it dawn on him that he ought to be Cameroon’s leader; not just its president. More importantly, Biya must learn to deal fairly with all citizens, including the troublesome Anglophones.<br />
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<strong>The Anglophone Problem</strong><br />
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The cohabitation between Anglophone and Francophone Cameroonians has been likened to a marriage of convenience by scholars and students of post-colonial Africa. Existential antagonism between the two linguistic communities breeds prejudice and confuses Cameroonians. American literary guru, Maya Angelou once said: “Prejudice is a burden which confuses the past, threatens the future, and renders the present inaccessible” (5). This is so true of the Cameroonian conundrum. Some critics have compared the frictional co-habitation between the two distinct linguistic communities in Cameroon to the attitude of two travelers who met by chance in a roadside shelter and are merely waiting for the rain to cease before they continue their separate journeys in different directions.<br />
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This metaphor captures the mutual distrust and animosity that distance Anglophone Cameroonians from their Francophone compatriots. All too often, the perpetrators of this malicious game of divide and conquer are the political leaders on the French-speaking side of the national divide who take delight in fishing in troubled waters. Francophone politicians love to stoke the flames of animosity, thereby whipping up sentiments of mutual hatred on both sides of the Mungo River at the expense of nation-building. Many Francophones make statements intended either to cow Anglophones into submission or incite them into open rebellion. The Anglophone Question is not the figment of anyone’s imagination. It is the outcry of a disenchanted people condemned to live on the periphery in their land of birth.<br />
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The truth of the matter is that there is a palpable feeling of malaise amongst Anglophones in Cameroon. Questions that remain unanswered by the powers-that-be include: are Anglophone Cameroonians enjoying equal treatment with their Francophone counterparts in the workplace? Are Anglophone Cameroonians having their fair share of the national cake? Do they feel at home in Cameroon? Are they an endangered linguistic minority or not? These and more unanswered questions constitute what has been code-named the Cameroon Anglophone Problem. <br />
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This problem manifests itself in the form of complaints from English-speaking Cameroonians about the absence of transparency and accountability with regard to appointments in the civil service, the military, police force, gendarmerie and the judiciary. The Anglophone Problem raises questions about the participation of Anglophone Cameroonians in the decision-making and power-sharing processes in the country. Thus,the Anglophone Problem is the cry of an oppressed people, lamenting over the ultra-centralization of political power in the hands of a rapacious oligarchy based in Yaoundé where Anglophones with limited proficiency in the French language are made to go through all kinds of humiliation in the hands of cocky Francophone bureaucrats who look down on anyone speaking English.<br />
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<strong>Conclusion</strong> <br />
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The Cameroonian crisis is real and gargantuan. It is not a figment of my imagination. Our inaction or cynical action constitute a serious betrayal of our education, of our historic mission and of succeeding generations who will have no future unless we do battle now to preserve it for them. To be educated is, after all, to develop a questioning habit, to have an inquisitive mind, to be skeptical of cheap promises and to use past experience sagaciously. Sadly enough, we have been wrong on every count. The only thing that we learn from experience is that we learn nothing from experience. Cameroonians have turned out to be like a bunch of stage clowns who bump their heads into the same obtrusive obstacles again and again because they are too dumb to remember what hit them only a short while ago.<br />
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I have the conviction that if Cameroon is to avoid catastrophes of possibly greater dimensions, we must take a hard and unsentimental look at the crucial question of leadership and the manner in which political power is wielded in our country. There is no doubt in my mind that the continued dominance of the Cameroonian political scene by the same people is of negative value, not because they are old men now, but because their political agenda which constitutes the mainspring of political action has been defective at the best of times.<br />
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A bigger tragedy looms over us: the crop of newcomers that emerged in Cameroonian politics in the 1990s has chosen to become revivalists of a bankrupt and totally unacceptable tradition of political maneuvering, tribal expediency and consummate selfishness. Rather than inaugurate a new philosophy and feasible political modus operandi, they have chosen to foster a diseased tradition among the masses of their followers by a soft-headed and patently dishonest laudation of a bunch of tired old men who see the Cameroonian Presidency as a pension and gratuity for certain services they believe they rendered Cameroonians twenty-two years ago by forming opposition political parties.<br />
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The electorate must find the courage to tell them that in as much as they have a right to dream their dreams of the past, they must not be allowed to block our vision of the present, or mortgage our children’s chances of success in the twenty-first century.Bad as our country is, I do not believe that our condition is totally bereft of hope. Our citizens are not too dimwitted to appreciate the explosive potentialities of the ethno-centric politics practiced in Cameroon. There are simply too many political actors on stage in Cameroon right now whose prime purpose in grabbing power seems to be no higher than a desire to free themselves from every form of civilized restraint in their private and public lives.<br />
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At the same time, there is in today’s Cameroonian social consciousness a powerful impulse toward a new politics of fair play. The impulse may be held temporarily in check by the dead grip of the patriarchs of an obsolescent dispensation but the moment Cameroonians can free their minds from the unwholesome spell, a powerful groundswell which is gathering even now as I write will launch forth a generation of politicians able to respond appropriately to the challenges of our critical times.<br />
<br />
<strong>Notes</strong><br />
<br />
iii.Derogatory expression used by indigenes of the Southwest region to describe settlers from the Northwest Region of Cameroon<br />
iv.Chinua, Achebe. An Image of Africa and the Trouble with Nigeria. Penguin Books, 1983.<br />
v.Rebellion broke out in the French Cameroon in 1955. The rebellion was championed by the Union des Populations du Cameroun (UPC), and it ultimately degenerated into a bloody guerrilla war that spilled over into the postcolonial era. Instead of implementing the provisions of the trusteeship system in Cameroon, France preferred to treat Cameroon like an ordinary overseas colony. Article 76(b) of the United Nations (UN) Charter set forth the political objectives of the trusteeship system, which was to promote the evolution of trust territories like Cameroon and Togo toward self-government and independence. France ignored this procedure and proceeded to integrate Cameroon into the French Union in line with its colonial policy of creating a "Greater France."<br />
vi.The UPC was formed on April 10, 1948, and under the leadership of its secretary general, Reuben Um Nyobe, the party adopted a radical nationalist pro¬gram that envisaged immediate independence and reunification with the British Cameroons. Such a program aroused the wrath of the French because it ran contrary to their postwar integrationist colonial policy. The UPC further infuriated the French by es¬tablishing ties with the Rassemblement Démocratique Africain, an affiliate of the French Communist Party. The stage for a tug-of-war between France and the UPC was set. The UPC was therefore subjected to systematic harassment and discrimination ranging from the arrest and intimidation of its leaders to the obstruction of its members from winning any election organized in the territory(Nicodemus Fru Awasom, <a href="http://patachu.com/cameroon-rebellion-independence-unification-1960-1961">http://patachu.com/cameroon-rebellion-independence-unification-1960-1961</a>)<br />
vii.Irish-American word for “nonsense”<br />
viii.Chinua, Achebe. An Image of Africa and The Trouble with Nigeria. Penguin Books, 1983.<br />
ix. Eugene, Song. “Cameroon: A Cancer-of–Tribalism-Threatened Nation” retrieved on October 23, 2012 from <a href="http://www.leffortcamerounais.com/2012/09/cameroon-a-cancer-of-tribalism-threatened-nation-.html">http://www.leffortcamerounais.com/2012/09/cameroon-a-cancer-of-tribalism-threatened-nation-.html</a><br />
x. Société de Transports Urbains du Cameroun or Cameroon Urban Transport Authority.<br />
xi.Reference to the following supposedly tarred roads: Douala-Yaoundé, Yaoundé-Bafoussam, Belabo-Bertoua, Edéa-Kribi, Mbalmayo-Ebolowa, Eséka-Boumnyebel-Ngok-Mapubi, Ebolowa-Nkoemvon, Ebolowa-Akak, Messassi-Nkometou, Sangmélima, Maroua-Yagoua, Maltam-Kousseri, Maroua-Kaelé-Guidiguis-Yagoua, Maroua-Mokolo-Mora, Banganté-Bafang, Bamougoum-Dschang, Kumba-Mamfé, Yaoundé-Ayos, Yaoundé-Mfou, Ezezang-Sa’a, Emana-Monatélé, etc. <br />
xii.Dakole Daïssala (born April 15, 1943) is a Cameroonian politician and the President of the Movement for the Defense of the Republic (MDR), a political party based in Cameroon's Far North Region. He served in the government of Cameroon as Minister of State for Posts and Telecommunications from 1992 to 1997; subsequently he was a Deputy in the National Assembly from 1997 to 2002 and then Minister of Transport from 2004 to 2007. Before then, he had served as Deputy Director-General of the Cameroon Urban Transport Authority (Société de Transports Urbains du Cameroun, SOTUC) from 1973 to 1975, and then as Director-General of SOTUC from 1975 until 1984. <br />
xiii.The Myth of Sisyphus (translated from the French Le mythe de Sisyphe,1942) is a story written by French novelist, Albert Camus, in which the gods had condemned Sisyphus to ceaselessly rolling a rock to the top of a mountain, whence the stone would fall back of its own weight. They had thought with some reason that there is no more dreadful punishment than futile and hopeless labor.<br />
xiv.Couldn’t give a damn attitude<br />
Chinua, Achebe. An Image of Africa and the Trouble with Nigeria. Penguin Books, xv.1983.<br />
xvi. Where is the proof?<br />
xvii.Angelou, Maya. All God’s Children Need Traveling ShoesUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-36083141994984374262012-09-05T10:49:00.002-07:002012-09-05T10:50:28.939-07:00 BEFITTING EPITAPH FOR FON DOH GAH GWANYIN<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Befitting
Epitaph for Fon Doh Gah Gwanyin of Balikumbat Village in Ngoketunjia Division
in the Republic of Cameroon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">By
Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Here is a collection of reactions from <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Cameroonians</i> at home and in the diaspora
in the wake of the death of Fon Doh Gah Gwanyin, Mayor, CPDM Section President
and Member of Parliament. These pieces were culled from<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> </i></b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Eye Newspaper,</i> social networks, including </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cameroon
Online,</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">Camnews</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">,
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Campolitics</i>, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CameroonPostline,<span style="color: black; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> CCDHR
Press Release</span></span></i><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">,<b><i> </i></b></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">AFOA-KOM</span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">
and more. I have the conviction that this outburst of emotions would constitute
interesting material for the inscription of a befitting epitaph on the
tombstone of the fallen Fon of Balikumbat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">By<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> The Eye Newspaper<o:p></o:p></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">HRH Fon Doh Gah Gwanyin of
Balikumbat is no more. According to information filtering into our office from
Balikumbat, he collapsed and died this morning, September 1, 2012. Famously
known as the lion man, the Fon of Balikumbat it should be noted was Member of
Parliament, Mayor and he died as a member of the Central Committee of the CPDM.His
political career witnessed a dramatic twist when he was cited in the alleged
killing of SDF District Chairman John Kohtem. Fon Doh was arrested, detained
and was later granted bail. His immunity was lifted for him to appear in Court.
In 2007, he contested and won CPDM primaries to go back to Parliament but his
candidature was rejected by the Central Committee of the CPDM. In the early
days of multi-party politics in Cameroon, Fon Doh was the lone CPDM
Parliamentarian from the North West Region. At a point in time, he assumed the
positions of MP and Mayor at the same time. Sources in Balikumbat hinted that
following the Balikumbat tradition, the corps of a fon is never kept and thus
he would be buried today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Joseph Nsom <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">No information has filtered on the
cause of his death as close sources said he was active a few days earlier. On
the throne since 1977, Fon Doh is closely associated with the heights and
depths of the fondom. He takes credit as the former Mayor of Balikumbat Council
and CPDM Member of Parliament of the Balikumbat Special constituency who served
two terms up to 2007.In effect, His Majesty, Fon Doh Gah Gwanyin III has been
on virtually every lip on the political map of Balikumbat Special Constituency.
CPDM party comrades say he is remembered for a visionary approach to politics,
defending the ruling party against all odds. Sons and daughters of Balikumbat
fondom also say that he was the political bedrock of the area which became
known as one of the bastions of the CPDM in the North West Region. CPDM Section
President for Balikumbat II, Bayin Ignatius says that as the Mayor, His
Majesty, Fon Doh Gah Gwanyin initiated road projects that linked Balikumbat
Sub-division to neighboring Awing village in Santa Sub-division. He is also
associated with the creation of the Balikumbat Development Organization (BADO)
which emerges as the unifying instrument for Balikumbat sons and daughters.
Balikumbat is one of the 13 villages of Ngoketungia Division. Earlier on August
28, 2012, another illustrious son of the North West Region, Rt. Chief Justice
Nyo’Wakai died. He is remembered as one of the finest icons of the nation’s
Magistrates in the then West Cameroon who later served in the Supreme Court of
Cameroon. He also served as the Chief Justice of the North West Region.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%;">By Hebert
Boh </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Dear All,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> I</o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> consider it an offense against
departed souls to mention Rt. Justice Nyoh Wakai as a footnote to this obituary
piece on the Fon of Balikumbat. I am particularly irked by the line which says
of the Rt. Justice that he was "another illustrious son of the North West
Region". Did I read "another" Cameroon Online is suggesting that
the late Fon of Balikumbat was the other "illustrious son"? God
forbid bad thing! "Tufiakwa!"<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The late Fon of Balikumbat was a
ruthless savage, armed, blessed and set free to visit death upon whomever he
chose by the CPDM. He was the incarnation of Cameroon's "party of flames"
and violent misrule. He was a perpetrator of the worst forms of human rights
violations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It would seem that the hobby of the
Fon of Balikumbat was murder. He preferred massacres, the scorching of entire
villages and farmlands, doubled with the rape of victims. The CPDM sponsored
him and enslaved his people to a Fon who may be best described as a "blood
drinkard". He never seemed to have enough of the red stuff.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes, I said it! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Fon of Balikumbat gave all Fons
a bad name. And it did not start with politics although it was certainly made
worse by the immunity both the Fondom and parliament gave him. As a reporter, I
traveled into and reported the tragedies he visited on neighboring villages for
the French language paper La Nouvelle Expression, narrowly escaping lynching
after I ventured too close to the foot of the hill atop of which the Fon's
palace sits in Balikumbat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I saw him at work several years
before, as the President General of Cammark Football Club. As the Head of
Sports at CRTV, I witnessed firsthand and up close as he threatened to take the
club to its grave if he were to lose leadership. I shrugged away his threats to
me as a reporter (made in his residence in the Nkwen neighborhood of Bamenda)
as I recorded him for a special edition of Sports Panorama. I remember the
threats to his successor at the top of the club, Mr. Ngafor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Looking back and by comparison to
his many victims, I guess we were lucky not to have been killed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our people do not generally speak
ill of the dead. However, our people rarely have to bury someone on whose grave
so many would like to spit. Our people consider Fons lost/disappeared when they
die, but for a Fon who disappeared so many people and summarily executed others
or commanded the troops that did the killings, this Fon is not lost. Unlike our
other Fons, he does not deserve to be found. Unlike our other Fons, he is
simply dead. It is Rt. Justice Nyoh Wakai who is lost here. He is the
illustrious one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After the reign of death, the Fondom
of Balikumbat has a chance to start again. The family of the Fon can
rehabilitate their name by distancing themselves from the evil that he erected
by preventing that evil to live after him. They can truly find a new Fon who
takes reconciliation and peace with neighboring Fondoms seriously. The family
can seek God's forgiveness by confessing those many, many publicly known sins
and by turning their backs on the devilish path the late Fon blazed in his
drunken quest for ever more blood.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our people do not evoke evil spirits
when they seek blessings or when they pour libation. Evoking the spirit of the
late Fon of Balikumbat is like calling Lucifer to your help. Like that fallen
angel, this fallen Fon cannot do, in death, the good he so clearly abhorred in
life.We know that God will deliver justice but it is our duty to ensure that
sites like Cameroon Online do not distort reporting on the facts that
journalists have a sacred duty to bring to our people and document for history.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
Michael Ndi<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">CameroonPostline.com -- The Fon of
Balikumbat, Doh Gah Gwanyin III, is no more. The Fon who was last seen on
Friday August 31 in Bamenda, dropped dead the following day Saturday, September
1.Although the cause of the death has not yet been ascertained, his close aides
speculate that he died of a heart attack. His untimely death comes two months
after lightening struck and killed his wife in Balikumbat. Before his death,
Fon Doh was a contractor, CPDM central committee and the President General of
the North West Fons Conference (NOWEFCO) <br />
<br />
The talk about Fon Doh’s passing away is echoed all over his Ngoketunjia
Division and the entire North-West Region. Although the tradition here is not
to talk ill about the dead, many people openly expressed happiness that the
traditional ruler and politician, accused on many occasions of war-mongering
and murder, was never going to walk the surface of the earth again.<br />
<br />
A couple of years ago, Fon Doh’s Balikumbat subjects attacked Bambalang village
and destroyed 251 houses, looted homes and the health center. The case is still
pending in the High Court of Ngoketunjia. Earlier, Fon Balikumbat carried out
another attack against Bafanji village in which several people were killed.
Animals and property were equally looted. The upholstery chairs belonging to a
Bafanji tycoon, Peter Ngufor were carted away to Fon Doh’s palace which he
displayed in his parlor. An ardent ruling CPDM militant, Fon Doh was charged
and convicted for the murder of the opposition SDF Balikumbat district
chairman, John Kohtem, on August 24, 2004. He appealed the ruling and was set
free by the authorities on health grounds. Coincidentally, Fon Doh dropped dead
on September 1, 2012, six days after the date when John Kohtem was beaten to
date on August 24, 2004. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
Even within his own party, Balikumbat CPDM bigwigs were not at peace with Fon
Doh. They accused him of greed as he concurrently held the major offices
including MP, mayor and CPDM section president. Those who attempted to challenge
him were branded traitors and severely dealt with. Before his death, he was
again gunning for the post of mayor and the local parliamentary seat, positions
he lost after widespread consternation following the murder of John Kohtem in
2004.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
Abraham Tangwe <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The death of Fon DOH of Balikumbat
is indeed good riddance to bad rubbish. A man like him who thrived or survived
on the innocent blood of some Cameroonians is indeed so suddenly gone is divine
justice! The courts freed him on the basis of a fictitious non-conviction
certificate yet God’s justice is final. It is an indication to all those who
think that they can pillage and abuse the welfare of all those placed under
their tutelage to beware. We are very familiar with praying for our leaders
since it is a divine dictum that all leaders are from God but this day, we
rather pray for their complete annihilation because we are tired and sick of
them. Let Fon DOH's demise sound the warning gong to all remaining blood
sucking zombies still found in the octogenarian bunch to know that their days
are numbered. Their end will come like a thief in the night for that hour,
minute or second shall forever remain their headache. Let’s have faith.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">By Victor Tarkeh<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Fon
Doh sowed terror in Ndop as a whole through killings, sponsoring wars (Bamunkumbit-Balighansen,
Bafanji-Balikumbat, Bambalang-Balikumbat). These wars took many lives and left
thousands homeless. I hope he meets with SDF district chair, Kohntem he
murdered and was later found guilty and set free by the same court. Whoever
said when people do bad things we should gloss over their misdeeds once they
die? There was real joy for many and shock for a few in Balikumbat village this
morning.HRH Fon Doh was getting ready to attend a crucial meeting on peace in
Ngoketunjia Division today. His death is said to be a beginning of a long
lasting peace in my division. His peers at the meeting were all bewildered but
had a more serene meeting.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Moses Taku-Ayuk <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My people, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You have read my contribution to the
death of our NW Fon who is/was believed to be wicked as Nebuchadnezzar was. The
scriptures will always be fulfilled when such situations crop up to confirm or
to see the wisdom and or ordinances of God being fulfilled to the latter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Who is that son or daughter that
will dishonor his father or mother including even his uncles/aunts and elders
of the village and succeed in life? Talk less of living long here on earth.
This is the case with young Galabe of Marketing Board Victoria now Fon. As he
ascended to the Throne of Warriors Balikumbat elements or villagers, his name
was changed to that of Fon Doh Gwanyi 111 whose reign and or name might be that
of blood thirsty, wild native illiterate who must have been always looking for
trouble (war) with his neighbors. Whenever you name your child to bear the name
of your uncle or aunt, (that was wicked) that child will bear the spirit that
goes with that name. The bible says as his name is, so he is. I am writing to
assess the reason this young boy whom I knew with his senior brother-Allosius
Galabe in Victoria, was automatically transformed from good to bad after
ascending to the Throne and bearing a new name. The name and or demonic coronation
attached to the graffi thrones has done all the wicked transformations in the
life of this young boy of yesterday. If I did not know him with brother
A.Galabe, I would not be in a position to assess his change in attitude from
good to bad. People always change from bad to good and even to excellence, but
he changed from good to very bad and also wicked and disrespectful to the honor
and glorification of Satan the ruler of graffi thrones. He was disrespectful
even to the king makers who installed him as Fon in their village which hither
to his enthronement, was peaceful. It is the same assessment to Biya who was
regarded as a Saint before taking over office as President. As he took over
that office and was immediately introduced to Amorc society by (now in prison)
Dr.Titus Edzoa, his character of a Saint was quickly corrupted and was
transformed to bear the nature and or lifestyle of Satan (John 10:10a) who
became his master and no longer God through His Son Jesus who gave him that
exalted office. The Word of God states that-Promotion cometh not from any
cardinal point but from above-that is from Heaven as He is the Owner of the
whole world.(<b>Psa.75:6-7</b> and <b>Psa.24:1.)<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">His disrespectful and wicked
attitude to his mother and elders of the village had automatically opened an
emergency door for untimely death as bad or negative wishes were streaming from
various motherly/fatherly and elderly negative pronouncements against his
welfare and or longevity of life. You all should note that there is power in
the Tongue as life and death are in the power of the tongue says the word of
God (<b>Prov.18:21)</b>. This is the only scripture that welcomes the answer to
that decision of death or life from any tongue, be it righteous or an
unrighteous. It is worse if pronounced from an anointed tongue of a man of God
as it will not take time to manifest. You will agree with me that, the mother of
King Solomon was the one through whom his brothers were channeling their
requests to their brother who was now king as they could not go to him as
frequently as before. As the mother, she was always free to go see her son whom
she gave suck without appointment or audience. But in the case of Fon Doh, he
had slapped the mother who came to give him counsel but was rewarded with a
dirty slap which the 2 kingdom computers (Hell & Heaven) registered fast
against his name. The computers in the 2 kingdoms are so fast in registering
all that we do here on earth. But when you repent and ask for forgiveness, the
entry is automatically wiped off from your record in the computers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This sincere write-up of mine is to
warn they that will be willing to take such offices both in public and or
traditional in nature. They should surrender such promotions to the Lord who is
the Promoter of persons to new positions in life. If you turn as Fon Doh and or
Biya have turned to Satan, you will receive only worst and unacceptable administration
to your people and the results will always be seen in the lives of your
people-WRETCHED and in AGONY. God bless our people as they turn to God in all
that they do. Traditional rites have no place in the 21st century as most of
the rulers now know the Truth about life-that God is the Giver of life and not
Satan. In Nigeria, most of the traditional rulers are now members of
Pentecostal Holy Ghost filled anointed churches. They go to the church and know
the Truth about how the Kings of old ruled their kingdoms with successes and
always victorious in their <a href="http://wars.eg/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">wars.eg</span></a> King Jehoshaphat and David. They no
longer do the demonic traditions that their forefathers did that were not
giving glory to God. The servants of God from these NW villages that are still
very demonically inclined should be soliciting their Fons/Chiefs to drop those
old traditions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Gideon had to destroy the shrine of
his father's house before he went to war with his enemies-Amen. A learned and
most adored King of Bali Nyongha is a man who should be able to change the
demonic aspects of their inherited cultures that do not give glory to God the
Creator. He is expected to cleanse that tribe and her village from all the
bloodshed that they inherited from their numerous wars with their neighbors-Meta
tribe. This write-up is an eye opener to them that think that old demonic
cultures are still relevant in the 21st century. Born Again deliverance prayers
that are being offered by the sons/daughters of such villages that are
Believers, are daily weakening such demonic powers. I know how many numbers in
quantity rating, spiritual prayers that are being forwarded to Heaven by our
anointed Prophetess sister (S. Immanuel) from Bali. She knows what her village
or city is passing through in the realm of the spirit and she has to go angrily
in warfare to redeem her people in demonic traditions that do not bring glory
and progress to her people both in and out of the village. God help us to turn
to you-Amen. God bless our Kings and King-makers including politicians-Amen.
Yours sincere Servant of God,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Rev (Papa) Taku-Ayuk Moses-alias
Daniel to his people of S.Cs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 5pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
SAF <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What mercy? Who told you there is an
almighty beyond what we have in our physical world? Have you seen this
almighty? His body (the wicked king that is) may rest in peace here on earth
but not somewhere else. Why do you affirm the existence of something beyond
your human senses? The only almighty that makes sense to a living mortal is one
that is right here on earth. Beyond our physical environment is void.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Eric Ngonji Njungwe </span></b><span style="color: #00407f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This man lived as a thug, and in death should be treated as a
thug. Same goes to other criminals with the CPDM cult and their sympathizers at
home and abroad. You will be judged by what you stand for, and what you
advocated for your people. If you hope for respect in death, now is the time to
turn away from your misdeeds and your support for evil against the people of
Cameroon.</span><span style="color: #00407f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To what extent are we going to continue to pretend? When are we
going to face the demons amongst us and call them out by the names most
reflective of their actions? Why should we avoid talking about the brutality of
the evil ones who lived amongst us and the untold suffering they caused to
human kind simply because they are now deceased? The last time I checked, Death
is not synonymous to Baptism, nor is it Penitence. This man had ample
opportunities to make peace with the people he hurt throughout his oppressive
reign in Balikumbat; instead he continued to crush them. He had ample
opportunities to dissociate himself from the CPDM cult; instead he continued to
militate with it and used the repressive machinery of the CPDM cult to rig
elections, intimidate his people, and threaten their lives. You cannot belong
to an evil cult and claim to be a good person. That is a contradiction in terms
and practice. As a prominent and practical member of the CPDM cult, this man
exhibited the worse forms of cruelty on his own people of Balibumbat, his
neighbors, and the people of Cameroon. My concern and prayer are with his
victims, not his carcass. I know God will take care of his soul, because if I
am delegated that task with all the <i>anger</i> in me, I will <b>….</b></span><span style="color: #00407f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
Sam<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p>T</o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">heir foolishness is made blatant by their own ignorance. In
darkness, they speak as if they killed the "thug". The fact is he
died without being killed by the angry mob. Why then are they sounding as if
they're making excuses for killing the "thug-Fon"? Why all the
justification? I don't get it. Normally, when one kills an armed robber or evil
does like Osama-Bin-Laden, one may want to tell the public why one did it, and
then take credit for nailing the rabbit. But when the armed robber dies
"naturally", there is no reason to justify his death or make excuses
for the "thug's" death. Why do these folks sound as if they over-powered
and killed the bastard? He, on the other hand, over-powered them when he was
alive and later got called to pay penance on the other side. After the fact,
these cowards have developed the guts or courage to throw stones at the
"thugs" corpse because he cannot retaliate. This is where
"things falls apart" and they don't realize how laughable their
behavior is.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">By
Herbert Boh <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Our people do not
generally speak ill of the dead. However, our people rarely have to bury someone
on whose grave so many would like to spit. Our people consider Fons
lost/disappeared when they die, but for a Fon who disappeared so many people
and summarily executed others or commanded the troops that did the killings,
this Fon is not lost. Unlike our other Fons, he does not deserve to be found.
Unlike our other Fons, he is simply dead. It is Rt. Justice Nyoh Wakai who is
lost here. He is the illustrious one.<br />
<br />
After the reign of death, the Fondom of Balikumbat has a chance to start again.
The family of the Fon can rehabilitate their name by distancing themselves from
the evil that he erected by preventing that evil to live after him. They can
truly find a new Fon who takes reconciliation and peace with neighboring
Fondoms seriously. The family can seek God's forgiveness by confessing those
many, many publicly known sins and by turning their backs on the devilish path
the late Fon blazed in his drunken quest for ever more blood.<br />
<br />
Our people do not evoke evil spirits when they seek blessings or when they pour
libation. Evoking the spirit of the late Fon of Balikumbat is like calling
Lucifer to your help. Like that fallen angel, this fallen Fon cannot do, in
death, the good he so clearly abhorred in life. We know that God will deliver
justice but it is our duty to ensure that sites like Cameroon Online do not
distort reporting on the facts that journalists have a sacred duty to bring to
our people and document for history.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 3.75pt;"></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184;">
<tbody>
<tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="1398fb21b10f4fb7_17454"></a><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Concerned Paysan <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Some people on this forum were
saying that Fon Doh is Chom Bani's uncle. Mr. Chom Bani, if it is true, my
condolences to you and your family bro. No matter our differences, death is
one painful hell of a situation. Peace....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="1398fb21b10f4fb7_17455"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chom
accept my condolences, very difficult for me to express my opinion, because
we do not talk ever about the death, but to every rule, there is an
exception! Your uncle was not a liked man as you must know, in and out of
Balikumbat. I hear people have been celebrating!! May he rest in pieces!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Ngwa <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="1398fb21b10f4fb7_17456"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Chom,
your uncle was a devil in human form and we must say it as it is. I wish you
shun from some of his character traits you strangely exhibit here. You don't
treat Fru Ndi for a gainakoh because you say you want to scrutinize him. This
is character assassination, and I'm afraid you took a page from your uncle's
book. When fon dog shot someone in 1992, the people wanted to lynch him, but
Dr. Dewah fell on him and gave him cover, saying he would die first than see
anything happen to the butcher. Dr. Dewah whisked him off to the Bafangji
Fon's palace. True to his hard-hearted instincts, he still had the temerity
to banish Dr. Dewah from his fondom. This is good riddance to a stone in the
shoes of the Cameroonian people. This modern day Hitler died in the shameful
way he lived. We don't talk ill of the dead, but this man defied logic and
went to every extent to inflict pain and belittle fellow men. I don't think
we will have good words for his master Biya either, when he goes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></b> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By
Bongmi Likang <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 3;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="1398fb21b10f4fb7_17457"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I
was told that while at the Bafanji palace, the then fon clothed him and asked
some of his men to escort him to the Western Province where he spent some time.
But guess what...the following year he and his tribe men invaded Bafanji
destroyed houses, killed people and raped women and children. This man was a
brutal killer, a monster and what have you. More than 100 children in Bafanji
are without parents thanks to this killer, Doh. Bambalang invasion is still
fresh in our minds.Doh brought so much sufferings to his own people and to
the people of NW in the name of the fire party and I hope Biya will attend
the funeral ceremony to pay his respect to a terrorist he protected for this
long time. Chom the soul of your uncle will never rest in peace even in hell<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Jacques Toubon <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="1398fb21b10f4fb7_17458"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
I refuse to be a praise singer for John Fru Ndi that makes Fon Doh my uncle.
Let someone tell me if they would cast the Biblical first stone before
declaring another person a candidate for hell. Fon Doh is just as bad as the
person who fooled Bamenda people to follow him and turned around taking
checks from the very person he called at rallies, devil. That is Judas
Iscariot. The blood of Bamenda people is on his palms.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chombani <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 5; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td style="background-color: transparent; border: rgb(0, 0, 0); padding: 0.75pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt;">
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" name="1398fb21b10f4fb7_17459"></a><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Don't
compare your murderous uncle to a leader who has never forced someone to
follow him. Your uncle invaded villages, raced them to the ground, stole
furniture for use at home, and eliminated a cripple. You must have been using
this stolen furniture too. Stand by your uncle. Don't disown him now that he
can no longer teach you how to be a dictator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MsJoe<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If this murderer of a Fon did not commit the ultimate heinous
crime of talking the life of another human being who was defenseless, the average
humane restraint will apply. The political nature of the crime shatters the
need for consideration. Consider what? His legacy as a political thug
overshadows all else. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">By
Rexon<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Dead of anyone should
be a time of reflection for the living. It doesn’t matter what our impression
is of the Fon who has passed away, but as we remember him for whatever reason,
we should reflect on our own lives. How are we living? Are we respecting
humanity, so that when we die, we are going to leave a better world? Are our actions,
words and works contributing towards humanity? Are we what we wanted Fon Doh
and others that have died before him to be? Fon Doh is gone.<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Mishe
Fon</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My only memory of the man
"sorry the Fon" was in Yaounde. This guy had a series of girl
friends. This particular one was a 3rd year English student (Ngoa Ekelle) at
Mini-CitéDjomo. The Chief had equipped the room with all modern paraphernalia:
Flat screen colored TV, Parabolic antenna (in a mini-cité), Vono bed with
12" Dunlop Mattress, Refrigerator, Gas Cooker, black & white
"carpet", Radio/cassette/DVD player, cushion chair, complete cupboard
full of steady supplies of cabin biscuits, blue band margarine, Kumba bread,
pinyin biscuits...and other goodies that small Ngoa chicks adored. She was the
star and envy of all the "Branchées, Jeunes Talents, Rhumtas" of the
Djomo Cité "University of Yaoundé Factory".</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One day
as Pa Chief was driving around Ngoa, he remembered he had a "Smol
Ting" in the vicinity and decided to go "Freshen Up himself 4
dey" B4 his "Parliamentary Paul Biya’s CPDM sessions". Lo and
behold, on opening "HIS" Mini-Cité Djomo room (since he had his own
keys), he surprised one stupid yeye young "Ngoa" guy totally in Adam’s
attire on (not even inside) his "wife". For one brief moment, Pa
Chief forgot that he was a Bamendrous "King", a "Député
Parlementaire", a millionaire and an "Old Pa". He pounced on the
poor kid (the guy, not the girl) and beat the daylight out of the poor fool. He
went outside, called his doungouru Balikumbat body guards and they came and
emptied all the furniture including the girl’s clothes, shoes, timakassas,
ngwashis, baby pancakes, Nku-Creams, Corsets, the two rope dross they now call
STRINGS...in short everything....and went outside and set everything ablaze.
Can you imagine this level of barbarity? Morality: I really don’t know what to
say. The Man was a REAL MANAWA...but as they say: We should never speak evil or
ill of the Dead as all of us will one day DIE.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Bonaventure Tchucham</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Really nasty and terrifying! I
hadn't heard of this man and his heroic acts of war before. It's incredible! I
have been terrified and devastated by the report by our Elder one Ntemfac Ofege
and the comments of the people of the region who were aware of the wrongdoings
of the man. That he was covered by the CPDM-government is no surprise to me
though! The Lamido of Rey Bouba enjoys the same privilege! He is allowed to
build a state within the State.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I better understand the reaction of
Boh Herbert after reading these reports! That such things can be possible and
that men intended to protect their people and render justice to them can
instead wage war on everyone is a subject of meditation to everyone involved in
politics in our country and willing to bring about a Cameroon where the rule of
law is the guarantee of every man’s security, where every Cameroonian is at
home everywhere in the country and where fairness in politics propels our
country out of the reign of darkness the Yaoundé regime has plunged us into! Our
generation has to work for the advent of that Cameroon! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> By Rev <span style="color: black;">Jonathan
Awasom</span></span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It does not matter what you say.
What matters is what you have learned about dead as it will visit you one day. Let
him wake up from the golden coffin and golden grave and bite us again?
Demi-gods who are still helpless before the true and awesome God never learn
any lesson of humility and humanity. When given power they think power was
meant to kill and exploit the people as they like it without consequences. Then
not long they are dead like a rat. Frail and vain! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Yes, we can big mouth and feel
really relieved because we were thinking that tyrants, dictators, killers and
murderers were above dead. So, when they, too become helpless when dead comes
knocking, then we are left scratching our heads and wondering why they were
killing and destroying lives and property in the first place? This is what you
should be rationalizing on if you think that you can reason over some
unreasonable things in life! Take the big mouth as a warning to those of you
who are NARROW-MINDED! Your turn is coming soon whether you rise up to the moon
and back, dead is waiting everyone who is "from dust you were made and to
dust you shall return" Mortal men never ever can give in to defeat when
the truth resurrects<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">You are trying to be rationale with
evil? Is it everything that you have to rationalize? What about humanization of
humanity so that reason should not overcome your conscience and compassion for
the living. The people big mouthed when he was alive and they are still big
mouthing but Konde can you CPDM folks commit these crimes again? You did in
those days and you know that this cannot happen again at this moment in
history. So, you can lament all you want! He is not our Fon. We just care about
the victims and not about his office.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">By SAF<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">This
man, Doh, was a criminal. Forget party affiliation. It doesn't matter to me.
Graffi culture is very resolute when it comes to abuse of power by a king. They
will get rid of him in a heart-beat. How can his "soul" if there is
any such thing, rest in peace? There are many of his victims whose
"souls" are not resting in peace. In ancient times, this criminal
would have been summarily executed by his kwifo.<br />
<br />
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">By Sam</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">I
do not disagree with you. But for the sake of the living and the Fon's loved
ones who committed no crimes against humanity, we are called upon to respect
the culture of the Bali people. After seven days or so, we can in anger, exhume
the body, burn it and take the ashes to lake Oku, for disposal. Then legend and
posterity will spell out what a scumbag the dude<br />
was.<br />
</span><span style="font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
</span></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">By Barrister Sichui
John Kameni</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">Good
Talk Dr. Rexon. Life after death is at the mercy of the Almighty and bedrock
for us living to introspect of ourselves as we drive through the highway of
life on earth. Fon Doh RIP might have hurt many, his absence now reconciles all
with their past and his presence in their lives. An opportunity for forgiveness
and forward movement. May His Soul Rest in Peace.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By Sam Esale</b></span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">What
does the Bali culture teach us about the dead? Which one of you has been to a
funeral and told the mourners that the one lying in the casket, CPDM or SDF,
deserved to die? Where is the common decency and respect for the Bali culture
and tradition? There is time for everything under the sun. A time to mourn and
a time for judgment and condemnation.<br />
Vengeance is mine", said the Lord God of Host.*My peace I leave with you.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By Emmanuel Konde<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 0.25in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%;">We
have a bunch of Cameroonians who are as hateful as the people they condemn. How
does one undertake the useless task of insulting a dead man? And for what
purpose? Just to inflame the passions of the living and further the vicious
cycle of hate? Circumspection and the goodness that inhabits rational humans
dictate that we desist from speaking ill of the dead, for they are no longer
here to defend themselves. Let their evil deeds depart with them, and the good
ones be proclaimed, if any. Otherwise, simply maintain a guarded silence.
Circumspection!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Manu</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We must
all be witnessing the rebirth of the Guru. With all the insults and negative
scrutiny that have been brought against Muna and Foncha, I'm truly flattered that
our Guru is coming out openly in defense of a Graffi Fon. We must desist from
speaking about any atrocities committed by a despotic Fon or leader from the
Northwest as long as it is done in the name of CPDM. Uhmm!!! How about that? I
can't wait to read that objective Text Book on the political history of LRC
written by our very own.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Ni Kehbuma-Mo-Tachuh <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A giant
has fallen!! When the rumor first went round here, I we could not believe it
because people like that do not die easily. Whenever my memories take me back
to when HRH Gahgwanyin was enthroned as King, I always shouted “Long Live
Gwanyinyi” When he was enthroned; he used violence (the whip) to scare away
most of his notables and “Nchinted” from the palace. In the end he needed the
assistance of the administration to rally them back. Indeed that name
“Gahgwanyin” seems to conjure up a lot of violence and dictatorship. When he
started behaving in that manner, an elder informed me that “Gagwanyin I” also
behaved in the same manner during the German Era and had a lot of difficulties
with the German Administration. Why should anybody called “Gwanyinyi” not
behave like one? The Hyena or what the Bali call “Gwanyinyi” is a redoubtable
carnivorous animal that seizes its prey from Lions and Leopards. Leopards
sometimes get out of their way by carrying their booty up the tree. Lions have
nothing to do but to surrender to them since they always attack in a band.
“Gwanyinyi” is therefore an animal that is feared by even the King of the
Forest. The name is a very perfect name for a Chamba King since it befits
them!! We should not therefore blame our friend Galabe for behaving the way he
did. It is the name that was controlling him. The King is dead. Long live the
King!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">About
the author<o:p></o:p></span></u></b><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></div>
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Dr. Peter Vakunta is professor at the United States
Department of Defense Language Institute, POM</span></b>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-53682054455293836922012-08-15T15:49:00.001-07:002012-08-15T15:49:07.188-07:00Nation at Risk: A Personal Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis by Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Just
Published: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nation at Risk: A Personal
Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis</i> by Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD.</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
i-Universe, Inc., Bloomington.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>2012. 206
pp. Paperback $14.00. ISBN 978-1-4697-9974-2<span style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">I am obligated to concede that the overall tenor of
my remarks in <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nation at Risk: A Personal Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis</i> </b>could
easily be misconstrued as requiem for what we now know as the Republic of
Cameroon. So, let me caution from the outset that this is not the intent of
this book, the sole purpose of which is to shine the searchlight on the
dysfunctional government of Cameroon under President Paul Biya, a minuscule man
and matching mind, endowed with a gargantuan ego. Those who wish to comprehend
the apocalypse toward which the Cameroonian nation is being propelled by the
rogue governance of Mr. Biya will do well to study the mind of the man at the
helm. Mr. Biya enjoys playing at and for power. The diabolism inherent in the
phenomenon of power is something he relishes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yet, the politics of power is for him, an intellectual challenge. Thus,
manipulation, divisive tactics, cajolery, patronage, double-talk, exploitation
of weaknesses, blackmail, backstabbing, occultism, cronyism, influence
peddling, and the cultivation of apparent detachedness form the armory of this
wily politician nicknamed <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L’homme Lion</i>
or Lion Man</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">The thought behind the crafting of this book was
nourished by the fervent belief that change is the offspring of </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span lang="EN-GB">audacity and strength of
character necessary to break out of the mold of conventional reasoning, the temerity
to pose intriguing questions that have never been asked before, the
perspicacity to imagine things as they have never been fathomed before , the courage
to challenge the status quo, the rebelliousness needed to express new thoughts
at the risk of being pilloried, and the desire to be free from the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>shackles of mental servitude that confines
people in perpetual paranoia of offending people at the helm.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I subscribe to the aphorism that a modicum
of measured resistance, controlled defiance, and reasoned disobedience are
recipes for positive change in the community of humans. The fear to offend the
untouchables of our society inhibits our ability to engage in constructive
criticism in which resides the capacity of a society to change and evolve. Our reluctance
to hold our leaders accountable hinders our ability to rise up against abuse of
power, injustice, corruption, and impunity. For thirty years, Cameroonians have
been victims to one man’s Machiavellian dictatorship; they have seen how one
man—Mr. Paul Biya—surrounded by a cabal of tribesmen has hijacked the entire
governmental apparatus with the aid of the military and stayed in power anti-constitutionally.
Like all global dictators, Mr. Biya</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has learned the ropes of despotic governance quickly:
once in power, put people of your tribe in key positions: military generals,
ministers, beef up your personal protection, that way, you cannot be overthrown
by a coup d’état, bribe the military by means of disproportionately elevated
salaries given that soldiers are the mainstay of a dictatorship. This is the
dictatorial blueprint the tenets of which serve as Mr. Biya’s governmental
modus operandi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 200%;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Armed with a mix of nihilistic contraptions, Mr. Biya has developed a
callously thick skin; he no longer feels accountable to the people of Cameroon.
Elections are rigged with impunity year in year out, opposition party leaders
are cowed into submission through torture and blackmail, the nation’s wealth is
brazenly misappropriated by Mr. Biya, his wife, Chantal Biya, and close circle
of cronies, nicknamed ministers who live in opulence. In contradistinction,
impoverished Cameroonian rank and file are left to their own devices in a land
bereft of good roads, urban transportation system, hospital supplies, home
industries, and schools. The youths are at daggers drawn with a leadership that
has failed to acknowledge their existence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The average Cameroonian finds it hard to understand why their president
has mortgaged the nation’s natural resources—crude oil, forest products, land,
and minerals. Little wonder, a critic of Mr. Biya’s regime, George </span>Ayittey,<span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> has painted the
following portrait of him: </span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin: 0in 0.5in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">A suave bandit who has reportedly amassed a personal fortune
of more than US$200million and the mansions to go with it, Biya</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>has beaten the opposition into complete
submission. Not that he’s worried about elections—he has rigged the term-limit
laws twice to make sure the party doesn’t end any time soon (Ayittey, 2011:15).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
impotency of Cameroon is a reflection of Mr. Biya’s sense of failure as a
statesman. Power has corrupted him absolutely, and all the more disastrously
because he has come to identify Cameroon and her natural resources with his own
personal wealth. Mr. Biya has no compunction about reducing Cameroon to a
wasteland, as long as he survives to preside over a mere name. Totally lacking
in vision and moral rectitude, he is like a mole trapped in a warren of
tunnels.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Interestingly,
Mr. Biya has no idea what country he is governing. Beyond the reality of a
fiefdom that has dutifully nursed his insatiable thirst for power and
transformed him into a tin-god, he has only superficial knowledge of Cameroon.Consequently,
he is incapable of grasping what is being conveyed to him about the legitimate
grievances of a marginalized constituent of the fragmented country he
rules—Anglophones</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">— these people who speak with the
resolute voice of self-determination. In Mr. Biya’s mind, these people could
not possibly be part of the Republic of Cameroon that he knows. It is only by
eliminating Anglophones entirely that Cameroon can become the entity that Mr.
Biya recognizes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">When
the French pressured Cameroon’s first postcolonial Head of State, Mr. Ahmadou
Ahidjo, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to grant Mr. Biya occupancy of
the presidential palace at Etoudi in 1982, I admonished that Mr. Biya would
prove more ruthless than his predecessor. There were many who thought then that
I was being overly alarmist. Now, of course, we know what stuff the man is made
of, and the worst I am afraid, is yet to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Mr. Biya will be satisfied only with the total annihilation of every
aspect of Cameroon that he cannot mentally grasp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He will find peace and solace only in
silencing the voices whose language he cannot comprehend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;">In sum,<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Nation
at Risk: A Personal Narrative of the Cameroonian Crisis</b></i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>is a compass intended to give
Cameroonians a sense of direction as they grope around in search of light at
the end of the proverbial tunnel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It behooves
Cameroonians of all creeds </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">to come to the
realization that people deserve their leaders. Most importantly, they must
rethink the </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">sagacious
words of </span><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN;">Edmund
Burke who once said: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is
for good men to do nothing."<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span></span></span></a> </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The didactic value of
this book resides in its comprehensibility to people from all walks of life and
social strata eager to know what makes Cameroon tick. The language is free of
verbal sophistry. Casual readers and professionals with a genuine interest in the
geopolitics of Cameroon would find this book a delight to read. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><br />
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Nation at Risk</i>, Peter Wuteh Vakunta, a prolific writer in his own
right, has successfully pieced together a compelling narrative of the many
facets of the crisis that has plagued Cameroon during the more than
three-decade presidency of Mr. Paul Biya. Lucid and captivating, this landmark
volume provides a seminal contribution to readers’ appreciation of the social,
political, economic and cultural events that have shaped Cameroon's history
from the time of independence from colonial masters to date. Vakunta’s
penetrating analysis of the lackluster governmental modus operandi of President
Biya is a must read for all Cameroonians and friends of Cameroon who feel
deeply about the future of this often forgotten African nation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 7.05pt 1.35pt 0in; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Dr. Peter Ngwafu Ajongwa , </span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Associate
Professor of Public Administration and Political Science & Director, MPA
Program at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Albany State University. <o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
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<a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/a-list-of-famous-edmund-burke-quotes/reference"><span style="color: blue;">http://www.ranker.com/list/a-list-of-famous-edmund-burke-quotes/reference</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-70543733645509211832012-05-31T09:13:00.002-07:002012-05-31T09:13:26.902-07:00<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></strong></span>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Book review: De la Françafrique à la Mafiafrique by François
Xavier Verschave. Bruxelles: Editions Tribord, 2004, 69 pp. Paperback EUR 2,94.
2-930390-10</span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">-7<br />
<br />
Reviewer: Peter Wuteh Vakunta, PhD<br />
<br />
In a 69-page well researched book titled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">De
la Françafrique à la Mafiafrique</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>[From
Françafrique to Mafiafrique], Francois Xavier Verschave exposes the underbelly
of France and its covert activities in Africa. He contends that Françafrique
has evolved from the status of a postcolonial contraption conceived by Charles
de Gaulle more than five decades ago to keep French-speaking African countries
in perpetual bondage to that of a global mafia organization masterminded by
unscrupulous mercenaries like Bob Denard, Le Floch-Prigent, André Tarallo, and
Benard Courcelle and ilk. Verschave notes that the substance of his book grew
out of testimonies given by Africans who wanted to tell the stories of their
plight and wanton pillaging of their respective countries by France, the
ex-colonizer: "Je restitue simplement ce que l'on m'a apporté: ce sont des
milliers de témoins africains qui sont venus nous expliquer ce qu'ils vivent
dans leurs pays. Leur problème, c'est que ces pays ont été divisés par les
politiques coloniales, éparpillés; avec de surcroît la repression des dictatures..."
(64)<br />
<br />
Verschave does not mince words in his condemnation of the nefarious effects of
Françafrique on the political economies of the entire African continent:
"... cette politique franco-africaine, que j'ai appelée la `Françafrique'
et qui est une caricature de néo-colonialisme, est une politique
extraordinairement nocive."(6) The intriguing thing about this diabolical
caricature is that both Africans and French are acting in collusion to sustain
it, and therefore share collective blame for its existence. In Verschave's own
words, "la Françafrique...ce sont des Français et des Africains. Donc,
évidemment, il y a des Africains qui jouent un rôle important dans le système
de domination, de pillage..." (8). All Francophone African Heads of States
are painted with the same brush, however, Houphouet Boigny, Gnassingbé Ayadéma,
Omar Bongo, Juvénal Habyarimana, and Denis Sassou Nguesso were seen as
lynchpins of Françafrique until their demise. Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has
outlived them all, now coordinates the dirty job of France in Africa.<br />
<br />
Verschave resorts to the anology of the iceberg in a bid to accentuate the
unfathomable dimensions and ramifications of Françafrique. According to him,
only the tip of the iceberg is visible to the rest of the world; the rest is a
closely guarded secret known only to its perpetrators in very high positions of
power in France and Africa:"La Françafrique, c'est comme un iceberg. Vous
avez la face du dessus, la partie émergée de l'iceberg: la France meilleure
amie de l'Afrique, patrie des droits de l'Homme, etc. Et puis, en fait, vous
avez 90% de la relation qui est immergée: l'ensemble des mécanismes de maintien
de la domination française en Afrique avec des alliés africains" (10).
Needless to belabor the point that Verschave is being terribly sarcastic when
he refers to France as the best friend of Africa and the bastion of human
rights. Even those who have never set foot on the soil of this European nation
are aware of the fact that the French motto: liberté, égalité, fraternité, or
Liberty, equality, fraternity is a loud-sounding nothing.<br />
<br />
Verschave adumbrates four main reasons that motivated Charles de Gaulle to put
Françafrique in place to serve as a postcolonial control mechanism. The first
reason is the leverage that France has at the United Nations, where allied
nations back her up in the event of a vote. The second reason is France's dire
need for strategic raw materials (timber, cocoa, coffee, crude oil, etc). The
third reason is the astronomical sums of money that African Heads of States
sheepishly send to France each time Presidential polls are conducted on French
soil. The fourth reason is linked to the role that France played as an ally of
the United States of America during the Cold War era. Both countries were in alliance
to keep the African continent out of the ambit of Communists.<br />
<br />
Verschave is convinced that the inception of Françafrique calls into question
the signification of political independence granted to French colonies in
Africa more than five decades ago. As he puts it, "pour ces quatre
raisons, on met en place un système qui va nier les indépendances."(10)To
ensure the success of Françafrique, De Gaulle handpicked a fine strategist in
the person of Jacques Foccart to implement his 'dirty' policies in Africa.
Foccart's starting point was to select a bunch of African lackeys nicknamed
"les amis de la France" or "Friends of France." Many of
these so-called friends of France are francophone African presidents holding
French nationality. Notorious among them is Omar Bongo who passed away a few
years ago and was succeeded by his son, Ali Bongo. Of the several strings that
France uses to tie up African nations in order to keep them in a vicious circle
of dependency, Verschave singles out the Franc CFA as the most effective tool.
He notes that the acronym "CFA" means "Colonies françaises
d'Afrique", which could be translated as "French colonies in
Africa." Insightful revelation! Who knew that more than five decades after
gaining independence from France, francophone African countries remain French
colonies? As Verschave puts it, "Ce CFA convertible a permis, pendant des
dizaines d'années, de faire évader les capitaux de ces pays. Au moment des
campagnes électorales en France, on se mettait à pleurer sur le fait que tel
Etat africain, le Cameroun ou le Togo, par example, n'avait plus de quoi payer
ses fonctionnaires. Donc, on envoyait un avion avec une aide financière
directe, un chargement de billets CFA, à Yaoundé ou à Lome."(14)<br />
<br />
The political implication of all these machinations is that Africa is now
saddled with demo-dictators who are not the choice of the populace by any
stretch of the imagination.These unpopular sit-tight leaders are constantly
being propped up by France because they implement French hidden agenda on the
African continent. Whether one is looking at the scenario in Cameroon, Togo,
Gabon or Congo-Brazzaville, the rules of the game remain the same: dictators
buy their tenure at the helm of their countries with astronomical sums of money
sent to the Champs Elysée in briefcases on a regular basis. France then sends
mercenaries and secrets agents to make sure that elections are rigged in favor
of their henchmen in Africa. In the words of Verschave, here is how the system
works:"On envoie des urnes transparentes, des bulletins de vote et des
envelopes dans ces pays; on déclare: `oui, vraiment, c'est bien, ils arrivent à
la démocratie;donc, on va les aider;et en même temps, on envoie dans les
capitales de ces pays des coopérants très spéciaux... qui vont installer un
système informatique de centralisation des résultants un peu spécial: alors que
les gens ont veillé jour et nuit auprès des urnes pour être surs que leur
suffrage soit respecté, alors qu'ils ont voté à 70% ou 80% pour chasser le
dictateur, ils se retrouvent à la fin avec un dictateur réélu avec 80% des
voix..."(20). So much for electoral gerrymandering and fraud à la
française in Africa! Little wonder the Biyas, Bongos, Nguessos, Derbys,
Ayademas, Mobutus, Boignys and ilk are presidents for life!<br />
<br />
One take-away from a careful reading of this instructive book is that the brunt
of the underdevelopment of Africa should be borne by France and Africans alike
given that African leaders behave like frightened chicken and give the French
free rein to manipulate them. Worse, Africa is blighted by two cankers:
debilitating corruption and corrosive ethnocentrism or tribalism. To borrow
words from Verschave again, "Il y a selon moi, deux principaux poisons
néo-coloniaux: la soi-disant fatalité de la corruption et l'instrumentalisation
de l'ethnisme" (65).<br />
<br />
In a nutshell, François Xavier Verschave's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">De
la Françafrique à la Mafiafrique</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b>is
a treasure trove of information and hidden facts about the manner in which
France persistently fleeces francophone nation-states in Africa. This
masterpiece would serve as an eye-opener for those who are unaware of the
strategies that France has used to under-develop Africa over the years. It is
recommended reading for students, professors and researchers in the domain of
Francophone studies. Africans and friends of Africa should read it with an open
mind.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Notes<br />
</b><br />
1.I have simply documented the testimonies of thousands of Africans who came to
inform us of their experiences in their home countries. They observed that
their countries have been torn apart and put asunder by colonial policies
implemented by dictatorial governments.<br />
2. This Franco-African policy that I have christened 'Françafrique' is a
neocolonialist caricature that has extremely deleterious consequences.<br />
3."Françafrique is sustained by the French and Africans. Thus, Africans
are certainly playing a crucial role in promoting the domination and pillaging
of their continent...<br />
4.Françafrique is like an iceberg. It has a visible face, the part that is
exposed to the world, portraying France as the best friend of Africa and
bastion of human rights, etc. Then, there is the invisible part that amounts to
90% of France's relations with African countries submerged: the network of
mechanisms put in place to keep Africans in bondage with the complicity of
African allies.<br />
5. For these four reasons, the French instituted a system that made the
independence of African nations a non-starter.<br />
6. This convertible CFA franc has facilitated capital flight from African
nations to France for decades. During electoral campaigns in France, you would
hear citizens in Cameroon or Togo complaining that the State has become broke
and is unable to pay civil servants. The reason is that all the money has been
sent from Yaoundé or Lomé,for example, to France to fund the political
campaigns of presidential candidates.<br />
7.Transparent ballot boxes and envelopes are sent to these countries; and then
the French say:`you see, they are advancing toward democratic governance; let's
help them get there; but at the same time, France sends experts particularly
savvy in the art of election rigging to install vote-counting computers that
are a little special: so, whereas the electorate has kept vigil day and night
to ensure that their ballots are properly counted; whereas they have voted at
70% or 80% in order to chase the dictator away from power, the tallies declared
often show that the dictator has been re-elected with 80% of the votes cast...<br />
8."In my opinion, there are two neo-colonial poisons: the so-called fatality
of corruption and the institutionalization of tribalism.<br />
<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">About the author</b><br />
DR. Peter Vakunta is professor of modern languages at the United States
Department of Defense Language Institute in California. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8974434463950791750.post-18661465951752209462011-04-07T20:45:00.000-07:002011-05-06T17:10:51.916-07:00<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="font-size: large;">Francophone Writers at the Crossroads of Languages</span></strong><br />
<strong>Introduction</strong></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;">Critics of African literature (Mphahlele 1962; Scheub, 1971, 1985; Miller 1990; Julien 1992) argue that contemporary African fiction is strongly influenced by oral traditions of the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other words, most African writers tend to transpose the imprint of their cultural backgrounds onto their works; yet these literatures paradoxically are produced almost entirely in languages that were imposed by European colonial powers on the African continent, particularly French, English and Portuguese. The use of European languages in African literature poses problems of its own. Developed to express and reflect European worldviews and cultures, these languages are made to convey messages that seem to be at variance with their native traditions. African writers thus find themselves writing in languages they wish to subvert. This explains why they frequently resort to the mechanism of indigenization as a mode of literary expression. Here then is a literature whose writers depend heavily on translation as a literary device. So widespread is the practice that literary critic Femi Ojo-Ade has made the following remarks: “On the whole, one may safely say that the dual culture of the African writer (the native culture he is writing about and the European culture he has imbibed) makes him first and foremost a translator before being a creative artist.” (“The Role of the Translator …” 295)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The intent of this chapter is </span>to acquaint readers and translators of Francophone texts with the emergence of linguistic innovation whose usage in literature is likely to pose comprehensibility problems.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Linguistic innovation in the African novel</b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In addition to borrowing from oral traditions, African writers tend to use mixed languages such as Camfranglais<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn1" name="_ednref1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a>, Pidgin English, Petit Nègre, Moussa or Nouchis and other hybridized linguistic types in a bid to translate the socio-cultural matrices that inform and structure their narratives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ivorian writer, Ahmadou Kourouma’s recourse to the “Malinkelization”<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn2" name="_ednref2" style="mso-endnote-id: edn2;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[ii]</span></span></span></span></span></a> of French in three of his novels, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les soleils des indépendances </i>(1968), <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Monnè: outrages et défis</i> (1993) and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">En attendant le vote des bêtes sauvages </i>(1998) is a case in point. Kourouma’s style <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">has been described by literary critic Gyasi as </span>“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">a creative translation process that leads to the production of a Malinke text in French and the development of an authentic African discourse.</span>”<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (151) In an interview he granted Moncef Badday concerning the stylistic choices he had to make in his fiction </span>Kourouma<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> pointed out:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">J’adapte la langue au rythme narratif africain…. ce livre s’adressse à l’Africain. Je l’ai pensé en malinké et écrit en français prenant une liberté que j’estime naturelle avec la langue classique …</span><span lang="ES" style="mso-ansi-language: ES; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Qu’ai-je donc fait? </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Simplement donné libre cours à mon tempérament en distordant une langue classique trop rigide pour que ma pensée s’y meuve. J’ai donc traduit le malinké en français en cassant le français pour trouver et restituer le rythme africain. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(38)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">[I adapt my language to the African narrative style …this book is addressed to the African. I thought in Malinke and wrote in French, taking some liberty I consider natural with the classical language … So what did I do? I simply let go my temperament by distorting a classical language otherwise too rigid to enable my thought to flow freely. I thus translated Malinke into French, breaking the French to find and restore the African rhythm.]<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn3" name="_ednref3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></span></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The reader of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les soleils des indépendances</i> is able to detect what may be termed a new mode of African storytelling. Kourouma uses a hybrid code which forces the non-Malinke reader to refer to the novelist’s native language and culture for signification. This is because the writer’s use of indigenized French leads to the production of a hybrid text characterized by Africanisms. Chantal Zabus describes this mode of creative writing as </span>“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">the writer’s attempt at textualizing linguistic differentiation and conveying African concepts, thought patterns and linguistic concepts through the ex-colonizer’s language.”(23) The reality of contemporary Francophone African literature is that within it, oral traditions and traditional speech patterns continue to coexist with the encroaching print culture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is perhaps for this specific reason that Obiechina argues: “We are aware that writers are drawing elaborately from … African folklore, traditional symbols and images, and traditional turns of speech, to invest their writing with a truly … African sensibility and flavor.”(143) Although it is tenable to argue that African writers invest their literary works with resources borrowed from oral tradition, I think it is rather disingenuous to posit that there is a “truly” African sensibility and flavor in postcolonial African literature given the heteroglossic contexts in which the texts are written. I argue along the same lines as Chantal Zabus who sees the Europhone African novel as “an ineluctable progeny of the oral art or orature of <place w:st="on">Africa</place>.”(4) The novel in <place w:st="on">Africa</place>, she maintains, is best described as a hybrid product which is looking inward into African orature and outward to imported literary traditions. Modern Francophone African writers straddle this divide by drawing from both indigenous oral traditions and the European cultures which they have adopted. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">It is primarily in their treatment of audience that African writers imbue their texts with the immediacy and exuberance of an actual oral performance. By incorporating oral traditions in their works African writers have succeeded in giving an air of originality to their works. The result is something not only new but exhilarating in its novelty. It should be noted that when the African writer translates his/her culture and worldview into the written word s/he does not act in the technical capacity of a text processor who is engaged mainly in the conversion of words and sentences into equivalent words and sentences in another language. The writer is involved in a conscious act of translation, and that is the only reason why some of the works they produce are of outstanding quality as Achebe has pointed out:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">You read quite often nowadays of the problems of the African writer having first to think in his mother tongue and then to translate what he has thought into English. If it were such a simple, mechanical process I would agree that it was pointless …. Such a process could not possibly produce some of the exciting poetry and prose which is already appearing. (61)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Achebe is no doubt reacting to the controversy that often surrounds the term “translation” in African literary discourse. In writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Things Fall Apart (</i>1958), for instance, he did not transliterate his native Ibo language into English, especially if one takes into account J.C. Catford’s views on transliteration: “In transliteration, source language graphological units are replaced by target language graphological units.”(66) Transliteration results in a one-to-one correspondence in graphological units. This is not the kind of translation that Achebe did in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Things Fall Apar</i>t. Rather he resorted to the technique of adaptation—the process whereby a writer tries to make the target audience identify fully with what s/he has to say using the target language. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as every translator knows, this is easier said than done. Developing dynamic equivalence in translation could be an insuperable task. Indeed; the translator-cum-writer is often confronted with several odds that may render his/her work quite difficult, especially when transitioning from the oral to the written medium. One of such problems is the translation of non-verbal cues into the written word. It is to the nature of such obstacles that Catford draws our attention when he argues that “translation between media is impossible.”(93) In other words, one cannot translate from the spoken to the written form of a language and vice-versa. Arguing along the same lines, Harold Scheub points out:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The problem for the translator of oral materials into a written form are enormous, some of them insurmountable except by extensive multi-media production, and even then the impact of the original performance is diminished. The problem of developing literary correspondences for oral non-verbal artistic techniques is staggering, for the translation of a single narrative performance involves profound transformations which defy equivalence. (“T</span>ranslation of African Oral Narrative Performance...’’ <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">28)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Translating the spoken word into writing may be further complicated by the relationship between the artist (performer) and the audience. Unlike the author of the written text, the oral performer expects that the audience will physically and vocally be present to assist him/her in the performance. To put it differently, members of the audience are not passive spectators as Ruth Finnegan asserts in her study on Limba arts: "In a creative performance, members of the audience did not listen silently nor wait for the chief performer’s invitation to join in. Instead, the audience would break into the performance with their additions, questions and criticisms.” (10-11) In this perspective, members of the audience are part and parcel of the performance in two ways: they help to build the images and they are wholly caught up in the narrative. They are emotionally involved in the ideals being created in the performance. The problem that confronts the translator of oral narrative is how to effectively translate the verbal and non-verbal elements of such a performance into the written word? As Scheub points out, “It is impossible to consider the verbal aspects of the performance in isolation from the non-verbal; yet there is no useful way of transferring the non-verbal elements to paper.”(31)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span></span>By having recourse to translation as a writing technique in his narrative, Kourouma explores in depth the process of blending the French language with Malinké oral traditions, an activity that requires a sustained effort to make translation part of the writing process. <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">As Borgomano contends: “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Dans <i>Les soleils,</i> ce n’est pas le français qui donne forme au discours du texte, c’est plutôt le modèle malinké qui informe le langage du narrateur et celui des personnages.</span></span><span lang="FR" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: FR;"> </span>(159) [In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les soleils,</i> it is not French that gives shape to the textual discourse; rather it is the Malinke model that informs the language of the narrator and of the characters. <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The extraordinary importance of narrative voice, incarnate in the storytelling is the single most telling feature of orality in Kourouma’s fictional work. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les soleils des indépendances</i><u> </u>reveals many aspects of the engaging verbal artistry of the griot<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn4" name="_ednref4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></span></a>. It is by virtue of its oral quality that the reader encounters the shape and sound of oral performance. Like other postcolonial writers, Kourouma employs a variety of indigenization strategies, including vernacular transcription in order to deconstruct the standardized form of the ex-colonizer’s language. This enables them to construct a culturally meaningful discourse as seen in the following passage:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Fama et ses deux femmes occupaient la petite pièce avec un seul lit de bamboo, un seul <i>tara</i> … Avez-vous déjà couché sur un <i>tara</i>? Il grince, geint comme si vous rouliez sur les feuilles mortes d’un sous-bois en plein harmattan. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(158)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">[Fama and his two wives lived in the little room, with its one <i>tara</i> or bamboo bed …]Have you ever slept on a <i>tara</i>? It creaks and crackles as if you were rolling about in a heap of dry leaves in the middle of the harmattan season (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Suns of Independence</i> 106)] </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">This passage provides a cultural context for Kourouma’s narrative. The Malinke word <place w:st="on"><i>tara</i></place> which the English language translator renders as <i>bamboo bed</i> is culturally significant. Bamboo beds are a symbol of social status in <place w:st="on">Africa</place>. People who sleep on bamboo beds are considered traditional in their life style. </span><span style="color: #333333;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Linguistic appropriation is evident in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les soleils des indépendances</i> from the very onset. Right from the opening passage, Kourouma introduces the reader to the Malinke speech pattern: </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Il y avait une semaine qu’avait fini dans la capitale Koné Ibrahima, de race malinké, ou disons-le en Malinké; il n’avait pas soutenu un petit rhume… ”</span></span><span lang="FR" style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(7). [One week has passed since Ibrahima Koné, of the Malinke race, has met his end in the capital city, or to put it in Malinke, he’d been defeated by a mere cold…(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Suns of Independence</i> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3) There are several oral elements in this sentence: the formulaic opening, </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">il y avait une semaine</span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, the emphatic verb </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">avait fini</span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">, the use of the pronoun, </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">nous</span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">to bridge the gap between the narrator and the audience, and finally the proverbial expression, borrowed from the Malinke language, </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> Il n’avait pas soutenu un petit rhume </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">. Kourouma’s linguistic innovation may appear gratuitous to the undiscerning reader yet it is a deliberate attempt by the writer to imprint his Malinke worldview and imagination on the Europhone text. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cameroonian novelist, Patrice Nganang, follows in Kourouma’s footsteps by inscribing <i>camfranglais</i> and other <i>camerounismes<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn5" name="_ednref5" style="mso-endnote-id: edn5;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[v]</span></span></b></span></span></span></a> </i>into French in his novel <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Temps de chien</i> (2001). These borrowed expressions bring local color and flavor into his text. </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For example, Nganang’s narrator Mboudjak makes a comment on the language of his embittered master as follows: </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“Et mon maître lui, se retranchant dans son pidgin de crise, tout en déchirant sur son visage un bleu: ‘<i>Dan sapak i day for kan-kan-o.</i>’ </span>(52) [As for my master—he’d fall back into pidgin, his dialect of disaster, cursing the whores as he tore his face into a sick smile : <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span><i>Dan sapak i day for kan-kan-o. </i><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span><span lang="FR"> </span>(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Dog Days</i> 35<i>)</i> The linguistic hybridity in this excerpt is an indication that the narrator’s master is straddling English and French. The expression <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span><i>Dan sapak i day for kan-kan-o </i><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span><span lang="FR"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>embodies both English and vernacular signifiers. <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span>Dan sapak <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span> is an indigenous word for <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span>whore<span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span> ; the intensifier <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span>kan-kan<span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span>expresses the notion of variety. It could be translated as <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span>many kinds<span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span> or <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span>of all sorts<span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span>. The word <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span>day<span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span>is English but has been given a different signification in this context. Here it means <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">“</span>exist<span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">”</span>. Thus the sentence could be rendered in English as: There are all kinds of whores in this world.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other Cameroonian writers have begun to emulate Nganang by transcribing Camfranglais and other <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Cameroonianisms<i> </i></span>in their fiction. In his latest detective novels Mongo Beti, transcribes Camfranglais and other typically Cameroonian turns of phrase<i> </i>into French.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Trop de soleil tue l’amour</i> (1999), Beti writes: “Quand le grand chef disparaît de chez nous là pour passer deux mois à Baden-Baden là, tu vas même lui dire que quoi?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Je te demande, Norbert, qui va même lui dire que quoi?” </span>(120). [When the big boss disappears from the country to spend two months in <place w:st="on"><city w:st="on">Baden-Baden</city></place>, what do you have to tell him? I am asking you, Norbert, who can say what to him?] </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Announcing the death and burial of his mother to his boss, the same character has recourse to a typical Cameroonian speech pattern: “Mais non, grand<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn6" name="_ednref6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></span></a>, ce n’est pas la même; nous sommes en Afrique non? <span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">Quand je dis ma mère, ce n’est pas toujours celle qui m’a accouché</span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_edn7" name="_ednref7" style="mso-endnote-id: edn7;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[vii]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">, vous savez bien; grand, vous êtes Africain, non?”(120). </span>[Oh no, boss. It is not the same one; aren’t we in <place w:st="on">Africa</place>? When I say my mother, it is not always the one that gave birth to me; you know it very well, boss. Aren’t you African?] Language-mixing is perhaps one of the most effective strategies for achieving linguistic appropriation at the disposal of Beti. It enables him to make the French language bear the burden of his African imagination. By inscribing Cameroonianisms into his text Beti succeeds in underlining the linguistic hybridity that has come to characterize creative writing in Cameroon in particular and Africa as a whole. Throughout the narrative, the reader enjoys not only the writer's virtuosity in storytelling but also his verve at word-smiting. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mixing of languages has become a significant mode of writing in postcolonial African literature as seen in the following examples culled from <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Henri Lopès’ </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Le Pleurer-Rire</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> (1982): “Le damuka s’était réuni dans une venelle de Moundié: avenue Général-Marchand” (14), [The wake was held in a little alley in Moundie: the Avenue General-Marchand. (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Laughing Cry</i> 1).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the very first sentence in the novel Lopès portrays himself as a literary translator. There is a Lingala word “damuka” in the quotation above whose meaning may be lost to the monolingual reader. This first sentence thus sets the tone for the translation task that awaits the reader of the text. Sometimes, the narrator performs this task for the reader, for example, when one of the priests conferring the traditional authority on Tonton Bwakamabé Na Sakkadé declares: “Boka litassa dountouné!”(47) The narrator comes to the aid of non-lingala speakers by translating the sentence for them: “Ce qu’on peut traduire en français par: “Reçois le pouvoir des ancêtres.”(47) [Which could be translated into French as: “receive the powers of the ancestors.] </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The text is filled with Africanized French expressions including this hilarious one: “La bouche, la bouche c’est seulement pour la bouche et la parlation que nous, là, on est fort. C’est ça même, mon frère, ô. Nègre, il connaît bien pour lui bouche-parole.”(42)[These blacks, really, they are not serious. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Just lip, lip—it’s only in lip and palaver that we are strong. Too true, brother-o!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blackmen know not’in but mout’, mout’ (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Laughing Cry</i> 21)]. The expressions “bouche-parole” and “parlation” are pidginized French expressions that could be rendered in standard French as “de pure forme” or “en parole” and translated into English as” lip-service”.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is interesting to note that Lopès attempts to appropriate the French language in this passage by using an abridged syntax which characterizes the spoken word in Lingala. Most of the Africanisms in his text are borrowed directly from this indigenous language, thus endowing the text with local significations. Of extreme importance to this writer is the indigenization of the French language, a process he uses adeptly to express his African sensibility and imagination. Irele notes that the term “African imagination” should be construed as “referring to a conjunction of impulses that have been given a unified expression in a body of literary texts.”(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The African Imagination</i> 4) From these impulses, grounded in both common experience and in common cultural references African literary texts have come to assume a particular significance. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Lopès’ language is intended to illustrate not only the specific fictional universe which it contributes to create but also the cultural context of his writing. This is the reason why he makes his characters speak in their own vernacular languages through the medium of French. Throughout the narrative the writer translates native tongues into French as seen in this passage:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Tu parles! Commentait Elengui. Aux heures des émissions en kissikini, un professeur de physique de cette tribu déclara: “<i>Mana foléma,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>mana toukare lowisso natina</i>”, qui peut être traduit en français par: “ Nous luttons résolument contre le racisme.”(224)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">[So you say! observed Elengui. At the time reserved for the kissikini programs, a physics professor of that tribe declared: “<i>Mana foléma, mana toukare lowisso natina</i>”, which could be translated as: “we shall all fight resolutely against racism.”(<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Laughing Cry</i> 152)<u>]</u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">In an interview he granted Denyse de Saivre, Lopès adumbrates the rationale behind his stylistic choices: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">J’ai voulu trouver le ton qu’emploie le peuple lorsqu’il parle de sa vie quotidienne aujourd’hui en Afrique, et c’est ce ton là que j’ai essayé d’imiter…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Le Pleurer-Rire</i>, qu’est-ce ça veut dire? C’est presque du petit nègre. C’est le français créolisé avec la saveur que nos peuples savent y mettre. Et c’est la manière de dire du peuple que j’ai essayé d’imiter. Le peuple, lorsqu’il se trouve dans des conditions diffíciles dans nos pays, préfère utiliser l’humour…. L’humour…c’est une philosophie que je tire de la culture de nos peuples. Toute tradition orale, les contes jusqu’à “Radio-trottoir” en passant par le chant, en est emaillée. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(121-22)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">[I wanted to adopt a tone that our people use when they talk about their daily lives in <place w:st="on">Africa</place> today. And it is that tone that I have tried to imitate. <u>The Laughing Cry</u> means what? It is a sort of pidgin French. It is creolized French with the flavor that our people are adept at bringing to a language. And it is the speech mannerisms of the people that I have tried to simulate. In our country, when people find themselves in awkward situations, they prefer to use humor…. Humor…is a philosophy that I have borrowed from the culture of our people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All oral art forms, from folktales to “Radio grapevine” and songs are peppered with humor.]</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">As can be seen from these examples, attempts to decolonize African literature are manifest in the conscientious deconstruction of the sacrosanct rules of imperial languages. By resorting to indigenization as a literary paradigm Francophone writers succeed in abrogating the imperial language. They do so by dismantling what they perceive as the power structures of the French language and culture, structures themselves metonymic of the hegemonic control exercised by the French over the ex-colonized. Whether written in diglossic heteroglossic contexts, African postcolonial literatures are often written with the intent of calling into question the privileged centrality of the language and culture of the ex-colonizer. </span><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Empire Writes Back </i>(1989), Ashcroft et al. define literary postcolonialism in the following terms:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 12pt 0.5in;"><span style="color: #333333; mso-bidi-language: HE; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN;">We use the term “post-colonial” … to cover all the cultures affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization to the present day. This is because there is a continuity of preoccupations throughout the historical process initiated by European imperial aggression. We also suggest that it is most appropriate as the term for the new cross-cultural criticism which has emerged in recent years and for the disclosure through which this is constituted …. So the literatures of African countries, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Caribbean countries, India, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Singapore, South Pacific Islands an Sri Lanka are all post-colonial literatures ….What each of these literatures has in common beyond their special and distinctive regional characteristics is that they emerge in their present form out of the experience of colonization and the tension with the imperial power, and by emphasizing their differences from the assumptions of the imperial centre. It is this which makes them distinctively post-colonial. (2)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conflict with the imperial language is evident in Nazi Boni’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crépuscule des temps ancien</i><u>s</u> (1962). In this novel, Boni inserts Africanisms culled from his native Bwamu language as seen in the following example: “La vieille! </span><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">N’avait-elle pas fait son soleil et cassé des dizaines d’amphores?” </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(67), [Had the old lady not done her sun and broken tens of pots?]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The non-Bwamu reader will be at pains to unravel the underlying meaning of the word “soleil” as employed in this context. The difficulty arises from the fact that the narrator translates the thoughts of Hakani’s mother directly from the native Bwa language into French, playing with the expression “to do one’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sun,” which means “ to spend one’s youth”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The reader is likely to run against a similar obstacle when Boni’s narrator says: “Vous savez qu’on n’affronte pas ces épreuves en nombre impair sous peine de voir le plus jeune de la promotion avalé par le Dô. ” (113) [You know that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we do not undergo this ordeal in odd numbers for fear of seeing the youngest participant swallowed by the Dô. In Bwamu culture, when the youngest participant in a rite of passage dies, it is said that s/he has been “swallowed” by the Dô. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is important to note that the novelist skillfully Africanizes the French word “avaler” by giving it a culture-specific signification. In this context the word “avaler” connotes “to die”. Attention should be paid to the use of the Africanism <i>Dô</i> which refers to the Bwamu rite of passage. The technique of selective lexical fidelity whereby the writer leaves some words un-translated in the text has been used abundantly in Boni’s novel to underscore the cultural context in which he is writing. Such a device does more than simply highlight the differences between indigenous and European cultures; it also underlines the crucial function that literary discourse fulfills in the translation of cultures. Boni’s use of Africanisms serves as an indication that the matrix of his text is Bwamu culture. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crépuscule des temps anciens</i> is replete with native-tongue expressions relating to divinities, animals, rites and rituals, for example, Dombeni(God the Great); M’Bwoa Samma(elephant); Tiohoun( balafon); Hunu(death); Kobê( rooster); Hanwa(women); Bawa (men); Yunu (funeral), etc.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These examples go to show that Boni attempts to translate his Bwamu culture into French. </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Mohamadou Kane has noted, Nazi he is, among Francophone writers, “celui qui témoigne le mieux de la difficulté mais aussi de la volonté d’utiliser une langue qui tente d’exprimer<i> </i>de façon satisfaisante<i> </i>l’imaginaire de son ethnie qu’il entendait valoriser.”(80) [The writer whose work exemplifies the difficulty as well as the desire to use a language that attempts to convey properly the imagination of an ethnic group that he wanted to put in the spot light.] Boni set out to write in French but realizing that this language was inadequate to convey his <i>Bwamu </i>worldview and imagination, he deemed it necessary to translate his native language into French. Concerning Boni’s recourse to translation as a literary device, Makhily Gassama writes:</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR;">Il n’y a pas une seule page de <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crépuscule des temps anciens</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>où l’on ne rencontre une expression ou un mot africain ou une tournure de langue maternelle judicieusement ou maladroitement transposée en français. Du point de vue de l’apport de notre littérature romanesque à l’enrichissement de la langue française, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crépuscule des temps anciens</i> est certainement notre roman le plus riche. </span>(223)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;">[There is not a single page in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Crépuscule des temps anciens</i> where one does not find an African expression, word or turn of phrase in the native tongue judiciously or clumsily transposed into French. From the point of view of the contribution of our fiction to the enrichment of French literature<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">, Crépuscule des temps a<u>nciens</u> </i>is certainly our richest novel.]</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Boni exploits the rich mythology of his people in order to provide a human dimension to his tale. Conscious of the presence of the Western reader he provides explanations for his Africanisms. For example, in describing the Bwa inheritance concept he writes:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language: FR; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Les Nimisis ou “Neveux,” les enfants des soeurs, c’est-à-dire tous ceux dont les familles maternelles sont originaires de Bwan, ont plein droit de se les approprier. Ils ne peuvent prétendre à l’héritage de leurs oncles, mais en revanche, sont autorisés à rafler leurs biens dans certaines circonstances. </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">(74)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The Nimisis or “Nephews,” the sisters’ children, that is to say, all those whose maternal families are from Bwan, have full right to it. They cannot claim inheritance of their uncles, but on the contrary, they are allowed to grab their property in certain circumstances.] </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">To give readers an insight into the Bwa concept of filial relationship, the writer explains unfamiliar concepts thus underscoring the fact that the term “nephew” should be understood in a wider sense.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Boni and other writers discussed in this study, it seems to me, are at the crossroads of languages. They are torn between indigenous and European languages. This ambivalence manifests itself in the constant recourse to Africanisms—borrowings which offer them the opportunity to bridge the gap created by the use of European languages considered too poorly equipped to convey African imagination and sensibilities. The technique of indigenization enables these African writers to not only provide a cultural basis for their prose narratives but also to subvert the language of the ex-colonial master. This is the reason why the language of these writers is perceived as analogous to the language of Caliban in Shakespeare’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Tempest (</i>1959).Caliban’s reaction to Miranda’s diatribe encapsulates the bitter reaction of many ex-colonized writers to centuries of linguistic and cultural assimilation: </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">You taught me language; </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">And my profit on’t is I know how to curse.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">The red plague rid you </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">For learning me your language.” (1, ii 332-67) </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Caliban’s abuse of the master’s language has become a symbol of resistance in postcolonial African literature. <u></u></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Patrice Nganang seems to play the role of Caliban in his novel mentioned above. In this text, he uses French words and expressions laden with local significations. More often than not, Nganang inscribes Cameroonian Creole (Pidgin), Camfranglais and vernacular expressions into his French language text in a bid to depict the social-cultural peculiarities and speech mannerisms of his characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He seems to have a predilection for language mixing as seen in the following example: “Ma woman no fit chasser me for ma <i>long. </i>Après tout ma<i> long</i> na ma <i>long.</i>” (80) [My woman can’t throw me out of my house. After all, my house is my house.]<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The English word <i>“long</i>” has changed its grammatical category from adjective to noun under the pen of Nganang. This type of relexification is common in Cameroonian Pidgin. In an interview he granted </span>Eloa<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span>Vound, Nganang had this to say about his style of writing:<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span lang="FR" style="color: #333333; mso-ansi-language: FR;">Pour ce qui est de mon écriture, et de mon enracinement dans le terroir de chez nous, cela vient de ma conviction que nous avons, moi, vous et tous les Camerounais, l’obligation de dire notre histoire avec les mots qui sont les nôtres…” </span><span style="color: #333333;">(8)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333;">[With regard to my writing and my attachment to the native soil, it stems from my conviction that we, I, you and all Cameroonians have the duty to recount our history in words that are ours…] </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333;">In an attempt to contextualize his fiction, this writer communicates not only the attitudes of his characters but also their modes of speech.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: #333333;">Interestingly, this new mode of writing may pose enormous problems not only to readers but also to translators of indigenized African literature. Difficulties may arise from readers’ unfamiliarity with the cultures of the writers. Indeed, readers are expected to be not only bilingual but also bicultural. Uninformed translators may commit bloopers. Readers of Camara Laye’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">L’Enfant noir</i> (1953), for example, are familiar with the “</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">canari”</span>, the clay pot which became “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">canary”<i>, </i></span>the female singer, in the English language translation of the novel by James Kirkup and Ernest Jones. Readers of Mongo Beti’<i>s</i> <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mission terminée</i> (1957) are also familiar with the “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">noix de kola”<i>, </i></span>the kola nut that<i> </i>became<i> </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“chewing gum”</span> in the English language translation of the novel by Peter Green. The case of <span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“bâtons de manioc”</span> in Ferdindand Oyono’s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Une vie de boy</i> (1956) that was rendered as “<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">cassava sticks”</span> in John Reed’s English language translation is well known to readers of the novel. These examples serve as pointers to the fact that literary indigenization may not be the boon that it is supposed to be in the hands of translators. Western readers and African readers from cultures unrelated to those of the authors may have difficulty discerning the meaning of culture-spe<span style="color: #333333;">cific terms and indigenized rhetorical devices used in the texts. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: #333333;">Conclusion</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="color: black;">I have attempted to contextualize postcolonial literary discourse. The truth about African writers’ use of language is that they display a certain degree of ingenuity at linguistic miscegenation. By adapting native tongue syntax and lexical items to European language syntax and lexes, and by situating their texts in culture-specific contexts, these writers exploit the potentials of both indigenous and European languages. Idioms derived from native tongues bring with them a specific perspective of the world that enriches the European language. Moreover, the translation process that takes place in this sort of hybrid literature conveys semiotic signification on account of the cultural specificity of the metaphors, proverbs and other rhetorical devices employed by these writers. In this chapter, I have argued that African writers are perpetually adrift between two languages and two cultures, vacillating from one to the other and subject to indecisiveness. I contend that African writers constantly negotiate space between native tongues and European languages. Positioned on the threshold of two “adversary” languages and cultures, African literature seems to open up an in-between (third space) of cultural ambivalence. The writer becomes the bearer of a split consciousness and a double vision. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apart from the “impunity” of his/her language, the writer suffers from a cultural alienation of sorts. This explains why creative writing in postcolonial Africa is, by and large, a literature of resistance characterized by recourse to linguistic innovation as a necessary means to circumvent the use of standardized European languages considered too limiting for African writers. Literary indigenization often manifests itself in the form of<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> vernacular transcription, pidginization, syntactic fusion, and calquing, code-switching and </span>loanwords — techniques that enable the creative writer to effectively interpolate the worldview and imagination of her/his people into European languages. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 14pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" /></span><br />
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<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" /><div id="edn1" style="mso-element: endnote;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref1" name="_edn1" style="mso-endnote-id: edn1;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[i]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Kouega defines Camfranglais as “a composite language consciously developed by secondary school pupils who have in common a number of linguistic codes, namely French, English and a few widespread indigenous languages.” (3)</span></div></div><div id="edn2" style="mso-element: endnote;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> The transposition of Malinke speech patterns into creative writing.</span></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div></div><div id="edn3" style="mso-element: endnote;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref3" name="_edn3" style="mso-endnote-id: edn3;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iii]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> All translations mine unless otherwise indicated.</span></div></div><div id="edn4" style="mso-element: endnote;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref4" name="_edn4" style="mso-endnote-id: edn4;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[iv]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">A <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">griot</span> French is a West African praise singer, and wandering musician, considered a repository of oral<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>tradition As such, they are sometimes also called<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>bards . In African languages, griots are referred to by a number of names: <b>jeli</b> in northern Mande areas, <b>jali</b> in southern Mande areas, <b>guewel</b> in Wolof <b>gawlo</b> in <u><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fula_language" title="Fula language"><span style="color: black;">Pulaar</span></a></span></u> (Fula), and <b>igiiw</b> (or igawen) in <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hassaniyya" title="Hassaniyya"><span style="color: black;">Hassaniyya</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language" title="Arabic language"><span style="color: black;">Arabic</span></a>.</span> Griots form an <span style="color: black;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endogamous" title="Endogamous"><span style="color: black;">endogamous</span></a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste" title="Caste"><span style="color: black;">caste</span></a>,</span> meaning that most of them only marry fellow griots and that those who are not griots do not normally perform the same functions that they perform.</span></span></div></div><div id="edn5" style="mso-element: endnote;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[v]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Cameroonianisms</span></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div></div><div id="edn6" style="mso-element: endnote;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=8974434463950791750#_ednref6" name="_edn6" style="mso-endnote-id: edn6;" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: blue;">[vi]</span></span></span></span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Boss</span></div></div><div id="edn7" style="mso-element: endnote;"><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[vii]</span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> Gave birth to a child.</span></div><div class="MsoEndnoteText" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0