Undesired Yet Enslaved

Fon Christopher Achobang Social Commentator, Human Rights Activist

Ennemi dans la maison! Anglofou! Biafrais! Most Anglophones would remember having been called one of these names, or all of the names intended to belittle and insult their person. The little gift of the Queen of England has become sour that the receiver behaves like it is an encumbrance, even though resources from that gift feed its systems.

Part of the gift that remained in the Nigerian Federation also receives aspersions from those who believe they are more Nigerian than the Northern Cameroonians of the former British Cameroons, given them freely.

Development in both areas severed during the plebiscite lags behind and people from these areas are discriminated in appointments to positions of responsibility in the Cameroun Republic and the Nigerian Federation. From Lagos to Abuja, when folks from the former Northern Cameroons show up for anything, they are described as Cameroonians. With that categorization, they may only be considered when no other blueblood Nigerian shows up.

In Yaounde, Cameroun folks from the South West and North West Regions, who still believe they belong to the country are meted the same treatment as their counterparts in Nigeria. Here they are called biafrais. Meaning they are part of the Biafra republic crushed by the Nigerian Federation.

On 8 January 2014, I showed up at the immigration service of the Cameroun national delegation of security in Yaounde to find out what was delaying issuance of my daughter's passport. All formalities had been honoured including bribing the agents to expedite the issuance of the passport. Fast passport was to last three days at most. After three weeks my daughter's passport was not out.

Because my daughter has this poetic name using apostrophes and dashes, some of the names were simply abbreviated in America, while only those easy to pronounce were highlighted.

According to the immigration police, this smacks of double identity smelling of the fraud and forgery typical of Anglophones.

I pumped up my chest and stood over the police corporal who had the effrontery to make such a statement.

“Who are you calling Anglophone?” I asked
“You Biafrais like falsification of papers.” The police man added

My anger was already up and I barely calmed myself from spanking him. I insisted to know his identity so I could press charges but he remained evasive.

After receiving over FCFA 150,000 as bribe money for my daughter's passport and waiting for three weeks, we had to repeat the process. When we deposited the papers, Officer Ekanga asked us to add FCFA 60,000. I flared as I was already requesting a return of the bribe fee earlier given to Nana for the expedited passport which never came out after three weeks.

I raised hell at the immigration service when my daughter's aunt announced that Ekanga had asked for more money. I stormed out of the office and Ekanga got scared. He quickly returned FCFA 100,000 he had earlier collected to my daughter's aunt. I marched out and saw my daughter crying that she will not be able to travel back to the USA.

I seized my daughter's hand and marched her back into the office of Superintendent of police Ngokeng.

Commissioner Ngokeng headed the anti-corruption unit of the immigration police. But one door from hers, Ekanga was busy taking bribe money from Cameroonians. When she heard the ordeal, she calmed down my daughter promising to do everything to get the passport out latest Tuesday 14 January for her to travel. She rallied the police and warned them to stop disgracing the corp. She reminded them that she knows Ekanga and his agents will try to block the establishment of my daughter's passport, but she will monitor the process and sanctions will follow if anything happened.

Reunification Anniversary celebration in Buea
Since 2010, President Biya of Cameroun has been making plans to celebrate the reunification of the Cameroons in Buea. After four years, the celebration is unable to take place. Looking at the calendar any celebration of any trumpeted reunification will not reflect any historical fact.

It is also evident that the Anglophone populations of the Cameroons do not feel as part of the union. The United Nations does not also have any marriage certificate between West Cameroon and East Cameroun. That notwithstanding there is a footnote on the plebiscite document that the plebiscite was not final and should be repeated after 50 years to see if the people still wished to be parts of Nigeria and Cameroun.

The champions of reunification, John Ngu Foncha, Solomon Tandeng Muna, Egbe Tabi Emmanuel and their ilk staged their volte-face in the 1990s when they publicly apologized for leading their people into the mess with the Cameroun Republic.

Ever since the 1990s, different groups campaigning for self-rule and self-government for Southern Cameroons have been formed and they have articulated their wishes on different platforms. Ambasonia, Southern Cameroons, West Cameroon and the trendiest today is the UNO State of Cameroon, championed and sponsored by the United Nations.

It is not easy to say in a few words the undercurrents undermining the unity or disunity of the component parts of Kamerun. I use Kamerun because that geographical space colonized by the Germans was larger than what we have today as Cameroun.

People on the banks of the River Moungo have since forged different identities since 1919 when the defunct League of Nations decided to partition Cameroon into two, one part going to France and the other part to England. Different history, languages, and aspirations were being tinkered.

Today, it is safe to conclude that the Anglophones of Cameroun and the Francophones cannot live together as they have different languages, separate histories and variant aspirations. Any effort at bonding the people together is an exercise in futility.

IDENTIFICATION OF SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS AND PASSPORTS

Considering all the frustrations and annoying categorizations Southern Cameroonians are stamped with when trying to carry the identification papers of the Cameroun Republic, it is incumbent that the nascent UNO-state of Cameroon speeds up the identification of its subjects.

UNO-State of Cameroon would be in West Africa and member of the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) and benefit from all the advantages of moving people and property across the region without any harassment from customs and immigration services.

Presently, Cameroun Republic belongs to the Customs and Economic Community of Central Africa (CEMAC). Cameroonians trying to go to neighboring countries and member countries of the CEMAC undergo serious indignities. Cameroonians have been expelled from Gabon and Equatorial Guinea many times. West Africans in the ECOWAS do not undergo such indignities.

There would derive many economic and political advantages. Dangote cement manufactured in Nigeria and transported to Ghana, sells there at the same price as obtained on any Nigerian market.

It is possible to hold multiple nationalities in other African countries while it smacks of fraud and forgery holding two identification papers from different countries in Cameroon. Cameroonians coming back to their countries after expiry of their travelling papers are treated as foreigners and must obtain an entry visa.

Emah Basile, late former lord mayor of Yaounde described Anglophones who clamoured for a return of the stolen victory of John Fru Ndi as ennemis dans la maison (enemies in the house). President Biya who claims to be custodian of the unification failed to sanction or blame the lord mayor. Mama Fouda, present minister of Public Health threatened to chase all Anglophones and people from other parts of the country involved in strikes in 2008 away from Yaounde. This type of action from a serving cabinet member should have met fisted condemnation from President Biya. Biya was yet mute on this.

The official support for the rejection of Anglophones in the Cameroun Republic extends to other fields where they are considered as second class citizens. As such they are not supposed to occupy certain functions.

Today, even the doubting Thomases who pretended to have equal representation in Cameroun Republic would have understood after the introduction of a full house of parliament, that the Anglophones now occupy a dispensable fourth position of authority in Cameroon.

Some years back when the Prime Minister was the number two personality in Cameroon, the Anglophones occupying that position believed they had power. Today, President of Republic (Francophone) number one personality, Senate president (Francophone) is number two personality, Speaker of National Assembly (Francophone) number three personality, and the Anglophone is prime minister occupying a remote fourth position. The present prime minister is even despised by his Secretary General (Francophone).

If Anglophones are such undesired subjects in Cameroun Republic, why does the country think it has a right to continue exploiting West Cameroon resources and enslaving its citizens?

Biya, let my people go!
Nigeria is ready to let the Local governments it inherited from Northern Cameroons to join their brothers in Southern Cameroons to make the UNO-State of Cameroon. Anglophobic agents in Cameroun Republic will not stop Anglophones from having self-rule and self-government.

Fon Christopher Achobang
Social Commentator, Human rights activist
Mbengwi County
The Cameroons
Tel, (237) 99365954
(237) 74211066