Today the 20th of May 2018 is celebrated by some portions of the country as the 46th feast of national unity. This celebration unfolds at a time when the country is torn apart by political ideologies, malice in tactical and strategic actions. While some celebrate this day, others mourn their lost, especially in the English speaking regions of the country.
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| Cameroon today. TimsBlog237 |
Civilians have been victims of circumstances from the brutality of those who are put in place to protect them. As a result, many have lost the value of this day. Families who have directly or indirectly been touched by the on going calamity in the Northwest and southwest regions already bear in them a grudge against this day.
Since the start of tensions between the two parts of the country, the government has dragged it's feet toomuch such that the wound has grown largely septic and almost beyond healing. At date, the strategies applied by the government of the country are still largely insufficient.
It all started with the strike of teachers and Lawyers. The retardation to answer to their requests led to the growth of another dimension; federation. At the surfacing of the idea of federation among the Anglophone people, the government then went into resolving the initial problem of the teachers and Lawyers... but it was already out of hand.
The spirit of federation grew as wild fire and was welcomed through out the Northwestern and southwestern regions of the country.
The government again dragged her feet in responding to the demands of these two regions. This time, the ball game moved to a higher height... that of total separation from French Cameroon.
The birth of the latter idea is what woke up the government to its feet. She did not respond to the previous request (that of federation) and strongly objected the ideas.
The spirit of separation grew strong amongst the English speaking regions.
October 1st 2017 witnessed a the enacting of the independence of southern Cameroons, a gesture that brought hundreds of heads of civilians rolling down the mud from the gun holes of Cameroonian soldiers.
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| Cameroon today, TimsBlog237 |
By this time, the educational system was no more a regular one as students had to flee the brutality portrayed by the prevailing atmosphere. Dormitories and hostels were invaded, students raped, some killed and others arrested.
All these threatened national unity and integrity. It also killed the feeling of belonging in most english speaking Cameroonians.
As the crises continued, there was the birth of the ADF (Ambazonia Defence Force).
In a bid to downplay matters, there was the creation of a commission for bilingualism under the control of former prime minister Peter Mafani.
The government also created a special concour for the intake of anglophones into the National School of Administration and Magistracy.
There were a lot more strategies put in place.
All these prove that there was a gap that kept a people at the margin. A people that arose because of discontent.
Currently villages are being burnt and whole towns gradually being turned into ghost towns. The population is moving out, children becoming orphans by the day. Families are in tears.
Nigeria is home for more than 5000 english Cameroonian refugies.
By 2019, Cameroon will be hosting the Total African Cup of Nations and if by then a lasting solution hasn't been found to the ongoing crises the picture will have great loop holes.
Elites and foreign investors can not come and invest in the country because they fear the political situation might grow worse at any moment and affect their businesses. This leads to a massive fall in the GDP of the country. In the Northwest and Southwestern regions, shops are shut down almost everyday. Traffic of commodities and merchandise has dropped a great deal. All these brings in the economic notion of scarcity, leading to sky rocketing prices of basic commodities like foodstuffs.
The Anglophone crises is broader than the mere eye can see. And the bad news is that it keeps getting worse.
The pieces of a broken glass can only be gathered, but the bonds will hardly tie as if it weren't broken.
#NoToBadGovernance
#CreateASolution
#NoToKilling