Monthly Archives: August 2021

Pope Francis appears in video promoting Covid-19 jabs as ‘act of love’

18, August 2021

Pope Francis appears in video promoting Covid-19 jabs as ‘act of love’ 0

Pope Francis said getting the coronavirus vaccine was “an act of love” Wednesday, as the head of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics joined a campaign to boost confidence in Covid-19 jabs.

“Thanks to God and to the work of many, we now have vaccines to protect us from COVID-19,” Francis said in a message for the US-based “It’s Up to You” initiative.

“They grant us the hope of ending the pandemic, but only if they are available to all and if we work together,” he said in the video, aimed at communities disproportionately affected by the virus in North, Central and South America.

“Being vaccinated… is an act of love,” the 84-year old said.

“And contributing to ensure the majority of people are vaccinated is an act of love. Love for oneself, love for one’s family and friends, love for all people“.

Coronavirus has killed at least 4,370,427 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

Despite mass vaccine campaigns, conspiracy theories and distrust of governments or pharmaceuticals are fuelling transmission of the virus.

In the US, the worst-affected country in terms of Covid-19 deaths, the vast majority of new fatalities and serious cases are among the unvaccinated.

Francis was joined by cardinals and archbishops from Brazil, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Peru for the campaign by the Ad Council and COVID Collaborative and the Vatican’s Dicastery for Integral Human Development.

(AFP)

Exiled Southern Cameroons leader says time for French Cameroun troops to leave

18, August 2021

Exiled Southern Cameroons leader says time for French Cameroun troops to leave 0

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government Dabney Yerima has renewed the call for the withdrawal of troops from La Republique du Cameroun, especially army soldiers from the Beti-Ewondo extractions, from the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

“Time is ripe for us to become a country with complete sovereignty and it’s military, where there are no French Cameroun troops, most importantly the Beti-Ewondo military personnel who have been killing innocent Southern Cameroons civilians,” Vice President Dabney Yerima said on Monday.

Yerima also underlined the need for an end to disputes among Restoration groups particularly those in the diaspora.

The roasting of vulnerable people is nothing new during this conflict that has already sent thousands of Southern Cameroonians to an early grave. 

Kwakwa and Ngarbuh are still fresh in many minds. In Kwakwa, an old woman and a sick old man were roasted alive by Francophone army soldiers from the ruling Beti Ewondo tribes in French Cameroun.

In Ngarbuh, the Francophone dominated military gunned down scores of people and set homes ablaze, leaving many calcinated in their homes. These were young children and pregnant women who had nothing to do with the insurgency that has been playing out in Southern Cameroons for over four years.

The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime clearly holds that burning the homes of the poor and innocent Southern Cameroonians will cause the population to discontinue its support to Ambazonia Restoration Forces even when it has not been really proven that the population is supporting the fighters.

The Francophone government of Cameroon has no pity for anybody. The death of children and pregnant women during this fighting does not arouse any pity in government officials. 88-year-old Biya and his Beti kinsmen have one objective – proving that they can win a war – and the generals leading the troops clearly hold that the crisis is an opportunity for them to enrich themselves.

The Yaoundé regime has been unleashing its army soldiers on the Southern Cameroons population just to demonstrate its strength. In Santa in the Northwest region some months ago, troops loyal to the Biya regime mowed down some 20 young men in a hotel and the country’s territorial administration minister, Atanga Nji Paul, argued that the boys were fighters even when it was proven that it was the same government that had invited those boys to that hotel for reasons only known to Atanga Nji.

By Chi Prudence Asong

Ambazonian, Biafra: Does suppressing agitations for separation mean bottling the bomb?

18, August 2021

Ambazonian, Biafra: Does suppressing agitations for separation mean bottling the bomb? 0

Secession related crises are fast becoming omnipresent in Africa and have led to the fragmentation and division of many nations. The unrest usually comes with devastating impacts largely responsible for the continent’s current economic and social retardation. From Nigeria’s Biafra to Cameroon’s Ambazonian, and Ethiopia’s Tigray, the daily heightened tensions show that many African countries are in an unholy union of strange bedfellows due to the forceful marriage of regions with different political and religious ideologies during the colonial era.

The forceful imposition by foreign governments denied the indigenous tribes the chance to decide their co-existence. Years after gaining independence, many of these countries have divided – in most cases – amidst distrust and bloodshed. From the Ethiopia-Eritrea crisis to the Sudan-South Sudan conflict, the self-determination movement across the continent is usually associated with war.

At the same time, there are countries that are yet undivided but highly polarized along ethnic and religious lines. Nigeria, for instance, has grappled with this since amalgamation in the early 1910s.  Despite the obvious disunity, successive governments, both democratic and military, have insisted on the non-negotiability of the country, and every dissenting voice has been crushed with wanton brutality.

In 1967-1970, the Ojukwu led Biafra Army was fought tooth and nail by the Nigerian Army in a civil war that claimed between 500,000 to 2 million lives. Thousands of Eritrean soldiers and civilians also paid the ultimate price for the country’s independence from Ethiopia. Cases like these abound across the continent. But just when the leaders are expected to have learnt their lessons, they seem to be adamant in their approach. In instances where the dialogue should be explored, African leaders seem to favour militarization and brutality.

Despite that, new conflicts are emerging and old ones resurfacing. The Biafra agitation for instance has yet again been brought to the forefront in the past six years. Similarly, the anglophone part of Cameroon, popularly known as Ambazonia, remains resilient in its demand for an independent nation. Much like Nigeria, President Paul Biya’s government has been treating the issue with a forceful approach. In both cases, many civilians, including children and women, have been killed and economic activities ground to a halt at different times.

The Biafra case and other similar crises suggest secession agitation is more an ideological struggle. Suppressing the movement seems to always amount to bottling the bomb as they usually explode again sooner or later.

Many political scientists have attempted to dissect the root causes of the unrest in the content. Since most African countries were products of forced amalgamation, the indigenous people had little or no say over their nationhood. The heterogeneous nature of most of these countries is largely responsible for the recurring rancour and in many cases.

In Ethiopia, the Tigray region has been at the loggerheads with the central government, leading to around 10,000 deaths and over 230 massacres. It has also caused the worst famine in decades. Though this didn’t start as another self-determination conflict, it is fast tilting along that line as more Tigrayans are now seeing independence as a desirable option following months of unrest.

Given the emerging crises, referendums should perhaps be considered as the way out. But in some countries, such as Nigeria, there is no provision for such in their constitution. This begs the question: who’s afraid of a referendum? The answer may not be far fetched, looking at the political structures in most African countries. Wealth and political power distribution reek of inequality that usually favours some regions or tribes at the expense of others.

For instance, since the unification of British Southern Cameroon and French Cameroun, the country has been ruled by Francophone speaking leaders. Many of the central government’s policies are considered unfavourable to the English-speaking parts, leading to the call for their own independent state, Ambazonia.

In Nigeria, the crude oil that represents a huge part of government revenue comes from the Niger Delta region. But most of the oil blocks are owned by individuals from the northern part of the country. The oil-producing region is also one of the most impoverished and degraded in Nigeria, owing to decades of oil exploration which leaves the environment in a mess with fishing, locals’ primary source of income grounded due to oil spillage on their waters.

Similarly, the so-called political elites have consciously created a massive disparity between them and the masses. Poverty and illiteracy seem to have been weaponized and used in keeping the general public suppressed. These elites who benefit from the rot have ensured the status quo remains through unfavourable.

It is difficult to ascertain the exact war-related deaths and economic losses in Africa due to many unreported or underestimated cases. However, going by the conflict trends in the past few decades, we have had too many human and economic losses enough to make African leaders re-strategize their governance approach. The crises are also responsible for the current economic and social retardation across sectors. A recent UN report says 32 million Africans are forcibly displaced by repression and conflicts.

This has plunged the continent into a devastating refugee crisis. Many of the displaced persons also seek refuge outside the continent. Europe is one of the continents that has witnessed a surge in asylum seekers from Africa, due to the recent heightened of armed conflicts. Some of them access Europe through unconventional routes, such as boat rides through the Mediterranean Sea. They endanger their lives with the hope of securing permanent residence in their country of destination, such as Indefinite Leave to Remain in the UK. In the past seven years, more than 20,000 migrant deaths have occurred at sea.

How long would the continent continue to experience conflict-related devastations before long-lasting solutions are brought to the fore? Perhaps, it is high time African countries re-negotiated their coexistence and started embracing peaceful dissolution where living together brings more problems than opportunities.

Source: Defenceweb

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Rebecca Enonchong’s case reflects Biya regime’s habit of arbitrary detentions

18, August 2021

CPDM Crime Syndicate: Rebecca Enonchong’s case reflects Biya regime’s habit of arbitrary detentions 0

On Friday, charges against Cameroonian tech entrepreneur Rebecca Enonchong were dropped, after she had been illegally detained for three days by the government.

“I’m free!! All charges dropped!” Enonchong said on Twitter. “We can retire the #FreeRebecca hashtag. So immensely grateful to all of you for believing in me and supporting me.”

Enonchong was held in detention in her home country and brought before a court in Douala on Thursday.

She was accused of “contempt” and arrested according to a “verbal instruction” by the attorney general of the Littoral Region, according to social activist Edith Kahbang Walla, who also leads the Cameroon People’s Party (CPP).

“There’s no written complaint…no elements of the said contempt, there’s no warrant, there’s no summons.”

Enonchong’s lawyer, Sylvain Oum, confirmed that they received no documentation of what she is accused of nor a formal written complaint against her.

“She is a victim of an abuse of power,” Oum was quoted as saying by CNN. “She never should have been detained in the first place.”

Enonchong, who resides and works in the United States, is one of Africa’s most prominent tech entrepreneurs. She’s the founder of AppsTech, a global provider of enterprise software solutions, co-founder of three other companies, and sits on the boards of at least nine corporations.

Outside of the tech and business world, Enonchong is known to be an advocate for progressive policies and better governance in Cameroon, which has often involved criticising the oppressive administration of Paul Biya.

Outrage on social media followed Enonchong’s detention, with some commenters seeing the arrest as an attempt to intimidate her while setting an example to the diaspora who often speak out against President Biya.

Such claims are hard to prove but the unlawful detention is certainly a reminder of an enduring habit of arbitrary arrests and detentions in the West-Central African country.

Biya’s regime has long been accused of using arbitrary detention to lock up opposition voices, in addition to other various forms of repression and human rights abuses. But despite the number of listed accusations, Biya won the presidential elections in 2018 for a seventh consecutive time.

Reports show that activists, politicians, and academics, particularly from the Anglophone regions, languish in Cameroon’s prisons.

Enonchong has been released but thousands of others suspected of opposing President Biya haven’t been so “lucky”.

Culled from Techcabal

Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime committed to aggressively pursuing ‘marginalization policy’

17, August 2021

Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime committed to aggressively pursuing ‘marginalization policy’ 0

A Southern Cameroons political commentator says the French Cameroun crime syndicate in Yaoundé is relentlessly following its marginalization policy in Ambazonian territory.

“The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime aggressively pursues French Cameroun colonial policies in Southern Cameroons, which has been the bedrock of the regime’s genocide agenda for the last 59 or more years,” Dr Ngassa Anyangwe, an executive member of the Southern Cameroons Broadcasting Cooperation told Cameroon Concord News in an exclusive interview on Monday.

The German based Southern Cameroons physician lambasted La Republique du Cameroun regime’s systematic theft of Ambazonia property and resources as a reprehensible disregard for the inalienable rights of indigenous Southern Cameroonians to their homeland.

The Southern Cameroons academic also criticized the Africa Union for its impotence to prevent French Cameroun’s unjust and blatant violations of international conventions and principles adding that the demise of President Deby of Chad has made Moussa Faki Mahamat to now appear like an orphan in international politics.

“Moussa Faki Mahamat concocted a bias that has prevented the exercise of law against French Cameroun incremental genocide,” Dr Ngassa pointed out.

Dr Ngassa went on to say that the United Kingdom’s decades-long guilty conscience has prevented Britain from criticizing French Cameroun for its barbaric and brutal practices in Southern Cameroons.

By Isong Asu

Defiant Ambazonian leader mourn  Christian Penda Ekoka

17, August 2021

Defiant Ambazonian leader mourn  Christian Penda Ekoka 0

Tribute to a friend and prison-mate; Christian Penda Ekoka

Ten days ago, when we learnt of the passing of Mr Christian Penda Ekoka, we were filled with sadness. On behalf of my people, and in my name, I extend our profound condolences to his immediate family and to the larger community he created through his activism within ACT/AGIR.

In the nine months that Mr Penda Ekoka spent at the Yaoundé Principal Prison, my people and I got to know him. The memory of him and his teammates in the prison courtyard, where we meet to pray, exercise, eat, relax or meditate, lingers on.

He came across as a rigid, stern, decisive, reserved, unbiased administrator and politician. At all times, his intellect and technical mastery was on display. He was soft-spoken, especially while gazing eyeball to eyeball for frank talks. Even where and when we disagreed, we did so respectful of each other.

We learnt and appreciated his keen interests, concerns and personal sacrifices to ameliorate the living-conditions, empowment and liberty of his country-people from their plight. We understood how some of his stances made him incompatible with palace crew and colleagues. 

His death must leave a huge vacuum and an unwavering legacy. We join in prayers that those whom he has mentored through ACT/AGIR and through his other partnerships will carry his mission further.

May his family, friends and community be granted the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss.

Adieu dear friend Christian Penda Ekoka. May you journey well into God’s heavenly kingdom and find rest.

Sisiku AyukTabe

18th August 2021.

Kondengui Principal Prison Yaoundé

Football: Algeria figures as the team to avoid in Africa Cup of Nations draw

17, August 2021

Football: Algeria figures as the team to avoid in Africa Cup of Nations draw 0

Record-setters Algeria, led by Manchester city winger Riyad Mahrez, will be the team to avoid when the draw for a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations seriously disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic is made in the Cameroon capital of Yaoundé on Tuesday evening.

Defending champions Algeria set an African record for an unbeaten run by a senior national team in June when they won a friendly match in Tunisia to reach 27 matches without a loss.

That victory away at North African neighbour Tunisia eclipsed the record set by a Didier Drogba and Yaya Touré-inspired Ivory Coast side in February 2013.

Since losing a Cup of Nations qualifier in Benin 34 months ago, Algeria have won 20 competitive and friendly matches, drawn seven, scored 58 goals and conceded 17.

That sharp form makes the Desert Foxes early favourites to retain the Cup of Nations next February in Cameroon and conquer Africa for a third time.

Hosting Cup of Nations ‘irreversible achievement’ for Cameroon

They are among 24 qualifiers who will be split into six groups with the winners and runners-up in each plus the best four third-placed teams advancing to the knockout phase.

Algeria won the premier African national team competition for the first time in 1990 when they hosted an event then composed of eight teams and edged Nigeria 1-0 in the title decider.

A goal from Baghdad Bounedjah with less than two minutes on the clock in Cairo enabled Algeria to triumph again two years ago, this time over Liverpool winger Sadio Mané’s Senegal.

Algeria will be among the six top seeds for the Yaoundé draw and however bold other coaches’ public declarations may be before the event, privately they will be happy to dodge Mahrez and his teammates.

As one national coach, who requested anonymity, told AFP: “We say we do not fear any rivals, but desperately want to play potentially weak teams for as long as possible in any tournament.”

Premier Leaguer Mahrez is the star attraction in a squad composed of footballers, many born abroad to Algerian parents, who perform for European and Middle East clubs.

Full-back Aïssa Mandi, a long-time regular, recently swapped La Liga clubs, moving from Real Betis to Villarreal, and missed a penalty in the UEFA Super Cup shootout loss to Chelsea.

Belmadi ‘a national treasure’

Mandi is set to play in the upcoming Champions League group stage, as will other Algerians, including Mahrez and AC Milan midfielder Ismaël Bennacer.

Captain Mahrez says much of the praise for the 27-match unbeaten run and the 2019 Cup of Nations triumph must go to coach Djamel Belmadi, now 45 and a one-time Manchester City midfielder.

“He is a national treasure. You cannot exaggerate his importance to the team. The work of Djamel is deeply respected by all Algerians,” says the 2016 African Footballer of the Year.

It bears noting however that favourites have not succeeded in the Cup of Nations since 2010, when Egypt became the first country to win the competition three times in a row.

Zambia were shock winners in 2012. Nigeria exceeded expectations by finishing first in 2013 (when the tournament switched to odd-numbered years). And after many failures when favoured, it came as a surprise when the Ivory Coast finally triumphed in 2015.

Cameroon mocked the form book by succeeding in 2017. Finally, two years ago, hosts Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia were all considered stronger contenders to bring the cup to North Africa than the ultimately victorious Algeria.

Some coaches will be under extreme pressure in Cameroon to go far, notably Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic with Morocco and German Gernot Rohr with Nigeria.

A condition of the Halilhodzic contract is that he must reach the semi-finals at least while Nigerian football bosses have told Rohr to win the competition.

Besides Algeria, the other first seeds and strong title contenders are Cameroon, Senegal, Tunisia, Nigeria and Morocco.

Record seven-time champions Egypt, Ghana and Ivory Coast are other possible winners and those looking for a long-shot could consider Mali, who were runners-up to Congo when Cameroon last hosted the tournament 49 years ago.

Cameroon were selected to stage the 2019 tournament, but fell behind with stadia and other preparations and Egypt had to take over at short notice.

Given a second chance, the central African nation have had to postpone the tournament twice due to wet weather concerns and the Covid-19 pandemic and even the draw, originally set for June, was delayed by the pandemic.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Biden defends withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan

17, August 2021

Biden defends withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan 0

US President Joe Biden on Monday defended his decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan, noting there was no good time to withdraw from America’s longest war while waiting for Afghan troops to be able and willing to confront the Taliban. “American troops cannot and should not be fighting in a war and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves,” he said.

President Joe Biden said on Monday he stood “squarely behind” his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan despite searing images of chaos in Kabul that exposed the limits of U.S. power and plunged him into the worst crisis of his presidency.

Breaking his silence on the U.S. pullout after scenes of bedlam dominated television news channels for days, Biden blamed the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan on Afghan political leaders who fled the country and the unwillingness of the U.S.-trained Afghan army to fight the militant group.

He warned Taliban leaders they would face “devastating force” should they interfere with the U.S. pullout. Biden was forced to send U.S. troop reinforcements to Kabul to ensure a safe withdrawal of American diplomatic personnel and civilians as well as Afghan citizens who worked with the United States and could face reprisals.

The panicked evacuation, coming weeks after Biden predicted the Taliban’s takeover in Afghanistan was not inevitable, has dented America’s image on the global stage just as Biden has sought to emphasize to world leaders that “America is back” after former President Donald Trump’s tumultuous four years.

The pullout has also raised fears that militant groups like al Qaeda could reconstitute under Taliban rule.

Biden, rejecting harsh criticism of his Afghan policy from Republican and Democratic lawmakers, some former generals and human rights groups, was resolute in defending his withdrawal from a 20-year war that endured through four presidencies.

We went to Afghanistan almost 20 years ago with clear goals: get those who attacked us on September 11, 2001—and make sure al Qaeda could not use Afghanistan as a base from which to attack us again.

We did that—a decade ago.

Our mission was never supposed to be nation building.

“I stand squarely behind my decision,” Biden said in a televised speech at the White House. “After 20 years I’ve learned the hard way that there was never a good time to withdraw U.S. forces. That’s why we’re still there.”

Biden said he found some of the scenes of chaos in Kabul “gut-wrenching” but that he did not start moving out evacuees sooner because Afghan President Ashraf Ghani did not want a mass exodus.

Political Risks Unclear

He acknowledged that the Taliban’s speed in retaking the country was unexpected. The rapid advance stunned American officials who predicted that the Afghan army would either repel the militants or hold them off for months.

“The truth is: This did unfold more quickly than we anticipated. So what’s happened? Afghanistan political leaders gave up and fled the country. The Afghan military gave up, sometimes without trying to fight,” Biden said.

He also doled out criticism to his Republican predecessor, Trump, whose administration negotiated a deal with the Taliban that Biden said left the group “in the strongest position militarily since 2001.”

Critics of Biden have focused on the way the U.S. withdrawal is being carried out, as video showed Afghans flooding runways at the Kabul airport and desperately trying to grab the fuselage of a U.S. plane rolling on the tarmac.

“The president’s failure to acknowledge his disastrous withdrawal provides no comfort to Americans or our Afghan partners whose lives hang in the balance,” Republican Senator Mitt Romney said in a tweet.

Biden singled out for criticism the two main Afghan leaders, Ghani and Abdullah Abdullah, head of the country’s High Council for National Reconciliation, saying they had “flatly refused” his advice to seek a political settlement with the Taliban.

“How many more generations of America’s daughters and sons would you have me send to fight Afghans – Afghanistan’s civil war, when Afghan troops will not? How many more lives – American lives – is it worth? How many endless rows of headstones at Arlington National Cemetery?” Biden asked.

On Monday night, Biden on Monday authorized up to $500 million from an emergency fund to meet “unexpected urgent” refugee needs stemming from the situation in Afghanistan, including for Afghan special immigration visa applicants, the White House said.

The United States is preparing to begin evacuating thousands of Afghan applicants for special immigration visas (SIVs) who risk retaliation from Taliban insurgents because they worked for the U.S. government.

Whether Biden will face a long-term political risk for Afghanistan is unclear. Foreign policy does not typically play a major role in U.S. elections. Many Americans have expressed support for Trump’s and Biden’s decision to leave Afghanistan, America’s longest war. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/americas-longest-war-20-years-missteps-afghanistan-2021-08-16

But Republican Representative Mike McCaul signaled his party might try to frame the Afghan chaos as a national security issue that makes the United States more vulnerable to terrorist attack.

“I think it is going to taint this presidency, to a large degree, on national security,” he said.

The United States and allies invaded Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington and toppled the Taliban, who had hosted al Qaeda militants responsible for the attack.

Biden also said his decision was a result of the commitment he made to American troops that he was not going to ask them to continue to risk their lives for a war that should have ended long ago.

“Our leaders did that in Vietnam when I got here as (a) young man. I will not do it in Afghanistan,” he said. “I know my decision will be criticized but I would rather take all that criticism than pass this decision on to another president.”

(REUTERS)

2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION LAUNCH

17, August 2021

2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION LAUNCH 0

Today, SOBA UK announced the 2021 Annual Residential Convention, officially known as the SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION LAUNCH.

Currently in development, the 2021 SOBA UK ANNUAL RESIDENTIAL CONVENTION LAUNCH opens in a new tab and is being directed to “Appreciating Community Spirit”.

Poised to be the first major African event in the UK after the Covid-19 pandemic, SOBANS have developed the Annual Residential Convention Launch to address systemic diversity and equity issues deep within the Sasse Old Boys.

Below is the official statement from the SOBA UK leadership

We trust that you and your family are keeping well.

We are delighted to announce the 2021 SOBA UK Annual Residential Convention to be held at The Hilton at St George’s Park, Burton Upon Trent, from 15th to 17th October 2021. St George’s Park is the Home of the England National football teams and is a magnificent venue for Sobans, their families, and guests to have a great get away and the ultimate event experience over two days.

In 2018, SOBA UK selected St George’s Park and delivered one of its most successful conventions. The feedback from our guests were excellent and we hope to surpass that experience again this year. Some facts about The Hilton at St George’s Park are in the attached 3-paged flyer accompanying this launch

Covid-19 measures

In July, the UK Government lifted all lockdown restrictions relating to social gatherings. This has allowed SOBA UK and the Hilton to proceed with this convention. However, SOBA UK will seek to provide reasonable safety measures and encourages all guests to take the necessary Covid-19 measures, in line with government advice.

We encourage our guests to take their double vaccine jabs and/or take a Covid test prior to the event. The capacity at the event will be limited to 250 places to allow for sufficient distancing and guests will have access to hand sanitisers and temperature checks at entry. In addition, the gala event will start at 4.30pm and finish at 2.30am, to adjust to the new normal.

Convention theme

The theme of this year’s Convention is “Appreciating Community Spirit”, reflecting on the difficult year we have had as a community due to the Covid-19 pandemic, those who have suffered illness or lost loved ones, and on how we have missed the company of each other. This theme also extends to our communities in Cameroon who have benefitted from our collective kindness here in the UK from past fundraising initiatives. Our fundraising focus this year is equipping the Sasse College library. We will be looking to assist where possible and we look forward to your generous support. We will supplement our usual fundraising event at the gala with a GoFundMe campaign, which will be launched in the coming week.

We have allowed free time on the Saturday 16th October up to 4pm for Soban parents to spend quality time with their families at the venue. This has been made possible by moving our Annual General Assembly Meeting to take place virtually and a week prior to the convention.

We will make available the services of a children entertainer on the day on the Saturday 16th.

We will also be making available a nanny service (for a fee and subject to demand) on the Saturday night whilst parents attend the convention ball at the Sir Bobby Robson Ballroom. Please confirm upon booking your ticket the number of children in your party.

Given the early gala start time, we recognise the need to provide dinner for our children and we will be providing each family with snacks. Please confirm upon booking your ticket if you will require the snack and the number of children in your party.

We have allowed free time on the Saturday 16th October up to 4pm for Soban parents to spend quality time with their families at the venue. This has been made possible by moving our Annual General Assembly Meeting to take place virtually and a week prior to the convention.

We will make available the services of a children entertainer on the day on the Saturday 16th.

We will also be making available a nanny service (for a fee and subject to demand) on the Saturday night

whilst parents attend the convention ball at the Sir Bobby Robson Ballroom. Please confirm upon booking your ticket the number of children in your party.

Given the early gala start time, we recognise the need to provide dinner for our children and we will be providing each family with snacks. Please confirm upon booking your ticket if you will require the snack and the number of children in your party.

Ticket price

SOBA UK always seeks to deliver great value events at competitive prices to our guests. However, following the year and half long pandemic shutdowns hotel venues have significantly increased their prices but we have modestly reflected these increased costs in our ticket prices. Our price will be £100 for a standard ticket with an early bird discount of £50 to a table of 10 guests which ends on 25th September. Please contact our sales agents for more details – contact and payment details are on the attached flyer.

Hotel rooms

There are limited rooms available, and rooms can only be purchase via the link provided below. The hotel is already sold out for Saturday 16th October, except for the rooms allocated to our guests. Please book your room as soon as possible. We expect the demand for hotel rooms to be very high for those seeking to stay at the venue. CLICK HERE TO OPEN HOTEL BOOKING LINK

On behalf of all Sobans in the UK, we say a big thank you in advance for your continued support of SOBA UK.

We encourage you to buy your tickets as soon as possible and begin your planning for the convention.

We look forward to welcoming you and your families at The Hilton at St George’s Park.

Kind regards

Franklin Egbe

President, SOBA UK On behalf of the SOBA UK Event Management team

Biya goes home as Macron mounts pressure!

16, August 2021

Biya goes home as Macron mounts pressure! 0

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, finally arrived Yaoundé in a very low-key event which was barely announced contrary to what his collaborators are used to doing.

He was welcomed at the airport by some of his closest collaborators who have been suffering in silence as the bad news regarding his health reached them in Yaoundé.

The Cameroon strong man, who never wears a mask, finally donned one, sparking rumors that he had been very sick and might have lost some teeth.  Physically, the President looked trimmed and tired, a sign that he had gone through some health issues.

Mr. Biya, whose declining health has been a cause for concern to many in Cameroon, had been under enormous pressure to return home even when his Swiss doctors had advised against him returning to Cameroon which lacks state-of-art technology to take care of his multiple illnesses.

Even the French President, Emmanuel Macron, had been urging the ailing Cameroonian president to return home before the constitutional provision that might result in the opposition calling for a declaration of a vacancy due to ill health or insanity, kicked in sometime next week.

The French are still looking for somebody who can validly replace Mr. Biya whom they consider too old and too frail to continue to defend their interests in Cameroon.

Before boarding the private jet to Cameroon, Mr. Biya’s Swiss doctors who were opposed to his return gave him some good doses of steroids which enabled him to beat any pain and to have the energy to get out of the airplane and walk to his limousine, a source in Geneva told the Cameroon Concord News Group.

“Mr. Biya is scheduled to return to Europe in a few weeks where he is expected to continue with his treatment. A Swiss medical expert will be in Yaoundé for a couple of weeks to continue monitoring the President whose health situation is still a major concern. The medical expert will be working in close collaboration with his colleagues in Geneva to ensure all goes according to plan,” the source added.

Mr. Biya, who is expected to receive the CAF president tomorrow, and then preside over the CEMAC Heads of State Summit, will be expected to stay away from the public because of his health and the Coronavirus which can easily eliminate him due to his age and co-mobidity, although he has taken his two doses of the anti-covid vaccine.

It is rumored that he is currently working on a new cabinet and this will imply ridding himself of some of the sycophants who have been responsible for the escalation of the Southern Cameroons crisis.

Many cabinet ministers are aware of the cabinet reshuffle and many have been working extra hard to prove that they are loyal and capable of helping the dictator implement his political and economic agenda which has only plunged the country into multiple crisis.

Mr. Biya is expected to be briefed by the Minister of Defense, Joseph Beti Assomo, on the unfortunate drama playing out in the two English-speaking regions of the country and in the Far North region where Boko Haram is blowing up many soldiers and a civil war between two tribes is playing out in a very ugly way.

The Cameroon Concord News Group’s correspondent in Yaoundé, Rita Akana, is keeping a close eye on things and has reported that there is an uncertain calm in Yaoundé, though there is relief that the main architect of the destructive corruption in Cameroon is back.

She has also pointed out that though the president’s return is good news to his collaborators, many Cameroonians still hold that Mr. Biya has overstayed his welcome and that it is time for a new generation to steer the country to safer shores.

Many Cameroonians are reluctant to express their minds in public because of the tidal wave of fear and intimidation that Mr. Biya has engineered but behind the scenes, they say that he clearly belongs to the past and that they are looking forward to the day this complicated equation will be solved.

More will be yours as we get more details.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

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