Anglophone Crisis: The gloves are off ⁰

The Anglophone problem which started like a joke has finally spiraled out of control following the slaughtering of some twenty armless Anglophone protesters in various cities across Southern Cameroons. The protesters had been out to celebrate their independence on October 1, 2017, but were interrupted by security forces who had received orders to shoot and kill from the country’s president, Paul Biya, who is currently living in a five-star hotel in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is doing battle with prostate cancer and other old-age related diseases. Mr. Biya has presided over the country’s destiny for thirty-five years and has nothing to show for all the time he has been leading the country. He has surrounded himself with some “beni oui oui” who are doing their best to loot the country.

Yesterday’s killings have not only jeopardized any chances of dialogue with striking Anglophones, they have also heralded the beginning of a new phase in the struggle to liberate Southern Cameroons from the yoke of Francophone-French condominium. Speaking to a Southern Cameroons Governing Council insider in Washington via phone who also opted for anonymity, www.cameroonconcordnews.com gathered that Anglophones will continue to mount pressure on the crumbling government using all the means available to them. The insider advised that the gloves were off and that the pain and frustration of the people of Southern Cameroons must be taken to the enemy.

He said their response to the slaughtering of fellow Southern Cameroonians will surely come in a different form, advising that Anglophones have the means and resources to make the government pay for the deaths of innocent Anglophones. He pointed out that for so long, the SCNC and the Governing council have been working together to ensure that ordinary Francophones do not get dragged into the conflict, but after yesterday’s killings, it is clear that the equation will be altered to ensure that those who have died must not be forgotten.

“I can tell you, for sure, that the gloves are off. It is hard to dialogue with a government that is intent on killing Anglophones as if their lives mean nothing. We regret the loss of life, but beginning today, those on the other side of the Mungo will also have to have a taste of what we have been going through. They have been sitting on the fence for too long and their position can be interpreted as an endorsement of the death the government is inflicting on our people,” he said.

He added that “we never chose to be Anglophones, but we have the right to live our lives based on our culture which I think the government of Cameroon must respect. It must also understand that we are different. Our mentality does not allow us to accept injustice for too long. We are unlike our Francophone brothers who have lived under oppression for decades and will never rise up against injustice.”

He stressed that Anglophones would go underground to wreak havoc on French and Francophone interest in Southern Cameroons, adding that we will not surrender until the injustice of the last fifty-six years is corrected.
“Our parents lived in a prosperous and functional parliamentary democracy which made us the envy of many African countries. We had a parliament and a Prime Minister. We voluntarily opted to join our Francophone brothers in 1961 and today they are treating us like animals, with television journalists and Francophone governors branding us as rats and dogs,” he said, stressing that “we will never be cowered into submission by a bunch of people who are ruling their country as if they are mercenaries.”

With more than two million Anglophones out of the country, with high concentrations in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, it is likely that most of these people will be happy to raise funds so as to engage the expiring government of Mr. Biya into running battles that may result in many more deaths, our insider said, adding that it is impossible to eat omelet without breaking eggs. “We regret the loss of lives, but we must move forward and we must implement the next phase of our plan.”

“Cameroon is at the crossroads. The country will never be the same again. We may not achieve all what we want, but we have proven that a minority is capable of bringing meaningful change to a country that is being ruled by people who are not patriotic,” he said.

“Francophone must join us if meaningful change has to occur in Cameroon. Their indifference is annoying. The battle lines have been drawn and everybody must choose their side. The government has delivered death to us on many occasions, though we have all along been calling for sincere dialogue. But this cannot continue for too long. Our people have a right to self-defense and we in the Diaspora owe them the duty of providing the necessary resources for them to achieve that goal,” he stressed.

We will fight the government city to city, house to house and street to street until it will run out of steam. We have the wherewithal and there is a pool of willing fighters back home to deliver the punch that will daze the moribund government,” he pointed out, adding that “there will be collateral damage, but that will surely help our leaders to put on their thinking cap.”

From every indication, Cameroon is down a slippery slope. The international community still has enough time to save lives. It will be morally wrong for it to let the situation to escalate before it starts looking for ways to mediate. Cameroon is gradually imploding. With Boko Haram insurgents blowing up people in the north, and central African rebels launching attacks in the east of the country, it will be dangerous for the government to wait for Anglophones to transform themselves into walking bombs before it can think of genuine dialogue. Despite yesterday’s killings, there is still room for dialogue. Many mistakes have been made and the handling of the Anglophone crisis right from the beginning has been at best mediocre. There is still a lot of time for the international community to save Cameroon and that time is now. Cameroon is begging for help and the world should not be looking the other way while the country keeps on bleeding.

A Cameroon Concord News Production
By the Editorial Desk