IG STATEMENT ON AUDIO ORDERING MURDER AMONGST SELF-DEFENCE FORCES

Fellow Ambazonians,

There is an audio circulating on social media from an agent of darkness in the United States instructing Ambazonian self-defense forces to attack and kill one another. The Interim Government of Ambazonia strongly condemns this appalling and unacceptable request and calls on all self-defense forces to ignore this shocking appeal. The notion that Ambazonians should be encouraged to attack and exterminate one another is shameful, distasteful, outrageous, and unacceptable. And the perpetrators of these sorts of actions shall one day face the Southern Cameroons justice system.

Our self-defense forces are an essential component of our liberation struggle. Their sacrifices are worthy and have brought us this far. As leaders and the Diaspora, our role is to promote unity amongst them, not divide them. Unfortunately, last year, we witnessed the senseless killings of many self-defense forces by people who claimed to fight for our flag. These killings are unacceptable.

To Our Self-defense Forces

My dear restoration forces, you must STOP attacking each other! Our common enemy is La Republique du Cameroun.  Your task as self-defense forces in this struggle is to free our people and defend Ambazonia from grave danger. Your paramount loyalty is to the nation above any frontline movement or so-called leader in the Diaspora. We cannot aid and abet the enemy by fighting amongst ourselves. This war requires our sustained loyalty and self-restraint.

In this war for freedom, you have all chosen to bear the duty of self-defense. Yet, your actions must be guided by a vision of unity and collaboration on the battlefield of many dangers. Ambazonia cannot afford to lose any more lives in avoidable circumstances. Millions of Southern Cameroonians have confidence in you and are praying for you as you undertake this gigantic task to free our nation. Unity amongst you will be a decisive blow to the rogue advisers passing for leaders in the Diaspora. Ambazonia is watching you, and in you, her hope for victory lies. That trust is well placed, and you cannot afford to let your nation down with infighting.

There are difficult days ahead, yet we must remain strong. But above all, you at the forefront of this struggle must remain united. So, we must confront this dangerous enemy with unity and purpose. We must unite to defeat this evil of tyranny. Fellow Ambazonians, we will not fail. Instead, we will unite, persevere, and defeat this common enemy with all its collaborators in the Diaspora.

Thank you, and may

God bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President, Federal Republic of Ambazonia

The international community is not watching, Cameroon under the 88-year-old President Biya has edged toward collapse, and the Chairman of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate is in his weakest position ever. France and its youthful President Emmanuel Macron now have a narrow chance to prevent a catastrophe in the CEMAC region.

Southern Cameroons Interim Government promised to keep its struggle for an independent state peaceful … but President Biya and his French Cameroun political elites said they wanted bullets, they are now getting them.

The War in Southern Cameroons has already claimed at least 40 000 lives, almost all of them civilian children, men and women, murdered by Cameroun troops in a series of targeted killings, organized massacres, and killings by fire in over 400 villages burnt down to ashes across Ambazonia. Over half a million people have been forcibly displaced as refugees living in various countries and especially in refugee camps in Nigeria. Over another half a million people have become IDPs hiding in forests, caves and hills due to forced displacement. Additionally, over 1.5 million people are facing a humanitarian disaster.

But it is not only Southern Cameroons that is going through such an apocalypse. The northern part of the country has been the theater of violent confrontations between government troops and Boko Haram fighters who have bombed many civilians into an early grave.

While the government has been active in the North hoping that it could roll back Boko Haram fighters who are believed to come from Nigeria, government forces have succeeded to alienate the Northerners due to massive and bloody killings and abuse of the civilian population which now sympathizes with Boko Haram fighters who are sometimes viewed as liberators.

As remarkable as they are, the war in Southern Cameroons and the Boko Haram security crisis unfolding are merely a symptom of a far greater crisis striking at the heart of the Biya regime and its prospects for survival. Reckless politicking on the part of France in Bangui has brought mighty Russia into the Central African Republic and there is panic all over the CEMAC region. President Ali Bongo of Gabon recently staggered to 10 Downing Street to raise a finger against the Russians while Sassou Nguesso attempted to placate the Congolese people by saying that his current term will be his last. Biya is now walking on broken bottles!

Biya may have crushed the SDF and MRC opposition parties over the years but every single root cause of the Anglophone uprising is not just still in place, but has worsened. Added to this difficult situation is the emergence of multiple armed groups in the Far North bordering the Republic Chad-the odd man in the CEMAC region.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that the challenges to Biya regime’s prosperity, credibility or survival remain in place in every corner of Cameroon including the East region where rebels fighting the government in the Central Africa Republic have made it their base. For the first time in nearly 40 years, French speaking Cameroonians from the Centre-South regions which is the home constituency of Biya and his ruling elites who outwardly support Biya or who have remained quietly loyal to his rule have begun to share whispers of their own exasperation.  In holding on to power which is typical of French speaking African leaders, Paul Biya has effectively—and purposely—destroyed his own country.

With the establishment of a KGB base in Bangui, Russia has indirectly offered a new and almost unprecedented opportunity to the Americans. Although it seems like the US paid little attention to Sub Saharan Africa, it has a justification now to be fully present. If the US fails to get involved, the French policy of Son-Succeeding-Their Dads like in Gabon, Togo and of recent Chad will push French speaking Africans towards Russia and China. So, getting rid of Biya as quickly as possible will usher in real and long-overdue changes to the Sub Saharan region that could otherwise become a global tinderbox.

Cameroon as a nation has already taken a truly unprecedented turn for the worse and it has crashed into a debilitating crisis that has shattered every fiber of the so-called bilingual country, leaving greater levels of destitution, famine, and worsening criminality and predatory behavior in both French and English speaking sections of the country. If something is not done and done in a hurry, the giant of the CEMAC region which is currently a human-rights disaster will become a breeding ground for dangerous extremists and regional instability.

The name Franck Biya is now being mentioned as a possible replacement but that Biya family path for Cameroon may emerge as so deeply distasteful for so many Cameroonians that instability, anger, disenchantment and perhaps a Russian-Bangui push might end up unseating the entire Beti Ewondo clan.

The crisis in Southern Cameroons is already of grave concern to France, which along with the European Union is the primary source of President Biya’s external support.

Tribalism and nepotism are really tearing the country apart also as most senior government positions are only occupied by Biya’s tribesmen and those loyal to him and his ruling crime syndicate.

However, it is not the government’s nepotism that is the issue but the results it has posted over the last four decades. Cameroonians would not be bothered if those occupying those strategic positions were really delivering desired results.

While across Cameroon the unemployment rate is high, it is a lot higher in Southern Cameroons and in the northern regions where there are no companies, no roads, no hospitals and no social services and financial assistance that can even cushion the impact of the economic hardship.

The frustrations in the North are legion and the pain is excruciating. The North has lost almost everything it had during the Amadou Ahidjo days and this is really painful.

Northerners have grudges and they want to get their pound of flesh sooner rather than later. The Biya regime had killed thousands of Northerners, especially senior northern military officials, following a coup d’état in 1984 that led to the country’s first president, Amadou Ahidjo, fleeing to Senegal where he died and is currently lying in an unmarked grave.

This bitterness and the corruption which have robbed the northern population of many services has pushed the frustrated northern population to set up a militia which is now armed and willing to fight the Yaoundé government that has never incorporated dialogue into its national development and integration strategy.

France leverage in Cameroon is presently suffering from irrational and unpredictable decision-making in Champs-Élysées, but Paris still matters in the Sub Saharan region and has a chance to shape the outcome. To be sure, the death of Chadian President Idriss Deby-an ally of Biya and Biya’s current weakness provides more meaningful opportunities than we have seen over the years.

Cameroon is falling apart and so too is the ruling CPDM party and the way things are shaping up, if care is not taken, it might end up like Zaire, currently the Democratic Republic of Congo, where since its brutal dictator, Mobutu Seseseko, fell in 1994, the country has been unstable and the number of militia has grown by leaps and bounds and the country has become the epitome of political chaos.

The international community must stop looking the other way as Cameroon continues its unfortunate but sure descent to the bottom of the abyss of chaos and corruption.

With new armed groups cropping up on a daily basis, it is obvious that the country which is now on life support may one day implode and the consequences could linger for a very long time.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Nota: Ambazonia is the indigenous name of the former United Nations trust territory of the Southern Cameroons under United Kingdom Administration for close to half a century, excluding the period of British connection with the territory from 1843 to 1887. When Republique du Cameroun took control of the territory, it split it into two parts and designated them as “northwest and southwest provinces/regions of Republique du Cameroun.” This was rejected and continues to be rejected by the people of the former British Southern Cameroons. The people of the territory insist on the indigenous name of their Homeland which is Ambazonia. This is consistent with a 1978 recommendation of UNESCO that African countries should call their countries by the name they wish to be known. Here, the designations ‘Ambazonia’ and ‘the Southern Cameroons’ are used interchangeably.

Background

Imposed plebiscite: The Southern Cameroons was one of the territories set for decolonization in the context of the UN decolonization agenda. Britain’s devious handling of it and the British wheeling and dealing at the UN in 1959 and 1960 caused a great historical injustice to the people of the Southern Cameroons. That injustice continues to cry out for redress. British action resulted in the unconscionable imposition of an unnecessary and precipitated plebiscite with dead-end alternatives. Speaking through Lord Perth, Britain shamefully said the Southern Cameroons and its people were “expendable”.

The plebiscite was imposed in the teeth of opposition by the leadership of the trust territory. It offered Hobson’s choice of ‘joining’ either Nigeria or French Cameroun. The internationally-prescribed political status option of sovereign independence was deliberately excluded. There was no good reason for doing so. On 11 February 1961, a skewed plebiscite was foisted on the people of the Southern Cameroons. Faced with the Hobson’s ‘choice’ that was forced down their throat, the people opted for independence in political association with Republique du Cameroun. It was agreed in writing between the two countries and to the knowledge of Britain and the UN, that the political association would take the form of an aggregative federation of two states, equal in status.

In 1959, hoping to sway the Southern Cameroons to associate with it rather than with Nigeria, Republique du Cameroun had taken the floor at the UN and had solemnly given the assurance to the world at large that it would not take advantage of its bigger size and population to annex the Southern Cameroons in the event of political association between the both countries. Shockingly, that country did exactly the opposite of what it had vouchsafed at the UN. It unilaterally framed, adopted and promulgated a ‘federal constitution’ creating the Federal Republic of Cameroon and asserting claim to the territory of the Southern Cameroons as part of the territory of Republique du Cameroun returned to it by the UN and the UK. In October 1961, Republique du Cameroun in effect took control of the Southern Cameroons, aided in that by Britain. It militarily occupied the territory and appointed one of its officials as officer administering who stepped into the shoes of the departed British Commissioner of the Southern Cameroons. It then started visiting the people of the Southern Cameroons with terror and cruel depredations: arbitrarily arresting and imprisoning, torturing, and killing at will, unchecked neither by law nor morality. At the same time, the territory was being looted and plundered. Spoliation of Southern Cameroons’ natural resources was entirely for the benefit of Republique du Cameroun. Cameroun 60-year colonial occupation, oppression and repression has been experienced by the people of the Southern Cameroons as far worse than anything ever experienced under British colonial rule.

Transfer of administration to French Cameroun. Before exiting the Southern Cameroons on 1 October 1961, Britain transferred powers to Republique du Cameroun rather than to the Southern Cameroons as ought to have been the case and as required under international law. This British self-confessed transfer resulted in the recolonization, rather than the decolonization, of the Southern Cameroons. Spain may have borrowed a leaf from Britain’s bad and illegal conduct when in 1975 it transferred administration of the Western Sahara to both Morocco and Mauritania and hurriedly left the territory. On 14 November 1975 there was concluded a Declaration of Principles on Western Sahara between Spain, Morocco and Mauritania, whereby the powers and responsibilities of Spain, as the administering Power of the Territory, were transferred to a temporary tripartite administration.

Formal annexation of Ambazonia:  In 1972 Republique du Cameroun despotically ended the subterfuge of a federation and formally annexed the territory of the Southern Cameroons as part of its territory. The Government of the Southern Cameroons was dismissed and its parliament dissolved along with the police and the public service of the federated state. All property, including artefacts, official documents and other archives, belonging to the Government of the Southern Cameroons was vandalized, destroyed in situ or carted to Yaoundé and simply burnt to ashes. The reason for this barbarism was to erase any memory of the Southern Cameroons as a congener of statehood. Republique du Cameroun however continued to camouflage its predatory and expansionist politics under the cloak of what it instituted as the so-called ‘United Republic of Cameroun’. But even this pretense could not be maintained for long. In 1984 Republique du Cameroun informed the world that it had reasserted its identity as such. But incongruously, and in continuing defiance of international law, it kept up the fiction that the territory of the Southern Cameroons is part of the territory of Republique du Cameroun. Prior to October 1961, the Southern Cameroons never had any ties of any nature with that country. Moreover, the Southern Cameroons does not have, and has never had, any connection whatsoever with France, the parent state of Republique du Cameroun.

The War in Ambazonia

Since the 1970s, Southern Cameroons Civil society organizations and individuals periodically organized nonviolent protests and sent deputations and petitions to the Yaoundé authorities calling for the redress of legitimate grievances, including the ending of its colonization and annexation of the Southern Cameroons. These actions were always met with characteristic violent repression, imprisonment, torture, and killings. In 2016, Southern Cameroons’ lawyers, all in their wigs and gowns, staged a peaceful public demonstration calling for an end to the organized systematic destruction of Southern Cameroon’s common-law-based legal and judicial system. The reaction of Yaoundé was swift and ferocious. Gendarmes encircled the lawyers as they marched, battered them and ripped off their wigs and tore their gowns, arbitrarily arresting and imprisoning, and torturing many of them. Teachers and a consortium of civil society organizations soon joined the action by the protesting lawyers. They called for an immediate end to the bastardization of the English-derived system of education obtained in the Southern Cameroons. They also called for an end to the policy of pauperization of the Southern Cameroons and its people. Again, these actions were met with the most brutal response, including the deployment of armed soldiers who did not hesitate to shoot and kill.

When the population came out en masse with peace plants to protest these wanton killings, the soldiers fanned out all over the Southern Cameroons and visited the people – women, men, boys, girls, children, the old, the sick and the infirm – with despicable mayhem. But still the people came out in protest. Mr Biya, Cameroun’s 88-year-old President for 40 years, and then publicly declared that his troops would do what he has ordered them to do in the Southern Cameroons. And so, the four-year old war in Ambazonia was unleashed on the people of the territory by Republique du Cameroun in November 2017. Taken by surprise and never being prepared for war, the people found themselves having to defend themselves, their families, their communities and their territory literally with bare hands. They used pebbles, sticks, machetes and a few old rusty hunting Dane guns and gunpowder retrieved here and there.

The War in Ambazonia has already claimed at least 40 000 lives, almost all of them civilian children, men and women, murdered by Cameroun troops in a series of targeted killings, organized massacres, and killings by fire in over 400 villages burnt down to ashes across Ambazonia. Over half a million people have been forcibly displaced as refugees living in various countries and especially in refugee camps in Nigeria. Over another half a million people have become IDPs hiding in forests, caves and hills due to forced displacement. Additionally, over 1.5 million people are facing a humanitarian disaster.

Republique du Cameroun uses not only arson and the destruction of food, livestock, and crops in the fields as weapons of war. It also uses rape. Rape of Ambazonian women and girls by Cameroun troops is systematic and widespread. These agonizing situations are compounded by the fact that a high percentage of Cameroun troops are HIV positive and also have other STDs. When they rape they infect the women and girls. This appears to be part of the genocide agenda of Cameroun. Reports are now emerging of scores of school girls raped, impregnated and infected by Republique du Cameroun’s troops. This poses a nightmare not only of the HIV and STD infections but also of rampant teenage pregnancies. Cameroun troops have burnt down health facilities and killed health workers in rural and semi-urban areas. Accessing health facilities or health practitioners is a huge challenge for rural and semi-urban folks.

Why the people of Ambazonia are fighting

Self-determination under international law: The people of Ambazonia are fighting to vindicate their unquestionable and inalienable right of self-determination. They will continue to fight until self-determination is achieved. The right of self-determination is a norm of jus cogens. It is fortified by the internationally-secured territorial framework of the territory of Ambazonia, a framework standing firmly on two territorial treaty-based pillars.

Legitimate rejection of colonialism in any form, shape or manifestation: The fight of the people of Ambazonia also represents a strong and unyielding rejection of colonialism in any form, shape or manifestation. The rejection is consistent with international law which gives colonized people struggling for their liberation the right to the assistance of third parties.

Territory secured by boundary treaties: The territory of Ambazonia is safeguarded by international treaties. Ambazonia’s international boundary to the north and to the west down to the Bakassi Peninsula is well defined by, and is now demarcated on the basis of, the Anglo-German treaty of 1913 specifying the boundary between the British territory of Nigeria and the German territory of Kamerun. Ambazonia’s international boundary to the east is defined and demarcated on the basis of the Anglo-French treaty of 1916. The boundary alignment was endorsed in 1919 at the Treaties of Versailles, confirmed by the League of Nations in 1922, and reconfirmed by the Anglo-French treaty of 1931 respecting the boundary between the British Cameroons and French Cameroun. The territorial integrity of Ambazonia is thus firmly secured under international law.

Title to territory and the principle of uti possidetis juris: Sovereign title to the territory of Ambazonia belongs to the people of Ambazonia, and not to any other people. The people of Ambazonia are entitled to the integrity of their territory. And this means Republique du Cameroun, which achieved its independence from France on 1 January 1960, must respect the integrity of its own territory, respect the AU core principle of intangibility of African borders as obtained on the day of achievement of independence, and abandons its pursuit of the internationally wrongful conduct of territorial expansionism.

Historical parallels

There are illustrative historical parallels to the darkness that has befallen Ambazonia. The parallels are: Morocco’s occupation and attempt to annex the Western Sahara; Imperial Ethiopia’s occupation and attempt to annex Eritrea; Indonesia’s occupation and attempt to annex East Timor; and apartheid South Africa’s occupation, refusal to leave Namibia and attempt to annex it. Predictably, all these cases led to wars of national liberation. And in all of them each latter-day colonial occupier/oppressor lost.

A Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report Production

Cameroon Concord News senior political man Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, recently caught up with Dr. Joachim Arrey, a translation, communication, and technical writing expert who has delivered effective language solutions to many organizations around the world and both men took a look at issues playing out in Cameroon and the world. 

Cameroon Concord News: You have been very quiet for some time now. Why the silence? 

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Thanks, Mr. Editor, for granting me this opportunity for me to share my perspective on some of the issues currently facing the world. Regarding your question, I would like to mention that wisdom dictates that sometimes you must be quiet, as silence could be golden. Also, I have learned over the years that when you talk a lot, not many people take you seriously. Everything must be measured in order to deliver the appropriate impact. However, I try not to be dead silent like Cameroon’s president when there are huge emergencies in our beloved Cameroon. A leader who holds his country so close to his heart should come out when the country is going through challenging times. This is the ideal way of consoling a desperate and despondent people.

Cameroon Concord News: Talking about Cameroon, the fighting in the country’s two English-speaking regions is still raging on. Do you see any end in sight?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: I have not been on the ground for some time now, but information reaching me gives to understand that the situation is getting worse by the day. Southern Cameroonian fighters who started out with hunting rifles seem to be making significant progress in their procurement of sophisticated weapons. From hunting rifles, they acquired sophisticated killing machines like AK-47s, making life in those regions unbearable. They killed and maimed many soldiers and innocent civilians. They sometimes even turn their own guns against their own comrades in arms and this has been very scary. The harassment of ordinary civilians by both government troops and the fighters needs to be condemned. The government and those who bankroll the fighters must ensure that civilians do not end up as collateral damage in a war that could have been avoided. Three years ago, I thought that was the worst the fighters could do in terms of weapons, but recently, they have morphed into manufacturers of home-made bombs which are blowing up soldiers in large numbers and leaving many families in excruciating psychological pain. This is making things worse and is reducing the prospects of diminishing the human cost of the war. Despite this gloomy picture, I am still optimistic. The government and the fighters must meet each other half-way.  They must talk. The negotiating table can deliver lasting peace than any war. There are never any winners in any war though some people would like to make us to understand that there will be winners in this war. The government must walk away from its frozen position to demonstrate that it has a sound understanding of the situation. It must make huge sacrifices if it really dreams of winning this war. It must bend over backwards to bring back peace in the two English-speaking regions of the country and one of those tough decisions will be the unconditional release of Mr. Julius Ayuk Tabe, the poster boy of the rebellion, and all those who have been arrested within the framework of this conflict. This will not be a weakness on the government’s part, but a demonstration of the government’s desire for peace and security in the country. Currently, the government is dealing with many crises. The north is in Boko Haram’s tight grip. In the east, Central African rebels are a serious threat and if care is not taken, the conflict in the Central African Republic could spilt over into Cameroon and the consequences could be far-reaching. The Cameroon government must seek to reduce its military burden by dousing those fires that are easy to put off. The Southern Cameroons crisis is easy to address. All that is required is a huge dose of honesty, humility and political will on the government’s part. 

Cameroon Concord News: You have written a lot about the conflict in the two English-speaking regions of the country. Your ideas on the way forward are music to many ears around the world. You see the Canadian system as a model that could be copied by Cameroon. Has any government official ever contacted you for you to share your ideas?

Dr. Jochim Arrey: Thank you once more for raising this issue. The conflict in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon is of special interest to me. As you know, I am a native of Ossing which is in the Southwest region which is the region that has been significantly affected by the conflict. I do not agree that secession is the answer, but I have also clearly stated that I do not like the way the government has dealt with this situation. It could have explored other options before using military force. Military violence has never addressed any issues and it should always be an option of last resort. At best, violence will make matters more complicated.  As you know, I have been writing and I continue to write urging both the government and the fighters to embrace genuine dialogue facilitated by a neutral third party as the ideal way of bringing about peace and security in the two English-speaking regions of the country. I have also been providing possible solutions to the causes of the conflict. As you know, I have lived most of my life in a federal system. I was born in a federal Cameroon. I lived in Nigeria for a long time, and I have been living in Canada for close to a quarter of century. The federal system may not be a panacea, but it has the potential to reduce conflict, especially language-based conflicts. Canada like Cameroon has also dealt with linguistic minorities and successive Canadian government have handled those differences between English-speaking Canada and French-speaking Canada in a way that is highly commendable. Cameroon has a lot to learn from this country that is considered as the epitome of peace and security in the world. Adopting some of Canada’s federal attributes will help Cameroon navigate its choppy and murky linguistic waters that have been spewing conflicts for a long time. There is a better way of governing Cameroon. The current centralized system is conflict- and corruption-packed, and if care is not taken, the country will be mired in conflict for a very long time and an implosion is clearly on the horizon. Regarding your question about anybody contacting me, I would like to mention that I do not have a monopoly of wisdom or knowledge on Canada. Government officials can directly work with their Canadian counterparts if they really want to make Cameroon an oasis of peace in a desert of conflict in the Central African region. When I write, I share ideas and those ideas could help point both the secessionists and government in the right direction. My role, as a writer, is to help society see its folly and may be, recover from its madness if the leaders deem it necessary.  Hearing from any government official is of no consequence to me. A peaceful Cameroon is my objective when I write. I hope as Cameroonians we have the same objective.

Cameroon Concord News: I have heard many South-westerners refer to you as the governor of their region. Do you have any aspiration to run as the governor of the region when and if a federal system will be instituted in the country?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Many South-westerners refer to me as Governor because of the development ideas I share with them. Many hold that in a federal Cameroon, those ideas could help our region grow by leaps and bounds. Many have been encouraging me to head back home upon retirement to throw my hat into the political ring. These encouragements are indeed good, but for now, I am still busy with other things. I have a few years to retire, though I am not yet tired, but I think that there is a lot to do in Cameroon and around the world, even when on retirement. Upon retirement, I would like to devote my time to real estate development and writing. Writing is a gift from God, and it comes naturally. Of course, if I join politics today, it will not be out of poverty. It will clearly be out of principle. I have been abundantly blessed financially, health-wise, and knowledge-wise and I have always held that sharing that knowledge with those in need of it will be one great way of giving back to my country. I don’t yet know if getting into politics in Cameroon will enable me to do more for my people. There are lots of hungry people out there and they see politics as a means of enriching themselves. I disagree with that. I believe in people living within their means, no matter what.  I am not sure this perspective of life will be admired by many who see politics differently. I must weigh all these situations against potential results before making any decision regarding politics in Cameroon.  At my age, I am no longer scared of anything. I have already lived two-thirds of my active life; the kids are adults now and I have had a blast over the last 25 years. I think this is the time to give back and there are many ways of achieving this goal. When you are almost 60 and you still feel like you are just 40, then you still have a lot of gasoline in your tank. You must use this gasoline to positively impact many lives. 

Cameroon Concord News: Regarding giving back, I see you advocating for Manyu’s development. Are there any on-going projects that will help give Manyu a face-lift?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: I must be blunt with you regarding this issue. Manyu Division should be making giant strides towards sustainable development if its citizens are serious. It has the men and the brains. Unfortunately, the people lack the right mindset. Development is a game of numbers. There is power in numbers but the Manyu man has not yet understood that. He is still individualistic and loves going it alone. Unfortunately, his solo efforts always come to nought. Until the people of this Division of Cameroon learn that they must pool their resources, they will never achieve anything meaningful. This is a region with thousands of young men who all say they want their region to develop, but when you tell them to contribute just CFAF 1,000 a year, they all run away. They even tell stories that are not true, and they blame political leaders for all their problems, including their erectile dysfunction issues. If you cannot give CFAF 1,000 a year for the development of your region, why do you think others will come to develop the place for you? Talk to those in the Diaspora and you will be more disappointed. They all have these big titles and certificates, but the mindset leaves much to be desired. It is not just enough to obtain certificates. The Manyu man should start thinking beyond certificates if his own region of the country must develop. We cannot continue to expect much from others when we cannot contribute just CFAF 1,000 for projects in the region. We must learn how to build confidence. If you live abroad and you cannot give away CFAF 1,000 (USD 2) per year for development purposes, then you do not deserve to blame others for not helping to give your region a face-lift. If 100,000 Manyu people give CFAF 1,000 each, every year, we will end up with CFAF 100,000,000 every year and this will help us undertake some meaningful projects and we will create jobs for our children and grandchildren who are still struggling to find their way around the maze. Unity is strength! The Manyu man must understand this. Certificates alone will not take us to where we want to be. 

Cameroon Concord News: Last question. Have you taken the COVID-19 vaccine?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Yes, I have, and I urge all my friends and family members to get theirs so that we can start living a normal life again. They should not listen to any fake pastors and conspiracy theorists. I will also urge them to engage in physical activities that will help to boost their immune systems. The pandemic is urging us to change our lifestyles. This global pandemic has dealt with people who are obese and those who engage in social behaviour that compromises their health. With co-morbidities, we cannot survive the pandemic’s relentless assaults. Diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems are mostly man-made. We can avoid them if we change our lifestyles and behaviour.  The vaccine will help to give us the protection we need against this insidious and dangerous virus. Let us all get it!

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you, Dr. Arrey, for your time!

Cameroon Concord News London Bureau Chief, Isong Asu said “It is a shame that a senator of Chief Mukete’s standing could not boast of a life insurance policy that should enable his family to organize his funeral with the pump and pageantry that truly reflect the late Senator’s status.”

The situation is also true with the late Hon. Emilia Lifaka who moonlighted as Vice President of the Francophone dominated National Assembly. The Biya Francophone regime is cash-strapped and the CPDM has brought out a fresh begging bowl, calling on poor civil servants to contribute towards the burial of a Southern Cameroonian man and a woman many thought had carefully planned their exit from this country of sorrows and chaos.

Mr. Biya and his acolytes including Chief Mukete and Hon. Emilia Lifaka have been running the country like a private farm and they have been using the national treasury like their personal piggy bank. The Southern Cameroons conflict has taken a turn for the worse, with many citizens fleeing the war zone.

For 36 years, Mr. Biya and his gang have not built any world-class hospitals in his country, no good roads, and the country’s railway system has simply collapsed. For more than three decades, the narcissistic monarch has been using his country’s treasury as his personal ATM. When travelling abroad, Mr. Biya always has more than 50 persons in his entourage and all of these people are lodged in five-star hotels.

Noted for his incompetence and manipulation, Biya with the support of Mukete and Lifaka plunged his country into a deep economic crisis and a long civil war that has already resulted in the killing of some 7,000 Cameroonians, including young army soldiers.

Chief Mukete and Lady Lifaka knew they were on their way out, but they wanted to take the country down with them.

In this special edition of the AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE, we are asking our readers to make known their take on the CPDM begging bowl directed to poor civil servants towards the burial of Chief Mukete and Hon. Lifaka

Here is the breakdown of Cameroun’s Public Investment Budget (Bip) 2021 by region.

CENTER REGION – 336 Billion Fcfa – 35.6%;

SOUTH REGION- 195 billion CFA francs – 20.8%;

EXTREME – NORTH REGION – 86 billion Fcfa – 9.2%;

LITTORAL REGION -63 billion Fcfa – 6.7%;

NORTH WEST – 48 billion FCFA – 5.1%;

NORTH REGION – 46 billion CFA francs – 4.9%;

ADAMAOWA – 45 billion FCFA – 4.8%;

WEST REGION REGION – 44 billion FCFA – 4.7%;

EAST REGION – 40 billion FCFA – 4.3%;

SOUTH-WEST- 37 billion Fcfa – 3.9%.

The budget of the South Region is 195 billion FCFA (20.8%) which is over two times the budget of the war torn and their darling NORTH WEST and SOUTH WEST combined (9.0%).

The Southern Cameroons are given a meager token of 85 billion FCFA or 9% of the Investment budget even though they provide 60% of the revenue. The marginalization is not a myth, it is a reality.

The Norwegian Refugee Council for two consecutive years (2019 & 2020) has characterized the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroun as the world’s most neglected conflict. A multi-faceted crisis arising from the inability of the Anglophone and Francophone entities to co-exist as the autonomous federated states originally agreed upon in 1961, when the UN-Trusteeship territory of Southern Cameroons was granted independence by “… either joining the Federal Republic of Nigeria or La Republique du Cameroun”.

Following a plebiscite in 1961 to determine whether to join Nigeria or Cameroun, the people of Southern Cameroons voted to join French Cameroun in a relationship comprising two federated-states.  The English-speaking Southern Cameroons comprises 20% of the total population of the country. A similar arrangement between Senegal and Gambia (The Senegambia Confederation 1981-89) was scrapped based on the fundamentally different institutional traditions of the Gambia (Anglophone) and Senegal (Francophone) even though the two countries with regard to native language, religion & ethnicity, have more in common than Cameroun. Whereas Southern Cameroons entered into “a gentleman’s agreement” with la République du Cameroun, the strong relations that exist between France and its former African colonies hung over the Francophone majority, thus “nipping in the bud” any opportunity for Anglophone autonomy in the originally agreed federation before it even had an opportunity to sprout.

The current multi-faceted crisis has evolved from the initial intention of the 80% Francophone administration of Presidents Amadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya to “assimilate” the 20% Anglophone population over the 60+ years of co-existence. Anglophones, who are exceedingly passionate about their language, anglo-saxon education system, traditions, and institutions, such as the Common Law, have fought to maintain them over the years, to the point of shedding blood. Areas of dispute and deep-seated Anglophone grievances include: Politics (constitutional failure on the form of the state); Administrative Affairs (dominated almost entirely by Francophones); Economy (significant under-investment budgets for Anglophone areas compared to the rest of the country); Culture (imposition of French language on Anglophones including using non-English speaking francophone teachers in English schools); among a litany list of others. In 1972, President Amadou Ahidjo single-handedly changed the constitution, including the name of the country to “United Republic of Cameroon” and created a more strongly centralized government. The people of Southern Cameroons felt marginalized and stripped of all their autonomy.

In 1984, President Paul Biya completed the “assimilation” his predecessor started by reverting to the original name of the 80% Francophone majority country, further revised the constitution to institute a lifetime presidency, and enforced even stronger centralization and greater marginalization of Anglophones. Corruption increased in the country, crippling the economy and any complaints from Anglophones were ruthlessly dealt with. For example, the use of military tribunals and harsh prison sentences was enhanced, especially among the Anglophone minority.

In October 2016 English-speaking lawyers, students and teachers began peaceful demonstrations to protest under-representation, cultural marginalization, and the systematic “assimilation” and erosion of the Common Law and Anglophone educational system by the Francophone-dominated government. When their requests were violently repressed by the security forces, other trade unions and civil society organizations in the Anglophone regions came together and demanded a return to the federal system of Government as ordained by the UN-Trusteeship terms for the Unification of the British Southern Cameroons and the French Cameroun in 1961. Anglophones determined that having patiently watched their autonomy stripped away, they would maintain their Anglo-saxon culture under any means, even death. Like the Senegambia case in the 1980s, they were ready to end the Francophone domination and if possible, have a country of their own.

From October 2016 to October 2017, Biya’s military (the infamous BIR – Battallion d’Intervention Rapide) repeatedly used live ammunition, killing peaceful protesters, something that never happens in Francophone Cameroun. Horrendous photos and videos of the killing spree were widely circulated on social media. The people decided to defend themselves from the brutal army cracked down which occasionally included the deployment of helicopter gunships. Rather than engage the people in a political dialogue on the root causes of the crisis as prescribed by the United Nations, Paul Biya preferred to openly declare war on the Anglophone people on November 30, 2017 at the Yaoundé Nsimalen airport upon his return from the Franco-African summit in Abidjan. The regime was confident that the Anglophone rag-tag self-defense forces would be eliminated in a few weeks, and thus allotted no more than three months to the war effort, with French support. As images of students tortured and raped, villages burned down with old mothers unable to flee, circulated on social media, the regime met the full force of the people’s passion. The government intensified the military response and intermittently shut down the internet in the Anglophone regions for 94 days, to hide its atrocities. Villages emptied out as soldiers looted and burned down homes, raped women and girls, and indiscriminately shot at civilians, especially young men and boys. Significant among several foreign clergymen gunned down by the military is Rev. Charles Wesco, an American citizen.

In January 2018, the political leaders of the Anglophone struggle were abducted from Abuja, Nigeria and extradited to Yaoundé, Cameroun. Their detention in the notorious SED and subsequently in the Kondengui jail, followed by arbitrary trials, life sentences and hefty fines further fueled the struggle. The Anglophone Diaspora mobilized support for the war effort against a regime strongly determined to win militarily. The government initially issued statements that there was no Anglophone crisis but eventually bowed to pressure for mediation by staging a “grand national dialogue” (in Yaoundé from 30 September to 4 October 2019) during which a “special status” was accorded Anglophones, as Biya explained during the November 2019 Mo Ibrahim Peace Forum in Paris, after failing for years to assimilate them into the dominant French culture. Even with such pretentious overtures, the killings and atrocities have intensified and a horrendous humanitarian crisis of this most neglected conflict is now quite evident:

    • Over 100,000 Southern Cameroonians have fled to neighboring Nigeria, with numbers rising steadily as more villages are set ablaze.

    • Over 1,000,000 internally displaced (IDPs) Southern Cameroonians have sought refuge in bushes and in urban areas within the country.

    • Over 4,000 Southern Cameroonians have been arbitrarily arrested and incarcerated, particularly young men.

    • Over 20,000 Southern Cameroonian civilians have been killed by the military.

    • Over 500 villages in Southern Cameroons have been burned down by the army.

    • Schools and universities have been closed for over four years.

    • Southern Cameroons has been heavily militarized since the protests began in October 2016 with the underpaid military engaging in criminal activities and terrorizing civilians in towns and villages.

    • There are more than 5,000 seriously wounded civilians from the conflict.

    • Numerous young girls and mothers have been raped and impregnated by the military.

    • Images of summary executions and mass burials are shared daily on social media.

It is difficult to determine the exact figures of the atrocities since the government refuses to give account and denies access to humanitarian and human rights organizations. There is evidence of security forces increasingly perpetrating extrajudicial killings and burning entire villages. On the 14^th of February 2020, for example, at least 22 civilians, including 14 children, were massacred by government forces in Ngarbuh in the north-west region. As recently as the 10^th of January 2021, 9 other civilians including women and children were massacred in Mautu, Muyuka in the south-west region of Cameroun. The security situation in the Anglophone region has continued to deteriorate while the atrocities increase, notably are the following incidents:

• 1-Menka – 25 May 2017 over 30 killed

• 2-Bali –  30 May 2018

• 3-Ngarbuh- 14 February 2020

• 4- Kumba- 24 October 2020

• 5- Mautu Massacre – January 13,2021

The outbreak of the Coronavirus Pandemic has worsened an already deplorable situation for the affected people. Despite the government’s military aggression towards civilians, Cameroun was elected in October 2018 to the Human Rights Council for the 2019-2021 term. Following a visit to Cameroun on May 6^th, 2019 the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the government to hold accountable members of the security forces who commit serious human rights abuses. On May 13^th, 2019, the UN Security Council (UNSC) held its first Arria Formula meeting on the humanitarian and human rights situation in Cameroun. On February 17^th, 2020, UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the killings in Ngarbuh and called upon the government to hold accountable those responsible. The UN’s Special Representatives on Children and Armed Conflict, Sexual Violence in Conflict, and Violence Against Children, as well as the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, issued a joint statement on February 21^st on the deplorable human rights abuses committed against civilians in the Anglophone regions of Cameroun. On June 22nd, five Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, along with two former heads of state, other eminent persons, and the Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, visited Cameroun and called upon all parties to the Anglophone crisis to declare a humanitarian ceasefire amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This call has fallen on deaf ears.

The following is recommended:

•Free all Southern Cameroons Political Prisoners being held by the Biya regime.

•Allow free unfettered access to Humanitarian organizations to deliver assistance to IDPs and for Human Rights organizations to conduct a “fact finding” mission.

•Include the ongoing Anglophone crisis on the agenda of the UNSC and propose a Peacekeeping Force for the region to ensure an end to the bloodshed and the atrocities of the BIR on the Anglophone population.

•Identify a Sponsor for the Negotiations between the Government and Southern Cameroonians for a sustainable Peace Agreement.

By The Global TAKUMBENG

The political class in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) watched last week with delight at how a French coup, installed37-year old Mahamat Idriss Deby as Chad’s new president. The coup unfolded without any significant internal or external objection. Besides a half-hearted statement issued by the African Union, asking for a return to civilian rule, the coup was treated by international actors as a simple matter in a region of many adventures. Thanks to neo-colonial France, the young and naïve Mahatma Deby has officially started his own 30-40 years reign of terror and misrule.

In neighbouring Cameroun, 88-year-old Paul Biya has misruled the country with an iron fist since November 6, 1982, after taking over from Ahmadou Ahidjo. Following numerous health scares over the last seven years, France has been working tirelessly in the background to find a suitable replacement that would keep its neo-colonial grip on the country and the CEMAC region going.  Therefore, the coup in Chad offers hope to those in France and Cameroon who were concerned that Franck Biya succeeding his father, Paul Biya, would be tricky.

For 38 years, Paul Biya has divided and misruled his country to such an extent that France is concerned that a change of leadership to anyone out of the current crime syndicate would not serve France’s interest. France and Paul Biya have not groomed anyone within his ruling CPDM party for power and have had sleepless nights over the last seven years about the way forward. But the success of last week’s experience in Chad has calmed their nerves.

Cameroon Intelligence Report has been informed that Franck Biya is already receiving presidential protocol lessons and getting intelligence briefings from senior officials in the military, the gendarmerie, the secret service and the police. Many prominent media gurus and political scientists from France have been recruited to make the planned political succession as effortless as possible. Cameroon’s key institutions, such as the security services and military, including critical ministries and state agencies are all headed by President Biya’s trusted tribal cronies. Our source said Franck Biya has been holding private meetings with his father’s coterie of barons as they plan.

The thought of Franck Biya succeeding his father would be laughable in many countries where decency and high standards are part of the state political fabric. Franck Biya has never held a job and certainly is not a university graduate. He comes in with neither competence nor experience, but for France, this does not matter. What matters is his ability to do as Paris orders. The numerous conflicts in Cameroun have failed to draw in condemnation from major global powers. This intentional silence and inactivity have been due to France’s extensive work in the dark arts of international political lobbying.

Hearing Macron talk to African countries about what is good for them is like having a lion lecture an antelope on protecting themselves. Since Europe realised that colonialism and theft had to end in the fifties, no other nation has been more aggrieved at ending neo-colonial theft and exploitation than France. The country’s entire economic system is built around the command, control and stealing of the natural resources of its former colonies. Portugal, Spain, Great Britain have all maintained a degree of political distance from their former preys, but France has doggedly refused to do the same.

Son-succeeding-father is a foreign policy objective of France in the CEMAC region designed to prolong their neo-colonial activities.  At 77, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo Brazzaville, who has accumulated 36 years in office, has his son Denis Christel Sassou-Nguesso as he preferred successor. President Ali Bongo of Gabon, who has been incapacitated since suffering a stroke in 2018, has appointed his 29-year-old son, Noureddin Bongo Valentin, as the General Coordinator of Presidential Affairs. Current president Ali Bongo succeeded his father, Omar Bongo, who ruled Gabon for 42 years.  Equatorial Guinea already has a President-in-waiting, the son of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema, who has led the country since staging a coup in 1979.

France has made a habit of throwing petrol bombs around Africa to serve its interest. It is grossly wrong to think that it will never face a day of reckoning for its meddling in African political affairs. In the brutal arena of International Relations, it is naïve to expect nation-states to be pleasant. But Africans are not asking for a friendly France; they ask for France to leave African politics to Africans.

Weak institutions in the CEMAC region are sturdy pillars of enriching the French Treasury. Nothing illustrates this better than the ongoing attempt to get a lineup of sons replacing their dads. Africa is paying the price for political passivity and France’s ruthlessness.

Integrity is an unknown noun in the French diplomatic community when it comes to dealing with Africa. France is a vacuum of integrity, and it is sowing the seeds of future turmoil in Africa with impunity. France has a lifelong contempt for the norms of decent behaviour in political leadership. What will not alter if Africans remain mute is the character of France. Apologists posit that sons succeeding their fathers offer continuation and political stability. The question is the continuation and strength of what and for whom?

France’s greatest weakness is in consistently underestimating the youths of Africa and the intelligence of Africans. Like the protests in Senegal, Mali and Chad, we need more of them and real political action in the continent to bring this evil to an end.

By Isong  Asu with Intelligence Files

Cameroon Concord News Group

London Bureau Chief

You would think a law-maker’s role is more than just making laws. In civilized societies, a genuine law-maker is supposed to be a role model.

But Emilia Lifaka who had been a law-maker for years was not a role model with regard to the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed millions around the world.

Ms. Lifaka has successfully imported the South African and UK variants of the virus to Cameroon’s Southwest region through recklessness and irresponsibility.

The (dis)honorable member of the house had left Yaounde with clear symptoms of the insidious virus for the Southwest.

While in Yaounde, she had developed a fever, fatigue and body aches, but she decided to return to Buea to organize a huge birthday party, with many guests coming from many African countries.

In an era where COVID-19 makes the rules and actually plays God, Lifaka should have known that when certain symptoms show up, the victim should immediately sick medical attention and should head to the COVID-19 testing center to confirm or disconfirm any fears.

But she instead headed to Buea and concluded that her headaches and fatigue were just symptoms of a normal health situation that would go away with ordinary medication.

After a few days of rest, she proceeded with her plans to organize her birthday party which was mostly attended by women of size who had indeed made reckless eating and drinking the purpose of their being.

Since humans have learned how to check some of the COVID-19 symptoms, the virus has also learned how to mutate and disguise once it takes hold of the victim’s respiratory track.

The Lifaka birthday party was well attended. For many people, it was a status symbol and many guests at the party had been heard boasting that they were the select few and those who really mattered.

A few days after the continental super-spreader event, Emilia Lifaka Monjowa took ill again. Once more, she put her health issue down to fatigue because of the alcohol abuse that took place at the party.

Her party was not supposed to have held. She herself was a colony of diseases and the virus has a special bone to pick with people of size, especially those who are morbidly obese like her.

Deceived by her false notion of fatigue, Lifaka thought a good rest and a sound sleep could help her recover easily. She was blissfully unaware that the virus had taken control of her lungs and it was seeking to trigger a heart attack.

It was until she started suffering from shortness of breathe and acute aches that Emilia Lifaka felt it was necessary for her to go to the regional hospital in Buea.

Her trip to the hospital was unfortunately a one-way ticket to the Buea regional hospital mortuary.

The spirits of the Coronavirus are known to take a man’s life after midnight, and that was when MP Emilia Lifaka Monjowa died.

A few supporters of hers decided that her body be brought to her palace so that mourners could show up and cry, but that plan fell flat on its face.

She might have pulled a crowd while alive, but she failed to understand that the crowd came whenever she had an event because of hunger and the need to feel important. On this occasion, nobody went to her home despite calls by her supporters.

The cat was out of the bag. Emilia Lifaka had died of COVID-19 and nobody really wanted to follow her to a world where not much is known. She might have been a speaker here on earth, but nobody knows if she will be one in the world beyond.

She was only useful while alive. The crowd in Buea simply told her few supporters that she only mattered when she was alive.

Her recklessness must be condemned. It has left many in thoughts. Those who came out of the region and country have continued spreading the dangerous variants she brought to the Southwest region.

She failed to listen. Above all, she failed to understand that she was part of that vulnerable group that really needed to be careful. At 62, she knew if caught in a battle with the virus, she actually stood no chance. She was morbidly diabetic, chronically obese and she had a long history of heart and respiratory problems. It was preposterous of her to throw caution to the wind and to organize such a super-spreader.

While it is painful to lose her, it must be remembered that she made wrong choices and decisions. Because of that the epitaph on her tombstone will read as follows: HERE LIES A LAW-MAKER WHO THREW CAUTION TO THE WIND AND ENDED UP IN AN EARLY GRAVE. May her soul rest in peace!

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

When the Coronavirus started spreading across the globe, nobody ever thought it would become a political weapon of mass destruction.

In Cameroon, the insidious virus was seen as something that could disrupt people’s life and faithful to their naivety, most Cameroonians thought the virus was just a fleeting problem that was limited to Western countries because of the biting cold that makes life miserable in those countries.

As the weeks and months went by, it became clear that the virus was all over the world and that it had come to stay.

As the virus swept through Europe and North America, ridding the world of old people who were still hanging on to life, as well as obese and immuno-compromised people, it became clear that it could help to cleanse Cameroon of the lazy, sick and senile politicians in Cameroon who are more of a liability to the country.

The country’s opposition parties, which are replete with young and healthy youths, have always been thinking of how to rid the country of the ruling party which is a refuge for corrupt, greedy and immuno-compromised politicians who see their party and the state as their ATM which they can use to hang on to life at the expense of the taxpayer.

For close to forty years, the CPDM has monopolized political power and has been effective and efficient at rigging elections. The country’s president, Paul Biya, has lost every election and sometimes even in his own village.

The country’s Parliament is replete with a bunch of illiterates who know nothing about law-making, but are sitting in parliament today because of their affiliation to the ruling crime syndicate that has worked very hard to institutionalize corruption.

The country’s economy has been run aground by the ruling criminal enterprise and this is hurting Cameroonians so bad to the extent where most young Cameroonians are permanently looking outward.

They want to leave their country due to their anger and frustration against the CPDM criminal enterprise led by Mr. Paul Biya. Their country holds out no hope for them. The country is simply ruled by their “living ancestors” who should not be anywhere close to the corridors of power,  but are in no rush to yield the saddle to young people.

While it has been challenging to kick out these crooks out of power via the ballot boxes, the country’s political opposition is now engaged in serious prayers, calling on the Coronavirus to cleanse the Augean Stable manufactured by Mr. Biya and his group of ‘political rats.’

News that the virus is merciless when it attacks ailing old people has been good music to the ears of the youthful political opposition.

The ruling CPDM is not only packed with old people, it is replete with old and immuno-compromised ‘living ancestors’ who want to empty State coffers before they leave this world.

The virus has been very slow at cleansing the political arena, but it has finally gotten into higher gear. In a rear and deadly alliance with other diseases, it has started sweeping the political stage as CPDM stalwarts are already dropping like flies.

Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in Bamenda, a youthful Social Democratic Front (SDF) party official clearly expressed his joy that the CPDM, considered as a colony of diseases, was being torn down by an invisible enemy.

He pointed to the death of Member of Parliament, Emilia Lifaka  Monjowa, who last week organized a COVID-19 super-spreader event which has sent her to a local mortuary in Buea.

The SDF stalwart said Ms. Lifaka was aware that the virus could mangle her, especially as her body was a conference center for diseases such diabetes, asthma, cardiovascular disorders  and chronic obesity.

He pointed out that her death has left many who attended that super-spreader event in fear, especially as most of them were women of size and were rich in distended butts and stomachs which have been serving as storages of food and drinks.

He stressed that there was panic in Yaounde, especially at the national assembly where many Members of Parliament are hosting diabetes and high blood pressure.

He reiterated that stress was killing CPDM parliamentarians as most of them know they do not deserve their positions. Many of them had to bribe their way to the Parliament. The financial hardship of the past has weaken most of them and many are yet to pay off the debt they contracted just to secure a place in the current Parliament.

News of the death of their party members has left many worried. They have been losing sleep and they know the virus will not be going away anytime soon.

For the men, their diabetes was already a huge problem in their bedrooms, but the arrival of the Coronavirus has caused their erectile dysfunction to be full-blown.

Below is a list of those CPDM members who could not stand the presence of the virus and their demise is a constant reminder to those who harbor those deadly diseases that facilitate things for the virus. Those who are a little healthy now have sex with their side-chicks with masks over their faces.

Pictures of a CPDM stalwart having sex with a mask on have landed in our London office and this story will make a good read and will be the subject of the next editorial.

Edmond Félix Etoundi was the Chief Executive Officer of Finexs S.A., one of the largest intercity transport companies in Cameroon. He leaves behind a rich CPDM heritage that reveals a fantastic Biya regime success story of a self-made man.

Garga Alim Hayatou, Secretary of State to the Minister of Public Health responsible for the fight against Epidemics and Pandemics and Lamido of Garoua was brought down by the coronavirus.

Monkam Pascal, an industrialist, a businessman. He had a special attachment to the Biya regime and the Cameroon’s corrupt institutions.

Martin Aristide Okouda, the former Minister of Public Works, died on Friday 9 April 2021 in France. Aged 70

Chief Mukete, former traditional ruler of the Bafaws

Gervais Mendo Ze, Former cabinet minister and general manager of the Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV) died after he was released from the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison.

Princess Rabiatou Mamboune Njoya, sister of the Sultan of Bamoun, Ibrahim Mbombo Njoya, died on 9 April 2021,

Gargoum Adoum Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Alim Boukaro Business tycoon

Essomba Pierre, Secretary General at the Ministry of Territorial Administration

Hon. Emilia Monjowa Lifaka, Vice President National Assembly

Beatrice Elom, Vice President of Transparency International-Cameroon.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai