The Malian coup d’état of August 18, 2020, that flushed out the country’s former president, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, has sent shock waves across the African continent, especially in Cameroon where the country’s authorities are also being accused of the same crimes and sins that brought about the humiliation of the Malian president.

Over the last five years, former president Keita and his collaborators had been accused of corruption, mismanagement and incompetence which had brought untold hardship to the hard working people of Mali, causing the military to intervene in order to clean up the mess.

But compared to the situation playing out in Cameroon, former president Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and his collaborators will surely be seen as saints. Their crimes pale in comparison to those committed by the Biya regime.

In Cameroon, corruption, mismanagement and dictatorship have become the country’s hallmarks, with the country’s ruling party considering itself as the government.

Mali has been dealing with Islamic terrorists for years and president Keita’s incompetence and inability to roll back the terrorists caused the population to see him as a square peg in a round hole.

In Cameroon, the country’s president, Paul Biya, is not only a square peg in a round hole, he is a dead square peg in a huge round hole that has been swallowing up the country’s limited financial resources.

Cameroon too has been dealing with a challenging insurgency in the country’s two English-speaking regions of the country for four years and this conflict is costing the country a pretty penny.

For close to four years, the country’s English-speaking minority has taken on the government, accusing it of marginalization and discrimination.

The conflict has hurt the country’s economy with many state-owned corporations located in the two English-speaking regions of the country winding up due to constant attacks of their facilities by restoration forces.

Rather than seek to address the issues that triggered the fighting, the country’s authorities have instead opted to play the ostrich, hoping that time would help them address the issues.

Over the last four years, the country’s military which is supposed to protect the country’s population has been killing civilians and burning homes in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

Thousands of Southern Cameroonians have been killed by the military, and thousands now live in the jungle out of fear for a military that is very pro-government.

The government’s heavy-handed approach has also caused restoration forces to adopt violence as a key weapon that will enable their message to get across.

Where the government’s military violence cannot deliver the goods, it uses young girls as spies and they have succeeded on several occasions to infiltrate the ranks of the restoration forces. An approach that has led to the death of many restoration forces!

Restoration forces, for their part, have been sending a clear message to those who betray the revolution. Last week, a young lady was hacked to death in Muyuka, a town in the country’s southwest region where the insurgency has taken root. She had been accused of flirting with and spying for the military, an allegation that has been confirmed by the Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in Muyuka.

The said lady had been working with three other girls and a young man who had earlier been kidnapped. He was questioned and later killed by restoration forces. He was the one who betrayed the young lady and restoration forces felt she must be taught a lesson. Her three friends who have been sleeping with soldiers and betraying the people’s cause have all fled the region and are now hiding in Yaounde where they are protected by the corrupt and incompetent Biya regime.

But it is not only in the country’s two English-speaking regions that there is a problem. The country’s northern region has been facing threats from Boko Haram and this has left the government with a sticky situation.

The situation in the north is getting worse by the day, with northerners holding that they have been left out of the current political dispensation ever since the country’s first president, Amadou Ahidjo, left power in 1982.

Ahidjo who died more than a decade ago, was buried in Dakar, Senegal, and Mr. Biya and his collaborators have refused to let Ahidjo remains to return to the country of his birth.

This has irked northerners, with many of them holding that there must be revenge. In the 80s, the Biya regime engineered many fake coups with the intention of eliminating many Ahidjo supporters. Thousands of northerners were killed and several thousand also fled the country. Today, northerners are mobilizing to challenge the regime and if their plan materializes, the Yaounde regime will be left in a pretty mess.

With such a long catalog of issues, crimes and sins, the country’s government is losing sleep, fearing that the military might intervene to rid the people of Cameroon of an incompetent dictator who has nothing to show for his 38 years in power.

Though the country’s president has, over the last 20 years, reduced the country’s military into a violent tribal militia, it is still concerned that things could spiral out of control, prompting the military to take over power.

Tuesday’s coup d’état in Mali has left many francophone African leaders wondering, but it is the Yaounde regime that is very likely to lose sleep because of the huge skeletons in its small cupboard.

But can the Cameroon military ever act like the Malian military? Will the Cameroon military ever think that its loyalty is with the people and not with a bunch of incompetent kleptocrats who have worked very hard to ruin the country?

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Group Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Fare thee well dear brother.

Good times build confidence and tough times build character. Your life built confidence in us and your demise is building our character. Inspite of the fact that you fought this illness for fifteen years, your departure still leaves a very deep hole in our hearts.

In the fifty years that we shared together, there have been laughs, smiles, toils, sweat, pain, victories, losses and tears. We stood by each other through thick and thin, rain and shine, storm and calm, high and low, defeat and victory.

The memories are too many to recount but notable amongst them is how through the windy, rainy storm, you supplied me with sticks and stones to protect the roof of ours, the only thatched house in the Down-Customs quarter in Ekok village. Who would have imagined that we will come this far? To God be the glory!

Your departure is happening at a time when, for a cause bigger than any one of us, I as well as a multitude of our Ambazonian brothers and sisters, am in prison. Without regret or surrender but with confidence and God’s reassurance, know that I am determined and committed to this fight to it’s very end, until we reach the foot of the mountain.

My entire ATAB family have lost a dear one. We miss you so much, particularly because most of us will not be there physically to bid you our final goodbyes. My wife Lilian with our children; Ayamba, Manyo, Nkongho and AyukBakia are joined by our adopted daughters; Nalova, Manyi and Agbor to wish you a deserved rest in the celestial home of the Lord. My granddaughters; Enyang and Lilian might not have seen you but they will know you through the stories that will be told of you.

As you go, meet and greet our siblings and other family members who went ahead. Be reassured that we are marching forth to victory in the name of our Lord.

With a very heavy heart and tears in my eyes, I know that I cannot appeal this God’s case concerning you. Fare thee well kid-brother.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe Julius

The people of the Southern Cameroons are thankful to Cross River State, Taraba State, The Federal Government of Nigeria and UNHCR for their goodwill and hospitality towards our refugees. Our people have been provided shelter, food and humanitarian assistance in Agbokim Waterfalls, Abia, Ekukghatai, Bijah and other areas in the Federal Republic of Nigeria since fleeing from a war declared by President Paul Biya of French Cameroun.

So far, 421 Southern Cameroons villages have been torched by French Cameroun military and more than ten thousand people have been massacred. There are more than one million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and more than 100,000 people are refugees in neighboring countries.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia was alarmed when it was briefed that French Cameroon governor, OkalaBilia, is planning to meet with the authorities in Cross River State to send our people back to a war zone in the Southern Cameroons. It is a genuine worry to us that an Ikom radio station announced that all refugees in Cross River State should go back to their places of origin.

Refugees are regulated by the Convention relating to the status of refugee of July 1951. According to article 1 of this convention as amended by the 1967 protocol, a refugee can be defined or considered as;

“A person who owing to a well- founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection that country; or who , not having a nationality and being outside the country of his former habitual residence as a result of such events, is unable or , owing to such fear, is unwilling to return to it”

Going by the above definition, it will be illegal for a governor of a country that is at warto visit refugees to persuade them to return home.With the intensity of slayings in the last few days by the military and French Cameroun backed militias, an act of this nature will be considered a violation of the above convention and an abuse to the rights and civil liberties of the refugees.

I want to put on record that should any refugees be sent back to the Southern Cameroons, their lives will be in danger.

We call on the Federal Government of Nigeria and the UNHDR in Nigeria to continue to protect the rights of refugees in accordance with international conventions and treaties.

Our policy for finding a lasting solution to the crisis remains the application of the following key confidence-building measures

1. A UN Humanitarian Intervention in the Southern Cameroons. This necessary action will secure the safety of the people of the Southern Cameroons and humanitarian workers.
2. The release of all Southern Cameroon’s political prisoners being held by La Republique du Cameroun in various prisons and torture facilities.
3. An International Fact-finding Mission to investigate the crimes perpetrated in the Southern Cameroons by the regime in Yaoundé.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia considers the adoption of these measures as imperative to a discontinuation of crimes against humanity. Only such a cessation of human rights abuses will pave way for a safe return to refugees.

Thank You,

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

He was born AKO EDWARD OBEN on 18 May1951 in Ossing village, Eyumojock Subdivision in Manyu, Cameroon. He is of the BohAko clan of Ebarensi QuarterOssing.He is happily married with four children. He attended Basel Mission Primary School in Ossing and obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1963. Talking to some of his former school mates, his intelligence, honesty and dedication was evident from a very early age. He proceeded to Bilingual Grammar School, Man O’War Bay where he obtained his General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level in 1969. While in secondary school his love and dedication to reading was evident and encouraged by the teaching staff. In 1971, he obtained his General Certificate of Education Advanced LevelfromThe Cameroon College of Arts, Science and TechnologyBambili.

He obtained a BA (Hons) in English and French (Bilingual degree) from The University of Yaoundé in 1975. After his studies in the University of Yaoundé, the young AKO EDWARD wanted to test himself on the international academic stage. He travelled to the USA in 1976 and obtained an MA in 1978 in Afro-American Studies from Atlanta University, Atlanta GeorgiaU.S.A. His area of concentration was on African American, Afro-French and Caribbean Literatures.Upon completion of his MA, the young Ossingintellect elected to attain a terminal degree. He obtained a PhD in 1982 inComparativeLiterature,UniversityofIllinois, U.S.A.

While researching for his PhD from1979 to1982, he was aJunior Lecturer at the University of Illinois,USA. After completing his studies in the USA, Dr Teddy Akomade a decision to give back to his country of origin. In 1982, he returned to Cameroon and was recruited as aSenior Lecturer in the University of Yaoundé from 1982–1992.

He has served as the Technical Adviser to the Secretariat General, Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon. At the University of Yaoundé 1, Prof Ako held several academic positions amongst them; Vice Rector in charge of Research and Cooperation, Vice Rector in charge of Academic Affairs, Dean of Student Services, ChairDepartment of English and Associate Professor Department of English. In 2005, Dr Teddy Ako became Full Professor of American and Commonwealth Literatures.

Scores of outstandingly prosperous men and women excelling in their professions around the world credit Prof Teddy Ako for their foundation and accomplishments. His fortitude, decorum and educational gravity laid a foundation for many who had the fortune of sitting through his lectures and benefiting from his tutelage.To date, he has supervised more than 20 PhDs and over 40 candidates for the Master’s degree and more than 30 for the Diplômed’EtudesApprofondies (DEA) or Certificate of Advanced Studies.

Between 2008-2017, he served as the Rector, the University of Maroua, Far North Region Cameroon. Since 2017, Prof Teddy Ako is serving as the Pro-Chancellor of the University of Buea, South-West Region, Cameroon.Chief ProfAko is a member of many distinguished national and international academic organisations. He has published hundreds of articles, papers and books extensively in his area of expertise. He is fluent in English, French, Spanish, Kenyang and Keaka languages.

He has served as the Branch President of Ossing Development and Cultural Association(ODCA) and has also served as Assistant Secretary General, Manyu Elements Cultural Association (MECA) Yaoundé branch.

Following the transition of Nfor General James Tataw to the land of our ancestors in July 2019, the chieftaincy stool of Ossing village returned to Ebarensi Quarter and specifically to the BohAko clan. The decision for the elders and kingmakers was less than daunting following the résumé of Prof TeddyAko.He finds himself on his throne by clear grooming and preparation.

In choosing Prof Ako as the new chief of Ossing, the Kingmakers have demonstrated wisdom, vision and regard for village unity and progress. They have also shown that they intend to inspire a generation of Ossing progenies with someone to look up to. Their pick is a chief who can reach out to all the twelve quarters of Ossing to foster the unity, development and the progress needed in the twenty-first century. He represents an extraordinary and safe choice for the village.

Chief Ako possesses the utmostintegrity and commands respect outside his village. At a time of huge political and economic uncertainty facing the Cameroons, Chief Prof Teddy Ako is a man touse his intellectual exposure and academic blessings to tilt his people in the right direction. It is known in the village that prior to the current political turmoil; he was planning to retire to the village to spend his days with his people. Chief Ako has the ability to articulate the problems plaguing his subjects with empathy and honesty and possesses the skills to seek solutions to these problems.

His induction radiates promise to the young and old with different expectations from either group.His enthronement is crucial for the children and young people in his village who would see a man born in a village with nothing but brains and made use of his intellectual blessings to rise to the top of his profession. His enthronement is a lesson for all Ossing children to carry themselves with humility and determination. Chief Teddy Ako is not driven by primitive material accumulation and consumption and the youths of Ossing have a solid foundation to learn from.

Enthroning Chief Ako doesn’t solve all the problems of Ossing but it acknowledges that the Kingmakers were endowed and inspired to stay true to the values of justice, peace and progress. Being fluent in Kenyang and Keaka, the two languages of the bilingual village, the Chief would articulate, sympathise and empathise with his subjects without any barriers.

Given his position as the most seniorEkpeSessekou in Ossing, the kingmakers have enthroned a man who can step up when traditional matters arise. Chief Ako has not emerged by accident and must lead by being led by the aspirations of his people.

In traditional matters, the new chief has shown that he has a grasp of the facts and customs. Having worked closely with former Chief GeneralTataw and the national ODCA branch in Yaoundé, he comes in from the inside. Given his age and experience in Ekpe and community affairs, Ossing is in a good place under his leadership.

His major resources are intelligence, patience and gentleness and all ages and social groups from and within Ossing will reap ample rewards from these attributes.He must communicate a clear vision for his village and his subjects to carry them along with him.Chief Ako must demonstrate the true spirit of leadership, service and sacrifice to his people and there is no doubt he possesses that spirit in abundance. 

Chief Teddy Ako must possess big dreams for Ossing and sell them to all under his Chiefdom. He has a responsibility to galvanise the Ossingelites and diaspora and inspire them with hopefulnessbuttered with reasons to build and develop their village.

Ossing has always been a model for peaceful transition of the throne in Manyu and Cameroon. We have held true to the chieftaincy foundations laid down by our ancestors and all ‘Ossingians’ must be proud of our elders and kingmakers over the last 12 months. Chief Ako has a responsibility to educate the Ossing youths and the outside world on the history of the Ossing Chiefdom and the significance of the rotational chieftaincy stool. This is profound for his legacy!

The Ossing elites and diaspora are blessed with intellect and solid financial backing. Chief Prof Teddy Ako has the internal resources to tap into them. He possesses the ability to capture the imagination of his villagers, the elites and the Ossing diaspora. Ossing is entering a golden era and he is lucky and blessed to be leading. He must be a force for change and development. He has all it takes to achieve that. His commitment to progressive values by appointing Mami Alice Nkongho as the first woman to the village council is sound, commendable and a strongsignal of what to come.

Chief Ako possess the acumen, candour and courage to weld together all of Ossing’s different fragments and families. Chief Ako’s character and credibility are impeccable. The Ossing elites and the diaspora must back up their desire for a better Ossing by rallying to support their new chief with words and actions. Ossing now has a chief who can recapture the dreams of our forefathers.

With Chief Prof Teddy Ako, Ossing can only do one thing. Win!

Long Live the Chief. Long Live Chief Teddy Ako. Long Live the Chiefdom of Ossing.

Written By SisikuIsongAsu, ODCA-UK

MohNchenge, MohAsuaranoh, MohAko, Ebarensi, Ossing

A video circulating on social media of the barbaric slaughter of a Southern Cameroonian in Muyuka, Southern Zone of Ambazonia is unacceptable and the Interim Government of Ambazonia condemns the act forcefully. There is no place in the Southern Cameroons for such appalling cruelty and the perpetrators will be brought to justice no matter how long and hard it takes to apprehend them.

Initial investigations by our intelligence services have pointed to family disputes that have no connection with our struggle. But as this crime was perpetrated in Ambazonia, the Interim Government shall stop at nothing in uncovering the truth and bringing the perpetrators to justice.

Ambazonia Intelligence Services have briefed the Interim Government this morning that intercepted cables provide conclusive evidence that Atanga Nji Boys have been hired to commit similar criminal and savagery acts in Southern Cameroons with the sole purpose of discrediting Ambazonia Self-defence forces in the estimation of the international community.

For over four years now, La Republique du Cameroun has unleashed terror on our people with the burning of over 421 of our villages and the murder of over 10,000 Ambazonians. The recent abduction of four civilians in Bafut who were murdered with their hands tied and their lifeless bodies uncovered in a river after a few days exhibits a pattern consistent with previous actions of savagery and cold-blooded murder by forces of La Republique du Cameroun.

In October 2019, the Xinhua news agency reported that more than 30 vigilante groups had been created in the Southern Cameroons. In April 2020, the government of La Republique du Cameroun acknowledged that its forces used vigilante groups during their massacre of 24 Ambazonians in Ngarbuh. This episode was far from an isolated incident and there is now a mounting and worrying trend of vigilante groups in Ambazonia. This is a severe concern to the Interim Government as their sole purpose is to fashion mayhem and commit despicable atrocities.

The execution in Bambui by French Cameroun forces of American Missionary Charles Wesco, the execution in broad daylight at a hotel in Menka- Pinyin of 29 youths by French Cameroun soldiers, the burning of Mami Appih Sarah, 96 year grandmother in Kwakwa and the beheading of Chiaba Samuel alias Sam Soya in Belo will live long in the consciousness of our nation.

It is worth recalling that these heinous crimes were photographed by French Cameroun forces and posted on social media for the sole purpose of discrediting our struggle in the eyes of the international community.

Ambazonia Intelligence services have confirmed that these acts are committed to set our local population against their Self-defence Forces. In every community of humans there are traitors and there is no doubt that La Republique du Cameroun is now using militias as was the case during the Ngarbuh massacre to perpetrate violence against our people. We have identified with evidence that many in the French Cameroun military and gendarmes are purported Amba Boys at night carrying out these carnage.

The time just before dawn is the darkest. It is however critical to note that just being a little steadfast at such times prepares one to overcome despair. The valley of the shadows of death that we now traverse shall come to pass.

Despite the violence and unending brutality from the regime in Yaoundé, the Interim Government of Ambazonia has consistently made it clear that we are ready to find a peaceful end to the war between our two nations. The Interim Government is placing an urgent call to Ambazonians to take the following dispositions.

• A need to be strategic in our actions and pronouncement and speak as one voice to the world.
• Stay vigilant within your communities to avoid such barbarous killings from militias of French Cameroun.

To avoid the re occurrence of such vicious execution, concrete steps need to be taken and supported by the international community to create an atmosphere for peace. Our policy position is that the following confidence-building measures would create a conducive atmosphere for productive engagement of any kind with French Cameroun and that the entire process would have to be underwritten by the UN, African Union, US, Great Britain, Germany and Russia.

The key confidence-building measures that would need to be taken are:

1. A UN Humanitarian Intervention in the Southern Cameroons. This necessary action will secure the safety of the people of the Southern Cameroons and humanitarian workers.
2. The release of all Southern Cameroon’s political prisoners being held by La Republique du Cameroun in various prisons and torture facilities.
3. An International Fact-finding Mission to investigate the crimes perpetrated in Ambazonia by the regime in Yaoundé.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia considers that the adoptions of these measures are critical to a discontinuation of crimes against humanity and the numerous executions committed by French Cameroun forces and their militias.

This journey we have undertaken is difficult and bloody but the outcome will be freedom and independence. No one can say for sure how much more suffering we will be subjected to by the brutal regime in Yaoundé and how many more massacres will be committed by their vigilante groups but we must continue to look forward and keep our eyes on the prize.

We definitely shall not accept a return to the status quo nor accept anything less than total independence. This time, we want real freedom and real peace.

Thank You,

Dabney Yerima,

Vice President

The Federal Republic of Ambazonia

Nigeria’s indifference to the separatist conflict in Cameroon—in which its minority English-speaking people (Anglophones) are seeking for a homeland they call Ambazonia —calls for a searing indictment. Apparently because of Boko Haram’s menace, Nigeria, which was once the destination for persons fleeing political persecution all over the African continent, has become inhospitable in recent years.

In 2018, in an extraordinary rendition scheme—since condemned by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and other countries—Nigeria arrested on its home territory, and subsequently deported to Cameroon, 47 Ambazonian activists, including former Ambazonia interim leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who is presently serving a life sentence in Cameroon’s prison.

If Nigeria’s revulsion at the current Cameroon’s Anglophones’ aspiration for independence  stems from the horrors of its 1967-1970 civil war—in which more than one million of its citizens died after Biafra, the short-lived republic, declared itself independent from Nigeria—then that argument is short-sighted for one reason: Timing.

Biafra’s secession, which was declared just seven years after Nigeria obtained independence from Great Britain, lacked the traction for success, because it was out of tune with the mood at that moment, which was for Nigeria’s ethnic and linguistic groups—as it was for other African countries emerging from years under colonial rule with similar characteristics —to merge and form the new republic.

It helps explain why General Yakubu Gowon, Nigeria’s military head of state at the time, was able to marshal every available asset, including the United States’ “One Nigeria” policy under President Lyndon Johnson, to crush the Biafra secession. (A similar fate befell Katanga and South Kasai, two breakaway provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC), where, just weeks into its independence in June 1960, they also declared themselves “independent” from DRC, sparking a raging civil war that led to an end to their secessionist status.)

But if Biafra’s bid for independence collapsed —to validate my argument that the circumstances  differ from the current conflict in Cameroon—because of its inauspicious timing, Anglophones’ yearning for nationhood (roused almost sixty years after failed attempts at creating an egalitarian federalism between them and Francophone-Cameroon) comes on the heels of other pro-independence movements in Africa and elsewhere in the world—South Sudan, Eritrea, East Timor, Macedonia—that have mostly been successful.

Nigeria’s frontline state status and its historical ties to Anglophones—up until October 1961 Anglophones were part of Nigeria—call for the former to bring on its diplomatic juggernaut to bear (as its previously done over other hotspots around Africa) on the current conflict, paving a way for a negotiated settlement. Its less inspiring commitment to this role further raises another question, which is whether Nigeria no longer acts—as it once did—as the massive rampart against French influence in West Africa.

Keeping the French at bay in this region has historically been one of Nigeria’s foreign policy objectives. And at the heart of this conflict lies French influence, which dates back to 1972, when “Total”, a French oil company, began operations in the Anglophone region.

That same year— over concerns that without a strong unitary system of government in place, its oil interests in the Anglophone region lacked the needed protection—France coerced Ahmadou Ahidjo, Cameroon’s head of state at the time, into abolishing the federal system of government then existing between Anglophones and Francophone-Cameroon, a decision that Anglophones felt was a betrayal, and whose consequences loom over the current conflict.

When Jaja Wachuku, Nigeria’s first Foreign Minister, spoke at the United Nations in October 1961 about his country being “independent in everything but neutral in nothing that affects the destiny of Africa”, and Yakubu Gowon (speaking at an OAU Conference in Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1974)  about “the inalienable right to self-determination; the necessity for decent life; and the unquestionable demand for human dignity”, they were apparently making references to these French machinations that have, to an extent, contributed to this conflict in Cameroon.

But at their hour of peril, when they needed Nigeria for guidance, Nigeria, it seems, deserted the Anglophones.

By Joseph M. Ndifor

The Interim Government of Ambazonia has been briefed that on 7 August 2020, a staff of COMINSUD, an implementing partner for several United Nations agencies, was kidnapped from his home and later killed by unidentified armed individuals. Our thoughts and prayers are with his immediate family at this difficult time. The Interim Government of Ambazonia condemns strongly any acts of barbarism, kidnapping and ransom taking perpetrated against civilians and humanitarian workers in the Southern Cameroons.

Ambazonia Intelligence Services have made the Interim Government aware of some of the groups involved in these intolerable acts of kidnappings and ransom taking. As was confirmed by the government of La Republique du Cameroun on 22 April 2020 in its Ngarbuh Massacre Report, its utilization of armed militias in Ambazonia continues to present an enormous security challenge to our nation. We denounce this practice forcefully and are calling on the regime in Yaoundé to desist from sponsoring marauding militias in Ambazonia.

The Interim Government is calling on restoration forces all over the territory to work closely with the local population to ensure the safety of our people, international humanitarian workers and properties. Any attack on civilians or humanitarian workers is against the law and the spirit of our revolution. County and LGA representatives are called upon to work closely with the local population to ensure culprits are identified and reprimanded.

We call on the International Community to put continuous pressure on the government of La Republique du Cameroun for them to create an atmosphere conducive for pre-talks and eventual end to the conflict between our two nations. The IG believes that the following confidence-building measures would create an atmosphere for productive engagement:

• A UN humanitarian intervention in the Southern Cameroons. This necessary action will secure the safety of the people of the Southern Cameroons and humanitarian workers.
• The release of all Southern Cameroons political prisoners being held by La Republique du Cameroun in various prisons and torture facilities.
• An international fact-finding mission to investigate the crimes perpetrated in Ambazonia from 1 September 2016 by the regime in Yaoundé.

The Interim Government of Ambazonia considers the adoption of these measures as critical for lasting peace and security between our two nations.

Thank You

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

Federal Republic of Ambazonia

Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, age 55,died on 8 June 2020 from a heart attack at a hospital in the city of Karusi in central Burundi, according to a statement signed by Mr. Prosper Ntahorwamiye, Secretary-General and Spokesperson of the Government, and posted on the Twitter page of the country’s Prime Minister on 9 June. His death came as a shock and surprise to many – after being seen in public the previous Saturday, seemingly healthy, watching a game of volleyball in the countryside.His death has generated oft-cited security concerns among security experts and political analysts in Africa and around the world. Simply put, his sudden death is likely to have a significant impact on Burundi’s regional and global relations.

On the one hand, instability in Burundi will have a spillover effect across neighbouring East African countries. Burundi is bounded by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, Lake Tanganyika to the southwest and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west.On the other hand, the peaceful foundation laid by President Nkurunziza during the parliamentary and presidential elections in May 2020 is likely to crumble if concrete constitutional and political measures are not pursued. Upon assuming office in 2005, Nkurunziza’s hallmark strategy focused on maintaining peace and stability, as well as rebuilding its war-battered economy.  These priorities posed significant challenges to Nkurunziza’s government and will likely continue, at least in the medium term.

President Nkurunziza’sEra

Who is Pierre Nkurunziza? Mr Nkurunziza spent eight years in the rebel Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD)during Burundi’s brutal 12-year war that started in October 1993. In 2000, the Arusha Agreement was signed by the government, rebel groups and political parties that paved the way to ending the country’s war. In 2003, a peace agreement was signed that ended the brutal ethnic conflict that killed 300,000 Burundians. In the same year, the charismatic Nkurunziza had rose through his?ranks and emerged as the FDD’s leader.

Nkurunziza initially served as the minister of good governance in a transitional administration before taking Burundi’s highest post in August 2005, after legislators elected him president and ruled until his sudden death. President Nkurunziza sought a second term in June 2010 comfortably won a second term in office after all six of his challengers boycotted the polls alleging fraud. Things took a turn for the worse in April 2015 when Nkurunziza’s controversial decision to seek a third term in office plunged the country into widespread violence that left hundreds of people dead.

Opponents saw Nkurunziza’s bid as a violation of the constitution as well as the 2000 Arusha Agreement that had paved the way to ending the country’s war. Large-scale protests often led to clashes with the security forces. A coup attempt was launched in May 2015 by former Army and Head of Intelligence Godefroid Niyombare while Nkurunziza was abroad was swiftly foiled. This is symptomatic of a politically divided army. It is unlikely to have a united army in a post-rebellion regime.

Amid growing unrest and a crackdown by security forces, hundreds were killed and more than 400,000 people were forced to flee to neighbouring countries. Journalists and human rights defenders, many of whom are still in exile, also left the country, fearing for their lives. Despite several delays, an opposition boycott and international pressure, the polls were held in July 2015, with Nkurunziza winning the third term. After the 2015 elections, the situation in the country has not been good – both in terms of stability and economics. Donors have cut off funding and placed sanctions on Burundi.President Nkurunziza’s 15-year reign comprises of mixed positive and negative memories among Burundians, Africans and the international community. He will be remembered positively as a peace and nation builder. Burundi enjoyed relative peace and security or, in other words, an end to the civil war. The 2005 election brought calm, confidence, hope, and a return to the country by many refugees from neighbouring African countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and South Africa. In the last five years, President Nkurunziza boasted in his speeches to have boosted the country’s economy, started seven hydroelectric dam projects, built hospitals, schools and launched a youth bank.

Before his death, Mr. Nkurunziza is credited for initiating the May 2020 non-violent elections to usher in a peaceful transition from military to democratic governance. His successor and designated heir, Major General Évariste Ndayishimiye, secretary-general of the ruling National Council for the Defence of Democracy – Force for the Defence of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), was declared the winner of the disputed presidential election of 20 May 2020 with more than 68% of the vote. Accordingly, he was due to be sworn in on 20 August this year.

However, his authoritarian rule drew international condemnation and the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into whether his government committed crimes against humanity, including murder, torture, rape and disappearances. In retaliation, Mr. Nkurunziza withdrew Burundi’s membership in the court in 2017 and shut the U.N. human rights office in the country in 2019. The moves isolated Mr. Nkurunziza’s government and pushed donors, like the European Union, to withhold financial support. His death offer hope for the many victims to know the truth about the crimes committed during his presidency and who was responsible.

Post President Nkurunziza’s era

Following the unexpected death of President Nkurunziza, the president of the National Assembly, Pascal Nyabenda, had to take over as interim president, according to the country’s constitution.But, on 12 June, Burundi’s Constitutional Court ruled president-elect Ndayishimiye to assume power. On 18 June, Major General Ndayishimiye was sworn in as Burundi’s new president. In his first speech at the oath-taking ceremony, Mr. Ndayishimiye pledged to defend the ‘interests of the nation, and ensure national unity and cohesion of Burundian people.

Fifteen years was a concise period for guaranteeing security to a developing country like Burundi, which had not completely recovered from an ethnic civil war that lasted for more than a decade. The former president’s initiatives and reconciliation projects—meant to heal the remaining scars and prejudices—are now left in uncertainty. Unfortunately, many post-conflict governments in Africa favour the ethnicities represented by those in power are usually at odds with the countries’ intended democratic practices and institutions.  

Nkurunziza’s desireto stay longer in power might have been to keep the country stable after the war. Consider Rwanda as a neighbouring example. Paul Kagame’s protracted presidential term and his development projects seem to be yielding fruits, as he concentrated on healing and uniting the people over the years. The father of Rwanda, President Kagamestifled opposition from home and abroad. While it may be arguedthat his approach has prevented 1994-like genocide, it is hard to predict the future stability of Rwanda in a post-Kagame era, just like Burundi following the sudden death of President Nkurunziza.

In most cases, there is disagreement among the former leaders about controlling certain government ministries and parastatals. As a response, it takes the incumbent president a lot of sacrifices and compromises to exert control over all factions in exchange for peace and security. Such regimes inevitably have both supporters and detractors.

Like in most countries, new presidents come along with new groups of supporters with whom to work with. In many Africa countries, people are mostly selected on political lines and trust, rather than merit.

Presidential loyalty, as opposed to meritocracy, is more profound in countries where the president in power favours and compensates those who supported their elections. Importantly, former French colonies in Africa have a track record of coups d’état, in which former presidents want to come back to power or militarily oppose the ruling parties. However, President Nkurunziza’s deathmay put his supporters in a difficult situation. Such a situation will either call for subjection under the new leadership or create another faction opposing Évariste Ndayishimiye, Burundi’s newly sworn president.

The cause of President Nkurunziza’s death remains unclear, thus opening up space for public speculation and conspiracies. At the moment, two claims suggest the cause of his death. The official position is that he died of a heart attack, explaining that he watched a volleyball match the day before being falling sick. Critics claimed that he died of COVID-19. If such suspicion arises, the president’s death could divide party members. In this scenario, the opposition might undermine the elections and push for a different leader.  Besides, the military might again take over and return the country to military rule. Depending on the military leaders and their intentions, the problem of ethnicity might also arise. If one or two of these scenarios come about, chaos will ensue, leading to a civil uprising and war.

One major consequence of an uprising in Burundi is the movement of nationals (internally displaced persons); the influx of refugees to neighbouring countries like Tanzania, the Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, and South Africa that still host thousands of Burundian as a result of the previous war. This kind of migration will increase the social and economic burden of recipient countries already strained by refugee crises. Humanitarian crises, too, might worsen, calling for the assistance of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN). Such a spillover and its consequences are contrary to recent calls by the African Union. It goes against the 2020 AU celebration theme, “Silencing the Guns,” a sign that the continent is determined to use peaceful means rather than guns to settle political disputes. 

Looking Forward

Mr. Nkurunziza’s commitment to security and rights for all irrespective of the social, ethnic, religious or political background remains a beacon on which Burundians can build on to further their development objectives.

The decision of the Burundi Constitutional Court on 12 June 2020, is a step in the right direction. The president of one of the highest courts in the land, Mr. Charles Ndagijimana ruled that the country is not going to apply Article 121 of the Constitution, which states among other things the following:

In case of a vacancy because of demission, death or any other causes of a definitive end to his functions, the interim will be assured by the president of the National Assembly or, if he is also impeded from exercising his functions, by the Vice-Presidents of the Republic and the Government acting collectively. The Constitutional Court called upon by the Vice-Presidents of the Republic and the Government acting collectively will announce the vacancy. The temporary authority may not form a new Government…”

Article 121 is to the effect that where the office of the president is vacant for some reasons, either  because of resignation, death or any other cause, the president of the National Assembly or Vice president of the Republic (depending on the circumstances) will in the interim, announce the vacancy and resume office for a period of no less than a month and no more than three months, everything being equal.

Mr. Ndagijimana also added that the president elected by the people of Burundi should be sworn in as soon as possible. Acting upon this decision will mitigate a possible conflict,asit will give the president powers to keep certain institutions and situations under his control.  

The AU and the UN should be proactive in managing conflicts and in achieving peace and security. Furthermore, the AU should remind the people of Burundi of their constitution’s preamble, which affirms national unity, peace, and reconciliation under the Arusha Accord of 2000 and respect for human rights, as enshrined by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Also, the AU and the UN should remind the new regime that international aid will be withdrawn if the government uses arms and force on its people.Let the presence of AU and UN officials be felt in Burundi, as they collaborate for peace.

Conclusion

Burundi’s future and stability after the death of President Pierre Nkurunziza depends, to a large extent, on the domestic politics and foreign affairs approach of the new government as well as the leadership style of President Évariste Ndayishimiye who was sworn in on 18 June 2020. President Ndayishimiye’s policies and leadership approach have to be proactive, multifaceted, and dynamic to maintain peace and stability.He will need the support and collaboration of sub regional member states,the African Union, European Union and other allies to succeed in this new role. This is because, following the 2015 elections,Burundi has struggled to unite the country. Of course, the AU might find this task to be difficult because President Nkurunziza, in his third term, accused Rwanda, one of the most instrumental neighbours,of negatively influencing the country’s politics. Nevertheless, the AU must use its expertise, regional leadership, and diplomatic capital to salvage the sinking ship that is Burundi, whose loss of its former president is, in a positive perspective, a fresh start on the country’s path to peace and prosperity.  

President Évariste Ndayishimiyecan foster social cohesion,peace and stability in Burundi by taking simple but concrete steps. Simple and concrete steps have the potential to alter the course of Burundi positively. Overall, Burundians, Burundi partners and critics share some common goals that can foster national cohesion and enhance national development. First, it has been echoed that bringing back to Burundi the refugees in the camps promotes national cohesion. Second, bringing back the intellectuals in exile increase diversity and capacity of Burundians to take part in the development of their country. And third, renewing ties with the international community is vital for the government of President Ndayishimiye to get the help much needed to develop Burundi.

President Ndayishimiye’s foreign policy approach and democratic governance at home could help mend relations with Rwanda, which have deteriorated in recent years. As mentioned earlier, Burundi has accused Rwanda of masterminding the foiled coup in 2015, while Rwanda has accused Burundi of sheltering rebels associated with the genocide that ripped Rwanda apart in 1994. Domestically, President Ndayishimiye might face resistance from the generals and leaders within the ruling party. However, he also has the chance to pitch himself as the man to unite Burundi and lead it out of its political and economic isolation. The future of Nkurunziza party and Burundi will depend on President Ndayishimiye’s ability to reassure the generals and key cadres of their future and privileges.

Hubert Kum Foy &Ernest Muchu Toh

African Center for Science and International Security, Ghana

Peace talks between the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime and the Southern Cameroons Interim Government have stalled due to the struggle for influence between Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute and the Minister- Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

On 2 July, the jailed leader of the Ambazonia Interim Government President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe announced to the world that he and his top aides had discussed a ceasefire with the French Cameroun government under the aegis of the United Nations.

By some strange happenstance, the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime made a dramatic u turn and on the instructions of Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, the powerful Minister Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Communications Minister René Emmanuel Sadi issued a press statement that the information relayed to the world by the Ambazonia leader and two Roman Catholic Bishops was not “in line with reality”.

Paris based Jeune Afrique reported recently that since then, the two warring parties have not been in contact.

According to the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Yaoundé and the Southern Cameroons Metropolitan Archbishop of Bamenda, an Ambazonian delegation led by President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe met on 2 July with Maxime Eko Eko, the head of the Francophone dominated Cameroon Secret Service at the Directorate General of External Research (DGRE).

The Ambazonians had demanded that the meeting be held on “neutral” ground. Consequently, the Roman Catholic Church was asked to provide the Episcopal Centre at Mvolyé. Located in Yaoundé, the Roman Catholic Centre was chosen to host the discussions attended by six other representatives of the Biya Francophone regime.

The Mvolyé meeting brought with it an emboldened Anglophone Prime Minister Dion Ngute who was ready to seek peace in the dialogue and an emboldened Francophone Minister Secretary General Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh able to influence from within Etoudi.

Southern Cameroons have seen four different prime ministers in office ever since an Ambazonian, Ni John Fru Ndi attempted to take power in Yaoundé, speaking volumes about the level of political instability in a country stuck in French teleguided  status quo.

While the debate over whether the Yaoundé peace talks actually took place is seemingly closed now, the debate over the Biya regime’s ability to resolve the Southern Cameroons crisis remains open, and rightly so.

The Biya French Cameroun regime’s ability to keep Southern Cameroonians into the one and indivisible Cameroon concept is not only questioned with reference to the manner in which his Beti Ewondo political elites wormed their way into power, but also due to the fact that Mr. Biya’s government is always formed with the help of active lobbying led by former French ambassadors to Cameroon.

This has been explicitly revealed by prominence of French chief diplomats in Yaoundé. It is also a concerning issue deep inside French Cameroun and reveals the dependence of the CPDM crime syndicate on successive French governments.

The unenthusiastic welcome the Dion Ngute government received as it began its mandate should have gotten a boost if the Beti Ewondo political elites had reflected the lack of Anglophone support and backed Dion Ngute’s push to end the war in Southern Cameroons. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that Prime Minister Dion Ngute is leading the country in its darkest hours.

The challenges that Dion Ngute is facing are multi-faceted, starting from the fact that he has no legitimate authority over members of the cabinet he is leading. Minister Paul Atanga Nji and his partner in crime business tycoon Belinga Amougou including Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh are making Prime Minister Dion Ngute’s mission very challenging or nearly impossible.

French Cameroun is also facing pernicious political polarisation. Correspondingly, the Biya Francophone government has little or no idea on how to navigate such an extreme political environment in order to ensure full functionality of institutions. Africa may be witnessing another Rwanda soonest.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Group Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Powerful and yet, affable, that was Stephen. How does anyone explain the logic of basking in glory in life and languishing in anonymity in death? Such is the mystery of life. On the whole, I will forever admire him as a great guy because he had the courage of his convictions, and he paid the price for his passion.

He knew he was not so good academically and so, though a relative of late General Tataw who could have opened doors for him, he did not barge into medical school (CUSS Yaounde) to mess up some lives or bribe his way into ENAM and build a castle in Makeup in record time.

He was talented in soccer and he knew it. He was passionate about the beautiful game and he went on to distinguish himself on the international stage, with those vintage sliding tackles. No wonder Aljazeera carried the news of his passing.

My goodness! Did Tataw play soccer? From his debut in remote Ekona at the foot of Mt Cameroon,   he attended college in Baptist Boys Secondary School Buea.

From inter-school sports competitions called OSUCS with CCAST Bambili and Nacho Comprehensive College in Bamenda, he rose to provincial club soccer with Cammark Bamenda and then the great Tonnerre Kalara Club of the nation’s capital, Yaounde.

Soccer fans remember the days of the local derbies that split the town between the legendary Roger Milla of Tonnere and the no less charismatic Black Spider Thomas Nkono, of Canon Kpa Kum.

Alongside other football household names like Abega Theophile, Mbida Arantes, Mfede Louis Paul of the continental Lions of Africa, Skipper Tataw Stephen, led the first African team to reach the 8th Finals at the World Cup. These are the boys that traumatized world bookmakers by bringing  down the world champions, led by the all-time great, Maradona, in Italy 1990.

Age catches up with every man and after a two-year acquaintance with international football in Japan, he came back home.

He tried his hand in business, but of course, that was not his turf. He had a stint with the national team as part of the technical staff. For reasons best known within the tumultuous FECAFOOT that has known close to 20 coaches in 40 years, he was dropped.

That was when he began dropping morally. And when your morale drops, like a domino effect, the other areas of your life begin to adjust to the tune set, thereby.

His beloved wife dropped dead two years ago. His health dropped and with his pockets having been depleted over the years, the one who never gave up until the blast of the final whistle probably gave up on life. If that was not the case, why did he refuse to go to hospital as his health deteriorated? How come the gentle and friendly man became a recluse? Your guess is as good as mine.

Song Bahanak who took the captain’s arm band from Tataw had a huge health challenge a couple of years ago. Song was sick? The news went round like a prairie fire and all inertia was jolted into action.  Red tape was broken with a snap and with a chartered flight, he was whisked off to France. His life was saved.

The captain of the Lions is an institution! What are you talking about? Until 1982 and 1990, Cameroon was nowhere in the world. Footballers, as the best ambassadors  of the country, put this  Central African country on the world map. Many will attest to great  favours they have enjoyed world wide, and in the most unexpected circumstances when someone said “Oh, are you Cameroonian?” And the response was yes. “You have a great soccer team”. “I love Roger Milla.” ” Eto’o is my man!” “Oh! You need not pay, for I love your soccer team”. And the list goes on.

These guys did great for a country known for its corruption records. Twice in a row, Cameroon was  at the top of the Corruption Index of Transparency International, remember? So, for their role on the World stage, these players deserve all the nation can afford them. The question on the mind of many is, “Why was the same treatment or even something a bit close, offered to Song Bahanak not availed to StephenTataw?

To have had 63 selections and kept the captain’s band over a majority francophone star-studded team was no mean feat. It was NOT a favour. While history will reveal the full story some day, there is cause to appeal for a mechanism to take care of our national heroes.

The cautionary line here touches on the need to learn from the school of life. Mbappe Leppe, another national hero of the 70s died in abject misery. It was so bad, the family had to plead for national compassion from any Cameroonian of goodwill.  Many ran to the rescue as he lay bed-ridden at the Yaounde Central Hospital, after pictures of him did the rounds in the national daily, Cameroon Tribune.

Before he finally died, he must have died about three  times before. With time I have learnt that men die slowly or die in stages. He died from pain, from shame and from regret.

Had Janvion made better investments, he may not have counted on the Government that dropped him. Had he made some other choices, he may not have resorted to FECAFOOT that broke his heart. How do you fault a man for too much trust in the country he sweated blood for?

There is no doubt he will receive a hero’s burial. We are reminiscent of the pomp and pageantry around the burial of Marc Vivien Foe or Dr Abega Theophile, and we are comforted. The virgil will be graced by great music by Cameroon star artists and speeches by several ministers and football heroes. This will be crowned by the national promotion and decoration with the Presidential award, posthumously.

I hope his kids, Junior and Yvana will benefit from it all. Will they? Better still, I hope others like Pagal, Makanaky and Omam will take a leaf from the life and death of their fellow sportsman.

Will they learn from their Captain and make the right sliding tackle to save their families from the goal that may bring them down, before the final whistle?

Farewell, Janvion.

Bon voyage, mon type.

BoP, Riviera.