Today, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md), Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement following the killing of Bate Urgessa, a leader of the Oromo Liberation Front, in Meki in Oromia.

“The killing of Bate Urgessa on Tuesday night was shocking and upsetting. I offer my deepest condolences to the family for their loss, and urge Ethiopian authorities to allow a credible, neutral international body to conduct a thorough investigation into Mr. Bate’s death. Extrajudicial killings, harassment, and political repression have, for far too long, been common place in Oromia.

The Abiy regime has clamped down on political opposition, the media, and dissidents not only in Oromia, but throughout Ethiopia, contributing to the country’s widespread insecurity and overall instability. It is past time for those responsible for the policy of repression and abuse to be exposed and held accountable for their actions.”

THIS IS TO ADVISE THAT A COALITION OF THE BRAVE IS LOOKING FOR YOUNG CAMEROONIANS IN THEIR 40s AND EARLY 50s WHO ARE POLITICS-SAVVY AND WOULD BE INTERESTED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2025 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN CAMEROON.

THE CHOSEN CANDIDATE WILL BE ARMED WITH THE FINANCIAL RESOURCES NECESSARY TO ENABLE HIM OR HER PUT UP A GREAT FIGHT DURING THE CAMPAIGN.

THE COALITION WILL SOON COMMENCE CAMPAIGNING USING SOCIAL MEDIA AND PERSON-TO-PERSON CONTACTS TO RUN AN EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN IN LINE WITH THE LAWS OF THE LAND.

PLEASE INDICATE YOUR INTEREST BY CONTACTING THE CHAIRMAN, CAMEROON CONCORD NEWS GROUP.

FOR

THE CHAIRMAN, THE COALITION OF THE BRAVE

Cameroon is going down the drain and only Cameroonian citizens, especially French-speaking, can end the mess playing out in the country.

They claim they are scared of soldiers because Mr. Biya’s military is wicked and trained to kill. But this is not totally true. There is an issue of courage in this whole situation.

English-speaking Cameroonians have proven that the so-called well trained army is a myth. The soldiers are simply armed scouts in military fatigue.

At the height of the Southern Cameroons war of independence, Ambazonians slaughtered the country’s military like fouls and goats, sometimes chopping off their heads, limbs and hands in front of a camera. Some of the soldiers were even robbed of their manhood as a way of telling them that they were in the wrong territory.

When arrested by brave Ambazonian fighters, Francophone soldiers cried like babies, sometimes pleading with brave Amba fighters to forgive their sins as if Amba fighters were Roman Catholic priest to whom they had to confess.

More than four thousand Cameroon government soldiers have been killed during the fierce fighting, with more than three thousand scarred both mentally and physically.

Some of those so-called soldiers even walked away from the war front, screaming and crying for mercy as brave Southern Cameroonian fighters pursued them.

Many of those Biya regime soldiers even had to bribe their bosses for them not to be sent to the war front.

Stories told by their colleagues who survived Amba onslaughts rang in their minds and many simply deserted and left the country. Amba fighters have succeeded to strike fear in the minds of those La Republique du Cameroun scouts who are erroneously known as BIR soldiers. Even the Rapid Intervention Squad (BIR) has been kicked out of Southern Cameroons with their tail between their legs.

So, what are French-speaking Cameroonians still waiting for? They want the entire country to disappear for them to understand that the solutions to the mess playing out in the country are in their hands?

It is time for young French-speaking Cameroonians to muster courage to face the armed scouts in their country. If they think someone else will bail them out of their predicament, then they will have to wait forever.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

As usual, there is news all over Cameroon on the possible replacement of Paul Biya, the country’s longest serving president in 2025. Mr. Biya has misruled the country for 42 years and he is slowly but surely yielding to the passage of time. Mr. Biya, who was considered by many in 1982 as a better option to the country’s first president, Amadou Ahidjo, is really running out of steam. His mine is failing him at a pace never seen before and this has become a huge concern for his entourage, especially those who have engaged in acts of impropriety and serious misconduct.

To the ordinary Cameroonian, Biya has become a millstone around his neck as suggested by a CPDM official. Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News, a key CPDM militant who elected anonymity said that “Biya has failed himself and Cameroonians and he is aware of his own catastrophic failure. When his mind gets reset by the strong drugs and steroids recommended by his Swiss doctors, he resorts to blaming everybody except himself for the excruciating pain he has inflicted on Cameroonians.  Biya is like our own Holy Ghost, unfortunately with an ironic twist. The Holy Ghost in the Bible is noted for its positivity, but Mr. Biya’s presence among Cameroonians is huge symbol of negativity. Where two or three Cameroonians are gathered, Biya is with them and they are always talking about him. The disaster which Mr. Biya and his henchmen have unleashed on Cameroon will linger for a very long time.”

“I have been hearing all this noise about replacing Biya through elections. Cameroon will never change through an election. The system is mined and if Cameroonians are looking forward to elections as the only way of changing things, then they are in for a tough disappointment. Cameroon is ripe for a coup d’etat and a coup will be less expensive compared to a fake election. A so-called election will require huge amounts of money. Many people will die before, during and after the election as the government is already strategizing on the type of terror it will unleash on the population during and after the election. There are many plans under way to exclude opposition voters and, as usual, after the results get published by the Constitutional Council, troops will be deployed and a state of emergency will be declared,” the CPDM stalwart lamented.

“A coup d’etat is cheaper! If we take a look at what has happened in Guinea, Gabon, Mali, Burkina and Niger, it is clearly emerging that a coup d’etat is the best option for Cameroon. In the other countries, there was no bloodshed. No money was spent on arms and ammunition. But a so-called democratic election in Cameroon will imply that billions will be poured into a flawed process, innocent lives will be destroyed, military resources will be wasted to intimidate the population as well as the political opposition, and the country’s infrastructure will be destroyed in the process. If Cameroon’s military is patriotic, it can help the country by putting an end to this nightmare which has already lasted 42 years. Biya is a real pain in our side,” the miserable CPDM supporter wept.

“I cannot speak up and out because I have already eaten, drunk and danced with the devil. The CPDM is like a cult. When you join them, you will never leave. Any attempt to leave will be met with all the intrigues and violence which will make your life and that of your family miserable. Biya has taken the country down a dark and treacherous path and our fear even within the party is that after him, the country would be enveloped in a thick cloud of violence. There are so many skeletons in Mr. Biya’s cupboard and that is why he wants to die in power. His dishonest collaborators know that and they have already been bought over. They are all willing to sink with the dying Biya because they know Cameroonians will never forgive them. The military will find it very easy to overthrow Mr. Biya whose grip on power is already loosening,” he added.

“Within the party, there are huge concerns about the future. Most party stalwarts are very sick. Marcel Niat just as Biya himself is a colony of diseases. Niat too is losing his mind. An enlarged prostrate triggering incontinence is keeping him permanently in diapers while Cavaye is staging his one-man show at the National Assembly. He has reduced the place to a drinking parlor, with his office drawers containing some of the most intoxicating liquors. On a normal day, Cavaye can down two huge bottles of liquor and that is just for the day as he will still drink more at home before going to bed. It is as if the taxpayer is paying him to slowly kill himself. Cavaye really wants to give the country a bad name. Many fear he might one day die in his office due to alcohol intoxication,” our source said.

“For now, the Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, is just looking for an exit strategy. He is sick and tired of all the games which have set the country back by at least a century. He cannot wait to leave. In his mind, everything in Cameroon is simply a pretty mess. Nothing is working. The country cannot boost of any good roads. The country’s railway system has collapsed while the national airlines is sinking further and further into bankruptcy. The young people within the corridors of power are working hard for the mess to continue so that they can continue to rob the country blind. Many of them have their family members in schools abroad. They are looking forward to completing their fees before Biya gets kicked out. The increasing noise about a coup or a strong opposition coalition is unsettling to them and it is keeping them awake all night,” our source concluded. 

Meanwhile the country’s opposition is taking steps to weave a strong coalition. Last week, Professor Titus Edzoa, a former minister under Biya, was in Europe to garner more support for the opposition project and the project is gaining traction with the country’s Diaspora supporting any and every effort which will see off the country’s president.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Editor-in-Chief and Group Chairman

2025 will be a critical year in Cameroon as parliamentary and presidential elections will be held and the presidential elections in particular will either make or break the country which has been in the spotlight for decades for all the wrong reasons. As Cameroon’s political parties start strategizing on how to edge out the unpopular CPDM, the country’s ruling party, which has been responsible for the economic and political cataclysm which has befallen Cameroon, Cameroon Concord News turned to Dr. Joachim Arrey for expert analysis of the trends, fears and concerns of Cameroonians.   “Fru Ndi clearly won the 1992 elections as reported by Albert Dzongang in a video given that he willfully participated in the fraud which robbed Cameroonians of their victory even when other major political opposition parties did not stand with Fru Ndi. Fru Ndi of blessed memory won not because Cameroonians loved him, but because they were simply sick and tired of a government which had spent most of its time sleeping at the switch. Corruption and indifference had become the hallmarks of the government and Cameroonians wanted to rid themselves of this government and the destructive malaises it had engineered for them,” says Dr. Joachim Arrey, a committed observer of Cameroon’s political landscape. Read the full interview!!

Cameroon Concord News: It is always a pleasure having you. From the last time you shared your thoughts with us, a lot has changed and Cameroonians are really desperate for political and personality change. However, this week, we saw more of the same following the election of Marcel Niat Njifenji and Cavaye Djibril. What is your perspective on this?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: I am really surprised at the behaviour of those Cameroonians who really thought the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate would not be returned to their positions. The truth is that Cameroon’s political leaders do not care about the population. The future of the country is the least of their concerns. Today, the country is on the edge of a cliff and there is nobody to pull it back from the brink. Cameroonians are leaving the country in droves and this is not a concern to the authorities. Our youths are unemployed and wasting the best part of their lives and the government has simply gone to sleep. But again, if you grumble in your bedroom and after that you head to an off-license to drown your sorrows in alcohol, nobody will know that you have been hurt. Our country’s youths must be politically conscious and active. It is their future which is being ruined by their grandparents who should not be having anything to do with politics. However, nobody hurts or exploits you without your approval. Your attitude towards life determines how people see you. Cameroonians have cheapened themselves and they are only worth a bottle of beer or a can of sardine for a seven-year period.

Coming back to your question, why would anybody think that because someone is sick and old, he cannot do his job? There are no age limits in our constitution when it comes to standing for an election. Marcel Niat Njifenji and Cavaye Djibril have the right to stand for elections in Cameroon though they are desperately sick and old. If Cameroonians need real and meaningful change, they know what to do. Nobody hands you the change you need on a platter of gold. Cameroonians are the architects of their own problems. The country’s constitution provides for peaceful demonstrations if the population disagrees with the government and its actions, and I think if Cameroonians want to see genuine change, then they must use this provision to make their point.  Indifference and silence are tantamount to acquiescence. If Cameroonians think that somebody will come from a different planet or country to change their destiny, then they will have to wait for too long. The state capture will continue for decades if Cameroonians continue to be sorry spectators of political events in their own country.

Cameroon Concord News: You just spoke about unemployment and a stalled economy in Cameroon. In your view, what could be responsible for Cameroon’s underdevelopment at a time when most countries are taking giant steps forward in terms of development?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Cameroon’s dismal economic performance is nothing new at the international level. The country is bereft of modern transformative and transformational infrastructure. The country’s cities and towns are shadows of their former selves. Douala and Yaoundé need an extreme makeover. Yaoundé is 90% slum. There are few structured neighborhoods in Yaoundé. There are many neighborhoods in the nation’s capital which have gone for decades without water and electricity and this is not a problem for the people and their leaders. Douala, once a vibrant city, has lost its shine and it is now mostly a massive slum. 

In many parts of our major cities, you will see garbage heaps lining our streets and fecal matter is a constant presence in many of our streets, reminding the vulnerable that they could be easily swept away by cholera or other water or air-borne diseases. Our cities do not have proper fecal sludge disposal mechanisms and this is hurting the health of our people. Each year, thousands of children in Cameroon die of water- or sanitation-related diseases and since the government has decided not to establish any vital statistics department, many Cameroonians are simply in the dark about the disaster that has visited their country. If this unfortunate trend has to be bucked, then a change of mentality and personalities must be on the country’s political agenda. It will be preposterous to use the same people who have engineered the problems for them to find an appropriate solution to the same problems. They will definitely come to the solution laboratory with the same mindset and this will cause the problems to linger.

As you already know, Cameroon is among the most corrupt countries in the world and our country had in the early 2000s earned the infamous distinction of being the most corrupt country in the world and it won this disgraceful award two years in a row. That was what Transparency International told us and, to the best of my knowledge, the country has only made giant strides backwards in this regard. Corruption is a major economic killer, especially when the corruption is fostered by those who are supposed to check it. I would like to refer Cameroonians to the latest Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) published by Transparency International. They will certainly gain a better understanding why their country’s economy is facing some of the challenges it is facing.

Mr. Editor, good governance is the fertiliser which brings about economic prosperity if well combined with other economic factors. Cameroon has been mired in controversies which have ruined its reputation abroad and this is striking fear in the minds of many potential investors. Nobody in his right mind will like to put his hard-earned money in a country whose future is uncertain. Many investors see Cameroon as a ‘tinderbox’ which might go off any time if care is not taken. If you take a look at the Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), you will see Cameroon’s position and you will gain a better understanding of why our economy is making giant strides backwards. The country is being run like a personal plantation. Cameroon is the only country in the world where the price of alcohol is regulated with presidential decrees. It is the only country in the world where even night watchmen are appointed through an administrative instrument. Competence and effectiveness are not the determinants of who should occupy which position.

The beer sector is the only economic sector which is doing well as most Cameroonians sedate themselves regularly with these liquids just to forget about their multitude of sorrows which has been stalking them for decades like a stubborn shadow. Unbeknownst to them is the fact that alcohol is a suspect in the many cases of diabetes and kidney failures which are sending our young men to an early grave. Some of these drinks are now being produced at home in very filthy environments. There is no Drug and Food Administration in Cameroon which can regulate such activities and law enforcement is a joke as the law enforcement agencies are replete with the proteges of the politicians who are the architects of the mess playing out in Cameroon.

Cameroon Concord News: Recently, we have been hearing some concerned voices calling for a coalition of opposition parties in Cameroon as a possibility of beating Mr. Paul Biya who is being touted as the ruling party’s candidate in the 2025 Presidential election. What is your take on that?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: I look forward to the day that idea will be incarnated in Cameroon, but I don’t think it is a prerequisite. It will take more than an election for genuine positive change to be part of Cameroon’s political landscape and culture. I have been reading some articles that the country’s political parties must unite if they really want to win an election in Cameroon. Unity is good but, in our context, where disunity is strength, it will take a miracle to achieve total unity.

Honestly, those pushing for a coalition of the country’s political parties are either too young to remember that there was a “Union for Change” which stood behind Mr. John Fru Ndi in the 1992 Presidential Elections which Ndam Njoya, Bello Bouba and others sabotaged, or they are just too naïve to know that the country’s political mess is coded in its electoral law and constitution.

Mr. Fru Ndi clearly won the 1992 elections as reported by Mr. Albert Dzongang in a video given that he willfully participated in the fraud which robbed Cameroonians of their victory even when other major political opposition parties did not stand with Mr. Fru Ndi. Mr. Fru Ndi of blessed memory won not because Cameroonians loved him, but because they were simply sick and tired of a government which had spent most of its time sleeping at the switch. Corruption and indifference had become the hallmarks of the government and Cameroonians wanted to rid themselves of this government and the destructive malaises it had engineered for them.

The electoral code stipulates that only ELECAM has the prerogative of publishing election results and only ELECAM-published results will be acceptable. Strangely, it is the president who appoints members of ELECAM. I am still trying to figure out how the country’s president will appoint his political opponents in high positions at ELECAM. He will have to be high on something strange or there must be divine intervention for him to lose his mind to the point of not knowing what it takes to rig elections. Who on earth will be popular after 42 years in power, especially when he has not posted any convincing results?

It should also be pointed out that in the event of any election disputes, only the Constitutional Council has the right to address such issues. Once more, it is the President’s constitutional right to appoint the president and members of the Constitutional Council. Except Mr. Biya and his people completely lose their minds, there will never be any accident in this regard. Mr. Biya knows that most Cameroonians are cash-strapped and giving them appointments is one way of buying their consciences. Poverty hardly breeds virtue and this has been clearly demonstrated in Cameroon. We all can recall the day Mr. Atanganang Clement was appointed as the Constitutional Council president and how he celebrated like a child in a candy store. Pushing for a political coalition of opposition parties as a prerequisite for winning the 2025 President election is like looking for a very small needle in a massive haystack in Cameroon.

The country’s political opposition will never win an election if the current political dispensation is not reformed to reduce the ruling party’s grip on the country. Besides, calling for that coalition is like looking for love in a brothel when we all know what the residents of those brothels are selling – sex for money. The country’s political opposition is replete with people who know that they do not have any political clout but they just have to throw their hats into the ring, hoping that they can get something from the ruling party after the election. Poverty can disarm even the strongest army in the world and many Cameroonian politicians are desperately hungry, making it hard for them to be disciplined and principled. Sometimes, those empty shells known as political parties are the creations of the ruling party as a strategy to sell the rhetoric that the opposition can never be united, hence diminishing its chances of winning any presidential election.

Cameroon Concord News: What do you think can be done to get the country out of its tight spot?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Despite the tough challenges which lie ahead and though the ruling CPDM is the front-runner in an election which has not even been announced given that it is in total control of the election mechanisms, I would still urge our young men and women to get registered and vote for a candidate who can really turn the country’s fortunes around. Currently, the political landscape is crowded but a few opposition leaders are clearly standing out, though they are yet to convince Cameroonians or establish a national consensus on their ability to engineer a brand new and prosperous country. The MRC which is still facing challenges due to its inability to emerge from its tribal shell could lead the pack if it organizes itself and if it reaches out to other political parties. The Social Democratic Front, which in the past had bruised the ruling CPDM, could also work with the MRC to give the ruling party a run for its money. The country is a year away from the presidential election and a lot can happen between now and the elections. The opposition parties, which genuinely want to bring about change in Cameroon, can start dumping enormous pressure on the crumbling government for election reforms to be undertaken before the elections.  There are many refined and sophisticated legal minds in Cameroon who can provide the right advice to this political parties regarding constitutional and election reform in Cameroon.

Cameroon Concord News: It is always a pleasure talking with you. Any last word for Cameroonians?

Dr. Joachim Arrey: Cameroonians are a brilliant people when it comes to academics but certificates alone will not enable them to live the life they want in their country. It takes a lot of courage and discipline to trigger change in any society. Cameroonians must drop their bad habit of thinking that they know everything just because they passed exams. They must learn how to listen to the experts and they must walk away from the straight jacket of tribalism and regionalism which the government has imposed on them. The government has worked hard to divide Cameroonians but it is time for us to read through the government.

Let us understand that every Cameroonian is in need of good roads, good hospitals, good schools and a civil and civilized environment which will help us to live a healthy life. We must embrace a structured existence which is underpinned by discipline. Cameroonians are generating slums which are killing them slowly. They must urge their municipalities to help them to live a structured life. Neighborhoods in Cameroon are not organized, making it easy for slums to emerge. The government might have failed us, but we cannot afford to fail ourselves. Through community effort, we can reduce some of the garbage which is serving as a good breeding ground for mosquitoes and diseases. A great health strategy must be predicated upon prevention. If we make prevention our mantra, we will stave off many of those diseases which are robbing us of our happiness.

Cameroon Concord News: Thank you, Dr. Joachim Arrey!

When officials of Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, instituted a sanitation day which is supposed to take place every Thursday, many in the city were elated, hoping that such an action would roll back the garbage that lined the city’s streets.

But this hope has been short-lived as the sanitation day is being used by alcohol addicts in the city to recover after heavy drinking every Wednesday evening.

Like most laws in Cameroon, the Douala City’s bylaw on sanitation lacks teeth as there are no enforcement mechanisms. The city’s officials have good intentions, but they lack the means to enforce their own laws.

They made the law without thinking of how to enforce it and today, many residents of Douala are simply not participating in the effort and there are no consequences for non-compliance.

Douala City officials have to go back to the drawing board to see how they can ensure that residents see that the sanitation day is in their best interest.

The Douala Sanitation Day has delivered some results but there is more to be done. Douala as a city is still very dirty. Resident dump their garbage on the streets everyday instead of keeping it at home until the garbage trucks come for the garbage.

According to analysts and observers, the city’s garbage issue is a real millstone around the necks of the population. Each day, thousands of Douala residents get hit by malaria due to poor sanitation and this is taking a toll on the people’s meager salaries.

Children and women are the hardest hit by malaria and deaths from malaria are always in the thousands in a city whose sanitation situation will not be improving as planned by city officials because most of the population does not pull its fair share of the weight.

More needs to be done in terms of enforcement if the city’s sanitation law has to deliver real results.

Alain A. Ebot

Senior political figures within the Biya Francophone regime in Yaoundé are now raising concerns about the declining participation in Cameroon’s sham elections orchestrated by the 91-year-old President Biya. One of them contacted by Cameroon Intelligence Report expressed worry that Etoudi insiders are not feeling the urgency and danger surrounding the current situation.

Various factors have contributed to the decreased turnout even from so called CPDM militants. There is now a complete and total dissatisfaction with the country’s conditions and a lack of hope for its future on both sides of the English and French divide. And many have openly questioned Biya’s legacy and accused him and his kinsmen of using misleading slogans to divert attention from the deteriorating state of the country.

A top military brass was heard recently murmuring privately against the rhetoric coming from inside the presidency on Franck Biya and Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh. He at one point wondered aloud whether calls for the two men to succeed the 91-year-old Biya truly serves the interests of the Cameroonian people.

The corrupt CPDM government is now resorting to empty rhetoric when Biya has nothing substantial to offer. Despite years of both French and English speaking Cameroonian citizens expressing allegiance to their country, the Biya regime appears deaf to their pleas.

As I write, everyone in the nation’s capital Yaoundé is seeking regime change. The regime is losing its grip on the military, the people, and this trend might lead to further challenges to Biya’s authority and an end to the regime’s oppressive rule.

Today, there is a growing concern and complexities surrounding the 2025 presidential elections.  The opposition is facing challenges in articulating a message that resonates with tribalists heading the Cameroon military and the National Gendarmerie.

The regime’s threats against key opposition leaders and parties underscores a broader disconnect between the government and the Cameroonian people.

As the Cameroonian population expresses its discontent, the Biya Francophone Beti Bulu regime finds itself at a critical juncture, with the legitimacy of the presidential elections coming up next year and its own authority increasingly under scrutiny.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

People knew her as the “mother of all” because of her kindness, softly spoken nature, and her bright and infectious smile. At work, she would make time to listen to junior colleagues and in the community, she supported the disadvantaged. Nana Abunaw Marie was a gentle and intelligent personality who made a difference during her more-than-forty years of public service and charitable work. She achieved several groundbreaking milestones in her career, including becoming the first female Administrator General of Prisons in Cameroon, the first female Commander of the National Advanced School of Penitentiary Administration, and retiring as the Inspector General of Services in the Ministry of Justice. Her retirement from an exceptional public service career in 2015 gave her the freedom and contentment to do the things she had always wanted to do—charity.

As the director of the National Penitentiary, General Nana had ethics, compassion and rehabilitation at the foundation of her organisation. She supported people of all backgrounds who came through the establishment. A keen listener and passionate worker, she encouraged her workforce to treat prisoners with compassion. Rehabilitation of offenders, not derision and abuse, was at the forefront of what she stood for. As she was keen on giving people a second chance, she urged prisoners to regard incarceration as a period of reflection and change.

In 1997, General Nana, as the Director of National Prisons, inherited a demoralized workforce, and an under-funded organization, in an ethical crisis. There was a constant round of reorganisation that was barely keeping pace with the country’s plummeting finances and growing prison population. In later life, she said, “in the prison service, the many efforts being made to improve the system were no better than rearranging the deckchairs on the sinking Titanic.”

The position of Inspector General of Services in the Ministry of Justices was a politically charged position that required wisdom, people skills and professionalism. On the one hand, she had to deal with state policies and the Minister of Justice, and on the other; she had to wrestle with her conscience and faith. Yet, her quiet determination, calm authority and hands-on approach prevented these pressure points from boiling over. General Nana made herself accessible to the presidency, ministers, junior colleagues and members of the public. She became known for responding rapidly to junior colleagues, members of the public, and inmates. She did not shy away from making tough decisions and working on programmes for victims of crimes to access justice and compensation.

After Mami Nana retired, she founded the Equity and Justice Prison Fellowship, a non-profit organisation to advocate for a restorative approach to justice, proportional punishment and a constructive and reformatory prison culture intended to give prisoners a second chance. Although she has been ill for over three years, she has kept attending meetings of her charitable organization and MOHWA conferences around the world. When asked about what many remember about her, they say she was “eloquent and a genuinely kind person.”

I am lucky enough to have met and spoken with her about many community subjects and projects at the MOHWA Europe Convention in Coventry, England, in August 2022. In our subsequent phone conversations, her steely determination to see a strong Manyu community at home and in the diaspora was evident. One of her greatest fears, she told me, was that the “Manyu community in the diaspora was growing weaker because of internal strife and this made her people weak as a force.”

Nana Abunaw Marie was born in Besongabang, Manyu Division, on the 29th of May 1953 to Pa Ako David Abunaw and Ma Clara Egbe Etchu Abunaw. She was the third of eleven children and attended Presbyterian Secondary School, Besongabang and CCAST, Bambili. Over the years, she recounted that the time she spent with her parents in a loving community impressed upon her the importance of education, compassion, discipline and hard work. She later credited the charitable work she did with prisoners and the vulnerable to her upbringing. General Nana Abunaw Marie died on the 8th of March, 2024, after a protracted illness. Her husband, Chief Justice Kwamu Nana, seven children, and ten grandchildren survive her.

Mami Nana Abunaw Marie was the very essence of compassion and duty. She was humanity at its best, an outstanding public servant and a standard bearer for the rights of the vulnerable. She was a person with a natural ability to make people feel at ease in her presence because she was just a special human being. Her love for humanity transmitted wherever she took her infectious smile and sparkle. The world is better because of this unique and irreplaceable life. She leaves the world a better place for having lived and all who had the great fortune of ever meeting her will miss her dearly. She leaves a lasting void in the Abunaw family and the global Manyu community. General Nana Abunaw Marie is not dead; she is asleep and resting in the Lord, for she was an angel.

Sessekou Isong Asu,

London, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland

Lies, fraud, deception and falsehoods have woven an intricate web within the fabric of the Francophone dominated Cameroon political society, with its so-called head of state, Paul Biya and his Beti-Bulu kinsmen spearheading a culture of shameless lying among political, judicial, and CPDM government officials.

To understand the roots of this pervasive dishonesty and its far-reaching consequences, both English and French speaking Cameroonians must agree that for 41 years, Biya and his ruling CPDM gang have unleashed a lying machine that disseminates misinformation from the highest-ranking officials to the smallest political, judicial, military and religious figures in the country. This culture of shameless lying extends its reach into domestic, foreign, football including religious issues without discrimination.  

Even as he begins to smell his last days on earth, Biya’s machinery of lies still persists and leaving no sector deep within the Cameroonian society untouched by this pervasive apparatus of deception.  

There are many prime examples of Biya’s questionable competence including Lake Nyos, SDF launch in Bamenda, State of Emergency, Yaoundé University Crisis, Nsam Fire Disaster, Mbanga-Mpondo Plane Crash, Murder of Bishop Balla, Captain Guerandi Affair, Ngarbuh Massacre and Covid 19. After 41 years, it is evidently clear that Biya and his Beti Bulu men and women were never equipped to navigate the complexities of the modern Cameroon.

Biya lies as he breaths and it has now become evident that deception is not merely a tool employed by his Beti-Bulu tribal political elites but a deeply ingrained element of the Cameroon political, social, and religious landscape. From the palace coup that ousted the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo to contemporary incidents like the brutal murder of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Bafia Mgr Jean-Benoît Bala and journalist Martinez Zogo, the intricate web of deceit seems to have no bounds.

Today in Yaoundé the nation’s capital, deception spans across all echelons of power and even respectable Southern Cameroonians like Peter Mafany Musonge, Dion Ngute and Philemon Yang are now engaged in a culture of shameless lying that extends beyond borders and domains, leaving citizens in a perpetual state of uncertainty and mistrust.

The controversy surrounding Minister Fame Ndongo’s recent assertion of Mvomeka’a as the biblical promise land adds another layer of complexity to the Cameroon political story. The potential implications of Fame Ndongo’s perceived divine connection of Mvomeka’a—President Biya’s place of birth and that of the Prince of Peace Jesus Christ, if left unaddressed, could lead to disastrous consequences.  

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group believe that the unraveling of deception within the ruling CPDM crime syndicate in Yaoundé demands a collective acknowledgment of the gravity of the issue and a commitment to fostering a society built on transparency, accountability, and truth. Only through a sincere reckoning with the realities at hand can the “United Republic of Cameroon” hope to overcome the shadows of deceit that have cast a long and enduring veil over its governance.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

In a realm plagued by corruption, deception, extortion, arbitrary arrest, and indiscriminate killings by the invading genocidal military of French Cameroun in Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia, Paul Biya’s government disguises its malevolence with a facade of benevolence. They manipulate media, suppress dissent, and exploit propaganda to portray themselves as saviours while committing genocide in Ambazonia and oppressing the citizens of French Cameroun. Behind the scenes, they prioritize personal gain over citizen’s welfare, sacrificing ethics for power, using the genocidal war in Ambazonia for their personal gains and exploiting their citizens with high cost of fuel and livelihood to retain in power the nonagenarian naked emperor Paul Biya and his government.

Here are a few of the massacres carried out under the orders of Paul Biya in Ambazonia. 25 May 20018 (Menka) at least 30 civilians massacred, 12 July 2018: Tiben Village (Batibo) Massacre. At least 20 killed, 7 August 2018: Pete-Bakundu Massacre. At least 12 killed, 17 October 2018: Bafia-Muyuka Massacre. At least 15 killed, 10 October 2019: Mutengene Massacre. At least a dozen killed, 14 February 2020: Ngarbuh Massacre. At least 30 killed, 1 March 2020: Babanki-Tungo Massacre. At least 20 killed, 19 August 2020: Tiko Massacre. About 10 killed, 24 October 2020: Mother Francisca Bilingual Academy Massacre in Fiango Kumba. About a dozen killed, 27 November 2020: Mavas Village (Manyu) Massacre. About 10 killed, 11 January 2021: Mautu Village Massacre. At least 41 killed, 2023: Egbekaw (Manyu) Massacre. About 40 killed. It should be noted that in every case the victims of the massacres included men, women, and children.

These statistics provided above are the minimum numbers since it is difficult to get an accurate count of all those massacres especially because of fear on the part of the local people to come out and declare that their relatives or neighbours have also been killed; and also, because the French Cameroun killers and their affiliate actors always conceal some of the bodies or otherwise dispose of them in mass graves. No independent investigator has been allowed to investigate these massacres and ascertain their full extent. However, the minimum numbers provided come from the body counts of those which could not be hidden. Most of those massacred were shot point blank range. A few others later succumbed to gunshot wounds they had received.

The French Cameroun government’s actions are poison to its people, leading to a society driven by fear, disillusionment, and poverty. There are no jobs, the country’s infrastructure is collapsing, and the population is without drinking water which are the basics that a responsible government must provide to its people. There is no hope and future for the country’s youths because of the sleepy, tired, septuagenarians, octogenarians and nonagenarians who are ruling French Cameroun with impunity.

French Cameroun is presenting the African Union’s vote for its candidate as a victory for French Cameroun and that its candidate will indeed chair the United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) in September. Apart from developments in that failed state that could prevent this from happening, there are two other points to bear in mind.

French Cameroun did not beat South Africa in any vote. What happened is that South Africa withdrew. South Africa withdrew because it concluded that a South African candidate may not be voted in the General Assembly by states angered by the fact that it instituted genocide proceedings against Israel. Another reason could be French Cameroun used what it knows best using boxes of cash and taking advantage of South Africa’s case against Israel to lure their candidate to withdraw.

The African Union agreeing on the candidate of French Cameroun is not the end of the selection of the chairperson of the next session of the UNGA. And it is not a foregone conclusion that Philemon Yang will be the chairperson come September. There is still a vote to be conducted within the UNGA itself. Although the Assembly had decided that the chair would this time come from Africa, there would still be a secret ballot on an African candidate. The vote could demonstrate that Philemon Yang is not suitably qualified, in which case the African bloc would be requested to propose another candidate. Also, another African country could propose a candidate who would then compete with Yang and probably win. Although there is an African Union-approved candidate, nothing prevents some African countries at the United Nation from voting differently, especially if they think there is another African country with better and stronger credentials.

But, why Philemon Yang from Bui County like me? Remember that Philemon Yang performed so badly as French Cameroun’s ‘ambassador’ for 20 years in Canada and he was the laughingstock within the diplomatic community. He was Biya’s errand boy in Canada. He was so inefficient and so ineffective; a dismal standard he continued to display when Biya made him assistant Secretary General at the Presidency, with the rank of minister, from 2004 to 2009, so-called prime Minister. Yang’s under-performance is so well known that it’s very unlikely the UN will allow itself to be inflicted the agony of such an under-performing man to preside a session of the UNGA and pretend and push the narrative that Cameroun is one and indivisible. But we have never been one. We are two states of equal status.

Apart from Yang’s legendary mediocrity, there is also the fact that Biya is universally despised, even in Africa. He is despised because he is a crooked old man. He has a history as a serial murderer and abuser of power. He revels in deep corruption, violence, disrespect for the law and the rule of law. He is notorious for egregious human rights abuse. He leads an extravagant life at the expense of his wretched compatriots. He is fake and fraudulent.

Why must our country be bound in some way or another to French Cameroun? French Cameroun did not respect the federation between our two countries and it made it clear that they saw it only as a stepping stone to the annexation of Southern Cameroons.  Every and any agreement between the Southern Cameroons and French Cameroun is like an agreement between a sheep and a wolf. Only a miracle will make a wolf to respect the sheep. Should we continue to voluntarily place ourselves at the mercy of the cruel and uncivilised barbarians of French Cameroun? Are we constitutionally defective that we cannot even see our own betterment and fight for it since freedom is not given but taken? In the beauty of our diversity, the willing amongst us, the never again generation are making this happen.

French Cameroun has made its agenda clear, which is the eternal enslavement of the people of Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia through annexation and assimilation. French Cameroun’s political leaders like Kamto use the same playbook. So, anyone proposing anything that requires an agreement for the Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia to have some link with French Cameroun should let us know when French Cameroun renounces its agenda of annexation and assimilation and how would we get French Cameroun to live by any agreements.

Elites, some Ambazonians businessmen and scholars use their own money and minds to buy slavery for themselves. Should we let the Foncha and Muna syndrome to continue? The never again generation will never be afraid of owning our own country or afraid of our freedom. We will sing our own anthem, (Ambazonia Land of Freedom, we will live in plenty meeting our needs, our children shall be like the stars…) We will live under our own laws, flying our own flag, being the owners of our own destiny.

God Bless the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Dabney Yerima

Vice President

The Federal Republic of Ambazonia