When Paul Biya of French Cameroun rushed his Secretary-General Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh to London a few months ago to sign an oil deal over the oil resources of Ambazonia, Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report in an editorial called on the Serious Fraud Unit of the British Police, the FBI and the Ambazonia Federal Criminal Investigation Department to initiate criminal investigations and the prosecution of all the persons and entities involved in this criminal oil deal. Cameroon Concord News Group cautioned that the deal was intended to generate money to buy weapons to prosecute the genocide against Ambazonia. A majority of Ambazonians condemned the criminal deal. They overwhelmingly supported the call for the investigation and the prosecution of the culprits.

The Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia promptly harkened to the people’s call and initiated complaints against the bloodletting criminal and commenced diplomatic efforts to stop the criminal deal. Thousands of Ambazonians world-wide threw their overwhelming support for the measures taken by the Interim Government to preserve our oil resources and the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and individual citizens of Ambazonia in Britain and other parts of the world, mounted diplomatic efforts in Britain for this blood oil deal to be nullified.  The diplomatic efforts began paying off with British members of the House of Commons bringing up the crimes committed against Ambazonians for debate during parliamentary sessions and with other arms of government.

The momentum and pressure were on when Cho Ayaba devised a means of delegitimizing the criminal complaints of Ambazonia over this criminal blood oil deal. He hoped to sign a contract legitimizing this fraudulent and criminal deal on behalf of Ambazonia for his self-interest.  It could not have been intended to be a separate contract over the oil fields which a British Government department had welcomed and celebrated and which were under legal and diplomatic challenge by the Interim Government and the people of Ambazonia.  No reasonable person would have expected that a British oil firm would get into an oil deal which was already recorded in official records and publicly celebrated by a member of government, Dr. Liam Fox.

The supposed plank was played on Ayaba by persons he knows so well and who have previously worked with him. The actions of these individuals within Ayaba’s organizational network might have its motives. And more will be known so long as Ayaba and his surrogates continue to attack them in the social media. Falsely accusing every person else but Ayaba and his organization and their greedy motives which Cameroon Concord News Group had long warned against is childish.

If these persons who allegedly set him up were not well known and trusted by him, how come a whole Commander-in-Chief who wants people to trust him for operational command decisions fall so easily to the prank?  How does he expect the international community and Ambazonians to trust a Commander –in- Chief and supposed political leader who lacks a sense of discernment, is gullible, greedy and vulnerable?   How can he be trusted with diplomatic and security confidences? How can he be trusted with the lives of more than eight million Ambazonians? If he is a committed warlord that he wants everyone to submit to his authority and command, why can he not learn from the Niger Delta Avengers how they are treating oil cartels illegally exploiting oil in their territory and devastating their environment? Did they struggle to sign oil deals with predatory murderers knowing that the oil firms although on the surface are independent of each other but operate as a cartel against the interest of the masses in the exploited territories?

The actions of Ayaba show that he still does not know the motivation against the annexation, colonization and genocide of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The war and genocide against the Federal Republic of Ambazonia are indeed about the appropriation of the oil fields and natural resources that Ayaba went to London to sell off for his personal gain. Without the oil, France will never have connived with Britain to steal the natural resources of Ambazonia and slaughter millions of Ambazonians over these 67 years. It is for this oil that many Ambazonians are dying for the fatherland, many slaughtered, and many more driven to refugee camps. It is about this oil that His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, members of the Interim Government, Mancho Bibixy and thousands Ambazonians have sacrificed their liberty and lives. It is about this oil that the independence of Ambazonia was stolen.

Cameroon Concord News Group is surprised by the fact that a few opportunists are struggling to justify the actions of Cho Ayaba and blaming the majority of Ambazonians who have and are sacrificing their lives to defend and protect the fatherland.  Ayaba and his surrogates go so low and equated what happened to him to the abduction of His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the Interim Government in Nigeria. That is an insult to the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The criminal operation against President Ayuk Tabe was carried out by three countries, with the support of the oil cartel. Cho Ayaba went to London hoping to sign a contract selling off Ambazonia for personal gain. The countries are Nigeria, France and French Cameroun. The Cho Ayaba’s scandal was an operation launched within his inner operational cycle by persons he has worked with, whom he knew and for reasons which will be known with time exposed him for what he is. The tough guy whom his surrogates are projecting in him pales in the face of the prank he fell into. No tough guy is that cheap to get. Not one claiming to be an army commander.

The conduct of Ayaba must be strongly condemned by all reasonable people. Ayaba needs to respect the call by a majority of Ambazonians to shelve his greedy warlord ambition and work with the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to genuinely defend the restoration of independence which was declared by His Excellency Sisiku Ayuka Tabe on the 1^st of October 2017.  The overwhelming mandate which the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia gave the Interim Government under His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe on 22 September 2017 to declare the actualization of independence on 1^stOoctober 2017 now devolves on the Interim President His Excellency Samuel Sako.  Cho Ayaba cannot sincerely say he is fighting to defend the actualization of the independence declared by the Interim Government while fighting to destroy the Interim Government. His conduct in wanting to legitimize the sale of Ambazonia oilfields in a criminal oil deal is a serious crime against the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. His conduct in attacking and kidnapping or killing other self defense forces within the national territory of Ambazonia must be opposed and denounced.  He should be apologizing like the prodigal son seeking to be allowed back into the fold, instead to attacking the sovereign will of the people of Ambazonia.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Asu Vera Eyere

Cameroon Concord News Group has consistently warned Ambazonians to critically scrutinize the intention of individuals laying claims to leadership to the Ambazonia liberation struggle before investing their trust in such leaders.  A critical test of leadership rests on the ability of a presumptive leader to selflessly champion the defense of the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia who are victims of the ongoing genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Such a leader must make a public and unimpeachable commitment to Ambazonia’s individual and collective self-defense until the invading enemy is chased out of the territory and every death suffered in the hands of the enemy accounted for and avenged.  The leader must not be a gullible power seeker, money-monger and a ruthless war lord.   War lords do not lead wars of liberation. War lords lead internal revolutions for political change. The reason is obvious; war lords do not emerge by the will of the people, and do not seek the mandate of the people for the realization of their objectives. War lords concentrate power in their hands, administer ruthless justice without due process, do not respect the laws and customs of war and mercilessly execute their own people who dare challenge their personal power with sadistic arrogance.

Cameroon Concord News Group in its cautionary editorials in the past anticipated the possibility of some opportunists claiming leadership of the Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia struggle not for the public interest but for their selfish interest. Cameroon Concord News Group ventured to mention names of some of such opportunists.  Ambazonians did not take the cautionary postings serious enough to take precautionary measures to abate the prejudice caused by these individuals.  Among the persons mentioned by Cameroon Concord News Group, was Ayaba Cho Lucas.

Cameroon Concord News Group authoritatively cautioned Ambazonians about this individual because a cross section of our cream of intelligence reporters serving with Cameroon Intelligence Report observed him from proximity for over a decade.  His acts and conduct, his war lord proclivities, his avaricious greed, his intermittent unstable miens, his unguarded flippancy and his reckless disregard for collective leadership, have a potential to imperil the self-defense war of liberation.  Time has proved Cameroon Concord News Group right.  His penchant for ordering the attack of self defense units fighting for the freedom of Ambazonia for refusing to submit to his command is treacherous.

Batibo was virtually freed by the self- defense forces of Ambazonia when he laid ambush and abducted not the enemy who are torching our towns and villages, raping our girls and women, executing the genocide of our people but the heroic Ambazonian liberation forces who had routed the enemy from that local government area of Ambazonia.  The immediate fallout of this treacherous attack which deprived our fighting forces of their fighters and weapons was that the enemy returned to Batibo which was virtually liberated and continued to slaughter our armless civilian population virtually unchallenged.

Cameroon Concord News Group today saw a video on social media where some Ambazonians confronted Cho Ayaba in London where he went hoping to sign an oil deal over Ambazonian oil resources with a British Firm.  This encounter exposes the gullibility, vulnerability and greed by Ayaba Cho Lucas who purports to be a commander-in-chief of the Ambazonia Defense Forces. Because he is blinded by greed, self-interest, power-mongering, his sense of discernment and security are blighted. He is not a risk worth relying on for leadership.  The cost of gratifying and worshipping a warlord can be costly unless promptly unchecked.  Ambazonians beware!

Sacrifices made by Ambazonians at home and abroad must not be taken for granted by power and pecuniary interests of a single individual.  This struggle is not about power. It is about the individual and collective survival of the people. It is about defending the total independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.  Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the charismatic President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia cautioned Ambazonians that the Ambazonia liberation struggle was more than any single Ambazonian. That must be the threshold on which we must judge our leaders.

Cameroon Concord News Group, at the threshold of a so-called “reboot conference” called in Washington DC shortly after the abduction of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the interim government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, made an urgent call for Ambazonians to reboot the reboot conference. The intention of that conference was evil. It was not for the good of the self-defense of the people of Ambazonia against the ongoing genocide by French Cameroon. It was intended to quickly kill the interim government which an overwhelming majority of the people of Ambazonia craved for and put in place under the leadership of His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe.

Cameroon Concord News Group pointed to the fact that the said conference was initiated by a consortium of strange bed-fellows, united only by their hatred for the interim government and their greed to exploit Ambazonians for money.  The gravamen of their hatred was that the interim government had deprived them the legitimacy to raise money from the Ambazonia Diaspora using the liberation struggle as opposed to their self-interest. Prior to that and now, Boh Hebert has never ever given an account of the money raised using Morrisc, Cho Ayaba with a war lord mentality has never been accountable to anyone. Ebenezer Akwanga has suffered so much in the liberation quest and no one can doubt his commitment to the cause. However, he might have been railroaded to that conference because he wrongly believed the interim government might inhibit his ability to prosecute the self-defense war independently. But that was only part of the story. He might not have known the pecuniary motivation for the conference and the potential of Paul Atanga Nji infiltrating it through the gullible instincts of some of the participants.

The most serious affront to the people of Ambazonia is the fact that the so-called conference was called shortly after His Excellency the President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and members of the interim government were abducted and French Cameroun with the support of Mohammadu Buhari intensified the abduction, slaughter and genocide of Ambazonia. In the conference resolutions, nothing was said about these critical issues that concerned the individual and collective survival of Ambazonians.  The meeting was indeed a front for racketeering and scamming on the blood of Ambazonians.  Neither  Boh Herbert, Mbah Akuro nor Edwin Ngang endorsed the self-defense option taken by Ambazonians worldwide, home and abroad and the interim government for the collective survival and the liberation of the fatherland.  Boh Herbert issued a press statement denouncing the self-defense option and tacitly placing the blame for the war on its Ambazonian victims.

The revolution was saved by Chris Anu, who despite the risks flew to Nigeria to confront the Buhari accomplices of the abduction of Ambazonia leaders and the genocide against Ambazonia in their own territory.  Chris Anu provided Ambazonia and the interim government, a platform and a voice to denounce the abduction of His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and the interim government members of Ambazonia. He addressed press conferences, forced the UN to issue a public statement condemning the abductions and stating that there abductees were under the protection of international law when they were abducted.  That statement from a UN department that claimed jurisdiction over the abducted Ambazonia leaders provided a strong legal backing to the Ambazonia cause, its interim government and the potential bases for accountability for the international crimes committed in and out of Ambazonia against Ambazonian citizens. The Rohingya decision at the ICC recently has critically put the perpetrators of these crimes on notice.

Thanks to Chris Anu, the interim government survived a coup mounted by French enemies of Ambazonia and from within by greedy power and money mongers. This is the main reason for their passionate hatred of the Secretary of Communication the Right Hon. Chris Anu.

The interim government of Ambazonia is the best thing that ever happened in this war of liberation and self-defense. When Ambazonians selected His Excellency Samuel Sako as the acting president of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, they were guided by the charisma, humility, dedication, patriotism and commitment to the collective good of the people that His Excellency President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe embodied. They were looking for an Ayuk Tabe in our interim leader. The sense of collective leadership and humility are some of the strongest Ambazonia values that distinguishes Ambazonia from French Cameroun.  Also, following on the footsteps of His Excellency Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, His Excellency Samuel Sako has buried for good the divide and rule tactics of the enemy, French Cameroun. He has kept faith with the trust placed on him by a majority of Ambazonians despite the tactics of greedy power and money-mongers to derail his focus. Remain focused sir!  Ground zero needs your undivided attention now than ever.

Cameroon Concord News Group was dismayed about the so-called collaborative conference which took place in Washington DC among the so-called front-line leaders. Cameroon Concord News warned swiftly that the conference was a strategic mistake. Cameroon Concord News Group cautioned against calling persons who do not believe in self-defense, are not committed to assisting our refugees abroad and at home and have not fully committed to the defense of the Ambazonia homeland as front-line leaders. It came as no surprise that their participation was motivated by the possibility that money was going to be raised to support the ground forces engaged in the Ambazonia self-defense war of liberation which they hoped to blackmail the interim government to share among them. The refusal of the interim government to fall into this scam is a vote of confidence to the interim government for defending the public trust and standing by our fighting forces for which the contributions were intended.  That is what leadership is about.

Cameroon Concord News Group once more calls on Ambazonians and the interim government to exercise caution when characterizing persons and organizations that are not in support of the self-defense of Ambazonia, are not assisting the refugees and are not strongly committed to supporting and assisting the fighting forces as frontline leaders. Inviting them to strategic meetings concerning the self-defense and refugees support efforts of Ambazonia is nothing short of placing a poisoned chalice on the lips of a determined Ambazonia liberation struggle and its interim government.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-in-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, also known as the monarch, is finally back to the nation’s capital, Yaoundé, after a stop-over in Switzerland for a quick health fix.  Mr. Biya had travelled to China some two weeks ago for the Africa-China Summit where he was supposed to persuade Chinese businesses and investors to come and invest in his war-ravaged country. Mr. Biya has also been sucking up to the Chinese government, hoping that it will grant it some loans and grants. But the Chinese are not ready to pour their money into a dry hole.

The Biya government is noted for its recklessness and even the Chinese hold that it would be foolhardy to give huge amounts of money to a government that has constantly proven that it is incapable of managing its own affairs. While in China, Mr Biya and his entourage toured a plane manufacturing company and even signed an agreement for the purchase of a presidential jet.

But this jet will not be delivered anytime soon. Cameroon has not got the resources to make a huge down payment as requested by the Chinese. Cameroon is cash-strapped and with its economy bleeding money on a daily basis, it will be hard for the government to find the resources to meet its commitments vis-a-vis the Chinese.

The country’s traditional business partners are hastily pulling out of the country due to a brutal civil war in the two English-speaking regions which account for more than 60% of the country’s wealth. Mr. Biya and his government have been running the country like a private farm and he has been using the national treasury like his personal piggy bank. The conflict in his country has taken a turn for the worse, with many citizens fleeing the war zone.

Over the last week, residents of the two English-speaking regions have been leaving the place following threats by Southern Cameroonian fighters to implement a strict movement of goods and persons within the region from September 16, 2018 to October 7, 2018 as presidential elections approach.

Campaigns for presidential elections scheduled for October 7, are currently underway and Southern Cameroonian fighters have vowed to disrupt an election they consider as foreign.  While other candidates are on the ground canvassing for votes, the incumbent, Paul Biya,has not been seen anywhere close to the voters.

It is generally held that Mr. Biya, considered by the ruling crime syndicate as its natural candidate, will not campaign but will emerge as the winner in an election that has already been rigged. Mr. Biya’s heart and prostate have been an issue to the 86-year-old who still wants to rule the country for the next seven years.

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

Besides, members of his entourage, the monarch also uses expensive escort services when he is abroad. His love for young girls is costing the country an arm and a leg. He has a Ghanaian doctor in Geneva who screens all the young ladies he uses to satisfy his carnal desires.

It is alleged that he dislikes preservatives that is why the ladies are thoroughly screened for HIV and other communicable diseases. Noted for his incompetence and manipulation, the monarch has plunged his country into a deep economic crisis and a long civil war that has already resulted in the killing of some 4,000 Cameroonians, including young army soldiers.

The Southern Cameroons crisis that started as a demonstration by teachers and lawyers has taken a turn for the worse. The adverse impact of the conflict is now spilling over into East Cameroon and this is a nightmare to government officials who are scared of a general revolt in East Cameroon.

Food and housing prices have gone up and many cities that are receiving these displaced persons do not have the proper infrastructure to deal with such a situation. According to a Douala City Hall official, the migration of Southern Cameroonians to the city of Douala is not only costly; it is also a major risk. He pointed out that among the displaced could be the fierce fighters who may use the situation to wreak havoc on innocent citizens in the city.

He regretted that the government was letting this situation to spiral out of control, adding that if immediate action was not taken, the entire country could become a war zone. According to a source close to the Unity palace, Mr. Biya is very disappointed with the Chinese.  “The president looks a little rested. It appears he got the right care in Switzerland. However, he is not very happy with the Chinese,” he said. “He was expecting a huge chunk of money from the Chinese which could have helped to finance his campaign,” he added.

He pointed out that “with Western nations very reluctant to put any money into the hands of this regime, it will be hard for the government to carry out any meaningful projects.” “I think we are not yet out of the woods. Even if Mr. Biya is considered a winner in the upcoming election, this country will still face serious issues,” he stressed.

“With the conflict spiraling out of control, it is clear that Mr. Biya cannot handle the disaster that is playing out in the North West and South West regions. The situation is too big for him. He cannot handle it,” he said. “We have the worst roads in Africa and the unemployment rate is unacceptable. I am scared for our country. We are in for tough and rough times,” he said.

“We may not even have the money to comply the infrastructure we are developing for the upcoming AFCON. I am confused and so too are millions of Cameroonians. Which roads will national team supporters be using to support their teams which will be moving from town to town?”he quipped.

The source that elected anonymity questioned the president’s silence over the disaster playing out in the two English-speaking regions of the country, adding that the worst was yet to happen. “Many people have been killed and more than a thousand soldiers have died. At what point will the president step in to roll back this disaster?” he asked.

“Though the president is back home, I know he will soon be returning to Switzerland which more like home to him. His health is failing and we are all concerned. He will not be campaigning, but he will win. The election has already been rigged in his favor,” he said.

While the monarch is back, nobody is sure that something positive will happen. Mr. Biya knows he is on his way out, but he wants to take the country down with him.  The world has to intervene if it does not want Cameroon to be another “Rwanda”.  Biya has failed Cameroon and if he stays on for seven more years, the country will surely hit the bottom of the abyss.

By Kingsley Betek in Yaounde
A Cameroon Concord News Group Production

The Southern Cameroons crisis which started as a demonstration by teachers and lawyers in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions is finally migrating to East Cameroon, as thousands flee Southern Cameroons following threats from Southern Cameroonian fighters to stage sporadic attacks on soldiers and punish civilians who have been cooperating with the Yaoundé government.

All major cities in Southern Cameroons have become beehives as helpless civilians struggle to find a safe place before the expiry of the deadline given by the fighters. Buea, Mamfe, Limbe, Bamenda and Kumba have all witnessed huge crowds struggling to leave, following warnings from Southern Cameroonian fighters that from September 16, 2018, all roads will be blocked and there will be no movement in the region.

More than half a million people have, on Wednesday, been seeking ways to leave the region as presidential elections scheduled for next month approach. Southern Cameroonian fighters have warned civilians in the two English-speaking regions not to participate in the elections as they are considered foreign and illegal.

It should be pointed out that Cameroon will be holding presidential elections next month and the incumbent is widely expected to win.  Many analysts hold that much will not change in the country and the conflict tearing the country apart may only get worse if Mr. Biya wins the elections.

So far, the government has not issued any statements to reassure the fear-stricken population and local officials have been tight-lipped over the displacement of over half a million people in the region. Meanwhile, the fighting between restoration forces and army soldiers has intensified.

Over the last week, more than 200 civilians have been killed in the region, while some 50 army soldiers have been sent to an early grave by restoration forces. The government has been struggling to localize the Southern Cameroons crisis, but as the fighting intensifies, many people are seeking refuge in the French-speaking region of the country.

The mass movement of Southern Cameroonians into other parts of the country has resulted in escalating food and housing prices. The high living cost is keeping government officials in cities such as Yaoundé and Douala awake all night, as they fear that the increasing pressure might cause the cash-strapped Francophone population to rebel against the government.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has taken its toll on the country’s economy, with state corporations such CDC, the country’s second largest employer, laying off many of its workers. For the country’s lone oil refinery, SONARA, the times are getting tougher by the day. Southern Cameroonian fighters have their eyes on this corporation which they accuse of shipping their oil wealth to East Cameroon.

They also hold that the corporation is being managed by French-speaking Cameroonians whom they accuse of treating Southern Cameroonians with disdain. This has been one of the many sticking points in this conflict that will have a long lasting impact on the country for many decades.

The hardest hit is PAMOL. The palm oil producing company located in Ndian Division, has simply shut down operations and more than three thousand workers have been sent home, following disruption and threats by Southern Cameroonian fighters.

The country’s economy has taken a nosedive due to the disruption of economic activities in the two English-speaking regions of the country. It is estimated that the economy is losing more than CFAF 6 billion a day and the government needs more than CFAF 10 billion a day to prosecute the war that is not going to end anytime soon.

Meanwhile, the government is frustrated with what is happening in the northwest and southwest regions of the country. All attempts to bring things under control have failed. Its divide and rule tactics have failed and even money has not been able to douse the fire.

Earlier in the year, the government had thought that kidnapping and repatriating Southern Cameroonian leaders to Yaoundé would help weaken the rebellion that has successfully given the country a bad name. Though some 47 Southern Cameroonian leaders, including Sisiku  Julius Ayuk  Tabe, are in jail in Yaoundé, the insurgency has grown by leaps and bounds.

The Diaspora has been financing the war and the fighters on the ground have been giving the government a run for its money. So far, more than 1,000 army soldiers have been killed while it is estimated that some 3,000 civilians have been murdered by government troops.

The government’s strategy of collective punishment and the burning of home have not produced the desired results. On the contrary, they have been counterproductive.  Many moderate Southern Cameroonians have been radicalized by the government’s strategy and this is making it hard for the soldiers to wrap up things militarily.

In a desperate move, the government has issued a warrant of arrest for many members of the Interim Government, including Dr. Sako Ikome and Mr. Chris Anu. The warrant, signed by the country’s national security boss, Martin Mbarga Nguele, urges all Cameroon embassies abroad to take appropriate measures and if possible kill those whose names feature on the warrant. The government seems to have been cornered. It is fighting with its back to the wall. A war it thought it could wrap up in a few weeks is unfortunately taking too long.

Cameroon is in a tight spot. The world cannot continue to play spectator to this unfortunate situation. Many lives have been ruined and the end is not in sight.  While the country is bleeding, its leader, Paul Biya, is clearly missing in action. His incompetence, tribalism and nepotism have reduced a once prosperous economy to a living hell for many Cameroonians.

Mr. Biya who is the architect of the civil war spends most of his time out of the country due to his failing health. For 36 years he has not been able to build a state-of-the art hospital in Cameroon.

He is currently in China. Since going to China for the China-Africa Summit, Mr. Biya has not returned to a country whose economy is begging for an extreme makeover. The days ahead will be challenging for the country. The upcoming election may tip the country into political chaos.  Mr. Biya is very unpopular, but he is intent on ruling the country again for seven more years.

Cameroonians are tired of Mr. Biya and his old cabinet. They know elections will not address the issues. Mr. Biya has never won an election and it is clear that he will rig the election to stay in power and this does not augur well for the country.

A victory for Mr. Biya will imply Cameroonians will have to put up with a civil war, unemployment and a rising wave of internally displaced persons. The world has to step in. Cameroon needs help. The killing has to stop, but it will not stop if Mr. Biya and his cohort continue to lord it over their people.

By Kingsley Betek

Looking at this flyer attached to this report, one must wonder what French President Emmanuel Macron will do if by some strange happenstance, Biya is not the president of Cameroon after October 7. Must Biya’s picture be included in the flyer? Will Macron still chair this forum with Akere Muna or Joshua Osih as president? Probably, Macron knows Biya will be president because in Cameroon, you cannot organize elections and lose.

What an irony. Fear of the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government and its many-tentacled security apparatus is greater now in French Cameroun than it was during the Ahmadou Ahidjo days. Why should that be when the Yaoundé regime has told the international community that it has generously offered dialogue with the English speaking people of Southern Cameroons now known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. However, anyone who has a mastery of the activities of the 85 year-old Biya and the barons of his ruling CPDM crime syndicate  from the inside is aware that the Yaoundé regime’s generosity and dialogue is to be feared above all things.

When peaceful calls for some political adjustments and reform by Anglophone lawyers and teachers were met by crushing violence from the French Cameroun government, the Francophone regime thought all was over. The bravery of the Southern Cameroons lawyers and teachers in breaching the French Cameroun gendarmerie fear barrier even to take part in such demonstrations is beyond admirable. Ever since French President Emmanuel Macron instructed Biya in Abidjan, Ivory Coast to use force, more than three thousand Southern Cameroonians have been killed by troops loyal to the regime in Yaoundé, thousands of Ambazonians have gone missing, hundreds have been detained in prison some never seen again and some 50,000 have fled to neighboring Nigeria. The UN says 161,000 Southern Cameroonians have been internally displaced. Hundreds of Southern Cameroonians have been killed recently over the decision to stage the October 7 presidential elections in the territory not even because they were demonstrating against the Biya Francophone regime but simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The French sponsored French Cameroun counterfeit presidential election will be held on October 7 in Biya regime-held areas in French Cameroun- mindful of the fact that Boko Haram Camerounaise now controls part of the Far North region and part of the East region too is in the hands of the Anti Selaka rebel group from the Central African Republic. French Cameroun political elites including Biya and his gang know very well what it means. It is not so much an election – everyone including French President Macron knows the result after all – it is more like a head count of CPDM supporters. To be accurate, Macron knows Biya will be president because in Cameroon, you cannot organize elections and lose. To vote for anything other than the French Cameroun Monarch is to sign your own death warrant and that of your family.

ELECAM, the body responsible for guaranteeing Biya’s continued stay in power is in shambles. It is evidently clear that millions of French Cameroonians are not eligible to vote. Our London bureau chief who contributed to this report opined that Biya’s opponents may only win abroad if at all the embassies will host the dubious electoral process.

There are signs that the Francophone army is slowly but surely disintegrating on tribal lines. A senior military official from the Beti extraction reportedly told Southern Cameroonians and Northerners serving with the French Cameroun army that “If you are not for us, you are against us.” French Cameroonians living in France, the US, Germany, Canada, Belgium, Italy, Spain may dismiss the October 7 presidential election as plain fiction and a mockery of democracy. But fear is going to force thousands of French Cameroun civil servants and those operating in Cameroon’s funny private sectors in Douala and Yaounde to vote for Biya whose is currently enjoying himself in a Swiss Hotel in Geneva. For 35 years, the Biya regime has taken revenge on those whom it considered have betrayed it. In this October 7 presidential elections, even those who have done nothing and never taken sides will be at risk – all it takes is one fake security report written by one pro Biya security official who takes a dislike to you. It has already happened to several of many neutral Southern Cameroonians.

As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be, the French government will use the presidential elections to its advantage. The October 7 presidential election plays beautifully into the French narrative of supporting “whoever is elected by the Cameroonian people” and legitimizes their unwavering support for Biya. More than 2 million Southern Cameroons and including some 4 million Fulanis in the Far North have lost their livelihood under Biya.

By Soter Agbaw-Ebai with files from Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai

After having been mired in a tough military, economic and social battle over the last two years, the Yaoundé government is facing serious economic and financial crisis and this is keeping the country’s officials awake all night.

The crisis pitting Southern Cameroonian separatists against the Yaoundé government has seriously eroded the government’s financial base.  The fighting is expensive and it has taken a huge bite out of the government’s fragile finances.

The soldiers who are battling a scary insurgency in the country’s English-speaking regions needed a pay increase and this caused the government to increase their per diem a few months ago. This is weighing on the government and the operation of heavy military equipment in the jungles of Southern Cameroons is costing the government an arm and a leg. This has been compounded by the economic sabotage that Southern Cameroonian fighters have engaged in.

Over the last six months, some of the country’s major state corporations which are great money spinners have had to deal with the angst of Southern Cameroonian fighters who are determined to bring the country’s economy to its knees.

Corporations such as PAMOL and CDC all require a shot in the arm, but the cash-strapped government of Yaoundé is incapable of providing the much-needed infusion. Priming the pump of these corporations will require huge amounts of money. PAMOL has completely shot down due to increased disruption by Southern Cameroonian fighters.

Some 3,000 PAMOL workers have been rendered jobless and the corporation’s equipment is gradually rotting. Some of the palm oil production corporation’s facilities have been burned down and threats from Southern Cameroonian fighters actually made some of the workers to throw in the towel even before the corporation announced its bankruptcy.

For the Cameroon Development Corporation (CDC), its operation capacity has been diminished over the last seven months. Ghost town operations and violence against its workers have made it hard for the country’s second largest employer to operate at full capacity.

The separatists’ economic sabotage is actually producing the desired effect as the government has seen some of its revenue streams diminishing.  With many workers laid off from these two large corporations, the government has also witnessed a huge tax base erosion. The loss of more than 3,000 workers from these two corporations implies that income taxes paid to the government have diminished.

But the collapsing of these two corporations is not the worst news the Yaoundé government will be hearing. Southern Cameroonian separatists have their eyes set on the country’s lone refinery, SONARA, which is located in the southwest port city of Limbe.

They strongly believe that if they can successfully bring down SONARA, then they will be able to force the government to the negotiating table where some of the divorce issues can be discussed and addressed.

The government has therefore made it a policy to deploy troops around the refinery and this is costing it a pretty penny. This has been compounded by declining oil production and falling oil prices. Cameroon’s oil fields have been delivering some of the finest oil in the world and this has brought in billions of dollars into the government’s coffers.

Unfortunately, the Yaoundé government that is wont to mismanaging and misappropriating the country’s wealth cannot really show to the people of Cameroon what it has done with the country’s oil wealth over the last 40 years.

The country’s financial woes have been compounded by the flaking support of its allies. The regime’s backers are no longer forthcoming financially. Its European allies such as France are falling back on their financial pledges and this is pushing the government into a financial abyss.

Last week, the government got more bad news from rating agencies which classified it as an investment risk due the ongoing military violence in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

This implies that many investors will hold off on any investment plans they may have for the country. Similarly, any loans extended to the country will be coming with a huge price tag as the country is no longer credit-worthy. Left in the noose of a financial squeeze and a destructive military situation, the Yaoundé government is bound to look for alternative financial partners and investment resources.

The West has lost faith in a system that is highly dominated by old and destructive people. The country’s economy needs a new breath of life and this cannot be provided by a bunch of leaders whose time has passed. The majority of Cameroon’s leaders are actually suffering from senile decay and they lack the innovative ability to turn the country’s ailing economy around. China is, therefore, the regime’s last hope. The Chinese economy is losing steam because of its trade war with the USA.

The Chinese hold that weaving new partnerships around the world can bring the much-needed oxygen to their economy that is feeling the bite of American tariffs.

This is basis for the Sino-Africa summit that is taking place in the world’s second most populated country. While China is seeing trade, countries like Cameroon are seeing other things. Cameroon’s financial predicament is driving it into ridiculous actions.  Begging has become the regime’s sport of choice.

The regime needs money to continue prosecuting its war against Southern Cameroonian separatists and it believes that China might come to its aid. That’s why the country’s ailing President Paul Biya, had to discharge himself from a hospital in Switzerland just to be in China in the firm belief that the Chinese will pity him and grants him some financial resources.

The country’s leader also known as the monarch, rushed back to Yaoundé a few days ago to switch his wardrobe before undertaking the long trip to Beijing.

But China has its own ideas. Its economy is stalling and it needs a huge infusion. It will surely disappoint notorious beggars such as Mr. Biya who have carved out a negative reputation for themselves as irresponsible and dictatorial governments that lack the requisite ability to run a modern economy.

Mr. Biya who left with a large contingent holds that securing a huge sum of money from the Chinese will boost his chances of getting reelected. He holds that his begging bowl might yield some good results that might enable him to display something to his fellow citizens who have lost faith in him.

He, however, knows that he has a tough battle ahead of him. Not only is he out of money, he has to deal with some young and smart competitors. Among those running for this year’s presidential election are some good candidates who are capable of causing an upset in Yaoundé.

The Social Democratic Front (SDF) has fielded a young, knowledgeable and experienced candidate who is causing ruling party stalwarts to lose sleep. Joshua Osih, the SDF candidate, has the potential to bring about the change Cameroonians have been longing for. Mr. Biya’s poor economic performance might come back to bite him this year.

Corruption that has been his government’s hallmark has caused a lot of pain to many Cameroonians and they might want to use the upcoming election to punish a man who is noted for rigging elections and squandering the country’s financial resources.

Besides, the election will not take place across the entire country and, Mr. Biya being a symbol of failure for many Cameroonians; it is obvious that change is coming to Cameroon. Mr. Biya has mismanaged the country’s economy and his arrogance is tearing the country apart. A situation many French-speaking Cameroonians abhor.

They hold that if the two English-speaking regions of the country succeed to walk a different path, then the country will be losing about 60% of its wealth. They hold that inclusive dialogue could enable the country to stay intact, but with Mr. Biya behaving as if he is a colonial master, it is likely that Southern Cameroons will go a separate way.

Mr. Biya is a man under pressure. The world is tired of seeing him. The new global political arena is inimical to old incompetent leaders.  Mr. Biya is anything but competent. He has not only failed Cameroonians; he has also failed his foreign allies who are scared that his country might break up or become a terrorist haven in the sub-region.

Mr. Biya’s political and economic failings have transformed him into a clown and a beggar. While heading to China to look for money, he should understand that he who goes aborrowing will one day go asorrowing. He should also understand that he is mortgaging the lives of future generations by borrowing all over the world.

With the Chinese being crafty, it is likely that Mr. Biya will be returning home with an empty begging bowl.  Like the last time he was in China, he might only end up signing a series of cooperation agreements that might never yield the cash he so badly needs to corrupt voters in his native CamerooN.

By Kingsley Betek

For more than two decades, bad news has become the staple of many Cameroonians. If it is not a ghastly road accident, it is a serious case of corruption where a government official has absconded with state money. And there are unfortunately many government officials who have made pilfering their favourite sport.

Cameroon has successfully placed itself among the most corrupt countries in the world. Under Peter Mafany Musonge, the country’s Prime Minister in the 1990s, Cameroon topped the charts twice and ever since, many government officials have been trying to outdo each other.

But the current gloomy prognoses have very little to do with the ruling party’s favorite sport – corruption. It is more about their natural candidate’s health and the country’s declining economic situation. The news is not good for the ruling party and there is panic among party stalwarts.

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, also known as the “monarch” is fighting for his health in a Swiss hospital. At almost 86, Mr. Biya is no longer strong enough to put up a good fight against a failing heart and a heady prostrate that has been a nightmare to the ailing monarch.

According to a Cameroon Intelligence Report source in Switzerland that is very close to the ailing monarch’s entourage, the prognosis are gloomy and this is sowing confusion among those surrounding the monarch. Mr. Biya who has been sick for many years, now believes that the stressful Southern Cameroons crisis is finally taking its toll.

Last week, the very first test results clearly indicated that the “monarch” had a health crisis on his hands. A Cameroon Intelligence Report source in Switzerland has hinted that the situation is concerning and from every indication; the monarch has not got much time left.

The source added that the trip to Switzerland was prompted by the fact that his health condition was already spiraling out of control. The monarch’s heart was already beating like the engine of an old car and this was a major concern to his collaborators who count on him for them to keep their positions and to continue robbing the country blind.

There is pandemonium within Mr. Biya’s circle. Many of his collaborators fear that he might not be able to take the heat that comes with a strenuous exercise like an election campaign. The people around him are concerned and are working round the clock to ensure nothing filters out of the bad situation that is playing out in Switzerland. The location of his hospital has been kept secret for some time in the belief that angry Cameroonians will not show up to disrupt the monarch’s recovery.

But the anger that inhabits Cameroonians has driven them to locate the hospital where Mr. Biya is battling for his life. Any news about the monarch travels very fast. His poor economic and political performance has made him the most hated person in the country.

Many Cameroonians have seen their dreams washed away by Mr. Biya’s mismanagement and corruption. Millions of Cameroonians are unemployed in their own country and their parents are dying of preventable and curable diseases. Millions have fled the dehumanizing poverty that the ruling party has manufactured. The financial burden of Mr. Biya’s incompetence has fallen on the country’s Diaspora which is hell-bent on making the monarch pay for the destruction he has wreaked on the country.

Mr. Biya is currently hospitalized at the Hôpitaux Universaires de Genève where millions of dollars are being paid for his failing health. The Cameroonian tax-payer is footing the bill. Mr. Biya’s entourage is 50-man strong and all the staff accompanying him are lodged in world-class hotels. This is costing the country’s treasury an arm and a leg. That is why activists have set up camp opposite the hospital to ensure that the Swiss population is aware of the financial disaster he has hatched in his country.

Mr. Biya and his government burn through money like wild fire. Reserves left by the country’s first president were exhausted in less than two years. Much of that money cannot be accounted for. The news about his hospitalization travelled very fast, reaching many Cameroonians who are so disappointed with a man whom they thought held out a lot of hope for them. Social media is awash with pictures and videos of the hospital in which he is hospitalized.

Mr. Biya’s poor and declining health is on many lips at the Unity Palace where many fear he might not make it this time around. His party members, especially those of the Central Committee, are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that if the inevitable happens, they will be able to have a candidate who will unite the party and win the upcoming presidential election.

Mr. Biya’s dismal economic and political performance is leaving him and his collaborators in a permanent state of confusion, especially as the presidential election is in the offing. They have nothing new to deliver to the electorate. Their lies have caught up with them. The pressure is on and opposition parties are making hay while the sun shines.

Added to this is the pressure from the international community about the deteriorating situation in Southern Cameroons. The pressure has exacerbated things, and with state coffers drying up very fast, the monarch is losing sleep. The Southern Cameroons crisis has been very disruptive. The pressure is on. Evaporating financial resources imply the government cannot prosecute its war in Southern Cameroons convincingly and its foreign allies are no more forthcoming financially.

The unnecessary war in Southern Cameroons is taking up a huge part of the state’s budget and with no end in sight; the government is in for rough times. Southern Cameroonian fighters are as heady as ragweed. They keep on resurfacing on turf the government erroneously thinks it is its own. The road ahead is long, rough and bumpy. The signs are not good both for Mr. Biya’s health and the economy. The country is really going through a rough patch.

In Southern Cameroons, kids are not going to school and courts have been on and off as Southern Cameroonians fighters have been threatening to kill anybody who violates their injunction against the resumption of schools. With September fast approaching, the government knows that the international community will once more focus on the resumption of schools in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

There is also another concern. The presidential election is spreading fear among the population. Southern Cameroonians are simply not taking part in what they call a foreign election. At best, they consider the election a sham. The armed groups have already put out their message regarding this election. If you vote, yours will be the kingdom of death. Many Southern Cameroonians are aware of this and their apathy about the election is easy to notice.

Even government officials from the English-speaking regions are not keen on going to their constituency to campaign. They are aware of their fate. They have been warned and there is a huge price on their heads. The pressure is unbearable for many local administrative officials. Many chiefs are quietly abdicating. Many are seeking refuge either in Nigeria or East Cameroon. They are simply in exile. Senior government officials, for their part, are keeping a very low profile and many have already been kidnapped and taken to Southern Cameroonian “green jails”.

But it is the demise of State corporations in Southern Cameroons that might hammer in the last nail into the ruling party’s coffin. PAMOL has folded up. CDC is staring down the barrel of bankruptcy. The once upon-a-time goose that laid the golden egg has finally been brought down by a conflict it knows nothing about.

SONARA, for its part, is underperforming. Falling oil production coupled with declining oil prices have hurt the Yaoundé government big time. Its revenue streams are gradually drying up. CDC, PAMOL and SONARA constitute the government’s Automatic Teller Machines (ATM). These machines are simply out of service and this has hit the government like a ton of bricks.

Things may take a turn for the worse if Southern Cameroonian fighters follow through with their promise of sabotaging SONARA facilities and equipment. For more than 40 years, oil from Southern Cameroons has been lining the pockets of a few politicians in Yaoundé while the locals where the oil fields are located are still wallowing in abject poverty. To Southern Cameroonian fighters, ruining SONARA equipment and facilities will finally bring the government to its knees, after all, only a few politicians and their children have been enjoying this manna that God had given to the country.

The pressure is mounting on all fronts and the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is not letting up. A protest in Washington over the weekend has sent shock waves down the ruling party’s spine. The unity of purpose displayed by the various factions involved in the Southern Cameroons crisis has struck fear into the government’s mind.

The Yaoundé government is not indifferent to this. Shortly after the demonstration, the country’s Prime Minister, Yang Philemon, immediately called a meeting at the Star Building (Prime Minister’s Office) to examine the reputational damage the government might have suffered as a result of the demonstration.

The demonstration, which was attended by thousands of Southern Cameroonians and sympathizers in front of the White House, has given the Cameroon government a very bad name. The event has prompted the U.S.A Congress to take a fresh look at the Yaoundé government that has been slaughtering its own people for close to a year.

The Trump Administration has been gathering evidence against a regime that has been anything but efficient. The numerous online videos, which reveal how Cameroonian army soldiers are killing their fellow citizens, have resulted in the U.S.A government revoking some of its military agreements with the Yaoundé government. Things seem to be falling apart for a government that is bedeviled by numerous challenges. The government is cash-strapped and some of its military partners are abandoning it mid-stream.

But the streak of bad news is not yet over. The U.S.A Congress will, in the coming days, deliver a deadly blow to the Yaoundé government whose human rights abuses across the country have drawn a lot of criticism from the international community. This streak of bad news has kept the ruling party permanently on edge.

With a presidential election less two months away, the ruling party is in a very bad shape. The debates about the country’s future are already underway, but the ruling party’s natural candidate and champion is battling for his life in a Swiss hospital.

Though Mr. Biya has never really campaigned, it is believed that his presence in the country could give his dying party a shot in the arm. So far, only his surrogates have been ranting on national TV and many cannot even convince a wary electorate. The political lies of the past have made the electorate sadder, but wiser, and the country’s current freedom of speech is enabling opposition parties to put the ruling party’s failings on the table for all to see. This has left senior members of the ruling CPDM with a bunch butterflies in their stomachs.

In a secret email to the Cameroon Intelligence Report’s global headquarters in the United Kingdom, a senior CPDM official said that it was time for the baton of power to change hands. The official who elected anonymity pointed out that without a change of personalities at the helm of state affairs, the country will continue its relentless slide down the path of economic and political crises.

“The current political leadership has failed Cameroonians. I am a member of the ruling party, but this does not imply that I must shy away from the truth. As a nation, we can make giant strides towards sustainable development, but this cannot happen with the current crop of politicians who have made lies and deceit their stock in trade. The ruling party must change its way. We are in this unfortunate situation because my party has flouted all the rules of good governance and economic planning. We need to rethink our strategies if we want to retain power. We are to blame for many of the things that have gone wrong with our beloved country,” he said.

Last week, another CPDM insider also delivered an ominous message to his own party in a secret interview with the Cameroon Intelligence Report. He chided his party for the country’s economic malaise, adding that his party chairman, Paul Biya, is a juggernaut that ruins anything in his path.

The member of the party’s central committee hinted Cameroon Intelligence Report that his party was gradually falling apart just as Mr. Biya himself who is gradually yielding to a failing heart and a distended prostrate. The party needs to carry out some fundamental changes, he said, adding that the country itself needed an extreme makeover. A sea change in economic policies will enable the crumbling economy to once more find its feet, he said.

“Our party which many erroneously think it is a great party is coming apart. The internal succession battles are ripping the party apart. With Mr. Biya’s health going south, it is clear that his days are numbered. He has been the one holding the party together and now that many party members suspect his health is failing him, they think that someone else should replace him so that the party can have a fair chance at the upcoming presidential election. Mr. Biya seems to wield a lot of power both within the party and the country, but honestly, he is not the person running the show. The country is in very unsafe hands and those who have warmed their way into Mr. Biya’s heart are clearly mismanaging things,” the desperate CPDM Central Committee Member said.

He added that “what our country is going through today in the two English-speaking regions of the country clearly offer us a manual on how best to mismanage a problem. We have already lost more than 2,000 young men and women, including our uniformed officers who should have not been sent to the English-speaking regions in the first place. We of the ruling party must learn how to listen to our people if we have to endear ourselves to the population.”

He also added that “I will never say this in public, but I think the arrogance that has become the hallmark of my party is due to the fact that we have always rigged elections. If the people actually had to decide on who has to win elections, I think my fellow party members will learn how to be humble. Arrogance and greed are suffocating our country and the ruling party. Some people think the country belongs to them and anybody who holds a contrary view is immediately branded a terrorist. That is not how to run a country and a party. We have only succeeded to transform Cameroonians into our enemies and this gives the opposition parties a clear advantage.”

Cameroon, he underscored, was headed in the wrong direction. “We cannot continue to slaughter each other and the president is behaving as if nothing is happening. He has lost total control of how to address this huge fire that he ignited when he declared war on Southern Cameroonians. From every indication, it is clear that the government has not got a plan to put an end to this crisis. The soldiers are all trembling and the fighters on the ground have succeeded to intimidate everybody. Many of my colleagues who are either senators or parliamentarians are all scared of going to their constituencies. They know what awaits them out there. They have been working with the corrupt government to rob the people of their happiness and the time of reckoning has come. None of them can really stand up to the people’s scrutiny.”

“We all are scared. The country is gradually imploding and if we are not careful, we may go the way of many of our neighbours. I am not from Southern Cameroons or Ambazonia, but the pain and suffering the crisis in that region is spinning into the French-speaking part of the country is a great concern even to the president. With huge crowds moving into East Cameroon, it is clear that the Amba boys or whatever they are called could use that opportunity to set up shop in many of our big cities. This is no good news for many of us who really want a peaceful resolution of this problem.”

“The fear is all the more unbearable when we see those videos of people being shot and killed at point blank in the country’s northern region. What will northerners be thinking of the country’s military which is predominantly Beti? The international community has clearly lost faith in us. Human rights groups such as Amnesty International are working hard to expose our government’s brutality and lack of respect for human life. I am indeed at a loss for words. The evil I see in our country leaves me awake all night. We cannot continue to pretend as if we are not human beings. If we cannot deal with the situation, then we should let the United Nations to come in and put an end to the needless killings that are giving our country a very bad name,” he regretted.

In his view, while Cameroon is falling apart, the country’s president is in Geneva, Switzerland, in search of proper medical attention for his failing heart and prostrate. He stressed that the 85-year-old monarch, who had presided over his country’s destiny for almost 36 years, had been dealing with a failing health for more than ten years and his country of choice when it comes to treatment is Switzerland.

“The president is suffering. His health is a serious issue to his collaborators and many fear that he might not make it to the end of the year. He is suffering from shortness of breath and he can barely stand and walk. His wife and children are all in fear, as the 85-year-old has been spotting a sorrowful and lonely figure. There is bad news on the horizon. The fear is that if the president disappears from the scene, there could be some chaos in the country. For now, there is a lot of confusion and many of his collaborators have already begun jockeying for recognition as the next-of-kin even when the constitution is clear about what will happen in the event of a vacancy,” our source said.

He chided the president for failing to build a state-of-the-art medical facility in his country. He said the president was more interested in his own well-being instead of working for every Cameroonian to feel safe at home.

“What does he think other Cameroonians are saying about him? Each time he is sick, he heads abroad for treatment. What if other leaders had not developed their own medical facilities? He behaves as if he is a special being. We are all human and it is wrong for him to be misusing state funds for his health. Cameroon deserves better. We have the human resources and our financial resources can grant us even the best medical facility in the world. We have a leadership crisis and Mr. Biya has clearly demonstrated that the fate of his compatriots is not important to him. How many women still die in our country while giving birth? How many children die even before attaining five years? We need new leadership in this country. We need people who can reverse some of the destruction the current government has wreaked on our people. You may not believe me. The CPDM has people with great vision, but they are hardly ever given a chance to display what they are capable of doing. Once this group of people leaves power, you will see a new CPDM,” he said.

The prognoses are truly gloomy for the ruling party and Cameroon. If no real changes are implemented, the economy will bottom out. Last week, major rating agencies delivered bad news to Cameroonians. It was another blow to the liver of the struggling economy.

The country’s economy is in a total mess. Major rating agencies of the world have just delivered bad news to Cameroonians. Their government is no longer credit-worthy and any loans delivered to the country, will come with a huge price tag.

Currently, Standard & Poor’s credit rating for Cameroon stands at B with a stable outlook. Moody’s for its part, rates the Central African country at B2 with a negative outlook. Fitch’s credit rating for Cameroon was last reported at B with stable outlook. Generally, a credit rating is used by sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and other investors to gauge the credit worthiness of a country like Cameroon. The lasting ratings thus have a huge impact on the country’s borrowing costs.

The ratings by these agencies are indeed a big punch to the country’s liver. Receiving a downgrade from Moody’s is the worst thing that can be happening at this time to a struggling country like Cameroon.  The change from stable to negative is a clear indication that the country’s economic indicators are trending very low.

A downgrade simply implies that credit rating agencies no longer have confidence in Cameroon’s financial future and its ability to continue servicing its debts. In other words, Cameroon’s default risk on its debts is getting higher by the day and even more worrying for Yaoundé is Moody’s reason for such a negative rating.

According to Moody’s, persistent political instability (the Southern Cameroons Crisis) in the country is a major worrying factor. In the agency’s view, there is heightened uncertainty. Credit ratings are like red flags to potential lenders. They give an idea to lenders on a country’s ability to pay back its debt. This implies that the lower the country’s credit rating, the less likely that institution will be willing to lend money to such a country.

This is a warning that should wake up the sleeping government in Yaoundé that is wont to doing only the wrong things. With that warning and the deterioration of things in the two English-speaking regions of the country, it is time for Mr. Biya and his men to take a totally different direction if they do not want the country to implode. But the fear remains. Will Mr. Biya come back alive to clean up the Augean Stable he has created?

By Kingsley Betek

It is more than a year since the start of the French Cameroun military campaign in Southern Cameroons, but that is unlikely to be an occasion for celebration in Yaoundé. Cameroon Intelligence Report sources have all opined that the war has created several military and CPDM billionaires and is estimated to have cost the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime billions of FCFA. Correspondingly, the Southern Cameroons war has eroded the international image of the so-called one and indivisible Cameroon and failed to achieve its objectives of containing the Ambazonian revolution and quest for an independent state.  At the same time, the people of Southern Cameroons have suffered immensely from the French-backed French Cameroun military campaign, which has claimed the lives of some 2000 Southern Cameroonians, destroyed Ambazonian towns and villages and has led to widespread disease and hunger. Biya’s recent trip to Europe offers an opportunity to bring this harmful campaign to an end.

For the French government, the newly created Federal Republic of Ambazonia is not only a historical target of influence, but also a critical arena for oil and gas security and stability. Southern Cameroons shares a long and porous border with the Federal Republic of Nigeria and also commands the entrance to the Atlantic Ocean. Consequently, in its onslaught against Southern Cameroons, the French Cameroun government enjoys intelligence and logistical aid from the French government and also from the President Buhari consortium of crime syndicates in Abuja. French Cameroun has one of the largest security budgets in the CEMAC region as well as advanced weaponry at its disposal donated by the French and US governments. Yet, Yaoundé is finding it difficult to defeat a determined enemy. In fact, in addition to holding on to many counties in the Northern and Southern zones, Ambazonia Restoration Forces have killed hundreds of French Cameroun soldiers and have made the entire Southern Cameroons territory ungovernable.

The gap between French Cameroun investment in the army and military performance ever since the Southern Cameroons war started led the 85 year dictator to replace the top level of the French Cameroun security establishment in Buea that was headed by General Melingui.  General Melingui’s replacement was presented as part of a strategic process, but it actually reflects growing frustration in the French Cameroun political elite with the Cameroon government army’s performance. The change has not brought any success or effect on the continued fighting.

Although it has an image of comparative success, the Ambazonian Interim Government (IG) headed by Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako is also encountering difficulty in operating in Southern Cameroons. The cooperation between Abuja and Yaoundé imposed on Nigeria’s Buhari by France—with European Union aid—is restricting the IG’s ability to dictate events on the ground and demonstrating the limits of its power. Since the IG is unable to break the Yaoundé-Abuja axis of evil, it has no choice but to smuggle money, and small kinds of weapons to Ambazonia Restoration Forces on Ground Zero.

Europe should see President Macron’s close relationship with Mr. Paul Biya and the French Cameroun Monarch’s visit to Switzerland as an opportunity to end this disastrous war: The French Cameroun army cannot win this war but it can settle the conflict on favorable terms, and the European Union should help Biya do just that.

Knowing that European Union and U.S. support will be withdrawn should incentivize the Biya regime to reach a political solution as soon as possible. The war in Southern Cameroons has been a disaster for all involved parties, and so ending it is both the smart thing to do as well as the right thing to do.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, popularly known as the “Monarch” is in Geneva, Switzerland, where he is expected to receive treatment for his heart and prostrate problems. The 85-year-old monarch, who has presided over his country’s destiny for almost 36 years, has been dealing with failing health for more than ten years and his country of choice when it comes to treatment is Switzerland, where it is alleged that he has a horde of young girls who attend to him when he is there on treatment.

The Yaounde Nsimalen International Airport was blocked yesterday for more than five hours just for Mr. Biya and his huge entourage to travel abroad where they are supposed to spend millions of the tax-payer’s money at the Intercontinental hotel which is Mr. Biya’s hotel of choice. A source close to the hotel has hinted that once Mr. Biya and his bunch of kleptokrats are planning a trip to Switzerland, an ATM is set up for them, given their lavish lifestyle and huge appetite for exotic food and goods.  

According to a Cameroon Concord News Group source at the Unity Palace, Mr. Biya has a Ghanaian doctor in Geneva who helps Mr. Biya to screen all the girls who attend to him when he is in Switzerland. Our source, which elected anonymity, said that Mr. Biya has a special preference for Ghanaian girls and this has been facilitated by the Switzerland-based Ghanaian doctor whose address and phone number we have elected to withhold for security reasons.

Mr. Biya has been using his country’s treasury for more than three decades as his personal piggy bank to pay for his lavish trips abroad. According to a recent report published on Mr. Biya’s trips abroad, it is alleged that he has spent more USD 64 million ever since he came to power. Costs related to his wife’s expenses are yet to be determined, but it is alleged that Mrs. Biya’s flaming red hair is costing the country a pretty penny. For dresses and shoes, they are costing the tax-payer an arm and a leg.

While Mr. Biya is away in Switzerland basking in other people’s wealth and development, his country is gradually falling apart. The killings in Southern Cameroons are on the rise. Cameroon, a country once touted as an oasis of peace, has finally been caught up in the throes of a huge political and economic crises that are ripping the country apart.

The country’s English-speaking minority has engaged the government in a fierce battle for its independence. An issue that started as a protest by teachers and lawyers has quickly developed into a bloody battle that has already resulted in the death of some 2,000 civilians and 1,000 army soldiers, many of whom have been buried alive in the jungles of Manyu and Indian Divisions. The government, for its part, has kept on selling lies to the families of the dead, stressing that they have simply deserted the military.

The government thought using the military brutality it used in the 1950s and 1960s to quell a rebellion in the country’s French-speaking part of the country shortly after independence, would intimidate Southern Cameroonians into silence. It has, so far, burned down more than a hundred villages in Southern Cameroons, leaving thousands homeless and internally displaced, while hundreds of thousands have fled to Nigeria as refugees.

But this tactic is not working and it is not dampening the determination of the fierce Southern Cameroonian fighters. The strategy has fallen flat on its face. The English-speaking minority is united for a purpose. All attempts by the government and its agents to divide the people have failed woefully. Even money and food have not produced the miracle the government was expecting.

The government that is mostly made up of old and sick people is totally frozen in time. It has failed to figure out that changing times require different strategies. For the government, it only understands one language – an iron fist. But it is hard for old and sick people to deliver any real punches that will destabilize a well-oiled rebellion that is coordinated from abroad. An old person cannot have the right muscles to fight a war that will surely last for years.

The government has failed to understand that the dynamics are totally different. With the advent of social media, its atrocities will be clearly exposed. Southern Cameroonian fighters and the Diaspora are making the most of these technologies of freedom to fragilize a government that has lost its credibility.

But it is the financial role of the Diaspora that is hurting the government’s determination. The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is large and rich. The Diaspora’s huge war chest is causing the government real nightmares. With some 4 million Southern Cameroonians living abroad, it will be hard for the government to easily wrap up this issue.

The huge fund-raising efforts out there are delivering incredible amounts of money. Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, London – England, Washington, Dallas, Houston and Atlanta have become money manufacturing sites for Southern Cameroonians who have vowed to destabilize Cameroon. The government stands a better chance negotiating than fighting enemies it is not seeing. The Southern Cameroons rebellion is an idea and not a person.

The very first victims of the raging conflict are the innocent civilians, but the Chiefs, Fons and so-called elites have also been made to lose their voices and influence. They have been declared non-grata in their constituencies, as they have been considered as government agents by the people of Southern Cameroons. The wave of kidnappings and drive-by shootings have clearly informed the government-created elite to shut up or else the fighters will come after them and their families.

Many of these elites have clearly been exiled from Southern Cameroons and Yaounde has become home to most of them while a few like Chief Etchu of Bachou Akagbe have simply fled to the United States. Chief Tabetando who doubles as a senator has been clearly advised to stay away from his native Bachou Ntai as there is a price on his head. Professor Elvis Ngolle Ngolle too is not having a good night’s sleep. He has received clear instructions. He is no longer a native of his village. Woe betides him if he fails to respect this clear warning.

Southern Cameroonians want to walk away from a fake union brought about by Foncha and Muna considered by Southern Cameroonians as traitors. They are sick and tired of being second-class citizens in a union they freely joined. After 56 years of marginalization, they think it is time to walk away. They have had enough and since the government had criminalized any discussion on federalism, they think a clear break from East Cameroon will bring them more peace and prosperity.

Southern Cameroonians will surely not be listening to any other stories from those who have messed up their lives for more than five decades. They have a rich sub-soil and they believe that they can build their own country.

They have been silenced for too long because of their natural resources. The South West region, in particular, is a receptacle of God’s blessings for the country, is very underdeveloped. The country’s oilfields are located in Ndian Division and there are huge gold deposits in Mbonge. Manyu Division has a huge expanse of forest that is the envy of the world and it is alleged that this division, noted for its learned minds, is sitting on huge oil deposits. There was some exploratory work in the region before the conflict broke out. This will surely continue when the guns stop spreading death and destruction.

The region’s waters are also home to large fish stocks. Its forest is home to unimaginable fauna and flora and it is not in error that the world also knows the country because of the Korup National Park which straddles Manyu and Indian Divisions. The South West region is also known for its fertile volcanic soil and this explains why agriculture is one of the many activities that have been yielding huge foreign earnings to the country. Many of the country’s neighbors have their food supply from the south west region.

Unfortunately, this region is one of the poorest in the country.  Its people are still living in abject poverty and what passes for medical, school and road infrastructure clearly belongs to another epoch. The South West deserves better, but years of marginalization have left the region in dehumanizing poverty.

While the country has been raking in millions of dollars from the region’s oil, residents of the region have been tied up in degrading poverty. The country’s lone refinery (SONARA) is located in Southern Cameroon, precisely in the Southwest port city of Limbe formerly known as Victoria, but the natives of the region have been reduced to sorry spectators of events in their own region.

The Southern Cameroons crisis is also born out of this injustice. More than 90% of the refinery staff are Francophones and to add insults to injury, staff of the refinery have their own neighborhoods that are well designed and very clean. Besides, petroleum products are more expensive in the South West region than in any other region of the country.

This economic apartheid that has been around since 1977 when oil was discovered in Ndian Division is one of the many reasons why Southern Cameroonians hold that a clear break with East Cameroon will be the ideal solution and they are willing to sacrifice their lives so that future generations will not have to deal with the same issues.

They want to walk away from this ‘political marriage’ that has brought them more pain than gain. They know it will take time to achieve such an outcome. Southern Cameroonians back home, now known as Ground Zero, hold that it is better to die trying than to sit and watch other people enjoy their God-given wealth.

If they succeed to walk away, then Cameroon will be losing about 60% of its wealth. Southern Cameroons is blessed with enormous wealth and the Yaounde government holds that it is by terrorizing the people that it will succeed to keep them in the dark of what is happening to their resources.

For almost 50 years, the Rio Del Rey estuary in the South West region has been the source of more than 90% and at times 100% of all the country’s hydrocarbons, specifically oil. Since 2014, Cameroon has exported more than US$5.88 billion worth of products, of which more than US$2.65 billion, about CFAF 1,650 billion, has been from crude oil alone. This is a significant amount of money and the Yaounde government cannot afford to lose such revenues.

The government is scared, especially as the possibility of a secession is there. All its efforts to lay the matter to rest have been futile. Its divide-and-rule strategy has simply fallen apart as North westerners and South westerners clearly understand that they are united for a purpose that will bring them happiness and prosperity. Not even the government’s military violence has succeeded to take the wind out of the fighters’ sail. The more the government kills, the more determined the fighters become.

The government had underestimated the will of the people of Southern Cameroons to right the wrongs of the past. For many of them, their fate is worse than death and they have very little time to be around this planet. They want to establish their own country and even ensure that future generations do not deal with such time-consuming and energy-sapping challenges.

But it is not only at home that the fighting is taking place. Southern Cameroonians abroad are using all the means available to them to draw attention to the genocide that is unfolding in their country. The United Nations and influential countries such as Canada and the United States are all aware of the mass murder that is taking place in the former West Cameroon.  

Last week, Southern Cameroonians in Canada called for the Cameroon government, the United Nations, Canada and the world to investigate so as to help find solutions to the ongoing crisis in Cameroon. The call was made during a joint protest organized by the Southern Cameroons Relief Organization (SCRO) for Southern Cameroonians in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal which took place on August 10, 2018.

The protest began at the Cameroon High Commission in Ottawa, Canada, with protesters singing both patriotic and sorrowful songs with placards in their hands carrying messages like, “enough is enough, say no to dictatorship”, “stop genocide in Southern Cameroons”, “stop raping our women” and many more.

A casket was also brought out as part of the protest materials. Protesters could be seen wailing over the coffin for those who have been killed, raped and jailed unfairly in Cameroon. While the protest continued in front of the Cameroon High Commission, with no official stepping out to talk to the protesters, the protesters brought down the Cameroon flag that was hoisted.

This act caused the officials to come out of the office, with the High Commissioner to Canada, Solomon Azoh-Mbi, taking the lead to frown at the act. There was nothing he could do as protesters kept singing at the top of their voices “no violence”. He walked away from the scene and came out for the second time to witness the Cameroon flag being burnt and the Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) flag being hoisted.

Feeling they had passed on their message – though the officials made no statement – the protesters left the premises heading for the United Nations (UN) representative’s office. While there, a petition was handed to the National Development Director, James D. Lee, who in turn called on the protesters to keep asking for what is right while waiting for a response from the UN. He promised to present their demands to the United Nations. The protest continued to the streets and ended at the Parliament Hill.

Washington, New York and London have all had their fair share of the protests that have clearly given the government of Cameroon a very bad name. Today, the country’s government is being seen as a bloody government that is killing its own people. This has been made worse by the numerous videos that have been published on social media wherein Cameroon soldiers are killing women and children in the country’s northern region. The Yaounde government has come up with a new policy known in French as “rien ne bouge”, meaning nothing comes out alive. And they have been slaughtering Cameroonians in the thousands.

In a video that was released last week, the country’s army soldiers could be heard celebrating after they had burned down the homes of their fellow citizens and killing some 20 young men by shooting them point blank. Amnesty International and other human rights groups are working very hard on these videos and they have been doing a great job at exposing a government that is clearly predicated on corruption and intimidation.

Cameroon is clearly imploding, both economically and physically. All the country’s economic indicators are trending very low and the Southern Cameroons crisis clearly points to the fact that the country is not united and indivisible. But it is the killings in the north that will trigger a new wave of violence once the “Monarch” leaves the political scene. Northerners are already plotting their revenge. They have never been happy with the mass killing of their people after the April 6, 1984, coup d’état. But the recent videos of their people being eliminated by Beti militia and government troops tells them that they have to fight back. And their response might come in the form of a mushroom cloud.

The world must step in to ensure the country is not brought down by these multiple crises that are clearly conniving to ruin the development efforts of the last 50 years. Southern Cameroonians are as bitter as northerners and the people in the Eastern region have also started raising their fingers against a regime that has also robbed them of their resources. Cameroon is in for tough times. The pain and anger are immense. If the world does not step in, Cameroon will implode and it will bring down the entire sub-region with it.

 By Kingsley Betek