While we’re all waiting for President Trump to start the process of ousting Biya, Cameroon Concord News Group have spotted that the Biya Southern Cameroons war map has substantially and bloodily changed.  The Ambazonia Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces have been steadily advancing on French Cameroun government positions in both the Northern and the Southern Zones.

Two years ago, our senior correspondent Kingsley Betek met with one of the Manyu Odeshi leader, who was commanding a few Southern Cameroons self-defense soldiers in a small suburb of Mamfe.  At the time, he showed Betek his map saying we will get to Buea in less than 5 years.

And then this year, Kingsley Betek met him again in Egbekaw and he said the Ambazonian fighters are going to enter Buea any time before the end of October 2018. Betek reminded him of the presence of Cameroon government forces in all the major towns and villages in Southern Cameroons. That should not bother you, he said. “In the early days of the resistance, we were using the ghost town operations and the Francophone army was executing our women and children. Now we are engaging them to fight in a guerrilla war. The French Cameroun army was trained to kill innocent civilians and protect Biya. Now they are fighting their first real war.”

Indeed they are. The Odeshi commander turned out to be almost dead on target. With the support of the powerful Lebialem Dragons, the Ambazonian Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces are heading towards Buea. Biya regime forces are abandoning the rural areas and what has always been unthinkable in Yaounde is now happening: The forces of the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia look to be winning the war.

The Americans already seem to have gotten the message and have appealed to President Biya to step down. The Americans are also playing up war crimes in Southern Cameroons and condemning Biya’s pointless attacks on Southern Cameroonian towns and villages.

And what about the French? Here is a European and world power which truly counted on Biya crushing Southern Cameroonians in less than a month.  No wonder French President Emmanuel Macron was instrumental in the arrest and extradition of the President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, Sisiku Ayuk Julius from Abuja to Yaounde. Following Ambassador Peter Barlerin’s  Biya declaration, the French government is  so agitated and emotional. The French now know that the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is by extrapolation the United States in Southern Cameroons.

The repeated victories of the Ambazonian Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces mean that the Southern Cameroons resistance army is among the most battle-hardened in Sub Sahara Africa. Biya clearly never imagined that Southern Cameroonians might win, and that a more powerful Southern Cameroons army might also emerge from the rubble of Manyu, Lebialem, Belo and Muyenge.

The French still support Biya, but neither the US nor UK nor Germany nor Buhari of Nigeria has any interest in supporting Biya’s continued stay in power.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

President Biya’s time as head of state is now short. To be sure, the Cameroonian dictator is a dead man walking according to recent statements made by the US ambassador to Yaoundé, Peter Barlerin, a view shared by many in the ruling CPDM Central Committee and predicted by senior French Cameroun political experts. The 85 year old leader has survived almost 2 years of Southern Cameroons demonstrations and growing violence, and if not pushed by the US and the French including some outside actors he may yet cling to power in the upcoming so-called presidential elections.

It’s easy to see why many Cameroonians think Ambassador Peter Barlerin’s pronouncement indicates that Biya’s time might be up. Despite the killings of over 1,000 Southern Cameroons protesters and the arrests of thousands more, Southern Cameroonians have bravely defied the Yaoundé regime, which now seems unable to bully them into submission.

As the Southern Cameroons resistance has stood strong, Biya’s international support has plummeted. But for the French, the CPDM regime would have been a thing of the past. Although the world is actually not doing anything as Biya regime forces continue to gun down innocent Southern Cameroonian civilians, Ambassador Peter Barlerin’s recent comments is a clear indication that the time has come for Mr. Paul Biya to step aside.

The United States chief diplomat in Cameroon has repeatedly called for genuine and inclusive dialogue and has offered himself to try to broker a deal for Biya to speak with the Ambazonian leadership.  Biya has constantly scorns these calls and consequently his cash-strapped regime will soon find it harder to pay its tribal security services. Rather than kill innocent Southern Cameroonians, several soldiers have defected from the Cameroon army. Cameroon Concord News Group gathered that the pace is escalating at catastrophic rapidity, and many more French Cameroun army soldiers are now confined to barracks in Buea and Douala because the Biya regime doesn’t trust them. The Ambazonia Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces is apparently controlled largely by defectors and it is getting stronger and is now operating freely in the various Southern Cameroons counties.

The US ambassador’s killer punch has hit the Yaoundé regime hard, but Biya has neither bent nor broken — and he still has a number of serious assets  including the French government, the CEMAC countries and mighty Nigeria on his side of the equation.

Looking at the loyalty of the military and security services, the Southern Cameroons Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces is getting stronger, but it lacks long or short range missiles and other heavy weapons. So it finds it difficult to hold territories. The Francophone regime is still stronger than the Southern Cameroons Interim Government. The presidential guard and a huge regiment of ground forces particularly those from the Far North region recruited by the ailing Vice Prime Minister Amadou Ali during his time at the defense ministry are still loyal, and Biya’s blood relations and kinsmen hold key positions in the Cameroon government. The overwhelming majority of the officers are Francophone Cameroonians and nearly every family from Biya’s ruling tribes the Beti-Ewondo have at least one member in the security service.

The Far North region again is a strong base for the regime: It is well armed, mobilized, and fearful that the fall of Biya might invoke a nasty past that led to the killing of hundreds of soldiers from the North region headquartered in Garoua immediately after the April 6^th coup in 1984. The regime has created militias along with military forces, using them as thugs and snipers against Southern Cameroonian citizens. As the violence escalates, sectarian killing increases too. Deep within the Biya regime the military hierarchy and Biya acolytes eat first; the funny SDF opposition eats last.  The French government via its multinationals is giving the Biya regime an economic lifeline and enough bullets to keep shooting down Southern Cameroonians and is blocking international efforts by the Ambazonian Interim Government to isolate the regime.

The biggest hope for Biya now is the disorganization created by some of the Southern Cameroons resistance figures group under an obscure organization known as the Ambazonia Recognition and Collaborative Council. There is no charismatic leader among the trio but their main goal is to attack the legitimate Interim Government of the people of Southern Cameroons. Not surprisingly, there are sharp divisions between those on Ground Zero bearing the brunt of the Biya regime’s brutality and those who live safely outside Southern Cameroons and represent the struggle abroad. So far at least, the Interim Government enjoys some sympathy from the international community but no active support from major powers such as the US and Britain.

To be accurate, the French Cameroun dictator is not strong enough to subdue the Ambazonian resistance and quest for an independent state, but Ambazonians are not just strong enough to defend the Southern Cameroons territory — a scenario for continued fighting and killing.

If Southern Cameroonians are to pull out of the Cameroon federation, they need a push from the international community. Particularly important is the effort to build up a Southern Cameroons army: uniting it and training its officers so they can be more effective in battle. At the same time, the Interim Government must avoid the distractions coming from the so-called Ambazonia Recognition and Collaborative Council at all costs.

The IG should continue pushing for a UN and EU intervention to be on the table to signal that the international community is aware of the genocide going on in Southern Cameroons.  U.S. and European Union rhetoric should warn that military option will grow more likely if Biya doesn’t step down. The US ambassador should continue ratcheting up the pressure as this will help convince CPDM loyalists that the regime cannot weather the storm and that they need to abandon ship now — rather than do so when bombs starts dropping in Yaoundé. Only this forceful effort started by Ambassador Peter Barlerin will end the rule of the man who has been walking his people into a nightmare. Any less will see the bloodshed continue indefinitely, possibly sucking in neighboring states like Nigeria.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The revelation is as sobering as it is shocking-the beheading of Southern Cameroons women and children by army soldiers deployed to the region by President Paul Biya. Every Southern Cameroonian family has had firsthand experience with violence. The Manyus, Bangwas, Mettas, Balis, Nso, Orokos, Bafaws, Bakweri, Bakossi, Aghen and others are sharing similar insights, shaped in no small part by a bitter dose of realism. There are no prescribed remedies to the imploding situation in Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia. Will thousands more Southern Cameroonians die to show that Biya can no longer rule over La Republique du Cameroun?

Unlike the other East African leaders who are mindful of human suffering and have been working hard to seek an end to the conflict in South Sudan, the regional and international partners involved in Southern Cameroons have proven to be terribly insensitive and they clearly don’t care how their silence is harming ordinary Southern Cameroonians.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group believe and fervently too that the choice was clear from the very beginning of the Southern Cameroons crisis two years ago: sacrifice Biya to save the so-called one and indivisible Cameroon, or sacrifice the one and indivisible Cameroon to save Biya. The Francophone regime embraced the latter to preserve itself and hundreds of Southern Cameroonians are dying in the process. No regrets, no hesitation. None whatsoever.

When the first French Cameroun military onslaught failed, an Anglophone criminal, Paul Atanga Nji was appointed Minister of Territorial Administration and was ordered to step in to save the Biya regime, and in the current process many more are dying. No worry, no sorry. None.

The Minister Atanga Nji’s effort has already failed, and the Biya regime continues to bleed. The French and the Americans have now stepped in under the same pretext: Only by saving Biya could Boko Haram and terrorism be defeated and the one and indivisible Cameroon saved, contends US Ambassador Peter Barlerin.

So, will thousands more Southern Cameroonians die to show that Biya can no longer rule over La Republique du Cameroun?

Ever since the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres decided to back off from the crisis in Southern Cameroons, the international community has argued, rather poorly, that it was in Cameroon’s best interest not to interfere and that outside involvement was no remedy for the country’s political problems.

But instead of putting the US’ weight behind a political solution through talks with the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia, the US ambassador gave Biya the license to continue killing Southern Cameroonians.  The Biya Francophone regime with French government support has transformed the crisis in Southern Cameroons into a renewed so-called war on terror where Buhari of Nigeria and Chad’s Idris Deby are privileged members.

Yaoundé will discover, sooner rather than later, that it can’t succeed in this senseless military campaign. The only achievement in the process is simply that many more will die in vain. Such scenario will prove most costly to French Cameroonians too as the country continues to fall apart.  If the Federal Republic of Nigeria continues to play innocent and Europeans and Americans continue to play catch up, Biya’s foul play is sure to pave the way for another bitter and bloody chapter in the history of the two Cameroons.

It’s evidently clear at this point in time that there are no good options for Biya; that the sweetest among all plausible scenarios is bitter and it is that President Biya should step aside.

Indeed, the last two years of turmoil in Southern Cameroons, like the previous 36 years of Biya’s dictatorship, have taught both French and Southern Cameroonians that the bloodier the change, the worse the outcome, and the longer the wait, the more complicated the change.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The crisis in Southern Cameroons is now in its second year and the spark that led Cameroon down the fiery rabbit hole of the Anglophone revolution is still much alive and active. Frankly speaking, a lack of leadership in Yaoundé, Abuja and the African Union allowed the peaceful strike action led by Anglophone teachers and lawyers to metastasis into a horrific violent conflict, providing an opportunity for the powerful Anglophone Cameroon Diaspora to come in and initiate a struggle that is ending up with the creation of Africa’s newest nation-the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The one million dollar question is, does it represent a policy shift by the UN/Buhari administrations based on the notion of a shared common objective with Paris in Cameroon? Either way, it has blown a violent wind into the boats of those who argue that President Paul Biya should remain in power as a check against anti French forces in the CEMAC region.

There are indeed several controversies with that argument and most glaringly is the fact that it ignores the war crimes and other atrocities committed by the Biya regime. That long and horrific list includes helicopter gunboat attacks, mass killings, mass graves and the targeting of hospitals and schools, not to mention the arrest and torture of hundreds of Southern Cameroonians. Keeping Biya in power is undermining France’s credibility and core values including those of the United States.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group can now reveal that Mr. Paul Biya doesn’t have the military capability to hold Cameroon together. The case of the Far North region abandoned by the army following massive deployments to Southern Cameroons serves as an illustrative example. Ever since the crisis in Southern Cameroons started, the Far North region has seen several deadly attacks carried out by the Nigerian Islamic sect, Boko Haram. Although Cameroon government’s forces have repeatedly claimed that the terrorist group has been defeated, they have been unable to secure the Far North while engaged in their assault against Ambazonia Self-Defense Council Restoration Forces. The situation is also true in the Central African Republic as attacks are now rampant in areas under the control of the Cameroon army and the gendarmerie.

To be accurate, what’s left of the French Cameroun army is an empty shell, precariously held together by France, the US and Chad in decreasing levels of importance. Any plan to keep Biya in power clearly runs counter to French and American interests. Upon closer examination, the very fabric that held French speaking and English speaking Cameroonians together is irreparably torn.

Biya took over from the late President Ahmadou Ahidjo in 1982 and to rule Cameroon, the so-called Roman Catholic Christian had to tailor his approach to the few ethnic groups in the Centre and South regions while appeasing the Muslims in the Grand North with numerous political positions and oppressing the Anglophones and at the same time setting the Bamilekes against one another.

In practice, it meant Biya controlling all levers of power and reinforcing his leadership through funny arrangements. He only thought of the Anglophones in 1990 and gave them a prominent position as Prime Minister with the emergence of the SDF party. Correspondingly, the individuals of the Anglophone community that had positions in government were those upon whose patronage he relied. In essence, Biya created a new tribe in Southern Cameroons-the CPDM tribe and demanded complete and total loyalty. Members of this CPDM tribe in Southern Cameroons are presently looking the other way while Biya and his army soldiers are killing hundreds of Ambazonians and destroying their towns and villages.

Many corrupt UN and African Union officials fail to recognize that Biya and his gang had forbade the development of any form of opposition or liberal centers of thought and cohesion — much less a free press — that could challenge his authority.

For 35 years, the key unifying driver of allegiance and cohesion was political appointments followed by loyalty to the Right Royal President. Now that the state of Cameroon has broken down, Biya and some Beti Ewondo political elites are trading the crisis in Southern Cameroons as the most attractive and unifying alternative ideology for all French Cameroonians.

The initial lawyers and teachers strike in Anglophone Cameroon may not have been designed to bring about separation but the way the crisis has been mismanaged has become central in influencing the trajectory of the uprising nonetheless.  Having failed in every aspect of nation building, Biya stands today as a great magnet to which all diplomats from the EU, US, the AU or UN are attracted. The reason is simple: At 85, Biya is prepared to dish out millions of dollars to anyone who can guarantee his continued stay in power and protect his family.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Many political observers now think this will happen. But we of the Cameroon Concord News Group are praying that it doesn’t…

But if it does happen, it will be way different from what happened in the pre and post colonial era involving the Bassas and the Bamilekes.

How the UPC struggle unfolded: Even though the French and the Ahidjo governments reportedly sold it out to the world as a “no victor no vanquish” it’s an open secret that La Republique du Cameroun won by exterminating thousands of Bassas and Bamilekes.

La Republique du Cameroun won basically because of international support from France and other French speaking countries in the present day CEMAC region. The UPC freedom fighters such as Reuben Um Nyobe, Dr Felix Roland Moumie and Ernest Ouandie on the other hand, did a lot of things that were considered magical. The truth is that they could have done more. The Bamilekes and the Bassas have not forgotten that thousands of their relatives died.

Cameroon has not changed at all, the country is still not able to produce anything even tooth pick or condensed milt let alone refine crude oil. So in this edition of the AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE, we attempt an explanation of what will play a crucial role is the dynamics of International politics as regards the current crisis situation in Cameroon under Biya?

China was not this powerful in the 50s and 60s, they will likely support a change of leadership in Yaoundé. The UK loves a united and democratic Cameroon. US under Trump presidency is all about what benefits the US economically and enriches the elite and Biya is aware that US support only goes with selling military hardware. So the only escape route left vis-à-vis the USA is for the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia to up their propaganda game in the US so majority of Americans who are Christians see the Southern Cameroons war as a persecution of largely Christian Ambazonians by a regime that murders even Roman Catholic Bishops.

Russia can come in if the IG tables a better deal to President Putin. France will of course support a one and indivisible Cameroon, but they have their hands full with possible terrorist attack at home due to influx of terrorist into the French society under the guise of refugees.

Another factor is strategy: The Cameroonian army under Biya is ill-equipped, poorly trained,badly paid and commanded by unpopular Beti-Bulu military officials, but they can engage foreign help very early in the war in order to end it quicker. They will intensify information dissemination and propaganda to counter whatever is coming from Southern Cameroons. They will move quickly to seal off access to water and crude oil and they will be more aggressive in taking out the Ambazonian leadership even with the help of the CIA. (Read statements made by the current US ambassador on the Southern Cameroons crisis)

For Ambazonians, they will take advantage of millions of their people scattered all over the western world to prosecute the restoration war. They will instead secure their borders than marching to Yaoundé like they wanted to do with the SDF and suffered loss then. They will want to secure access to water and oil, use the oil to negotiate internationally. The Interim Government will likely have more spies than the UPC group. Southern Cameroons will not allow people in other parts of La Republique not to notice that there is war. Sooner or later, the Southern Cameroons war will be felt all over enemy territory; guerrilla tactics, guided missiles launch to take out key facilities in French Cameroun, bomb detonation in various cities, assassination and kidnap of key individuals. It will be a fight to finish as no Southern Cameroonian will want to lose.

Another factor is internet and information dissemination, both Southern Cameroons and French Cameroun are already sending out information and it goes viral in seconds. The internet is playing a crucial role in the Ambazonian war.

A critical factor is that the different regions in Cameroon are already taking different stands; there is no longer a united French Cameroun position. The Littoral have since disassociated themselves from any Beti-Ewondo agenda. The Grand Nord simply wants Biya to hand over power back to them.  The Bamilekes are adopting a neutral position unlike before.

We are dealing here with two extremist sides and opinions can be misinterpreted by one side or the other leading to punitive exactions that can involve bodily harm or arson. Most extremists involved in this imbroglio are hardly enlightened enough to interpret and understand fair comment. Participating in the AGBAW-EBAI DEBATE is like walking a tight rope.  However, you can send us your thoughts via email:cameroonconcordnews@gmail.com or cameroonintelligencereport@gmail.com

The Southern Cameroons crisis that has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons has continued to bring desperation to the people of Southern Cameroons, while giving the government a very bad name. For more than six months, the two English-speaking regions of the country have become the theatre of a gruesome war game that is consuming lives and rendering many in the region homeless.

The killing of ordinary civilians has radicalized an entire people and many Southern Cameroonians who were federalists have simply converted themselves into secessionists. The killing of loved ones and friends has traumatized many Southern Cameroonians, making many to hold that the government must pay for its crimes.

To many Southern Cameroonians, it is impossible to live with a government that is decimating its own population. They hold that the killing and roasting of civilians alive clearly points to the government’s decision to pursue military action to a conclusive end. To them, the government understands only one language – an iron fist – and it will stop at nothing to achieve its goal even though it knows that in this case, the odds are stacked up against it.

The government’s plan to address the Southern Cameroons crisis is spreading death and suffering among the population. Reports of what is playing out in many towns in the region are mind-boggling. The destruction and roasting of the vulnerable is really stranger than fiction. The Biya government is inflicting red terror on the people of Southern Cameroons; a people who simply wants the government to listen to them and to address the issues that have blighted their lives.

Government atrocities have included killing innocent civilians through reckless soldiers who are trigger-happy. The government has also resorted to burning homes in many towns and villages as a means of bringing the tough-hearted Southern Cameroonians to their knees, as they are suspected of sympathizing with Southern Cameroonian freedom fighters who have been avenging the deaths of those civilians killed by the alcohol-inflamed and sex-starved soldiers.

But none of these strategies is breaking down the people of Southern Cameroons who are determined to walk away from a union that has brought them more degradation and pain than happiness. The people of Southern Cameroons have become the victims of Foncha’s greed. His determination to reunite the two Cameroons has left many crying.

Similarly, the government has also been arresting thousands of Southern Cameroonians, many of whom are innocent and have nothing to do with the eerie drama that is playing out in the country’s English-speaking regions. Those arrested have been shipped to different parts of the country and no word has been heard from them. The government is clearly violating its commitments under international law.

According to the country’s laws, it is illegal to hold anybody incommunicado for months without granting them access to a lawyer or family members. But the country’s government has been violating its own laws and it is not paying attention to calls by the international community for it to comply with its international commitments.

According to the country’s authorities, Cameroon is an advanced democracy wherein fundamental human rights are respected, but the reality on the ground is contrary to even the basic rules of democracy as defined and recognized by the international community.

Even Southern Cameroonian leaders who had been arrested in Nigeria in early January 2018 and hastily repatriated to Yaounde in late January, are still sitting in the country’s Gendarmerie headquarters in Yaounde and neither their lawyers nor their families have been allowed to see them. This is really unsettling for many human rights groups which have always alleged that the government is committing human rights violations in Southern Cameroons.

Although the country’s communications minister, Issa Tchiroma, has once acknowledged that those in government custody are in good health, many Cameroonians, especially Southern Cameroonians, have continued to question the veracity of the minister’s statement, as he has been caught many times lying. Mr. Tchiroma is a pathological liar whose words are not worth their weight in gold.

The drama playing out in Southern Cameroons is déjà vu. Southern Cameroonians had already prepared their minds for such extreme measures. The measures have been taken straight from the government’s torture book that had been drafted for it by the French in the late fifties when East Cameroonian freedom fighters were asking for genuine independence from France.

As the French delayed to grant independence, East Cameroonians organized themselves with the little resources they had to fight a more equipped French army. In a bid to put up a good show, East Cameroonians founded the “Marquisard Movement” that gave the French a good run for their money.

To chop off the movement’s head, the French organized undercover activities which led to the elimination of East Cameroonians leaders who were living abroad. Felix Moumie, the poster boy of the revolution, was killed by a fake journalist in Switzerland with thallium that was dropped in his tea.

 The French followed up by killing and maiming the Bassas and Bamilekes who were supporting the rebellion. Whole villages in East Cameroon were simply wiped off of the country’s map. This was intended to strike fear into the minds of East Cameroonians who had the intention of supporting the rebellion against the Ahidjo regime that was never considered as being legitimate by the freedom fighters.

 Their trick worked in the fifties and sixties. Francophone Cameroonians have been cowered forever and many will never dare criticize the government for its atrocities in the English-speaking regions of the country and this is already creating tensions between Southern Cameroonians and their francophone counterparts who have been sitting on the fence ever since the crisis started in October 2016.

Today, the French-supported government of Mr. Biya is rehashing those tricks in the pious belief that they would bring peace to the two restive English-speaking regions which had happily joined East Cameroon in a referendum that was doomed to failure right from the beginning.

But Mr. Biya and his government seem to have chosen the wrong people for a fight. Their strategies are not yielding the right results. Despite the burning and killing, Southern Cameroonians are standing their ground. They fully understand that if they yield, the government will resort to harsher methods. Instead of bowing to the government, Southern Cameroonians have decided to pick up arms against a government that has never seen dialogue as a means of resolving issues.

The government’s brutality has simply bred hatred and murder. It has produced many armed groups that are today making it hard for anybody in the region to have a contrary view. Federalists who thought they could help bring about peace are today an endangered species.

The Southern Cameroons crisis that has been playing out for almost two years has finally entered a critical phase. Violence has become normal in that part of the country. The government’s military violence has triggered a wave of violence that will be hard to root out. Many army soldiers are being brought down by the bullets of armed masked men and anybody suspected of collaborating with government officials is considered an enemy and death is the penalty for such an act. Many have already been killed by these unknown armed men and the government seems to be helpless.

On Friday May 11, 2018, a list of new targets was sent to the Cameroon Concord New Group’s global headquarters in England. Former Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge, Minister Paul Atanga Nji, Senator Tabetando, Governor Okala Bilai, Divisional Officer Joseph Oum II, Member of Parliament Susan Okpu, former minister Elvis Ngolle Ngolle, former Minister Ogork Ntui Ebot, former minister Benjamin Itoe, minister Victor Mengot Arrey, Prof Echu George, Senator Achidi Achu  and Prime Minister Yang Philemon are some of the names on the list that was sent unanimously.

The list also includes all CPDM senators and parliamentarians in the English-speaking regions. Things seems to be spiralling out of control. These men and women are in the cross hairs of Southern Cameroonian fighters. The government seems to be out of resources. Its security apparatus seems to be failing the people. Even senior government officials are no longer safe. The battle lines have been drawn and any Southern Cameroonian collaborating with the government has become a target. Blood will continue to flow until the entire region becomes a river of blood.

Southern Cameroonian fighters seem to be making significant progress. They are making a mockery of the government’s military action. The Yaounde government is now scrambling for a peaceful resolution as it has noticed that it is dealing with a very dicey situation. The government is under enormous pressure as the killing of army soldiers becomes a daily ritual in Southern Cameroons.

It is clear to the government that there will never be a convincing military victory in this battle that will surely last for decades. The government is gradually coming to terms with the fact that it was a huge mistake to declare war on Southern Cameroonians who were simply complaining about a system that has reduced them to second-class citizens.

The dynamics are changing. The government’s arrogance is gradually being eroded by the determined Southern Cameroonian fighters whose actions have struck fear in the minds of many army soldiers. The government is today staring down the barrel of defeat, as its treasury continues to lose money and its soldiers feeling really despondent as they face the prospect of dying in the rocky and dense jungles of Southern Cameroons.

Many government officials know that defeat is staring the government in the face. Many want to sue for peace, but they don’t know how to proceed as their arrogance has muddied the waters and made reconciliation challenging. Even the governor of the South West region is also contemplating smoking the pipe of peace after having called Southern Cameroonians dogs. He now knows that state authority comes from the people and not the other way round.

The nightmare the government manufactured for itself is not going away anytime soon. The “two cubes of sugar” that Mr. Fame Ndongo, the country’s higher education minister, referred to at the beginning of the crisis have simply refused to melt. Those cubes of sugar are putting up a good show. It is obvious that there are many more scenes in this struggle that will surely play out in a manner that will be far from being pleasant.

Meanwhile, the Southern Cameroons Interim government is continuing to step up pressure on the crumbling Yaounde government. The government’s Communications Secretary, Chris Anu, has delivered very bad news to the Biya government and the Francophone majority. Southern Cameroonian fighters will continue to step up operations in the coming days. Mr. Biya’s army soldiers who thought they would simply sweep through the region and kill the rebellion are now in for real trouble. There will surely be no respite until the Yaounde government withdraws its troops.

Mr. Anu has also announced that all French-speaking Cameroonians must leave the Federal Republic of Ambazonia by the end of this month. He added that all Southern Cameroonians lodging French-speaking Cameroonians must kick out their tenants by the end of the month. Those Southern Cameroonians who do not comply with the Interim Government’s decision will be dealt with by the brave defense forces of the land.

He added that Southern Cameroonians should stop paying taxes to the French Cameroonian government in Yaounde, stressing that all the taxes should be directed towards the prosecution of the war of liberation. This is very likely to affect the country’s economy; an economy that is already in the throes of an economic and financial crisis.

As the tension increases, the Yaounde government is gradually coming to terms with the fact that Mr. Biya’s declaration of war on the people of Southern Cameroons at the Nsimalen International Airport upon his return from a Francophonie conference in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, was a pure error of judgement.

Indeed, Mr. Biya and his government had completely misinterpreted things. It appeared they were reading an old script; a script that was designed for another problem that had nothing to do with the determined Southern Cameroonian fighters. He had clearly underestimated the determination and will of a few to bring about change in a country. Indeed, he had failed to understand that those who make peaceful change impossible only make violent change inevitable.

The government has been anything but humble during this crisis. Its relentless pursuit of peace through military violence has divided the country for ever. The government’s arrogance and inefficiency are costing the country huge amounts of money and the loss of human life is really disturbing. Both soldiers and civilians are being killed in a conflict that could have been avoided. This is a mistake that will remain in many minds for decades. The country’s history has been tainted with the blood of many innocent lives.

But there is no mistake that cannot be fixed. Many mistakes have already been made and it will be preposterous to continue making more of such mistakes. Cameroon needs peace and that peace cannot come if the killings continue. The government has a huge responsibility in this. It must change its strategy. If it thinks it can make Cameroon one and indivisible by seeking to impose peace on Southern Cameroonians, then it is not yet ready to smoke that pipe of peace that the international community is calling on it to smoke.

There is no ideal way to secure peace than through negotiations. The government must come down its Ivory Tower to meet Southern Cameroonians halfway. The country’s English-speaking minority has proven that a few people can bring change in a country that has been rejecting change for decades.

Cameroon will never be the same again.  The government’s ill-advised decision to declare war on a section of its population will always come back to bite it. Times have changed, and mentalities must keep pace. Negotiations should be the government’s administrative tool of choice. The government has to embrace new ways. It should understand that intimidation will not cut it. Even long jail terms will not address the issue. Southern Cameroonians are resolute. They are not going to give in just because they are being intimidated and killed.

They have been living a life of marginalization for years and they think they must put an end to such dictatorship. Cameroon belongs to all and every citizen must be made to feel at home wherever he finds himself. But with so many lives cut short by this senseless war, it will be hard for real negotiations to take place.

Southern Cameroonians want to live in their own country. For 56 years, they have been victims of government discrimination. The Yaounde government has never respected its commitments towards the indigenous people of Southern Cameroons. The government’s mistakes have really made it hard for Southern Cameroonians to live with their French-speaking counterparts.

The rift is there. It will be hard for these wounds to heal. Many people have lost their lives, and the pain will linger for a long time. The government has a lot on its plate. It has to take a long and hard look at its script. Its current script is simply making Southern Cameroons independence possible. The government will have to bend over backwards if it really wants to hold the country together.

For now, it is obvious that most Southern Cameroonians will never like to look at any other option. Their quest for federalism has been quashed by the government and their leaders have been thrown in jail where it is believed they are being tortured.

If the government wants real negotiations to take place, it must release all Southern Cameroonians who are being held by the Yaounde government. Amnesty must be granted to all Southern Cameroonians living abroad. And a new governance structure must also be proposed. The country belongs to everybody and it is wrong for a few to think that they are more Cameroonian than others. The ball is in the government’s court. If it does not act fast, the situation will further deteriorate and things will spiral out of control. There is still time to make the right decisions. Better late than never!

Similarly, handing down long jail sentences to Southern Cameroonian fighters in Yaounde will never dampen the determination of those who are still fighting. The crisis can only be addressed at the negotiating table and this will only be possible if President Julius Ayuk Tabe and those in jail are released. The Diaspora is still very active and it is time for the government to build a long reliable bridge for the Diaspora to come to the negotiating table.

The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora is rich. It has more than three million members and thanks to these hardworking Southern Cameroonians, those on ground zero have been able to make the government feel the pinch of its stupidity and dishonesty. After more than five decades in exile, the Diaspora also wants to play a key role in the management of the country’s socio-political landscape.

 The government must disabuse its mind. Military violence will not secure the peace. It must stop sending young Beti soldiers to the region. All they have done is to provoke the people and increase hatred for the Betis who have been responsible for the burning of homes. Many people are already shouting revenge and this will come once Mr. Biya leaves power. The government still has time to change such thinking.

By Kingsley Betek

French Cameroonians are now seeing the very bad omen and a very bad sign that the so-called one and indivisible Cameroon is heading towards disintegration. The situation looks just like Zaire under the late Congolese thug, Mobutu. And everything points to the fact that the 36 years old CPDM government is tacitly in support of the practice of nepotism and the genocide that is happening now in Southern Cameroons/Ambazonia.

Every well-meaning Cameroonian including Cardinal Christian Tumi has spoken, advised and pointed out the danger of allowing army soldiers killing innocent Southern Cameroons civilians and burning down their towns and villages. Regrettably, before things assumed this dangerous dimension, the 85 year old Francophone dictator, Paul Biya had tactfully and craftily handed over the entire security apparatus to his Beti Ewondo kinsmen. This explains why French speaking Cameroonians including their political elites are looking the other way while Beti-Ewondo soldiers are perpetrating their atrocity in Southern Cameroons.

The genocide currently going on in Southern Cameroons is not something that is speculative but one that is staring everybody in the face. Yet a veteran media guru Boh Herbert and one Cho Ayaba claiming to be Anglophone leaders have reportedly joined La Republique du Cameroun to denounce the leadership of the Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

A situation where the Delegate-General for National Security, the National Gendarmerie boss, the Army Chief of Staff, the Minister for Defense and all the nation’s intelligence services are in the hands of the Beti-Ewondo ruling clan not from the Center and South regions but predominantly from the South is very disturbing! Such a thing never happened in the days of President Ahidjo.

Let us examine calmly and honestly the composition of the entire Biya security council. It is made up of only Betis, and the only person in their midst is Paul Atanga Nji, an Anglophone man who does not command anything. The nation is suffering the worse nepotism in its history and it is facilitating the breakdown.

For 57 years, the French Cameroun political elites supported by successive French governments designed the composition of government of the Cameroonian federation and its agencies in such a manner that failed to reflect the bilingual and federal character of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Consequently, the desire to promote national unity and also to command national loyalty is no longer in the Southern Cameroonian DNA.

Paul Biya’s nepotism, sectionalism and parochialism go contrary to our Anglo-Saxon spirit, but the President does not give a damn and unfortunately all Southern Cameroonians serving in his government seems to be very docile. The Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo government has flouted every provision of both the old and the new constitutions and every violation of the constitution in an Anglo-Saxon tradition is an impeachable offence. But instead it is Biya and his gang that regularly queries the action of the members of the Francophone dominated National Assembly and the Senate, threatening to remove their leaderships.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group cannot imagine this kind of massive killings being done by these rampaging French Cameroun army soldiers in Southern Cameroons and Boh Herbert and his acolytes such as Cho Ayaba are unable to join the majority following of the Interim Government to help our people.  There are other Ambazonians whose own contribution has been limited to names calling—Milan!! Atam Milan!! Milan!! Milan!! Milan!! This begs the question: Are these men truly Southern Cameroonians?

The Southern Cameroons freedom fighters on Ground Zero have pushed so hard and have successfully created a state within a state. All what they need is a Diaspora leadership to help them complete this onerous task and in good time.  As we have seen from numerous global best practices including the ANC in South Africa, all Southern Cameroons Diaspora groups should rally behind the Interim Government or keep quiet and do their own thing.

The Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia under Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako should not acquiesce in the face of the flurry of attacks, but should stand firm in the defense of Southern Cameroonians.  It will be unfair to the Southern Cameroons nation to say someone like Cho Ayaba is a leader. A Southern Cameroonian who spent more than a decade in Germany producing fake SCNC documents for Nigerians and Congolese fostering their asylum claims for a fee now turns around to attack a legitimate government loved and supported by Ambazonians!!  Again, if you look at that Cho Ayaba crime syndicate critically, you will see that 99 per cent of the men and women in his insignificant team jumped into the struggle for their personal interest not Southern Cameroons. Cho Ayaba is notorious for such nasty things as his best friend ever in Germany was a Bamileke citizen known as Jean Monie who assisted him in his fraudulent ventures.

Many Ambazonians have been militating in many other Southern Cameroons groups before eventually joining the fighting that started two years ago. To you we say the Interim Government remains the best thing that ever happened to Southern Cameroonians. Correspondingly, every Ambazonian should support Dr. Sako and his team. Let Ambazonians ignore Cho Ayaba and Boh Herbert who have all along been trying to execute a hidden agenda that is now not hidden.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The country lost a true patriot and statesman in the person of Hon Willie Ndep Orock Effiom; former Grand Chancellor of National Orders and former Speaker of the West Cameroon House of Assembly. His was a life of leadership and service to the nation

“No great man lives in vain. The history of the world is but the biography of great men,” once observed the famous British historian, Arthur James Balfour. The Rt. Hon Willie Ndep Orock Effiom; former Grand Chancellor of National Orders and former Speaker of the West Cameroon House of Assembly, who will be committed to mother earth next Saturday, May 12, 2018 in his native Nsanaragati, Eyumojock Sub-Division, in Manyu; was by every measure, a great man in his own right. The passing of Pa Effiom, as he was fondly called, is a great national loss; but it is also an occasion for the country to celebrate a truly great life and a man of virtue. No doubt, his death elicited an effluence of encomiums for a man who ran the race and never stumbled. Born April 3, 1931 in Nsanaragati; the 4th and last surviving child of Pa Obi Effiom and Mama Katching Ojong both of blessed memory, the inevitable end overtook the “Rock of Nsan” in December last year. Pa Effiom was 86 years old.With his passing, Manyu has lost one of its most authentic political voices.A prodigiously gifted man with granite determination, his compelling life story is a profound journey, which took him from the hinterlands of Nsanaragati to Mamfe; where he attended primary school; before a foray into politics that began a public service career spanning over 50 years.Pa Effiom shaped and witnessed Cameroon history; he spoke truth to power and exits the stage a fulfilled man. Befittingly, he will be honored with a state funeral. His family, friends and the entire nation should be proud of his acclaimed virtues.Such are the memories of outstanding men in history.

Every man is unique. There is only one Pa Effiom; who in all honesty and sincerity was not born great. It could not be rightly said either that he had greatness thrust upon him. From all available records, he worked hard and tirelessly for his greatness, in most cases, defying long odds. Orphaned at a very tender age, the young Willie Ndep Orock Effiom worked as an aide to a Nigerian businessman, Mr. Anya and put himself through primary school in Mamfe town. Like many of his generation, he proceeded to the Teacher Training College and graduated as a teacher. He was subsequently appointed Headmaster of Nfuni primary school; from where he launched his illustrious political career built upon rock-solid grassroots endorsement.

As party politics took hold in Southern Cameroons, his charm and gift for leadership raised his visibility and public profile, eventually attracting the attention of KNDP party barons who drafted him as their candidate in the 1959 elections into the Southern Cameroons House of Assembly. At the relatively young age of 28, Pa Effiom was virtually a political underdog. In Mamfe West, he was up against the KNC candidate; the formidable Victoria-based businessman, Solomon Ashu Arrey (later Chief SA Arrey of Ossing) and SE Takunchong of Besongabang who defied party orthodoxy to run as an independent, ostensibly because of his name recognition. Pa Effiom, the political dark horse upstaged the apple cart by winning a landslide. The results according to the Southern Cameroons Information Service Press Release No 249 of January 29, 1959, showed Effiom (4,004 votes); SA Arrey (1,702), and SE Takunchong (297). The political establishment could not but take notice!

It is to his adroitness as a one-man political powerhouse, that as a freshman MP, he was appointed Secretary of Public Works and Transport in the first cabinet of Prime Minister JN Foncha in 1959. After the December 20, 1961 elections, in which he soundly defeated SE Takunchong (CPNC) and SEM Agbaw who ran as an independent, Pa Effiom established himself as a political force to reckon with in Mamfe politics. The West Cameroon Gazette, Vol 2, No 2 showed that Effiom won 5,969 votes (68.1%) while Takunchong got 2,049 (23.7%) and Agbaw 643 (7.4%). In January 1962, he was retained in the cabinet as Secretary for Education, and held other cabinet portfolios such as Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary, until he left the executive branch of the then West Cameroon government in 1967 following his election as Speaker of the West Cameroon House of Assembly and President of the House of Chiefs; a position he held until the federation was abolished in 1972.

After the West Cameroon gov’t was dissolved in 1972, Pa Effiom returned to Mamfe and was elected Member of Parliament from 1973 until 1990. In 1988, he faced one of the strongest challenges in his political career during the legislative elections featuring the Khaki list, which he headed and the Green list led by DA Wanobi, whom he had mentored. In the end, Pa Effiom fought the political battle of his life and defeated the Green list. It was the last election he would ever contest and although he returned to Parliament where he was elected President of the Finance Committee, his tenure was cut short after Parliament was dissolved and fresh elections called, in the wake of the country’s return to multi-party politics. He was appointed Grand Chancellor of the National Orders in July 1990; a position he held until he retired from government and active public service in 2007.

Although loyalty to friends trumped other considerations, when it came to politics, Pa Effiom was a conviction rather than consensus politician. He never aimed to convince his political opponents;he sought to defeat them. While he neither schemed, nor bulldozed his way to seek power for its sake, Pa Effiom had a strong handshake and a long memory; he was an encyclopedia of events with accurate dates. He remembers all and forgets nothing. He demonstrated a rare courage and determination to succeed in the rough and tumble of politics, where he had to fight several battles. For someone who believed absolutely in himself and his own abilities and trusted his gut instincts, Pa Effiom was, however, no less trenchant in battle.When he went to war against his political opponents, his legendary patience gave him enough staying power and he took no prisoners.The trademark placid poker face he wore like a ventriloquist gave him an unpredictable mien of sorts and reinforced the mythology of his persona, creating an overwhelming feeling of awe. People whispered that it was not a wise man that will oppose whatever Pa Effiom wanted in politics and there was a long list of political casualties as credible deterrence.He exuded trust and loyalty and his principled leadership and selflessness confounded even his most ardent critics and detractors.

Pa Effiom was a very private family man who shunned publicity, but he was also an unapologetic conservative and traditional iconoclast, who feared no one and was very comfortable in his own skin.He had no time for women liberals;his formidable wife, Lucy Tabe Effiom, who passed away in 1998 after a protracted illness was never allowed to work.After the passing of his first wife, Pa Effiom remarried Gladys Oben Effiom. A man of honor even in death,Pa Effiom is survived by eight children: Ria Enaw (USA), Raymond Ayem Effiom (USA), Dr. Charles Effiom (Britain), Dr. Bisong Effiom (Britain) Obi Bernard Effiom (USA), John Okem Effiom (South Africa), William Ofa Effiom (Mamfe) Ntui Effiom (Yaoundé);eight grandchildren, nephews, nieces, cousins and family friends to mourn him.

People who saw Pa Effiom from a distance will never know he was more than just a rigid politician. A great conversationalist with a roaring, infectious laughter, Pa Effiom was a light-hearted man of fulsome humor and a man of many worlds; a universe of politics and public service, all neatly woven by a life of quiet philanthropy and sacrifice for his people which he did without any fanfare or publicity.Having experienced poverty and financial hardship firsthand as a young man, Pa Effiom had a naturally generous and feeling heart. He lived for others. He troubled himself very little about material things.His life also reflected a truth to self-personal philosophy. Where many would have sniffed out dubious means from our corrupt system to enrich himself and family members, Pa Effiom was tenacious in his moral responsibility.He left a worthy footprint on the sands of time as an inspiring example of fortitude, magnanimity and dignity and his revulsion for materialistic wooliness, profligacy and vulgarity on the part of public officials was without measure.

As a member of the CPDM party where he played the role of wise man, Pa Effiom witnessed some of the checkered parts of Cameroon’s political history, notably the unresolved Anglophone question.With his demise, certainly departs a huge slice of Anglophone history, but in the wake of Biya’s anti-Anglophone war, Pa Effiom displayed a posture that many have construed as aloofness, from a man whom character, history and providence placed in the firmament of eminence; and he served the nation well. When many had thought he would deploy his political capital and acumen to help resolve the Anglophone problem, Pa Effiom’s silence was deafening. His usual taciturnity, iron-cast audacity and moral strength were largely unfelt even as soldiers waged a campaign of terror against his own Manyu people. This was inconsistent with a moral disposition that normally would require him to speak out. By acting otherwise, he placed himself on the wrong side of history.

That notwithstanding, his legacy of personal integrity represents a high value system difficult to reestablish in a country embroiled in governance anomie and blatant moral bankruptcy. Politicians and those seeking leadership positions should see in Pa Effiom’s life an open book from which to learn the wit and wisdom of selfless patriotism. Indeed, even older generations of politicians like Nfon Mukete, Enow Tanjong, Mafany Musonge and Achidi Achu, rather than burn themselves out straddling the political space with younger aspirants, should, like Pa Effiom, cultivate the disposition of statesmanship and maintain an eloquent taciturnity of being kingmakers and oracles of the polity. To Cameroonians who are distraught and overwhelmed by the vicissitudes of Cameroon’s rudderlessness as well as those who are plundering the nation’s resources to amass needless and scandalous wealth, Pa Effiom’s life is a lesson in contentment and serenity.The “grandmaster of Manyu politics” has paid his dues. He leaves the stage a fulfilled man and totally at peace with himself.“There is no cause for birth and death, save to enjoy the interval,” wrote George Santayana. Cameroon has not only lost a father-figure but also a symbol of its rich history and character.Pa Effiom will be sorely missed.

By Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai, Boston, USA and Soter Agbaw-Ebai Dublin, Ireland

The Republic of Cameroon under President Biya lost the title of “One and Indivisible” long ago. It has suffered tribalism, corruption, nepotism, state terrorism, ritual killings, police violence and abject poverty. But none of this compares with the destruction being inflicted on Southern Cameroonians today by a war orchestrated by the 85 year-old dictator, President Paul Biya.

The UN says some 40, 000 Southern Cameroonians have fled the crisis into neighboring Nigeria and are in need of some kind of humanitarian aid. The territory now known as the Federal Republic of Ambazonia is on the brink of collapse. The Interim Government of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia has announced to the world and its powerful Diaspora that the Ambazonian economy has crumbled, leaving Southern Cameroonians with impossible choices. Each day hospitals in the various counties are crowded with bodies of Southern Cameroons civilians killed by French Cameroun soldiers.

The worst of it is that the African Union, the UN and the powerful European Union seem unperturbed. Southern Cameroons has been a French Cameroun colony for 57 years under the direct supervision of successive French governments and the territory has not produce great African voices like Wole Soyinka, Desmond Tutu and Kofi Anan to make known their case as it concerns French Cameroun rule in Southern Cameroons. This explains why the AU, the EU and the UN are ignoring Southern Cameroons.

Interestingly, the West including the United States of America is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the 85 year-old French Cameroun dictator who has been in power for 35 years and Biya is waging his war against Southern Cameroonians with Western war helicopters and munitions.

The war in Southern Cameroons has become more intractable with some political observers saying the Anglophones are too weak to rule over a united Cameroon but too powerful for the French Cameroun army to defeat.  This week, President Paul Biya fired General Melingui Nouma as commander of French Cameroun forces in the Southern Zone of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia and replaced him with a little known figure in the military, Colonel Djotsa. Indeed, Colonel Djotsa has much to learn from his predecessor’s experience that even with the most sophisticated weapons, it is all but impossible to defeat a resistance that is well entrenched in a civilian population. The international community will always blame the stronger side for the pain of civilians. For the weaker lot, survival is victory. This is the current state of affairs in Southern Cameroons.

Consequently, even though the Biya Francophone regime keeps claiming that Southern Cameroonians started the war, the leadership of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government in the USA has accused the government in Yaoundé of war crimes. Often the accusation is justified. In their French Cameroun military campaign, they have been careless and incompetent. Francophone troops have attacked schools, markets, Christian churches and leaders including hospitals. They have burnt down towns and villages in both the Northern and Southern Zones of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The French government has accorded President Paul Biya “plein pouvoir’ or a kind of carte blanche to act recklessly. President Emmanuel Macron may be thinking that it is all part of guaranteeing French hegemony in Southern Cameroons; or he may hope to profit by selling the Biya regime lots of old French military equipment and protect the oil fields in Southern Cameroons.  Whatever the case, President Macron is damaging French’s interests and if President Buhari of Nigeria falls, the French will not be happy with the end results in Southern Cameroons. The Southern Cameroons war is an unwinnable war.

Dialogue with the Biya regime is unrealistic. A deal should involve a complete withdrawal of all French Cameroun forces and administrators from Southern Cameroons and the removal of President Biya and his ruling CPDM crime syndicate from office including holding of elections and creating a new political structure.  French Cameroun and Southern Cameroons will then need an inclusive negotiation to be chaired by the United Nations. None of this will be easy. But a reasonable peace offer coming from a decent and new French Cameroun leader is more likely to crack the Ambazonian Interim Government than the reckless military campaign.  We of the Cameroon Concord News Group are submitting that if wars are to be fought at all, they should be short, and have limited aims.  This so-called President Biya’s war against Southern Cameroonians seems to be going nowhere.

Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The Southern Cameroons crisis that has been playing out for almost two years has finally entered a critical phase. While Southern Cameroonian fighters are making huge advances, which are making a mockery of the government’s military action, the Yaounde government is now scrambling for a peaceful resolution as it has noticed that it is dealing with a very dicey situation. The government is under enormous pressure as the killing of army soldiers becomes a daily ritual.

It is becoming clear to the government that there will never be a convincing military victory in this battle that will surely last for decades. The government is gradually coming to terms with the fact that it was a huge mistake to declare war on Southern Cameroonians who were simply complaining about a system that has reduced them to second-class citizens.

Currently, the dynamics are changing. The government’s arrogance is gradually being eroded by the determined Southern Cameroonian fighters whose actions have struck fear in the minds of many army soldiers. The government is today staring down the barrel of defeat, as its treasury continues to lose money and its soldiers feeling really despondent as they face the prospect of dying in the rocky mountains and dense jungles of Southern Cameroons.

Many government officials know that defeat is staring the government in the face. Many want to sue for peace, but they don’t know how to proceed as their arrogance has muddied the waters and made reconciliation challenging.

Even the governor of the South West region is also contemplating smoking the pipe of peace after having called Southern Cameroonians dogs. He now knows that state authority comes from the people and not the other way round.  In a discussion with retired Justice Mbeng who had been kidnapped by Manyu fighters a month ago, the Southwest governor, Okalia Bilai, gathered that it would be hard for the government to win the war, as the Southern Cameroonian fighters are determined to bring the government to its knees.

Retired Justice Mbeng who has tasted the anger of the fighters has advised Mr. Okalia Bilai that the fighters were more organized than the Cameroon military. He stressed that there would be no military solution to the problem. He added that Southern Cameroonian fighters were very disciplined, and corruption was not their potion. He urged the governor to work for peace if he felt Cameroon should be one and indivisible.

In recognition of these facts, the country’s president, Paul Biya, has dismissed General Melingui Nouma, a war monger, who was until May 6, 2018, in charge of military operations in the Southwest region of the country. He is being replaced by Colonel Djotsa who is very little known and will have little or no impact on the ground.

The nightmare the government manufactured for itself is not going away anytime soon. The “two cubes of sugar” that Mr. Fame Ndongo, the country’s higher education minister, referred to at the beginning of the crisis have simply refused to melt. Those cubes of sugar are putting up a good show and this is ensuring that the fighting continues. It is obvious that there are many more scenes in this struggle that will surely play out in a manner that will be far from being pleasant.

Meanwhile, the Southern Cameroons Interim government is continuing to step up pressure on the crumbling Yaounde government. The government’s Communications Secretary, Chris Anu, has very bad news for Mr. Biya and the Francophone majority. The Ambazonian fighters will continue to step up operations in the coming days. Mr. Biya’s army soldiers who thought they would simply sweep through the region and kill the rebellion are now in for real trouble. There will surely be no respite until the Yaounde government withdraws its troops.

Mr. Anu has also announced that all French-speaking Cameroonians must leave the Federal Republic of Ambazonia by the end of this month. He added that all Southern Cameroonians lodging French-speaking Cameroonians must kick out their tenants by the end of the month. Those Southern Cameroonians who do not comply with the Interim Government’s decision will be dealt with by the brave defense forces of the land.

He added that Southern Cameroonians should stop paying taxes to the French Cameroonian government in Yaounde, stressing that all the taxes should be directed towards the prosecution of the war of liberation. This is very likely to affect the country’s economy; an economy that has already taken a nosedive due to many economic and financial issues.

As the tension increases, the Yaounde government is gradually coming to terms with the fact that Mr. Biya’s declaration of war on the people of Southern Cameroons at the Nsimalen International Airport upon his return from a Francophonie conference in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, was a pure error of judgement.

Indeed, Mr. Biya and his government had completely misinterpreted things. It appeared they were reading an old script; a script that was designed for another problem that had nothing to do with the determined Southern Cameroonian fighters. He had clearly underestimated the determination and will of a few to bring about change in a country. Indeed, he had failed to understand that those who make peaceful change impossible only make violent change inevitable.

Following the president’s arrogant speech, was that of the country’s defense minister, Joseph Beti Assomo, who said his soldiers would implement the president’s decision without batting an eyelid. Little did he know that he was dealing with a hard nut to crack. Southern Cameroonians had taken a lot of pressure for a long time and they now think their fate is worse than death. They are prepared to fight to a finish.

The government should have read the writing on the wall. If grandmothers could participate in demonstrations across the region on September 22 and October 1, 2017, the government should have known that something was really amiss. A rat does not come out of its hole running, except there is something chasing it out of the hole. When old men and women decide to behave like young men, know that they are ready to die. This is the message the government refused to read on September 22, 2017 and this mistake has come back to bite it. It’s use of brute force to intimidate and check any possible rebellion on October 1, 2017, only produced tough fighters and an unpleasant surprise for itself.

The fighters on the ground had already designed their war plan and all they needed was the right time to implement it. That was what the government offered to them on a platter of gold. Southern Cameroonians had already acquired arms and they had a pool of willing fighters who were determined to frustrate the country’s military efforts. The Southern Cameroonian Diaspora had decided to make its impact and importance felt by the Yaounde government that had ignored it for decades.

For more than five decades, the Yaounde government had not paid attention to the growing numbers of the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora. Many of its members who had left the country due to the government’s marginalization policy and discrimination had made up their minds to make the government pay for its crimes.

The Diaspora, which comprises some of the country’s finest engineers, lawyers, journalists, mathematicians, economists, translators, interpreters, medical doctors, etc; was prepared to cut down Mr. Biya’s arrogant government to normal human proportions.

Following the outbreak of violence, the Diaspora promptly organized fund-raising efforts which have helped to keep the fighters busy and effective. Over the last six months, more than USD2 million has been raised to purchase arms and sustain the fighters.

Currently, there are also fund-raising efforts to rebuild all the houses that have been burnt down by the irresponsible Yaounde soldiers. These resources are also being used to help those who have been wounded to recover from their unfortunate situation. Southern Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria have also been beneficiaries of the Diaspora’s largesse.

This speaks to the unity among the Southern Cameroonian population both at home and abroad and this trend is going to continue until the Yaounde government comes to the table for negotiations that will only focus on divorce issues between Southern Cameroons and “La République du Cameroun.”

Today, the conflict has taken a turn for the worse. The Yaounde government is at its wit’s end. It is simply out of options as all its measures have fallen flat on their faces. It has killed so many young men in the belief that it will deplete the pool of willing fighters. But this pool of fighters is determined to stay the course. The fighters have been increasing on a daily basis despite the risks involved.

The government has over the last weeks focused on burning homes and in the process, it is killing the vulnerable who cannot run into the bushes and mountains of Southern Cameroons. This strategy is turning out to be counter-productive, as it is producing brand new and dangerous fighters. Revenge is on every fighter’s mind. The “Code of Hammurabi” has finally taken root in Cameroon.

But each time the government kills a fighter, it creates more than ten new ones. Its arrogance has radicalized many and even girls have decided to pick up arms to bring an end to the government’s arrogance. This has indeed surprised the government which had thought that a heavy military presence in the English-speaking regions would help restore peace.

Even its new Territorial Administration Minister, Paul Atanga Nji, who had displayed the enthusiasm of a neophyte when he just came to power, is now realizing that the issues will not be addressed through threats, long speeches and peace plants. He also knows that there is a price on his head. He, in particular, has been responsible for the escalation of the crisis and this has angered many Southern Cameroonians.

He is already out of steam and his masters in Yaounde are already questioning if he can be up to the task. He had promised to bring a speedy end to the conflict and that was why he had been granted the territorial administration portfolio, but the changing nature of the conflict remains a jigsaw puzzle to Mr. Atanga Nji who always and erroneously thinks that the gold-standard to conflict management and resolution is military violence.

His gold standard is gradually crumpling. It has only added to the chaos in the region and from every indication, all the actions taken by the government over the last two years are simply working in favor of a Southern Cameroons independence. The government seems to be reading from an old script written by Indonesians when they were oppressing Timor Leste. And that script is actually working for Southern Cameroonians who have produced some of the most effective fighters.

The fighters are determined. They know they are in for a long haul. They understand that there will be a positive outcome, but that will take a long time. They are also aware that over time, the government will run out of money and its soldiers will desert the military.

For now, Southern Cameroonian fighters understand that they are winning. They believe that the government’s indiscriminate burning of homes is a clear sign that its frustration is boiling over. According to a young fighter in Muyuka who called the Cameroon Concord News Group global headquarters in the United Kingdom, the odds are on their side.

“We are winning bigly. The ill-trained soldiers are biting the dust here in our country,” he said, adding that “we have come up with new strategies to frustrate them in the battlefields. Worse of all, we are promising them hell with our few weapons. The Special Forces are all trembling in their underwear. Any of them who shows up here in our territory will surely find out what we have in store for them. Now, when we kill those low-class, ill-behaved infidels, we cut off their penises. This is to ensure that if they go to Hell or Heaven, they will not be able to bother any of the girls they will meet over there. If Hell cannot accept people without a penis, Heaven will surely not accept these infidels who have come to pollute our lives. The message is clear, as a few of them have already paid the ultimate price.”

The fighter who elected anonymity also said “the government is already running out of patience. Its soldiers are deserting the military and its coffers are running dry. We will continue to erode its confidence until it surrenders. The Yaounde government must understand that we are not Bassas and Bamilekes who were easily crushed during their struggle for independence. We are enjoying large support from our brothers abroad and the Interim Government is doing a great job at sensitizing our people. We know President Julius Ayuk Tabe will soon be released. The government has not got many choices. We will continue to humiliate it, one battle at a time. We will make them pay for the mess they created in Muyenge last week. We have already sent a few of them to the grave following that chaos in Muyenge.”

The government’s arrogance and inefficiency are costing the country huge amounts of money and the loss of human life is really disturbing. Both soldiers and civilians are being killed in a conflict that could have been avoided. Its decision to slaughter hundreds of Southern Cameroonians on October 1, 2017, has turned out to be a huge mistake.

But there is no mistake that cannot be fixed. Many mistakes have already been made and it will be preposterous to continue making more of such mistakes. Cameroon needs peace and that peace cannot come if the killings continue. The government has a huge responsibility in this. It must change its strategy. If it thinks it can make Cameroon one and indivisible by seeking to impose peace on Southern Cameroonians, then it is not yet ready to smoke that pipe of peace that the international community is calling on it to smoke.

There is no ideal way to secure peace than through negotiations. The government must come down its Ivory Tower to meet Southern Cameroonians halfway. The country’s English-speaking minority has proven that a few people can bring change in a country that has been rejecting change for decades.

Cameroon will never be the same again.  The government’s ill-advised decision to declare war on a section of its population will always come back to bite it. Times have changed and mentalities must keep pace. Negotiations should be the government’s administrative tool of choice. The government has to embrace new ways. It should understand that intimidation will not cut it. Even long jail terms will not address the issue. Southern Cameroonians are resolute. They are not going to give in just because they are being intimidated and killed.

They have been living a life of marginalization for years and they think they must put an end to such dictatorship. Cameroon belongs to all and every citizen must be made to feel at home wherever he finds himself. But with so many lives cut short by this senseless war, it will be hard for real negotiations to take place.

Southern Cameroonians want to live in their own country. For 56 years, they have been victims of government discrimination. The Yaounde government has never respected its commitments towards the indigenous people of Southern Cameroons. The government’s mistakes have really made it hard for Southern Cameroonians to live with their French-speaking counterparts.

The rift is there. It will be hard for these wounds to heal. Many people have lost their lives, and the pain will linger for a long time. The government has a lot on its plate. It has to take a long and hard look at its script. Its current script is simply making Southern Cameroons independence possible. The government will have to bend over backwards if it really wants to hold the country together.

For now, it is obvious that most Southern Cameroonians will never like to look at any other option. Their quest for federalism has been quashed by the government and their leaders have been thrown in jail where it is believed they are being tortured.

If the government wants real negotiations to take place, it must release all Southern Cameroonians who are being held by the Yaounde government. Amnesty must granted to all Southern Cameroonians living abroad. And a new governance structure be proposed if it wants any negotiations to take place. The country belongs to everybody and it is wrong for a few to think that they are more Cameroonian than others. The ball is in the government’s court. If it does not act fast, the situation will further deteriorate and things will spiral out of control. There is still time to make the right decisions. Better late than never!

By Kingsley Betek

Cameroon Concord News Group Production