International rights group, Human Rights Watch (HRW) have warned separatists in Cameroon’s Anglophone regions to quit attacks on education facilities and anything that obstructs education.

The group has subsequently called for the safe and immediate release of a female school head who was abducted by suspected separatists late last week.

Madam Georgiana Enanga Sanga of Government High School Bolifamba Mile 16 was abducted along with another head teacher on 25 May in capital of the restive Southwest region, Buea.

According to reports, the taxi they were travelling in was intercepted and they were specifically picked whiles other passengers were allowed to continue their journey.

Her colleague head teacher has since been released with machete wounds, but Ms Sanga has yet to be accounted for. The action of the abductors is believed to be connected with ongoing nationwide examinations – GCE Ordinary and Advance Level Examinations.

“Enanga’s kidnappers should release her immediately, and separatist groups should put a decisive end to all attacks meant to obstruct children’s education,” HRW’s deputy director of global advocacym Philippe Bolopio said .

“Attacks against students, teachers, and schools inflict long-term harm on children, and sully the reputation of those who carry them out.”

Separatists have long used attacks on schools as a measure to ground life in the affected regions. The move is seen as part of a wider plan to put pressure on government in the ongoing fight for secession.

The Catholic Church and the United States have recently expressed disquiet about the attacks on both sides and its effects on lives of people living in the two regions. Abductions are not uncommon as separatists have used it as a means to put pressure on government.

What has become known as the Anglophone crisis affects the North West and South West regions of the Central African country with a section of the English-speaking minority pushing to secede under the so-called Ambazonia Republic.

Source: Africa News

The latest round of abduction by alleged separatists in Cameroon’s restive Anglophone region has claimed two school heads in the Southwest region.

The two were reportedly abducted late last week in the capital of the region, Buea. Sources gave their identities as Georgina Enanga Sanga, headmaster of the public high school (GHS) Bolifamba Mile 16-Buea and Eric Ngoumba, head of the Cameroon Baptist Academy Yoke-Muyuka.

According to witnesses quoted by local media, the two officials were in a public transport that was intercepted by four armed assailants. The attackers are said to have fished out Georgiana and Eric despite incessant pleas from other passengers.

State security forces deployed in the area are said to have arrived late thus the inability to track the armed men. The authorities have, however, reassured students and parents about the smooth running of the end-of-year exams.

The crisis which started in November 2016 in Cameroons English-speaking areas was in protest against marginalization and demand for more participation in French-dominated Central government.

The separatists have since October 2017 mounted guerilla style attacks that have killed about 45 security forces – police, soldiers and gendarmes. It is estimated that more than 600 civilians have already died as a result of the Anglophone crisis, according to NGOs.

In addition, some 160,000 people have fled their homes as a result of the violence, according to the UN. Thousands of these people are currently seeking asylum in neighbouring Nigeria.
Source: Africa News

Following a Fako High Court ruling, restraining the University of Buea, UB, from revoking the Degrees awarded Buea Mayor, Patrick Ekema Esunge, the Southwest Regional Secretary of the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms, Christopher Tambe Tiku, (seen here with our senior political man Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai) has asserted to The Post newspaper that the Court erred. According to Tambe Tiku, the Court, presided over by Justice Kenneth Ako Tanyi, was misled, because, Ekema did not seek equity with clean hands. Tambe Tiku asserts that Ekema is playing for time, by seeking the court to protect him, due to the case against him for fraudulently gaining admission into UB. “How do you skip the GCE Advanced Level to go to the University,” Tambe quipped?

He (Ekema) has nothing in front of the court. He says he genuinely earned the 1st and 2nd Degrees; you cannot look at the qualification without looking at the entry requirement.” Tambe Tiku says the court erred because: “You cannot say that the University be put on notice and you go further to grant the prayers of the applicant in the ex parte motion,” Tambe Tiku holds, regarding the ruling in suit No. HCF/015/WOS/18/1M/18 of April 16, 2018. He further states that Ekema used the court to deceive the public that injustice was meted on him. Ekema’s Lawyer, had, in the ex parte motion, prayed the court for: “An Order of Interim Injunction, restraining the Respondents [UB and the State of Cameroon] jointly and severally, their servants, agents and workmen from making any public statement and or holding any meetings touching on purported revocation of, and or any interference with, the Academic Degrees awarded the Applicant by the University of Buea pending the hearing and determination of the Suit now pending between the parties before this Honourable Court.” “And for such further order or orders that this Honourable Court may deem fit and proper to make in the circumstances.” Tambe Tiku, in the following interview, explains his arguments.

Excerpts:

The Post: How would you react to the Fako High Court ruling in the case pitting Ekema vs the University of Buea and the State of Cameroon?

Tambe Tiku: I am scandalised by the genre of the ruling granted by Justice Kenneth Ako Tanyi. He erred in several instances. Firstly, in his ruling he granted all the prayers of the applicant without giving the University and the Sate of Cameroon the opportunity to be heard.

The Post: What then is an “ex parte” motion, or a motion ex parte?

Tambe Tiku: An application is made to the court ex parte when one party is present and the other has not been informed that the court case is taking place. This can only be done in cases of emergency where there is no time to contact the other side or in cases where it is feared that the other side would do something such as leave the country or destroy evidence if they know about the court case. Additionally, an ex parte motion can be allowed by the Judge where the applicant is about to suffer prejudice if the court does not act. From the foregoing, it is important to emphasise the concept of urgency. In the case pitting Ekema Patrick Esunge vs the University of Buea and the State of Cameroon as respondents, one fails to understand how the Judge arrived or construed the concept of urgency before granting such a ruling.

The Post: You said the Judge failed in several instances. After explaining the instance of urgency, what other instances do you mean?

Tambe Tiku: In the first place, the applicant (Ekema) was never served with any decision from the Senate of the University of Buea. The Judge failed in ruling on a newspaper publication whose content had nothing with the official stand of the University of Buea. No official in the University or Senate gave his view on the purported article which the court ruled on. The court again erred in assuming jurisdiction in a matter which is purely administrative in character. The proper thing to do was to decline jurisdiction and advise the applicant to file an action at the Administrative Court. It is also disturbing to note that, nowhere in the applicant’s founding papers or exhibits, is he admitting that he has an Advanced Level pass which is the crux of the matter. It is sad to know that the Judge did not bother to take that into consideration. The applicant misled the court and the public into thinking that injustice has been done against him. It is a ruse to mislead the public into thinking that he passed the GCE Advanced Level GCE examination. The case before the court is one of declaratory order in which the applicant is praying the court in recognising his Bachelors and Masters Degree, respectively. It is again interesting to note that the applicant is not alleging that he fulfilled the entry requirement to gain a place in the University of Buea. The High Court has no jurisdiction over the University pertaining to matters of an administrative character.

The Post: Why do you think he didn’t seize but the Administrative Court?

Tambe Tiku:  The applicant is avoiding the Administrative Court because of the overwhelming evidence the University has against him. All these judicial irregularities masterminded by the applicant are intended to obstruct justice, especially with the criminal investigation hanging over his head.

The Post:But he is alleging that he was not served when the University setup a commission to establish if he had GCE Advanced Level…?

Tambe Tiku: Again, that is not true. He approached the court in bad faith knowing fully well that he was served twice in his office personally. The University has the evidence. It is common knowledge that he was being investigated by the University and the judicial police about his certificates. It was his duty to report to the University accompanied by his GCE Advanced Level to allay all doubts surrounding his certificates. That he did not do because he had nothing to show or prove. Even with the papers before the court, he has still failed to disclose to the court how he got to the University. He is merely floating and buying time. It beats one’s imagination why the applicant would sue the State of Cameroon after having earned fictitiously salaries as Category 8 (which is salary earned only by staff with Advanced Level.

The Post: Is it a crime to sue the State?

You cannot bring an ex parte motion against the State.

The Post: The High Court, in its ruling, has ordered the University to stop any action towards withdrawing the Degrees which it awarded the applicant. Should the University not respect the High Court ruling?

Tambe Tiku: That is another fatal error. The Senate is the highest authority as far as academic affairs of the University are concerned. The Senate had already thrashed the issue by virtue of the report of the commission that was put in place by the Vice Chancellor of UB. At that point, the University had already finished with its job. The Minister of Higher Education who is the supervisory authority over universities in Cameroon is the only authority to endorse the proposal of the Senate of UB. Hence the ruling of Justice Kenneth Ako Tanyi was ill-conceived and of no consequence. There is nothing to stop the Minister to revoke or not to revoke. This is true, regarding the fact that the Minister is not party to the suit before the honourable court. Once the University took the decision to propose to the Minister to revoke the degrees awarded Ekema, it became functus officio.

Source: The Postline Newspaper

The African Union (AU) and Cameroon have signed agreements for Cameroon to host three pan-African institutions.

The three institutions to be hosted in Yaounde include the Pan African University (PAU) Institute for Governance, Humanities and Social Sciences; the African Monetary Fund (AMF); and the AU Sport Council, according to an AU statement on Saturday.

Sarah Anyang Agbor, AU Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST), and Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Cameroon’s Minister of External Relations, signed the agreements on Friday in Cameroon.

It has taken over ten years of discussion to adopt the decision establishing the three AU institutions and over five years of negotiations to approve the host agreements, said the statement.

The signing of the agreements is significant as it took place barely a few days after the signing of relevant instruments for establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), said the AU Commissioner.

Cameroon said the agreements demonstrate its firm and unwavering commitment to the Africa integration, by hosting in its territory, the seats of three complementary institutions of the pan-African organization.

Culled from Xinhuanet

It appears there is no limit to the odium Cameroonians will suffer at the hands of Paul Biya and his “untouchable” Higher Education Minister, Fame Ndongo. After the scandal involving Biya’s laptop computers, Fame Ndongo, in a communique signed and published March 7, 2018, appointed Prof Teyabe Marcelline née Dama to head the Language Sciences and Communication Dept of the University of Maroua.

The only problem here is that the said varsity don died on Oct 31, 2017 and was buried on Nov 11, 2017 in her native Kaélé. In this era of information and communication technology, the cavalier management of something as basic as human resources by the Biya regime speaks to an incompetence that goes beyond carelessness and poor judgment. But the buck of all the carelessness stops at the president’s desk.

Biya must take responsibility for the actions of those he appoints into positions of authority and power. Clearly, there have been daily indications that there are far too many of them who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.

By Ekinneh Agbaw-Ebai

More than 200 Cameroonian teachers demanding back pay and allowances have been arrested and detained in police stations across the capital Yaoundé after attempting to hold street protests on Tuesday.

Their family members say they have not had any contact since.

The leader of group, Samuel Ekoto, told BBC Afrique that plans to resolve the pay dispute last year weren’t honoured, adding:

We demand the release of our colleagues. Some of us have been waiting one, two, three years [for a resolution over pay] but there’s a lack of commitment from the authorities.”

But some teachers disagree. A spokesman for another teacher’s body, Jacques Bessala Ngono, told BBC Afrique it believed progress was being made in talks with the authorities and so had cut ties with those who protested.

Culled from the BBC

Besieged by an unending campaign of terror by Boko Haram in the northeast, secessionist agitations in the southeast, and vicious attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen in north central states and elsewhere, Nigeria is a country in need of an urgent reprieve.

Unfortunately, that reprieve seems to be more of a mirage than an actuality.

The theatre commander of the Nigerian troops fighting insurgents in the northeast recently claimed victory against a sect that has proved many times that it can reinvent itself to withstand the heat from the Nigerian troops.

Much like Nigeria, again, Cameroon’s major problem is no longer the insurgents that have killed about 25,000 people in both countries, according to SBM Intelligence estimate, the push for independence by its Anglophone region is now casting a blanket of violence on the country.

The separatists, on October 1, 2017, declared the northwest and southwest regions as the self-proclaimed ‘Republic of Ambazonia’. There is no need to seek an expert view to know that President Paul Biya, a man who has ruled Cameroon for more than 34 years, will haunt the separatists.

However, for Nigeria, which has its own internally displaced people to cater to, the influx of Cameroonians escaping from the violence in their country is another headache to a troubled head. Nevertheless, the situation would be a lot better if it remains just that.

With both countries sharing a 1,975km-long border, either side of which are violent crises, the possibility of the proliferation of small weapons is high. Also scary is the presence of fighters, trained, semi-trained or untrained, ready to handle these weapons.

Added to that is the penchant for Cameroonian troops to violate the sanctity of the Nigerian border. In recent months, the Cameroonian military have entered into Nigeria, chasing Anglophone secessionists, without prior permission from the Nigerian authorities. This is in spite of Nigerian authorities handing over 47 leaders of the separatist movement who were arrested in Abuja in January, even though Nigeria does not have a standing extradition agreement with its neighbour.

Besides, the crackdown on the separatists by the country’s military is creating a set of radicalised, maybe untrained, army who have become willing to fill the ranks of the Ambazonian Defence Forces (ADF).

Already, they have been launching attacks from Nigerian territory in recent weeks, aided significantly by a porous border.

“The truth is that many militants are hiding among the refugees, and they just cross the border at will through the forest,” Lawrence Asuquo, head of immigration at Ikom, told AFP.

“They launch attacks on the Cameroonian army and they run back to Nigeria. It’s almost impossible to track them.”

Apart from the security problems that Nigeria faces, there is also an economic dimension to the crisis.

Figures from Cameroon’s Ministry of Commerce show that Nigeria is the country’s largest trade partner, with 22 per cent and 17.8 per cent of imports coming from Nigeria in 2011 and 2012 respectively. Currently, annual trade exchanges are approximated to be worth ₦217 billion, excluding “the robust informal trade linkages on both sides of the almost 2000km border shared by both countries.”

However, if the crisis festers and Cameroon continues to violate the integrity of the Nigerian border, there is the likelihood that the trade volume, formal or informal, between the two countries would reduce drastically.

Both Nigeria and Cameroon are still reeling from the effect of Boko Haram insurgency. An unending separatist agitation is the last thing they need at this time.

Source: The Guardian

One of the greatest calamities ever conceived and implemented by a creature walking on two limbs is this monstrosity called ENAM. The curriculum was designed in the nineteenth century by the French colonial masters. It wasn’t fit for purpose then and it isn’t fit for purpose now. But, the intellectual inactivity of the so-called academic authorities in French Cameroon have failed to grasp this simple fact. This nineteenth century model of education was intended by the colonial masters to educate the natives of the day on following their orders. It was accepted as true by the colonialists that the native was intellectually and physically inferior. This system of education was designed to purport such scandalous falsehood.

This absurdity, still sustained by this idiocy of a regime is designed for students to study magistracy and administration. Intakes are admitted after a fraudulent selection process. The old mantra of ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ is its motto. The place is full of the well-connected not the academically brilliant.

Even by its standards, this year’s intake was embarrassing. When you hear some people talking about this disaster of an establishment, you might be forgiven to think they are talking about Harvard Law School or London School of Economics. To accurately appreciate an educational organization, one would have to look at its graduates. If a great number of its graduates are making great contributions to their societies, the logical conclusion is that it’s a great institution. That can’t be said of ENAM

It’s pathetic that future graduates go in with the dream of coming out to join an ever expanding public service with one intention- join the bribery and corruption conveyor belt. Upon graduation, they get their ‘matricule numbers’ and are posted so they can start ripping the rewards of their labour. Thus we find ourselves with magistrates and administrators who don’t understand the law, people and are clueless about administration.

Now, the conundrum presents itself. The products of ENAM are running the country. They are faced with a crisis, the first real political difficulty to face the nation since 1961 and have no answers. They find themselves with nineteenth century schooling and directives in the twenty-first century. I suppose some of the lessons they take at ENAM are;

1. if someone opposes your policies and politics, offer them a huge bribe to buy their silence
2. if someone opposes you, ban them from entering the country of their birth.
3. if someone has a different point of view from you, hunt them down even if it means breaking international law.
4. citizens protest peacefully, shoot them.

In the twenty-first century, the political, legal and administrative gods of La Republique, who habitually products of ENAM collectively believe that it’s not abnormal to try citizens in a military tribunal. Kim Jong-un must be aghast at the legal system in La Republique.

Many in government haven’t grasped the enormity of the task facing the nation. The policies of the last 57 years have failed the people of British Southern Cameroons woefully. But with a degree of self-importance never before seen upon planet earth, the administration of La Republique led by products of ENAM are failing to see their apparent shortcomings.

Until and unless it’s accepted that these colonial policies and education model are not adequate to deal with twenty-first century problems, many in Cameroun are in for a massive shock. The shoot to kill policies of the past intended to quiet legitimate protests will not work. As Ambazonians, we refuse to accept outdated and imperialist institutions and instructions as they have no place in this century. Until these policies and abuse stop, we shall resist, resist and resist arrogance and occupation till the end.

 Sessekou  Asu Isong

A Cameroon Concord News Production

The Southern Cameroons crisis has taught every Cameroonian where the English language goes to die. Cameroon Concord News is citing the Ambazonian crisis to make it clear that Southern Cameroonians do not regard themselves as blameless in the use of the English language today in La Repubique du Cameroun.

But do you ever, like Cameroon Concord News, read the speeches or ministerial press releases of French Cameroun cabinet ministers and want to ask, “What has the English language ever done to you?” English language is in a bad way and the blame mainly goes to those who write or speak about politics in French Cameroun.

Among the ugly features presently witnessed in French Cameroun are dead or dying metaphors, redundant words and phrases, pretentious diction, and meaningless, abstract or vague words. President Biya and his gang and those who write speeches for them are the worst offenders.

While none of this is about political correctness, the Francophone political elites always take the adjective over the noun so that everything that comes out of their mouths is designed to sell their achievements and that of Mr. Biya.

In CPDM politics, any direct admission of weakness or failure is to be avoided. Unfortunately, this makes the consequences far more serious when failure is eventually uncovered like the case with this press release signed by  the Minister of Commucation, Issa Tchiroma Bakary. It would be unfair to blame only President Biya for these developments.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Many French Cameroun students have reportedly auctioned the free lap top computers given to them by President Biya, Cameroon Concord News has learned from businessmen operating at the Kennedy Avenue in Yaoundé.

After the first phase of distribution of the computers recently, some students simply rushed to the Kennedy Avenue and offered them at give away prices to traders. Confirming the news on Wednesday January the 17^th 2018, the French Cameroun triweekly L’oeil du Sahel reported that on the day of delivery, some students were already at the Avenue Kennedy to sell them.

A computer dealer at Kennedy Avenue hinted Cameroon Concord News that the PBHev computers are bought at a very low price. “Some students offer them for 55,000 FCFA while others are ready to exchange it for a modest sum of 39,000 FCFA.”

It was in the framework of the “Special youth plan” prescribed by the 84 year old Paul Biya, on February 10, 2016, that the Minister of Higher Education signed a convention agreement on July 27, 2016 in Yaoundé, with a Chinese company Sichuan Telecom Construction Engineering Co. Ltd called “e-national higher education”. Through this program, Paul Biya decided to implement a project “a student a computer.”

By Rita Akana