President Emmanuel Macron is expected in Yaoundé on July 26, 2022 and it is reportedly going to be his first trip to Africa after his re-election to the Elysée Palace last April.

The French foreign ministry is yet to confirm the information that was made public by the Paris-based Jeune Afrique but Cameroon Intelligence Report understands the intelligence services of both countries are already discussing the visit.

President Macron is expected to renew French commitment for a peaceful transition of power in Cameroon and a political solution to the crisis in Southern Cameroons.

Macron will not be the first French presiding president to actually set foot into that dangerous and corrupt country. But this bold and spontaneous diplomatic move will draw praise and criticism. Most importantly, it stands to re-echo French position on Biya’s continued stay in power and attempts at getting his son Franck Biya to succeed him.

By Rita Akana in Yaoundé

As all of Yaoundé is on tenterhooks over Paul Biya’s health, the president’s entourage is speculating about possible scenarios. One that is emerging is a joint ticket between the president’s general secretary and his son, Franck Biya, reports Africa Intelligence.

Recently, an obscure organization known as the National Network of Youths for Peace and Stability in Cameroon have being flying banners of Franck Emmanuel Biya in Yaoundé depicting him as the potential successor to his father President Paul Biya.  

In one of its large banners deployed on Saturday, July 9, 2022 in front of the Grand Mosque near the Police Academy in Yaoundé and ignored by state authority, the so-called youth movement wrote that “God, destiny and the country present Franck Emmanuel Biya to continue the work of his glorious predecessors. Together, let us take up the challenge of a more prosperous Cameroon”.

The leader of the group Alhadji Aboubakar Garba, an unknown political figure has been quoted as saying that the banner heralds Franck Biya’s campaign for the presidential elections of 2025.

By Rita Akana

Discussions about who will be replacing Dion Ngute as the country’s Prime Minister are still going on. The current Prime has fallen out of favour with the ailing president and the ruling party wants to cut out the ineffective Prime Minister from the Star Building and his removal is being considered because of his inability to end the conflict in the two English-speaking regions and his participation in the killing of the former mayor of Ekondo-Titi, Kenneth Nanji.

Sources at the country’s Presidency have informed the Cameroon Intelligence Report that there are two candidates whose profiles fit the ruling party’s mold. The sources added that one of the candidates works at the World Bank in Washington DC while the other one is a South-westerner at the African Development Bank Group who has massive leverage in the unfortunate events which have been playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions.

The sources added that the AfDB candidate had been received by the Cameroon Ambassador in Abidjan sometime last week and might be concluding arrangements if certain conditions are met. The sources said that the two candidates might help broker a deal which might help the country recover from its self-inflicted wounds. 

Though both candidates hold that an American or Canadian-style federalism might help stem the bloodshed, the government is still insisting on its decentralization policy which has not produced any meaningful results over the last twenty-five years.  This is the sticking point, and this could be responsible for the delay in the appointment of a new cabinet.

“We are all waiting for a new government. Things are at a standstill, and we need fresh blood that can breathe new life into our political and economic systems. I have been informed that the candidate in Abidjan is insisting on major changes so that real peace can return to Cameroon. Things are not working. We need someone who is really respected and has the credibility and trust of the people,” the frustrated CPDM official said.

“Our country is going down the drain and we need someone who can make Cameroonians see the government in a different light. The economy is not working and the killings in the two English-speaking regions have escalated. We cannot be indifferent to this ugly situation. The country’s authorities are really tired, and they too want an end to this unfortunate situation which could have been averted through dialogue,” the source said. 

“We really want the Diaspora to be represented in the government. There should be a Ministry in Charge of the Diaspora, and this should be given to someone who knows the issues facing our people who are living out of the country. I know there is the issue of dual nationality which has been pending for long but since the President is now sending delegations to talk to members of the Diaspora in Europe and North America, I think the attitude will soon be different. I even thought this would be discussed during the ongoing parliamentary session. We need to move very fast if we really love our country,” the Yaoundé-based politician stressed. 

“There is tension within the ruling CPDM as news that the Unity Palace is moving closer to announcing a new government and a new Prime Minister from outside the usual circles. Though many oppose the appointment of an independent person, they truly do not have a choice. The president wants someone with the credibility needed to talk to the separatists and all those who have been in government are tainted. Even the French and certain international organizations hold that the fighting can only be stopped through dialogue and only someone who is not a real politician can put an end to the fighting,” the source said.

“The leading candidate who is in Abidjan is considered as a very strict person who believes in transparency and dialogue. It is even alleged within the government that the secret service has also spoken with him, and a report has been made and submitted to the President. The man is known for his courage to express his mind and is very patriotic. It is being said that he was a civil servant before leaving the country and it is believed that he can deliver the goods. We really need a straightforward person in Cameroon. Our country is falling apart, and we cannot be looking the other way while things crumble,” he concluded.  

Meanwhile, the Cameroon Concord News Group will soon publish the findings of an investigation it commissioned many months ago following the death of Kenneth Nanji, the former Mayor of Ekondo-Titit, who was killed with others as they were heading to Ekondo-Titi to lay the groundwork for the Prime Minister’s visit to Ndian Division. 

Evidence gathered points to Prime Minister Dion Ngute being the brain behind the Bekora killings when he found out that Mr. Nanji was using the violence in Ndian Division to enrich himself at his expense. The D.O. and CPDM sub-section president who also died were simply collateral damage as the real target was Mr. Nanji who used to be the Prime Minister’s henchman but became dishonest and was not aware that those he planned the school killings with had actually thrown him under the bus. 

He was fleecing the Prime Minister out of his money and was not delivering the exact amount of money the Prime Minister was handing to him for him to deliver to General TWO KOBO who had promised Mr. Ngute that he and his boys would not be creating chaos in Ndian Division. 

Mr. Nanji was the mastermind of the killing of students and a teacher in Ekondo-Titi and the G.H.S Ekondo Titi killings were designed to force the Prime Minister to continue providing millions to him for him to deliver to Two Kobo and to get his fair share. The Prime Minister had entered into an agreement with Two Kobo who had agreed to keep a low profile in that area of the country. Details of this saga will soon be published in a special editorial.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with reports from Rita Akana 

The Chairman and Editor-In-Chief of the Cameroon Concord News Group says holding a CPDM rally is beyond the Dion Ngute administration’s wildest dream.

“Dion Ngute, Atanga Nji, Paul Tasong and the other pro Yaoundé clowns cannot even dream of staging a CPDM rally in Southern Cameroons and they should know that even if they dare in their dreams they certainly will not wake from that dream,” the Right Hon. Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai said during Concord’s July editorial meeting on Sunday.

Amba fighters have repeatedly warned all Southern Cameroons CPDM elites of a crushing response should they dare hold pro Biya political rallies in Southern Cameroons.

Recently, a renowned Amba commander General No Pity warned that Southern Cameroons fighters will take the war deep inside French Cameroun if Francophone army soldiers continue to kill innocent Southern Cameroons citizens.

Political uncertainty has been haunting the Biya Francophone regime for the past five years, making it impossible for the 89-year-old leader to form a new cabinet.

By Toto Roland Motuba 

The Ambazonia Interim Government has dismissed as baseless allegations from Human Rights Watch that Amba fighters were staging attacks against Southern Cameroons communities, saying such claims are part of the attempts to deflect international public opinion from French Cameroun terrorist acts in Southern Cameroons.

In a statement on Tuesday, Southern Cameroons Department of Foreign Affairs said the allegations from the respectable Human Rights Watch fall within the framework of a plot orchestrated by the President Macron administration in France to protect the child-murdering and rogue regime in Yaoundé.

“The Ambazonia Interim Government is very much aware that a psychological operation started early 2022 to preoccupy international media outlets with fictitious scenarios, using erroneous and biased information against Southern Cameroons Restoration Groups” Professor Carlson Anyangwe said in the IG statement.

“Southern Cameroonians particularly those in Ground Zero, Ground One and in the diaspora are well aware of the baseless nature of claims made recently by Human Rights Watch! A glaring example is the situation in Akwaya—Human Rights Watch blamed the killings on Amba fighters while the Christian Communities including the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon revealed that the killings were all related to a land dispute” the Carlson Anyangwe IG statement furthered.

The Ambazonia Interim Government went on to assert that Amba fighters determinedly and strongly responds to any French Cameroun act of terror and sabotage without threatening ordinary Southern Cameroons citizens.

By Rita Akana

The Yaoundé government which has been fighting its Diaspora for decades is finally softening its stance as it now sees the Diaspora as a possible development partner. The country’s President, Paul Biya, last week sent a delegation to Europe to try to woo well-off Cameroonians living there to invest back home. 

Seeking to involve the Diaspora in the government’s development program is not new. Many African governments are increasingly recognizing the importance of their citizens living abroad or the ‟new African Diaspora” in national and regional development. This mass exodus of experts or brain drain from Cameroon occurred during the economic crisis the country went through starting in the mid-80s and during the brutal political crackdown of the 90s. Recently the conflict in the two English-speaking regions of the country has pushed thousands of Cameroonians out of the country. 

The government’s gesture of reaching out to its Diaspora is laudable and justifiable, especially as the country’s Diaspora now has many dollar millionaires who can help the government in its efforts to address the country’s crippling unemployment and economic decline which are blighting the lives of the country’s youths. 

Cameroon has a huge Diaspora which can help give the country’s economy a shot in the arm, especially at a time when the global economy is facing some testing challenges, but relations between the Yaoundé government and its Diaspora have not been the best for many years due to the government’s dictatorial tendencies, and this is standing in the way of any real collaboration between both parties. 

In most African countries, the Diaspora is considered as a key development factor and many African countries have come up with policy measures which are motivating the Diaspora to play a key role in those countries. Remittances from Africans living abroad are changing things for the better in some African countries and as governments develop a friendly attitude towards their Diasporic communities, many of their citizens are also investing and this is turning out to be a win-win for those countries receiving these investment resources. The economic transformations taking place in African countries due to Diaspora remittances cannot be ignored.  

According to the latest data from the World Bank, remittance inflows to Sub-Saharan Africa increased by 6.2% to USD 45 billion in 2021. In the report titled, “Migration and Development Brief 35”, the World Bank explained that the region’s largest recipient was Nigeria (USD 17.6 billion), and the country is experiencing a moderate rebound in remittance flows, in part due to the increasing influence of policies intended to channel inflows through the banking system. The report added that Nigeria continued to dominate remittance inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa given the exceptional size of the Nigerian migrant base.

The Yaoundé government might be waking up late but better late than never. It must work hard to woo its 5-million strong Diaspora comprising top-notch professionals and businesspeople. For long, the Cameroon government has always viewed its Diaspora as its enemy. The country’s Diaspora is totally against the corruption and bad governance which have brought the country down a dangerous economic path which is spreading death and agony among the country’s youths. 

The country’s political arena is one of the worst on the continent, with dishonesty being the hallmark of most ruling party politicians. Bad policies, the government’s arrogance and a gloomy political outlook have pushed many Cameroonians out of their country, and it will be hard to win hearts and minds among members of the country’s Diaspora which has come to terms with the fact that things will never change for the better if the same people who have caused the friction are still in power.

However, if the government really wants to woo its Diaspora, it must mend its ways. Sending a delegation to Europe to urge the country’s Diaspora to invest back home is like putting the horse before the cart. Good policies, instead of missions abroad, will bring investors to Cameroon and when things are really working well in the country, the Diaspora will come in to breathe a new life into the collapsing economy.

Many countries in the world have pursued policies which make their countries attractive to their various Diasporic communities. Canada, for example, allows members of its Diaspora to return home after one year abroad with their personal effects without paying any customs duty. 

In Tunisia, the country’s Diaspora has been supportive of the government’s development efforts. Members of the country’s Diaspora who are returning home after a long stay abroad could come in with their cars without paying duty. And customs duty is just one of the concessions that many countries around the world are making to bring back their Diaspora, especially members of the Diaspora who have investment projects which could help create jobs for their fellow citizens.

 In Mozambique which went through a very destructive civil war, the government has taken measures to make the country’s Diaspora a key component of its development efforts conscious of the fact that the country’s Diaspora can contribute in social, cultural, and economic ways, including remittances, skills, and dialogue – all of which are key to national development. 

With this strategy, the government has demonstrated its commitment to longer term engagement to work together with the Diaspora to leverage these contributions. To strengthen the support and engagement of the Mozambican Diaspora in social, economic and cultural development of the country, the government has launched a Strategy for Diaspora Engagement in National Development.

Meanwhile, Ghana, a country which understands the role the Diaspora can play, has a Diaspora Affairs Bureau within the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration. This is a landmark achievement on the part of the Government of Ghana, which has formalized the engagement of the Ghanaian Diaspora for effective migration management and national development planning.

There are an estimated four million Ghanaians living in the Diaspora. The majority live in neighboring African countries and the largest concentration of Ghanaian migrants outside the region are found in Germany, Italy, Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Bureau builds upon the success of the Ministry’s Diaspora Support Unit (DSU), established in 2012 with the support of IOM’s International Development Fund (IDF). The IDF supports IOM Member States in their efforts to strengthen their migration management capacity. The DSU was established as part of a national diaspora engagement project to provide a sustainable link between the Ghanaian Diaspora and various government agencies to achieve development and investment goals.  

If the Yaounde government really wants Cameroonians to return home and lend a hand in national development efforts, it must rescind some of those obnoxious policies which have been at the centre of its dispute with its Diaspora. The issue of dual nationality has not been addressed and the country’s Diaspora is waiting for the government to address this issue immediately. Many African countries have already accepted dual nationality as the new reality, and this is helping their citizens who are living abroad to return home and invest without having to submit themselves to the immigration concerns which come with having two or more nationalities.

South Africa, for example, accepted dual nationality once Mandela came to power. Mandela understood that Many South Africans had escaped their country during the dark years of Apartheid and many children had been born in foreign countries during that time, automatically making them citizens of the countries wherein they had been born. South Africans returning to their country with foreign passports can come in with proof that they have South African citizenship without seeking a South African visa, but once in South Africa, the country’s laws will apply without discrimination. This is a country which knows how to bring back its citizens.  Cameroon can draw on the experience of this country to address the issue of dual nationality.

There are other concerns which require the government’s attention. It is not easy to wire huge sums of money to Cameroon. The banking system is not reliable and the country’s investment and legal frameworks leave much to be desired. If the government can also invest in road infrastructure and strive to reduce police harassment and corruption, the country will be attractive to rich members of the Diaspora who have worked very hard to earn their money.

The business climate and environment must be friendly if any reasonable person will invest in the country. The government must also learn to cut politics out of other sectors of life. It must also be tolerant of opposing views. Investing in Cameroon remains a very risky venture. However, things can change if the government demonstrates a strong commitment to change some of those policies which are robbing the country of good investments. Sending delegations abroad will never cut it if the same policies remain in place. 

By Joachim Arrey, Ph.D

President Biya’s apparent inability to form a new cabinet is giving rise to fears deep within the political bureau of the ruling CPDM party and causing a fresh spasm of weakness that has been greeted by the leadership of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government.

A senior adviser to the Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government, Dr Patrick Ayuk said on Wednesday that failure on the part of the Francophone dominated government in Yaoundé to stop the Ambazonia resistance is an indication of an empty internal structure and weak quality.

Dr Patrick Ayuk furthered that both Prime Minister Dion Ngute and the 89-year-old President Biya should quit politics in French Cameroun to enable the two sister nations to sit and discuss the terms of separation.

The Southern Cameroons academic said all factors heralding the fall of a government are evident in Yaoundé and this is because of Southern Cameroons steadfastness and the resistance’s power to send Biya and his French Cameroun regime into disarray, break its will, and prevent the realization of its goals in the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

The Southern Cameroons political commentator stated that whatever be the composition of French Cameroun’s next cabinet, it would not change the Ambazonia Interim Government’s principled stance of choosing to put up resistance against it towards complete independence for the people of Southern Cameroons.

By Rita Akana

A warrant has been issued in the Southern Cameroons for the arrest of Hon. Joshua Nambangi Osih, the vice-chairman of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party. The warrant comes after Mr Osih insisted in an interview that “the US must implement the international arrest warrants issued by the State of Cameroon to put the financiers of Ambazonian Terrorism out of harm’s way.”

Mr Osih, who has consistently fulfilled his credentials as a halfwit with extremely vile inclinations, committed the offence during a live interview on Canal 2 International last Sunday, 19 June 2022. He is now wanted in Ambazonia to answer charges.

Reacting to this latest premeditated criminal incitement from Joshua Osih, a senior Southern Cameroons academic, said, “this man is not only dull. He is a simpleton and a stark illiterate to think for one moment that his despotic and terrorist French Cameroun state can simply send a so-called arrest warrant to America or any other state requiring the Cameroun regime’s political opponents to be handed over to that regime for assassination. He is the prototype of a big fool.”

Thoughtlessness has always been Joshua Osih’s Achilles heel. Last year, he accused the US of harbouring Southern Cameroonians, whom he blames for his domestic political troubles. He wrote, “Does America provide safe harbour and anchor for the financiers, propagandists, and sponsors of the war? Resounding YES!….we urge members of the United States Congress to engage more vigorously to ensure compliance with the international conventions against transnational crime and criminality to which the United States is a signatory and to ensure that their country is not a safe haven for perpetrators and funders of acts of extreme violence and terrorism on the people of Cameroon”.

Before yesterday’s warrant was issued, Cameroon Concord News had gathered that, over the last 18 months, Mr Osih had been wanted in Ambazonia for racketeering, malicious communication, and the possession of inappropriate material on a handheld mobile communication device. Mr Osih, who last year founded CAMPORT Plc in Douala, a private security company, is rumoured to be profiteering from the war in Ambazonia by sponsoring criminal militias operating in the Southern Cameroons. His day to face Amba justice is now near.

For those who know him, the worry is that his mouth seems to always set off before his mind, and he is prone to causing damage whenever he speaks. This flaw in his character means he keeps committing the same blunders year after year. But the worry for him now is that Ambazonia Intelligence Services are hot on his heels.

Mr Osih lacks intellectual gravity and personal honesty. He is a practiced liar, and his career path is paved with deception and corruption. As an SDF politician, he has been able to practice dishonesty unchecked. And his comments about Ambazonia leaders in the US show how out of touch he is.

Hon. Osih is yet to offer tangible solutions to tackle the war in Southern Cameroons. His SDF party is now a chaotic outfit, unequal to the severe challenges the two Cameroons face. The SDF’s attempts to abdicate responsibility for the war in Ambazonia revealed their duplicity. The SDF is a CPDM ally and asset. The top leadership of the SDF is emotionally bankrupt and socially and culturally detached from the pain and suffering of the people of Southern Cameroons.

The conflict in Southern Cameroons remains neglected within the international community. The Norwegian Refugee Council highlighted the conflict as the “most neglected” in the world last year after over 30,000 deaths, more than 1.5 million internally displaced, with over 100,000 refugees in camps in Nigeria. The United States has a critical role in stopping the war in Ambazonia through an internationally supervised negotiation. Southern Cameroons leaders particularly the Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government Dabney Yerima have always expressed their readiness to engage in genuine and inclusive dialogue with the Francophone regime in Yaoundé. But, Osih and Fru Ndi have always made matter intractable and a peaceful outcome impossible.

Genuine SDF members must know that their party has lost its way in the two Cameroons. To regain authority and credibility, the SDF needs new leadership and direction. And characters like Joshua Osih must not be near the top, for he is a huge liability, and his arrest will do both Cameroons enormous good.

By Isong Asu

Senior Political Researcher,

Cameroon Concord News Group, London

More secret meetings are still being held at the Unity Palace to find Dion Ngute’s replacement.

Dion Ngute, who became Prime Minister some three years ago, is viewed by the French and Cameroonian authorities as having fallen short of their expectations because he has not been able to douse the fire in the Southwest region.

He was brought in as Head of Government to help disconnect the Southwest Region from the separatist movement that is still tearing the country apart, as a strategy to roll back the revolution.

“Dion Ngute has failed as a Prime Minister. He is a nice person. He is mild mannered and very friendly, unfortunately he has not been able to establish  communication lines with Ambazonian fighters so that some of them could be convinced to down their weapons and return to a state of law,” a source at the presidency told Cameroon Intelligence Report.

“Many people are thinking that Dion Ngute could be replaced by Elung Paul Che, but many others wonder if he has any leverage over the Ambazonia Interim Government and its majority Amba fighters, many of whom pay allegiance to the Southern Cameroonian Diaspora,” he stressed.

“We need peace in Cameroon and many Cameroonians hold that if the post of vice president is created, it should be given to someone who can talk to the Diaspora and has much leverage over the separatists,” he underscored.

“We are hearing that the president and his men are seriously looking abroad for someone with vast knowledge and experience who can help  change things on the ground. The intelligence community has it that many Southern Cameroonians working in international organizations have much leverage as they help to finance the fighters. Bringing one of such persons into government might cut the fighters off some of their finances, making it possible for them to come to the negotiating table,” the source, who is a senior government official, said.

“The focus is now on Southwesterners in international organizations. The hawks in government hold that someone who is moderate and not tainted by the corruption in Yaoundé could be a welcome relief. The search for a real Southwesterner is even extended to some who are on retirement and the key factor here is they must be capable of talking with both the separatists and federalists,” he said.

“The hawks in government know that the mismanagement in Cameroon has put the government at odds with major global development finance institutions. They think that bringing someone from the world of finance and development will help the government to clean up its image,” the source added.

“There are a few Northwesterners who could be considered for this position, but it is feared they will not be supported by pro CPDM Southwesterners in Yaounde and that they lack the cloud that can help to bring the separatists back to the fold,” he pointed out.

“The African Development Bank, the African Union and the UN have some good Southwesterners. They are knowledgeable, they have been in the civil service and have been connected to the struggle in different ways, but their handicap is that they are loose cannons and electrons which cause doubts in the minds of the government hawks,” he stressed.

“I have been reliably informed that government delegations are currently in Abidjan and Addis Ababa to gather more intelligence on some people whose names are on the list. Things are moving very fast and change is really in the offing,” our source pointed out.

“Change is coming to Yaounde and it is bringing with it a lot of confusion and fear. We only hope we will get the right people. We need people who are trust-worthy. People who can silence the guns in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon,” he said.

“While the French keep on pushing for the return of Abouem à Tchoyi, Cameroonians clearly think that Anglophones deserve the position of vice president and the next president should come from the English-speaking minority,” he furthered.

“We don’t need to ruin our country. We just need someone who will unite the country and bring about development in the country,” he concluded.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai