This is a reposted mail.
A DISTRESS AND REAWAKENING CALL TO ALL SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS
Dear Southern Cameroonians/Ambazonians,
I have been reading with mingled sadness and anger that Mr. Paul Biya intends to organize the celebration of the reunification of the Southern Cameroons and la Repulique du Cameroun, reunification that never was. I talk of mingled sadness because Mr. Biya and most Francophones do not believe in what Paul Biya wants to celebrate. I also talk of anger because some Southern Cameroonians, especially those Paul Biya has appointed to eating positions are feverishly preparing for the occasion in order for Mr. Paul Biya to continue to maintain them in their eating positions. The reunification that never was took place on October 1, 1961. Why is it that Paul Biya wants to celebrate the failed reunification more than one year after the known date? What does this man take us for?
There are a few questions I would like to ask Mr. Biya and the Southern Cameroonians he has appointed to eating positions. Which reunification does Mr. Biya intend to celebrate?
1. Is it the reunification of the Southern Cameroons and la Republique du Cameroun, known as Federal Republic of Cameroon?
2. Is it the United Republic of Cameroon that Mr. Ahmadou Ahidjo created with a fake referendum?
3. Or is it the Republique du Cameroun that Paul Biya ignored us and created it with his pen?
4. Is it the flag of reunification with two stars that shall be flying in Buea?
5. Or is it the flag of la Republique du Cameroon with one star?
But as far as we know, the flag of la Republique du Cameroun
has no star on it.
We must tell Mr. Biya in very strong words that we can't help him to continue to lie to ourselves and to our children.
We went into this union as equal partners, but Mr. Ahmadou Ahidjo and Mr. Paul Biya used their majority to turn us to slaves.
Do those who are older than the botched reunification remember that before reunification the road from Buea to Bamenda was passable all year round? Although it was a one way road, that is when vehicles left Mamfe to Bamenda, no vehicles travelled to Mamfe, and the following day, it was the reverse? This was because the road was narrow, but it served us well.
For fifty one years, the duo Ahidjo/ Biya have refused to construct this road, for both political and moreover for economic reasons. But we must agree that the economic outweigh the political reason for not constructing this road.
If we consider that every day, a conservative estimate of two thousand Southern Cameroonians travel from the South West Province to the North West Province and from the North West Province to the South West Province through la Republique du Cameroon, we should be able to imagine the proportion of financial loss Southern Cameroonians have incurred during this botched reunification.
Let's take for example that the two thousand Southern Cameroonians who are forced to travel from one part of the Southern Cameroons to another through la Republique du Cameroon spend just 500 Francs to feed themselves; that should be 2,000 passengers multiplied by 500 Francs which gives us 1,000,000 Francs. Should we consider that we have had thirteen leap years since reunification, that would be 29days multiplied by 13 leap years would be equal to 477 days multiplied by 1,000,000 Francs would be 477,400,000Francs.
Let's continue the Math. Consider that we have 4 months of 30 days in a year; that gives us 120 days x 51years x 6,120 x 1,000,000 = 6,120,000,000 Francs. And in the 51 years, we have 7 months of 31 days, that gives us 7 x 31 = 217 x 51 = 11,067 days x 1,000, 000, Francs = 11,067,200,000 The answers to these calculations would lead us to a whopping sum of nearly 18 trillion Francs that we would have used to construct all our roads and bridges and have electricity that would light our country without interruptions, interruptions that we witness daily as 'citizens' of la Republique du Cameroun; and would provide all our towns and villages with drinking water . As I have said, the figures are conservative because I never spend less than 800 francs especially during the fruits seasons.
I do not sure of my calculations because I am not a mathematician. Mathematicians would definitely add the numbers better.
We know that Mr. Ahidjo began drilling our oil in 1977. From 1977 to 2012, la Republique du Camroun has made away with trillions of francs which Ahidjo used to tar his home town of Garoua and to link Ngaoundere, Garoua and Maroua with superb roads. What Ahidjo called Unity Palace was built with petrol money from Ndian. Mr. Biya has also used this money to build a super high way from Yaounde to his home-village of Mvomeka.
In the same vain, they have used the proceeds from our cash crops, viz: cocoa, coffee, palm oil, banana, timber, tea to build their country, while ours lies desolate.
All our institutions, institutions that made the Southern Cameroons self-reliant and proud, viz: Southern Cameroons Marketing Board , Cameroon Development Cooperation, Southern Cameroons Tea Estate, West Cameroon Development Agency, Santa Coffee Estate, Wum Area Development Authority, Cameroon Bank, were all willfully destroyed so that the Southern Cameroons would never have anything to hang on. Over-night, Ahmadou Ahidjo stole the engines that powered the Yoke Electricity Dam that provided electricity to Buea, Victoria, Muyuka and Kumba, and the one that provided electricity to Bamenda nonstop and carted them away to la Republique du Cameroun.
Santa Coffee produced coffee from the farm to the finish product right there in Santa. For those who were born in the 60s and 70s after Ahidjo had destroyed the Estate, Santa Coffee Estate was a huge coffee producing entity. The coffee was brewed right there in Santa. The Advert 'SANTA COFFEE PUTS YOU ON YOUR FEET' was very captivating. That was the first coffee manufacturing industry in Cameroon. It was sold both in West Africa and in Central Africa and in Europe.
The next step to put a death nail on the Southern Cameroons was to systematically eliminate or to put it bluntly to kill all our great entrepreneurs; i.e Mr. S.N. KILO, Mr. CHE, and Mr. D. A.NANGA .Those who were not killed were put out of business; I could mention Mr. A. Niba who was forced to transfer his Auto business from Mutengene to Douala where over taxation and the government's non-payment of vehicles it bought forced that burgeoning enterprise out of business.
WHAT ELSE CAN LA REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN EVER DO TO APPEASE US THAN TO LET US GO?
Why have they refused to use the Victoria deep sea port that the World Bank recommended as the best in the country? Do you know that this is because they know that come what may, we shall one day abandon them? These people have done everything, irreparable things to show us that they do not want us, but we continue to hang to their apron-strings. Why are we still hanging to the apron-strings of so callous a people?
Even Ndian Division from where most of the country's money comes from is without a patch of tar. Is this not shameful wickedness? And Mr. Paul Biya's appointees of West Cameroon Extraction (to quote Pa Fru Ndeh) see no reason to cry foul?
Despite the fact that Ahmadou Ahidjo began exploiting our petrol in 1977, he did nothing to develop our territory. Biya has been doing it for the past thirty years and there is quite little for us to take home in terms of development projects.
Remember, a few years ago, the Southern Cameroons filed a law suit against la Republique du Cameroun at the African Court in Banjul. La Republique du Cameroun and the Southern Cameroons were instructed to return and hold constructive talks to see how best they could resolve the problem. Mr. Biya, true to himself has completely ignored the ruling of this august Court. For over three years, true to himself, Mr. Biya has ignored the Court's ruling. According to Biya the Southern Cameroons is a captured territory, hence he does not give a damn to negotiate with his slaves.
Our Mission Schools are now flooded with children of la Republique du Cameroun. Most of these schools prefer to admit children from that country in lieu of ours because they will always readily pay the fees. I would like to very strongly suggest that these schools should consider these children from la Republique as foreigners and have them pay double the amount that Southern Cameroons children pay. When I was a student at the Advanced School of Translators and Interpreters in Buea, the tuition of Cameroonians was 50,000 Francs while foreign students paid 1,000,000 Francs. Well if parents from la Republique refuse to pay double or triple the amount Southern Cameroonian children pay, then they should go and open their own Mission schools in their country.
We must understand that these guys of la Republique, at the dawn of reunification put up a scheme to admit non or very few Southern Cameroonians into most Public Service Schools. I will not hesitate to mention the Survey School, the School of Posts and Telecommunications, the School of Forestry, and ENAM. This was because they knew that eventually the very few Southern Cameroonians admitted into these schools would not be enough for the Southern Cameroons, so they would have to flood our territory with guys from their country. It is in this wise that 80% of the workers at the Finance Building in Down Town Bamenda are people from la Republique. I was pleasantly surprised that when I went to that office to buy fiscal stamp, the language spoken in there is French. I saw someone behind a desk and asked to be served. He asked me 'Qu'est-ce que vous voulez Monsieur?' I asked him if he knew where he was. I told him he was in Bamenda and must serve the population in English. He told me that 'Bamenda est au Cameroun, et je dois parler la langue de mon choix' and that everyone must learn to speak French. I reminded him that he was the people's servant and must serve the people in the language they SPEAK AND UNDERSTAND. Then he went ahead to tell me he was not going to serve me, and did not. I was served by someone else.
Then the following day, I went to the Department of Lands and Surveys Up Station where my file has been lying for years. It was the same scenario there. I would say it is even worse there. Almost every worker there is from la Republiqe du Cameroun. French is the de facto language in that office. When I went back home from these two offices, I knelt down in my bedroom and wept bitterly, I wept because I see our country, the Southern Cameroons being taken away under our very own watchful eyes and we say we are powerless.
We can take back our country if we really want to. We already have a beautiful Flag and a Patriotic Anthem. The idea of the Anthem and the Flag were thought of by patriotic Southern Cameroonians. We all need to be patriotic.
We must understand that la Republique du Cameroun is not our country and we must not under any circumstance pay allegiance to its flag, let alone to all its institutions. People cannot take over our country and we sheepishly pay allegiance to their institutions.
Those of us living in Cameroon, do we know that the Southern Cameroons has thirteen Divisions, and that of the thirteen Divisions there are eleven SDOs who are natives of la Republique du Cameroon? Below are the Divisions with their Senior Divisional Officers: It is unfortunate that I could not lay hands on the names of the Sub-Divisional Officers.
SOUTH WEST PROVINCE
DIVISION SDO
FAKO BONA EBENGUE FRANCOIS
KUPE MANENGOUBA KOUEMO SIMO
LEBIALEM AMOUGOU FRANCOIS
MANYU KAMCHO SIMON PATRICE
MEME KOULBOULT AMAN DAVID
NDIAN PETER NTIEH
NORTH WEST PROVINCE
BUI BERNARD MESAPE NDOBE
BOYO DAVID EMBE
DONGA MANTUNG THEOPHILE NAEKI
MENCHUM HAMAN HAMADOU
MEZAM JOSEPH BERTRAND MACHE
MOMO ISAAC NDAME MOUDOUROU
NGOKETUNJIA VALERIE NORBERT KWELA
From the above, what else do we need to know that they have completely enslaved us? And we still think we can't do anything?
When in 1993 at THE Mount Mary Maternity, Pas Foncha and Muna wept, they told us that they thought they were taking us to our brothers, to people who could keep to their word. And then to show us that they were truly sorry, for taking us to where we have been enslaved for over half a century, they traveled to the United Nations and to London to present our case. After they returned from their New York and London trip, they handed the baton to us, with the hope that we would act fast. But a few months shy of 20 years, we are still only dreaming to aggressively take up our problem to the UN and to the courts.
Remember, the Endeleys, the Fonchas, the Munas and the Juas who were far less educated, but for Dr. Endely, than we are and who's world view was nowhere close to ours were able to storm out of the Eastern Nigerian House of Assembly and create the Southern Cameroons House of Assembly in Buea. Today, the thousands of SOUTHERN CAMEROONS POLITICAL SCIENTISTS, LAWYERS, POLITICIANS, MAGISTRATES, PROFESSORS, JOURNALISTS, ENGINEERS, HISTORIANS, PHILOSOPHERS and the thousands of Southern Cameroonians who live in England, in the United States, in Canada, in Germany, in South Africa, in Nigeria, etc, are unable to use the wealth of knowledge and resources they have acquired to take us out of this slavery.
Has la Republique du Cameroun put us under a SPELL that prevents us from seeing that they have completely destroyed US?
DO WE STILL HAVE AN IDENTITY? DO WE STILL HAVE CULTURE?
The following is a very serious issue that we under-look or are completely blind to it because we stupidly think it benefits us: The population of the Southern Cameroons is about six million, whereas that of la Republique du Cameroun is about fourteen million. In the Southern Cameroons, there are more bilingual schools than in the whole of la Republique du Cameroun, despite its overwhelming population and land mass. Do we, Southern Cameroonians need bilingual schools in our villages? The only reason why they are opening French and bilingual schools in our country is to make us learn the dead French language without knowing their intentions. They want to completely francophonise our territory, so that tomorrow, people like us would not ask why French is being spoken in offices in Bamenda, Buea, Victoria, Kumba and other parts of our country. Do we think that the hundreds of Francophone schools and bilingual schools that Paul Biya has littered our country with are because this man likes us? FAT LIE. They are just taking advantage of our inability to stand up and say NO to things we know are deliberately being put in place to kill our CULTURE, OUR IDENTITY.
WHO THEN ARE WE REALLY WAITING FOR TO COME TO OUR RESCUE? Our culture is being effaced under our own watchful eyes, but we continue to look on passively.
People are encouraged to define their identity. At best, can we Southern Cameroonians say we still have an identity? The large answer is a big NO. NO, because we have allowed ourselves to be absolved into an alien culture, an alien identity. We as Southern Cameroonians must rise up and define, defend and withhold that identity, that culture that we so DEARLY cherish. A people's CULTURE, A PEOPLE'S IDENTITY IS GOD GIVEN AND THE PEOPLE MUST DO EVERYTHING TO UPHOLD IT.
In the United States of America, people of all cultures have their months to celebrate their cultures. The Spanish, the Chinese, the African Americans, celebrate their cultures. The Government takes these celebrations very seriously. In Cameroun, la Republique du Cameroun is busy killing ours.
A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.
(Marcus Garvey)
Do we know that even now that some of us are still alive, our children know nothing about our culture? Do you know that as soon as the LORD GOD recalls us home our children would become wonderers like the Jews were? Why must we put these innocent children in a situation they would never come out of through no fault of theirs?
A time comes when silence is betrayal. (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
PLEASE, LET US LISTEN TO DR. MARTIN LUTHER KINGS VOICE OF REASON AND ACT NOW.
For 51 YEARS, we have betrayed our ancestors, we have betrayed ourselves, we have betrayed our children, we have betrayed our yet unborn great, great grand-children. We have in short betrayed a country. We have allowed imperialists to have a freehand on our people and on our resources.
THE TIME FOR US TO STAND UP LIKE ONE MAN AND TAKE BACK OUR COUNTRY IS NOW OR NEVER. OUR CHILDREN WILL NEVER WALK IN THE STREETS TO PROTEST AGAINST THE ONLY CULTURE THEY HAVE GROWN UP TO KNOW, WILL NEVER DO IT BECAUSE ALL THEY HAVE BEEN TAUGHT IS ALIEN HISTORY. OUR CHILDREN WITH WHOM WE LIVE IN T England, in the United States, in Canada, in New Zealand, etc WILL NEVER GO BACK BECAUSE THERE WOULD NEVER BE ANY SOUTHERN CAMEROONS AGAIN.
Not long ago, I was discussing the Southern Cameroons issue with a group of Southern Cameroonians. One of them remarked that Ahmadou Ahidjo was by far better than Paul Biya. Two others fell in line with him. I told them that I was definitely very disappointed with their remarks. I asked them if they could compare two thieves. They asked me what I meant. I asked them "what would you call someone who stole a cow"? They said 'a thief'. Then I asked again 'what would you call someone who stole a fowl'? They also said a thief. I told them that a person who steals a Franc is a thief, and a person who steals one million Francs is also a thief. I insisted then that a thief is a thief, not with-standing the amount he stole.
I said both Amadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya bear full responsibility for the destruction of a whole country and its people. I told them how wicked both men are. I said Ahidjo built the foundation and erected the BERLIN-LIKE WALLS to CAGE US, while Paul Biya put the roof. I asked if both men didn't take part in building the house. I said when the bricklayer builds the foundation and erects the walls the carpenter must be the one to put the roof. This means that both bricklayer and carpenter built the house. We should therefore know that both men are responsible for our plight; and none of them should ever be excused. I said to them that if I had my way, after we shall have achieved our freedom, we would exhume Ahidjo's corps and take it and Paul Biya to the Buea High Court and try them for treason. After the trial, both of them would face a firing squad.
These guys, Ahidjo and Biya have so divided us that we now love the division and hate or do not want to listen to our brother. We prefer to look up to and revere our SLAVE-MASTERS
It is a clarion call to all Southern Cameroonians of all walks of life to start preparing to raise money for this genuine course which we must win with determination and God's help. It is said that Heaven helps those who help themselves. We have waited for too long for Heaven to help us, but Heaven can't help us until we take the first step. If we continue to complain without any action as we have done in the past 51 years and continue to cry for help, God would continue to wait for us to take the first step. We must show God that we are determined to leave these callous people and He would come to our rescue.
MAY ALMIGHTY GOD BLESS THE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS!
We must understand that it is up to us. And it must be up to us today, not tomorrow. There isn't time for us to wait any more for we have waited for too long. We must not buy into the cynicism of fear. We must not let someone convince us that achieving our freedom is impossible. If we convince ourselves that our struggle will make no difference, then we and our children are doomed to remain slaves forever.
We can't and must not let that happen.
I know that these are tumultuous times in which Southern Cameroonians are in, but I do believe that we can and will meet the challenges when all hands are on deck. I do fervently believe that if we keep reminding ourselves that we are a different people with a different culture, and that we do not rightfully belong where we are today, we would meet those challenges, if we stay true to who we are.
BEFORE YOU RETIRE TO BED AFTER READING THIS PIECE, ASK YOURSELF IF YOU ARE SINCERELY HAPPY WITH YOUR STATUS OF A CITIZEN OF LA REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN. ASK YOURSELF IF THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO IN A MEANINGFUL WAY TO HELP EXTRICATE YOUR COUNTRY, THE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS FROM THIS VOLUNTARY SLAVERY.
ASK YOURSELF IF YOU WOULD NOT BE HAPPIER, FREE AND RICHER IN YOUR OWN COUNTRY.
ASK YOURSELF WHY YOU MUST CONTINUE TO BE PART OF A COUNTRY WHERE THERE ARE POSITIONS (PRESIDENT, PRIME MINISTER WITHOUT VICE PRIME MINISTERS, MINISTER OF FINANCE, MINISTER OF ARMED FORCES, MINISTER OF EDUCATION, MINISTER OF PUBLIC HEALTH, SECRETARY GENERAL AT THE PRESIDENCY, MANAGER OF THE OIL REFINERY IN VICTORIA THAT BELONGS TO US, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL HYROCARBON CORPORATION (SNH), DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL WATER CORPERATION (SNEC), DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL ELECTRICITY CORPERATION (SONEL) THAT YOU, AS A SOUTHERN CAMEROONIAN CAN NEVER ASPIRE FOR.
MY PRAYER FOR THE STRUGGLE
FATHER GOD, WE THANK YOU FOR HAVING PUT THE IDEA IN OUR MINDS TO WRITE THIS DISTRESS CALL ABOUT THE PREDICAMENT OF A PEOPLE. FOR OVER HALF A CCENTURY WE HAVE BEEN LIVING IN THE EGYPT OF THE JEWS. SOME HAVE ATTEMPTED TO TAKE US OUT OF THIS BONDAGE, BUT FEAR WOULD NOT LET US SEIZE THE OPPORTUNITY AND WALK AWAY. LIKE THE JEWS WHO EXPLORED THE LAND YOU HAD SENT THEM TO EXPLORE, FEAR TOO OF OUR BEING SLAUGHTERED BY OUR SLAVE OWNERS HAS MADE US TO REMAIN IN BONDAGE, BECAUSE WE FAILED TO CALL TO YOU TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR PREDICAMENT, FOR YOU SAID "CALL TO ME, AND I WILL ANSWER YOU; I WILL SHOW YOU WONDERFUL AND MARVELOUS THINGS THAT YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT". FATHER, IN TEARS, WE CALL TO YOU TO TAKE CONTROL OF THIS PROBLEM AND REVEAL YOURSELF TO US. WE CALL TO THEE TO SHOW US THE WAY FORWARD. FOR OVER FIFTY LONG YEARS, WE HAVE SIDELINED YOU. TODAY, FATHER GOD, YOU HAVE OPENED OUR EYES AND OUR HEARTS TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN SINCE OUR CAPTIVIY FIFTY ONE YEARS AGO. TODAY, FATHER, WE, YOUR CHOSEN PEOPLE ARE NOW WHOLEHEARTEDLY DETERMINED TO TRUST YOU TO TAKE US OUT OF BONDAGE. FATHER, WE ARE NOW CONVINCED THAT VICTORY HAS ALREADY BEEN ACHIEVED. FATHER, WE PRAY THAT YOU CHOOSE A LEADER WHO WILL LEAD US OUT OF THIS SLAVERY. GIVE US THE COURAGE TO ACT NOW AND TO BELIEVE THAT WITH YOU ON OUR SIDE VICTORY HAS ALREAY BEEN ACHIEVED.
FATHER, WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR BEING IN AGREEMENT WITH US.
LET THE BLOOD OF THOSE THAT OUR SLAVE MASTERS KILLED NOT FLOW IN VAIN.
IN JESUS' NAME WE PRAY,
AMEN
ALL OF US ARE WRITNG A STORY WITH OUR LIFE-ONE THAT AFFECTS OTHERS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE. BUT THE LIFE THAT AFFECTS THE FUTURE IS MORE IMPORTANT AS OUR NAMES WILL NEVER DIE WITH US BECAUSE WE SAVED A PEOPLE, NOT ONLY A FEW INDIVIDAULS - THAT WE HELPED IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. LET US WORK TO SAVE GENERATIONS TO COME AS OUR NAMES WILL PERMANENTLY REMAIN IN BOOKS AND IN THE HEARTS AND MOUTHS OF FUTURE GENERATIONS.
My email address: pa.zama@yahoo.com for those who would like to get in touch with me for more. My phone number:
240 551 3515
PA ALBERT ZAMA
Washington DC
October, 2012
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