Some of you may probably be learning of this new group baptized under the fancy name of FODIAS 2017. Well, don't be worried or alarmed. You are not alone. FODIAS is an acronym for a new Cameroon Government contraption that was hatched by a few intelligent guys following the Southern Cameroons crisis to placate any semblance of Diaspora involvement in that fight. Diaspora in this case is seemingly limited to only "Cameroonians in the United States"
To get a better understanding of the confusion surrounding this government confused and strange Problem Solving mechanism; let us look at what is already available in this same Diaspora Business Plan.
In 2008, the government created the first Diaspora Initiative called CASA - NET (Federation Internationale des Associations de la Diaspora Camerounaise) with main offices based in Geneva Switzerland. CASA-NET is actually acronym for an English sounding structure dubbed: Cameroonian Skills Abroad Network (what ever that means). Their main mission "supposedly" is/was to have Cameroonians channel what ever Projects they want to invest in back home using CASANET as the main facilitator. They claim to have been organizing yearly events to highlight their successes.
Anyone reading this, who has benefitted from the expertise of this somewhat obscure government bureaucracy can shed more light and elucidate so that all of us can be more informed.
CASA-NET subsequently morphed into a new Diaspora Initiative called Forum de Competences de la Diaspora Camerounaise" with offices at the Cameroon Embassy in Paris. In 2014, they came up with a new name: DAVOC strangely again being an acronym from an English contraption. DAVOC stands for..."Draw A Vision of Cameroon" which was the platform used for an International Conference, the "Global Forum For Migration and Development", GFMD. Please don't be lost in this langua. It is important to understand our Civil Servants mentalities.
Are you still with me so far?
Now, enter OCDC. This is another brain child of Ministry of Foreign Affairs who so love their "Diasporan compatriots". They now come up with this new one: Observatoire des Competences de la Diaspora Camerounaise. For anyone who does not know how "Fonctionnaires" operate in Cameroon, they would not understand that all of these creations carry a substantial "Budgetary" allocation...not for the concerned Diaspora but more for their Per Diem, travel, Jettons de Presences, Frais d'Herbergement, Location vehicles, Primes de ceci ou cela, Blanchisserie, Droits de Cuissage, Documentation etc. Of course when that particular BUDGET Line is completely dilapidated, they look for a new "Business".
The Southern Cameroons Crisis comes as a welcome distraction for these government "Business Gurus" to invent a new Diaspora government largesse towards its "Suffer People abroad". Boom! One intelligent fellow conjures the new name FODIAC. This time it is mostly an American Diaspora arrangement because their Secret Service Informants have hinted the home government that American Cameroon Diaspora is the place to watch as the Southern Cameroons wahala unfolds in the North West and South West Regions.
FODIAC simply stands for: Forum de la Diaspora Americaine. Honestly, these guys are smart. So they hurriedly convene a meeting at the Embassy in Washington DC, hop on the next plane to have meetings with Mme Njikam Senatou, Mme Liguemoh Ondoua Mado and Mr Ekotto Bindom all working @ the Cellule ou Division des Camerounais vivant a l'Etranger, Ministere de Relations Exterieure.
What has this got to do with the Southern Cameroons issue, you may be asking yourself.
Well, don't worry be happy. Read my follow-up email, where I will develop the reasons the Ambassador prefers this tactic and the choice of the characters for his mission. Let it be known that of the 47 names who signed up as (members of this FODIAC business) there are four known CPDM members who are Southern Cameroonians (two from the North West and two from South West Province). The rest of this strange group of "Diaspora Activists" are majority Washington DC based guys from Western Province of Cameroon.
Stay connected for the rest of this fast moving FODIAC story.
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