The crisis in Southern Cameroons seems to be cooling off but beyond the surface, there are lots of things still happening and another explosion of tensions is a possibility.

The consequences of the conflict are all over the place. The trust that used to be the population’s hallmark has simply evaporated given the atrocities that have taken place in the two English-speaking regions of the country.

Many children in rural parts of Southern Cameroons are still not going to school and this is creating a serious problem that will haunt the country in the future.

The crisis which started with protests by teachers and lawyers in 2016, has robbed the two English-speaking regions of the country of much-needed economic development, as many investors have simply fled the region with their investments.

Many Southern Cameroonians are now investing in East Cameroon as the war has proven that instability is not friendly with economic prosperity. Where violence exists, economic prosperity simply walks away, leaving the population in abject poverty.

The relocation of businesses has worsened the unemployment situation in the two English-speaking regions of the country and unemployment has a way of generating hardship and producing hardened criminals.

Though government soldiers and separatists fighters still sometimes engage in excesses, the killing has reduced, and movement from one major town to the other is gradually improving.

 Live is gradually returning to towns such as Kumba, Buea, Bamenda, Tiko and Limbe, but this does not imply that the issues which triggered the crisis have been addressed by the government.

The Yaoundé government has the nasty habit of leaving things to time but time might never address the grievances of Southern Cameroonians who hold that they have been victims of marginalization and other forms of injustice.

If the violence that has hit the two regions like a ton of bricks must remain a thing of the past, the Yaoundé government must take certain appeasement measures which should help to prevent future conflicts.

One of such measures must be the institution of constant, frank and fruitful dialogue which will help the government and the local communities to address issues in a timely manner so as to preempt any future misunderstanding.

In this regard, a standing committee should be set up to monitor things to ensure that any issues that might disrupt the peace are nipped in the bud.

Similarly, corruption and centralization which are also to blame for much of the chaos that has played out in the country’s two English-speaking regions must be dealt with in a determined and persistent manner.

Corruption is a major issue in Cameroon and this cancer is hurting many Cameroonians. While most Cameroonians are complaining and collapsing under the weight of corruption, a few well-placed officials loyal to the ruling party have transformed the country’s treasury into their personal ATM or piggy bank.

Corruption is very expensive and if not checked, could result in a country’s economic failure or political collapse. Corruption aggravates a people economic pain and could build a lot of pressure in the country; pressure which might result in political conflict, especially in a political context wherein one person makes all the decisions and holds onto power even when things are falling apart.

Also, centralization, which has been the bane of the population’s existence for decades, needs to be carefully examined.

Currents efforts by the government at implementing a failed decentralization plan have only generated more frustration, especially as government efforts are being viewed by the population as the government’s attempt to perpetuate the ruling party’s agenda and existence in power.

Decentralization as defined by the current government will not douse the fire in many Southern Cameroonian minds.

Anything short of a full-fledged federal system will only go a long way in perpetuating the frustration and sowing the dangerous seeds of another devastating conflict in the country.

Key to all of these measures will be the release of all Southern Cameroonians arrested because of the conflict, including Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe who is clearly the leader of Southern Cameroons.

His release and that of his entourage will send out a strong message that the government is committed to bringing sustainable peace to the region and this might convince the fighters in the bushes to down their weapons.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has sent many Cameroonians to an early grave. The events of the last five years have proven that Cameroon’s peace is fragile and could be breached at any time.

If the Cameroon government has to reduce the country’s fragility, it must take bold new measures which will help to address old grievances and put the country on the path to sustainable peace and prosperity.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai and Joachim Arrey

As U.S. officials face continued criticism for the mistreatment and mass expulsions of Haitians who arrived at the U.S. southern border, with many given no chance to apply for asylum, the situation of another group of Black asylum seekers is now also in the spotlight. Dozens of Cameroonians who were denied asylum in the United States—many after especially problematic immigration court hearings—have experienced torture, persecution, and other harms following deportation to their central African country.

Cameroonians have been fleeing deadly violence by both government forces and armed separatist groups in the country’s two Anglophone regions since late 2016. Many of those deported by the United States between 2019 and 2021 have had credible persecution claims related to this crisis, which were rejected in often-unfair proceedings.

This represents a serious failure of the U.S. asylum system to protect those in dire need.

Among those rejected for asylum is a man who initially fled Cameroon in 2018 after authorities accused him of supporting the separatists—armed groups seeking independence for Cameroon’s Anglophone regions—and tortured him in detention for a week. An immigration judge in Louisiana denied the man asylum, calling his experience a “brief, isolated one-time incident that does not rise to the level of extreme conduct.” The man, who is not being named for his protection, was deported from the United States in October 2020 along with fifty-six other Cameroonians. Three months later, he was severely beaten in his home by Cameroonian soldiers.

This man’s experience in the U.S. immigration court system, as well as his return to harm, is not an isolated case. During a year-long Human Rights Watch investigation, I spoke to forty-one Cameroonians asylum seekers who were deported by U.S. authorities between 2019 and 2021, as well as their relatives, immigration lawyers, witnesses, and others. I also tracked down and analyzed their U.S. asylum documents and collected evidence from Cameroon.

What I found is damning. I documented problematic asylum case adjudications, mistreatment during U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention, an abusive deportation process, and the post-deportation harm many experienced in Cameroon, including arbitrary detention, torture, and rape. Cameroonian authorities harmed or detained at least forty people deported by the United States, twenty of whom I interviewed; dozens of others faced abuses such as extortion, threats, and confiscation of identification documents.

While in the United States, many of these asylum seekers had no lawyers, as they are not entitled to one under the U.S. system. Nevertheless, they faced lawyers representing the government in adversarial hearings. Many struggled to acquire evidence to support their cases while held in prolonged ICE detention. Many Cameroonian Pidgin English speakers also faced language barriers, as some asylum officers and immigration judges failed to adequately assess their need for an interpreter.

Multiple deportees and immigration lawyers described—and I corroborated from hearing transcripts—how U.S. immigration judges aggressively interrogated Cameroonians, intimidated them or spoke harshly, interrupted and would not let them explain or respond to alleged issues, and cherry-picked small inconsistencies or omissions to find their accounts “not credible.” In doing so, judges also disregarded the impacts of trauma on asylum seekers.

Though human rights conditions in Cameroon have not improved in recent years, the grant rate of asylum or other relief to Cameroonians by U.S. immigration courts dropped from 79 percent in fiscal year 2019 to 59 percent in 2020.

Despite protests by scores of activists, lawyers, and members of Congress, the Trump Administration deported an estimated eighty to ninety Cameroonians in two flights in October and November 2020, and at least one other flight in January 2021. Nearly everyone on those flights had sought and was denied asylum.

In eight U.S. asylum cases I reviewed, immigration judges said the past harm Cameroonians experienced did not rise to the level of persecution necessary to have an asylum claim approved. But many of those whom judges claimed “did not suffer enough harm” had been arbitrarily detained by Cameroonian authorities, some for lengthy periods, and beaten or tortured repeatedly, before fleeing to the United States.

The hearing transcript of one man shows that he testified that military personnel in Cameroon had detained him due to his membership in a political group supporting independence for the Anglophone regions, and that they had repeatedly beaten him with belts and kicked him, causing “injuries all over my leg” and “internal pains.” In his asylum application, he stated that he suffered “severe pains for about forty-five days” afterward. Yet the judge found the harm not “enough,” stating: “Respondent’s detention appears to be lengthy in duration, but Respondent was not subjected to severe beatings . . . .”

One judge, in four separate cases I examined, ruled that Cameroonians had not established past persecution due to insufficient harm, even though they testified to serious abuse or arbitrary, prolonged detention. One of the asylum seekers had testified to, as the judge summarized, beatings during arrest (“the police beat him with a hard . . . object in the head and leg . . . an unknown number of times . . . his right leg was broken”) and detention (beaten with a machete “on the soles of his feet”). Yet, “although the respondent suffered a broken leg, it does not appear he was otherwise seriously injured,” the judge concluded.

In another case, a man testified that he had been detained for ten weeks, beaten repeatedly, and “shocked with a cable” by Cameroonian authorities, who accused him of supporting the separatists. During his immigration court hearing, the U.S. government lawyer stated in apparent seriousness, “I don’t believe that the respondent’s two-month detention with only five beatings on the bottom of his feet . . . rises to the level of past persecution.” The judge agreed.

Our research highlights serious concerns with the apparent lack of impartiality of multiple immigration judges who decided Cameroonians’ cases. The majority of deported people I interviewed had judges with disproportionately high asylum denial rates, from 80 to 99 percent, compared to the national average of 66.7 percent during fiscal years 2015 to 2020.

The hearing transcript of one asylum seeker, who had no lawyer, reveals that the government lawyer and the judge both interrogated him so harshly that it bordered on cruelty. They repeated questions he had already answered, interrupted him, and repeatedly demanded approximations (such as the number of people in crowds) when he said he had not counted. When the government lawyer unfairly accused him of lying, the judge did not intervene. After he was deported in 2020, the man was detained by Cameroonian authorities in abusive conditions for two weeks. Upon provisional release, a military court official told the man he was still under investigation.

In a different case, a U.S. immigration judge declared a man’s asylum claim “abandoned” because his lawyer had mailed his application slightly late. After the man was deported in 2020, the Cameroonian military detained him for months, subjecting him to forced labor and violence.

In all, I documented thirteen cases of torture, physical or sexual violence, and assault committed by Cameroonian police, military, or other government personnel against people the United States deported. State agents raped three women and punched, kicked, and beat men and women with batons, belts, machetes, guns, and whips, according to survivors’ accounts.

“They said, ‘You left and thought we wouldn’t get you . . . you will die in this jail,’ ” said a man who was imprisoned for a month after his 2020 deportation. “They beat me . . . for fourteen days, every day . . . . They were making me feel that’s the end of my life.”

Cameroonian government forces have detained deported people in jails, prisons, military camps, and other facilities for periods ranging from days to months. They held most without due process or in extremely abusive conditions, with poor sanitation and little to no food or medical care.

The act of seeking asylum in the United States was itself the basis of a court summons for one deported man, who was charged with “having, in the United States, spread false news . . . by declaring to be a victim of abuses by the Cameroonian Government.”

By returning Cameroonians to persecution and other harm, the United States has violated the principle of non-refoulement under international refugee and human rights law. Many deportees remain in hiding in Cameroon or have fled again. “[It’s] like it just happened yesterday. I feel like I still have that trauma, like I’m still locked up,” said a man deported in 2020, whom I spoke with in January. “The trauma has been too much.”

The experiences of these Cameroonians underscore the need for reform of the U.S. immigration and asylum systems to eliminate barriers to asylum, due process violations, unnecessary immigration detention, and misconduct among U.S. immigration and asylum personnel.

Most urgently, the U.S. government should grant Cameroonian asylum seekers deported in 2020 and 2021 humanitarian parole to return to the United States for fair reassessments of their asylum claims.

Culled from Human Rights Watch

The Southern Cameroons crisis which started with protests by lawyers and teachers in the country’s two English-speaking regions has not only crippled the country financially. It has also created a strange strain of distrust towards the government and this distrust will have dire consequences for the government which has a huge burden of proving that it is capable of leading the country in an objective, serious and honest manner.

Southern Cameroonians in particular and Cameroonians in general do not trust the government because of its constant use of brutality as its weapon of choice for the resolution of issues which could be addressed around a negotiating table.

The government’s excessive use of brutality throughout the Southern Cameroons crisis has sent more than ten thousand Cameroonians to an early grave, hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and thousands are now living with disabilities which will be reminders of the mistakes that were made because of a huge dependence on violence as a tool of choice for conflict resolution. 

Today, things are improving in the country’s two English-speaking regions, though small crooks and criminals are still on the prowl for possible victims. The two regions are awash with light weapons which made their way into the country through the border with Nigeria, and trigger-happy young men are using these weapons to harass innocent people, kidnap those they suspect of having money and even settling scores with those they disagree with.

This has left many people in fear, though the killings, especially government-sponsored killings, are dwindling. This is giving many people in the two English-speaking regions some hope that someday, things will return to normal. They are looking forward to the day when their children will be able to go to school without anybody harassing them. They are longing for the day they will be able to travel without the little criminals who pass off as fighters will not block the road and make their lives miserable.

In many parts of the two English-speaking regions of the country, civilians are coming together to fight those fake fighters who have made the lives of many Southern Cameroonians a living hell. The crooks are there for their own interest and have nothing to do with the liberation of Southern Cameroons. The people had supported the struggle in the beginning because they thought it would enable them walk away from the Francophone majority whose goal was to subjugate the English-speaking minority.

But their support for the fighters started dwindling when so-called leaders abroad started embezzling money meant for the war and the desperate fighters started using kidnapping and intimidation as a means of raising money to prosecute the war.   In any situation where there is a total breakdown in law and order, criminals can easily make hay while the sun shines and that is what armed criminals have been doing to line their pockets. 

Many people have been killed not by soldiers or real fighters but by criminals who are taking advantage of the chaos that the government has created and sustained for years. The seeds of oppression sown by the government have produced some of the worst ferocious violence and brutality in the two English-speaking regions of the country and this unfortunate situation will linger for a very long time, especially as unemployment remains a millstone around the necks of many young men. 

As the fighting is burning out, many observers are asking if the government has learned any lessons, especially from its own mistakes. The fighting itself could have been avoided if the government had used well-known conflict resolution mechanisms. Dialogue, not arms, will deliver more meaningful results in any conflict situation and the government should be aware of this. 

The government’s refusal to sincerely dialogue with Southern Cameroonian leaders when the conflict just started is to blame for the thousands of deaths on both sides. Many young men have been killed in a conflict which does not make sense to many people. Thousands of soldiers have been sent to an early grave and thousands of children will never have the opportunity of seeing their fathers because of the government’s wrong decisions.

Repression will never address the country’s issues and the government seems to have learned that but only after many lives have been cut short and development resources wasted in the purchase of arms that were unnecessary. The country’s economy has taken a beating and it will take time for an economy that has been on life support for decades to recover from another unnecessary shock like the war that is still raging on in Southern Cameroons. 

The violence started dying down once the government advised the military against killing civilians just to prove a point. Many Southern Cameroonians killed by the military were innocent civilians. They were not fighters. Fighters do not live in towns and cities. They seek refuge in bushes where they can plan their war strategy without fear. Many civilians were killed either in their homes or at city centers and they were not armed. Those killings only triggered a wave of revenge, and this unfortunate situation only created a large pool of fighters who were dead serious about revenging the death of their loved ones. 

Today, Cameroonians know how to build IEDs. Those IEDs have wreaked havoc on the military, with thousands sent to an early grave and expensive military equipment destroyed. The massive human cost and huge economic and military consequences should call the government to reason.

 Calling off unnecessary military killings of civilians has helped to reduce the tension and pressure that were hanging over many towns and cities in Southern Cameroons. The government should understand that its faulty policies are to blame for the conflict and a reversal of some of those policies could restore peace and security in the two English-speaking regions.

The current systems are not working and a persistence to use them may only push the country into a downward spiral that might trigger serious adverse consequences for the country. Cameroon needs peace and without peace, meaningful economic and social development will remain a distant tomorrow affair. The government seems to have understood this and the current conflict with teachers speaks to the government’s understanding and vulnerability. 

By opting for a speedy processing of teachers’ salaries and benefits, as well as avoiding any physical confrontation with thousands of teachers who have vowed not to return to school until their demands are met, the government has demonstrated that a non-military approach is the best when it comes to dealing with conflict. If this approach can be maintained, many issues will be dealt with, and Cameroon will regain its status as an oasis of peace in a desert of chaos. 

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Today the Council approved conclusions on Cameroon stressing the importance that the EU attaches to its partnership with that country, and reaffirming the EU’s readiness to intensify engagement with the government, local authorities and civil society on all areas of mutual interest.

In its conclusions the Council encourages the government of Cameroon to ensure a peaceful and inclusive political environment and welcomes the commitments made to strengthen local governance following the Major National Dialogue of 2019.

The Council remains, however, extremely concerned by the ongoing crisis in the North-West and South-West regions, and appeals for an immediate end to the violence, respect of human rights and humanitarian principles, unimpeded humanitarian access and a safe environment for humanitarian work. In the light of the situation, the Council underlines the EU’s readiness to support any meaningful mediation initiative which might lead to a peaceful and long-term settlement.

The EU condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist actions by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Far North, and reaffirms its solidarity with Cameroon in this fight.

The EU will continue supporting Cameroon and Cameroonians in their efforts to build a stable and prosperous country for all, where human rights and democratic principles are fully respected.

 Looking at how swiftly the U.S. moved to grant temporary protections for Ukrainians living in the United States.    Russia’s assault on Ukraine careens toward its third week.

Talks between the two nations continue, but how or when the Kremlin-led bombardment will end remains anyone’s guess.

The Russian invasion ignited a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, particularly in major population centers receiving the brunt of attacks, including the capital city of Kyiv and the port city of Mariupol.

The International Organization for Migration, an arm of the United Nations, estimated the war has created nearly 3 million refugees who have fled the country since the conflict erupted on Feb. 24.

Temporary Protected Status, as its name suggests, is a short-term action and in this case will shield an estimated 75,000 Ukrainian nationals in the U.S., as of March 1, from deportation.

TPS is designated by the Department of Homeland Security for three main reasons: ongoing armed conflict, an environmental disaster or extraordinary temporary conditions that would make it impossible for nationals to return to their home countries.

“We in the Department of Homeland Security are acting in support of them,” said Secretary Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a video posted to Twitter on March 3 announcing the move. “Not just the Ukrainian people living in Ukraine, but also those here present in the United States.”

While no one can fault the Biden administration for its prompt action for the Ukraninans, many immigration advocates are taken aback by how quickly TPS came: a mere eight days after war erupted there.

“This was that aha moment, like OK, so you guys can make this decision in a matter of days,” said Haddy Gassama, an attorney based in Washington, D.C. “It should not take yearslong campaigns to establish proof that a certain country is too dangerous to deport people to.”

Gassama, who also serves as national director of policy and advocacy at UndocuBlack Network, which advocates on behalf of current and formally undocumented Black migrants, says countries like the central African nation of Cameroon also need TPS protections.

And after years of pushing, their efforts have yielded little results, which they say is disappointing for an administration that ran on a platform of rooting out inequities in federal agencies and programs.

Gassama added:

Haddy Gassama said: “I think what is a little bit jarring is that we did not expect that it would be such an uphill battle for a country that really should be a shoo-in."

Cameroon is in the midst of a conflict that goes back to 2016. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees from December found there were 1.5 million refugees and internally displaced people in Cameroon.

Should TPS be granted by the Biden administration, it would do nothing for those people in Cameroon. But without it, as is the case now, hundreds of Cameroonian nationals were deported by the Trump administration back to French Cameroun and have never been heard again and hundreds in the United States are at risk of being sent back to the current unstable conditions.

Advocates are also pushing for TPS action for Central American nations, including Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua.

Culled from Politico.com

The Francophone dominated political system in Yaoundé is in the throes of another agonized constitutional reform.  But this time around the proponents of the new push for amendments deep within government circles are barons of the ruling CPDM party.

Biya and his gang have tabled a bill at the National Assembly calling for the appointment of a Vice President of the Republic. Some of the hardliners contacted by Cameroon Concord News Group noted that the time is right to cure deficiencies created by President Biya’s poor health and his ill-equipped Minister-Secretary General at the Presidency Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh.

A look back in history since President Ahmadou Ahidjo resigned helps us understand Cameroon’s perennial quest for constitutional change and the appointment of a Vice President.

Constitutional power play in Yaoundé has remained a Francophone affair for more than 5 decades with French Cameroun local power brokers in the Grand North, Centre and South regions competing against one another. 

President Biya and his power-hungry French Cameroun political elites have faulted existing structures for over 40 years and many now say the current push for the appointment of a Vice President is all about competition to replace the frail Biya as head of state.

Ever since President Biya began ailing, rival political elites from his tribal setting have been engaging in regular mischief as they schemed to identify a suitable successor. Some have reportedly used the Special Criminal Court in Yaoundé to sideline party-mates such as Titus Edzoa, Jean-Marie Atangana Mebara, Chief Inoni Ephraim, Marafa Hamidou Yaya, Mebe Ngo’o in the succession line up.

President Biya’s acolytes including several CPDM party honchos from the Beti-Ewondo tribal extractions have turned to infighting pushing Franck Biya-President Biya’s eldest son to start to see how he can use the wrangling to ascend to the presidency.

The current law stipulates that in the event the president dies, the president of the so-called senate which is the upper house would take office for 90 days and then call an election.

Biya has been in power for 40 years and has engineered uncountable constitutional amendments just to secure power for himself and his Francophone political family.

At 89, President Biya and his ruling CPDM party are still in control of the National Assembly. However, the recent introduction of a bill at the National Assembly demanding the head of state to appoint a Vice President is indeed a far reaching step.

Biya has won every election and repealed the two-term limit he and his criminal syndicate had previously imposed on the Cameroonian electorate. With age telling on him, the butcher of Yaoundé is now left with nothing and maybe approaching his last journey of many dangers.

What would finally emerge with the appointment of a Vice President will be a co-presidency with a Francophone and an Anglophone occupying some new positions that will be concocted somewhere in Paris.

The current drive for change is happening not in the best interest of the already divided nation and it is also being driven by a very bias Francophone political power agenda.

The changes that are likely to be effected will, therefore, not be the last because there always will be a military coup in every African country with French connection.

The appointment of a Vice President soonest will not resolve the political crisis in both French and Southern Cameroons. Instead, groups or individuals will question the new power structure and those interested in grabbing power will do so via the blood relations in the army.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The Agbaw-Ebai Debate:

Should Southern Cameroons Chiefs and Fons remain neutral on the war in Ambazonia?

A/Yes, it’s not their place to get involved

B/No, they need to be on the right side of history

Let your voice be heard!!

For some months now, many observers and analysts of the Cameroonian political scene have been misled into thinking that things were improving in the country’s two English-speaking regions after more than five years of reckless and wanton killing of both soldiers and civilians.

For some analysts, the country’s successful organization of a beautiful Africa Cup of Nations (AfCON) might have resulted in the reduction of hostilities in the two English-speaking regions, especially as Southern Cameroonians fighters, including some of their own generals, were also watching the matches and even supporting the Cameroon national team. It appears that if peace must return to Cameroon, then the country will have to host the AfCON every month. 

Some observers had even predicted that the fighting might fizzle out after the Africa Cup of Nations as most youth in Southern Cameroons are preparing to participate in efforts aimed at developing football in the country.

But the month of March has brought in bad news to many who have been monitoring the Southern Cameroons crisis which has already sent more than ten thousand Cameroonians to an early grave. 

On Tuesday, there was a massive slaughter of army soldiers by Southern Cameroonian fighters in the country’s Northwest region. The dead included – Mbem Jean Pierre, Kamga Dieudonné, Ntieche Mefire Mohamed, Kamto Kamdem Fabice, Ntongfack Brice, Kameni Albert, Tchinda Antoine, Ninchue Blaise. One survivor, Baba Jean, successfully escaped to the Mesaje Brigade while one soldier is still missing. The hunting season is clearly open, and the world will very soon be seeing rivers of blood in that part of the country. 

But the situation in the Northwest Region was reduced to a dress rehearsal when a massive IED explosion consumed a Divisional Officer, the Ekondo-Titi Mayor, soldiers and others who were part of a convoy that was rushing to Bekora, a small town located some 30 miles from Ekondo-Titi, to lay the groundwork for the Prime Minister’s visit which was planned for March 2022.  

This visit will not be taking place as Prime Minister Dion Ngute has promptly cancelled the trip after hearing of the slaughtering orchestrated by Southern Cameroonian fighters in his home division.

The visit was supposed to demonstrate that the country’s President, Paul Biya, who is losing his memory, was listening to the people of Ndian Division. Prime Minister Dion Ngute had already started rehearsing his lies, but Southern Cameroonian fighters have sent home a strong message – Dion Ngute will not be using their land to tell his massive unproductive tales. 

According to Southern Cameroonian fighters who contacted the Cameroon Concord News Group, it seems as if Dion Ngute is suffering from memory failure. The burning of his home was a clear message that the people of Ndian Division had thrown him up and they will not be seeing him anytime soon in Ndian Division. 

“Dion Ngute is an expert liar. He lies in a winning way. He was planning a trip to Bekora to come and poison our minds with his lies. Our security agents within the government told us that a delegation led by the Divisional Officer would be in Bekora to lay the groundwork for CPDM lies and we took the necessary measures to ensure that no rain of lies falls on Ndian Division. We burnt his home when this conflict started to let him know that we do not want him anymore in our land. He is an unrepentant CPDM stalwart and no story from him should be trusted,” an angry fighter said.

“Dion Ngute has not achieved much for our people, and we do not trust anything from him. Since becoming prime minister, he has only succeeded to get married to a young Beti girl who is keeping an eye on him for the Beti Mafia. It is a good thing that he has cancelled his trip. We are planning to root out all Yaounde government agents from our land. If anybody had thought the fighting had stopped, let them know that we are still active and we will be active until we get our independence,” the fighter stressed.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The Southern Cameroons crisis which started as a protest by teachers and lawyers became a millstone around the government’s neck as Southern Cameroonian fighters on the ground inflicted serious damage to the government’s war machinery and sent thousands of army soldiers to an early grave.

The Yaoundé government, which thought it was going to carry out a swift operation in the country’s two English-speaking regions, finally learned that there was no swift war and that anybody could be killed at the warfront including its so-called well-trained soldiers.   

The government may not have expressed its disappointment publicly with the way things have turned out following the death of some 4,000 soldiers, but its actions speak to war fatigue and frustration. It has reduced the number of army soldiers in the two English-speaking regions and the senseless killings of unarmed civilians by army soldiers just to prove a point are on the decline.

Over the last 12 months, English-speaking Cameroonians living abroad have begun visiting relatives in Cameroon without being scared that they could be arrested at the airport. The government has understood that its own actions were bereft of sound logic and commonsense and it is now working hard to make amends. 

Security is gradually returning to many parts of Southern Cameroons, and this could be attributed to some government actions, though schools in rural areas of Southern Cameroons are still closed. The military is working hard to win hearts and minds and this strategy seems to be working, although the core issues which triggered the fighting have remained unattended to.

However, if the government really wants to win more hearts and minds, then it must release many people arrested within the framework of the crisis, especially Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and his team arrested in Nigeria. Their release will be an olive branch that might turn things around forever.

There are many things to be done to demonstrate that the government is prepared to work for a return to normalcy. Unfortunately, there is no sense of urgency on the government’s part. The marginalization of Southern Cameroonians is still ongoing, and the government is not doing enough to ensure its own decentralization policy is delivering the results desired. The ruling CPDM party is still running the country as if it is a family business, while corruption is threatening to ruin the country’s economy.

There is no economic planning in Cameroon and all decisions are still being taken by presidential decrees which clearly demonstrate that genuine democracy remains a distant tomorrow affair. Under the country’s current president, democracy has made giant steps backwards, with free speech taking a huge hit. The country’s president still appoints people based on loyalty and he even appoints ‘night watchmen’ across the country, something which makes the whole notion of decentralization look more like a joke.  

 But the most challenging problems are those Southern Cameroonians themselves are creating, causing the struggle to struggle. Divisions within the Southern Cameroons interim government have become a huge concern among Southern Cameroonians.

Ever since Dr. Samuel Sako Ikome and Mr. Chris Anu took over the reins, things have deteriorated, with Southern Cameroonians refusing to contribute to the war efforts because of massive allegations of financial impropriety by both men. Chris Anu and Samuel Sako Ikome who joined forces to humiliate Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe after his arrest are today at each other’s throat.

Today, both men cannot even talk to each other. They have been dismissing each other and forming governments which cannot even survive a day. The money is no longer flowing and both men have been accused of robbing the people of Southern Cameroons of their hard-earned money. My Trip To Buea (MTTB), a strategy used by both men to raise funds, has only caused them to be unpopular as both men have used the money for personal purposes and cannot even provide any account of the money.

The internal conflicts are really damaging and comments from both camps are unfriendly. Their surrogates are at work and are doing their best to destroy whatever little hope of reconciliation that exists. There seem to be no chance of reconciling the various camps. According to a Chris Anu supporter:

“Sako is an incompetent president, a thief and a scammer. He has proven that he can’t lead, we, the people of Ambazonia, reject his method of leadership, propaganda, lies, stealing of contributed money which has been invested in bitcoin. We will fight him for as long as he continues to occupy the position of a president. We can’t stay quiet anymore. The conman has been removed from office as president, he should give back the people’s ABC TV, it does not belong to him,” the leaked message says.

“We have freed ourselves from the Sako Scam. For 5 years, he has used all our contributed money and instigated a lot of infighting which has led to the killing of our fighters. Yes, it is Sako who is ordering the killing of fighters on the ground. He has been the president and head of military,” the Sako adversary said. 

“Sako is the worst thing that ever happened to this revolution. This jobless unrepentant conman is the biggest thief and embezzler in the history of liberation struggles. This criminal planted agents everywhere, and his ponzi enterprise has caused so much damage to this revolution. The sad thing is that this criminal was supported by supposed Men of God including Deacons like Tassang who used to write long essays defending this criminality. Why has he suddenly stopped writing? Until Ambazonians vomit these fake men of God, devils in pastoral garments, the road to independence will be long and hard,” another anti-Sako Southern Cameroonian said in an exchange with others. 

There are more messages coming through, but the most damaging comes from Tassang, a notorious Kondengui inmate who spends his time seeking to divide Southern Cameroonians. In his latest outing, he said that:

“Great has been my shock to live the problem rocking the Interim Government. From prison, I am as close to it as you all are, except that I cannot communicate freely. Before, I thought it was due to lack of communication but when I got closer, and tried to mediate, I discovered it was much deeper. But what is the problem?” 

His latest letter is not a cure to any of the issues. He has worked very hard to make the wound deeper as he keeps on supporting one bloc against the other. He is even accused in many communications of receiving USD 100 from Sako from time to time, making it hard for him to be neutral. 

The struggle is really struggling. Southern Cameroonians need new leaders. The current crop of leaders has been infected with the corruption bug. The only person who has been above this mess has been Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and he remains the poster boy of the revolution. Southern Cameroonians should therefore rally behind Dabney Yerima who is the recognized Vice President of the Ambazonia Interim Government and who has remained loyal to Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai 

Five years into the war in Southern Cameroons and four years ever since the leader of the Ambazonia Interim Government was arrested by Nigeria’s intelligence agency and handed over to the Francophone dominated regime in Yaoundé, Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the Southern Cameroons iconic leader, is still seen as the man capable of taking Ambazonians to Buea and a fighter who constantly gives Southern Cameroonians hope despite the hardships.

Thousands of Southern Cameroonians in the diaspora are now of the opinion that if President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe was out of French Cameroun captivity, the problems that led to the split in the Ambazonia Interim Government would not have taken place, and that Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, the artist of skilful diplomacy, would have found a way out of every predicament in the Southern Cameroons struggle.

Millions of Southern Cameroonians all over the globe also say that if Nigeria did not betray President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, he would never have allowed conditions in Ground Zero to move from bad to worse.

The changes in the Southern Cameroons resistance and battle for independence that have developed in Ground Zero, Ground One and in the diaspora since the arrest of President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe have become more complex.

The Ambazonian leader Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and nine of his top aides were arrested inside NERA Hotel in Abuja, Nigeria.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe posters still hang on buildings and his pictures are drawn on major streets in towns and villages in Southern Cameroons.

His continued detention at the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaoundé is now considered by a majority of Southern Cameroonians as a sign of his rejection to discuss the issue of separation on French Cameroun terms that falls short of Ambazonian aspirations for independence and statehood.

A group of Southern Cameroons Interim Government front line leaders including the man he entrusted the job of Communications Secretary, Chris Anu considered Sisiku Ayuk Tabe irrelevant and called for him to be killed in jail.

Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who opted for resistance against La Republique du Cameroun following decades of marginalization, has remained defiant hoping that the Hand of God will help the people of Southern Cameroons-Ambazonia realize their statehood dream.

His aides who distanced themselves from the scandal hit Maryland cabal have always said that Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is not convinced French Cameroun under Biya is ready to make peace with the people of Southern Cameroons.

His successor, Sako Ikome, unlike Ayuk Tabe, was neither a fighter nor an intelligent man and did not believe in anything besides the money donated by the Diaspora for “My Trip To Buea”.

The recent crisis that has rocked the Maryland Sako IG crime syndicate has reinforced the Ambazonian’ belief that the so-called Sako-Chris Anu IG was not a partner for Southern Cameroons liberation war.

The only way to make Biya and French Cameroun change their positions vis-à-vis the crisis in Southern Cameroons would be a change in the positions of all Southern Cameroons diaspora groups. That change should include rallying behind Vice President Dabney Yerima.

The entire Maryland gangs have been thrown into a vicious cycle of instability. They succeeded in painting Sisiku Ayuk Tabe as the man who wanted to govern from prison and they won support from the diaspora and Ground One, but they have failed to neutralize Dabney Yerima, the symbol of the Southern Cameroons resistance who does not go around deceiving the Ambazonian people.

With the collapse of the Maryland cabal, the tools and the scenario in Ground Zero would be different in the coming days and weeks.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai