As many in government circles in Yaoundé have been busy praying that the Southern Cameroons crisis that has put the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons fizzles out on its own, some Southern Cameroonians have been working very hard and under the radar to establish a solid connection with Vladimir Putin’s Russia which is seeking to have a foothold in the Central African sub-region.

France has had a strangle hold on the  sub-region for a long time and this is about to change, especially as Russia is currently  in the Central African Republic (CAR) where it is creating a nightmare for the French and its lackeys in the sub-region.

The French had planned to bring back the country’s erstwhile president, François Bozize, in an election that had already been decided by the French.

The country’s current president, Faustin-Archange Touadera, is not prepared to go along with French roguery that is robbing French-speaking African countries of their wealth and independence.

President Vladimir Putin has also found an ally in Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president and a true African who believes in the total decolonization of Francophone Africa.

Like Putin, Paul Kagame has already sent Rwandan troops to the CAR to provide much-needed military support to the country’s struggling military.

Russia has gone beyond troops. It has dispatched sophisticated equipment and military advisers to the country and Russian troops are conducting aerial bombardment of areas held by French-supported rebels.

Former President François Bozize has already lost two of his sons in the bloody fighting which might bring French influence in the country to a humiliating end.

The CAR situation has created brand new opportunities for Southern Cameroonian separatists and some of them have already established strong and reliable connections with Russians who are also eying Cameroon.

Russia wants to expand its influence beyond Eastern Europe and the current geopolitical situation in the Central African sub-region clearly excludes the Czars who are also in search of oil, gold and diamond; resources that abound in Cameroon.

A source close to the Southern Cameroonian delegation has hinted the Cameroon Concord News Group that discussions with their Russian counterparts are going on smoothly and if things go on as planned in the CAR, then Cameroon will be the next.

Currently, rumor is swirling that there are armed groups in Cameroon’s border with the CAR, preparing to strike the country where it hurts the most.

A Yaoundé military Brigadier General said on Tuesday that the country’s military had investigated those claims, adding that the military would remain vigilant with the objective of nipping any such actions in the bud.

But it is hard to trust a word from the Yaoundé government that is wont to speaking from both sides of its mouth. The government seems to be made up of career liars whose specialization is to hide the truth.

A source close to the country’s presidency has intimated that there is panic in Yaoundé as Russia seeks to roll out France from the sub-region.

The corrupt and dying government understands that Russia’s geopolitical ambitions in the sub-region will change a lot in the sub-region and many of the sub-region’s dictators like Paul Biya, Cameroon’s president, will be in Russia’s cross hairs.

Southern Cameroonians have finally figured out that the West will not help them overcome their challenges and given that Southern Cameroons has a rich sub-soil, they will be offering huge benefits to Russians who, from indication, need those resources.

According to a source that is aware of the Russian deal, oil in the Bakassi peninsula is the bargaining chip Southern Cameroonians are using to lure the oil-thirsty Russians.

“Russians need oil, geopolitical influence and a market in the sub-region and Cameroon is a key element in the sub-region. Southern Cameroonians who have not had any solid assurances from Western democracies are prepared to help the Russians have a foothold in the sub-region,” the source said.

The source added that “many of the actions undertaken by the Yaoundé government in recent days are determined by the changing geopolitical landscape. Yaoundé has hastily organized fake elections in the regions in the hope that the outcome will help it stave off any opposition or tensions in Southern Cameroons, but last week’s elections have not changed anything. It is simply a shuffling of cards. The main issues and grievances remain,” the source said.

“2021 will be a tough year in Cameroon in particular and the Central African sub-region in general. With Southern Cameroonians having established a strong relationship with Russia, it is obvious that sophisticated weapons will soon be heading to Southern Cameroons and the fighting will take a turn for the worse,” the source stressed.

Cameroon is really caught between a hard rock, deep blue sea and a dangerous snake. In the North, Boko Haram is gaining more ground on a daily basis. The country’s soldiers quake in their pants once they are assigned to the North.

In the East, a new rebel group has emerged and with a lot of confusion in the Central African Republic, there is a reason to fear that the fighting might spread into Cameroon and given the level of unemployment and frustration in East Cameroon, things might spiral out of Cameroon.

Meanwhile, Southern Cameroonians remain determined to obtain their independence. A recent video released by the separatists clearly shows that there is huge sympathy for the separatists who are seeking the total independence of Southern Cameroons.

The video shows how many young Southern Cameroonians have been recruited to fight for their fatherland.

While the Yaoundé government is seeking to show its false soft side by trying to offer worthless gifts to internally displaced persons during this festive period, separatists, for their part, are recruiting and establishing relations with the geopolitically ambitious Russia.

It is obvious that if the international community does not jump in to address those issues that have transformed the Central African sub-region into a ticking time bomb, more blood will be flowing in the days ahead in Cameroon where a mix of corruption and arrogance have made it impossible to address even the most basic issues deriving from bad governance.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai