Postwatch (Cameroon)

October 1: SCNC Hands Demonstrate in Belgium

France in Africa By Ben Awah

Earlier on in January 2003, France had significantly escalated its 2002 intervention in Côte d’Ivorie, to the west, by reinforcing its overall troops’ deployment to about 4000 and expanding the so-called sandwich territory between it and the forces of the Ivorian state and north-based insurgents. Given the frequency and the tally of its military interventions in Africa since 1960, France has, contrary to prevailing international
perception, the worst record of Northern World power state military intervention in the Southern World.

The Tsar (Buffoon) of Ntarikon: Heading for the African Court in Banjul By Tazaocha Asonganyi

Some people are smart, successful and gifted; these can get to any station in life, in any capacity.
Others are driven by their ego, by egomaniacal impulses; such are dangerous for any station where the daily life of many depends on their will. One may put up with an excellent doctor that is good at treating exotic ailments, without wishing to see the doctor at the helm of a large hospital. Better for the specialist to stay in his specialty and allow steadier hands to manage the large hospital

Southern Cameroons: Stopping A War before it Starts.By Prof. Tatah Mentan.Ph.D. Visiting Professor of Political Science (2005-06) Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.)

La République du Cameroun is “a sleeping volcano.” This description has its meaning rooted in the history of what has come to be called the “Anglophone problem” in Cameroun. This “problem” can be traced back as far as the partitioning after the First World War of the erstwhile German Kamerun Protectorate (1884-1916) between the French and English victors, first as mandates under the League of Nations and later as trusts under the United Nations. The French-and English-speaking Cameroons formed an illegal “federal union” in 1961 which is now exploding. 

Why preventive diplomacy? Anglophone-Francophone animosities in  Cameroun have been raging intermittently since 1961, the year  La République du Cameroun (French-speaking) simply annexed the Southern Cameroons (English-speaking). These animosities, as they run riot, threaten the peace of Cameroun frequently. The essence of preventive diplomacy is therefore early warning and timely intervention where this peace is menaced by a typical problem of paternalism. The frequent slaughter of protesting Southern Cameroons students and protesters by La République du Cameroun forces of annexation is eloquent testimony.

       Preventive diplomacy in this case, to be successful, compels some diplomatic intercession. This intercession requires understanding the sources of an impending conflict and addressing them in time to prevent violent confrontation. Once a conflict has broken out, the immediate need is to address its humanitarian consequences, while seeking an end to the hostilities by addressing the issues that led to the conflict in the first place. Success means restoring peace and creating conditions that are capable of sustaining the achieved peace. The process is therefore circular in that ensuring a lasting solution becomes a preventive measure that should ideally address the sources or causes of the conflict. In Cameroon, preventive diplomacy entails the resolution of the conflict created by the annexation of the British Southern Cameroons by La République du Cameroun.

The Bakassi Story.BY Nowa Omoigui

The Bakassi Story –Part 1- 1884-1949

by Nowa Omoigui

1. When the Obong of Calabar signed a "Treaty of Protection" with

Britain on September 10, 1884 Britain agreed to "extend its protection" to the Obong and his Chiefs. The Obong agreed and promised to refrain from entering into any agreements or treaties with foreign nations or Powers without the prior approval of the British Government. That is, he signed away his Kingdom as a British protectorate. This type of subterfuge was carried out with many of our ancestors. All of this was before "Nigeria" was created. Note too that unlike agreements between metropolitan powers these so called protectorate agreements with African Kingdoms did not have precise definitions of boundaries. On November 15, 1893, Britain and Germany defined their boundaries in Africa , supplemented by another agreement on March 19, 1906. These covered British and German Territories from Yola to Lake Chad.

Download the_bakassi_story.doc

Lake Nyos:Myths and Realities. By Ntemfac A.N. Ofege

In 1989, when he moved into the Carrefour Bastos neighbourhood in Yaounde, friend and colleague, Charlie Ndichia suddenly discovered that his neighbour was none other than Mr. Jean-Marcel Mengueme, a former minister of Territorial Administration of the Republic of Cameroun. From that minute, we constituted ourselves into Mr. Mengueme’s tormentors. We (Charlie Ndichia and Ntemfac Ofege) would stand up the tiny hill that leads to Mr. Mengueme’s villa and shout, “Mengueme, Lake  Nyos! Mengueme, Lake Nyos!”

Our enterprise toned down one hilarious evening when Mr. Mengueme emerged with a pistol and shot in our direction. We were lucky. The man was either a lousy shot or we were going too fast. We had very good reason to torment Mr. Mengueme Jean-Marcel.