THE DEPRAVITY OF PULLING OUT THE ANTI-ANGLOPHONE OR ANTI-FRANCOPHONE CARD

It is a sign of weakness of our argument when we pull out the linguistic-divide card in Cameroon. It is easier to fall back on stereotypes or preconceptions and use it to fault an entire people (Anglophone or francophone, region, ethnicity, fondom, village, etc), thereby absolving ourselves and the people we identify with of any fault.

The current situation we find ourselves in   has been brought about by the power play of the French-imposed system (1/ The Aujoulatist- Foccart-Ahidjo- Biya stream submitted to France---as described by Mr. Bedzigui),openly  and tacitly supported by collaboration  from elements of the Anglophone  and pseudo-nationalists groups. And then there are the UNION NATIONALISTS WITH THE REVOLUTIONARY ZEAL who have never conciliated and will fight the system to the bitter end. Cameroonians of all ethnicities, religions and linguistic affiliations can be found in all of the four groups mentioned above. The majority of these Cameroonians are subconsciously revolutionary and proudly union-nationalistic . Unfortunately, our country lacks a national ideal and a genuinely revolutionary/union nationalist party that this majority can identify with and follow.   Spelling out that national ideal and creating that movement should be our task in this Fourth Phase of the Cameroonian Struggle.

So it disheartens me when I see advocates of change retreating into their false cocoons(ethnic, tribal, linguistic and religious), brand it as righteous and devoid of any faults; and then brand others who are not there as the enemies who are to be blamed for everything. They even lump up the revolutionaries and union nationalist there too, because it suits their purpose.  By using the stereotyping card against Francophones, Francophone bashers then tend to exonerate Anglophones who are a part of the system or who are collaborating with it, and so give a saintly portrayal of the Anglophone group. This is a mindset I have seen used by Anglophone bashers as well. It has also been used by ethnocentric Cameroonians who condemn entire ethnic groups at a whim, yet scream their lungs out if another ethnic basher like them uses the same ploy against their ethnic group or region. And by falling into that stereotyping mindset which fundamentally is self-deception at its worst, we condemn ourselves from being a part of the broad coalition that will change Cameroon. This article gives an insight.  HOW COMMITTED ARE WE IN THE STRUGGLE TO CHANGE THE SYSTEM:

Advocates of change in the fourth phase of the struggle need to be true to themselves and accept historical revelations, even if it is coming from people we don't like. There is a grain of truth---in fact a lot of it, in what Bedzigui said happened during the 1997 talks. That was the time the SDF Chairman started leading the party into a political suicide and let down the revolutionaries and union nationalists in the party. That was the time the SDF started losing its soul.

The greatest ingredients in the healing process are acceptance of the problem and the will to surmount it and become something new and better. And unless advocates of change start that healing process, learn from our failures in the first, second and third phases of the struggle; we might not be able to muster the  momentum to change the system (under the Biya regime or its future  successor).

If you ask me, my take is that the political problem in Cameroon is not between Anglophones and Francophones. The problem is systemic. True the system is dominated by Cameroonians of the Francophone culture, but they do not command even up to 10% of the political support of the Cameroonian people. Whoever uses the Anglophone or Francophone card is using it as a ploy that has no links to the Cameroonian social reality.

Janvier Tchouteu                                                                              October 31, 2011