My observation in a generalized form is that the Cameroonian soul is subconsciously nationalistic in the civic sense of the word, but the mindset is impulsively divisive. We love our different dishes, wriggle to our numerous music, cheer and grief for the national team, pride over our bilingualism and ethnic diversity and collectively hope for a change and a better future New Cameroon.
When confronted by a challenge that is not easy to overcome, we impulsively become divisive, dwelling on differences instead of compatibilities, and falling back on our ethnic groups, tribes, provinces, regions and villages; all depending on the severity of the challenge. This mindset enables us to escape from self-blame and pushes us to limit collective blame to a point where we tend to exclude ourselves as a people (region, province, ethnic group, tribe, village or religion) from the Cameroonian malady.
It is this malady of an impulsively divisive mindset that makes us, the commentators in various fora( a microcosm of present day society as a whole), who before identified themselves as members of the opposition and advocates of change fighting for a New Cameroon, but who yesterday constrained themselves from the national goals by advocating for the objectives of different interest groups---the numerous Southern Cameroons factions, the various religious groups, the thousands collaborating with the outdated and corrupt system; to portray ourselves today as propagators of NW/SW divide, anti-Anglophone, anti-Francophone and as ethno-centrists or tribalists.
As exponents of change, we shall never move forward in any direction unless we mitigate or suppress those divisive impulses.
I weep for that Cameroonian soul that began the march to the New Cameroon (1946-1966), the Cameroon that united the people in their total and complete rejection of the anachronistic system and the Biya regime (1990-1993)
Cameroonians should regard with skepticism those political figures that use the regional or tribal cards for personal reasons.
It shouldn't be strange to anyone that Biya and the leaders of the so-called opposition are intrinsically ethnocentric, having little experience outside of their ancestral lands or provinces. In a curious way, they don't have a deep empathy for other Cameroonians. It takes a great deal to try to understand how others who are not from the group we come from, think or feel in the collective framework of Cameroon. Being advanced psychosocially, which involves the ability to relate to other Cameroonians in an in-depth manner, is a major prerequisite for being a true union nationalist, and it is a quality we should be looking for in our leaders in the next phase of the struggle.
