Cameroon has less than ten years to change, or else
it will lose the goodwill, support, commitment, and other strategic resources
of its Diaspora. The generation that was in its youthful age in the 1990s and
that acted as soldiers of the struggle for change has matured, but
unfortunately, is abroad. Only they have the zeal, sense of direction that has
been groomed over the years, an unwavering sense of patriotism and an
all-embracing political ideology that accommodates all Cameroonians,
irrespective of their linguistic affiliation, ethnicity, or tribe. This group
that did not participate in the rape of Cameroon will turn 50 and 60 in the
next ten years. Then, they will become more focused on their career, families,
and new life abroad---which is like giving up on Cameroon. They will have to
lead the struggle in the next two- five years or else find themselves and
Cameroon cast into oblivion and political despondence.
The politically conscious of the Diaspora will relate
better to the dreams, pains, or sufferings and frustrations of today’s youth
who are supposed to be the soldiers of change in the creation of the New
Cameroon.
Politically, the absence of dual nationality and
persistent uncertainties even after the granting of Diaspora voting rights
could sideline them from the political evolution of Cameroon, which will reach
a turning point in the coming years, as exclusion and necessity force them to
embrace the citizenship of their host countries. Unknown to many, there is a
good percentage of Cameroonians who, though qualified to obtain foreign
citizenship, have been hesitating, conscious of the roadblocks to dual
nationality.
Economically, the umbilical cord linking the Diaspora to
their Cameroonian families, mostly in the form of remittances and real estate
and other investment projects, will decline as their home families age and die
or follow them by immigrating, taking away any incentive for the Diaspora to
continue committing themselves economically to Cameroon.
Socially, the culture developing in Cameroon, centred on
corruption, mismanagement, division (tribalism, nepotism, and favouritism), is
separating Cameroon from the global civilization that the Diaspora identifies
with. The current Diaspora can manage to navigate its way around when they come
home for business, but the younger generation in the Diaspora, especially those
born abroad, whose link to Cameroon is through the eyes of their parents, will
be completely lost if their parents disengage from Cameroon in five to ten
years. They would focus fully on building a new life abroad for themselves and
their descendants.
In a nutshell, if the system stays in place within the
next five to ten years, and those in the Diaspora who were born in the 1960s
and 1970s reach retirement age while their children are all grown up and devoid
of any genuine affiliation to Cameroon, that reliable generation of the
Diaspora will most likely give up on Cameroon.
The editor of "This is News" newspaper,
Franklyn Sone Bayen, published this article in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on August 01,
2011. It was co-written with Janvier Tchouteu-Chando (a published Cameroonian
writer with several books, living in the USA.
Flash of the Sun (Compradors Series)
The Union Moujik
The Girl on the Trail
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