Those who died in Bamenda on May
26, 1990 were not for the cause of an
independent state from the North West
and South West provinces. They were not Southern Cameroon
advocates.
John Smith wrote above that,
"Ricardo and Co should know that should there be a referendum today, only
the refugees from the LRC may vote no. All Anglos even Inoni will vote
yes."
Therefore, if we have to take
from John Smith and co, the so-called refugees from LRC who made up 3/7 or more
of the deaths of May 26, 1990, were
automatically against splitting the country up. In that case, they were for a
future new Cameroon as union nationalists against the evil system who reject
the political actions of Ahidjo and Biya from 1958-1990.
Take it that I am an advocate of
an independent Southern Cameroon and at the
same time, I am a realist. What are the likely scenarios?
1) An independent Southern Cameroon would be better off "in the long
run" than being a part of the present day anachronistic system of Cameroon.
But that would be the case if it is a smooth ride to independence that
harnesses all the developmental or positive forces in that region and the good
will of the rest of Cameroon and the largesse of the international community
like the case of Eritrea which became a part of modern day Ethiopia after the
defeat of its colonial master Italy and its incorporation into the former Abyssinia,
or the former Portuguese colony of East Timor that was invaded and occupied by
the former Dutch East Indies colony(Indonesia) . If it is not a smooth ride, it
would end up like people-depleted and unrecognized states such as Abkhazia,
Trans-Dniestr, and Nargony Karabakh etc that are more miserable than before.
Besides, an attempt at armed
conflict is likely to end up in defeat and likely international trials of war
crimes because those likely to lead an armed-struggle are the hate-filled and not the progressives. There would be
massacres, ethnic cleansing, plundering, rapes etc. The hallmark of wars in Africa . Even if the armed conflict ends in victory for the
secessionists, it would be a long-dragged conflict that would devastate the
country and create scars that may never heal. Angola ,
Bosnia , East Timor , Mozambique ,
Rwanda , Tadjikistan Guatemala , Nicaragua , Cambodia etc are still
trying to recover from their civil wars, processes of recovery that take decades.
2) Accepting the status quo is
another option. Cameroonians of all shades, ideologies, religions, tongues and regions
do not accept that adoption because it is a slow suffocation of the people.
3) Changing the system. That is
the safest bet and third scenario. History, time, the inevitability of change,
logic, the triumph of humanitarianism and humanism stand for that option. It is
less costly and makes the exponents of change better human beings because it
advocates working together to make a better future for our children. However,
that cannot be achieved with divided ranks
My position over two decades has
been the same. A federation for Cameroon, a Cameroon federation that respects the country’s
linguistic entities and ethnic affiliations that would comprise regions and
provinces, where the central government would use the original Cameroonian concepts to advance the nation;
where the Cameroonian ideal would be applied to bridge the difference in
development of her Anglophone and francophone regions, build a genuine
bilingual ethos, and revive a unique Cameroonian identity from the different
ideas and actions of the adopted French and English cultures as a model for the
future united Africa. This federation of regions comprised of autonomous
provinces would be one where the rights of minorities – both indigenous and settler
– are respected. The new Cameroon federation would institutionalize democracy,
liberty, freedom, economic development, social harmony, unity and a shared
sense of common purpose. Through a progressive and strong democratic central
government committed to protecting Cameroon's
biculturalism, while at the same time promoting its bilingual character, the
new Cameroon would be the vanguard in the drive for the economic union and
political harmonization of Africa .
https://www.postnewsline.com/2005/12/unification_thr.html
2005
https://www.postnewsline.com/2005/12/unification_thr.html
2005
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