Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den

Marc Vivien Foe: Year Three

"Marc-Vivien Foé not only epitomised talent and professionalism on the field of play but also the strength and vibrancy of Cameroon football" Jane Bateman - Head of International Relations, English Football Association (June 26, 2003)

 

Mbella Sonne Dipoko in His Own Words: The Luxury of Memory

Cameroon Life Magazine (May 1990)

So let them be scared of my look, of my beard, of my head of hair. They are just philistines who are afraid of originality. They wish to be caricatures of Europeans. When they are scared of a mere beard, what would these people do when war comes, when the horizon suddenly begins to sneeze smoke and spit flames? Who will save the nation? For only the courageous can defend the colors of a country.

I did two stints at the university. First, it was when I imagined I could become a lawyer. So for a couple of years I studied law and economics at Paris University. But I gave this up when I began to work on my first novel, A few nights and Days. I really could not reconcile the drudgery of law school studies with the flamboyance of compulsive creative information. And also, what news was coming out of Africa, spoke of the death of freedom, and I thought it would be spiritually stultifying to try to function as a lawyer in a totalitarian environment.

Cameroon among the World’s Scientifically Lagging Countries – Alongside Chad and Fiji

By Dibussi Tande

“Caught up with daily survival, people in these societies do not necessarily see the value in building [Science & Technology] capacity because the payoffs are not generally immediate. Indeed, the need to meet external debt servicing requirements and other urgent short-term priorities make it very difficult even for honest policymakers to allocate their meager national budgets to improve infrastructure, education, science, and health” - The Rand Corporation

Bakassi – Full Cameroonian Sovereignty is not for Tomorrow

By Dibussi Tande

"Although the Cameroon authorities pressured for immediate withdrawal of our troops from Bakassi for Cameroon to take over and exercise full sovereignty over the whole Peninsula, we opted for political negotiation to prepare the Nigerians occupying the Peninsula psychologically and physically for the ultimate choice they will have to make." President Olusegun Obasanjo in nationwide address to the Nigerian people - June 15, 2006

After five meetings at Presidential, an endless series of joint commissions and four years of protracted negotiations, Nigeria has finally agreed to implement the October 2002 International Court of Justice ruling which grants sovereignty of the disputed Bakassi Peninsular to the Republic of Cameroon.

Bakassi Peninsular: The Greentree Agreement Between Cameroon & Nigeria

Full Text

• Reaffirming their willingness to peacefully implement the judgment of the International Court of Justice,
• Commending the secretary-general of the United Nations for his efforts made in this respect in organizing the tripartite summits and establishing the Cameroon-Nigeria Mixed Commission,

Independent Candidates: The Much Needed Tonic for Cameroon’s Lethargic Democratic Process?

By Dibussi Tande    

Since the 1990s when multiparty politics once again became the norm across Africa, the possible participation of independent candidates in elections has been the subject of heated debates on the continent. Increasingly, the idea is gaining ground as many African countries now allow independent candidates to take part in local and national elections. In fact, all over Africa many independent candidates now control local councils, occupy seats in parliament, and in the case of Benin’s Yayi Boni, occupy the Presidency of the Republic.

Dual Citizenship (II): A Win-Win Situation

By Dibussi Tande

"Worldwide, arguments against dual citizenship have become less compelling, over time, while arguments in favour of dual citizenship have become stronger, and especially over the last 10 to 15 years…"

As we saw in the first part of this article, globalization has dramatically altered the dual citizenship debate in many countries. The political reasons that were once used to reject dual citizenship in the 20th century are today steadily giving way to powerful economic and cultural arguments in favor of dual citizenship.