Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den

Camerounian Novelist Léonora Miano Blasts Her American Publishers

Originally published on Literary Saloon

Dear the Complete Review,

   Thank you for giving me some space to express myself, and to say why the foreword added to my novel should be removed.

In sub-Saharan Africa, we’re used to be despised by the rest of the world and to be treated as mere animals. I knew, when L’intérieur de la nuit (Dark Heart of the Night) was published, that some would use the novel in order to reinforce their views on Africa and its peoples. Really, I didn’t care and still don’t care about that. What I’m interested in, is the African point of view on the topics I work on. I think we’ve spent too much time hoping for understanding and recognition from people other than ourselves. It’s time we focus on our problems and deal with them, no matter how painful it is. I’m confident in our ability to do so. I’m confident in our desire to no more take lessons in humanity from people who created and used the atomic bomb, and who still have death penalty in their country. Things would be so cool if people could just clean their front door ... 

Migration in Cameroon: The 2009 Report of the International Organization for Migration

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has just released its 2009 report on Migration in Cameroon titled Migration au Cameroun : Profil National 2009. Among the key findings are the following:

• In 2000, 17 per cent of the Cameroonian population with a higher education emigrated;
• During the 1995–2005 period, 46 per cent of Cameroonian doctors and 19 per cent of nurses emigrated to selected countries;
• According to the World Bank, the amount of remittances from Cameroonian migrants was estimated at USD 103 million in 2005, that is, 2.5 per cent of official development aid;
• The amount of funds transferred is constantly increasing. Estimated at USD 11 million in 2000, it rose to USD 103 million in 2004 and USD 167 million in 2008. This amount represents 0.8 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Find below an English version of the Executive summary of the Report which is in French:

Interview With Prof. Victor Mbarika, Pioneer President of The ICT University

Interviewed by Dibussi Tande

"A plethora of ICT experts and management scholars and practitioners have suggested the need for human capacity development in the ICT domain in developing economies. Empowering these economies to develop the right solutions with contextual and cultural relevance requires institutions to educate and train graduates to meet their contemporary needs." Prof. Mbarika

In most developing countries, Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) programs and policies almost always center around issues of accessibility, availability and affordability, with not as much attention being paid to human capacity development, which is a critical, if not indispensable, element in  harnessing ICTs for development purposes. Without qualified and well trained ICT experts, it is virtually impossible for these countries to develop viable knowledge economies. It is in a bid to address this issue that a group of visionaries decided to establish The ICT University (ICT-U) is based in Louisiana, USA, which offers ICT-based degree programs that target Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean and Asia.

To find out more about this exciting initiative, Scribbles from the Den talked to Cameroon-born Professor Victor W. Mbarika, the pioneer President of ICT-U, who is also the founding and executive director of Southern University's International Center for Information Technology and Development in Louisiana, USA, and the Editor-in-Chief of The African Journal of Information Systems. Excerpts:

The Ghost of Um Nyobe (Musings from the Other Side of the Bridge)

By Dibussi Tande

(Originally published in Joyce Ashuntantang and Dibussi Tande. (eds.). 2008. Their champagne party will end!: poems in honor of Bate Besong. Cameroon: Langaa Research & Publishing CIG.)

They say you died in enemy territory
They say you died on the wrong side of THE BRIDGE
But what better place to die
- On the other side of the bridge -
Than in the Sanaga Maritime -
The sacred land of the Ngog Lituba*
The springboard of Cameroun nationalism
The heartland of the Cameroun resistance;
Purified with the blood of thousands of patriots
Who said NO! to the imperialists and neo-colonialists?

Is a Gabonese-type Transition Possible in Cameroon? Part II

By Dibussi Tande

2. “Fix as you go” Constitutional Clauses

Another issue that threatened to derail the Gabonese transition was the very vague nature of Article 13 of the constitution. The Article did not explain, for example, if the incumbent government was required to resign once the interim President was sworn in, or whether a cabinet minister or parliamentarian who was officially a candidate in the presidential election was required to relinquish his or her cabinet position or parliamentary seat.


Gabon's constitutional court in session

Gabon’s Interim President was therefore confronted with two issues; i.e., the constitutionality, or lack thereof, of Prime Minister Eyeghé Ndong's government, and the status of those government ministers who were candidates in the presidential race. Both issues threatened to derail the transition as political leaders, even within the ruling party, could not arrive at a consensus. Although the Prime Minister insisted that his resignation was not on the agenda, Interim President Rogombé thought otherwise and seized the Constitutional Court to clarify the issue.

Is a Gabonese-type Transition Possible in Cameroon? Part I

Dibussi Tande

On June 8, 2009, Omar Bongo Ondimba, Gabon’s 73-year old president, died after a record 43 years in office. Political observers keenly watched the political transition not merely because after close to half a century of Bongo’s iron rule, Gabon was moving into uncharted territory with the potential for instability but also because like in many other Francophone African countries, Gabon did not have a constitutional successor – a dauphin – to the President.

 
Ali-Ben Bongo of Gabon with Paul Biya  (c) PRC
 
Among those watching the Gabonese situation closely were the ruling elite in neighboring Cameroon where 77-year President Biya was preparing for yet another seven-year presidential mandate in 2011, which would most likely eventually lead to a Gabonese-type situation in the country – the laws of nature being what they are, President Biya has less, not more time left at the helm of the state.