By Dibussi Tande (Culled from No Turning Back: Poems of Freedom 1990-1993 - Available on Amazon.com and Michigan State University Press)
From the heights of the Menchum falls
And the heart of the Congress hall
Shall come the long awaited call
That will bring down these walls.
From the mysterious Barombi lakes
And the mythical Oku lake
Shall rise liberty's mermaid
Who shall come to our aid.
From the historic park of Ntarikon
The selfless martyrs shall come
To water the struggle
And break down hurdles.
On the road without a ring
The oppressor shall lose his wings
From the depths of little known Meanja
Shall come marching Liberty's soldiers
From the forests of Fontem
The invader's progress shall be stemmed.
From the confiscated white lodge
Tyranny shall be dislodged
From the forgotten Tombel
Shall ring salvation's bells
From the plains of Ndop
And the lush vegetation of Korup
The people's flag shall be hoisted up.
The masses of Victoria
Contaminated by freedom Malaria
The people of Banso
Breaking our chains with liberty's saw
The angry spirits of Nyos
Fervently healing our slavery yaws
The wisemen of Batibo
Religiously anointing our arrows and bows
The valiant children of West Mungo
Telling our oppressors to go,
Shall all build a new nation
And give history its real version.
The mighty Fako mountain
And the crumbling Bismarck fountain
Shall spit out freedom's fiery venom
That will end this shameful serfdom;
Our nation shall be born again
And our freedoms forever regained.
Buea February 5, 1992
In case anyone has missed it, today is October 1, 2007, the 47th anniversary of the unification between the British Southern Cameroons and The French Cameroons.
This poem which was surprisingly written in 1992 beautifully captures the spirit of frustration and resolve in Anglophone Cameroon - one doesn't need to be a "secessionist" (I am an unapologetic federalist) to appreciate its beauty and power.
I think I have to get me a copy of No Turning Back!
Posted by: Ewane Joe | October 01, 2007 at 10:18 AM
A proper federation for Southern Cameroons, if possible cannot be done without revisiting Foumban and prefoumban and preplebiscite. Following the law is the only guarantee. Only an independent and free Southern Cameroons could decide whether or not to join la republique, and that did not happen, thanks to the British agenda, the compliant UN and some shortsighted Southern Cameroonians.
Avoiding the law to create a federation is a big mistake. British Cameroons was a creation of international law, from the end of WW1 and really ran into problems when politics trumped law in 1961. Sentimentality about the federation is not a panacea, besides la republique was never sentimental about the federation, and it takes two to make a federation work. Could any of you federalists point at a single la republique leader who understood and sympathised with the federation notion? France does not do federations well. France is a strong central government and that is their template. Loose federations causes people trained in the French mindset to lose their bowels in anxiety. What they cannot control drives them crazy. It takes goodwill from partners involved to make a federation work.
Please do not confuse a true federation with the DECENTRALISATION that Yaounde keeps talking about. Decentralisation is NOT federation. It is weak and unsatisfactory, and my analysis and experience with la republique tells that they will try to control and annex a real federation, the day it is formed.
Hence, I do not share the warm sentiments of this poem. Federation is a position of siege in la republique. The present dispensation is one of conquest/annexation/ colonization.
Posted by: Ma Mary | October 01, 2007 at 11:56 AM
The green red yellow flag with the two stars conjures fear. There used to be huge proliferations of the green red yellow in 1960s during Ahidjo's frequent visits in Buea. They were on buntings, flags and vehicles. During those periods the city was covered by mysterious men in black suits and dark glasses, listening in to people talk, arresting some for rendering opinions. BMMs (torture centers) were already operational in West Cameroonian towns such as Bamenda and Kumba, picking people off the The bushes were filled with heavily armed combat troops and armored cars often patrolled the streets. Ahidjo had a reputation for torture and mass murder. His flag (never adopted by the Southern Cameroons nor West Cameroon parliament) was an object of fear and again, I do not share in the nostalgia for it. I would seriously abuse that flag if I found a copy.
Posted by: Ma Mary | October 01, 2007 at 12:03 PM
Ma Mary,
what do you think about the fact that October 1st passed or is passing in Cameroon almost unnoticed? doesn't it say something about the base the SCNC? doesn't it say that the SCNC hasn't connected with the woman in the market? or the boy in high schooL? or the graduate from UB? doesn't it say something about your grass root support?
Posted by: UnitedStatesofAfrica | October 01, 2007 at 03:00 PM
Hi Ma Mary,
Your response shows why poetry has always been subject to varying interpretations.
When I read the poem which seems quite straightforward to me, my first view (and a second reading confirms that view) is that this is a fierce pro-sessionist or Nationalist poem. There is nothing warm and fuzzy here; this is an apocalyptic (for Pan Kamerunists) and angry poem:
"Our nation shall be born again
And our freedoms forever regained."
That is the mantra of everyone who dreams of an independent Southern Cameroons! So pray, Ma Mary, how did you arrive at the conclusion that this was a pro-federalist poem? Or were you simply carried away by the federalist flag?
If I had a question for Dibussi it wouldn't be whether this is a federalist poem (I don't think it is)but whether he was trying to capture independentist feelings that reigned in Anglophone Cameroon back in February 1992 or if these were his personal feelings at the time...
BTW, Ma Mary, this poem dates from 1992. What were your views about Cameroon back then? Were you already singing the "freedom song" or still flirting with the federalist option like CAM, AAC, etc.?
Posted by: Ndong | October 01, 2007 at 03:08 PM
This Unitedstatesofafrica likes 1st of October so much. He remind me of something. He like the guy who sexes, then prematurely goes and moves outleaving the woman incomplete. If you really love your country you would be like the guy who makes love and is not selfish. He make sure woman happy and do not just drop his load and go. A country is like child. Correct parent never abandon child to kidnapers. Real Southern Cameroonian never stop to try for get their country back. unitedstatesofafrica not like real Southern Cameroonian. He only learn book in Southern Cameroons.
Posted by: Francis Frontal | October 01, 2007 at 05:53 PM
I can state authority that this poem has absolutely nothing (not even remotely!) to do with federalism or any system of government for that matter. It is a poem of revolt, yearning and hope. Period. However,as a previous commentator pointed out, the beauty of poetry lies in the fact that different people interpret the same poems differently.
The choice of the federal flag in this case is contextual and hearkens back to the time when the poem was written. Those who are familiar with the history of Anglophone activism (the use of the term "Anglophone" is deliberate)in Cameroon will recall that February 1992 was a watershed, and they will clearly grasp the significance of the two-state flag here. Putting the flag that has been adopted by Southern Cameroons nationalist movements next to the poem would have been too easy an option and a wrong one at that.
I would also like to point out to Ma Mary that while the 2-star flag represents fear to her generation, it represents something totally different to mine - both federalists and "secessionists" alike. In the 1990s, scores of young men and women were maimed and killed, and hundreds jailed in Anglophone Cameroon just because they dared wave this flag which the Biya regime considered "illegal" and a symbol of the Anglophone "treason". So to us, that flag is a symbol of resistance and defiance. I know someone who is paralyzed to this day because he dared wave that flag infront of gun-totting gendarmes. He would be appalled at Ma Mary's disdain for this flag which is equally disdain of his contribution to the struggle however we define it. The two-state flag has place in the history of Anglophone resistance in Cameroon - and this has nothing to do with whether one is a federalist or not. In fact, in the 1990s the political system that the flag once represented mattered little. What was important was its significance as a symbol of collective resistance, of collective defiance, of collective hope.
To understand what I mean, check out the pictures at http://www.dibussi.com/2006/10/broken_dreams.html#more
As far as the former British Southern Cameroons, no one story is THE story. No one generation is more entitled to speak than another. Each generation has its own story (with its own heroes, symbols of resistance, etc.) which weaves itself beautifully into the broader fabric or narrative of the "Anglophone journey".
So let's refrain from being dismissive of events, issues, individuals and symbols (which made it possible for the "nationalist movement" to exist today) in the name of blind conformism to this rigid and uncompromsing dogma which divides more than it unites.
Dibussi
Posted by: Dibussi | October 01, 2007 at 08:01 PM
Freedoms, Freedoms, Freedoms....
Ma Mary,what is in your dance? From your postings a couple of years on the Postnewsline and other forums out there,i have come to the conclusion you easily flip and flop in your positions. Could you still remember some months ago your attacks were directed at the SDF , the party you once supported that has today failed. You were once a federalist if i am not mistaking. That explains why you like many out there in the Anglophone community are heart-broken to see the SDF take knockout punches. Ma mary you seccessionist stance today is due to that simple frustration.
Dibussi's poem is about freedoms,freedoms and freedoms. That is worth standing up for. Ma Mary , first things first. ( anglophones,francophones,federalist,union nationalist,liberals,fence-sitters,social democrats etc ) are all crying for freedoms. Freedoms to choose,freedoms to hire and fire incompetent bigots that go around for our leaders and politicians. Freedoms to decide our fate and ensure the men and women who speak for me and you whether in Yaounde or Buea or in my own local government area implement my project,i mean the people's projects. That is what Dibussi's poem is all about.
Ma mary,what's you project? You certainly do not have one. You waver and flip. Yesterday your critique was directed at the SDF, today you are taking on a passionate poet for writing about freedoms. Why are you uncomfortable with the federalist option?. Ma mary , that option is the mainstream option in all the four corners of what is today The Cameroons. Come back to the mainstream lady. Stay the course. Freedom is what is what fighting for. I understand you frustrations, yet i happen to hold firm to the view that the troubles of the Cameroons today is that we have not being able to have that one chance to hire and fire our leaders through the ballot box.
A new-new Cameroon can only emerge if this present regime is out of power. Ma Mary i can proudly tell u this, though not a member of the SDF party, young men like us stood up firm in constituencies like Kumba to fight for freedoms. Difficult as it was, we got to give this guys a fight to stay the course in our own small corners instead of blaming the likes of Fru Ndi and co. That is what is needed in your own local communities to ensure freedom reins. Once again ,come back to the mainstream.
Ma Mary in a free new-new Cameroon, the rule of law will rein. In a new-new Cameroon the federation will not be mistaken for decentralisation,last but not the least, Ma mary, it starts with fighting for freedoms and stayng the course. The system in place is still in panic. They know all too well that their days are numbered. They are all to aware the people will seize their freedom anytime soon. Stay the course and stop this senseless cyber activism. Your excuses against federalism just dont hold.
Posted by: The southwesterner | October 02, 2007 at 12:02 PM
Francis Frontal,
Your English is so deplorable, I could barely understand what you are trying to say. Listen to yourself:
"Correct parent never abandon child to kidnapers", "Sexes a woman...". Are you speaking in pidgin or what? please, revise your work and talk we can talk.
Posted by: UnitedStatesofAfrica | October 02, 2007 at 02:11 PM
If we are all united on one thing it is the objective - Freedom and if we are divided it is on methods. Do you and I realise that the path the Francophone took in 1960 is different from the path the anglophone took in 1961? I am not opposed to unity! I stand for a Federation: two state or a hundred state Federation. The Francophone does not want a two state federation because that will unite anglophones on one side and make him (francophone) a non starter in competition within the union. That will rebuild the anglophone society he has been seriously destroyin. Some anglophones narrowmindedly fall into this trap. We are united, as united as Quebec and Canada. We are divided, as divided as England and France. Thhe question is: who works out the modalities for new Federal agreement? The francophone of course! Who destroyed the Federation? The same francophone you are looking up to to rebuid a federation. If it is not an outside power such as the UN, it is bound to fail. What happened with the Cameroon Federation is that the greedy francophone partner violated the arrangement. Arguments of unity cannot be adduced to sever a federal arrangement which by nature constitutes a unity. The frnacophone in Cameroon is challenging you and me. Lets welcome it. He may be smart but you and I are wise. The path to a Federation is shorter than that to independence. The problem is that the francophone still exibits the same tendencies to cheat, kill, exploit and abuse the rights of our people to such an exten that histry will record that the union with Nigeria was by far better that the slavery of our people under francophone Cameroon. When you beat up your wife and illtreat her for 47 unending years of matrimony and lack the simple courtesy to apologise by a mere ' I am sorry', what guarantees do you have that you will continue to keep her under your roof by force. Always remember neighbours are watching and though you may be raping her day and night, her right to life may invite nemesis to catch up with you. It is not easy for any woman to live with a nonrepentant rapist. As you and I go to bed each day, you should pray 'God give us leaders. Give the world an ear to hear our cries,a heart to feel our plight and a Will take decisive action that can help us'. Ours is the best cause of freedom in the world!
Posted by: Galabe Elvis | October 02, 2007 at 02:16 PM
My brothers and sisters in plight, excuse me for the many typing errors my vigilance often overlooks. When do we celebrate independence next and why? Request an answer from your francophone 'brother' in power. He may be in a better position to answer.
Posted by: Galabe Elvis | October 02, 2007 at 02:23 PM
Galabe, please refrain from this generalisation. The francophone u are taking about is not the old woman in Dschang who happens to speak no french. Please lets get this straight. Those who raped and led The Cameroon to the present inertia are both the Francophone ( francophile ) and anglophone elites. This guys were both too distant from the common folks out there. How comes former Southern Cameroon politicians could not manage to find a consensus as to the way forward. Did they not hear the voices of the people who wanted an autonoumous Southern Cameroon?. Why were folks like PM Kale, Motombe Wolete , Fon Achirimbi and co SIDELINED. Its true that in the democratic despensation that did exist then , the issue was the winner takes it all. Being in power, Foncha and his gang thought they had a mandate to negotiate a people's constitutional future, they forgot a constitutional future was an agenda above party politics. The hasty setup that came out of Foumban was not a reflection of the mainstream view in the Southern Cameroon. Once again you forget to understand the new elites in the then East and west Cameroon together had an interest in ensuring nothing in the name of Democracy decides who should be in power. Oh Galabe ,it was time for bread and butter on the table. That was what they were contented about. That explains why the likes of Muna stood by and watch how the foumban agreements were botched. Afterall he had had his own boutique and so he had to protect that. The way forward is to fight for freedoms to get this elites out of our way. Its a fact Galabe, their is a constituency out they , progressive i will call it, that want to see a new-new Cameroon emerge. A federalist Cameroon. Zapatero in Spain is doing the unthinkable ,far reaching devolution to the regions that make up Spain. It happen in the UK under Blair. It can happen in Cameroon. For that scenario to come true, Freedom is the course worth standing up for. Freedoms to choose my leader and impose our agenda. Freedoms to fire them if they dont deliver.Freedoms,freedoms, i mean. Without that we all will remain hostage to that gang of smooth criminals and elites who keep claiming to speak for you and me. Men and women we never choosed. Its annoying seeing this guys taking us hostage. First things first. Freedom.
Galabe thats where i stand. Where do u tsand?
Posted by: The southwesterner | October 02, 2007 at 03:00 PM
I appreciate your comment. As to where I stand, I venture to say here that I stand on my anglophone identity. It gives me the reservoir of strength I need to negotiate with anyone for any unity be it the francophone across the mungo or the man from equatorial Guinea who speaks spanish. I sympathise with the plight of the old helpless woman in Dschang. But do you know what? We anglophones within a United Cameroon could well generate enough wealth for ourselves to be able to assist persons as such in need of help across the Mungo. A suffering woman in Dschang is not different from you and I. In fact she is even better being a first class citizen of a country that enjoys independent status. There is pride in poverty when one is free from domination and foreign occupation. Ghandi and his people went on bare-bodied but the desire to be free men made them to reject British suits. You and I with this anglophone label which we carry about in our personality will never attract any concrete citizenship status with a country that identifies with the francophone world and is in some form of 'cold war' against the anglophone bloc. Man they called us 'enemies dans la maison' - remember, a long time ago. Do you know what, when the Germans came, they made us Germans (culture and language), when the British came they made us anglophones, when this French colony across the mungo extended its tentacles to colonise us, they attacked first our culture by replacing our administration and political system with theirs. 47 years after, look at things: our language remains intact and other aspects of our battered culture such as education and the Common Law. Come to think of it: what should an anglophone law student from an anglo-saxon university such as Buea be doing in ENAM where civil law administrators are trained? Are advocates of a stricto senso unitary state telling me that unity in 'Cameroon' should mean throwing away the anglophone system of government or administration an adopting the francophone system? If so where is the unity. To unite in ordinary English means to put or harmonise or bring together two things that are likely though not always different. In this case my brother we are different. We speak English, they speak French. We are coming from the west, they are from the east. We belong to the anglophone bloc that administers the common law they are coming from the francophone civil law system. In short we breathe with our left nostrils while they breathe with their right. Try to look between the line of events in our history. These francophones ( I don't hate them, I hate their wicked disposition towards us) have dinned with so-called leaders who mean no good for the anglophone people and have not fallen short of killing and persecuting those leaders who mean well for us. They winned and dinned with Muna, Foncha in the past. They are doing so with Inoni and Achidi Achu today. These are anglophones who have been selling us for the 30 pieces of silver with which they build their villas back home. On the other hand Jua who stood for a rival anglophone power died abruptly. Fonlon who cried foul following the Lake Nyos disaster died mysteriously 6 days later. Why are they persecuting SCNC activists? Don't these people have the right to air their constitutional views? Foncha became an enemy to the regime when he shamefully realised he was selling you and I. I will not tell you a lie, the oil you guys have in what is referred to as 'south west' has put you and I in trouble. I may not need to control oil money. I may simply wish to participate in the collection and rational spending of taxes from our 'poor bush markets'. But to have this ordinary power in Oku has been held back because of the oil in Limbe and deposits in Bakassi. Remember, the Gold in south Africa attracted the British. With the humane argument of preaching the Bible and civilizing south Africans, they put in place the worst system the world has ever known - apartheid. Once in control, they tapped all the Gold that became too expensive for the black to touch. What happened with us? The francophone had no interest in us. He voted at the UN against the General Assembly resolution asking us to join him. That was hate. When the UN imposed it on us and we joined him, he run his system for twelve years until oil in Limbe opened his eyes to realise that we were not united. A nice 'unity' argument came up and once Sonara was set up, the Limbe municipality is not fit to receive its dues or royalties. You and I are not fit to come close to the oil there as the black's distance to the gold in South Africa. The monster in the oppressor only comes out when he is squeezing his economic interest. Maddened by it, he does so with fury, he devours his fooled victim without shame and does so looking at him straight in his eyes. You can never understand from what depth of victimization I speak. Our parents may have felt colonization under Britain or domination under Nigeria. At least all that was on their land, the alien left. You and I are feeling the weight of a corrupted version of colonization characterized by recolonization, annexation and domination. Worse of all the alien is not willing to leave and is not accepting to be alien, not in the forseeable future. When the Germans were killing the Jews, Nazi authorities were teaching young Jews that they belonged to an inferior race. A fake doctrine often accompanies capture to attract the attention and compliance of the victim. For us, the unfounded 'gospel' is UNITY. Francophone unity come to think of it: unity in every sense of the word as in one, with anglophone Cameroon - not with francophone Gabon. That sounds bizzare and most stupid! It is though Britishmen or Nigerians claimed they were part of us to justify the political rape. That could make sense - at least we can communicate. But this claim of oneness by an oppressor is coming from one so nakedly different and is made in shamelessness of the highest proportion. The 'mama' in Dschang is suffering because of a bad government. Why is your mum and my mum in Bamenda and Buea suffering too? Come on Bro, there is power in this English we speak. Don't let a man who speaks French or Spanish to dominate you. It is like asking a 14 year old to defend you in court when you yourself are a Lawyer and knowing it. Do you need to be told the child does not have what it takes to defend you or that you can well rely on yourself? Man, for us who have been to school, we need to educate our people. Oppression will crumble naturally, education is the first and most important step. By merely reviewing our history we have stripped naked this francophone fox disguising as a brother.
Posted by: Galabe Elvis | October 02, 2007 at 11:42 PM
Lest I forget brother. We have not had any leaders officially or legitimately so to speak since 1972. The francophones have been using their power structure to choose so-called elites whom they train through their professional schools to represent us in the so-called unitary state. These aren't leaders, these are puppets and clowns who may best be described as 'officials' - at least the hold low level portfolios and some have offices. At another level, the elected people though somehow we participate in electing them in a questionable political process, cannot be our representatives. The business of the glass house at Ngoa Ekelle needs 90 votes for something legal to make some sense. You and I have been given only 35 so that we can never make any sense there. We are the Kuwait in Saddam's dream Iraq that never was. If Saddam's dream was really a dream then we should wake up because in this setup we are merely dreaming. 47 years yet no sign to get a good market, to cast a corrupt-free vote, to improve on our common law even by 1% or to make the dust history during the dry season. Here in school I was told there was a 'Cameroonian'. When the authorities were arranging for us to meet, I declined to do so not out of hate or something but simply because as I made them to understand, the mere fact that the student is studying the English she left back in Cameroon gives me the impression that we would not even be able to converse and that I doubt the fact that the both of us are 'Cameroonians' - one of us should be something, the other something else.
Posted by: Galabe Elvis | October 03, 2007 at 12:01 AM
FIRST DIBUSSI IS DOING 7M SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS A DISFAVOR BY DISPLAYING THAT FOREIGN FLAG OF AN ANNEXATIONIST -CRMINAL STATE AGINAST US, REMEMBER
THAT, WHETHER ITS IS TWO STARS OR TWENTY STARS , THE FLAGBELONGS TO(LA REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROON) NOT AMBAZONIA/SC
WE HAVE OUR OWN FLAG, PLEASE USE IT AND NEXT TIME, ALWAYS DRAW OUR MAP COMPLETE IN THE AFRICAN MAP.
Posted by: paulo laurent | October 03, 2007 at 09:57 AM
Dibussi,
I am a fan and I say it with a great amount of respect. I am VERY, VERY ,VERY VERY disappointed that you brought this flag out. This flag is a symbol of tear gas in Bamenda, torture, the killers at the Univeristy of Buea, the countless imprisonment of Southern Cameroonians. That is how some of us see it. It is so offensive that I will set it on fire anytime anyway. This flag is to some of us what any Nazi symbol will be to the Jews.
I don’t accept for one second the explanation you provided above. What about just leaving the space blank with no flag? What about just having a picture of the event that took place at Mount Mary Clinic during the All Anglophone Conference in Buea if you need to place events in context.
Remember that this is the flag of La Republuque Du Cameroun when you take away the two stars. This is the flag they had at independence in January 1, 1960. It was adopted by Law 46 of 29th October 1957 and confirmed by their constitution of 21 Feb. 1960. This is their flag. We have nothing and should have nothing to do with it.
The two stars were added when La Republique was in its dubious journey to annex Southern Cameroons. As the changed their flag and added the two stars so too did they changed their constitution to an illegal Federal Republic of Cameroun and added Southern Cameroons as part of their territory. La Republique Du Cameroun did all of this. Southern Cameroonians had no sizable part in these changes.
With all due respect, I am again very disappointed.
Posted by: M Nje | October 04, 2007 at 08:52 AM
Hi Nje,
You mention Bamenda in you comment. Please, go back to the archives and search for information about the running battles that "Anglophone militants", as they were referred to back then, had in that town with the army and gendarmes on February 10/11 1992 over this flag. That was the day when Anglophone resistance made the transition from purely academic discussions in Cameroon Post, le Messager (english edition), etc., to real activism on the ground. Yes, there was torture, mainings and arrests. And it was all due to the symbolism that the 2-star flag represented at the time. No amount of revisionism will make me trample on that symbolism and resistance which are the percusors to everything that is going on today.
One more time, you see fear - and that is your right. I see resistance and defiance. My right too. So burn your two-star flag by all means. I will save mine because it is an integral part of the story of resistance, of my story.
My final word!
Posted by: Dibussi | October 04, 2007 at 09:52 AM
Well done Mr.Dibussi,
that was ingenious, brilliant and classy. Your writings meets all the expectations I had about you. Maybe obfuscating and unproductive firebrands like M Nje, Paulo and Ma Mary can learn something from the way you write. Good job again, keep doing a good job.
Posted by: Unitedstatesofafrica | October 04, 2007 at 12:04 PM
"That is how some of us see it. It is so offensive that I will set it on fire anytime anyway. This flag is to some of us what any Nazi symbol will be to the Jews."- M Nje
Why am I not surprised that it is someone like you making these kinds of comments. The situation in Cameroon is bad, very bad but has it gone to an extreme level that you will compare it to the NAZI symbol? has it gone to that extent that you will accuse the author of this poem for celebrating a NAZI-like symbol? do you know the weight of your accusations?
You people are always try to exaggerate and blow things out of proportion. You say monstrous things in attempt to make yourself feel like you belong to something bigger and better than yourself.
I wish I had Dibussi's classy style but I don't so I will just tell you outright: You are a worthless critic and I hereby discard your authenticity. NONSENSE!!!!
Posted by: Unitedstatesofafrica | October 04, 2007 at 12:15 PM
Ma Mary, take note too. You are no different from M NJE
Posted by: Unitedstatesofafrica | October 04, 2007 at 12:17 PM
Mola Tande, u have a right to hold any opinion and why not? its u right to make them also known. I'm shocked at the way people react to your poem. Its a shame the way some interprete things. Dont let them push you into a corner. That mistress polemist - Ma Mary and her gang in the Postnewsline forum and here are capable of spin to the extreme. They will paint anyone with a different view as working for Yaounde.
Infact the intolerance to different views in the successionist camp is that one danger they dont realise will scare people away. USofAfrica, i loved that line of yours to Pa Ngembus. following is lacking in the course. The rank and file out there in the NW and SW simply want the chance to send those smooth bigots in Yaounde parking. People want a chance to vote. Thats our biggest trouble in Cameroon today.That's our most important key to fixing our Cameroon again. Thats the point folks. Breaking Cameroon is of no use. It will be a waste of time.
Fixing Cameroon is the big challenge of my generation. Each generation is faced with a different challenge. Ours is a challenge that demands we hold firm to our believes. Its challenging because the reality on the ground is no chocolate. That place called Cameroon is a complex setup. Every stake holder that make up the present day Cameroon wants to feel comfortable again. Infact i can understand why some have given up. I see why to others the Zero option is to walk away. Oh no, walking away is like fearing challenges. Its but natural that humans fear others who they perceive as different- but i wonder how my Mbo brother in The Muanenguba and Mungo regions in East Cameroon is different from me simply because he speaks french and i English . You see, the reality on the ground today is changing in our favour. More and more Francophone parents after years of neglect are beginning to realise the power of the education system in the NW and SW. our cities are becoming more and more cosmopolitan and more of the young are becoming bilingual . Cameroonians from both sides of the Mungo are beginning to learn more and more about one another. Infact there is a better picture ahead. Why try to walk away now?. I accept we have never had it easy. I understand there is still a long way ahead. Tell me which country is not facing challenges. What will make a difference is our approach to this challenges. The walking away approach is like saying well- there is no way forward. On the contrary we all know the stalemate today can only be broken if we can all choice to ask our RIGHTS TO VOTE and OUR VOTES COUNTED.
Pace,Libertas.
Posted by: The southwesterner | October 04, 2007 at 02:31 PM
big man syndrome is what the dibussi man
is sick of, never mind that he is in usa,
where truth and freedom reign,
he wont learn from any ones advise,
even from christ him self, after all. its his , podium. he is the man, the big man,
but those days are gone, what african needs for freedom to bloussom is real freedom, such that, citizen may carry firearms , to defend their freedom from any tyrant and dictator, for (what have a man got? if not himself?)
Posted by: paulo laurent | October 04, 2007 at 04:31 PM
That Flag is an illegal symbol. Southern Cameroonians never voted for that symbol. Consequently, I consider it as a political irrelevance in the fight for true freedom and social justice; and that it is a symbol of oppression-cum-repression by La Republique du Cameroun and France. Whether it was used to begin a demonstration does not make it legal.
However, Mola Dibussi has the right to include it in his writings on grounds that it is part of Cameroon's History. But I do not agree that it is symbol of defiance since it is illegal by all international standard of the law.
Posted by: Louis_Mbua | October 05, 2007 at 03:05 AM
cameroons history? what cameroon history?
is the something as cameroon history?
common people stop lieing to your heads.
JUST AS SOME ONE SAYS , THEY PREFER FEDERATION, WHAT FEDERATION> I THOUGHT WE
HAD A FEDERATION BEFORE, WHATS HAPPENED TO THE MINDS OF THESE PEOPLE, ARE YOU REALLY AMBAZONIANS? SOO, YOU HATE TO BE YOURSELF. AND WANTS YOUR CHILDRENS , CHILDREN TO BE SLAVES UNDER THESE ILLETRATE-PRIMITIVE ARMED. NEGROIDES FOREVER? CHOOSE INDEPENDENCE AND BE PROUD OF IT , LIVE FREE OR DIE.
ASKO FOR HIS, THERE ARE TWO HISTORES , FOR THE TWO CAMEROONS, ONE THAT IS FRENCH-COLONIAL AND BRITISH-COLONIAL. THE HISTORY THAT STARTS IN 1960, IS NOTHING BUT, A JUGGERNAUT OF HUMAN CALAMAITY ON THE PRETENSE OF DICTATORSHIP, BY THE FRENCH-NEGROIDES ON SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS GENTLEMEN.
JUST AS THE NAME LIMBE, CHANGED BY FRENCH -AFRICAN NEGROIDES, TO DISTORT SOUTHERN CAMEROONS HISTORY ISNT (AFRICAN)
THE NAME CAMEROON/CAMEROUN/ KAMERUN ISNT AFRICAN TOO. AS THERE WAS NEVER A COUNTRY CALLED CAMEROON BEFORE 1884. THAT WAS MADE UP ON LA REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN AND SOUTHERN CAMEROONS, CAMEROON IN 1884 WAS MADE UP CONGO, TOGO, GABON , CENTRAL AFRICAN REP, SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN CAMEROONS AND LA REPUBLIQUE DU CAMEROUN,
ALL THESE COUNTRIES WERE RULED BY CHIEFDOMS AND FONDOMS, NOT BY ONE BIG PRESIDENT CALLED AHIDJO OR PAUL BIYA. THE NAME CAMEROES IS PORTUGUESE FOR LOBSTERS, A COMMON SEAFOOD FOUND IN THE WEST AFRICAN COAST BACK IN 1492.
SOO,SOUTHERN CAMEROONS ISNT INDEPENDENT TODAY, BECAUSE FONCHA/MUNA MISTAKENLY TRUST THESE FRENCH -NEGROIDES FOR GENTLEMEN. BY BELIEVEING THEIR WORDS IN 1961. SOO, THEN, FONCHA/MUNA NEVER SAW THE NEED FOR A STANDING ARMY ON SOUTHERN CAMEROONS SOIL TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE AND
THE LAND.IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE PLEBISCITE OF 1961. LA REPUBLIQUE ARMY
GERDAMES. RUSHED IN AND OCCUPIED OUR NATION TILL THIS DAY. SOO OUR TASK IS THE ASK HOW MANY BOOTS DO WE NEED ON THE GROUND, HOW MANY GUNS, HOW MANY TANKS. HOW MANY F-16 FIGHTERS. HOW MANY
RPGS, HOW MANY MANY MEN. ? HOW MUCH WOULD ALL THESE COST IN DOLLARS AND CENTS. THIS WE HAVE TO INITIATE INOUR TIME, THAT WAY WE CAN WIPE THIS
OCCUPYING FORCES OUT OF OUR COUNTRY AND
HAVE PEACE AGAIN.
Posted by: paulo laurent | October 05, 2007 at 09:51 AM
Fellows, this is a poem and not an academic work! Even if it were one, does that mean that a writer can no longer use an "illegal" image to depict or illustrate the historical of a schorlarly piece or a work of fiction? The most highly acclaimed work from Nigeria for 2007 was a book titled "Half of a Yellow Sun" which prominently featured the "illegal" flag of the breakaway Biafra. No one has complained about the "illegality" of the said image because it is contextually appropriate since the novel is set in Nigeria of the 1960s. If I read Tande correctly, this poem was written in 1992 under a specific political context in which the 2-star flag meant something different from what it means to the nationalist front today. So what is all the fuss about?
I don't know much about the events of February 1992 in Bamenda so I can't talk about them, but I do know, based on reports back then from the US State Department, Amnesty International, etc. that the leading Anglophone group at the time was CAM which called for a return to the federation and used the 2-state flag as its main symbol of resistance to "francophone domination and oppression" - which is why people were jailed and shot at for carrying that flag. So while it might be "illegal" based on the nationalist interpretation of international law, it nonetheless represented something else both to the Biya regime and Anglophones in the 1990s. And we know that CAM which used this symbol was not a marginal group but the most popular Anglophone group at the time which ultimately gave birth to the AAC and the SNCN. So why on earth are we now pretending that the 1990s never happened?
We seem to have become specialists in denying our history after every decade and killing off the heroes of the previous decade. Which is why the Munzus and Elads are not lauded for the pivotal role that they played in the Anglophone awakening of the 1990s, but instead demonized and smeared allegedly for real or imagined mistakes. Do you guys think George Washington, Lincoln, Madison, etc., were perfect human beings or perfect leaders???? No! But Americans were smart enough to make them symbols of mobilization in spite of, and NOT because of.
Anglophone Cameroon history is a fairly linear one. In the 1990s, the the symbol of Anglophone resistance was the 2-state flag. In this new millenium, that symbol is the blue and white Southern Cameroons flag. That's our history, for better or for worse. People have been arrested and have died for both symbols. So let's give each its due.
Posted by: Anulefac | October 05, 2007 at 02:34 PM