Whenever human consciousness is awaken against injustice, many often think that such awakening would bring a speedy end to the injustice. That is however hardly the case, for the cause of justice often lingers rather than sprint. This is a lesson that is often learned the hard way but sometimes not learned at all. Failure to learn this lesson has often led to the death of many a worthy cause. Back in the 1990s when Cameroonians were awoken to the evils of a single party system and the rapacity of Paul Biya, they thought that the days of the single parties were numbered. People poured into the streets to demand a multi-party democracy and a society that is socially just. Protests and demonstrations were launched and the country was paralyzed for a while. When people saw that the change they sought was not materializing as quickly as they imagined, this quest for a just society fizzled, and was replaced by an even more rapacious society.
However, this quest for a just society has been resurrected in the recent Anglophone struggle. The Anglophone problem in Cameroon is as old as the country itself. However, it is only recently that the matter has garnered significant impetus from ordinary people. Protests that had gripped the country, leading to many deaths, is now fizzling out because some of its leaders have been chased out of the country and the people are tired of protests.
This is where the South African example comes in. The anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa was planned for the longue duree because its leaders understood, from experience, that the vision of the protests would not be achieved in one day. They thus instilled in the people what may be described as a protest imagination. A protest imagination is developed through constantly reminding the people that what they sought has not been achieved and that they must not lose sight of that goal. Within this framework, people may go back to work, children may go back to school, and life may return to "normal", so to speak. However, means need to be developed to constantly remind the people of the goal that is sought and the people also need to know that it may take generations for that goal to be realized. That is the lesson from South Africa. Apartheid in South Africa was not brought down in one day, one year, or one decade. It took at least five decades! During this time, children went to school, men went to the mines, and women worked as maids. But the struggle continued. It continues even to this day. It takes time for a just society to emerge but the struggle for such a society must not be abandoned.
However, this quest for a just society has been resurrected in the recent Anglophone struggle. The Anglophone problem in Cameroon is as old as the country itself. However, it is only recently that the matter has garnered significant impetus from ordinary people. Protests that had gripped the country, leading to many deaths, is now fizzling out because some of its leaders have been chased out of the country and the people are tired of protests.
This is where the South African example comes in. The anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa was planned for the longue duree because its leaders understood, from experience, that the vision of the protests would not be achieved in one day. They thus instilled in the people what may be described as a protest imagination. A protest imagination is developed through constantly reminding the people that what they sought has not been achieved and that they must not lose sight of that goal. Within this framework, people may go back to work, children may go back to school, and life may return to "normal", so to speak. However, means need to be developed to constantly remind the people of the goal that is sought and the people also need to know that it may take generations for that goal to be realized. That is the lesson from South Africa. Apartheid in South Africa was not brought down in one day, one year, or one decade. It took at least five decades! During this time, children went to school, men went to the mines, and women worked as maids. But the struggle continued. It continues even to this day. It takes time for a just society to emerge but the struggle for such a society must not be abandoned.
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