When was the last time you heard the name Mancho Bibixy? That deafening silence you hear is the silence of forgetfulness created by the crisis of improvisation - making up things as we go - which is now the state of the crisis. But Mancho Bibixy is a name that is central to the uprising now rocking Anglophone Cameroon. He is now languishing in prison in Yaoundé, Cameroon, after his arrest in January 2017 and his sentencing to fifteen years in prison, in May 2018, for spearheading the call for a federal state in Cameroon. When Mr. Bibixy first came to the spotlight, he was standing in a coffin. He made his demand for the change of the status quo standing in a coffin, a powerful symbol that has been interpreted as representing the death of Southern Cameroons.
However, the coffin in which Mr. Bibixy stood says more than simply representing the death of Southern Cameroon. If Southern Cameroon were dead, Mr. Bibixy would not be standing, let alone standing in a coffin. Mr. Bibixy chose the coffin because it is the reality of many of those who dare to challenge the status quo in much of Africa. Those who have stood up against the machinery of power that wreaks havoc on the lives of many Africans, more often than not, end up in the coffin. Sometimes this coffin is a tight cell and other times it is placed in the ground. The coffin is a symbol of the overcoming of the fear that inhibits people's ability to stand up to the terror of the African state. It is a demonstration of the willingness to die for the cause, thus setting people free to rise up with abandon.
The coffin is also a more powerful symbol: it is the symbol of the person of peace. It may be surprising that a symbol of death may be a sign of peace but there is a long history of instruments of murder standing for peace, especially in the story of the cross of Jesus. Thus, when Mr. Bibixy stood in that coffin, he was not only announcing his willingness to die for the Southern Cameroons cause; he was also announcing his willing to die rather than take a life for the cause. And that is perhaps the main difference between Mr. Bibixy and the Ambazonia people who have taken up arms. But the difference is great. Killing for a cause debases the killer and jeopardizes the cause. Killing is the work of anger not fortitude, of revenge not determination. By standing in the coffin, Mr. Bibixy brings together fortitude and determination, doing more for the cause with less resources. His confinement today, even when it is rumored that there have been means for him to escape, is a powerful continuation of this willingness to lay down his life rather than take the life of others, even if his cause is just. Else, he could have escaped when the opportunity presented itself and join the ranks of those who have taken up arms with self-justifying righteousness, dancing the dance of death in Cameroon. Remember the name: Mancho Bibixy. He stood in the coffin and announced a new day. That new day belongs to people like him.
However, the coffin in which Mr. Bibixy stood says more than simply representing the death of Southern Cameroon. If Southern Cameroon were dead, Mr. Bibixy would not be standing, let alone standing in a coffin. Mr. Bibixy chose the coffin because it is the reality of many of those who dare to challenge the status quo in much of Africa. Those who have stood up against the machinery of power that wreaks havoc on the lives of many Africans, more often than not, end up in the coffin. Sometimes this coffin is a tight cell and other times it is placed in the ground. The coffin is a symbol of the overcoming of the fear that inhibits people's ability to stand up to the terror of the African state. It is a demonstration of the willingness to die for the cause, thus setting people free to rise up with abandon.
The coffin is also a more powerful symbol: it is the symbol of the person of peace. It may be surprising that a symbol of death may be a sign of peace but there is a long history of instruments of murder standing for peace, especially in the story of the cross of Jesus. Thus, when Mr. Bibixy stood in that coffin, he was not only announcing his willingness to die for the Southern Cameroons cause; he was also announcing his willing to die rather than take a life for the cause. And that is perhaps the main difference between Mr. Bibixy and the Ambazonia people who have taken up arms. But the difference is great. Killing for a cause debases the killer and jeopardizes the cause. Killing is the work of anger not fortitude, of revenge not determination. By standing in the coffin, Mr. Bibixy brings together fortitude and determination, doing more for the cause with less resources. His confinement today, even when it is rumored that there have been means for him to escape, is a powerful continuation of this willingness to lay down his life rather than take the life of others, even if his cause is just. Else, he could have escaped when the opportunity presented itself and join the ranks of those who have taken up arms with self-justifying righteousness, dancing the dance of death in Cameroon. Remember the name: Mancho Bibixy. He stood in the coffin and announced a new day. That new day belongs to people like him.
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