2200 Days of Protesting Paul Biya's 35-Year Murderous Dictatorship in Cameroon

Paul Biya of Cameroon (AFP)

Cameroon is a very small country in West-Central Africa and it may be best known for football (soccer) rather than much else. But the country has very talented and hardworking people who, but for their tenacity, would have been completely broken. Their hard work has however not paid off in the postcolony because the country is lead by a rapacious dictator who has been at the helm of the country for over 35 years now - Paul Biya. Under his regime, the country not only bowed to severe economic crisis which has killed many poor people, but the infrastructure of the country has far diminished. Cameroon is the site of ghastly rail and road accidents that are due to the dilapidated nature of the transportation system. The morality and morale of many people in the country have been almost destroyed as many young people do not appear to see a future for themselves in the country. The healthcare system is so broken that many women continue to die in childbirth and many people continue to die from little, curable diseases. Meanwhile, Paul Biya himself spends much of his time in France and other European countries, especially when he is sick, as he often does, given that is a very old man now.

The flashpoint in the country now is the Cameroon Anglophone crisis which Paul Biya has totally been unable to address, with the country slowly descending into war. Schools have closed in Anglophone regions but Paul Biya has been busy cutting the Internet there rather than seeing to it that children go to school. Spreading illiteracy in Anglophone Cameroon seems to be Paul Biya's primary goal now, as he continues to serve the interest of France rather than Cameroonians. His focus on serving France rather than Cameroon has led some to say that he is actually a Frenchman rather than a Cameroonian.
We here at FlourishingAfrica have been protesting this rapacity for 2200 days since Paul Biya rigged the last election. We will continue to do so until he is no longer the dictator of Cameroon. The man is now washed up and has no new ideas about how to move the country forward. Cameroonians deserve much better.

The Incomparable Massing Benjamin: RIP

Ghana's President Speaks for Us

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Nominated for the Grammy

Tinariwen's Elwan Nominated for the Grammy

How to Hand Over Power and Authority

A parable from Cameroon's makossa.

November 6th, 1982: The Day That Will Live in Infamy in Cameroon's History

November 6th, 1982, is the day that Paul Biya, through the machinations of France, was made President of Cameroon in one of the most undemocratic ways possible. His predecessor simply made way for him to become President. That was thirty five years ago! Over this period, Biya has concocted one ill-informed policy after another, running the Cameroon economy aground in the process. His disdain for the country is seen in the fact that he spends more time travelling in Europe than he does in Cameroon. During his reign, the country has galloped from one political crisis to another while suffering an economic crisis that has lasted throughout his reign.

November 6th, 1982, will live in infamy in the history of Cameroon because since Biya became the President of the country, this little, prosperous country has been looted so badly that its denizens have been demoralized and are even despairing of its future. As Paul Biya celebrates 35 years of his dictatorship, the country, especially its Anglophone region, has descended into violence and uncertainty. Such profound failure of governance would be embarrassing to anyone interested in the future of a people. But not Paul Biya. The future of the country continue to be precarious under his misrule and the line of succession in the country is not even clear as it is not clear which constitution under which Cameroon is being governed. It is quite a tragic state of affairs that calls for deep concern. This state of affairs ought to be condemned and rejected by all people of goodwill. No people in our world today deserver the dastardly treatment Paul Biya is meting out on Cameroonians. November 6th, 1982, will be remembered with horror in Cameroon.

The Harvest of Colonialism in Cameroon

If history is not about the past but rather about the present which has been constructed by the past, then we are justified in claiming that the current strife going on in Cameroon is the harvest of the colonialism. This can be seen from different angles: first, the problem is defined culturally and linguistically as a problem of language and the marginalization of the Anglo-Saxon legacy in Southern Cameroons. Interestingly, the issue is not ethnic or "tribal", as African crises have been notoriously described in the past. The struggle seems to be about which colonial discourse to privilege rather than a clearer vision of the future of a people. The current crisis is a testament that colonial infrastructures have come to stay in Cameroon and that the way forward is negotiated only within the confines of this infrastructure. This shows a profound lack of imagination.

This is even more so given the attitude of Paul Biya's dictatorship towards the crisis. It has been handled in classically colonial manner through the use of violence. This is quite reminiscent of the violence meted out against those who fought against colonial violence during the heydays of independence struggle. Now the struggle is against the same colonial machinery with the only difference being that this machinery is masterminded by black pupils (Paul Biya's word) serving the interests of their masters in France. Compare this with the situation in Catalonia, Spain, where those seen to be leaders of a breakaway movement are taken to court and given due process, where no one was killed in the recent referendum that was outlawed by the state. Colonialism does not work through due process. Its aims can only be achieved through violence because its aims are rooted in illegitimacy and rapacity.

Thus, the so-called Anglophone problem in Cameroon is the harvest of colonialism in two ways. First, the crisis is located in duplicitous colonial discourse that denied the people of Southern Cameroons a right to self-determination and concocted the colonial state that is presently Cameroon. The rapacity of the postcolonial state forestalled any fruitful, imaginative insight that may maintain balance in said situation, exacerbating the fragility of the state. Perhaps a state that is built on duplicity cannot last. Second, the Anglophone problem is a harvest of colonialism because of the response of the Biya junta - through the characteristic violence copied from the colonial state. Instead of addressing the protests of the people through dialogue, the people are thrown in jail and massacred. The blatant disregard which colonial regimes demonstrated against Africans is now being mimicked by the Biya regime. Robin Kelley is therefore right to observe that "while colonialism in its formal sense might have been dismantled, the colonial state" is still with us. In Cameroon, we are fighting about how to live as colonial subjects: are we going to live as British or French? Is it possible to be free within the confines of colonial discourse and infrastructure? Let's see what happens in Cameroon.

2100 Days of Protesting Paul Biya's 34-Year Murderous Dictatorship in Cameroon

Paul Biya of Cameroon (AFP)

Cameroon is a very small country in West-Central Africa and it may be best known for football (soccer) rather than much else. But the country has very talented and hardworking people who, but for their tenacity, would have been completely broken. Their hard work has however not paid off in the postcolony because the country is lead by a rapacious dictator who has been at the helm of the country for over 34 years now - Paul Biya. Under his regime, the country not only bowed to severe economic crisis which has killed many poor people, but the infrastructure of the country has far diminished. Cameroon is the site of ghastly rail and road accidents that are due to the dilapidated nature of the transportation system. The morality and morale of many people in the country have been almost destroyed as many young people do not appear to see a future for themselves in the country. The healthcare system is so broken that many women continue to die in childbirth and many people continue to die from little, curable diseases. Meanwhile, Paul Biya himself spends much of his time in France and other European countries, especially when he is sick, as he often does, given that is a very old man now.

The flashpoint in the country now is the Cameroon Anglophone crisis which Paul Biya has totally been unable to address. Schools have closed in Anglophone regions but Paul Biya has been busy cutting the Internet there rather than seeing to it that children go to school. Spreading illiteracy in Anglophone Cameroon seems to be Paul Biya's primary goal now, as he continues to serve the interest of France rather than Cameroonians. His focus on serving France rather than Cameroon has led some to say that he is actually a Frenchman rather than a Cameroonian.
We here at FlourishingAfrica have been protesting this rapacity for 2100 days since Paul Biya rigged the last election. We will continue to do so until he is no longer the dictator of Cameroon. The man is now washed up and has no new ideas about how to move the country forward. Cameroonians deserve much better.

Southern Cameroon Leaders Need Protest Imagination

Changing an entrenched political system with deep-seated, rhizomic national and international special interests, is always a long, hard, and bruising endeavor. In order to bring such change about, a group has to develop what I here call a protest imagination. A protest imagination is a way of perceiving the struggle for social and political transformation which begins from the premise that making such change is hard and takes a very long time. It therefore begins with a very long term vision and plan, studying and engaging in different means to effect the change sought. It was this very imagination which John Fru Ndi lacked when he thought that the change he sought in Cameroon could be achieved in a short time. When that did not happen, he became part of the government. The leadership (or should I say leaderships) of the Southern Cameroon struggles lacks this imagination and it does not bode well for the future of the movement. There is much tussling for turf and power in the groups but one hardly finds a long term vision and plan. Some of them think that this thing will be resolved in just a couple of years or even less. The idea that this may take ten to twenty years or even more is not part of their imagination. Their vision for the future of Southern Cameroons is even more fuzzy.

However, if one looks at any such struggles around the world, there is hardly any that has achieved its objects in just a few years. The struggles have often been protracted but means have been developed to always keep the struggle alive. People have planted crops, children have gone to school. hospitals have been built, people have bought and sold things: in all this, they have always known that they are in a struggle and the goal sought is always clear. I see South Africa as a good example of this. Life did not stop for Black people in South Africa because they were fighting against apartheid. The fight was carried out in the means of life. In fact, life was lived as a struggle until freedom was won.

The lack of protest imagination among Southern Cameroon leaders has led them to rely mainly on just a couple of tools, lacking vision as to how daily life may happen in the midst of seeking their vision. It is a deplorable state of affairs. The thought leaders of the movement have some hard thinking to do. 

How Much Does a Human Soul Cost?

The annals of the transatlantic and trans-Saharan slave trades have inscriptions of the cost of a human being, such costs perhaps most often dependent on the health, age, race, and gender of the person. Perhaps such is still the case today in the illicit trade in human beings, especially women, around the world. However, I have hardly encountered the tabulation of the cost of selling a human soul. that animating force in the human being, which marks out the person as a conscious participant in things human and/or divine. While the cost of a human soul may perhaps be found in many places in life today, the place that seems more evident to me is the pay stub or pay slip. There, you will find how much our souls go for, for better or for worse.

As is the case with the illicit sale of the human body, the cost of the human soul also depends on age, race, health, and gender. Education has however come to play an especially significantly role, especially education in science and technology, which are seen as the drivers of the modern global political economy. So, depending on how much education you have and what you are educated in, the going price for selling your soul may be quite steep. As a CEO, for example, you have the chance of screwing the lives of many people, fighting to cut their health insurance and paying them $7.50 an hour. Or you may work at one of the many rapacious governments around the world, convincing people that red is blue and that bad policies are actually good for them. Out of no fault of yours, you may sell your soul to the CEO for $7.50, voting for the government that robs you of dignity just because, well, your reason is not quite clear.

You could be a preacher, saying that the human soul is priceless (remember Master Card?), yet putting yours at the service of white supremacy. You know very well that a black person's soul is worth less than a white person's soul and that the souls of women and LGBT people are worth less than those of straight white men, but you carry on . . . . There are things about the cost of the soul you simply know are right and one of those things is that all souls do not go for the same price. Or you may be an elitist preacher in the global South selling your soul and that of your congregants to the powers that be.

The causes we support in life and what we derive from them should tell us how much our souls are worth and what we think a human soul costs.

China's Empire Begins in Africa

China's global ambitions have been on display for a number of decades now but this has mainly been seen through its vast global economic investments. The pretense that China's global ambitions were limited to trade has been laid to rest today with the announcement of China's first military overseas base in Djibouti, a small piece of real estate in East Africa, where America also has a military base. 

To Hell With Authenticity!

I am sick and tired of reading books that talk about authentic this or authentic that - authentic human, authentic African, authentic Christian, etc. etc. They talk about authenticity as if they intend to hawk a particular kind of ware and are not sure if they will be trusted unless the ware is authentic. Why does it need to be authentic this or authentic that? Who creates such authenticity and what purpose does it serve? What does it mean to be authentically Christian or authentically human, or authentically African or authentically anything? We know what Mobutu Sese Seko did with the idea of African authenticity in the then Zaire. We know how talk of authenticity are often designed to exclude. The sooner we learn that there is no authenticity about any human artifact the better it will be for all of us. I do not want to read another book about what it means to be authentically African or authentically Christian or authentically anything. Just tell me what you are selling and I will know whether I want to buy it or not! 

Why Are Priests Turning Up Dead In Cameroon?

Just in the past two months, three Roman Catholic priests - one a bishop - have died in suspicious circumstances in Cameroon. One was found dead in his home while the other drowned in a river, purportedly leaving behind a suicide note. These deaths would raise suspicion even in normal circumstances. But the circumstances in Cameroon have been far from normal for a long while now. Priests and nuns have turned up dead in the country and others have even fled the country. This is why these recent deaths are raising many eyebrows. Will the answers to the many questions people are asking ever be found? What does the government know about these deaths?

2000 Days of Protesting Paul Biya's Murderous Dictatorship in Cameroon

Cameroon's Paul Biya

Cameroon is a very small country in West-Central Africa and it may be best known for football (soccer) rather than much else. But the country has very talented and hardworking people who, but for their tenacity, would have been completely broken. Their hard work has however not paid off in the postcolony because the country is lead by a rapacious dictator who has been at the helm of the country for over 34 years now - Paul Biya. Under his regime, the country not only bowed to severe economic crisis which has killed many poor people, but the infrastructure of the country has far diminished. Cameroon is the site of ghastly rail and road accidents that are due to the dilapidated nature of the transportation system. The morality and morale of many people in the country have been almost destroyed as many young people do not appear to see a future for themselves in the country. The healthcare system is so broken that many women continue to die in childbirth and many people continue to die from little, curable diseases. Meanwhile, Paul Biya himself spends much of his time in France and other European countries, especially when he is sick, as he often does, given that is a very old man now.

The flashpoint in the country now is the Cameroon Anglophone crisis which Paul Biya has totally ignored. Schools have closed in Anglophone regions but Paul Biya has been busy cutting the Internet there rather than seeing to it that children go to school. Spreading illiteracy in Anglophone Cameroon seems to be Paul Biya's primary goal now, as he continues to serve the interest of France rather than Cameroonians. His focus on serving France rather than Cameroon has led some to say that he is actually a Frenchman rather than a Cameroonian.
We here at FlourishingAfrica have been protesting this rapacity for 2000 days since Paul Biya rigged the last election. We will continue to do so until he is no longer the dictator of Cameroon. Cameroonians deserve much better.

Cohen's Hallelujah Given an African Flavor

On the Sainthood of Julius Mwalimu Nyerere

While some are calling for the first post-independence President of Tanzania, Julius Nyerere, to be made a saint, others are debating whether this should be so. What is remarkable in all this is not the debate itself but that such debate is about an African politician not an African priest, bishop or nun. It is more remarkable that such debate is taking place at all! For a continent whose politicians are often mostly noted for their amorality and cultivation of all kinds of vices, just the claim that one of its previous leaders should be made a saint is quite remarkable. It is further quite remarkable because the Mo Ibrahim Foundation has for years been looking for worthy African leaders to squander cash on as a lifetime gift, but has found very few. It is even more remarkable because there are currently many Roman Catholic politicians in Africa whom one would not be surprised to find them in hell!

President Julius Nyerere and Pope John Paul II

From BBC via Getty

In spite of all this, some are calling for, and others are debating, that one of them should be made a saint, declaring that such a person is in heaven with God! If nothing else, this speaks of the complexity and even paradox that is Africa - a place of amazing beauty and astounding rapacity.

Morality and Law are for Losers

This is not a significant insight for it his been reiterated throughout intellectual history. It is however worth another iteration because of its detractors and the fact that examples for the case keep piling.  I use just three cases in our very recent memory to make the case. The case of Donald Trump is just so glaring that it hardly needs elaboration. The lies, bullying, insults that led him to America's presidency are there for all to see. Just this week, a gentleman in Montana won an election for the US congress even though the fact that he had beaten up a journalist in the process was captured on audio. It was only after he won the election that he apologized for the ignominy. If I had beaten up a journalist, this post, if I had been able to write it at all, would have been about my experience in jail and probably about my way to prison. I would have been fired from my job also if my employer had been made aware of the incident. However, our gentleman from Montana will be heading to Washington, DC, to make laws for America. Finally, the Dictator of Burundi who says he is the president of the country. A born-again Christian (by the way, all the examples here are from Christian people), he shot and killed his way to power and manipulated the election to keep himself there. Now he says he wants to revive moral rectitude in the country. His target is people who are co-habiting. He says that co-habitation increases the population of the country and poses a danger to the moral fiber of society. He has given an ultimatum for those who are co-habiting to marry, as if that would solve the population problem he is talking about. Perhaps the population crisis does not matter if the people increasing the population are married. There you have it - three examples why morality and law are for losers.

Healthcare Rankings Around the World: African Countries Still at the Bottom

The Lancet has recently ranked the healthcare access in 195 countries in the world based on how they succeed in preventing people from dying from curable diseases. The results are not encouraging for most African countries because they find themselves at the bottom of the list.  The last country is Central African Republic which has been at war with itself for a while now. The report shows that between 1990 to 2015, the highest increases in access to healthcare have happened in countries like South Korea and China rather than in African countries. Access to healthcare and mortality rate should be the number one criterion by which the idea of a rising Africa is measured. This report significantly challenges the notion of a rising Africa. In the table below, most African countries have a failing grade when it comes to treating preventable diseases. Compare it to the countries at the top of the list in the second table.





Source: The Lancet.

Emmanuel Macron Protects French Colonial Ties in Africa

His first foreign trip after being sworn into office as France's president was to Europe's powerhouse, Germany. His second foreign trip took him not to Chine or the United States but to the African country of Mali, which is central to France's interest in Africa. The public narrative of this visit is that Macron is visiting French troops who are fighting terror in Africa. However, anyone who has been paying attention knows that France has enormous interest in Africa and this interest is more about economics than the military. Macron's trip is to protect the France-Afrique connection which is critical to France's economy. Africa is central to France's place as a world power because France still controls most of its former colonies there. Macron goes to protect these colonial ties.

Emmanuel Macron and Mali's President Ibrahim Boubakar Keita

. 

Source: BBC

South African Men Shamed Into Action

The dire situation of violence against women in South Africa, made louder by the recent murder of Karabo Mokoena, has shamed some South African men to start taking action by organizing a march. The hashtage #NotInMyName is now trending on twitter and prominent figures are supporting the march.

A trending tweet

Source: BBC

But organizing marches should be only the first step. Deeper questions need to be asked about the kind of society that train men to be women-killers. And answers need to be sought for these questions. It is important to note that this disturbing trend of abuse and murder of women is not limited to South Africa. Societies all over Africa and indeed all over the world, need to be put on notice.

South African Men as Savages: The Testimony of Pumza Fihlani

The recent murder of the young South African lady, Karabo Mokoena, has brought to the fore the violence that South African women and women around the world suffer at the hands of men - they are often not only harassed and humiliated but also disfigured and murdered. In the wake of the brutal murder of Mokoena, the BBC Johannesburg correspondent, Pumza Fihlani, has written a short but powerful cry for help. In the piece she portrays South African women as living in fear of their men who prowl, like savages, waiting to harm the suspicious woman at any time. Now we can say that painting all South African men as savages does them great injustice because there are surely some very decent men in South Africa. However, this would not do justice to the fear Ms. Fihlani manifests in her piece. A fearful person does not have time to discriminate between the good and the bad. The concern should be addressing the cause of the fear. South African men should be ashamed that their women live in such fear. This shame should spur them to do all that is in their power to restore safety to their communities because a society that kills its women is sure destined for extinction. Perhaps this is why some South African scholars have described the violence against women in that country as tantamount to signing a covenant with death.

Contesting Cameroon: Insightful Engagement of the Southern Cameroons Struggle

Neil deGrasse Tyson as Science Evangelist

Here is part of what I meant to say with the post before this one.

Science and Technology Evangelists Wanted in Africa

It is debatable what life in many African countries would be like if science and technology were as ubiquitously promoted as religion. While it is not certain what such a life may look like, one may hazard the suggestion that the ubiquitous promotion of science and technology in the continent may lead to improved medical care that would reduce deaths from curable health issues such as malaria, stem infant and maternal mortality, prolong life for the chronically ill, develop sustainable agriculture to address food shortages, and develop technology to address infrastructural needs, among many others. While some of the ills the continent faces today, such as political conflicts, may not be blamed on limited attention given to science and technology, there is no denying that significant emphasis still needs to be paid on science and technology in the continent.

            Instead of the development of science and technology, however, more attention is apparently being placed on the spread of religion in the continent. In addition to indigenous African religions, other religions around the world are keen on improving their stakes in the continent. Thus, religions, including Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Bahai, and others, are making the run in the continent. Recently it has been noted that about half the population of the continent is now Christian, with Pentecostalism becoming not only a churchly but also a societal phenomenon in many African countries. Islam, the second largest religion in the continent, is said growing by leaps and bounds, even as these religious are often appropriated within the framework of African indigenous religions.

            The fact that many Africans experience these other religions within the framework of their indigenous religions is significant because the quest for human well-being is central in indigenous religions, as would seem to be the case in all religions. This quest for human well-being makes indigenous religions to be quite amendable to scientific developments that address various human needs. Given that many of the difficulties the continent faces may be addressed through scientific and technological research, it would not be out of place to argue that such research would be welcome in many African countries. However, the establishment of such research facilities has been few and far between. Even as the educational infrastructures are struggling in many countries the churches and mosques and shrines are increasing. Thus, while religion, which Africans are said to be rich in, is increasing, science and technology, which many in the continent are in dire need of, do not appear to be experiencing significant boost.

            Why are the religions gaining ground in the continent while scientific and technological research hardly budge? Many reasons may be given for this but a very important one is that it is cheaper to promote religion than it is to promote science and technology. While enormous resources are needed to initiate and sustain a lab or research center, it costs less to start and sustain a religious community. With their limited resources, starting and sustaining a religious community has proven to be more viable. Thus, Jesus Christ and Karl Marx have been proven to be quite right when they noted that the poor rather than the rich are the target of religion. Because of the sheer cost of spreading science and technology, these are often ubiquitous in richer countries with significant resources while religions are often exported to poorer countries like those in Africa.

            Apart from the cost, however, the method of spreading religion and science and technology are quite similar: both require the evangelistic spirit because both seek to create and sustain converts. How this is so was especially evident during the so-called Scientific Revolution where an inventor like Robert Boyle needed to convince the wider public of the efficacy of his air-pump. This led to what Steven Shapin has described as the “populizarization of science.” We need science evangelists to popularize science and technology in Africa today. Perhaps those who popularize the various religions in Africa may also take up the cause of science and technology for, to misquote Jesus Christ, human beings do not live by the spirit alone.

Donald Trump Selling As Military Dictator in Nigeria

Image of American President Donald Trump

The Southern Cameroons Struggles II: A Lesson From South Sudan

The birth of South Sudan as an independent country was celebrated with much fanfare in 2011. Images of people dancing for joy were beamed on many television screens around the world and the impression was given that a new day had dawn in the land of a hitherto oppressed people. That new day has however hardly materialized as the new country has now numbered itself among those that give Africa the bad name of being a warring continent.

The case of South Sudan is very similar to that of Southern Cameroons. Like South Sudan, the people of Southern Cameroons see themselves as a minority English-speaking people wronged by a majority French-speaking people. More precisely, Southern Cameroonians see themselves as a minority English-speaking people oppressed by a French majority government. For the most part, there is hardly a conflict between English-speaking and French-speaking Cameroonians, for they are often neighbors. The main problem is about how the majority French-speaking government is treating southern Cameroonians. While in South Sudan the conflict was cast in a religious light as a conflict between Christians in the South and Muslims in the North, especially through the influence of American Evangelicals, the situation in Cameroon appears to be linguistic and policy driven. However, the goal South Sudan has achieved appears to be the goal leaders of Southern Cameroons are seeking - independence from La Republique du Cameroun.

This goal is however something that needs to be rethought because it gives the impression that southern Cameroonians are united under the English-speaking banner. The impression was also given that South Sudan was united under Christianity. However, after independence, we started hearing of differences between the Dinka and the Nuer and how this has led to bloody conflict between them. Right now many are only talking about the language that unites Anglophone Cameroonians but less is being heard of the xenophobic tendencies that Bamenda people often experience in the South West Region. Politicians may fan the flames of this xenophobia in the event of independence and the Utopia which people seek may hardly be realized. This is the lesson from South Sudan and must be taken into account in the context of the present Anglophone struggles. It must be acknowledged that the situation is more nuanced than we sometimes make it to be.

The Southern Cameroons Struggles I: A Lesson From South Africa

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.

Saints Kathy and Madiba, Pray for Us

Artist imagines the reunion of Kathy and Madiba

Culled from the BBC

Pope Francis, Is This Man A Christian?

Pope Francis has recently been telling us how Christian behavior should look like but it is not clear what he thinks of the Christian character of the Catholic dictator of Cameroon, Paul Biya. Just take a look at what  is doing to an otherwise affluent country, Cameroon. His government has arrested and is currently detaining many Cameroonians, especially from Anglophone Cameroon, without any due process. He has plundered the country for his own gain, spending much of his time in Europe rather than in the country. The Pope's silence about Paul Biya's rapacity in that country is deafening. Check out the bland press release from the Vatican after a recent meeting the Pope had with Paul Biya here.

From left to right - Paul Biya, Pope Francis, and Biya's wife, Chantal

Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Back!

1900 Days of Protesting Paul Biya's 34-Year Murderous Dictatorship In Cameroon

Cameroon is a very small country in West-Central Africa and it may be best known for football (soccer) rather than much else. But the country has very talented and hardworking people who, but for their tenacity, would have been completely broken. Their hard work has however not paid off in the postcolony because the country is lead by a rapacious dictator who has been at the helm of the country for over 34 years now - Paul Biya. Under his regime, the country not only bowed to severe economic crisis which has killed many poor people, but the infrastructure of the country has far diminished. Cameroon is the site of ghastly rail and road accidents that are due to the dilapidated nature of the transportation system. The morality and morale of many people in the country have been almost destroyed as many young people do not appear to see a future for themselves in the country. The healthcare system is so broken that many women continue to die in childbirth and many people continue to die from little, curable diseases. Meanwhile, Paul Biya himself spends much of his time in France and other European countries, especially when he is sick, as he often does, given that is a very old man now.

The flashpoint in the country now is the Cameroon Anglophone crisis which Paul Biya has totally ignored. Schools have closed in Anglophone regions but Paul Biya has been busy cutting the Internet there rather than seeing to it that children go to school. Spreading illiteracy in Anglophone Cameroon seems to be Paul Biya's primary goal now, as he continues to serve the interest of France rather than Cameroonians. His focus on serving France rather than Cameroon has led some to say that he is actually a Frenchman rather than a Cameroonian.

We here at FlourishingAfrica have been protesting this rapacity for 1900 hundred days since Paul Biya rigged the last election. We will continue to do so until he is no longer the dictator of Cameroon. Cameroonians deserve much better.

Okot p'Bitek: The Atheist Who Defended Religion

Speaking of an atheist who loves religion would be like speaking of a mouse who loves cats. Apart from some theological tomes that see atheism as theological, it is difficult to find atheists who think well of religion, let alone defending it. That is however what Okot p'Bitek, the Ugandan and African nationalist of the last century, did. Declaring himself one who neither beliefs in gods nor spirits, he defended the place of African indigenous religions in the life of the people and urged that they must be studied on their own terms rather than within the framework Christianity as had hitherto been the case. Perhaps p'Bitek held this stance because he wanted to defend indigenous religions which had been maligned by missionaries and colonialists. Perhaps he simply understood the value of religions in the life of people more than other atheists. Perhaps he was just naïve about the nature of religion, specifically African indigenous religions.

Sidiki Diabate: Like Father, Like Son

From $1 to $35,000 Wedding: Capitalism Will Not Be Taunted

A couple in Kenya who spent $1 to conduct their wedding has been granted a wedding that costs $35,000 because "everyone needs that dream wedding," as one Events Planner puts it. Holding a wedding for $1 was an affront to a capitalist system that has made many young people around the world to think that a wedding is only worth the name if it is done in a particular way. A $1 wedding is an affront to a system were people go into massive debt in order to be married. In order to make sure that such an affront does not stand, and so serve as a bad example to other would-be couples, some "well-wishers" came together to augment the cost of the wedding. The capitalist formation would not be taunted. Henceforth it will be remembered that it is unacceptable to spend just $1 to conduct a wedding. Weddings, even in African countries where most young people do not make much, has to cost thousands of dollars. Classic!

First ($1) Wedding photo (from the BBC)

Second ($35,000) Wedding photo (From the BBC)

The Sensation of Oum, Soul of Morocco

Rokia Traore: Projet Roots

Sona Jobarteh, the Griot from the Gambia

Luol Deng, A Famous Refugee, Speaks About the Ban

When the light at the end of the tunnel is turned off.

How to Plunder Africa in Good Conscience

On Good and Bad Government

The Allegory of Good and Bad Government. An old idea with contemporary relevance.

Francophones Should Support the Southern Cameroons Struggle

Narratives on the Anglophone Cameroon struggles may give the impression that Anglophone Cameroonians are against Francophone Cameroonians thus leading Francophone Cameroonians to be apprehensive of what Anglophone Cameroonians seek. The idea of the Francophone system being forced down the throats of Anglophone Cameroonians may give the impression that Anglophone Cameroonians are against Francophone Cameroonians. This would be to simplify the matter. What Anglophone Cameroonians are decrying is a form of plunder by successive post-independence regimes in Cameroon that have ridden rough shod not only against the spirit and letter of what Cameroon was supposed to be but against the well-being of the peoples of this geographical triangle. Southern Cameroonians would not be protesting and being killed by the Biya regime today if they had the end of the deal which the independence agreement stipulated. Sticking to this deal would have provided the benefit of peace which, I believe, all Cameroonians seek.

The decrying of the marginalization that assimilates Anglophone Cameroonians into a unitary system is a function of the despoliation which the Biya and Ahidjo regimes have visited on Cameroonians for over fifty years now. The Anglophone struggle should not give the impression that Francophones have a more decent life in Cameroon than Anglophones. This is far from the truth. The justice Anglophone Cameroonians seek is a justice that would also benefit Francophone Cameroonians. The centralization of the government in Yaoundé has robbed both Francophone and Anglophone Cameroonians of their voices and creative potential and so Francophones should support the Anglophone cause because regional autonomy has the potential to unleash the creativity and dynamism of both the Francophones and Anglophones. The current Anglophone crisis actually gives a cover to Paul Biya because the silence of Francophones may give the impression that the Biya regime has been good to them. This is also a false impression.

The current crisis should therefore not be seen as only an Anglophone Cameroonian struggle but rather as a Cameroonian struggle. Francophones should be supporting the Anglophone cause because in doing so, they also raise their voice against a regime that is despoiling them.

Development Aid As Magic

While development aid has been critiqued from various perspectives for a while now, the magical side of aid has hardly been as effectively demonstrated as a very short piece in The Guardian has recently done. While there are many significant insights in this piece, the central point is that developing countries are actually giving aid to developed countries rather than the other way around. The magic in it all is that, like in most magic, there has often been a sleight of hand that causes misdirection - portraying the takers as the givers and the givers as the takers. Thus, even though developing countries have been giving far more aid to developed countries, the narrative has been popularized that it is developed countries that actually give aid to developing countries. In other words, the narrative makes the beggar to become the giver and the giver the beggar. Pulling off such magical feat is astonishing.

Dying to be British or French In Cameroon

Postcolonial theory has all along been theorizing how former colonists may come out of the shackles of their erstwhile colonizers, seeing the colonial situation as having hampered the flourishing of dominated peoples around the world. In order to overcome their colonial situations, one of the premises on offer is that the suppressed voices of the former colonies need to be brought to the fore and local worldviews have to shape the life of the people. Theorizing the end of colonialism is however being seriously undermined by a very complex problem in Cameroon, one of only two countries in the world (Canada is the other) that have English and French as their official languages.

The problem in Cameroon is called the Anglophone problem, that is, the marginalization of the English-speaking regions by the French-speaking regions of the country. This problem has recently come to the fore with deadly consequences, especially in Bamenda, Cameroon. The disruption caused in the country has led a group of Roman Catholic prelates, always more politically informed than their Protestant counterparts, to send a letter to Cameroon's dictator, Paul Biya, calling for urgent measures to be taken to address the situation.

The situation flies in the face of most post-colonial theories in that the claims made by English-speaking Cameroonians against their French-speaking counterparts is rooted in colonialism. English-speaking or Anglophone Cameroonians are claiming their British heritage, which they claim is far more democratic and respect the rule of law than the French-speaking system. As the Roman Catholic prelates note, what is at stake is the "Anglophone identity," which "goes beyond the mere ability to speak or understand the English language. It speaks to a core of values, beliefs, customs, and ways of relating to the other inherited from the British who ruled this region from 1916 to 1961. ‘Anglophonism’ is a culture, a way of being which cannot be transmitted by merely learning a language."

It is quite interesting that the postcolonial struggle here does not draw from any perceived African way of being but rather on a way of being inherited from the British. In other words, Cameroonians are fighting and dying in order to determine whether they want to be British or French. How would postcolonial theory theorize this without risking being out of step with the people, as Frantz Fanon once charged? Or as Achille Mbembe noted in the opening paragraph of his On The Postcolony, is it possible to theorize Africa without repeating the same things in different ways? In this case, is it even possible to speak of a postcolony or should we rather speak of the continuation of colonialism in another way?