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Africa’s Political Wastelands explores and confirms the fact that because of irresponsible, corrupt, selfish, and unpatriotic kleptocrats parading as leaders, the ultimate breakdown of order has become the norm in African nations, especially those south of the Sahara. The result is the virtual annihilation of once thriving and proud nations along with the citizenry who are transformed into wretches, vagrants, and in the extreme, refugees. Doh uses Cameroon as an exemplary microcosm to make this point while still holding imperialist ambitions largely responsible for the status quo in Africa. Ultimately, in the hope of jumpstarting the process, he makes pertinent suggestions on turning the tide on the continent. “Doh has produced a comprehensive coverage of the sticky issues on Cameroon ranging from endemic corruption to pathological arrogance of political power. His work is human and convincing in its detail.” - Professor Tatah Mentan, Visiting Associate Professor, Institute for Global Studies, University of Minnesota “A decade after leaving to preserve his own integrity, the scholar-poet Fru Doh looks back, takes stock and pinpoints the troubles his homeland, Cameroon, experiences. It shares the harsh African backdrop and foreground of colonization and globalization, but Paul Biya’s Cameroon endures special conditions in his personalized rule since 1982, carried out by sycophant appointees, parvenu masters of corruption, “big men” who shame his people’s customs and values. The promise blighted, the resources wasted, the nation betrayed: this chapter and verse indictment shows what’s gone wrong and states where redemption lies.” - Milton Krieger, Professor Emeritus, Western Washington University “This is an honest attempt to diagnose the current woes of the African continent with a detailed case study of Cameroon. One of the major merits of this study is the meticulous, and sometimes somewhat provocative, description of how the ‘system’ works under the corrupt oppressive Biya regime and how it is perceived by the ordinary citizens and how it affects their lives. The author displays exceptional literary skills in exposing the actual working of the system. His somewhat lengthy study is therefore never boring. On the contrary, it almost reads like a novel. I am not aware of any book on Cameroon that provides so much insight in the actual working of the system and tells the story so vividly.” - Piet Konings, African Studies Centre, Leiden Emmanuel Fru Doh, a native of Cameroon, holds a Ph.D from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He taught at the University of Yaounde I (E.N.S. Bambili) for almost a decade before leaving. He then had a brief stint as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Minnesota before joining the English Department at Century, a college within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System. Langaa Research and Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Province Cameroon Cover: Bertrand F. Doh ...

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