University Crisis and Student Protests in Africa: The 2005 -2006 University Students� Strike in Cameroon

Chapter 9 - Civil Society Actors Weigh in on the University Strike

257 Chapter 9 Civil Society Actors Weigh in on the University Strike Introduction The university does not only serve as an arena within which societal issues are refracted, but given the prevalence of youth political, social and economic cultures, it represents a recruiting ground for different causes. Given the centrality of the university therefore in social mobilisation, civil societies often stake competing claims on the interests of the university student population. The occurrence of student protests therefore presents a prime opportunity for civil society actors to side with or against student movements, while understanding the possible political fallouts of their different positions. What is important here is the prism through which each civil society actor perceived the crisis in the university system through their own organisational lenses. While some saw it as reflective of broader problems which affect the corps of lecturers, others saw it as an Anglophone problem, while it was also perceived by some through North West Region and South West Region dichotomies. Conspicuously silent, even in the event of loss of life, were the many political parties in Cameroon which present themselves as advocates for the respect of the democratic rule of law. These issues are brought out here following ‘hot meetings’ that were held between the staff of the University of Buea, the university of Buea administration and the Minister of Higher Education. The exchanges between the staff from different regions as well as the Vice Chancellor pointed at regionalism which had touched on the fabric of the University of Buea. In Cameroon the challenge of civil society has been to create awareness in citizens that will encourage them to take responsibility for their individual and collective destinies (Mbuagbo and Akoko 2004). Unfortunately the liberties of citizens as found in the constitution have remained so far a dead letter. Civil society is fractured, and the flavour of its vibrancy has gone sour. In any ordinary sense civil society deals with day-to-day operations of livelihood and one should be able to talk of civil society when it has an impact on the society; if not it should be left out. However, civil society has 258 occasioned endless disputes over definitions and its study in Africa has made great strides (Comaroff and Comaroff 1999; Kasfir 1998; Sitoe 1998; Osaghae 1994). Some scholars have seen civil society in terms of advancing democracy and disciplining the state to ensure that citizen interest is taken seriously and greater civil and political participation is fostered (Carothers 2000). Others have conceived of civil society as a critical element of democratisation, arguing that the current failure of the process of democratisation in Africa hinges in part on the failure of states to respond to the pressing demands of their people (Fatten Jr. 1995). Yet others see civil society as more or less imaginary: ‘outside of the sociological, historical and cultural events of its imagination, the existence or non-existence of civil society is not significant’ (Tester 1992). Still others see civil society as the process by which society seeks to breach and counteract the simultaneous ‘totalisation’ unleashed by the state (Bayart 1989). Finally others simply define civil society as ‘new spaces for communication and discussion over which the state have no control’ (Monga 1998). Synes Communiqué on the UB Crisis The right to strike is a tenet of democracy and provided for in the constitution of our country. How a strike is executed is also of essence. How a strike action is contained or managed by the various authorities is a very crucial factors which contributes to the final outcome of the strike action. UB Students and Security Forces Face Each Other 259 With the UB students’ strike action it was clear that there was no responsible and effective leadership, which should have directed the strike action and with whom authorities would have dialogued as is the case with the University of Yaounde I - a consequence of the absence of an independent student union with a credible leadership. The current compartmentalised, dependent and ineffective faculty association are no near-substitutes for a true and independent students’ union. In any student strike action, which overspills in an attempt to carry its grievances to any given authority, the classic approach has been for the forces of law and order to sandwich the students and to pre-empt any excesses. In the case of Buea, the police chose to incite violence by: i...