I Spit on their Graves: Testimony Relevant to the Democratization Struggle in Cameroon

Unanglophonic Anglophones: The Clogs on our Libertarian Wheels

61 Unanglophonic Anglophones: TheClogsonourLibertarianWheels F irst of all, you would like to know what the son of Gobata thinks about the just re-announced “grand” national “débat,” not so? Well, here it is, straight, firm and unequivocal. It is all a grand diversionary ploy! Quote me. If anything satisfactory ever comes out of it, feel free to conclude that senility is catching up with this offspring of a noble name. What are the reasons for my pessimism? Good question. Answer: This re-announcement was hurriedly arranged over the phone. You are, of course, aware that papa went to see Papa. Don’t be surprised if he is still there by the time you are reading this. While our papa, who is only a kid in the eyes of his own Papa was there, the latter, who has himself not was performing too well lately, severely reprimanded our papa for his idiotic political blunders. Our kid-papa or pupil-teacher also had enough time to gauge the full international effects of the Fru Ndi phenomenon. When Garga Haman, Hameni Bielieu and Sengat Kuo were arrested last week, the French media were all over town (their own town) with the news. Here at home, Fru Ndi´s tours and rallies have been a practical demonstration of what the members of the “Union for Change” mean by calling him the legitimate president and what he himself means by saying: “Biya has the arms but I have the people!” To crown it all, the World Bank and IMF, in spite of French efforts and propaganda, recently banged the front door against Cameroon. 62 Godfrey B. Tangwa (Rotcod Gobata) So, in panic, oga went for his medicine bag of magic tricks. The French joker (overt power sharing with the French) was already used, equally gone was the military joker (sharing power with the military in a veritable diarchy). But the bag is not yet empty and the first joker that came out was the “grand débat” thing. That is why the parrot (porte-parole) of the regime was directed to re-announce the famous “grand débat” with neither agenda modalities, composition nor definite time-table. They say it is neither a national conference nor the tripartite nor a constituent assembly. So, what is it? Damn it, it’s a “grand débat”! They say everyone will be involved and all shades of opinion will be taken into consideration. But how? Have they, at last, found a way of inviting 12 million Cameroonians to the conference table? And when everyone has been heard and all shades of opinion taken, what next? Did you notice that when the English news commentators made a characteristic slip of the tongue, by saying that the whole exercise would end in a referendum, they were made to recant and eat their words immediately? Well, don’t get me wrong. Don’t imagine that I will be boycotting the “grand débat” the way I’ve been boycotting French goods and services. Not this time around. I will surely be there to represent the national association of sceptics. I may even be there in a dual capacity. You surely are aware that West Cameroonians are taking the issue seriously. They are all working towards a harmonized and unshakable common position. Three decades ago our fathers were deceived and cheated at Foumban. This is a golden opportunity for us to redress the effects of their vincible and invincible errors. We must not fail or waver. To do so would be to condemn our children to a worse fate than has been our lot in the last two decades. Which brings me to the unanglophonic Anglophones. These are the speed breaks on our road to a freer, juster and democratic Cameroon where the West Cameroon Anglo- 63 I Spit on their Graves: Testimony Relevant to the Democratization Struggle Saxon heritage is not swept under the thick carpet of Francophonism with its phoney values. The Anglo-Saxon cultural heritage, especially the English language, is emerging unarguably as the culture of the entire world. So why would we throw away such a valuable heritage just to satisfy the selfish schemes of French people who have continued to consider Africa as a farm that should be exploited but not tended? Don’t confuse the issue of federalism with the problem of decentralisation. Decentralization concerns all Cameroonians. Federalism, strictly, concerns only West Cameroonians...