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

Chapter 8 - A Bumpy Road to an Untenable Resolution in Buea

183 Chapter 8 A Bumpy Road to an Untenable Resolution in Buea Introduction This chapter focuses on the attempts by the various actors involved in the student strike in the University of Buea to arrive at a settlement and restore peace on campus. One of the major actors was the revived University of Buea Students’ Union (UBSU), which was charged to steer the affairs of the strike in a meaningful way although there was a counter weight association to it. One major problem, however, was the refusal of the university authorities to recognise the union and to start negotiations with it. Given this stalemate, the government eventually appointed a commission, the Abouem à Tchoyi commission to investigate the situation at the UB and arrive at recommendations to end the strike. The UB students, acting now under the umbrella of UBSU, listed a number of grievances to the commission, the university and public administration. These grievances were to be met before the students call off their strike. The chapter ends with relating the factors that led to a temporal call off of the strike. Students Outline Terms For Return to Campus By Effa Tambenkongho 184 A newly formed outfit, calling itself the University of Buea Students’ Union, UBSU, has outlined the reasons for the current strike action, stating certain conditions which must be fulfilled before normal classes resume. Walter Onekon Angwere, political science student, who claimed to be the head of the “Provisional Government” of the UBSU, told The Post that part of the essence of the Union, is to facilitate dialogue between the varsity authorities and administration on the one hand and the students. He said the Union’s first outing will be tomorrow, Tuesday, when, according to him, the Higher Education Minister, Jacques Fame Ndongo would be paying an official visit to UB. The Union would be accosting the Minister, with the students’ demands, Angwere told the press. The demands include the immediate replacement or transfer of UB Vice Chancellor, Dr Dorothy Njeuma the recognition of the Students Union, abolition, of FCFA 53.000 school fees, all courses to be offered in the re-sit exams; no money to be paid before collecting official documents like transcripts; well-equipped and updated laboratories, scholarships for Master’s degree students, adequate toilets, lecture halls, good food, good drinking water, and other amenities to be made available to students; the updating of the university library with relevant books and the recruitment of more qualified teaching staff whose working conditions must be improved. The demands also include “quick reports concerning the murderers of our two student brothers…”, all gendarmes and police forces be asked to leave the campus immediately, and the release of all detained students. Angwere, told The Post, that he was positive the Minister would receive the union leaders. What if he didn’t? The Post asked. We’ll see to it that he does so, was the reply. He said he was begging his colleagues students, to lend him support adding that there is need for dialogue if classes must resume. Onekon said they had planned for the strike to last for just 24 hours, after which, they would open up dialogue with the administration. That same day, he said, the Registrar tried in vain to address the students. According to him, the Registrar could have been the one who invited the police, who later beat up students. Answering a question Angwere said they thought it normal for the students to take to the streets first, before initiating dialogue with the authorities. “We might have made mistakes”, he said, adding that students 185 went beyond the confines of the campus because they wanted the public to know about their grievances. As to why students vandalised the university property, Angwere replied that it could be traced to the Registrar’s refusal to ask the police to release their mates. The Registrar was quoted as having said that the students were arrested out of campus, where the university has no jurisdiction. He wasn’t sure of the government scrapping the FCFA 50.000 fees. Rather he saw the government getting strict on the FCFA 50.000 which, to him, is far better than the close to FCFA 60.000 which is collected at UB, because of additional charges like faculty fee, among others. Asked if they have the blessings of, or any consideration for their parents as they riot, he replied...