LOST SOUL
The head of state said a few years ago that he'll like to be remembered as a leader who brought (or perhaps maintained) peace and democracy in Cameroon.
For many years, most countries in West and Central Africa have known some sort of political turmoil our armed conflict.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has not known peace since president Mobutu was chased out of Kinshasa… though the relative calm that existed while he was in power cannot quite be described as peace.
The Central African Republic has been in almost permanent state of war and is fast becoming a standard example of a failing state.
The Republic of Congo and Gabon have had their moments.
Equatorial Guinea and Chad, have not seen boots on the ground and the clatter of gunshots but thirty eight years for the former and a quarter of a century for the latter with single head state do not seem like perfect examples of democracy.
Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and currently Togo have all known their moments of trouble.
The trend in these parts of the world have been deeply troubling, to say the least. But Cameroon, by comparison and with the exception of 1990 and 2008 has been calm. So calm that it has become a central reference point from which much of the international community observes the subregion. In fact, there seems to be an unspoken acceptance that it is important for Cameroon not to descend into the spiral of unrest lest the entire sub-region be irreversibly contaminated.
*****************************************
A few years ago disturbances in the northern part of Cameroon became significant enough that the highest authority in the land formally declared war on the Islamic sect Boko Haram.
Much was said about it. The international community was mobilised. Resources were mobilised. Cameroonians rallied behind their military in an effort to beat back the advancing terrorists; and in the manner of support seen in France after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Cameroonians could be seen placarding “Je suis Maroua” or “Je suis Mora”.
HOWEVER, recently, a strange trend has emerged. A strange and disheartening trend.
On 29th October 2017, a terrorist attack killed 11 persons two kilometers into Cameroon territory on the northern border with Nigeria. Two days later on 31st October 2017, another bomb blast killed 5 children. 16 people civilians dead in two days...
I looked through the national daily both on 30th October and 1st November 2017, and not a single word about the horrors.
I looked through the popular Facebook groups where “Je suis Maroua” was mostly used to express solidarity with the affected communities and no-one was talking about the attacks and loss of life.
Earlier on, on 1st October 2017, many are said to have been killed and varying reports place the number of deaths within a range of ten to hundreds depending on where they stand on the political spectrum. And still on the basis of their position on the spectrum, either give a low number and justify the killings or inflate the number (sometimes with ‘fake’ photos) and condemn the killings. In either case, the discourse is quickly shifted from the deaths to the political issues involved.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING TO THE SOUL OF THIS COUNTRY.
WHAT HAPPENED THAT WE SUDDENLY BECAME STRUCK BY SUCH COLLECTIVE NUMBNESS AND INSENSITIVITY TO LOSS OF LIFE?
WHEN AND HOW DID THE DEATH OF SO MANY PEOPLE THROUGH “FRIENDLY" OR “ENEMY” FIRE BECOME SO NORMAL THAT NO-ONE TALKS ABOUT IT?
It is disturbing… and even more so because only recently, following a shooting attack 12,900km away in Las Vegas, USA, a strongly worded letter of sympathy was written to the American people in our name. Yes… in the name of the Cameroonian people. An honourable thing to have done; YET, another dimension of the disturbing trend since we are so quick to sympathise with Americans but insensitive to our own losses.
A little further back in time in January 2015, in Paris, an equally strongly worded letter was written in our name to condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo. A high level delegation was also dispatched to represent us in a public demonstration to condemn the violence, remember the dead and sympathise with the bereaved. A laudable thing to have done once again. But guess what, ONLY 12 people had been killed… 7,000km away… in another country… in another continent.
There is something regrettable in referring to the death of 12 innocent people as “ONLY 12”. But the muteness that has followed the death of 16 people in the last four days and perhaps dozens or hundreds in the last five weeks would cause 12 to pale into insignificance.
Oh... lest I forget, in the past two days, the UNHCR (Not the Intensional Crisis Group… Not Amnesty International) reported that it had registered 2,000 refugees fleeing from Southwestern Cameroon, that it expected to register another 3,000 within the next few days and that it is making contingency plans to receive up to 40,000 people. The Cameroon media and government are quiet about it, preferring to celebrate the long overdue and inconsequential decision authorising free movement of people within an economic zone that is not the most attractive in foreign investments.
Yes, our country, Cameroon has become one of those countries where its citizens run away from to find safety in one of the poor parts of Nigeria and live of charity and humanitarian aid. And if that is not bad enough, we also seem NUMB to it.
The solidarity that a people show for the loss of innocent civilian lives is a marker of a common heart of that people.
The safety that a country is able to guarantee for its citizens is a marker of national honour.
The point at which we lost both sympathy for our own blood and honour for our own national brand is significant cause for concern.
The ability for Americans to rise above political differences and stand together when a single American life is lost is the real meaning of nation. In America recently, President Trump found himself in a spot of bother because his message of condolence was seen to be inappropriate after the death of one American… ONE. If only Americans knew that they were so lucky.
Americans stood together after New York - 2001, Boston - 2013 and Las Vegas - 2017. The British did same after the terrorist attacks in London - 2005 and Manchester - 2017 as did the French after Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan attacks in 2017. Such strong demonstration of the soul of a nation may seem spontaneous; but it is built over many years through shared values and recognition by principle of their shared humanity and nationality.
HOWEVER, even when attained, that feeling of a NATIONAL SOUL is not a permanent state of social existence.
The ability to sympathise, the ability to unite and the determination to protect the honour of one's country is not a fact of nature. Rather, it is nurtured.
It is nurtured by good governance.
It is nurtured by the assurance of equal access to opportunities.
It is nurtured by fair distribution of wealth.
It is nurtured by the guarantee of basic liberties.
It is nurtured also by the freedom to aspire even to the highest office.
We must think, both as individuals and as a de facto community of citizens, how we became so numb to the death and suffering of some of our own. Or perhaps we're having to live with the fact that we found it acceptable that people affected by war in the northern parts may not deserve or receive letters of sympathy and support in real time as the victims of Las Vegas and Paris deserved and received.
We must think about how and when we became so insensitive to the dishonourable tag of a country from which citizens flee into poverty to find safety from “friendly” fire. Or perhaps we're having to live with the logic of denial of a problem that degenerated into and resulted in the flights.
Whether by affirmation, warning or denial, we must worry that the term ‘Genocide’ and ‘Cameroon’ are used in the same breath. But how could we possibly suddenly worry about bad news when our DNA dictates denial. When Cameroon was declared the most corrupt country in the world, some denied it, some asked for proof, some threatened to ban the whistle blower… then started a fight against corruption.
We must think about the oneness of our state that rests on a nation that has become so undeniably fragmented.
A STATE IS LIKE A BODY… THE NATION IS IT'S SOUL
Published on 3rd Nov 2017
For many years, most countries in West and Central Africa have known some sort of political turmoil our armed conflict.
The Democratic Republic of Congo has not known peace since president Mobutu was chased out of Kinshasa… though the relative calm that existed while he was in power cannot quite be described as peace.
The Central African Republic has been in almost permanent state of war and is fast becoming a standard example of a failing state.
The Republic of Congo and Gabon have had their moments.
Equatorial Guinea and Chad, have not seen boots on the ground and the clatter of gunshots but thirty eight years for the former and a quarter of a century for the latter with single head state do not seem like perfect examples of democracy.
Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and currently Togo have all known their moments of trouble.
The trend in these parts of the world have been deeply troubling, to say the least. But Cameroon, by comparison and with the exception of 1990 and 2008 has been calm. So calm that it has become a central reference point from which much of the international community observes the subregion. In fact, there seems to be an unspoken acceptance that it is important for Cameroon not to descend into the spiral of unrest lest the entire sub-region be irreversibly contaminated.
*****************************************
A few years ago disturbances in the northern part of Cameroon became significant enough that the highest authority in the land formally declared war on the Islamic sect Boko Haram.
Much was said about it. The international community was mobilised. Resources were mobilised. Cameroonians rallied behind their military in an effort to beat back the advancing terrorists; and in the manner of support seen in France after the Charlie Hebdo attacks, Cameroonians could be seen placarding “Je suis Maroua” or “Je suis Mora”.
HOWEVER, recently, a strange trend has emerged. A strange and disheartening trend.
On 29th October 2017, a terrorist attack killed 11 persons two kilometers into Cameroon territory on the northern border with Nigeria. Two days later on 31st October 2017, another bomb blast killed 5 children. 16 people civilians dead in two days...
I looked through the national daily both on 30th October and 1st November 2017, and not a single word about the horrors.
I looked through the popular Facebook groups where “Je suis Maroua” was mostly used to express solidarity with the affected communities and no-one was talking about the attacks and loss of life.
Earlier on, on 1st October 2017, many are said to have been killed and varying reports place the number of deaths within a range of ten to hundreds depending on where they stand on the political spectrum. And still on the basis of their position on the spectrum, either give a low number and justify the killings or inflate the number (sometimes with ‘fake’ photos) and condemn the killings. In either case, the discourse is quickly shifted from the deaths to the political issues involved.
SOMETHING IS HAPPENING TO THE SOUL OF THIS COUNTRY.
WHAT HAPPENED THAT WE SUDDENLY BECAME STRUCK BY SUCH COLLECTIVE NUMBNESS AND INSENSITIVITY TO LOSS OF LIFE?
WHEN AND HOW DID THE DEATH OF SO MANY PEOPLE THROUGH “FRIENDLY" OR “ENEMY” FIRE BECOME SO NORMAL THAT NO-ONE TALKS ABOUT IT?
It is disturbing… and even more so because only recently, following a shooting attack 12,900km away in Las Vegas, USA, a strongly worded letter of sympathy was written to the American people in our name. Yes… in the name of the Cameroonian people. An honourable thing to have done; YET, another dimension of the disturbing trend since we are so quick to sympathise with Americans but insensitive to our own losses.
A little further back in time in January 2015, in Paris, an equally strongly worded letter was written in our name to condemn the attack on Charlie Hebdo. A high level delegation was also dispatched to represent us in a public demonstration to condemn the violence, remember the dead and sympathise with the bereaved. A laudable thing to have done once again. But guess what, ONLY 12 people had been killed… 7,000km away… in another country… in another continent.
There is something regrettable in referring to the death of 12 innocent people as “ONLY 12”. But the muteness that has followed the death of 16 people in the last four days and perhaps dozens or hundreds in the last five weeks would cause 12 to pale into insignificance.
Oh... lest I forget, in the past two days, the UNHCR (Not the Intensional Crisis Group… Not Amnesty International) reported that it had registered 2,000 refugees fleeing from Southwestern Cameroon, that it expected to register another 3,000 within the next few days and that it is making contingency plans to receive up to 40,000 people. The Cameroon media and government are quiet about it, preferring to celebrate the long overdue and inconsequential decision authorising free movement of people within an economic zone that is not the most attractive in foreign investments.
Yes, our country, Cameroon has become one of those countries where its citizens run away from to find safety in one of the poor parts of Nigeria and live of charity and humanitarian aid. And if that is not bad enough, we also seem NUMB to it.
The solidarity that a people show for the loss of innocent civilian lives is a marker of a common heart of that people.
The safety that a country is able to guarantee for its citizens is a marker of national honour.
The point at which we lost both sympathy for our own blood and honour for our own national brand is significant cause for concern.
The ability for Americans to rise above political differences and stand together when a single American life is lost is the real meaning of nation. In America recently, President Trump found himself in a spot of bother because his message of condolence was seen to be inappropriate after the death of one American… ONE. If only Americans knew that they were so lucky.
Americans stood together after New York - 2001, Boston - 2013 and Las Vegas - 2017. The British did same after the terrorist attacks in London - 2005 and Manchester - 2017 as did the French after Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan attacks in 2017. Such strong demonstration of the soul of a nation may seem spontaneous; but it is built over many years through shared values and recognition by principle of their shared humanity and nationality.
HOWEVER, even when attained, that feeling of a NATIONAL SOUL is not a permanent state of social existence.
The ability to sympathise, the ability to unite and the determination to protect the honour of one's country is not a fact of nature. Rather, it is nurtured.
It is nurtured by good governance.
It is nurtured by the assurance of equal access to opportunities.
It is nurtured by fair distribution of wealth.
It is nurtured by the guarantee of basic liberties.
It is nurtured also by the freedom to aspire even to the highest office.
We must think, both as individuals and as a de facto community of citizens, how we became so numb to the death and suffering of some of our own. Or perhaps we're having to live with the fact that we found it acceptable that people affected by war in the northern parts may not deserve or receive letters of sympathy and support in real time as the victims of Las Vegas and Paris deserved and received.
We must think about how and when we became so insensitive to the dishonourable tag of a country from which citizens flee into poverty to find safety from “friendly” fire. Or perhaps we're having to live with the logic of denial of a problem that degenerated into and resulted in the flights.
Whether by affirmation, warning or denial, we must worry that the term ‘Genocide’ and ‘Cameroon’ are used in the same breath. But how could we possibly suddenly worry about bad news when our DNA dictates denial. When Cameroon was declared the most corrupt country in the world, some denied it, some asked for proof, some threatened to ban the whistle blower… then started a fight against corruption.
We must think about the oneness of our state that rests on a nation that has become so undeniably fragmented.
A STATE IS LIKE A BODY… THE NATION IS IT'S SOUL
Published on 3rd Nov 2017
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