It is a befitting sign of the times that the so-called Reunification Bridge over the River Mungo, standing tall and proud one day, is reduced to smithereens in the twinkle of an eye. The Mungo Bridge, as it is said, is a symbol of the troubled marriage between the ex-British Southern Cameroons and the independent ex-French Cameroun. There are often clarion messages in words, deeds and incidents that we are often as indifferent to as rocks are to us. Mind you that the English and French versions of the second stanza of the so-called national anthem have nothing in common safe for melody. If you doubt it, verify. It is amazing how we often gloss over these things. Here goes the second stanza of the English version:
From Shari, from where the Mungo meanders,
From along the banks of lowly Bomba stream,
Muster thy sons in union close around thee;
Mighty as the Buea Mountain be their team!
Instil in them the love of gentle ways,
Regrets for errors of the past,
Foster from mother Africa a loyalty
Thy truth shall remain to the last.
If you read in between the above lines you will surely come up with interesting conclusions. Whatever the case, one line that strikes me is, “Regret for errors of the past”. At the time of the composition of this anthem and at the time of the inauguration of the Mungo Bridge, there was a union called the Federal Republic of Cameroon. Some people decided to subjugate others by abrogating the union agreement and abolishing the federal state. In spite of cries of the oppressed ex-British Southern Cameroonians, nobody is showing any remorse. Nobody wants to admit the errors of the past. There is no way we can really run away from the truth. When we toy with the truth, the ancestors will surely be angry. Can you, therefore, blame them if they allowed the Mungo Bridge to collapse?
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