Up Station Mountain Club

Memory Lane: Remembering the Collapse of the Berlin Wall 20 Years After

By Dibussi Tande (Originally published on Scribbles from the Den)

This week was the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, an event which symbolically marked the end of the cold war. Today, the memory of that event has faded, becoming a blur even to those who witnessed it. To my generation, the collapse of the wall was a momentous event, some would even say the most momentous one. In fact, it is easy to make a distinction between the world BEFORE and AFTER the wall;

The African Commission on Human Rights Rules on Southern Cameroons vs. La Republique du Cameroun

Dibussi Tande

“The Commission, however, finds also that the Respondent State violated various rights protected by the African Charter in respect of Southern Cameroonians. It urges the Respondent State to address the grievances expressed by the Southern Cameroonians through its democratic institutions." African Commission on Human Peoples' Rights

In a communiqué read on state-run media on October 1, 2009 – the 48th anniversary of the (re)unification of Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroun – Issa Tchiroma Bakary, Cameroon’s Minister of Communications, informed the public that the African Commission on  Human and Peoples' Rights had ruled on the case filed by  SCAPO and the SCNC. He stated that  “In its final decision, the commission has rejected all the secessionist claims made by the representatives of SCNC and SCAPO. The commission has also rejected allegations that the Anglophone community is victim of violence and discrimination.”

Not surprisingly, the Minister did not make public actual text of the ruling which was not as clear-cut as the communiqué claimed, and which listed a litany of violations committed by the Cameroonian state against the former British Southern Cameroons. As the Commission unequivocally states in its ruling, “The Commission, however, finds also that the Respondent State violated various rights protected by the African Charter in respect of Southern Cameroonians”. Specifically, the Commission found that “the Republic of Cameroon has violated Articles 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7(1), 11, 19 and 26 of the Charter.”

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48 Years Ago - Southern Cameroons and The Republic of Cameroun Form the Federal Republic

Originally published on Scribbles from the Den

Exactly 48 years ago on October 1, 1961, the Federal Republic of Cameroon was born after the  United Nations Trust territory of (British) Southern Cameroons merged with the French-speaking Republic of Cameroun - this, in accordance with the results of the UN-sponsored plebiscite of February 11, 1961.

On this anniversary day, we will not be looking at the ground covered or not covered by both territories since 1961 - that will be a task for the 50th anniversary. Rather, we will walk down memory lane to revisit some of the interesting post-plebiscite debates about the fate of Southern Cameroons in the British House of Commons; debates which indicated that the decolonization of Southern Cameroons was not as straightforward as it seemed to the uninitiated. One of such debates was between John Tilney, Conservate MP from Liverpool, an unapolgetic proponent of Southern Cameroons independence, and David Ormsby Gore, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, defending the new reality which emerged from the Plebiscite. We will post both of their declations in their entirety.

Later, we will use the case of John Tilney to demonstrate that the competing political and economic interests within the British political establishment over the fate of Southern Cameroons  had little or nothing to do with actual Southern Cameroons  interests - - even when they favored South Cameroons independence without "integrating" or "joining' either Nigeria or Cameroon.

New Issue of Palapala Magazine Available Online

From www.dibussi.com

The seventh issue of Palapala magazine, the Cameroonian/Pan-African literary Magazine is now available online. This issue features exciting essays, short stories and poems from budding and established writers from around  the continent.

In this issue's lead article, Denja Abdullahi writes about Abuja, "The City of Poets" which was extolled in verse by the late Mamman Vatsa, executed by the Babaginda regime for allegedly planning a coup:

"If the new overlords of Abuja thought they had silenced poetry after silencing Vatsa, then they were ignorant of the fact that some stowaway poets berthed in Abuja with the ship of government when it moved from Lagos with Babangida’s hurried departure…. The City of Lagos lost the seat of power to Abuja and I dare say it is on the way of losing the fountain of creativity to Abuja. Come to think of it, Abuja … is a more likely place for a poet to fall in love with. Mamman Vatsa was the first poet laureate of Abuja and many more poets have come to love Abuja like Vatsa did in his poems."

The State of Social Justice and Digital Media in Africa

Summary of a Keynote address delivered by Dibussi Tande at the Highway Africa Conference's "Digital Citizen Indaba", Rhodes University, Grahamstown, Republic of South Africa - September 5, 2009 (Orginally published on the Highway Africa Blog)

We just heard the opening keynote talk by Cameroonian blogger Dibussi Tande (he blogs at Scribbles from the den), who talked about “The state of social justice and digital media in Africa”. Below is a summary of his talk from the Digital Citizen Indaba website:

Presentation - The State of Social Justice and Digital Media in Africa

A keynote address by Dibussi Tande at Rhodes University, South Africa

The State of Social Justice and Digital Media in Africa

View more presentations from Dibuss Tande.

(Book Review) Political Power Without Development: The Paradox of the South Province

Reviewed by Dibussi Tande (originally published on Scribbles from the Den)

"Quel est ce pays organisateur qui ne peut pas s’organiser?"

Ateba-Eyene, C. (2008). Les paradoxes du "pays organisateur": Élites productrices ou prédatrices : le cas de la province du sud-Cameroun à l'ère Biya (1982-2007). [Yaoundé́]: Editions Saint-Paul.

One of  the most controversial books published in Cameroon in recent years is Ateba Eyene’s “les Paradoxes du pays organisateur” (The Paradox of the “host country”: Productive or Predatory elite: The Case of the Southern Province during the Biya Era, 1982-2007) which seeks to understand why the South province is lagging behind in all development indicators in spite of its “numerous and wealthy elite”.

Cameroon - Stuck on the Fringes of the Knowledge Economy

By Dibussi Tande (culled from Scribbles from the Den: Essays on Politics and Collective Memory in Cameroon, 2009)

"The ability of a society to produce, select, adapt, commercialize, and use knowledge is critical for sustained economic growth and improved living standards. Knowledge has become the most important factor in economic development." The World Bank.

The email from the IT department of a US-based company was a simple one:

"Due to civil disturbances in Bangalore, India, there is limited IT Services staff available in our Bangalore help desk location to provide telephone support. Our help desk locations in Ottawa and Dublin are providing extended services to alleviate this situation, but you may experience extended delays when contacting IT Services via phone.”

A King With No Clothes On: Being a Prime Minister in Cameroon

By Dibussi Tande (Originally published on Scribbles from the Den)

During a 1998 discussion on the defunct Camnet listserv, one subscriber inquired about the powerlessness of Cameroonian Prime Ministers compared to their French counterparts:

In the French system of democracy, which is the inspiration for Cameroon’s 1996 constitution, there is an executive President and an executive Prime Minister with the latter still appointed by the President (in consultation if he is from the opposition party) yet there is no evidence of powerlessness in the system. Where then is the missing link of this type of democracy in the case of Cameroon, where the Prime Minister is supposed to be powerless?

My reply below from 11 years ago, which is still valid today, shows why the Cameroonian Prime Minister, unlike his French counterpart, is largely a figurehead:

By Dibussi Tande (Originally published on Scribbles from the Den)

During a 1998 discussion on the defunct Camnet listserv, one subscriber inquired about the powerlessness of Cameroonian Prime Ministers compared to their French counterparts:

In the French system of democracy, which is the inspiration for Cameroon’s 1996 constitution, there is an executive President and an executive Prime Minister with the latter still appointed by the President (in consultation if he is from the opposition party) yet there is no evidence of powerlessness in the system. Where then is the missing link of this type of democracy in the case of Cameroon, where the Prime Minister is supposed to be powerless?

My reply below from 11 years ago, which is still valid today, shows why the Cameroonian Prime Minister, unlike his French counterpart, is largely a figurehead:

Brain Drain: Why are Cameroonian Medical Doctors Leaving?

By Dibussi Tande (Originally posted on Scribbles from the Den)


Surgery at the Fraternity Medical Center, Buea

The news from the Ministry of health was quite gloomy. In a special report that appeared in the Cameroon Tribune last week, it was announced that Cameroon’s medical system was in crisis due to a severe shortage of medical doctors resulting from the massive exodus of Cameroonian MDs to countries in the developed world.

Brain Drain: The Personal Journey of Dr. Valentine Ngwa

Interviewed by Dibussi Tande (Originally published on Scribbles from the Den in 2006)

“How does one continue to sacrifice when some big shots are growing fat on the spoils; the Government, the Mission - all corrupt!Sacrifice will only bear fruits when it is participatory; you sacrifice, I sacrifice." Dr. Valentine Ngwa

Shortly after he obtained his medical degree from the University of Benin in Nigeria, Dr. Valentine Ngwa returned home to practice medicine. Then some six years later, he packed his bags for Britain where he now resides. In this interview Dr. Ngwa candidly explains why he originally went back to work in Cameroon, why he ultimately sought greener pastures abroad, and what it would take to bring him back to Cameroon:

Cameroon: Our Future is Anglophone

By Patrice Nganang (Translated from French by Dibussi Tande)

Confronted with such a flurry of Cameroonian talent in English, how can we not breathe a sigh of relief? If our country's macabre present has become an unending one, we can at least proclaim today that Cameroon has a future, and it is Anglophone.

Our future is Anglophone. This should be obvious to anyone who is closely observing the evolution of Cameroonian intellectual output in the last few years. The reasons for this are not even linked to the fact that apart from their language of expression, Cameroonian writers in English have, without doubt, pulled the last chestnuts out of the fire that was colonization, with the language of Shakespeare giving them right away a global platform, with all the benefit that this has with regards to the dissemination of knowledge. No, there are other reasons, and here are five of them. 

Just Published: "Scribbles from the Den" the Book

Dibussi Tande: Scribbles from the Den: Essays on Politics and Collective Memory in Cameroon. Langaa publishers. 232 pages. Now available from African Books Collective, Oxford (£19.95), Michigan State University Press, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble ($29.95).

This collection consists of 49 insightful essays by leading Cameroonian blogger Dibussi Tande, which originally appeared on his award-winning blog Scribbles from the Den. These essays tackle some of the most pressing and complex issues facing Cameroon today such as the stalled democratization process, the perennial Anglophone problem, the crisis of higher education, the absence of the rule of law, the lack of leadership renewal, a stifled collective memory, and a continued inability to harness technology for purposes of national development, among others.

Scribbles from the Den goes beyond the news headlines to dispassionately analyze and unravel the complexities of Cameroonian politics and society.

Dual Citizenship (I): Time for a Long Overdue National Debate

By Dibussi Tande (Originally published on Scribbles from the Den)

After Cameroon won the first Afro-Asian football finals against Saudi Arabiain Jeddah in 1985, the Saudis refused to hand over the trophy on grounds that Cameroon had fielded an ineligible French player during the first leg encounter in Yaounde. The player in question was none other than the legendary Roger Milla who had showed up for the game with his French passport. The Cameroonian government insisted that even though Roger Milla carried a French passport he was still a bona fide Cameroonian citizen who had the right, in fact the obligation, to defend the colors of his native land. The issue was resolved months later following high-level diplomatic exchanges and the mediation of the world football governing body, FIFA.

May 26, 1990: The Launching of the SDF

Culled from Reform and Repression in Cameroon: A Chronicle of the Smoldering Years (1990-1992), a forthcoming book by Dibussi Tande commemorating the 20th anniversary of the beginning of Cameroon’s tumultuous democratization process.

On March 16, 1990, barely six days after the Biya regime insisted that multipartyism was not illegal in Cameroon, John Fru Ndi, a Bamenda-based bookseller, and Dr. Siga Assanga, a lecturer at the University of Yaounde, submitted an application with the Mezam divisional office seeking authorization for a political party called the Social Democratic Front (SDF).

Although the application was in direct response to the government’s declaration that multipartyism was not prohibited in Cameroon, the SDF had actually been in gestation months before the Yondo affair...

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