Yaoundé: Beyond Peace

            By Joseph M. Ndifor

 

“The Yoruba have a saying: ‘Iku ya j’esin lo.’ This translates literally as ‘Sooner death than indignity.’ ” Wole Soyinka in The Quest for Dignity in a Dehumanized World

 

For more than fifty years now, we’ve been bombarded with this idea that we live in a peaceful country. That word “Peace”, cobbled together with two other words (“Work” and “Father”), stands as Cameroon’s official motto, and has even been deftly sold to foreign leaders.

Yet, behind this canopy of a tranquil nation, lurks human indignity of huge proportions. Right before President Amadu Ahidjo‘s maiden visit to the United States on March 12, 1962-during which Ahidjo received high marks from U.S. President J.F. Kennedy on Cameroon’s unity-his government had, in January that same year, according to Richard Joseph, “used police force to disrupt the Congress of the legal U.P.C.” And following the publication of an open letter, critical of Ahidjo’s government that same year, Charles Okala, Mayi Matip, Mbida and Bebey-Eyidi were “... arrested on charges of subversion and sedition and given heavy fines and terms of imprisonment”, a trend that has taken on other forms in recent years.

But for the sake of this article, let’s brush aside that cliché word called “democracy”, which easily springs to mind under these circumstances, and rather dwell on “human dignity”, a term that is common in all cultural settings and civilizations and, which for a time period, stuck in the minds of Cameroonians of a generation. I’m referring particularly to the absence of self-worth among us and our inability to rise up in unison and respond to this pervasive arrogance from a government that has wrecked untold miseries on its citizens.

In fact in some cultures-Japan notably-Soyinka even warns that the loss of human dignity, “….makes even death mandatory, exile coming as a second best.”

What struck me, however, about this notion of “human dignity” in relation to “peace” in Cameroon, is the recent dogged determination by Yemeni tribesmen to bring down their unruly national government, and the paradox of their struggle to what has taken place among Cameroonian tribes over the years. 

Like Cameroonians, Yemenis are also known for their varied tribal affiliations, but apparently waving aside these differences during this Arab Spring, they’ve come to the realization (although just one just of the tribes has conspicuously stood out during this struggle) that a common enemy exists in their midst, and its bold name is the National Government of Ali Abdullah Saleh. You may call this Yemeni epic struggle whatever you may-clan-on-clan violence, primitive tribal instincts, etc-but Soyinka has an expression for it,  and it is, “The Quest for  Dignity...”, the denial, if you will, to be trampled upon like doormats by a government that has ruled them with an iron fist for more than three decades. 

But when one compares these Yemeni rumblings with what has occurred among Cameroonian tribes, especially those with the inclinations to fight off their enemies, the difference is crystal clear. In the North West Province especially, and other areas to a lesser extent, natives have ignored the “800 pound gorilla” in the room (to use that American slang), which is their national government and have rather been at each others’ throat from time immemorial. In this part of Cameroon, the natives’ reaction to any affront to their tribal dignity is often swift, brutal, and even carried out across tribal boundaries.

About three years ago, some natives of Bali Nyonga, raving over an apparent dispute, crossed into Bawok, a tiny village nestled between Bali and other villages, razing its fon’s palace in their rampage. Far be it that I’m advocating for such vices, or that such means should be used to bring down the national government. But lest I also get impugned for not being objective here, I’ve often wondered why there is so much restraint, or call it cowardice on the part of villagers whenever problems involving an inept national government are concerned, but little or no tolerance when tribal dignity appears compromised among them.

Even when brave men from some of these tribes have taken on themselves to confront the national government, betrayals from fellow tribesmen have often led to assassinations, imprisonments or public executions. Following the ban that was placed on the UPC in 1955, natives of the Sanaga Maritime and Bamileke regions bore the brunt of the fierce French repression that followed, but tips from these same natives on the whereabouts of nationalists like Um Nyobe led to their elimination.

And so were the travails of a man called Gorgi Dinka, a lawyer and a political “clairvoyant” who, just three years into the current regime’s reign in 1985, rang the alarm bells about its iniquities, but got sneered at by his own tribesmen while in detention in Yaounde.

But Cameroon’s gigantic problems lie more with the regime in Yaounde that, under this subterfuge of peace, has tainted itself with a gamut of abuses-from corrupt government officials to police brutalities–which we’ve now bowed to as our fate, but which Wole Soyinka also pleads that for the sake of dignity,   ”…Leave us at least a piece of clothing to cover our nudity.”

Comments

[Captain Boukare]

My refusal to step into my ancestral cesspool for the past 2 decades is perfectly understood by you, sir. I refuse to be in a position to pay one more bribe or to be humiliated by jack-booted government-armed thugs ever again. My refusal to be appointed to government office on the radio and sacked on the radio is understood. Now if we could all defy together, things would change.

[Bob Bristol]

Wow! The write-up is impressive. It is obvious the the heterogenous nature of that entity called Cameroon has worked so much in favour of the government. But now it is no so much about the gov't than it is about us. What has gone wrong with us that we cannot come together despite the numerous inter-marital connections. Sometimes I feel our speeches have not been subtle enough to appeal as they have been to reprimand. The tone has to change.

[essay writing help]

thanks for the post) very intresting and informative) cool)

[limbekid]

Interesting article.

The truth is, the loss of dignity we are currently suffering in Africa, is sympomatic of our history: from slavery, through colonialism and apatheid, to our current situation. White on black slavery has been replaced by black on black slavery. One way or the other we have always been unable to impose our will. The question we should be asking right now is, why are we so vulnerable?

In my opinion the factors that determine the success of an entity are: geography (Great Britain was able to accelerate industry because of the abundance of coal); system of governance; and the inate ability to create. I will focus on the last, as concerns Africa.

There has been a tendency to assume that democracy is given to the masses, by the governing elite, as a matter of altruism. Whereas it is not so. Democracy in the old continent of Europe was borne out of transformations in the economy. Wealth creation was no longer dependent on land ownership as money could be made out of industry, thus transforming the landlord - tenant relationship. The feudal system could not keep up with transformamtions in the industrial revolution. Unfortunately, that landlord - tenant relationship is still very perceptible today in most of sub-saharan Africa, as our wealth is heavily dependent on natural resources (energy resources, minerals, tourism, cash crops...). In other words we have been unable to create wealth other than what we have been endowed with by nature. Until this situation changes the masses will continue to remain in the grip of those charged with the distribution of such wealth (the ruling elite). Thus any long-term emancipation strategy must be geared towards enhancing the ability of the masses to create wealth outside natural resources.

[TAGRO]

“Work, Family and Nation,” the Vichy slogan, which replaced the revolutionary motto of “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity,” in occupied France, became with minor changes, the official mottos of most French Africa colonies.

The psycholigical implication of having a variation of a motto imposed by the German occupiers in France to that of French colonies in Africa must be understood and deconstructed
before Africans under French colonial rule will even know how to address their problems. We spend so much time chasing the shadows.

[Che Sunday]

One of the few very substantive write ups we have had this year. If you wonder why the different tribe can not get up as group to challenge the national government, that comes to me as surprise. Ethnocentrism my brother, thats what its called. Cameroon has a history of elimination to get the attention of disenting constituencies, and not to stopping process. If you falter, this is what happens to you. Recall the likes of Abendong or Jua, etc. How many true challenghers have you had in the near decade? Each time mr. Biya shuffles his cabinet, localities go celebrating when one of their own has been chosen minister.Yet, we all agree he is a bad leader The answer lies in Captain Boukare's post above. Deny being part of the system. Don't think you can change it from within. It has an internal mechanism of absorbing everything and remolding it to its liking.

[J. S. Dinga]

Bruce Lee was able to knock off all those who stood on his way simply because they failed to unite or combine their forces, knowing very well that individually they stood no chance against him.

Do Cameroonians see any message in this?

[Emmanuel Elangwe]

Interesting...You got yourself a new fan. This has been one of the most thought provoking piece on this site for as long as I can remember...! With that said, I beg to slightly differ with you on this false dichotonomy ever so present in our discussion forums.

..."I’m referring particularly to the absence of self-worth among us and our inability to rise up in unison and respond to this pervasive arrogance from a government that has wrecked untold miseries on its citizens"...

That is absolutely not true, well in my humble opinion. Cameroonians have shown time and again how much self-worth exists amongst us. We show this in how our various peoples celebrate the birth of child, the death of a loved one, success of a sibling in a public examination, marriages etc The is abundance of evidence to prove how much self-worth we as a people have as concerns the things we value the most in our lives. Just because our people do not show an explosive interest in national politics (as the intelligentsia class would love them to display), doesn't translate to a lack of self-worth amongst "US". Maybe we just don't have that much invested in national politics compared to...let's say football, our Tribes, Our immediate Family, our farms, our njangis...etc I mean...people respond to incentives. What are the incentives to sacrifice oneself on the alter of nationalism?

Why the perceived lack of a united front against the gov't? Again, people respond to incentives. What difference does it make to a native of Dikome Balue in as much as the will be a buyer from Kumba for his cocoa beans..? It may surprise you, but "we" are the regime!!! The corrupt police corp. is made up of our brothers, sisters and in most cases our parents, just as every other corrupt sector of our society!!! We really don't want to be united to hurt our parents and family members, do we!?

[Bob Bristol]

"In other words we have been unable to create wealth other than what we have been endowed with by nature. Until this situation changes the masses will continue to remain in the grip of those charged with the distribution of such wealth (the ruling elite)" by Limbekid.

I find this very far-reaching and correct. But creativity if left in the hands of the initiator, may die undiscovered. Thus, the ruling elites must have the good consciences to finance and push the initiator to fame. Anomah Ngu comes to mind. At the end of the day, the debate will be on whether our present sorry condition is as a consequence of our actions (or inaction) or as a result of the bad will of the ruling elites. Whatever way you look at it, the blame game is losing sympathisers day in day out.