The author indeed raised some salient issues that all in the Diaspora need to reflect on. However, the fact that many of us in the Diaspora still find it just very hard to organize our selves here into a leadership forum when in abundance of freedom and financial independence, to assist our selves and the communities around us and back home, leaves me very pessimistic!
The author brings to light some of the issues that I would expect many of our social science PhD holders and PhD aspirant to perform an informed research on. Though I am not a social scientist to offer an informed opinion on the subject matter, it however, very issue for me to revisit my limited high school knowledge in geography and reasons why people migrate to other places to come to the conclusion that we have a dead rat in the room! The author raised some issues that if quantified and measured using statistical inferences; will beefed well his argument. He further used Nigerian immigrants as a case study and presented valid points that support his original premise.
The overtone of the heading of heading of his article might be wrong, as it might be misconstrued to be very inclusive of all African countries suffering from what he has carefully framed; but still narrowed to specific issues that ail many of sub Sahara African countries. What I am most disturbed about isn’t just about what Africans back home have to deal with, but the question of who needs the most help? Africans in countries who have been financially deprived or Africans who have moved to the Diaspora and have decided to morally deprive them selves of their African identity? Please pardon me to quickly conclude that many of us in the Diaspora might even need more help than those in Cameroon who still have a sense of who they are, and their integrity intact. The main problem many Cameroonians back home face is centered mostly around the lack of financial independence. Did some one say before that “Africans might have been cursed”? Look not far but in our Lebialem community here in the USA as a case study, and you will understand why some of us might be quick to believe we have been cursed! Where is morality and integrity in most of those the younger generations should be looking up to? How does our community move forward when those who seek to lead look mostly at what will directly benefit them when they serve the community? How will Africa move forward when some spouses literally enslave them selves in order to sustain their families only for us to observe that their partners are out there having multiple concubines and even going after other married people? How can Africa move forward when those who are financially privileged return to Africa/Cameroon and use their financial advantage in the most negative way, one can possibly ever imagine? From running after high school girls to corrupting their ways through the system the turn around and criticize? How can this happen when our community doesn’t allow the brightest ideas to prevail but allows mediocrity because of our inherent pitiful mindset? How can a society that doesn’t encourage the young to grow, but looks for all ways to destroy, expect to sustain its self? Some countries in Africa might be temporary doomed, but Africans and especially Cameroonians in the Diaspora are already proven to be too doomed and confused that I am afraid many of us when we return to Cameroon will be more of the problem than part of the solution Africa or Cameroon needs!
We don’t expect a utopian community abroad, but we have enough of our problems here to deal with that unless we start reflecting on how to address them head on, then can we have the moral stance to talk of Africa’s or Cameroon’s problems and expect those back home to take us seriously. For Africans to return home and have any meaningful positive impact on Africa, Africans in the Diaspora MUST first of all show that they can collectively help themselves here in the Diaspora before attempting to go home and expect to have any influence over how to change Africans/Cameroonians back home. It starts with me, you our families and extends to our community. If we can’t positively used the skills/tools we have acquired here to improve on our selves, our family; how then can we expect to improve on our community here to say the least before thinking of positively impacting those in Africa? What is so disturbing is the fact that we can’t do all that is expected of a community despite we live in an environment where there is respect for the rule of law! How then can we expect to behave differently in an environment where there are lots of subjectivities in the interpretation and reinforcement of the rule of law? What we might expect for Africa/Cameroon may only happen ten generations after we are gone! Albert Einstein once said; if he is asked to solve the world’s biggest problem; he will spend 95% of the allocated time to understand the problem and only use 5% of the remaining time in solving the problem. It might be time for Africans/Cameroonians to understand how to accept great minds to dissect effectively our problems to the point where we can now implement solutions that will address them. We might as well start by admitting that there is a serious problem and appreciate the efforts of minds such as this in framing this problem and employ our collective minds in understanding the problem. Africans/Cameroonians natural instinct is to rush to a solution without carefully understanding the problem, with the excuse that who has the time to go through all the theories… it is time for us to start asking for time to understand our great minds if we need to save on the time to effectively address our mountains of challenges!
Alain A. Taku
A concerned Cameroonian
Friday, September 25, 2009
The vast majority of Sub-Saharan Africans who live outside of the continent are in exile
FYI
http://www.anjnews. com/node/ 1259
By Sabella Ogbobode Abidde
The vast majority of Sub-Saharan Africans who live outside of the continent are in exile. For these Africans, their condition may either be self-imposed or forced by the prevailing conditions in the continent. And the general conditions in the continent are not healthy or enriching, or conducive to personal growth and happiness.
Although conditions differ from one country to another, by and large what we have is a continent where a sizeable number of the people - especially those between the ages of 18 and 45 - cannot wait to go into exile. They cannot wait to get out of their respective countries. Nigeria is an archetypal example of a country where, if embassies assured travel visas, 70 per cent or more of the college students will leave of their own volition.
The majority of those in exile either have nothing substantial to return home to, or their own governments do not want them back. We also see that in some cases, the political, economic, social and cultural space is not large or absorbent enough to accommodate exiles; in other cases, some exiles get blinded by the security, comfort and predictability of their host countries so much so that going back home becomes less attractive. Nigerians, for example, habitually point to the lack of basic infrastructure, poor personal and human security, and a sickening and corrupt political system. To be sure, there are other discouraging and encouraging factors, but mostly, the aforesaid accounts for why most exiles remain in North America and European countries.
Whether one knows it or not, acknowledges it or not, living in exile is horrible. It is one of the most painful of all human experiences. The pain and the anguish is less for most who vacated in their pre-teenage years. For them, acculturation and assimilation is much easier. With time, their memory of the old country fades; cultural chips become less powerful or insignificant; and ties to friends and family may become loose or non-existent. Essentially, therefore, they lose one country and gain another; lose one set of identity and gain another. They transfer their love and loyalty to their new country. For most of these early exiles, they will know one country and one country only. This is generally the case and the pattern unless of course a mother or a father or an influential relative kept the flame and the desire for the old country alive.
The United States, with which I am most familiar, is home to millions of African immigrants. Data may show that the US now houses more Africans than Western and Eastern Europe combined. For a while, Europe - especially Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium and Germany - was the preferred destination for Africans, particularly because of their colonial relationship. In other words, until recent years, colonial Europe was the port of call for Africans. Today, the whole world is present in the US: Every language and culture and nationality is present here. They are present here for different reasons. But above all else, people come here for the freedom, the opportunity and the option to live in manners that are guaranteed by US law and customs.
However, sooner or later, immigrants - African immigrants, who this essay is about - will come to realise that the longer one stays in this country, the deeper the pain and the agony. They may have big cars and big homes; they may have beautiful wives and successful children; and they may also have investment portfolios that are the envy of most. Yet, most will and do feel empty. Every so often, they travel to the motherland to see friends and family. Still they feel empty. Most act and feel like tourists in their own father's land (as most can only spend two to four weeks at a stretch before returning to the grind and their predictable lifestyle). There are those whose eyes swell (with tears) at the thought of returning to Oyinboland. It can be lonely here. And they know it.
If you were a 'nobody' before coming to the US, and if you are still a 'nobody' after all these years, the ache and the grief may not be much. What may matter to you is that you are now a success compared to your previous life. But if you were 'somebody' before your departure, and you are still a big deal here, you are more likely to feel the pain. Even if you were a 'nobody' in your previous life, but once you become 'somebody' here, you begin to, after a while, feel a gradual pain - the type of pain that get more discomforting and unbearable as time passes. First the pain and then the anguish, followed by a sense of uselessness and sadness. If left unchecked, acute sense of loss and actual depression may set in.
An accomplished Nigerian author and teacher once told me: "Most of the professors and successful African immigrants you see in this country are sad and depressed... especially the professors.. . most are angry, and are not respected by their non-Black peers.' From his vantage point, 'most of these Africans are better read and smarter than most of their counterparts, but they generally are saddled with supporting or subservient roles; they have to defer to their non-black colleagues.' To make matters worse, 'even their students complain about their accent and mannerism, and assume they must be less qualified than other professors, especially the whites.'
Faced with such a situation, 'they are angry at their home government, angry at their colleagues, angry at their students and subordinates, and are also angry at themselves.' But within their enclaves and between their own people, 'the African professors are the most pompous, most condescending and most irritating. Most cannot explain simple concepts or simple phenomenon without resorting to antiquated language... they have the need to impress.'
Indeed, the western world - and increasingly, South African universities - are filled with Nigerian and Ghanaian professors. I can't think of a colleges or university, anywhere in the United States, without at least two Nigerian and or Ghanaian teachers or administrators. I also doubt if there is a medical establishment, anywhere in the UK, Canada and the United States, without Nigerian and Ghanaian doctors and nurses.
In all these places and beyond, I doubt if the majority of these Africans truly enjoy being there. The financial compensation is good, but my thinking is that they would rather be home: Helping their own people and helping to advance their own countries. But here they are - needed primarily for their skills and services; needed just to help develop and advance a country that is truly not theirs. How terrible it must feel to be just a hired hand.
If you are a South African, your lot in life may be a lot better. The same goes for those from Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and a few other countries. In the West African sub-region, Ghana is the newest darling, home to quarter of a million or so Nigerians. If you are a Nigerian then you know you are violated. Twice over!
First, you are violated by a government that is utterly incompetent, utterly corrupt, and utterly wayward. You have a government, a succession of governments, which take pleasure in exploiting and brutalising their citizens. And then you have a citizenry that is too scared and falsely religious to fight back. And so they lie there and take it.
Second, it is not a good time to be a Nigerian anywhere in the world. It has not been a good time to be a Nigerian anytime in the last two decades or so. The world knows you have a well-endowed country that is badly run; the world knows about your soiled reputation (even though it is highly exaggerated and undeserved); and the world also knows you are scared to return home. For more than 30 years, to be a Nigerian was to be respected; in the last 20, it has become a hindrance. So, as an immigrant or as an exile, you feel it and you know it. How painful to know that people deal and interact with you from the other end of a long rope.
To be an African immigrant in the West or anywhere else is not easy. Within the international political and economic system, Africa is an afterthought; socially and culturally, Africa is also an afterthought. And even at the individual level, most non-blacks do not think much of the African. Sometimes one gets the feeling that non-blacks think of Africans as incapable of complex task; a people incapable of governing themselves without generous assistance from the Western world.
Such attitude and conviction, whether state or unstated, is condemnable. Even so, there are times when one surveys the continent and the various governments therein and wonder if, if, if - oh well, just take a look at Nigeria and its leaders (and leadership) for the last 30 or so years. If you are educated, enlightened, polished, decent, and with renaissance thinking and living in the West, is that the kind of country and condition you want to return to?
In the end though, if you have been living in the West for much of your productive life, and you are now clocking 55, 60 or 65 and with the urge to return home, you are likely to have a headache or develop insomnia for a few days or weeks. One might even have panic attacks. Long before this period, one may have planned it all out. One may have methodically planned it all out, in which case the transition - assuming home is where one wants to spend the fourth quarter of one's life - is as smooth as possible.
However, whether planned or not, several years of exile have a way of making one a stranger in one's village or community. How well and for how long you've planned the transition may determine your place and comfort in your new environment. Planned or not, smooth or not, you will, every now and then, get your bearings wrong, your traction will be shaky, your worldview out of sync, some of your mannerisms alien, and your thought pattern criss-crossed. This is the price you must pay for being in exile.
Sabella Abbide is a public intellectual who has written and commented extensively on African affairs. He is currently based in Washington D.C.
http://www.anjnews. com/node/ 1259
By Sabella Ogbobode Abidde
The vast majority of Sub-Saharan Africans who live outside of the continent are in exile. For these Africans, their condition may either be self-imposed or forced by the prevailing conditions in the continent. And the general conditions in the continent are not healthy or enriching, or conducive to personal growth and happiness.
Although conditions differ from one country to another, by and large what we have is a continent where a sizeable number of the people - especially those between the ages of 18 and 45 - cannot wait to go into exile. They cannot wait to get out of their respective countries. Nigeria is an archetypal example of a country where, if embassies assured travel visas, 70 per cent or more of the college students will leave of their own volition.
The majority of those in exile either have nothing substantial to return home to, or their own governments do not want them back. We also see that in some cases, the political, economic, social and cultural space is not large or absorbent enough to accommodate exiles; in other cases, some exiles get blinded by the security, comfort and predictability of their host countries so much so that going back home becomes less attractive. Nigerians, for example, habitually point to the lack of basic infrastructure, poor personal and human security, and a sickening and corrupt political system. To be sure, there are other discouraging and encouraging factors, but mostly, the aforesaid accounts for why most exiles remain in North America and European countries.
Whether one knows it or not, acknowledges it or not, living in exile is horrible. It is one of the most painful of all human experiences. The pain and the anguish is less for most who vacated in their pre-teenage years. For them, acculturation and assimilation is much easier. With time, their memory of the old country fades; cultural chips become less powerful or insignificant; and ties to friends and family may become loose or non-existent. Essentially, therefore, they lose one country and gain another; lose one set of identity and gain another. They transfer their love and loyalty to their new country. For most of these early exiles, they will know one country and one country only. This is generally the case and the pattern unless of course a mother or a father or an influential relative kept the flame and the desire for the old country alive.
The United States, with which I am most familiar, is home to millions of African immigrants. Data may show that the US now houses more Africans than Western and Eastern Europe combined. For a while, Europe - especially Britain, France, Portugal, Belgium and Germany - was the preferred destination for Africans, particularly because of their colonial relationship. In other words, until recent years, colonial Europe was the port of call for Africans. Today, the whole world is present in the US: Every language and culture and nationality is present here. They are present here for different reasons. But above all else, people come here for the freedom, the opportunity and the option to live in manners that are guaranteed by US law and customs.
However, sooner or later, immigrants - African immigrants, who this essay is about - will come to realise that the longer one stays in this country, the deeper the pain and the agony. They may have big cars and big homes; they may have beautiful wives and successful children; and they may also have investment portfolios that are the envy of most. Yet, most will and do feel empty. Every so often, they travel to the motherland to see friends and family. Still they feel empty. Most act and feel like tourists in their own father's land (as most can only spend two to four weeks at a stretch before returning to the grind and their predictable lifestyle). There are those whose eyes swell (with tears) at the thought of returning to Oyinboland. It can be lonely here. And they know it.
If you were a 'nobody' before coming to the US, and if you are still a 'nobody' after all these years, the ache and the grief may not be much. What may matter to you is that you are now a success compared to your previous life. But if you were 'somebody' before your departure, and you are still a big deal here, you are more likely to feel the pain. Even if you were a 'nobody' in your previous life, but once you become 'somebody' here, you begin to, after a while, feel a gradual pain - the type of pain that get more discomforting and unbearable as time passes. First the pain and then the anguish, followed by a sense of uselessness and sadness. If left unchecked, acute sense of loss and actual depression may set in.
An accomplished Nigerian author and teacher once told me: "Most of the professors and successful African immigrants you see in this country are sad and depressed... especially the professors.. . most are angry, and are not respected by their non-Black peers.' From his vantage point, 'most of these Africans are better read and smarter than most of their counterparts, but they generally are saddled with supporting or subservient roles; they have to defer to their non-black colleagues.' To make matters worse, 'even their students complain about their accent and mannerism, and assume they must be less qualified than other professors, especially the whites.'
Faced with such a situation, 'they are angry at their home government, angry at their colleagues, angry at their students and subordinates, and are also angry at themselves.' But within their enclaves and between their own people, 'the African professors are the most pompous, most condescending and most irritating. Most cannot explain simple concepts or simple phenomenon without resorting to antiquated language... they have the need to impress.'
Indeed, the western world - and increasingly, South African universities - are filled with Nigerian and Ghanaian professors. I can't think of a colleges or university, anywhere in the United States, without at least two Nigerian and or Ghanaian teachers or administrators. I also doubt if there is a medical establishment, anywhere in the UK, Canada and the United States, without Nigerian and Ghanaian doctors and nurses.
In all these places and beyond, I doubt if the majority of these Africans truly enjoy being there. The financial compensation is good, but my thinking is that they would rather be home: Helping their own people and helping to advance their own countries. But here they are - needed primarily for their skills and services; needed just to help develop and advance a country that is truly not theirs. How terrible it must feel to be just a hired hand.
If you are a South African, your lot in life may be a lot better. The same goes for those from Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and a few other countries. In the West African sub-region, Ghana is the newest darling, home to quarter of a million or so Nigerians. If you are a Nigerian then you know you are violated. Twice over!
First, you are violated by a government that is utterly incompetent, utterly corrupt, and utterly wayward. You have a government, a succession of governments, which take pleasure in exploiting and brutalising their citizens. And then you have a citizenry that is too scared and falsely religious to fight back. And so they lie there and take it.
Second, it is not a good time to be a Nigerian anywhere in the world. It has not been a good time to be a Nigerian anytime in the last two decades or so. The world knows you have a well-endowed country that is badly run; the world knows about your soiled reputation (even though it is highly exaggerated and undeserved); and the world also knows you are scared to return home. For more than 30 years, to be a Nigerian was to be respected; in the last 20, it has become a hindrance. So, as an immigrant or as an exile, you feel it and you know it. How painful to know that people deal and interact with you from the other end of a long rope.
To be an African immigrant in the West or anywhere else is not easy. Within the international political and economic system, Africa is an afterthought; socially and culturally, Africa is also an afterthought. And even at the individual level, most non-blacks do not think much of the African. Sometimes one gets the feeling that non-blacks think of Africans as incapable of complex task; a people incapable of governing themselves without generous assistance from the Western world.
Such attitude and conviction, whether state or unstated, is condemnable. Even so, there are times when one surveys the continent and the various governments therein and wonder if, if, if - oh well, just take a look at Nigeria and its leaders (and leadership) for the last 30 or so years. If you are educated, enlightened, polished, decent, and with renaissance thinking and living in the West, is that the kind of country and condition you want to return to?
In the end though, if you have been living in the West for much of your productive life, and you are now clocking 55, 60 or 65 and with the urge to return home, you are likely to have a headache or develop insomnia for a few days or weeks. One might even have panic attacks. Long before this period, one may have planned it all out. One may have methodically planned it all out, in which case the transition - assuming home is where one wants to spend the fourth quarter of one's life - is as smooth as possible.
However, whether planned or not, several years of exile have a way of making one a stranger in one's village or community. How well and for how long you've planned the transition may determine your place and comfort in your new environment. Planned or not, smooth or not, you will, every now and then, get your bearings wrong, your traction will be shaky, your worldview out of sync, some of your mannerisms alien, and your thought pattern criss-crossed. This is the price you must pay for being in exile.
Sabella Abbide is a public intellectual who has written and commented extensively on African affairs. He is currently based in Washington D.C.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
The Socio –Economic State of Cameroon and the Way Forward (By Nanche Billa Robert)
The Socio –Economic State of Cameroon and the Way Forward
By
Nanche Billa Robert
Cameroon has been held hostage by a group of persons who manipulate state power for their enrichment. It is time we told them that Cameroon is nobody’s farmland that it belongs to all its compatriots.
Cameroon’s economic activities are below expectation because consumption have overtaken production .No importance has been given to development, instead we have become dependent on the western states which set low prices for raw materials and high prices fro manufactured goods. This dependence is because our bourgeoisie is intellectually lazy; they do not produce, build nor labour. They have no economic power, ideas nor are dynamic. It will be difficult to industrialise Cameroon because of their incapability to accumulate wealth. They are more of businessmen than industrialists. They embrace conspicuous consumption in order to hide their stagnation; they build grandiose mansions, drive luxurious cars, and spend week-ends in sybarite night clubs
A society progresses when part of its products meant for consumption is invested in its economy. On the contrary, Cameroon’s elite does not invest in their stagnating economy. Their savings are sent abroad rather than being invested in productions and the rest are used to pay people who are not involved in production but render auxiliary services such as civil servants, merchants, soldiers, entertainers etc. They do not reinvest in agriculture nor industries. They squander the wealth produced by peasants and workers by purchasing cars, suits, whisky etc. Wealth does not come from taxes, it comes from nature: turning raw materials into finished goods for human consumption.
In 1968, when Cameroon became an entrepreneurial state, about forty industries were created. This was a very good step but these industries were not well managed: their surplus was not invested in them but sent to the state and there was no systemic innovation: similar industries were not created in other areas .In 1979, petrol brought a lot wealth to the country but this wealth was not put in the national budget which was regrettable. Our rulers said they were preserving it for rainy days. Where was the money when the economic crisis struck in 1986?
The above cases could have transformed Cameroon into a veritable industrial nation as the case is with Hong-Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea today.
It is ironical that it is the peasants who produce wealth; it is thanks to their food and cash crops that our sterile civil servants are champions of consumption. If this poor peasants stop production, will there not be famine and malnutrition? Cameroon rulers give more preference to political than economic power because they love dignified life. The situation would have been different if they had thought of economic power at independence. One notices that Cameroonians lack capitalistic spirit: hard work, austerity and knowledge. Cameroon has great natural resources but the poorest in terms of goods and services provided by and for its citizens.
Can you imagine that 16.8% of Cameroonians in the urban areas and 45.6% in the rural areas have no durable goods such as television, refrigerator, cookers; about 8.5% in the urban areas and 2% in the rural areas have a personal car, about 50% of Cameroonians have access to potable water, infant mortality is about 151 out of a 1000; 80% of Cameroonians are below poverty line. The percentage of 3-4 Cameroonians sharing a room is about 18.7%; the life expectancy is about 47 years as compared to about 74 in the western world. It is estimated that at least 15,786 students graduate from Cameroon’s six state universities annually and only about 2,951 of them finally gain employment in both public and private sectors. Is it not funny that people should lack jobs where everything has to be redone? Unemployment has led to high rate of prostitution banditry and feymanism. Nearly everyone wants to fall bush. How many Cameroonians can today say in good faith the words of the head of state “I am born a Cameroonian, I will live a Cameroonian and I will die a Cameroonian”?
As Lincoln is reputed to have said, “you can fool some people some time; you can fool all the people some of the time; but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” That is the reason why we must fight to put an end to such wanton plunder of our resources, the regression of our nation and the total neglect of Cameroonians. For us to breakthrough this mess, we need the energy of everyone. Let’s join hands to formulate a new order, to build a new Cameroon.
For this new Cameroon to be possible we need to:
-Adopt an aggressive industrialisation and export policies, strive to copy, to innovate, to invent and to buy designs abroad whenever we have difficulties.
-Develop economic nationalism; hard work and the desire to catch up with the industrial world. We must have a sense of saving for investment and the acceptance that enjoyment must be postponed; instead of using huge sum of money to buy conspicuous goods, we should use it to buy the technology used in manufacturing them. We should take great interest in the law of science which can be harnessed in the form of machinery to work and make profit on their behalf. An economy economy’s strength is measured using its productive capacity and not its capacity to import goods.
- We must sensitise the public on the disadvantages of sumptuous consumption and the advantages of investing in the agricultural and industrial domains of the economy.
- We must also have to encourage our elite to invest in the agricultural sector because the food production sector must flourish in order to feed its citizens and the surplus on it will generate industries.
The above are some of the policies we have to adopt if we want to march forward .Let’s work together as one person.
By
Nanche Billa Robert
Cameroon has been held hostage by a group of persons who manipulate state power for their enrichment. It is time we told them that Cameroon is nobody’s farmland that it belongs to all its compatriots.
Cameroon’s economic activities are below expectation because consumption have overtaken production .No importance has been given to development, instead we have become dependent on the western states which set low prices for raw materials and high prices fro manufactured goods. This dependence is because our bourgeoisie is intellectually lazy; they do not produce, build nor labour. They have no economic power, ideas nor are dynamic. It will be difficult to industrialise Cameroon because of their incapability to accumulate wealth. They are more of businessmen than industrialists. They embrace conspicuous consumption in order to hide their stagnation; they build grandiose mansions, drive luxurious cars, and spend week-ends in sybarite night clubs
A society progresses when part of its products meant for consumption is invested in its economy. On the contrary, Cameroon’s elite does not invest in their stagnating economy. Their savings are sent abroad rather than being invested in productions and the rest are used to pay people who are not involved in production but render auxiliary services such as civil servants, merchants, soldiers, entertainers etc. They do not reinvest in agriculture nor industries. They squander the wealth produced by peasants and workers by purchasing cars, suits, whisky etc. Wealth does not come from taxes, it comes from nature: turning raw materials into finished goods for human consumption.
In 1968, when Cameroon became an entrepreneurial state, about forty industries were created. This was a very good step but these industries were not well managed: their surplus was not invested in them but sent to the state and there was no systemic innovation: similar industries were not created in other areas .In 1979, petrol brought a lot wealth to the country but this wealth was not put in the national budget which was regrettable. Our rulers said they were preserving it for rainy days. Where was the money when the economic crisis struck in 1986?
The above cases could have transformed Cameroon into a veritable industrial nation as the case is with Hong-Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea today.
It is ironical that it is the peasants who produce wealth; it is thanks to their food and cash crops that our sterile civil servants are champions of consumption. If this poor peasants stop production, will there not be famine and malnutrition? Cameroon rulers give more preference to political than economic power because they love dignified life. The situation would have been different if they had thought of economic power at independence. One notices that Cameroonians lack capitalistic spirit: hard work, austerity and knowledge. Cameroon has great natural resources but the poorest in terms of goods and services provided by and for its citizens.
Can you imagine that 16.8% of Cameroonians in the urban areas and 45.6% in the rural areas have no durable goods such as television, refrigerator, cookers; about 8.5% in the urban areas and 2% in the rural areas have a personal car, about 50% of Cameroonians have access to potable water, infant mortality is about 151 out of a 1000; 80% of Cameroonians are below poverty line. The percentage of 3-4 Cameroonians sharing a room is about 18.7%; the life expectancy is about 47 years as compared to about 74 in the western world. It is estimated that at least 15,786 students graduate from Cameroon’s six state universities annually and only about 2,951 of them finally gain employment in both public and private sectors. Is it not funny that people should lack jobs where everything has to be redone? Unemployment has led to high rate of prostitution banditry and feymanism. Nearly everyone wants to fall bush. How many Cameroonians can today say in good faith the words of the head of state “I am born a Cameroonian, I will live a Cameroonian and I will die a Cameroonian”?
As Lincoln is reputed to have said, “you can fool some people some time; you can fool all the people some of the time; but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” That is the reason why we must fight to put an end to such wanton plunder of our resources, the regression of our nation and the total neglect of Cameroonians. For us to breakthrough this mess, we need the energy of everyone. Let’s join hands to formulate a new order, to build a new Cameroon.
For this new Cameroon to be possible we need to:
-Adopt an aggressive industrialisation and export policies, strive to copy, to innovate, to invent and to buy designs abroad whenever we have difficulties.
-Develop economic nationalism; hard work and the desire to catch up with the industrial world. We must have a sense of saving for investment and the acceptance that enjoyment must be postponed; instead of using huge sum of money to buy conspicuous goods, we should use it to buy the technology used in manufacturing them. We should take great interest in the law of science which can be harnessed in the form of machinery to work and make profit on their behalf. An economy economy’s strength is measured using its productive capacity and not its capacity to import goods.
- We must sensitise the public on the disadvantages of sumptuous consumption and the advantages of investing in the agricultural and industrial domains of the economy.
- We must also have to encourage our elite to invest in the agricultural sector because the food production sector must flourish in order to feed its citizens and the surplus on it will generate industries.
The above are some of the policies we have to adopt if we want to march forward .Let’s work together as one person.
Marriage in Cameroon (BY Nanche Billa Robert )
Marriage in Cameroon
BY
Nanche Billa Robert
Douala Cameroon
Today the search for glamour and high profile husbands has destroyed the institution of marriage in Cameroon. Girls always think of a dream world thereby detaching themselves from their own reality. In Cameroon, especially in Douala where about 80.5% of the population lives in poverty, only very few people get married
47.5%, 31.7%, 5%, 5.4% and 4% of the population of Douala are married, single, divorcees, engaged, cohabiting. Those who are married are those having prestigious and high salary jobs. Most single people work in the informal and private sectors are students and unemployed. The more prestigious ones job is, the higher the likelihood that one will be married and the reverse will mean that one is single and is cohabiting.
Those who are affected are those <30-40 years old because they are seriously crushed by poverty.48% and 50% of those between 30-40years earn about 24,000-75,000frs and 75,000frs -125,000frs respectively which is far beyond the poverty-line of 177,000frs.Only 8%of those below 30 earn above the poverty line.
This is an indication that marriage is more of interest than sacrifice. Very few people will find a wife that will accept them with little or no interest. Your wife accepted and supported you up to what you are today. I hope that will be a lesson to our self-centred sisters. It is difficult to find a lady who will like to marry someone without having an ulterior interest. whenever there is money, one will be the best husband on earth and they will often say: “what will I have been without you” If in the course of their cohabitation or marriage, suffering strikes, she will make life miserable to the man and it is very common to hear utterances such as “You dirty man. What have you ever done for me? It is better to live in my father’s compound than to suffer here. When I took the decision to marry you I thought life would be better but I didn’t know that I was a fool». She will say over and over again “This marriage you want to contract with me will not work because we are not compatible”. Must compatibility be determined by money? That is the major reason why people especially men want to have a good job before engaging in a legal marriage. Very few women are willing to work together with their spouse in order to build together. They want to marry men only when the storm is over. I know of a lady who asked her partner to pay her for all the domestic works she had done for the time they had been together. You know what she gave him a bill of two million and said her month was worth 60,000frs. Where in Cameroon does a housemaid earn that sum? The child they had had she changed her name to her father’s name forgetting all what had happened in the past.
How is it possible for one to get married when ones partner doesn’t identify herself with what one is doing? Whenever one does something positive she thinks it is for oneself and not for the family as a whole. When she welcomes and treats her family members better than she will treat her partners’. Even when they are legally married some women still fail to identify themselves with their husband’s home. One still hears other saying that they have delivered children for their husbands as if the children are not theirs as well. It is only when women identify themselves as part of their husband’s home that we can have a stable marriage. When they feel for each other, when they hear each other heartbeat, when they share the joyful and timorous events of their partner’s life then can we have real blissful marital home. But when they continue to say “your mother” “your father” “your sister” instead of our mother, father and sister” there will not be veritable peace in the household. The Bible says when two people get married they become one therefore people must stop using discriminative words. What belongs to Adam must also be Eve’s. They must be together for what God has united nobody should put asunder
Young girls will prefer to go out with people who are older than their parents not because they love them but because they are sure that their daily bread and other needs will be guaranteed. You certainly know of the cases of mboma at our state universities. Prof Chinje: a Sociologist said, in the western world, in the first year university students observe each other and in the second year they approach each other and may even end up getting married to each other. It is the reverse at our state university where girls will prefer older persons than their own classmates certainly because their classmates having got the wherewithal. Today our sisters want to get married to albinos (whites) at all cost: they send them pictures in which they are stake naked. This is because they think they will have a better life if they are married to them. When they fail in their attempt to get what they want, they then desperately look for someone to hang on. However, there are a few women who are selfless and are willing to support whatever situation to make their marriage work. This category of women, who are difficult to come by, must be encouraged.
For marriage to be successful in Cameroon, we need a change of mentality: money can provide everything we need for our comfort but marriage is much more than that. Love should be the core of marriages and not money because of the vicissitude of life It needs people who understand each other and are ready to work together to achieve a common goal. Since the youth of our country is entrenched in poverty, very few engaged themselves in marriage. Less than four out of every ten young people in their thirties are married.
BY
Nanche Billa Robert
Douala Cameroon
Today the search for glamour and high profile husbands has destroyed the institution of marriage in Cameroon. Girls always think of a dream world thereby detaching themselves from their own reality. In Cameroon, especially in Douala where about 80.5% of the population lives in poverty, only very few people get married
47.5%, 31.7%, 5%, 5.4% and 4% of the population of Douala are married, single, divorcees, engaged, cohabiting. Those who are married are those having prestigious and high salary jobs. Most single people work in the informal and private sectors are students and unemployed. The more prestigious ones job is, the higher the likelihood that one will be married and the reverse will mean that one is single and is cohabiting.
Those who are affected are those <30-40 years old because they are seriously crushed by poverty.48% and 50% of those between 30-40years earn about 24,000-75,000frs and 75,000frs -125,000frs respectively which is far beyond the poverty-line of 177,000frs.Only 8%of those below 30 earn above the poverty line.
This is an indication that marriage is more of interest than sacrifice. Very few people will find a wife that will accept them with little or no interest. Your wife accepted and supported you up to what you are today. I hope that will be a lesson to our self-centred sisters. It is difficult to find a lady who will like to marry someone without having an ulterior interest. whenever there is money, one will be the best husband on earth and they will often say: “what will I have been without you” If in the course of their cohabitation or marriage, suffering strikes, she will make life miserable to the man and it is very common to hear utterances such as “You dirty man. What have you ever done for me? It is better to live in my father’s compound than to suffer here. When I took the decision to marry you I thought life would be better but I didn’t know that I was a fool». She will say over and over again “This marriage you want to contract with me will not work because we are not compatible”. Must compatibility be determined by money? That is the major reason why people especially men want to have a good job before engaging in a legal marriage. Very few women are willing to work together with their spouse in order to build together. They want to marry men only when the storm is over. I know of a lady who asked her partner to pay her for all the domestic works she had done for the time they had been together. You know what she gave him a bill of two million and said her month was worth 60,000frs. Where in Cameroon does a housemaid earn that sum? The child they had had she changed her name to her father’s name forgetting all what had happened in the past.
How is it possible for one to get married when ones partner doesn’t identify herself with what one is doing? Whenever one does something positive she thinks it is for oneself and not for the family as a whole. When she welcomes and treats her family members better than she will treat her partners’. Even when they are legally married some women still fail to identify themselves with their husband’s home. One still hears other saying that they have delivered children for their husbands as if the children are not theirs as well. It is only when women identify themselves as part of their husband’s home that we can have a stable marriage. When they feel for each other, when they hear each other heartbeat, when they share the joyful and timorous events of their partner’s life then can we have real blissful marital home. But when they continue to say “your mother” “your father” “your sister” instead of our mother, father and sister” there will not be veritable peace in the household. The Bible says when two people get married they become one therefore people must stop using discriminative words. What belongs to Adam must also be Eve’s. They must be together for what God has united nobody should put asunder
Young girls will prefer to go out with people who are older than their parents not because they love them but because they are sure that their daily bread and other needs will be guaranteed. You certainly know of the cases of mboma at our state universities. Prof Chinje: a Sociologist said, in the western world, in the first year university students observe each other and in the second year they approach each other and may even end up getting married to each other. It is the reverse at our state university where girls will prefer older persons than their own classmates certainly because their classmates having got the wherewithal. Today our sisters want to get married to albinos (whites) at all cost: they send them pictures in which they are stake naked. This is because they think they will have a better life if they are married to them. When they fail in their attempt to get what they want, they then desperately look for someone to hang on. However, there are a few women who are selfless and are willing to support whatever situation to make their marriage work. This category of women, who are difficult to come by, must be encouraged.
For marriage to be successful in Cameroon, we need a change of mentality: money can provide everything we need for our comfort but marriage is much more than that. Love should be the core of marriages and not money because of the vicissitude of life It needs people who understand each other and are ready to work together to achieve a common goal. Since the youth of our country is entrenched in poverty, very few engaged themselves in marriage. Less than four out of every ten young people in their thirties are married.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Ethnic politics
I know constructive criticism is what we all strive for and freedom of speech is not an excuse for anybody to say whatever they want without considering the implication of whatever they say. That said, nobody should prevent the other from expressing their views, because they are unconformable with what is being said. If we are not allowed to express ourselves in our house, where else are we going to be free? If those we have elected as our leaders are not treating us well, what do we expect from those who do not know us?
The truth must be spoken in love at all times even though it will make people uncomfortable. I agree with both of you, that we prefer talking behind people’s backs and not confronting them when given the opportunity to do so. It is deeply entrenched in our culture and anybody that does not toe the line is considered abnormal. Our leaders and elders are always right and are above reproach. “Little children are to be seen and not to be heard”. If I was born before you, I am always right and you must listen to me and not speak up. No doubt we grew up hearing that the youths are leaders of tomorrow, but most of us still have to wait for another century for a chance to become leaders.
Mr. Agendia, I agree with you that we do not need a minister from Lebailem for the needs of our area to be met. We have lived with this lie for a very long time and I think the time has come for us to face it head long. We have seen how little ministers from other parts of the country have benefited the common man. At their best their immediate family and close friends are those that benefit.
Why is our country where it is? Part of the reason is the manipulation of the masses under the pretext of regional balance. This policy reinforces “tribalism” resulting in a false sense of ethnicity. As such people lose sight of the broader picture and are prevented from asking the right questions. Therefore elections are not centered around issues, but on ethnic affiliations. That is why it is not surprise to hear that an election as important as the plebiscite was reduced to “will you vote for Foncha a Bamenda man or for Endeley a Bakweri man?
We are all aware of what the out come of the plebiscite is. Although we are still being told all is well and that nobody should complain or speak up. After all the problem is from the “came no goes” we have to send back to where they belong. How long are we going to play this ethnic card? I hear there is a lot of jubilation on the streets of Bamenda, because a son of the soil has been appointed the prime minister. Give me a break. Is he the first or the last Bamenda prime minister? Many have come and gone and we know the North West still has a very long way to go. I drove by the house of one of their former prime minister, who tarred the road from the dusty main road to his house. What a shame.
We will only get what we desire and expect. Politics of ethnic balance has kept us where we are. The colonial masters played that card and our leaders have mastered it very well. It sounds well and has the appearance of being the best option, but it is a deadly smoke screen used by those in power to manipulate, control and dominate the masses. The good news is this deceit will not go on forever. The time has come and now is the time to speak against such a blatant lie that has enslaved our people. Do not vote for somebody because he or she is your “country man” vote for them because they have the interest of Cameroon at heart.
The truth must be spoken in love at all times even though it will make people uncomfortable. I agree with both of you, that we prefer talking behind people’s backs and not confronting them when given the opportunity to do so. It is deeply entrenched in our culture and anybody that does not toe the line is considered abnormal. Our leaders and elders are always right and are above reproach. “Little children are to be seen and not to be heard”. If I was born before you, I am always right and you must listen to me and not speak up. No doubt we grew up hearing that the youths are leaders of tomorrow, but most of us still have to wait for another century for a chance to become leaders.
Mr. Agendia, I agree with you that we do not need a minister from Lebailem for the needs of our area to be met. We have lived with this lie for a very long time and I think the time has come for us to face it head long. We have seen how little ministers from other parts of the country have benefited the common man. At their best their immediate family and close friends are those that benefit.
Why is our country where it is? Part of the reason is the manipulation of the masses under the pretext of regional balance. This policy reinforces “tribalism” resulting in a false sense of ethnicity. As such people lose sight of the broader picture and are prevented from asking the right questions. Therefore elections are not centered around issues, but on ethnic affiliations. That is why it is not surprise to hear that an election as important as the plebiscite was reduced to “will you vote for Foncha a Bamenda man or for Endeley a Bakweri man?
We are all aware of what the out come of the plebiscite is. Although we are still being told all is well and that nobody should complain or speak up. After all the problem is from the “came no goes” we have to send back to where they belong. How long are we going to play this ethnic card? I hear there is a lot of jubilation on the streets of Bamenda, because a son of the soil has been appointed the prime minister. Give me a break. Is he the first or the last Bamenda prime minister? Many have come and gone and we know the North West still has a very long way to go. I drove by the house of one of their former prime minister, who tarred the road from the dusty main road to his house. What a shame.
We will only get what we desire and expect. Politics of ethnic balance has kept us where we are. The colonial masters played that card and our leaders have mastered it very well. It sounds well and has the appearance of being the best option, but it is a deadly smoke screen used by those in power to manipulate, control and dominate the masses. The good news is this deceit will not go on forever. The time has come and now is the time to speak against such a blatant lie that has enslaved our people. Do not vote for somebody because he or she is your “country man” vote for them because they have the interest of Cameroon at heart.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Breaking news. Cameroon gets new PM
Fuatabong Achaleke "You scratch my back, I scratch your own/ Politics na njangi" ". The real meaning is people are appointed to ministerial positions not only because they are qualified, but to reward those that scratched the backs of the powers that Be. This is done at the detriment of the country and the common man suffers as a result of that. It means the old guard will not be replaced until death do us part. It means the playing field does not need to be level, as long as we blindly support the ruling party. It means recycling the same people over and over, since these individuals are those who are actually scratching the back of the “big man”. It means the concentration of power in the hands of a single individual is the norm of the day. Since power is concentrated in the hands of a single individual who can do and undo everybody must dance to the tune that individual plays. You are not appointed to serve the people, but to appease the people. Appeasing the people helps maintain the present statuesque. Since those who are appointed do not know what will happen next, most of the time is spent taking care of their own wants. “Bellytics” becomes the norm of the day.
"You scratch my back, I scratch your own" is part of the problem and not the solution. Do those who claim are representing us actually do that? If they are representing us, why is it that they are not interested in leveling the playing field for all of us? I mean making sure that we have a good constitution that is respected by all. A constitution that sees beyond their time in office.
"You scratch my back, I scratch your own" is a faulty way of thinking and those propagating it can not be trusted. That is why those waiting for any benefits from such a flawed system are in for a very long wait.
Instead of asking for our own son or daughter to be appointed, we should be demanding for better laws and a level playing field for all. The interest of the entire country and its people irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic affiliation should determine appointments to all office in the land. Those appointed or elected should be those who are qualified and are willing to serve the people and not those who are only interested in scratching the backs of those who appointed them.
Does it surprise us that little is being done to move our country forward? Things will change when we stop operating by the principle of "You scratch my back, I scratch your own". For this principle is pregnant with a lot of deceit and is an instrument of manipulation, domination and control. No good is going to come out of this. At its best "You scratch my back, I scratch your own" will benefit a few individuals and those closest to them.
"You scratch my back, I scratch your own" is part of the problem and not the solution. Do those who claim are representing us actually do that? If they are representing us, why is it that they are not interested in leveling the playing field for all of us? I mean making sure that we have a good constitution that is respected by all. A constitution that sees beyond their time in office.
"You scratch my back, I scratch your own" is a faulty way of thinking and those propagating it can not be trusted. That is why those waiting for any benefits from such a flawed system are in for a very long wait.
Instead of asking for our own son or daughter to be appointed, we should be demanding for better laws and a level playing field for all. The interest of the entire country and its people irrespective of their political, religious or ethnic affiliation should determine appointments to all office in the land. Those appointed or elected should be those who are qualified and are willing to serve the people and not those who are only interested in scratching the backs of those who appointed them.
Does it surprise us that little is being done to move our country forward? Things will change when we stop operating by the principle of "You scratch my back, I scratch your own". For this principle is pregnant with a lot of deceit and is an instrument of manipulation, domination and control. No good is going to come out of this. At its best "You scratch my back, I scratch your own" will benefit a few individuals and those closest to them.
Monday, June 29, 2009
The end justifies the means
This picture speaks volumes about the state of our country and how most people approach live in Cameroon.
Let us not be quick to pass judgment on this "creative rider" who has successfully looked for a way to maximize his bike. For he is operating on the principle of everything goes that is very prevalent in Cameroon and amongst many Cameroonians. Yes everything goes and laws do not matter. If I want to get a job, I will do all in my power to get that job. I will bribe the "big man" and if it means I have to go out will him then let it be. If I find myself out of the country and have difficulties obtaining papers, I will lie about the state of the country and seek for political asylum. Money speaks and those who have money do not necessary have to obey the law. Elections are for those in power to win perpetually. The ruling party always wins. Once chairman, you are chairman for life. One man one vote is a strange concept. The end justifies the means.
Yes, the end justifies the means. In this case what matters is that the rider of the bike wants to move his six passengers from point A to point B. Put your self in the man's shoes. He is saving time, money and maximizing profit. What is wrong in it? Is he not riding his bike that he bought with his hard earned money? The children may be his children. If yes, is he not having the right to carry his own children in anyway he sees fit? Even if the children are not his, another adult must have instructed him to carry the children. What is wrong if two consenting adults decide and agree to do something?
Mr. Chris Ajua says. " I call this mode of transportation: "Unsafe At Any Speed!" So many traffic laws are being broken here and I feel something should be done about it".
I hear him say laws are being broken. Therefore the action of the rider has turned an otherwise safe mode of transportation into a hazardous mode of transportation. When societal laws are broken, the society becomes unsafe for everybody. As such all laws of society must be obeyed by everyone for us to be safe. We have to stop operating by the principle of “everything goes” for the truth is that everything does not go. We must stop rationalizing our disregard for the laws of the land, for two wrongs can not make a right. Therefore the end does not always justify the means. How do we expect to come out of the present quark mire the country is in, if we insist on operating by the faulty principles?
We are talking about the owner of this bike, because he is broking the law in the open. How many of us are different from him? You may be fast to say, your action did not endanger anybody. You did what you did because you had to survive. I have one question for you. Did your dire circumstances force you to break the law? I have not asked, is everyone else doing the same thing that you were “forced” to do? When you break the law, no matter how small it is, you are placing others in harms way. For your action is encouraging others to break other parts of the law. At the end of the day most parts of the law are broken and in some cases the whole law is broken and the resulting consequence is a broken system.
A system where nothing works. A system where without a “God Father” qualified graduates can not get jobs. Hard working students do not get the grades they deserve, but grades are giving to their mates who go out with their teachers. Basic medical facilities, roads, schools, etc are lacking because some contractor, had to oil the lips of numerous “big men”. A system were "man know man "is the norm.
What is the need waiting for your turn when the man at the counter is your friend etc. No doubt there is so much confusion and infighting in the country. No doubt we are overwhelmed by the hopeless surrounding us. The US ambassador recently echoed this in her speech. We have given up all hope. Are we waiting for a messiah to come bail us out? There is no messiah. We can not keep breaking the laws of our land and expect the country to prosper. How can there be stability when our constitution is changed whenever the powers that be deem it necessary to modify the constitution to benefit them? We must level the playing filed for every Cameroonian and make sure our laws are not seasonal.
Our only hope is the rule of law and not a new political ideology. We have to start obeying the law and encouraging others to do same. We must denounce those who break our laws, instead of sitting them on the high table, because they have built a big house and came to the occasion in the latest car. Are we not aware that it is questionable, when a civil servant of certain category amasses a certain amount of wealth?
Let the change begin with you.
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