In search of a new home: The case of an Anglophone student.

By James Chechi.

Brutalized and arrested in Buea by security agents in June 2017 as the Anglophone crisis gathered momentum, Njusu Thobias Lobe,a Cameroonian student pursuing further studies in Ireland, was terribly demoralized.

 He had just returned from Europe to carry out research for his school work but  did not know he would  live the bitter experiences of the armed conflict between Cameroon Security forces and separatist fighters.

Reports said security agents got intelligence that Mr.Lobe, born on July 4, 1984 in Muyuka,one of the strongholds of separatist fighters in Cameroon, was one of many Anglophone activists abroad who staged Anti-President Paul Biya’s protests abroad, demanding the independence of the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon.

 Mr.Lobe is reported to be  a  member of the Ambazonian Governing Council(AGOVC).

Both regions were formerly UN-British Southern Cameroons and had gained its independence on October 1, 1961 by joining La Republique du Cameroun.

As the story goes, not only was Mr.Lobe tortured by his captors, his Boduma –Buea residence was reportedly searched and his laptop seized in search of incriminating evidence .Neighbors watched the drama helplessly.

But Mr. Lobe, thanks to some intervention, was later released from detention. His family and friends had feared that could he be transferred to Yaounde and jailed with many other Anglophone activists, accused of secession and terrorism-related activities.

 In Cameroon, those found guilty of terrorism could be given to death penalty.

After gaining his freedom from detention, Mr. Lobe reportedly returned to Europe later in 2017. And, he resurfaced in Cameroon early July 2019 when he learned of his mother’s critical health situation. He had feared that his beloved mom could die without them discussing intimately. Thus, his decision to return home.

Unfortunately, when he left Douala Aiport en route to Buea, he is said to have been arrested along the Misselele-Tiko road at a police check point.Mr. Lobe would be detained in Buea still in connection with his alleged participation in anti-government protests abroad.

As fate would have it Mr. Lobe again “fought” his way out of detention, but this time vowing, to his family and friends, to flee Cameroon and only return when the Anglophone Crisis, which erupted in October 2016 with lawyers and teachers’ protests, would end -and when indiscriminate arrests and detentions because of the crisis will no longer be common. 

Separatists seeking the independence of Anglophones are labeled terrorists by Cameroon government. Many have been prosecuted, jailed and persecuted for what the Biya regime describes as their attempt to destabilize the country.

The Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), created in 1994 with the intention of ensuring the independence of Anglophones, was on January 17, 2017 outlawed by Cameroon government as the crisis was only escalating.

After arresting from Nigeria and imprisoning in Yaounde ,Sisisku Julius Ayuk ,president of the Interim Government of Ambazonia and  his cabinet, Cameroon later compiled a list of secessionist leaders abroad, whom it   wanted extradited The long list includes rights activists  John Mbah Akuroh,Tapang Ivo, Mark Berata, Cho Ayaba, and Eric Tataw. 

Cameroon’s campaign to arrest many activists abroad for secession and terrorism-related activities’ trials back home is scaring many Cameroonians abroad to return home, as they prefer their safety and protection elsewhere. 

Yet, Anglophones seem bent on having their independence, as they complain bitterly of gross marginalization by the majority French-speakers. 

The Anglophone Crisis has resulted to the deaths of over 2000 people

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More than 200 villages have been burnt down and property worth billions of Fcfa destroyed in the two English-speaking regions of Cameroon

 Rights groups say about forty thousand Cameroonians fleeing the crisis are in neighboring Nigeria for asylum.

Amid calls for a meaningful and inclusive dialogue to see a lasting solution to the crisis,it is only escalating, with critical observers fear that it could morh into Cameroon’s civil war.