A
mediated, inclusive dialogue without preconditions is needed.
 |
| Dr. Namanga Ngongi |
By Dr. Namanga Ngongi*
Most Cameroonians had expected that the terrible happenings of 2020 would be left behind and we would start a new year with renewed hope and expectations that peace would be restored in 2021.
Last January, a convoy returning from the installation of a Divisional Officer fell into an ambush and five Cameroonians lost their lives, four military and a young lady, Mrs. Liwusi Jeme Musonge, the Divisional Delegate of Communications, Momo Division. There was an outburst of calls from political, religious and traditional authorities and from the population at large for peace to return to the Country.
There was genuine pain in Buea, home
town of Mrs. Rebecca Liwusi Jeme Musonge. She had spent Christmas with family
in Buea and returned to work only a few days before the bomb explosion. As we
mourned her in Buea so did the families of the four young soldiers.
The incident in Momo was
followed by the killing of a plantation Manager in Lobe, Ndian Division, an
attack on a petrol tanker that led to the loss
of three Cameroonians and an atrocious incident that occurred in Mautu village,
near Buea in Fako Division in which 10 innocent villagers including women and
children were slaughtered. To crown the killings for the month, four young boys
were killed in Bamenda for being found in an uncompleted building. How much
cheaper can human life get?
At the end of the homily of the Pastor who officiated at the funeral service for Mrs. Rebecca Liwusi Jeme Musonge, he made the following statement: “there is no peace without justice”. I am sure most people do understand what he said.
If injustice
is at the base of the lack of peace in Cameroon then we should focus our
attention on identifying the cases of injustice and work on resolving them.
This would require the complainants (Secessionists) and the accused (Government)
to meet and agree on the specific complaints and work out solutions. This
approach is called for given that the Head of State had acknowledged that some
of the stated concerns (unspecified) expressed by Ambazonians were valid. To
have justice there must be honesty and to have honesty there must be a sense of
integrity and courage.
Decades and centuries from now, these killings and slaughter will be cast as part of nation building but for now the people affected can only feel pain and betrayal. Pain for the dead, the wounded, the displaced and refugees and the many millions who have lost their livelihoods.
Pain also as they see those profiting from the conflict moving around calling for a peace they do not want, a peace that will put an end to their sources of illegitimate wealth.
The path to peace is clear but we
do not seem to see it or want to see it. Cameroon needs a mediated, inclusive
dialogue without preconditions. This will be facilitated by a ceasefire
declared by Government and respected by the Ambazonia leadership. Release of
imprisoned Ambazonia leaders and appointment of an independent mediator will
enhance the chances of a positive outcome. This is not so difficult if there is
political will and courage to restore peace.
Cameroon hosted the Secretary of State of the Vatican, His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, from 28th January to 3rd February. He was here officially to place the Pallium on the shoulders of His Grace, Archbishop Andrew Nkea of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province. By any standards, the ceremony was a great success. The Archbishop and the Cardinal deplored the suffering of people in the North West and South West Regions and called for peace to be restored.
The Papal Envoy called for dialogue, peace and justice
and in Yaounde he said peace depended on prayer, hope, faith and actions of
man. It would appear that prayer, hope and faith being not so visible are
difficult to measure while the actions of man can be measured but so far these have
centered on the prosecution of the war, calls for surrender, organization of a
non-inclusive Grand National Dialogue and an unorthodox DDR but peace seems to
be far off in the horizon.
The Vatican does not normally get directly involved in conflict resolution except when protagonists in a conflict have turned deaf ears on the cries of populations and attempts by the international community to broker peace. The Vatican has no army and no vote on the Security Council with which to enforce its views. The Vatican on the contrary has very strong moral authority.
The Vatican’s Secretary of State
will report to His Holiness Pope Francis on the outcome of discussions held
with High Officials during his visit to Cameroon and will keep the big powers
informed. I do believe he left behind a follow-up mechanism to ensure that his
efforts would yield fruit. It will be clear in a few months whether or not the
visit of Cardinal Pietro Parolin had any influence on the Anglophone
sociopolitical crisis.
The window of opportunity for a locally driven solution is narrowing. The Security Council and the international community cannot sit, arms folded, five years into a conflict that has led to over five thousand deaths, a million displaced and the loss of sources of livelihood for millions more.
The Security Council and the
international community are likely to initiate consideration of measures that
would encourage or constrain the protagonists to sit around a dialogue table.
Knowing the hardships associated with an externally driven scenario, I would
encourage the Government and Ambazonia leaders to agree on a mediated process as
soon as possible. The war has already dragged on for too long. Everything
should be done for peace to be restored.
Five years into a war, even erstwhile friends start to worry about its utility. Hunger spreads and weakens the spirits of the population. Access to services declines and people lose their lives for minor illnesses. The grip of hopelessness on the population would make it even more difficult to engage in socioeconomic development efforts when the war ends. When children in villages start producing toy guns and killer helicopters, we should be worried because the trauma of war and death will remain with them for a very long time.
The general
sense of frustration of youths in the North West and South West Regions due to
the derailment of their education, and especially so for girls; the very high
rate of unemployment, harassment, arrest and extra-judicial killings should
come to an end and be replaced by hope and faith in a future that is
commensurate with the developmental potentials of the country. Concrete actions
that will generate hope, build faith and incite enthusiasm in youths are awaited.
As I conclude this article, today the 11th of February, 2021, the 60th anniversary of the plebiscite to determine the modality for independence of Southern Cameroons, I feel very sad. I remember the great expectation with which my father waited for the counting of votes and declaration of the result.
A general climate of peace prevailed despite the two diametrically opposed choices: independence by joining with the Republic of Cameroon or independence by integration with Nigeria. The campaign had been noisy and dire warnings had been pronounced by political leaders on the consequences that awaited the Southern Cameroons if it chose one option or the other.
When the Biafra war
broke out people in the former Southern Cameroons rejoiced that they had been
spared the pain of that war. Little did we know that our turn to weep lay ahead
of us and that the prophetic words of Dr. Emmanuel Mbella Lififa Endeley, former Premier
of Southern Cameroons, would come to pass. We should now work towards
redressing the fears he raised.
A span of life of sixty years is a long time for a human being but not so long for a country. However, it is long enough to recognize that mistakes have been made in our nation building effort.
We need to recognize, discuss and reach agreement on solutions, not necessarily perfect solutions but those with which we can live. Not to strive to find a peaceful solution is worse than the mistakes themselves. A Government that admits to the existence of mistakes, especially when many of them were inherited from a previous leadership, ends up being strengthened, not weakened.
A lot of energy and financial resources are being spent on humanitarian assistance in support of displaced families and on ceremonies to honour and bury the war dead. The best form of assistance to IDPs would be to end the war so families can pick up the pieces and restart their lives and the best way to honour the war dead is to stop the killing.
A mediated inclusive dialogue without
preconditions should be convened and peace restored before the 60th
anniversary of Cameroon’s unification. This is urgent. Now is the time for
peace!
*Dr.
Namanga Ngongi is a retired former Senior Official of the United Nations.
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