One connotation that can be assigned to the expression Le Cameroun c’est le Cameroun is that Cameroonians can comfortably live with outrages, contradictions, inconsistencies and nonsensicalities that no other people could tolerate. A foreign visitor, once asked about his impressions of Cameroon, remarked that it was a truly wonderful country with wonderful people, but that what he could not understand was why Cameroonians seem so comfortable in mud. I am one Cameroonian who finds outrages, contradictions, inconsistencies and nonsensicalities absolutely intolerable and I always struggle, in no matter how futile a manner, to get out of mud or any muddy or muddled situation. Very often, however, I recall the adage that speech is silver while silence is golden and I keep my calm and cool because I often wonder whether I am the only one who is bothered by some of these things.
Some people have strongly objected to my recent suggestion that the 20th May feast could possibly be considered as the day French Cameroonians, alias Francophones, alias La Republic du Cameroonians, alias East Cameroonians, celebrate their assimilation, oppression, suppression and exploitative marginalisation of British Cameroonians, alias Anglophones, alias Southern Cameroonians, alias West Cameroonians. But what can one possibly deduce from the fact that, in Yaounde, the capital, at least, this celebration, as well as the week-long preparations leading up to it, are always characterized by arbitrary closure of roads, violation of human rights and freedom of movement, as well as fantastic display of military might and state-of–the–art military hardware, more than anything else? It always makes one wonder how any foreign aggressor would dare to move against such impressively invincible might. And yet parts of Cameroonian territory are actually being occupied by foreign powers. From which fact the conclusion is inescapable that the constant display of military might is directed at internal dissent rather than external aggression.
The Cameroon armed forces are always at their fastest and best in quashing any signs of internal dissent but, at the external front, anyone can draw his/her own conclusions from the number and frequency of posthumous decorations pinned on military coffins every year. At home against civilians, our gallant forces kill mosquitoes with sledgehammers. Against foreign aggressors, we are still to see or hear of what they are capable of doing That is odd, but let’s pass over it in silence. I remember a man who used to be a terror to his wife and children. One day he beat the hell out of his teenage son and, when his wife tried to intervene, he thrashed her as well thoroughly. The wife and children, including those who did not get a beating that day, were still quietly shedding tears, hours afterwards, when some irate adversary of their pater familias came calling, spoiling for a fight. Hearing only the angry voice of the unwelcome visitor at the door, the man dashed into the bedroom and hid in the wardrobe! The wife and kids could not help laughing through their tears before opening the door and lying to protect their husband/father.
The foregoing was only a digression. The oddity that I set out to talk about today is that of the name or appellation of the (non-governmental?), philanthropic association founded and headed by Cameroon’s First Lady, Chantal Biya. I mean CERAC – Cercle des Amis du Cameroun (Circle of Cameroon’s Friends). First of all, CERAC is a very commendable and laudable initiative on the part of the First Lady which could give some real content to the empty cliché ‘lutte contre la pauvrete’ that is bandied all about today. By such an initiative, the First Lady shows herself to be possibly both human, a humanist and a humanitarian. (By the way, it looked to me very commendably human, on the day the Indomitable Lions were being received at Unity Palace, on their victorious return from the last African Cup of Nations, that our First Lady was so visibly restless on her feet. Maybe she was feeling like just throwing herself at the heroes and warmly embracing each of them, but state and diplomatic protocol and niceties cannot contemplate such a thing. That is one reason I am allergic to protocol, ceremony and diplomacy. I still remember and savour until today, nearly ten years afterwards, the unceremonious warm embrace and long kiss I received from an adorably beautiful Kenyan lady at the Kenyatta Conference Centre, Nairobi, in 1991, on behalf of football idol, Roger Milla, just for being introduced as a Cameroonian! And, by the way again, if a First Lady trips and falls down during a State banquet, as is rumoured to have happened recently, I would instead admire her for her humanity). Was that a rather long digression?
Back to the point. Seriously, how can any group of Cameroonians describe themselves as ‘friends of Cameroon’? The name CERAC would be appropriate only if its membership were limited to expatriates. The Cameroonian equivalent of an expatriate ‘friend of Cameroon’ would be called a ‘patriot’. I would therefore suggest to the First Lady to change the name and appellation of her philanthropic association to ‘Circle of Cameroon Patriots’ and, if expatriates are really also members, to ‘Circle of Cameroon Patriots and Friends of Cameroon’ (CERPAC –Cercle des Patriotes et des Amis du Cameroun). Such an association, by its very conception must, of course, be not only non-partisan but also absolutely apolitical, because philanthropy, by its very nature, and the fight against poverty cannot be limited to members of any single political party or ideological camp. On that score, the people of my natal village, who are a mixture of political innocenti and diehard suffer don finishers should still be waiting for their own share of wheelbarrows and hoes from CERPAC.
No serious philanthropic association can condition its work and existence on the continuance in power of its members or of any particular political party or regime. It is therefore very important that, when CERAC or CERPAC (if her Excellency accepts my humble suggestion) goes out to perform its activities, CPDM drums are not rolled out as if the association is a branch or an appendage of the ruling party. On the contrary, partisan language and actions and any impression of being on the campaign trail should be scrupulously avoided. When this is not done, there will always be fanatics who will say and do things that will live to haunt and embarrass the First Lady and her association in future. The other important thing, of course, as with any other non-trivial association, is the need for verifiable transparency regarding the sources of funding and management of the resources of the association.
Rotcod Gobata
Comments