Madiba For You I Shed a Tear

2013-1918 = 95

Yes, ninety five very significant years

for someone with special messianic qualities,

whose oppressors saw justification in the name,

Rolihlahla (in Xhosa meaning trouble maker),

to enlist you as a terrorist or black pimpernel,

for your skills at hide and seek with apartheid enforcers;

Who else could have seen it all in 71 years,

over two decades of which you had to serve time -

13 gruelling years with hard labour quarrying limestone in Robben Island?

For 10 years you could not even see your own children

and worst of all, not be allowed to attend the funeral of your son who died in a car accident.

Yet all this, you saw as a ‘Long Journey to Freedom’ for all.

Only you and you alone could have selflessly gone through all that to set your people free

Madiba, for you I shed a tear,

And yet wiggle to the rhythm of Soweto drums,

mourning your passing and celebrating your life with songs and drums,

for today, even in death the light blazes on your towering figure;

from the bearer of No. 46664 of a 7sq ft cell in Robben island

to President in the hearts of all throughout the world.

The most revered statesman and a moral compass of the continent,

the champion of human dignity and freedom,

the father of one nation but an inspiration to all

the greatest African leader of the 20^th century,

a unique moral authority.

Your legacy – selflessness and unbridled love of humanity.

For you I shed tears of joy for being a teacher to the world,

More so as you are from Africa.

Let the land of our ancestors be gentle with you.

Au Revoir Madiba!

African leaders, as the whole world mourns and celebrates the extraordinary life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, I have a few soul-searching questions for your consciences:

1. How many of you would have been willing to sacrifice so much for your people?
2. How many of you, after 27 gruelling years serving an unjustified prison term would have relinquished power the way he did in the name of democracy?
3. How many of you, with all that the world could offer, would have preferred medical care in his own country instead of being flown abroad?
4. How many of you genuinely love your countries and the continent the way Madiba did?
5. How many of you would win the hearts of your people and the world at large the way he did?
6. Why is it that after having produced a leader like Nelson Mandela, the continent is still fraught with dictators and corrupt leaders?
7. Nelson Mandela has left a great legacy for the whole world to see, what will be your own legacy? The questions are legion........

7/12/2013

HOW CAN I MOVE ON

Remember the moment we met

Our hearts leapt for joy at the union

Of the one to the other

The spark glowed and our love shone

But now it seems to be o’er

For we are now asunder

We did not care to ponder

Of the love so deep and tender

We built to please each other.

Remember the time we’re together

We always gave each other

The wonderful love we’d gather

From here, from there and yonder

But now it……..

Remember the time of suffering

We joined our heads in thinking

We smiled and kept on hoping

And better days came thundering

But now it……..

Can’t believe it’s over and done

Cause now you’re really gone

How do I even move on

When still for your love I long

Oh! Now it……

I WANT TO DANCE

I can hear the music tolling
It's loud, it's clear and inviting
The beat pumping through my heart
And the rhythm through my toes
My feelings are lit and spirits high
I want to shake and boogie
Jig and wiggle, twist and turn
To ward off the pangs of disappointment

Yes I just want to dance
To flush away all the gloom
Yes I just want to dance
And make way for a new bloom

Will drive away stress from frustration
And put out the fire of depression
To give room to sparks of ambition
And enkindle in me a better chance
To smile and forget the trance
Yes, I'll sink my grieving, and swell my rejoicing
It's a source of happiness and cheer
The rhythm is all o'er me, I can sit down no more

Cause I just want to dance
To flush away all the gloom
Yes I just want to dance
And make way for a new bloom.

WE ARE ONE

Pilgrims in this world we all are
Life is very short and death is very sure
To ev’ry one of us it’s sooner or later
Got to enjoy life while it lasts
No time for chimera and hate
For when life’s done they matter not
Let’s give out love and not hate

You may be smart and I’m dull
You may be tall and I’m short
You may be big and I’m small
You may be rich and I’m poor

But one thing makes us one
We’re from the same creator
And everything from Him is good
So we should give love and not hate

Out in the streets there’s anguish
Out in the streets there’s misery
Out in the streets there’s sorrow
Yet people show more hate than love

Please don’t lose sight of this fact
We’re from the same creator
And everything from Him is good
So we should give love and not hate

You may have the largest mansion
Yet only on one bed can you lie
You may have the biggest car around
But on one seat can you sit at a time

And one thing you cannot deny is
We’re from the same creator
And everything from Him is good
So we should give love and not hate

In quest for power and authority
Children are given guns for toys
To fight and kill and maim
In baseless insurrections here and there

But one thing to remember is
We’re from the same creator
And everything from Him is good
So we should give love and not hate

Misery if growing in alarming proportions
Children are dying in huge numbers
From AIDS, drugs, wars, hunger and crime
This cannot be what they truly deserve

For one thing makes us one
We’re from the same creator
And everything from Him is good
So we should give love and not hate

They need love, care and protection

Affection and better education

Not rejection and condemnation

They're the cream of the new millennium

And one thing makes us one

We're from the same Creator

And everything from Him is good

So we should give love and not hate

LAND OF PROMISE, LAND OF GLORY

One cannot say enough how blessed Cameroon is in terms of her very enviable rich natural and socio-cultural endowments - world class intelligentsia, strategic position on the African continent with an option for bilingualism (English and French) only second to Canada throughout the whole world - a potential recognised by many who have had opportunity to travel to this country. This potential is not tapped into either out of ignorance, neglect, greed or political manoeuvring or the sheer‘I don’t care' attitude. There is every reason for one to wonder if ours is a ‘golden ring on a pig’s nose’ – everyone else seems to see this potential and value of a country capable of being an all round reference on the continent and yet we make as if we need to be reminded over and over again by someone else that we are actually sitting on ‘a gold mine’. 

The following words of Harriett Isom, US ambassador to Cameroon from 1993 to 1996 fully captures the potential of this country we regularly refer to as Africa in Miniature: “There are the white and black sand beaches, the volcanoes, the lakes and lush highlands, the tropical forests, the old grassland kingdoms bursting with history and art and the totally different north with its terrain similar to America's southwest and boasting a nice game park. Cameroon should be, but isn't yet, part of the tourist route in Africa. This is a country about the size of California with still enviable potential. It has abundant energy resources, still unexploited mineral resources, bountiful timber and superb agricultural conditions for crops and plantations. It has ethnic groups who excel in trade and entrepreneurial ventures, ……..” 

Those are the words of someone who definitely is looking at all this untapped wealth of a people with envy, and finds it difficult to understand how on earth we cannot put to good use what we’ve got and yet regularly stand knocking at the doors of the World Bank, and in recent times, that of China with cap in hand for financial assistance all of which come with endless and unbreakable strings. The loud question as Cameroonians, we should be asking ourselves individually and collectively is, ‘are we really unable to see what we’ve got and someone else has to tell us?’ 

Our forefathers had seen this potential and immortalised it in the National Anthem we sing with ‘reverence and gusto’ at every official occasion, but the question has to be asked. How much attention is paid to the content and meaning of the lyrics of the National Anthem? If we take a thoughtful look at the following lines from the National Anthem and then take a look at the country today it may be clearer how much our love or non-love for country and therefore the input into its development is in dissonance with the commitment we make every time we sing the National Anthem. ‘Dear fatherland, thy worth no tongue can tell! How can we ever pay thy due? Thy welfare we will win in toil and love and peace, will be to thy name ever true! Land of promise, land of glory! Thou of life and joy, our only store! Thine be honour, thine devotion, and deep endearment, for evermore’. The message does not change even in a simple translation of the key lines of the French version of the Anthem, ‘Dear fatherland, darling country, you are our only true fortune, our joy and our life. In you there is love and great honour….’ 

In my humble opinion, admission of failure can be manifested either through the spoken word or through actions. From the moment we resort to taking medical examinations and treatments abroad not in national health facilities, or opting to educate our children in foreign schools instead of the national schools, or regularly spending our holidays outside the country instead of within the country, fly from one end of the city to the other, there is no doubt these actions are an implied admission of complete failure of commitment to love for country and its welfare. Other indicators of such failure include increased rural exodus and emigration in search of better pastures, as well as the prevalence of crime, bribery and corruption within the national territory. 

Currently the government is seeking ways and means of engaging with the Diaspora in a bid to tap into the rich material and intellectual potential of Cameroonians living abroad. As part of these efforts recently a delegation from the Presidency of the Republic was in the UK as part of a tour to other cities around the world to dialogue with the Cameroon Diaspora. This was closely followed by an enlarged question and answer working session with the Cameroon community in the UK by the Prime Minster, Yang Philemon while he was in London for the Commonwealth Trade Forum. However, the obstacles standing in the way of Diasporans wishing to engage in a much more meaningful commitment to being part of the development process in Cameroon are the same obstacles faced by Cameroonians living in the country – poor road infrastructure, corruption, insecurity at various levels, excesses of officials at the ports and the Ministry of Finance, very little or no support to small and medium size enterprises, an investment code which puts national and international business concerns on the same level playing field with the obvious consequence being that the competition cannot be fair since the multinationals have a better financial muscle, very poor customer services in government offices, and the list of the ills is endless and well documented. 

The way forward will be to consider addressing these inherent problems as very urgent and do something about them as soon as possible. Meetings and the resolutions spun there off are not enough if the conclusions do not result in concrete actions, same too are ideas; they remain paper tigers if not implemented. To get all Cameroonians (no matter where they may be) on board our development efforts, there must be a change in mentality at all levels. We need to revisit the content of the message in the lyrics of our National Anthem and make Cameroon the ‘land of glory and land of promise’ that she is meant to be. We are responsible for our own destiny, and no one is going to decide, carve out and see the attainment of this destiny for us. 

Steve Nfor

CAMEROON - LOOKING BEYOND FOOTBALL PROWESS

It is common knowledge that when one introduces himself as being Cameroonian within the British community be it on the streets or in workplaces, the reaction is the same – oh football…. Roger Miller….! It is understandable when one takes a look at how much contribution Cameroon has made to the development of world football so far.

Cameroon’s football exploits on the world stage and her dominance on the African continent are well documented. Five very impressive appearances at the World Cup in (1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 - and the sixth this year (2010) in South Africa) and lifting the African Cup of nations title four times in (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002 and runners-up in 1986, 2008, winner of the gold medal in the football tournament at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia in 2000, and runners-up in the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2003. In 2006 and 2009 Cameroon was ranked 11th in the World, the second highest position ever achieved by an African nation south of the Sahara in World Football (Nigeria was ranked 9th in 2006). This is quite an achievement by Cameroon since appearing on the international scene for the first time in 1960 beating the national side of French Somaliland, now Djibouti 9-2 in the friendship games organized in Madagascar.

However, there is much more that this very privileged triangle at the armpit of the continent can offer to the world than just football. Because of her varied ecology, (a near desert climate in the North transiting through savannah to the dense tropical rain forest in the South, in addition to a rich socio-economic and cultural potential, Cameroon is generally referred to as ‘Africa in Miniature’ because the country has it all.

TOURIST ONE-STOP SHOP
For tourism enthusiasts, Cameroon abounds with a diverse and yet undiscovered options (300 tourist sites) – abundance of unique cultural traditions and very rich and collectable artifacts corresponding to the over 250 ethnic groups that make up the Cameroonian population (almost 19 million), around 400km of splendid and natural sandy beaches along the Atlantic coast overlooking the ocean, world class hotel accommodation. Safari tourists have the option of visiting what has been described as the best developed and the most interesting National Park in Waza in the Northern region of the country. The park has a good representation of the key wildlife on the continent such as gorillas, lions, leopards, black rhinos, cheetahs, elephants, hyenas, hippos, antelopes, giraffes as well as 379 species of birds.

The ecology and the climatic variations in the country offer the ecotourists different options. There is the Korup National Park in the South-West region with rare plant species some of them said to be millions of years old, the equatorial rain forest and the primary forest in Dja classified as a Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Mountaineers have a challenge of 4070 meters up Mount Fako in the Southern region, or the waterfalls and rocky hills in the Adamawa, West and North-West regions of the country, and more still, some sites of the Mayo Rey containing fingerprints and fossils of dinosaurs.


SPOILED FOR CHOICE IN INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Since the early nineties, Cameroon was among the leaders on the continent to make the first moves towards encouraging Foreign Direct Investment by enacting a code that promotes freedom of investment. From her location right in the heart of the continent and being the meeting point of Equatorial Africa in the South and Tropical Africa in the North, Cameroon offers foreign direct investors easy access to the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Guinea as well as to the market potentials of the entire Central African sub-region and Nigeria with whom Cameroon shares a long border. For the foreign direct investor, the areas of possible investment are many.

There is potential in the energy, human Resources, transport, mining, telecommunications, waste management, forestry exploitation as well as the agro production and processing sectors. In the area of agriculture which is the main stay of Cameroon’s economy, the government is keen on increasing production to satisfy home demand and export the surplus to the sub-regional and international markets as well as add value to the raw materials and increase job opportunities by promoting local transformation.

As part of this quest to develop the agricultural sector, the government is committed to make available to national and foreign investors, secured land on contractual basis and also implement measures aimed at reducing customs duties. Investments in road infrastructure, the building of dams to step up energy capacity, low-cost housing and improvement in the telecommunications, are the needed accompanying measures to make the development of the agricultural and mining sectors more realistic and viable.

Some economic reforms have also been put in place, thanks to the support of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to stimulate the private sector. The banking sector has been stabilised, with some 13 active banks operating in the country currently, in addition to a Stock Exchange in the economic capital of Douala to facilitate free capital movement.

In terms of human resources, the country has an untapped young, energetic and trainable workforce as well as well trained professionals in various fields both in Cameroon and in the Diaspora. The foreign direct investors can take advantage of this potential to stabilise and sustain their operations on the ground rather than rely on the usually more costly and unstable expatriate labour, especially at this time when the Diaspora are getting more and more interested in going back home to be part of the country’s development process even if it means doing so on the payroll of a multinational as an employee.

THE DIASPORA – A FORCE TO RECKON WITH
On the other hand, as Cameroonians take a look in the country’s historical rear mirror 50 years on, more than ever before Cameroon will also have to rely especially on her human resources both at home and abroad in this quest for meaningful and sustainable development of the country, moving forward. Cameroon has a massive potential (material and intellectual) in the sons and daughters in the Diaspora, those of the United Kingdom included. In fact the UK has a cream of very highly qualified Cameroonian professionals in various fields which could impact directly and effectively in Cameroon’s development efforts.

Here in the United Kingdom, Cameroonians through individual and collective efforts, do everything possible to help their loved ones at home either through direct remittance of foreign currency, by setting up micro businesses for family members, or creating Charities to liaise and work with non-governmental organisations back home. Talking to Cameroonians here in the United Kingdom (and it is not an overstatement to say that this is the common view of all Cameroonians in the Diaspora), it comes across very clearly that they are very interested in getting involved in the development of their country either through micro or macro projects but the hurdles are legion.

Proof of this interest is the plethora of Cameroonian socio-cultural, economic and professional organisations/associations (Cameroon Forum, The Millennium Group, Friends of Cameroon, Cameroon Business Club, Cameroon Young Professionals, Cameroon North-West Cultural Association etc. etc.) now existing in the United Kingdom, all with a mission to contributing, in their own way, to the development of self and Cameroon.

Nonetheless, the general complaint is that genuine efforts to effect some form of economic development initiative in the country is often stifled by the many hurdles and bottlenecks in place in Cameroon beginning with the excesses of the officials at the port in Douala to the unrealistic demands of the taxman in the Ministry of Finance in Yaounde. It will be necessary to put in place investment and business tax codes that enable nationals to compete fairly with multinationals for contracts and investment opportunities in the country.

The main risk in Cameroon continues to be that of corruption which has been reported in various though isolated incidents. This has occurred both in the government and the judiciary. While it remains a problem, there have been efforts made to improve the situation. Some of these include reforms in various sectors such as easing and speeding up the process of granting trade licenses; previously an area of much corruption, and the call to order or arrest of some suspected corrupt officials.

Fifty years is unquestionably an age of reason, so as we look back at those things that make us different, in the rear mirror of the country’s history for the past half century, there is cause for celebrating the strides made so far towards nation building. However, the celebrations must not blind us to the many challenges that lie ahead as Cameroon strives to step up her development efforts. This maturity should be reflected in our decision-making process, development prioritisation as well as business and investment partnership choices to make maximum use of the specificity that is Cameroon, Africa in miniature, with very rich natural and human resources the country is blessed with.

Steve Nfor

CAMEROON GOVERNMENT KICKS OFF DIALOGUE WITH CITIZENS ABROAD

Cameroonians in the Diaspora have been craving for an opportunity to express their concerns regarding various stumbling blocks standing in the way of getting directly involved in the development strategies in Cameroon either through micro and macro development projects, charities, making available their expertise in the various fields if only on an advisory basis and more.

Those concerns may in the near future become issues of history as a special technical delegation from the Presidency of the Republic in Cameroon is currently en route to 8 western countries visiting around 20 cities to meet and dialogue with Cameroonians in the Diaspora in a bid to find common ground for effective involvement in the development process in Cameroon.

After their first stop in Belgium, the delegation made up of an official in charge of special duties at the Presidency, an adviser to the Prime Minister, the Head of Division in charge of Cameroonians abroad at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and an Inspector General in the Ministry of Communication, was in the United Kingdom over the weekend holding talks with leaders of various Cameroonian groups in London, Manchester and Birmingham.

During the various meetings introduced by the High Commissioner of Cameroon to the UK, H.E. Nkwelle Ekaney, members of the four-man delegation briefed the leaders of Cameroonian groups invited to the meeting on the status of earlier concerns such as dual nationality, right to vote, creating and running businesses in Cameroon, investment opportunities in various sectors of the economy – agriculture and forestry, banking and finance, communications infrastructure, the mining sector, water and energy, sports and the media environment in the country among others.

Speaking on the Diaspora, the head of Division in charge of Cameroonians abroad, Mr Thomas Fozein Kwanke brought out some revealing statistics (for example, over 4,000 Cameroonian medical doctors abroad against only 800 at home – 1 doctor/20,000 in the cities and 1 doctor/40,000 in the rural areas, 167 million US dollars (0.8% of GDP) in remittance from the Diaspora in 2008).

He called on all Cameroonians to register at the Cameroon High Commission, regardless of their residential status, pointing out that there is no exact figure on the number of Cameroonians living outside the country. Mr Fozein Kwanke said the High Commission is there to serve the interest of all Cameroonians and should in fact serve as an administrative facilitator for all Diasporan initiatives, be they of an economic or charitable nature geared towards the development of the country. .

On the specific issue of dual nationality, the delegation revealed that technically everything had been completed and the document will have to be tabled before the National Assembly before it becomes effective.

Concerning the right to vote, they also said that with regards to Presidential elections or a referendum it could also be possible for Diasporans to exercise their civil duty in the near future as promised by the President when he addressed the Cameroonian community during his visit to France last year, though the problem of under which constituency to classify the Diaspora will arise when it comes to parliamentary or municipal elections.

In Birmingham, members of a group calling themselves ‘Collectif des Organisations Democratiques et Patriotques des Camerounais de la Diaspora (CODE)’ obstructed the meeting for some 30 minutes to express their discontent with the powers that be in Yaounde, accusing them of embezzling state funds, corruption and human rights abuse, brandishing photographs of the famous Cameroonian musician Lapiro de Mbanga, who is currently in prison, and Germain S. Ngota Ngota editor of a private newspaper, Cameroon Express, who died in prison recently. It was thanks to the intervention of the police that the meeting went on undisturbed.

In fact, the head of the delegation, Dr Emmanuel S. Wonyu admitted that, of the three meetings held in the United Kingdom, that of Birmingham stood out as the most constructive and enriching with regards to the expressed concerns of Cameroonians in the Diaspora.

In a comment following the dialogue, which at times was near virulent but passionate, the High Commissioner called on Cameroonians in the Diaspora to have faith in the leadership, whom he said, is striving to take the modernisation process of the country forward and to demonstrate maturity in matters relating to the image of the country abroad.


Steve Nfor