The real cause of an Imminent civil war in Cameroon and possible solution: CRUDE OIL.

By Elijah Jemchi
A French journalist investigated the production and exportation of crude oil from Cameroon. He found out that from production to the time when the oil leaves the country, there are only the oil company workers and security people in charge. They declare how many barrels of oil they produce to the government and pay a fee of about $5 per barrel to the Cameroon government. Crude oil sells at $100 a barrel in the world markets. This $5 per barrel makes up 80% of Cameroon GDP and forms the major revenue for all Cameroon annual budgets.

UK minimum hourly rate of pay for the meanest job is $11 per hour. The price of fuel in UK is $2 per litre and the UK govt takes $1.60 per litre in taxes. The oil companies make do with $0.40 per litre. A litre of engine oil is $2 in UK, in Cameroon, it is $3. We know that these oil companies make billions of pounds in profit each year. That comes from their crude oil not from the price of fuel at the pump. The UK government get the most from the price at the pump. Compare that with price of fuel in Cameroon of $1 per litre.

The Cameroon ministers who negotiated a price of 600 frs back to 595 frs, previously 585 frs, were partly right in trying to do the best in order to increas the revenue of the government. They are appointed on strict condition that they do not look at production of crude oil and taxation in that field. That is the exclusive domain of president Paul Biya and one or two of his closest collaborators whom we do not know and can never know about. These are the most powerful men in Cameroon, not any minister or parliamentarian.

There is only one country I know that refines its own oil, Republic of Venezuela. President Chavez does not beg anyone, including the USA. He stroke a deal to supply petrol to London without consulting the UK prime minister, only the mayor. Now unemployed UK residents get half price public transport. The Cameroon Hydro-carbon Company or anyone interested and with the means to effect change in Cameroon should look to the Republic of Venezuela and President Chavez for transfer of OIL REFINERY TECHNOLOGY.

All the oil companies in the world are super states. They contribute so much to their home government and in return are protected as super states. They will not act diplomatically unless it is in their self-interest. Have you ever wondered why George Bush says USA economy is based on oil and they need to diversify? Is there a USA government Oil Company? All the other oil companies are the same. They are supported by their governments to buy out third world oil fields more than 50 years in the future. They do not need to measure or declare how much oil they take. Basically, they buy third world economies.

The interest of western Rich nations is to preserve the status quo. They went to war in Iraq to preserve the status quo. Paul Biya can stay as long as he wishes if that is the only way to preserve the status quo. It is obvious that to increase revenue in Cameroon, the government should put a sea toll gate at SEA, and count all the barrels of crude oil that pass out of Cameroon. THE OIL LEAVES CAMEROON WITHOUT GOING THROUGH ANY SEA PORT. ONLY A NAVY CAN STOP OR CHECK THEIR MOVEMENTS. BUT THEY HAVE FULL PERMISSION FROM THE INCUMBENT TO ACT LIKE THAT.

Overnight the crude oil production from Cameroon will double and the Cameroon GDP will double even at $5 per barrel. No body is hurt because if you are caught cheating and requested to pay your fare share of taxes by the oil company, they can hardly go crying. That will never happen while this Paul biya is in power. They all share the illicit gains form this undeclared crude oil.

That is the only valid reason why anyone should oppose change of Cameroon constitution allowing for lifetime presidents, not only Paul biya but also his successor. Else, we will never know the amount of crude oil that leaves Cameroon. The only effective opposition in Cameroon is the leaders of the trade union who declared a strike as soon as petrol prices were put up from 585 to 600 on the day the Indomitable Lions made great exploit in Ghana and all Cameroonians were too drunk to truly analyse.

Notice how Paul Biya cleverly focuses on the violence on the streets and avoids discussing crude oil. No politician has focused on crude oil production the true justified cause of civil war in Cameroon. No journalist who wants to keep his job can ask Paul biya directly about this crude oil production figures. I do not know what they are using to twist the minds of the people in positions of relative power who support the incumbent year in year out without resolving the crude oil issue.

Remember that what contributes 80% of Cameroon GDP is the real direct issue here not an article of the constitution, though that is relevant in the long run. The world will end because of a fuel issue. A civil war will be fought in Cameroon because of the fuel issue. Everyone should have an opinion on the Cameroon fuel issue. Until these real issues of crude oil are clearly argued by any party will I support that party, even if that party is Paul Biya's.

For now nobody should go out to the streets and be killed for nothing. The only reason I will go out on the streets and prepare to be killed is if I am fighting to know about the fuel that my country is producing and I am not benefiting fully from the proceeds.

Now, the ministers rightly claim that Cameroon oil is expensive because it is imported. Why is it imported? Because our oil is too heavy and cannot be refined in Cameroon. Only a senile mind will accept this argument. How come it is refined out of Cameroon? The only solution is to double the charge on crude oil that leaves Cameroon and half the charge on crude oil that is refined in Cameroon. This process should be repeated year in year out until the oil companies decide that it is more profitable to refine the crude oil in Cameroon before exporting than the other way round. This gives more opportunities for the government to measure the true quantities of production in Cameroon.

About 95% of the billions swindled by those in power is through this process of exporting unmeasured crude oil from Cameroon and importing higher priced refined oil into the country. I can claim to you that the price of fuel in Cameroon should be 200 frs or less like in Nigeria if this process of exporting unmeasured crude oil and importing refined oil is checked. Note that the by-products of crude oil refining is tar for road construction. Is this not the one singular reason why we are poor while blessed with resources like oil and other resources.
Any well-meaning citizen of Cameroon should pull their resources to resolve this issue for the benefit of all Cameroonians. Paul Biya has bought at least until 2011 to stay in power. Now is the time to plan to take over from the senile minds effectively after 2011.

Elijah JEMCHI

On the Brink of Ethnic Cleansing in Cameroon...

By Innocent Chia
Even as the Sorcerer-In-Chief of La Republique du Cameroun, Paul Biya is seeking atonement from his fractured and bleeding nation for showcasing his unstated inability to be a leader in crisis, such as the recent conflagrations that besieged the country for a week beginning February 24, "elite" of the Mfoundi Division in Yaounde are thirsting for the blood of Biya non-conformists residing in Yaounde. In a statement issued February 29th and published in the official gazette, Cameroon Tribune of March 3rd, the over 30 signatories to the ethnic-cleansing-type piece are calling on "...forces of destruction from wherever, to immediately leave our land because it is no longer secure for them".

Something else that the statement does not shy away from is its admission that for once Yaounde came to a screeching halt as a result of the strike action. Thus, it states that "Neither we, nor our children, will again be compelled to trek, after sacrificing so much to acquire the means of movement in relative comfort". If nothing, this speaks to the core of what is crippling Cameroun and hampering it from changing from within: it is all about the personal comforts of a few while the masses can rot in hell, after dying from the filth of the reeking garbage on the street corners.

The Yaounde person is notoriously famous for his chop-broke-pot attitude. This is highlighted in the statement undergirding the fact that the route to any revolution involving the Yaounde man has to go through cutting of any food supplies. Again, the statement says "We will not accept to be hungry or thirsty, as our markets are overflowing with foodstuff and our sisters have bountiful harvests from their labour, but lack the means to transport them or for fear of looters."

Whether or not there is any correlation between this statement and police and army warrant-less break-ins, brutality and detentions in overcrowded and sub-human cells across the nation is anyone's guess. It is also any body's guess whether it is the dire situation that has urged Biya to have a rare meeting with his Rosicrucian cabinet. It is difficult to clap for a 20 percent salary increase given the 1992 slash of 75% and a further devaluation of the Franc by 50%. It represents nothing but a poor attempt at covering up for the bottled-up frustrations of the people. The Sorcerer-in-Chief is yet to tell people how he unilaterally decided to cut back the prices of gas and kerosene on the heels of the strike. It either mirrors how his lack of accountability has plunged the country chin-deep into economic and political dungeons or; it says that he is just a toy in the hands of some other powers that call the shots for Cameroun.

Please read the translated version of the speech, courtesy of The Post newspaper on www.dibussi.com

Innocent Chia
Citizen Jounalist
Email: innochia@gmail.com

STATEMENT ON THE MOST RECENT POGROM BY THE BIYA REGIME

By Carlson Anyangwe

Fellow-citizens of the Southern Cameroons,

In the last week of February, the people of Cameroun Republic gave an example of rebellion. That popular revolt was triggered by one man's stubborn and reckless determination to crown himself life president of that country. It was also triggered by the cruel economic hardship and grinding poverty cynically imposed on the population by that man's hideous misgovernment and ghastly mismanagement. That revolt spilled over into our Homeland, the Southern Cameroons, which is for the time being still under the colonial occupation of Cameroun Republic.

The Yaoundé colonial regime seized upon that spill-over revolt to once more order its military and police forces to carry out yet another round of organized extensive massacres of our people. These barbarities, which the ruler of Cameroun Republic and his brutal regime find very congenial, partake of that country's national policy of continuing ferocious repression in the Southern Cameroons. That policy of repression is carried out in the hopeless hope of striking terror in us. The terror is meant to deflect us from the sacred task of breaking the chains of colonialism with which we
are fettered and rightfully asserting our everlasting freedom as a sovereign
independent nation.

But we are proud we have a gallant and avant-garde youth with an iron-will determination to soldier on with us until we get to the Promised Land. Our youths, girls and boys, students and non-students, employed and unemployed are the spear of our nation. They have never hesitated to attend to the call of Destiny and History. They have dedicated themselves to bringing forth a new nation in Africa dedicated to freedom, the pursuit of happiness, human rights, democracy, good management and the rule of law.
We salute them even as we mourn those murdered in cold blood by the colonizer. We condole with the relatives and friends of all those visited by the angel of death from Cameroun Republic. Those who have been murdered by the colonizer gave their lives for the Southern Cameroons nation to be born. It shall be!
We must therefore dedicate ourselves to the unfinished work that they have so far nobly advanced. Let the tyrant, with so much blood on his hands fear! He has to face this alternative: either the people of the Southern Cameroons are to be exterminated or the people of the Southern Cameroons are to be free from colonial bondage!

Fellow-citizens,

Our Homeland was once a peaceful, free, democratic, prosperous and fully self-governing country. It was a country under the rule of law and effective
human rights protection. It was a beacon of hope and freedom in Africa, and, in fact, a home to thousands of refugees fleeing from French Cameroun. Bloodshed, repression, political prisoners, political assassinations, extrajudicial killings, torture, police maltreatment and harassment, arbitrary arrest and imprisonment were all unknown in our Homeland.
But since coming under the colonial occupation of Cameroun Republic we have known nothing but death, mayhem, suffering, humiliation and sorrow. Our land has experienced nothing but desolation and spoliation. Complete darkness has descended on our land and on our people. There is hopelessness everywhere.

The colonizer's thirst for our blood seems unquenchable. Day in day out the colonizer slaughters our people. Day in day out we bury our dead. Day in day out we mourn our dead. Day in day out we grief over our relatives and friends maimed, tortured and arbitrarily imprisoned by the colonizer.
Even those who have persisted in hoping against hope that they can patch up with the colonial occupation of our Homeland must now see that there is no future whatsoever under colonial rule. It is not by error that mankind has classed occupation and colonization as crimes against humanity, never to be accepted.

Fellow-citizens,

How long shall the people of Southern Cameroons grief and groan under the burden of foreign occupation? How long shall we carry this cross placed on our heads from across the Mungo by the Yaoundé colonial regime? How long shall we tolerate this colonization from hell as if we can do nothing about it?

Surely it cannot be our destined end and lot on earth to suffer and toil forever under the yoke of colonial occupation by the neighbouring country of Cameroun Republic. The time has come to shirk off the spirit of self-resignation and make a turning point in our history. We once did it before, and we shall do it again! 'It was by daring and by doing that the Roman state grew and not by the timid policies that cowards call caution.'

The time of orphanage for our people is over! The time when the people of Southern Cameroons were like a flock without a shepherd is over! We have reached a turning point in the quest for the restoration of our homeland. The Restoration Government and all of us are condemned by Fate to set our land and ourselves free and to restore the peace, freedom, prosperity and the life of light and hope that existed in our land, before it was covetously occupied by a predatory Cameroun Republic!

The Restoration Government calls on every woman, man, youth, and child of the Southern Cameroons, as a first and bold step towards our liberation, to, as from now withdraw from all participation in the political life of Cameroun Republic. We have no business with the affairs of that country, except that aspect of its affairs that consists in trying to keep us in bondage, in regard to which it is our sacred duty to ensure that its colonial occupation of our land comes to grief.

We call on traders, taxi drivers etc in all our towns and all our professionals to form and manage their own separate associations for the defence of their interests.

We request that those of our men and women called to holy orders should, in their weekly prayers of intercession, never tire of asking God to bring the Southern Cameroons out of the Cameroun Republic house of bondage even as He delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. For Jesus gave the assurance that 'ask, and it shall be given you.'

Our men and women in uniform serving in Cameroun Republic have no business getting involved in the restless tribal intrigues among the politicians and military/police of that country. They would do well to avoid getting involved in the various crimes against humanity in which the civil and military leadership of that country would soon be indicted for. The task of today for our men and women in uniform is to factor their savvy into our national liberation struggle and thereby contribute towards our
collective freedom as a people.

From now on we, the people of Southern Cameroons, have only one dream, one focus and one mission: the restoration of our Statehood. That is the only legitimate cause for which we must all focus all our energy and wherewithal. With this in mind we ask all our people to hold themselves ready to execute the commands of the Restoration Government. The moment of revolt for our cause shall come. For it is clear even to the cursory observer that this recent dance of death and mayhem by Cameroun Republic is a curious mixture of unconsciousness and deliberateness, of blindness and awareness, in which the doomed leadership of that country is moving, like the last days of the Nazi leadership, towards inexorable disaster.

The Restoration Government is at work. The outward symbols of the independent state of the Southern Cameroons (flag, anthem, emblem, motto etc) have already been formally publicized. There would follow in the weeks ahead the proposed draft national constitutional which will be submitted to the people for extensive debate and eventual adoption.
There has been set in motion a process by which we can all participate in the choice of our country's name. At the end of the process the name selected for the country
would be formally announced. Furthermore, there are a number of policy frameworks that are in gestation. These will be put out one after the other as soon as they are ready. The major one, an economic framework, is near completion. As soon as it is ready it shall be made available to the people to see and gauge the vision we have for independent Southern Cameroons.

We have been informed by a number of stakeholders of certain initiatives by them that are afoot. There is unshakable determination out there to ensure that the civil and military officials of the Biya royal gangsterdom who are most criminally responsible for crimes against humanity are made to answer for their crimes internationally. We shall actively support that initiative by providing the documentary and real evidence that we have gathered over the years relating to those crimes. We invite our people to supply us with more names and evidence. We are determined to put an end to the institutionalized culture in Cameroun Republic of impunity for crimes under international law. Our support for this initiative does not of course mean we shall remove the names of the individuals concerned from the 'List of Most Wanted Persons for Crimes against Humanity' that we have compiled and continue to update.

We are also informed that at the moment a list of some of the persons involved is being put together for the purpose of initiating an international campaign for asset freeze and travel bans. We have some names ourselves and would support this initiative as well.

Finally, a Cameroun Republic human rights organization based in Douala, known as 'Maison des Droits de l'Homme', and a Cameroun Republic political organization in exile, Known as 'Conseil National pour la Résistance', are both calling for an international commission of inquiry into the latest pogrom carried out by Biya and his military and police forces. We support that call and would work with those organizations to ensure that such a commission is instituted.

The liberation of the Southern Cameroons is not a matter of if, but when. Right now, the captive citizen of the Southern Cameroons is up on his feet resolved to be a slave no more. He is resolved not to commit the historical contradiction of submitting to the very colonialism which has wrought age-long suffering and ruin in the Southern Cameroons, the very colonialism to be fought and which makes the sovereign statehood of the Southern Cameroons a categorical imperative.

God made the Southern Cameroons our own land. He tells us, 'I have given you the land to possess it; stop begging for what you are entitled to.'That land shall be our own space of existence on Earth!

The Southern Cameroons shall be free, come what may!

C Anyangwe

‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere’

By Hinsley Njila
Whenever anyone points out things that need to be corrected in Cameroon, it’s become Cameroonian and fashionable even for people who clearly have not benefited from the corrupt system that Paul Biya has championed to criticize them for doing so. You can’t be surprised where this type of attitude comes from especially after reading the president’s reaction to the recent strikes all over the country, and to the pain and suffering of the Cameroonian people. For these people so critical of anyone who dares to point out the truth about our country, I ask you a few questions:

- Are you proud of your country when your President gets on television and insults the youth for seeking a better society with less police brutality, better schools, better teachers, employment, better healthcare, justice for all etc?

- Are you proud of Cameroon when Transparency International conducts research, which showed that 75% of all Cameroonians bribed a public official for service in 2007?

- Or maybe you are proud of Cameroon when international media (CNN, BBC, and YouTube etc) are showing young defenseless Cameroonians being killed by an uneducated, overly brutal and senseless police?

- Hmmm…Could it be that trying to qualify as one of the world’s poorest countries for debt relief purposes is something that any Cameroonian should be proud of?

- How about Cameroon being one of the most corrupt countries in the world for the last 10 years on average?

- The World Bank has also asserted that Cameroon’s business climate ranks among the least welcoming in the WORLD. In fact, the US Ambassador to Cameroon rightfully pointed out to Cameroonians last year that while it takes 5 minutes to register a business in Singapore, that same business being registered in Cameroon will take 444 days and millions in bribes if at all.

- Maybe the fact that young smart, vibrant, energetic, hardworking, able bodied Cameroonians would rather die in the North African desert trying to get to Europe for a better life, even if it means cleaning toilets and living in unwelcoming environments, than perishing in the joblessness of Cameroon is something you’re proud of.

- Also, maybe the fact that your child / brother / sister / relative / neighbor / friend... etc was denied entry into University because a less qualified person took the spot, or that your kid in college is using the same books you used when you were in the same grade and not catching up with changing knowledge makes you proud.

- Or maybe the fact that ALL private radio and television stations can be closed in one day for correctly reporting and showing images of the government mercilessly killing innocent youths makes you proud.

Now, I can see you arguing against any of these points if you’re a member of Biya’s immediate family who, I can assume, have benefited from his incompetence and disregard for human suffering over the years. Everyone should be quite concerned for the sake of justice. Like Dr. King said during the civil rights struggles, ‘injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Like you, I’m embarrassed for my country, but let’s all have a healthy debate so HOPE can finally in our lifetime be something that ALL Cameroonians, young and old, get to live and dream about.

Hinsley Njila
Contributor

Cameroon’s Education system is dangerous for Cameroonians

By Hinsley Njila
Of the millions of things wrong with a country like Cameroon, its education system and the monkeys in charge of it in my book have been the second most dangerous on that list since the country’s independence. They are second in magnitude, of holding the society back and condemning millions to a life of hopelessness and eternal poverty as they die a slow and painful death, only to the leadership of the country. Please read on ONLY if you can handle the truth.

Fact: If you were convicted for committing violent murder in Chicago (USA) and went to prison for life, you’d be exposed to an astonishing wealth of knowledge in terms of library and access to information that Cameroon with six state Universities for 17 million people simply has failed to provide its students; and that’s just the prison system in Chicago being compared to a country.

Fact: North Korea, South Korea and Cameroon all gained independence roughly around the same time. Because South Korea built its Human Capital through education, it is now light years ahead of Cameroon and North Korea in terms of development and other economic indicators.

Every developed country in this world, or one aspiring to be, has to have a good education system that drives development by building HUMAN CAPITAL. A good education system works hand-in-hand with business to provide labor that is best prepared to handle growth and economic changes. Because the relationship between education and human capital is so important and has been well researched, I’ll advice all those interested to read ‘Human Capital: A theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education’ by Gary Becker, and other literature by Robert Barro, Milton Freeman and others.

On the front page of USA TODAY newspaper for Feb 29-March 2, 2008 there is statistics listing the breakdown of foreign students in the United States by continent. While slightly more than one out of every two foreign students you see in American Universities is Asian, far less than one of every 11 or so is African….This is absolutely mind numbing! Why should this matter to you, you ask? Everything I’d say.

It is unquestionable that there is a direct correlation between education and development, law, freedom, human rights, reduced mortality, reduced incidents of disease and so on. China, in its five year development plan (available online) spends a great deal of time emphasizing the fact that not only will it make every effort toward building globally recognized, educationally renowned institutions and faculty within 10 years, but would also support its students by helping the brightest attend some of the best Universities in the most developed parts of the world. Its leaders recognize that unless you have this type of leadership, any talk of sustainable development is insanity at best. Of the less than 1 in 11 students from Africa studying in America, Cameroon might just be the least represented of all African countries.

In Cameroon you have Universities and professors that are actively standing in the way of students gaining the knowledge and exposure to make something out of such a failed society. Cameroon Universities have a grading system so bad that it should be criminal. A system with NO accountability designed to ensure the brightest Cameroonians are regarded as mediocre when compared to people from other parts of the world. Rarely will you ever meet a Cameroonian whose honest grades and educational experience in a Cameroon University were instrumental in getting them admitted in a top University anywhere in the world. The system is unfair, overly punitive, inadequate, incompetent, and criminal. How do I know this? Well, many people who couldn’t muster the bribes for grades in Cameroon do quite well at many GOOD Universities around the globe. Those that did pay the bribes and or slept with teachers for grades as well as unfairly get available scholarships, often perform quite poorly when trusted into more honest systems.

We should all be critically concerned about this unfairness because we discourage and potentially lose talent, as well as all but guarantee that Cameroon remains a state that well into the future will still be referenced by the likes of transparency international and World bank as an example of failure, corruption and extreme poverty, that is if we don't get extinct from our very own stupidity and lack of change. Case in point; a good Education system would have produced professionals that would constantly look at inflation and make adjustments to commodity prices like food and fuel, trade agreements and others that protect economic activity and reduce poverty. Obviously, Cameroon’s education system is dangerously inadequate and thus incapable to offer opinions on such critical issues; one reason for the recent bloodshed, and lack of respect for the law by leadership. That's also why a president will sit abroad and unilaterally change the price of commodities because of a strike, bypassing the so-called intellectuals without understanding the economic implications.

So what needs to happen then? Well at this point I’m not even sure leadership (government and academic) understand the gravity and urgency of the situation. If they claim ( and they do) that they’re admitting the best students in their Universities, no one should then be failing without the institutions, Professors and other leadership being held accountable, and Cameroonian students should be given the tools to compete with anyone from around the world. Teachers SHOULD stop sleeping with students for grades; Universities need better libraries with modern books; and smart students who wish to study abroad should be supported throughout the process, not just students who are related to people in power. Most importantly, the education system in Cameroon needs to be completely overhauled almost IMMEDIATELY.

There are just too many unqualified professors not armed with what it takes to prepare students to tackle Cameroon’s problems. This is so important that if somehow I became president of Cameroon, I’ll make this happen in my first 50 days in office to save lives and build dreams among millions of young people. If you had the stomach to have gotten this far reading my peace, please tell me what you think by reacting to this post. Please make sure you understand the issues addressed before reacting, and of course I'm open to FACTUAL counter arguments.

Hinsley Njila
Contributor
Email: hinsley@realfocus.org

President Biya Addresses Cameroon from the Psych Unit

By Innocent Chia
It was delusional, non-descript gibberish by an apparently perturbed and delusional head of state of La Republique du Cameroun, Paul Biya to a nation on the brink of decomposition. Rather than assure the people, the run-away President, shuttling between the comfort of one of his many hideout mansions in Sweden and the hospital he built with stolen tax-payer money in Baden Baden - Germany, insulted Camerounians in a tirade of rage. It was not only the absence of class that caught the attention of the world, Camerounians, and yours truly. It was the absence of substance and something much more profound - Biya never takes responsibility for anything.

This time around the President of Sorcerers blamed the infectious violence on "apprentice sorcerers in the shadows"!He just blew his open-secret cover of running a Rosicrucian country where every Minister goes to the Tsinga Lodge in Yaounde during lunch break. But never mind that. The point is that this absentee-landlord President is not in touch with the realities on the ground. He hardly knows how much a liter of kerosene costs because he, of course, does not know any person that could possibly be using kerosene in his schizophrenic bubble-world. Nor does he know the price of a liter of gas at the pump. How would he know that when his mendicant bandit Ministers know not what hoops the ordinary Camerounian must go through to fuel their car. A round trip from Yaounde to Bamenda and back is in the upwards of CFA 150,000frs (roughly $360) in gas money on a stretch of less than 500 miles. Be reminded that medical doctors have a monthly salary of less than CFA140,000frs!

The self-dubbed Lion-man has been unflappable in the face of an economic tailspin that is an everyday reality for the average Cameroonian living on less than a dollar a day. But the courage that is associated with Lions has recently been tested... The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon were not only claw-less but clueless as the Pharaohs of Egypt humiliated and knocked them out at the just-ended African Cup of Nations soccer tournament in Ghana. It is important to make this association since the Lion-man has often made political capital out of the victories of the Lions, and it is true that he stole the Lion logo from the Indomitable Lions. Therefore, the mummification of the Lions was not only a setback on the soccer arena. It was the sign of a bigger fall in the making for the Lion man, President Paul Biya.

His buffoonery was also in full display with the claim that a sour opposition, that faced its worst waterloo yet at the 2007 parliamentary and municipal twin-elections , had tricked the youth of the country into the violent outbursts. So what if they did? What has he done for the youth of Cameroon? The unemployment rate is at over 30 percent! University graduates move from their student rooms back into the boys quarters of the homes of their parents. The less fortunate ones have to eke out a living the best way they can, very often becoming prostitutes, thieves and other men of the underworld. It is also part Biya's legacy that La Republique du Cameroun has won three heavy weight titles as the most corrupt nation in world. He also did it in style - two quick wins in 1998 and 1999 and then one more in 2007.

He could not have made his diatribe of February 28th from the United States. He would not even do it in France, where Sarkozi is spitting him out. No, not Britain either. He would not do it in Germany. He chose to go next door to little peaceful Sweden where there are hardly any Cameroonians to fling rotten tomatoes at him. But this is what the one or two Cameroonians living out there must seek to do: Storm the Embassy of Cameroun in Sweden and let the Swedish ask him to go back and fix the problems in his rotten nation. He can either go back or seek political asylum. It is his choice. He either steps down or be pushed out against his will.

Innocent Chia
Citizen Journalist
Email: innochia@gmail.com

Engaging Diasporan Churches in the Unraveling Unrests in Cameroon

By Innocent Chia
With a rising death toll from popular unrests and characteristic shallow, knee-jerk responses from the the government of Paul Biya's Republique du Cameroun, the time is more than now for citizens of the zombie nation in the Diaspora to network anew with social organizations that can leverage alternate pressure for change. The Church is one avenue that must be considered for its worth: any Church, any denomination is accessible to both old and new members and always has wide-open and embracing arms. Every church has resources and a reaching ability the reach of which one can only begin to fathom. This is not time to proselytize on how the Church came with the Bible in one hand and the gun on another to subjugate the African to the lowest form of human indignity - slavery. No, it is time to recognize the value or potential of our respective Churches in the Diaspora in bringing community and world attention to the making of a second Rwanda/Burundi and Darfur in La Republique du Cameroun.

Whichever Church you attend has a Sunday(news)bulletin or flyer with varying contents including prayer requests. These prayer requests and other items are submitted to the Church administrative assistant before a particular day of the week for inclusion into that week's bulletin. An easy assignment for each and every caring person is to find out when they can submit the prayer request regarding the socio-economic and political unrests in Cameroun.

The first strategic reason for this move is that of bringing attention to the Church about what is happening in La Republique du Cameroun. What is happening, you might ask? President Biya is working on changing the Constitution of Cameroon in favor of limitless terms to the Presidency. If this change were to happen, he would be a monarch. This blog has called for U.S based Camerounians and friends to write to their State representatives on letting any pressure to bear on Paul Biya. Also, the random and wanton civilian killings by Cameroun's Forces of Law and Order constitutes gross human rights abuse.

Because Churches are part of a community, a prayer request and conversation with the Priest or Pastor ushers in the second strategic reason. By the Pastor or Priest praying about the situation, the wheels are set in motion for discussions in the community about what is happening in your country. Other Church members start asking questions about it. This means that we must also educate and familiarize ourselves about the myriad of social, economic, political, regional and ethnic schisms plaguing Cameroun. Churches would rather pray and act now than regret further down the road when it is a full-blown genocide. It is something for you to leave on the table for the Priest or pastor to think about.

There is no telling who attends Church with you. But never underestimate the power of one - you. You have the potential and power to change the world around you if only you do what is within your power to do. Yes we can do the little things. Yes we can walk to the Priest or Pastor and tell them about the plight of our brothers and sisters that are dying by the second in the dungeon called Republique du Cameroun. Yes we can ask them to pray for it. Yes we can ask them to share the story with their colleagues of faith. We can do this little.

We can push further and ask if anyone in the congregation may know of someone in a newsroom somewhere that can be of help. Remember to ask and it shall be given unto you. We have to ask our clergy for this favor. We have to ask the fellow brethren in Church and they may point to someone that can carry the story to a major news outlet. But even if that does not happen, the audience that we have in the Church is not a negligible starting point. Step up to the plate. Step up to the rostrum. Just imagine Joel Osteen of the Lakewood Church in Houston sharing the word on his Sunday telecast! Wouldn't that be something? Do not think so much about it. Just do this little. You can. And best of all...the access is free.

Innocent Chia
Citizen Journalist
Email: innochia@gmail.com

Poll Results

By Hinsley Njila & Innocent Chia
Unlike the Biya regime, Innocentsdeal is the place where youʼll always find FREE and FAIR elections to vote your mind and get your voice heard with absolutely NO fear of being killed by an incompetent and laughable police force.

Here are the results of what you said in two of our most recently closed polls:

Although the lions lost to Egypt during the recent Africa Nations cup, 71% of those who answered the question of whether or not they would win it all said yes they would. 14% of those who answered this question were correct in predicting that the lions wonʼt, while another 14% remained undecided. To the 71% who believed the lions would win it all, we encourage you to try your luck at the other surveys currently running. At least your opinion is heard.

When asked if Rigobert Song should play in future competitions with the lions, 50% of you said this better be his last, 18% said why not, theyʼd still like to see more of him. 12% of respondents said they couldnʼt be bothered, while 18% said maybe if he proves himself before future competitions.


Thanks for participating in our surveys. Send your reactions to the results in the comment section. Innocentsdeal is the one place you should be sure your voice will ALWAYS be heard.

Carnage in Cameroon: Over 9 Civilians Killed in Police Gunfire

By Innocent Chia
Reports from the boiling cauldron known as La Republique du Cameroun are tallying over 11 deaths between Saturday February 23rd and Monday 25th, 2008 resulting from live bullets fired by the Police. Two of the victims were killed on Saturday in what is described as offspring action from an aborted protest rally of the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF)in Douala, the nation's economic heartbeat. The Littoral Provincial Coordinator and SDF parliamentarian, Jean Michel NINTCHEU organized the rally to protest the impending monarchization of La Republique du Cameroun by President Biya and his blind Governors who are banning meetings throughout the country. Even the American Embassy is Yaounde is warning its citizens to stay on the alert.

Today's "Warden Message" emanating from the U.S Embassy in La Republique du Cameroun is calling on "American citizens throughtout Cameroon ... to avoid large public gatherings or demonstrations if possible, and to exercise caution if within the vicinity of any demonstrations. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times".

Characterizing the climate of demonstrations as unpredictable, the Embassy communique to its citizens notes that "Protests appear to encompass both political and economic grievances". The Embassy pro-actively protects American life by informing workers that "...the American School of Douala are closed, while others, including the U.S. Embassy Branch office will operate on the basis of liberal leave for employees who are unable to safely arrive at the workplace".

In the meantime, a Minister in Biya's voodoo Rosicrucian cabinet says that Cameroonians are poor copies of what has been going down in Kenya, and that it cannot and will not happen in Cameroon. The rule of law and order must prevail, whatever the cost.

But the serious questions that must be answered to avert civilian unrests never seem to preoccupy the trigger-happy murderers. No one is asking what should be done about the killing gas prices that are causing taxi-drivers and motor-bike drivers to go on strike. It is inconceivable that U.S motorists are feeling the pinch at the pump with gas prices averaging $3.10 a gallon; but Cameroonians are paying $6.00 at the pump per gallon. (700 CFA frs per liter. 4+ liters make a gallon. $1.00 is equal to 425 Cfa frs.The average Cameroonian survives on less that the price of a bubble-gum a day)

Why would the Minister worry so much about the price of gas at the pump in La Republique du Cameroun when he does not pay for it. Ministers and every ranking Directors have government-issued gas coupons. All the Minister does is to cut some of the coupons and give to the chauffeur to go fill up the tank. Occasionally, they give the coupons to their friends and family for cash conversions. It therefore does not hurt the Minister because even the stolen money reaped from public coffers is not spent on gas or on feeding his / her family.

It is no wonder that Armed Security Forces are often resorting to live bullets whenever they are called upon to intervene in civilian demonstrations. The leaders are so far-removed from the anguish of the ordinary citizen. It explains why the Minister of Forestry, Ebong Ngolle Ngolle has been shooting his mouth around with calls for America to not meddle in the affairs of Cameroon. With ties to the family of Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni, no one expects any better from one who was considered for dead when Biya reshuffled his last cabinet. He needs to show his allegiance to Inoni and Biya if he must complete the house that he is building in Tombel.

In the meantime, the fire is only starting at the foot of the Chariot of the gods. The warning signs have been there for all to see. Band-aid, quick-fix solutions will not fix the plethora of problems in Cameroun if this leadership is not forced out of power by the people. There is a price tag in human lives for freedom. Even Jesus died...to pay a price - For salvation.

Innocent Chia
Citizen Journalist
Email: innochia@gmail.com.

Call to Action: Sample Letter

Thanks to the generosity and forethought of Pa Fru Ndeh we have a sample letter that you can send to your representative. Feel free to edit the letter to suit yourself. Whatever you do, please write. Again, go to www.congress.org. Enter your zip code and find out the name and contact information of your representative. Email the representative. Share the information with your family and friends and encourage them to do same.
Innocent Chia


Rep/Senator's Name Here
Rep/Senator Address Line 1
Rep/Senator Address Line 2
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Representative XXXX,

I am appealing for your help in stopping the President of Cameroon Paul Biya from changing the Constitution of the Republic of Cameroon to eternalize himself in power. President Biya plans to do so during the March 2008, parliamentary session, in the capital city of Cameroon, Yaounde.

The current crises in Chad where there was an attempted coup d'etat and the Kenyan crises attests to the fact that many Africans are incapable of changing their leaders through democratic and legitimate means. There is a lot of anger and tension in Cameroon and the Gov't has stifled the voices of the masses by hijacking the electoral process. Cameroon is almost at the brink of a civil war and the situation can explode at any time. It is a time bomb.

President Paul Biya's has been Head of State or President of Cameroon since 1982,that is 25 years today. From 1975 until 1982 he was Prime Minister for 7 years. According to article 6, section 2 of the 1996 Constitition of The Republic of ameroon,President Paul Biya is serving his last and final term, and is therefore barred from running for office.

Article 6
(2) The President of the Republic shall be elected for a term of office of 7 (seven) years. He shall be eligible for re-election once.

By the year 2011,President Paul Biya will be 78 years old.We think President Biya has no new ideas to offer Cameroonians, is completely void of any leadership skills that can appropriately lead Cameroon into the 21st century and beyond. President Biya now forms a sore to Cameroonians and is a huge liability to the people, and also American oil interests in the Gulf of Guinea. The American Ambassador, Janet Garvey has already voiced her opposition, the U.S. Governments' stance, on amending the Constitution of Cameroon to eternalize President Paul Biya in power.

I urge you as my Representative/Senator to bring pressure to bear on President George W. Bush to call on President Biya of Cameroon, not to modify article 6,section 2. President Biya will lead Cameroon to a civil war should this happen. President Biya deserves to retire. President Biya needs to send a bill to parliament on the Presidential Retirement package, rather than a bill to effect a Life Presidency.

Thank you very much, and I hope I can count on you, for this is of grave concern to me.

Sincerely,

Your Name Here