The Chia Report

On the Lack of Patriotism in Africa

By Innocent Chia

I have been pre-occupied increasingly by the subjects of nation building and patriotism. In fact, it is still not clear to my mind whether to separate nation building from patriotism or to treat them as two sides of the same coin. I am also confounded as to which comes before the other - does the chick come before the egg or is it the egg that comes before the chick? Is it patriotism that comes before nation building or vice versa, and why?  Yet, I do know that there is a common and compelling thread tying failed or failing States to territories that did not fight for independence, especially paying the ultimate price with broken limb and lost life. It is the route that causes, including the former British territory known as Southern Cameroons, currently under the annexation of La Republique du Cameroun, must take in order to avoid the pitfalls that are crucifying progress and development the world over and particularly in Africa.

A Generational show down: President Obama vs. former VP Dick Cheney

By Innocent Chia

The raging national security debate between former Vice President Cheney and President Obama boils down to an age-old, yet timeless divide: generation. Dick Cheney is from the old school that lives on the dictum of “spare the rod and spoil the child”. Obama is from the new school of thought. They have figured out new ways of disciplining the child without unnecessary recourse to the whip. The new school, like its contemporary America in a contemporary world, charge that the disciplinary measures of the old school constitutes child abuse. This is the basic breakdown of what proponents and opponents of torture or harsh interrogation techniques are quibbling about.

Gay and Lesbian Occultism in Cameroun

By Innocent Chia
There is a general misgiving that Cameroon, and albeit the rest of Africa, is virgin land  to homosexuality. In some rare international news appearances between 2006 and 2008, Cameroon was both on the defensive – reaffirming its penal code in outlawing homosexuality even as the gay and lesbian activists around the world were rebuking government’s treatment of 11 citizens who were arrested and charged for hanging out at a prominent homosexual bar – and on the offensive – with President Paul Biya calling on the Press and Cameroonians to find news elsewhere other than in bedrooms. This offensive followed thunderous press revelations of cabinet and public officials that were / are randomly Sodomizing.  In a country where the President is the law of the land, there is no gainsaying that President Biya’s pronouncements at his 2006 ceremonial end of year speech did more than empower closet gays and lesbians. It literally legalized and opened the floodgates to a practice that social observers maintain, is practiced as a means to an end and not a lifestyle in and of itself.