Up Close and into the Den of Dibussi Tande - Part I

By Innocent Chia 

Why we call anyone or anything any name has always fascinated me. Maybe because my parents went curious on me with the name Innocent. No wonder then, I got tickled with “Scribbles from the Den” as I began to wonder why a Den? The part of a scribbling Scribe was self-explanatory,but why “from the Den”? As much as these seemingly trite questions took up valuable space in my mind, so did I get interested in the trailblazing man behind the powerful, brilliant and introspective pieces. 

If it is the power of his pen, or keyboard, that has put him on the high pedestal in the public eye, I have been fortunate to come close to the son, brother, husband, father, friend and consummate professional. On the occasion of his third title, Scribbles from the Den: Essays on Politics and Collective Memory in Cameroon, I seized a pretext to talk to Dibussi Tande about his book, and much, much more…What he fails to reveal in his treatises is plentiful – for instance, that his fun-loving wife, Therese is fuel to his virtuoso; that his seven year-old son, Mokali is his heartbeat; and that his disgust for Africa’s dictators is only abated by the juicy flavors of well-done slices of barbecued pork or beef on a charcoal grill… 

The Chiareport: Congratulations on your third publication! Is your proclivity for writing yet another emphatic antithesis to critics and cynics who have consistently and constantly footnoted Literature by Anglophone Cameroonians? 

Tande Dibussi: Thank you! Well, my work is just one out of many in recent years which demonstrates that writing (both fiction and non-fiction) is thriving in the English speaking regions of Cameroon. From this perspective, my book, Scribbles from the Den, is definitely a challenge to those who continue to downplay or question the quantity and quality of the literary output from Anglophone Cameroon.

The Chiareport: What is so special about the 49 articles (roughly one tenth of total postings in Scribbles from the Den) that you elected to put together in print? In other words, how did you come about this selection? 

Tande Dibussi: Simple. First, I selected articles which could easily translate into the book format, and then categorized them by theme. The book is divided into nine parts covering themes such as multiparty politics in Cameroon, the rule of law, the crisis of higher education, presidential politics, etc. 

The Chiareport: When you started Scribbles from the Den in 2006, did you anticipate the mammoth reception and stream of reactions that has made it the leading marketplace for socio-political and economic discourse in the Cameroon and African blogosphere? 

Tande Dibussi: Not really. When I started, I had very modest expectations for a blog that would focus on a variety of issues that interested me (sports, African/Cameroon politics, ICTs, etc.). However, I realized very early on that the most successful bloggers were those who created a niche for themselves and became an authority on a specific topic or area. So I focused most of my attention on Cameroon. I think that the popularity of the blog is derived from this “specialization” which gives readers the opportunity to be informed about the Cameroonian situation in a manner not seen in the mainstream Cameroonian or even international media. 

The Chiareport: The Internet has unlocked the chains that governments had on the traditional media and repressed societies. Is this a statement of fact or fiction? If a fact, how has it freed you and enabled Scribbles from the Den? 

Tande Dibussi: First of all, I think that the traditional media is still in chains in repressed societies, and the Internet has not really helped that much apart from being able to quickly publicize cases of press censorship and harassment or persecution of journalists. One simply has to look at the Reporters Without Borders’ 2009 Press Freedom Barometer to understand what I am talking about; 26 journalists killed, 167 journalists, etc. 

The Internet’s main advantage is that it has been able to give unfettered freedom to those who operate outside traditional media, particularly bloggers, who are not restrained by the shackles of the state’s repressive apparatus. As I write in the preface of “Scribbles from the Den”, all over Africa, regimes which once had absolute control over the flow of information are taking note of, and trying to adapt to, this new phenomenon.”

From a personal perspective, the Internet has not necessarily provided me with any new freedoms because I still write the types of articles that I wrote when I was in Cameroon. Rather, what the Internet has provided me is a truly universal or global readership; close to 200,000 unique visitors from a record 196 countries worldwide. Even the most popular newspaper in Cameroon will yearn for such statistics. 

The Chiareport: Have you seen a certain growth or maturity of your audience or readers and, how have you continued to interest them? 

Tande Dibussi: What I have seen is an increasingly diverse readership. Initially, readers consisted primarily of a small circle of friends, and individuals who were familiar with my writings on Cameroonian forums and listervs such as Camnet. As I pointed out in the preceding question, that readership has now spread to include thousands of people from around the world the vast majority who are unknown to me. These include foreign journalists, politicians, researchers, students, government officials, etc., with one interest or the other in Cameroon. In fact, rarely a day goes by without me receiving a request or an inquiry about Cameroon from an individual or an institution. 

The Chiareport: Are there any of the pieces that may not have seen of the light of day were it not for the Internet and the distance between La Republique du Cameroun and The Den? Does it make those of us that write what others describe as “scathing” pieces cowards? 

Tande Dibussi: Not at all! Nearly 20 years ago, while a student at the University of Yaounde, I began writing regularly for the leading publications in Cameroon (Le Messager, Cameroon Post, Challenge Hebdo, Cameroon Life, etc.). Even though the risks were great back then, I never held back out of fear or favor. And I did have close encounters with some shady characters as a result of my writing. So distance has neither emboldened me nor changed my writing style. I will nonetheless concede that there are many bloggers whose pen would not have been as vitriolic if they were still in Cameroon, within easy reach of security forces. On the same token, there is a growing number of Cameroon-based bloggers who are constantly taking on the status quo without fear. 

The Chiareport: My favorite part of Scribbles from the Den is the depth of its archival library. You recently carried President Ahmadou Ahidjo’s reception by JFK. Of what effect, if any, are such memories to the national discourse? 

Tande Dibussi: I have always been passionate about the issue of collective memory in Cameroon. As I point out in the preface of my book: 

“For half a century, Cameroonians have been systematically deprived of the appropriate repères historiques or historical reference points that would enable them to analyze political and other events in the country in an informed manner, and place these events in their appropriate historical and geo-political context. Over the last three years, Scribbles from the Den has, from its little corner in the blogosphere, tried to recreate those reference points by taking a fresh look at events of the past and going beyond the official narrative when interpreting today’s events.” 

I am one of those who believe that a significant part of the problem with Cameroon today is the inability of its citizens to clearly identify and learn from those historical reference points that have shaped the life of the country. If we all did a better job in this regard, then we would be able to ask the right questions and look for the right answers to our problems. 

For example, a recurring theme these days (brilliantly articulated by the US ambassador to Cameroon) is the inability or unwillingness of Cameroonians to take charge of their country, their apathy and resignation in the face of major socio-political and economic odds. Granted, this is an accurate observation, however, it serves no purpose repeating it over and over without trying to place this Cameroonian attitude in its appropriate context. In my opinion, the real question is “why” have Cameroonians, who only two decades ago were among the most politically active people on the continent, given up on their country and on politics? Or to quote one observer, “what explains the early euphoria and subsequent disillusionment and even wholesale withdrawal” from the country’s political life? We cannot answer this question accurately without first understanding our history, particularly the history of the so called années de braise or the smoldering years of the early 1990s, when the Biya regime successfully neutralized and dispersed the forces of change. This is why I am passionate about history, about collective memory, and about archival material such as the one between Ahidjo and Kennedy. 

The Chiareport: There is no denying that many have tried to pigeonhole you: there are those who have regarded your writings to be in favor of a unitary state as Cameroon currently is; there are those who believe you are a middle-of-the-road guy; and there are those who believe you a cautious supporter of the Southern Cameroons secessionists’ movement…. Who are you not? ...

Do not miss Dibusssi’s answer to this question and many more in part 2.

Comments

[PETER W. VAKUNTA]

Dibussi,
Kudos on the birth of a new brain child! It is refreshing indeed to find that Scribbles from the Den is now available in hard copy!