For Peace, for Freedom, for Justice, for Prosperity - Boycott Cameroon's Senatorial Masquarade

By Kenedy Ejacha
A look into the history of the nations where people are enjoying relatively the full benefits of liberty, freedom, and justice, confirms an inescapable consensus: none of them started up by being free. Their freedom is a result of the boldness of a generation to accept the challenges of confronting the conquerable hell of despotism and mental enslavement in the hope of winning the battle for the unstoppable prosperity that liberty, freedom, and justice promises. The resistance movements of these nations were influenced more by the hopes in the great promises of the future that could be theirs following the annihilation of their oppressors, than in the despair of their past or present predicaments. It is past time for the present generation of Cameroonian resistance movements for freedom, liberty, and justice to seize this opportunity and squash the dictatorial system that has held the overwhelming bulk in poverty and enslavement for more than a century now.

Our predicaments did not just start with the Ahidjo and Biya regimes. These regimes are just an excrescence of the colonial regimes that were established over our land for the abusive and inhuman exploitation of our material and human resources. The battle for our liberty and freedom has been our life time battle.

If today the people of France are enjoying Freedom and Equality, it did not just come from them crying out Liberte, Egalite, et Fraternite (Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood) on the streets of the Bastille. It came about because they decided to face the guillotine knowing full well that beyond the blood bath of the guillotine lays the brightest hope for Liberte, Egalite et Fraternite.

If the people of the great Nation of the United State of America are enjoying their inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness today, it did not just come about because these words, beautiful as they are and sound, were written into a document. It came about because more than on perishable papers, these words were written in the hearts of American revolutionary guards who understood that beyond the battle field of Lexington and Concord, lays a land overflowing with the God given inalienable rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

The Cameroonian resistance movements for liberty, freedom, and justice should be inspired by these great words of Martin Luther King Jr. “We must learn that passively to accept an unjust system is to cooperate with that system, and thereby to become a participant in its evil.” Therefore, it is our fundamental right to stand up and destroy by all means the Dark Aged evil and oppressive Biya regime in Cameroon. While we may count on our friends from around the world to bring us help, we have to start the work at home. Because we shall be the first beneficiaries of a free and just system of government in Cameroon, we are the ones to set ablaze the furnace that will consume our oppressors.

It is without a question that the world is full of good hearted lovers of freedom and justice, but we must blare the horns of our oppression for the free people of the world to hear that we too are tired of being oppressed – that we too want to enjoy what they already are enjoying - Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  The words of the great thinker Gene Sharp, in 'From Dictatorship to Democracy' are very revelatory when he states that “The foreign states may become actively involved for positive purposes only if and when the internal resistance movement has already begun shaking the dictatorship, having thereby focused international attention on the brutal nature of the regime.” This clearly sets the goal of what should be our expectations vis-à-vis the international community of freedom lovers.

We must all join our voices not only to boycott or protest against the latest maneuver of the Biya regime to steal our hopes to build democratically representative institutions that will guarantee our freedom and liberty. We must actively resist the organization of the already truncated Senatorial Elections that he has called for the month of April 2013.

I have found no better words to define the type of resistance that we now need than in the words of Ulrike Meinhof who said that, “Protest is when I say I don't like this. Resistance is when I put an end to what I don't like. Protest is when I say I refuse to go along with this anymore. Resistance is when I make sure everybody else stops going along too.” The Biya regime must be stopped this time. Truly, the time has come for the people-focused resistance movements to match actions to words.

The evil in the plans to organize the Senatorial Elections not only lies in the arbitrariness of the regime in calling the Electoral College, but more so in the legitimacy of the constituents who would be called in to vote for the senators in the name of all Cameroonians. According to Article 20 section 2 of the Cameroon constitution enacted in 1996, “Each region shall be represented in the Senate by 10 (ten) Senators of whom 7 (seven) shall be elected by indirect universal suffrage on a regional basis and 3 (three) appointed by the President of the Republic.” The articles of the constitution thereby consecrate the electoral power into the hands of elected regional officials.

As it is right now, the mandates of these fraudulently elected officials expired since May of 2012. The election of the senate is too important for us to leave it in the hands of Biya’s “appointees.” The resistance movements at the service of the masses should prepare mass actions of disruption of the old order in order for a new order to emerge. Such action as mass boycotts, civil servants strikes, teachers and students strikes, and transporters strikes should be organized throughout the national territory.

Every necessary action should be taken to prevent the regime from accessing the means that it needs to continue to impoverish the masses. We call on the military forces to integrate the popular masses in the fight for the freedom of our fatherland. The time has come for all the arm forces – police, gendarmes, navy, air, and terrestrial forces to stand up to their historic role and responsibility to safeguard the peace and order while respecting the right of the people to resist and overthrow any government that fails to guarantee their rights to equal justice before the law, Freedom and Liberty.

The leaders of the resistance movements should take upon themselves the task to make meaningful contacts with the progressive forces within our Arm Forces and define what role can be assigned to these forces at this very crucial moment in the history of our nation. All the militants within the resistance movements should embrace our national Arm Forces because they are our brothers and sisters. We should all learn to go pass our differences and embrace our common destiny – that of a free, just, and prosperous Cameroon. To the best of our abilities we should seek peace and be willing to die for peace, but if arms we need to bear in order to save our fatherland, then let it be so.

God Bless us all.
La Luta Continua

Comments

[Lord Keka Lambo]

Let the Camerounese fight for their freedom if they want.

Southern Cameroonians, stay out of it, sir and back out of the frigging mess.

Massa Kenedy, Ah beg you, no misleed our peopo dem.

[Mbacham Eric]

Nonsense. Kennedy, we see your hypocrisy in this gabbage. Having served those that you now condemn and now living in America, you and Chia think you can now lecture Cameroonians on how to resist oppression. What a sham. Weren't you aware of all this when you both served that oppressive administration? Did you raise a finger?

[Kenedy Ejacha]

Brother Mbacham Eric, if you think that I ever served the regime, something I never did by the way, then forgive me for the sake of the betterment of our fatherland and, the questions that we have to answer now is, "What is good for our fatherland right now?" Can we have a future that is better than our past? If the answer is yes, then what actions need to be taken to make that happen. May God bless as you ponder through these questions.

[John Dinga]

Cameroonians, ever so enamored of Presidential appointments and nominations have started praising His Excellency Mr. President for trying to create jobs for Senators. Can you beat that?
No wonder they say people deserve the govenment they get!

To nominate a senator and parachute him/her to Akwaya will be quite a method to disenclave that part of Cameroon and see about the people's needs, isn't it? No wonder the president hardly sees the need to seek the opinions of other political leaders and stake holders.

Potential popes are out there in Rome praying and asking God to help them choose the right leader to clean and sanitize the bruised Catholic Church, so that when they come up with a Pope, there should be no possibility of any skeletons dropping out of his closet. In Cameroon, we ambush the population and give them two weeks to pick and send the names of potential senators for nomination. Haba!

[KENNY]

KENNEDY, how can you sit comfortably behind your PC in Washington DC and deliver messages of martyrdom and suicidal acts in the name freedom, peace and justice. You are not in the right location to make that call. Genuine patriots don’t emigrate from their homelands and expect other locals left behind to face barrels of machine guns in the name of freedom.
Please your life is not of great value than real and patriotic Cameroonians residing in Cameroon.
If you were in Cameroon making this call of violence then I will truly believe you care for our country and a true patriot.

[Kenedy Ejacha]

My Dear Namesake (Kenny), from your own perspective is everything OK with Cameroon? If you say yes, then I rest my case. If your answer is no, then what should we do? You are right when you say it is not ok for me to sit behind my PC in Washington and deliver messages. What I am doing may sound immoral, but what else can I do for my Country. You may not understand very well what some people like me are going through everyday. Just the simple fact of being away from home is the biggest affliction to me. I bleed everyday for my Country Cameroon, may be I was not bold enough to stay back and fight the fight. But I know that there are many ways of fighting this fight. There is no guarantee, that even here where I am, I am free. As you know the history of Cameroon, you would know that one of our greatest martyr Felix Moummie and his Lieutenants were killed not on the battle field in Cameroon but across Europe and Africa. There is some conspiracy theory that Pius Njawe was also assassinated here in this very Washington area. While I may not believe in all this stories, it still remains that wherever one finds himself in this fight that we are fighting, there is no guarantee from danger. By the way, let me remind you that in my postings i have taken on the powerful Lobbies too (colonial powers). If not of God's protection, they can get me too here, because this people have proven time in and again that their tentacles can be stretched to anywhere. Please Kenny, this debate about Cameroon should not be about me or you or anyone else. Cameroon is bigger than all of us and our individual contributions, wherever we may be can make the difference. I appreciate you taking your time to read the article and react to it and, I would love to have a more substantiated debate with you, may be in a more appropriate forum. You can email me at [email protected]. God bless.

[John Dinga]

Mr Ejacha, there is absolutely no reason to be apologetic for airing your democratic views.(By the way, your write-up is good). Africa continues to lose out simply because of the propensity to keep it all bottled in.

Emigration was there before the Biya regime messed things up and will continue to be part of peoples' lives even after the sit-tight president takes his exit, as he must. Cameroonians did not start the culture of traveling to other lands to seek their fortunes and placing guilt on a fellow citizen for living abroad is patent myopia. Way back in time there was Joseph who found himself in Egypt and made it a success, eventually sending help to his family left behind. Abraham journeyed to Ur and was immensely blessed out there, Saul left on his odyssey to Damascus when he changed to Paul. Even the Prophet Mohmammed went from Mecca to Medina....the list is long of persons who left home, journeyed to foreign lands but still continued to love and sustain those left behind.

Rather than consider as less patriotic those other citizens trying their luck out of the country, I see them as the proverbial daughter married to another family but returning from time to time to help ease the family's burden as need arises. Is anything wrong with that?

[Kenedy Ejacha]

Thanks a lot Mr. Dinga. You shed more light on this issue more than I could ever have done. God Bless you.

[KENNY]

Mr.Dinga and Brother KENNEDY, I’m in favor for anybody to air their democratic views. But I take issues with people, living comfortably in developed countries, hiding behind their PCs and electronically sending messages for struggling Cameroonians to go on suicidal mission. It would have been better if he said bushfallers, along with locals will lead the physical and suicidal fight of bringing permanent political and economic change in Cameroon. At least the statement will show he is ready to die for his “Cameroon" in order for permanent change to take effect.
Mr. Kennedy view can be compare to DICK Cheney willing to send American soldiers to fight useless wars in Iraq and afghan but not his own off springs.

Mr. Dinga since when has sending money home to relatives, marriage between bushfallers and locals brought about liberty, freedom and justice in Cameroon? I acknowledge the fact that it help economically to an extent, just a small percentage.
True patriots are those who can fight and die for the love of their countries to achieve liberty, freedom, economical prosperity and justice.

Brother Ken,I loved Cameroon too but not to that extend of dying for it. I will be a hypocrite if I encourage someone else to face the barrel of a gun in the name of change.

I strongly believe that local residents of Cameroon will only take up arms and fight for change if 50-75% of the local population find out that live is no longer worth lining in the face of widespread hunger, stagnant poverty and malnutrition. What Cameroon need is an inspirational leader, residing in Cameroon, and ready to lead and die in order to oust Biya and CPDM epidemic.

[John Dinga]

Thank you Mr Kenny, but you miss the point and if you tried to understand first and then rebutt, the world would be a much better place for all of us. First of all, Cameroon is not at war and so it is a moot point speaking as if some are staying behind and sending others ahead to fight.

Secondly, the much-abused cliche "hiding behind your PC" has virtually lost meaning because in the hands of prevaricators like you, it has been used to paint every Tom, Dick and Harry with the same brush. Patriotism is a multicolor enterprise and if yours is limited to the narrow vision you illustrate here, you cannot possibly hold everyone to its tenets. An orchestra is enjoyable because its many pieces contribute to the beauty of the music.

It is not because you are narrow-minded that the rest of the world must be so. People have gone out and back to Cameroon at different times according to their various circumstances, so it makes no sense lumping everyone into the same category for your pleasure and convenience. No law of the land requires every citizen to be in Cameroon at all times. Some laws call on citizens to run for office if and only if they are resident or have been resident in Cameroon for a defined interval. Last but not the least, Cameroonians can contribute to national development from any corner of the world, in any form they please and at any time they choose. Nothing illustrates your fickle mind more than the disdainful language you use to describe monetary remittances sent home by persons toiling to make life better for themselves and their loved ones. You now begin to see the folly of your painting everybody with the same brush?

[JOE DOUALA]

Kenny, don’t waste your time responding to papa Dinga . He is one of those old fellows who find comfort preaching but not doing the doing. For America, France, south Africa, England achievements as far a peace, justice, and freedom is concern was through shedding of blood of genuine patriots. They didn’t achieved it from receiving monetary remittance from abroad.
Pa dinga answer Kenny question. How has sending money home to relatives, marriage between bushfallers and locals brought about liberty, freedom and justice in Cameroon?
Just in the face of economic hardship, you carry your aged self, toured other countries and finally seek comfort in the USA and write nonsense on the net. When violence is concern, people like you curl into your protective shell. Where were you when the ghost town in bamenda happened? Where were you when hundreds of kids were terminated with machine guns by the tyrannical regime during an economic and justice protest in Douala? You cannot be a genuine patriot if you are not willing to ultimately shed blood for the good of your country. Hear him; patriotism is multicolor. HYPOCRITE

[KENNY]

Thanks Joe Douala, for calling out old, chicken, mouthy, weaklings, and self claimed Cameroon patriots like Dinga. He sound was bitter, angry and frustrated when he rebutted by rebuttal.

I quote from my brother, Brother K’s. Write up: 'I have found no better words to define the type of resistance that we now need than in the words of Ulrike Meinhof who said that, “Protest is when I say I don't like this. Resistance is when I put an end to what I don't like. Protest is when I say I refuse to go along with this anymore. Resistance is when I make sure everybody else stops going along too.” The Biya regime must be stopped this time. Truly, the time has come for the people-focused resistance movements to match actions to words".

Mr dinga you can agree with me that protest has failed on several occasion resulting to precious death and an stagnant political atmosphere. The last option is the resistance movement to instill change. Dinga people like you will be unwilling to be part of this ultimate option. I for one will not be part of it and will not encourage others to part of it by hiding my pc and spilling motion of support for it.

[jinxs]

I do not think war is going to kill as many Cameroonians as disease, hunger, dirty environment currently does. Freedom doesn't come cheap folks.

[The Ngwa Man, l'ami personnel de la démocratie.]

Even with all the mischief Mr Biya is doing to undermine the nation’s political, social & economic progress. Our rhetoric & actions lack the realistic radicalism, militancy & assertive activism required to emancipate us from the unaccountable governance we are experiencing. But then we have you Mr Ejacha. Thank brother Kenedy Ejacha for being one of the very few voices in the Cameroon blogosphere that has come out say it like it is about what we need to escape the unaccountable system we are presently stuck in. You will have detractors in your endeavor but there is a role for everyone to play. I wonder how many of the founding fathers of the U.S. who signed the Declaration of Independence fought in America's Revolutionary War vs Great Britain. I am a proponent of a more militant/assertive approach to dealing with our present situation in pays. You, me & other like minded individuals need to put our heads together to organize & agitate Cameroonians to now pursue a militant route since it is very very evident that a political solution does not exist for us. The force of argument has not worked. We do not have a trustworthy partner for progress in Etoudi. We must stop acting as if he & his clique will ever make decisions that respect the basic principles of fair play or equal access.

[jinxs]

Freedom is not going to be handed to us by Biya. In my view, we can fight for it in two ways.

1. The political process; Has it worked?
2. Through real, strong nonviolent resistance, but it need be deploy force. This we haven't fully exploited.

The Arab spring started in Tunisia, then Egypt, Libya. People lost lives fighting to oust a dictators-Gadaffi,Mubarak, Ben Ali. Today,Syria is fighting for its liberation.

America, France, Germany, and other world powers will not start the fight for us. We have to, and we have no choice.

[Mc Tarvish]

Lest my lips quiver and glue without a word after reading Mr Dinga's first comment. Its communicative and educating. Wow! A preacher will love this for a sermon and I am actually picking up few lesson notes.
I am grateful to have such brains team up for my growth.
Its puzzling and myopic as stated to think that out of Cameroon is all bliss and safe heaven. Mr kenny what do you expect of diasporians? Please re-read Mr. Dinga's first comment.
"True patriots are those who can fight and die for the love of their countries to achieve liberty, freedom, economical prosperity and justice"
You should ask where Gandhi was before he started fighting the British?
You can't use the same mind that created the problem to solve the same problem. Let our fellow brothers breath some air and amass some knowledge to be of utmost succour to themselves and us.