His Royal Highness, Hon. N.N. Mbile has said Anglophone Cameroon is one and indivisible but added that this only holds true in a one and indivisible Cameroon. The former MP for Ndian made the declaration during a press conference he organised last February 17 at the Trinity Hotel in Limbe where he sought to set the records straight following comments he allegedly made during the South West Elite Forum that took place in Buea on February 2.
During the Forum, speaker after speaker took turns to state the position of the South West region regarding the current crisis rocking the two Anglophone regions of the country – North West and South West. The tone by most of the speakers was largely received as very harsh by Northwesterners who did not mince words to describe the forum as one cloaked in hate speech.
According to the Grand Chancellor of National Orders, Senator Peter Mafany Musonge , main convenor of the forum, the South West Forum was organised to situate, secure and consolidate the South West’s position as concerns the form of the state, get school functional and to educate the people on the present issues at stake.
“For close to three months now, our region has been subjected to disruptive forces, those who are trying to cast doubts on the unity and form of the state of our country. The people of the South West believe in a decentralised unitary state with 10 autonomous regions,” the Head of the South West CPDM Permanent Regional Delegation said.
The former Prime Minister said the South west Region is prepared to take control of its affairs and would not want to be influenced by negative forces. He expressed the need for schools in the region to resume immediately because nothing explains why the education of children can be sacrificed.
Hon. Mbile, who stressed that he was speaking for himself, said that during the Forum he made some comments regarding the implementation of a ten state federation which has always been the position of the South West region for a very long time. He also added that some Southwesterners support the idea of a two-state federation where a the Southwesterner who is generally very laxed will depend on the much more resilient, resourceful and more populous Northwesterner; leaving the Southwesterner to play second fiddle. He regretted that these remarks were regarded as insulting to the Northwesterner.
“By making such remarks, I was afraid that the Southwesterner will feel insulted but on the contrary, it is the Northwesterners who felt insulted for getting praises”
He added that his comments were never intended to insult his fellow brothers of the North West region but after receiving a lot of comments following the South West Elite Forum, the former MP said he thought it responsible to clear the air.
Firstly, he said he recognises the merits of the ongoing strike which has exposed the marginalisation by design or by coincidence of Anglophone Cameroonians of the North West and South West regions.
The strike to him, “addresses for the first time questions as to why the bi-cultural nature and bi-jural nature of the state were not respected and why the 1996 constitutional dispensation on the structure of the states has not been fully implemented.; I believe that the Southwest Region is a melting pot wherein peoples of almost all regions of Cameroon live within and have contributed to its social and economic development, that is why I believe that every inhabitant of this region enjoys full right of belonging and I will like to say that all inhabitants within the Southwest should feel Southwesternan.”
He also warned that should the Northwesterner leave the South West, the region will never be the same again considering the huge contributions and investments they have made in the Southwest.
He however warned that the voice of the Native Southwesterner should be heard and respected in matters of national concern.
According to Hon. Mbile, “ The South West region in all its organs has always opted for a ten-state federation; it is a logical evolution of the state of affairs, it will create less friction and it is implementation friendly.”
On schools boycott
Speaking on the boycott of schools in the South West and North West Regions, the initiator of the Operation Save the 2016/2017 Academic year said the boycott of schools in the English part of the Country is a time bomb.
The seasoned educationist who has used all available media organs to preach on the need for parents to send their children back to school added that the school boycott is time bomb and that the kids are angry and feel sacrificed.
He explained that the vices that comes with children staying at home during school hours are too many for Cameroonian parents to handle.
According to Chief Mbile, the children would have been allowed to observe the ghost towns and when business resumes the day after the ghost town, they too should be allowed to go to school so as to save the school year.
On the ongoing strike
While admitting that the ongoing strike has in the large parts has greatly exposed the plight of the Anglophone Cameroonians and pleased with the fact that it has given a platform for the Anglophone problem to be better explained even to ardent skeptics, Hon. Mbile stressed that the purpose of the strike has been achieved and the continues boycott is counterproductive.
He added that the government has shown remourse after the grievances articulated by trade union leaders during negotiations in Bamenda and Yaounde though the list kept on increasing.
He also regretted that the strike has taken the form of a social unrest with no leaders. “There is no strike that is indefinite, parents who have paid huge sums of money for their children’s school needs are the silent majority that is bearing the brunt of the suffering…they have paid fees for a whole year, rented hostels etc.”
Quizzed on whether the failure by the political and traditional elite to end the strike despite numerous outings is a disavowal of their leadership, the Hon. MP said the strike is a disavowal of many things and not only leadership. He added that a lot of people striking have been made to believe that this strike is for employment that is why many youths who are unemployed have turned into vigilantes in their respective quarters to enforce the strike. “They believe that this strike has come to solve all of their problems but they should understand that in every country of the world, people have problems and some people are unemployed.
Hon. Mbile concluded by calling on parents to send their children to school to save and guarantee their future. He also stressed that contrary to some interpretations of his comments during the South West Elite Forum, he has no hatred for his fellow Northwest brothers. On the contrary he sees them as a resourceful and resilient people who have contributed enormously to the growth of the South West region and have equal right as any other Cameroonian living in the region. He however added that the concerns by the native Southwesterner must be heard and equally respected