By Elah Geoffrey with reports
The president of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, His Grace Archbishop Samuel embarked on a fire-fighting mission to the South West and North West regions to ensure the effective resumption of schools ended in a failure by all accounts.
His team which comprised of Mgr. Abraham Kome, Bishop of Bafang and head of the sub-commission for Justice and Peace, and Fr. Jervis Kebbei, Vice secretary general of the National Episcopal Conference, met with strong resistance from both the parents and even some clergy.
The mission proved to be too herculean even for the men of God. In Buea, Archbishop Kleda convened a meeting with all school administrators in the diocese and attempted to persuade them alongside the Bishop of Buea to call on parents to send their children back to school. The meeting was also attended by the Governor of the South West region, Bernard Okalia Bilai who was accompanied by heads of services like the police, gendarmes, procureur general, the mayor of Buea, GCE Board registrar and three of the people who have dragged the Buea church leaders to court.
During the meeting, Archbishop Samuel Kleda called on all to have the good of the nation at heart, work towards the restoration of true harmony by being makers of peace and not just lovers of peace. He appealed for an open and sincere dialogue and the cessation of violence at all levels of society, he also called on the government to play its own part towards the immediate restoration of peace all over the national territory. He further appealed to all parents to send their children to school immediately.
However, reports have it that some of the people in the meeting insisted schools could resume only if all Anglophones arrested within the framework of the ongoing protest are released. Most of the people in the meeting called on the government to pursue frank dialogue as the way to finding lasting solutions to the crisis in the Anglophone regions.
The Archbishop and team then left for Kumba where they convened a similar meeting that proved not to be too civil as most of the attendees objected and frowned at the team’s preliminary use of French language, arguing that it only goes to acerbate the issues raised and which have brought the country to this point already – marginalization of the Anglophones.
According to Fr Herbert Niba, who published a synopsis of a similar meeting in Mamfe, “The meeting was generally very cordial. After a welcome note by host bishop Nkea, Mgr Kleda made an English introductory remark, before continuing in French. He spoke in bits, translated aptly by Fr Jervis. There was full comprehension by the very mixed audience.”
Mgr Kleda called for continuous prayer to enlighten all, he admitted to have met Anglophone strike leaders in January 2017 during the NEC meeting in Mamfe. He insisted that dialogue is always possible and asked for an end to hatred, suspicion civil disobedience, as well as intimidation and arbitrary arrests. Mgr Kleda furthered taht true peace, which is fullness of life, is built on solidarity, and fraternity and affirmed that NEC has asked the state to respect the rights of all Cameroonians, and apply their very own 1996 constitution on decentralization.
Mgr Kleda said that the summons of Anglophone bishops is a creation of new problems not solution to older ones. He called on parents to help the Church foster its mission of education by taking children to school. “Whereas all problems are important, schooling is urgent, because time waits for no one.” the Archbishop added.
Fr Herbert Niba continued in his narrative of the meeting’s proceedings “ the reactions were uniform and straightforward. Whereas Mgr Kleda gave opening for three persons to give proposals to a committee he expected to be formed by the Education Secretary to see to the take off of schools immediately, all three speakers (teachers and parents themselves) reiterated the stance, that: (i)until all issues raised are solved, (ii) for fear of what ghosts may do to school children (iii) for the treasure which is our educational heritage since colonial days (iv) because life is better than education, WE (Parents) SHALL NOT SEND OUR CHILDREN TO SCHOOL!”
Fr. Herbert continued that “not even the appeal of the Mayor of Mamfe bore any fruit, nor the suggestion of the SDO, that they should look for local solutions for Manyu, and not to try to tackle national issues. Mgr Nkea, Bishop of Mamfe who had been silent throughout, repeated the position of BAPEC bishops, now known verbatim to all Catholic faithful: “Our schools have never been closed. He then asked principals & teachers to keep going to school as they’ve been doing, and told the Mayor to lead his daughter to QRC Okoyong, who will be taught diligently, even if she were the only student!
The Episcopal team then continued their perilous mission to Bamenda in the Northwest were they met the same resistance. They however failed to visit the Kumbo diocese a decision which raised many eyebrows as to why a prominent diocese like Kumbo was left out in the plan.
It should be recalled that Bishops of the Bamenda Ecclesiastical Province (BAPEC) had issued a memo to President Biya at the beginning of the protests last year. The Memo justified the reasons for regional outcry and proposed a way forward. Today, they have been dragged to court alongside other clergy from the Baptists and Presbyterian churches for allegedly supporting protesters. Many see this summons by a group that calls itself the Consortium of Parents government persecuting the Church and its leaders by proxy, using senior members of the military who by military discipline will not form or be members of activist civil society associations.
It is not yet clear whether Parents will send their children to school as recommended by Samuel Kleda.