IssaChiroma apologizes for saying there’s no Anglophone problem

By Rachel NtubeNgwese in Yaounde

Issa Chiroma

“I may have been wrong in my assessment when I first said that there was no Anglophone problem in Cameroon. I apologize for that.’ These were the words of the communication minister while responding to questions from journalists in a recent press conference in Yaounde. The press conference was aimed to update the public on the situation prevailing in the North West and the South West regions of Cameroon.

                Chiroma had said in an earlier press conference called weeks ago that there was no Anglophone problem in Cameroon. Then he was sitting alongside other ministers including the ministers of higher education, secondary education, basic education and justice. The five ministers claimed the concerns raised by Anglophone teachers and lawyers of the south west and North West regions were general problems affecting people from other regions of the country and were in no way specific to Anglophones. By their assessment, there was a problem of language and not an Anglophone problem as such.

                 Literally caught in his own trap, Chiroma withdrew his previous statements arguing that to err is human.  The Communication Minister’s apology sparked a vast amount of debate among journalists in the hall, with many saying that after acknowledging the existence of the Anglophone problem government should find solutions to them.

                This notwithstanding, Chiroma clearly stated the position of the government to the effect that solutions to the problems as were presented by the Anglophone teachers and lawyers could only emerge from the adhoc committees that have been put in place. He warned that all other actions jeopardizing national unity and the territorial integrity will not be welcomed.

                Chiroma emphasized that the request of a federal state can never be yielded to because Cameroon is “one and indivisible” and like any other country will never accept to be taken hostage by a minority who are preventing others from enjoying the citizenship rights.

                He thus warned all perpetrators of acts of terrorism, intimidation, organizers of ghost towns and leaders of unauthorized political groupings in the South West and North West regions to be ready to face the wrath of the law when the time comes.