Way forward for Anglophone Crisis:

Release all detainees, address the nation, convene genuine dialogue

   -Ntumfor Nico Halle suggests to President Biya

By Boris Esono in Buea

Bar. Ntumfor Nico

The President of the General Assembly of the Cameroon Bar Association has said that with the rapid decay of the crisis in the English speaking regions of the country it has become more and more imperative and urgent for the “Father of the Nation”, President Paul Biya, to consider addressing his children, if only to foster and uphold the peace and unity that Cameroonians so much cherish.

                Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle was speaking in response to questions from this reporter on his suggestions for a way forward for the present uprising in NW and SW, which unfortunately, has assumed a more widespread and violent turn lately.

                The peace crusader and human rights actor of international renown, first suggested that as “father of the nation”, President Biya should address the nation and call on his aggrieved children of the two Anglophone regions to drop the hatchet and give peace a chance.

                “I once more go down on my knees and plead with the head of state, President Biya, who is father of this nation, to come down from his high pedestal and talk to his children. The President should address the nation and tell Cameroonians that he has listened to them and has now understood what they desire. He should admit that certain wrongs have been committed in the course of building the nation, but that he has decided to look into these wrongs and correct them,” Ntumfor Nico Halle suggested, urging the president to at once, also consider extending his magnanimous amnesty to all those who are still languishing in jails and others who escaped into exile in connection to the current crisis.

Literally on bended knees, Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, said, like he started doing ever since the crisis started in 2016, he is once again pleading with the President to, after releasing the detainees, also open up for genuine, frank, sincere and an all-inclusive dialogue, as this to him is the only way of seeking a lasting solution to the present stalemate.

                “If the President can do all the things I have listed above then I have the unshakable conviction that all other things will fall into place: peace will return; violence will cease to be and parents will decide once again to send their kids to school,” Nico Halle prayed, noting that “there can be no state authority without peace and justice.

                He used the opportunity to hail the President for the measures he has already taken in view of resolving the crisis. But like Oliver Twist, he asked for the President to carry on with his salutary measures right to the level that will usher lasting peace, harmony, unity and a better living together among all Cameroonians.

                A former member of the defunct National Elections Observatory, NEO, and member of the newly created National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, Nico Halle has literally taken his peace crusade to a higher gear. The Legal guru also condemned violence in all its forms and urged all Cameroonians to pray for peace in the country.

                “Though Anglophones are championing this cause, some of the objective requests they are making will benefit the entire nation if granted. A more acceptable justice and educational system can only be a good thing for every nation,” Nico Halle said, urging Cameroonians, irrespective of their origins, to join him in praying for peace in the nation.

                Barrister Nico Halle rested his advocacy by praying for the peaceful repose of the souls of all those who have died in the Boko Haram war and the Anglophone crisis. He also expressed his hearty condolences to the bereaved families.