The buck
stops at President Biya’s desk
- Akere Muna
Cameroonian
lawyer and anti-corruption actor of international repute and renown, Barrister
Akere Muna, has said that the Southern Cameroons crisis is born out of
long-drawn and deep-rooted frustrations among the English-speaking community in
Cameroon. Muna was speaking recently in an interview with French Radio, Radio
France Internationale (RFI).
 |
| Barrister Akere Muna |
Fielding
questions from RFI reporters, Muna observed that because of the prevailing
situation in the country, marked by systemic marginalization and discrimination
against Anglophones, the current generation of Anglophones think that
independence would be the best solution; whereas those who are between the old
and new generations have rather contextual arguments and think that the union
with La Republique can still be perfected.
Muna, who supports the
improvement of the union with La Republique, told RFI that if a referendum were
to be held on the independence of Southern Cameroons on a “YES” or “NO”
basis, 70% of the younger population
(those less than 30 years) will vote “Yes” for independence.
Akere Muna further pointed out
that the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council is neither armed nor
structured; it is rather a spontaneous movement that people try to captivate
and be at the head.
“Like we have seen in Tunisia,
Burkina Faso and Egypt, the Ambazonia movement is a crowd movement that
expresses itself through popular street actions,“ explains Akéré Muna, who
noted that “it has within its ranks people who later decided to present
themselves as the leaders of the movement, and have been adopted by one group
or the other.”
As for the interim chairman of
the Southern Cameroons Ambazonia Governing Council, Sisikou Ayuk Tabe Julius,
Akéré Muna said that he does not know him personally, this despite claims from
some Biya comedians that he is working together with him. Muna noted that although Sesekou Ayuk Tabe is
out of the country, many now see him as their legitimate voice.
He also rejected the idea that
the Southern Cameroons crisis has some ethnic roots, but rather suggested that
it emanated from deep-rooted frustration.
Akere in the interview projected
himself as a true Cameroonian, who though born in the English-speaking part of
the country, has done his entire career as lawyer in the French-speaking
section of the country.
“Reason why Anglophones take me
as Anglophone, while Francophones see me as Francophone,” he observed, opining
that if well harnessed the two cultures (English and French) can be go together
especially if the specificities of each culture are respected and accepted as
they are.
Yet, Muna regrets that “because
of the mediocrity and perhaps the bad faith of some people in high places, the
cultural diversity of the country has been mismanaged rather than harnessed to
our advantage.”
Akere Muna opined that because
the authorities want to hide and undermine certain facts in the history of
Cameroon, the peace that is dear to Cameroonians is now at jeopardy.
He recalled for example that he
had to wait 3 years to be a given license to practice as a lawyer in Cameroon,
even though he was already a practicing lawyer in London. “And this delay was
owing to the fact that i was Anglophone.”
As for a solution for the
present crisis, Akere called on the personal implication of the President of
the Republic, who, according to him, should listen beyond the reports and memos
presented to him by his immediate collaborators.
Pic
Barrister
Akere Muna: The buck stops at Biya’s desk
No comments:
Post a Comment