Uprisings in NW and SW:

Musonge Commission, a toothless paper tiger

Senator Peter Mafany Musonge

The Bilingualism and Multiculturalism Commission that was created by President Biyaon 23 January to resolve the Southern Cameroons crisis has existed for eight months already with nothing to show so far, save for its ability to secure its funding (a budget advance of 700 million cfa) from the state.

                23 September 2017 will be nine months since the rather budgetivorous yet irrelevant Commission was created. But apparently the Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism (CNPBM) exists only on paper.

                Apart from the installation of its members and permanent secretary, and maybe two inconsequential sessions it has held, the institution headed by Senator Peter Mafany Musonge is virtually non-existent.

                Established to examine several issues related to the linguistic and cultural diversity in the country especially in the wake of the Anglophone crisis, the Commission has gone comatose. A planned visit by the Commission to the NW and SW last June never took place.

                Announced as part of a “facilitation mission” to the two aggrieved regions, Musonge and his men until now have still not officially set foot in Southern Cameroons.

                After the discriminate release of some jailed leaders and sympathizers of the Anglophone struggle on August 30, many expected the president of the Commission to come out forcefully and urge the President to release all the detainees. This never happened. Mafany Musonge instead hailed the President for what he described as a fatherly gesture.

He also only paid lip service to the violence, destruction of schools and other public buildings, and non-resumption of schools which are now the hallmarks of Southern Cameroons.

                Yet, when approached by a French language newspaper recently, Musonge said “there is no need to worry.”

                “The commission is working. You will hear from us soon,” he said.

                With the widespread protests in the NW and SW last Friday, and the terrorist bombings in Bamenda and Douala earlier, many are wondering what the Commission is still waiting to get to work.               Some have already described the Commission as irrelevant in the present context and somewhat of a budgitivorous paper tiger.