Law on Promotion of Official Languages:

It Signals A Brand New Era In Our Bilingualism

-Rt. Hon. Peter Mafany Musonge, President of NCPBM

Being an interview he granted the press on the sidelines of the seminar to impregnate members of the NCPBM with the 24 Dec 2019 law

Why is the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, NCPBM, embarking on a mission to explain the law on official languages promulgated by the Head of State on 24th Dec. 2019?

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Rt. Hon. Peter Mafany Musonge

-As you know, for a law to be binding, it must be made known i.e. publicized. The intention is to ensure that everyone who is to be governed by it is sufficiently kept abreast of it. It is in this light that after the law on the promotion of official languages was enacted by the President of the Republic, H.E. Paul Biya, in December, 2019, the necessity to explain it has become pressing, especially because of its novelty and extreme importance in our national life. For you information, the law we are talking about is the brainchild of the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism, in line with one of its missions. It is in this regard that the Commission has received high instructions from the Head of State, under whom the Commission operates, to carry out an intensive and extensive explanation of the law to all segments of the Cameroonian public.

How do you intend to carry out the sensitization?

--We intend to do it in three stages. The first is among ourselves the members of the Commission, who have to internalize every aspect of the spirit and letter of the law, so that everyone of us is on the same page. We did a seminar on that. The second stage is through the media of mass communication to reach a wider spectrum of the Cameroonian population. That is, by using mainstream media and online platforms. We believe that, in this way, we can touch the largest number of Cameroonians and enable them understand the law and its import. So, using your prestigious and popular newspaper is part of that effort. Thirdly, we (members of the Commission) will soon go round the regions to meet the people and directly explain the law to them. We think that with this all-embracing strategy, we will explain the law better, elicit more understanding and convince all stakeholders of its over-riding significance and relevance.

What is your perception of the law?

The law is a landmark in the consolidation of our policy of bilingualism in the country. It intends to enhance the sense of pride which should enthuse us for belonging to a country that is exposed to and indiscriminately uses two dominant languages of some of the most influential, global civilizations. It is a piece of legislation which reinforces our living together in our beloved country that is blessed to have a dual language heritage with multiple advantages. It empowers ordinary citizens in the use of any of the two official languages without being taunted, slighted or discriminated against. It is a good law which opens a brand-new era in the area of official-language usage in our country. And, as such, we call on every Cameroonian to own it and be proud of it.

Some people have picked holes with certain sections of the law. You recall the heated debates which preceded its adoption in parliament.

Interview

Any Nation Without A Moral Foundation Is Bound To Collapse 
- Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle
    Barrister Nico Halle, there is an upsurge in immorality, violence, juvenile and adult delinquency in Cameroonian society today. What do you think is the cause for this breakdown in morality in Cameroon?

  

    Ntumfor from the way you speak, you seem to be sounding an alarm about a runaway, a holistic breakdown of morality and a galloping upsurge in adult and juvenile criminality. Is that the picture you are painting?

    It is even worse than I have painted because what I think we merit in this country is divine intervention. As yourself the question: When a student picks up a knife and stabs his teacher to death, where did he learn that kind of behavior from? When a Divisional Officer, DO, a woman, slaps a teacher, a man far older than she is, in front his students, is that what she was taught in ENAM? When in one week we hear of three cases of fatal violence perpetrated by students in three different schools and in different towns, does it speak well of our society? Perhaps I should ask you the question: Is the stabbing to death of a teacher by his student as bad as when a state agent embezzles 50 billion that was allocated for the construction of a hospital in a locality and hundreds of Cameroonians die of lack of adequate health care as a result? When people who pass around for political leaders tell lies to the electorate; when government ministers tell blatant lies, embezzle state funds, ask for kick-backs before awarding contracts, award public investment contracts only to their incompetent friends and girlfriends; when marks are sexually awarded in high schools and universities; when parliamentarians siphon money for micro-projects into their private pockets; when contractors collect so-called ‘mobilization fees’ from the state treasury for contracts awarded only to abandon the projects in the end; when government ministers ask for kickbacks, retro-commission in French, from a foreign investor who wants to invest in a project to give jobs to hundreds and thousands of Cameroonians; when in our hospitals treatment is given only to those who can pay extra money to the doctors; when in our courts justice is sold and to the highest bidder etc etc, can such a society thrive? Is there no cause for alarm to be raised? It is for this reason that I am seizing the opportunity of this interview to announce the re-launching of the nationwide crusade for moral rearmament that I started some years ago when I was the president of the Christian Men’s Fellowship of the Presbyterian Church in Cameroon, PCC. When I launched that crusade I went all round the country preaching the need for morals to just every segment of society: office holders, teachers, lawyers, magistrates etc. And I bought thousands copies of the Holy Bible which I distributed to governors, ministers and in fact all those who deal with the public. It may interest you to know that I shared some copies of the Bible even to churches. I did this for more than 15 years running, from when I was group president up to when I became national president of the CMF. I did this to fight moral decadence; to fight corruption, bribery, tribalism, sexual deviance, homosexuality, in fact immorality in all its forms. I fought against all of these.

    Ntumfor from the answers and explanation you give, you seem to exonerate the state from any responsibility for the chronic breakdown in morality in Cameroonian society. You mean the state; the government has no hand or doesn’t share the blame for this?

    No, I cannot leave out the state. Of course, the state shares in the responsibility. Otherwise, how do you explain the fact that a country so richly endowed with natural resources: Oil and Gas, Timber, Diamond, Gold, Uranium, Cocoa, Coffee, Banana, and all varieties of food crops, has become so poor as to be branded heavily-indebted poor country, HIPC? How did we descend so low as to be going around cap in hand and begin for what we should be helping other poor countries with? It is all the result of bad governance: long years of institutionalized corruption and impunity unbridled. Steve, I believe that Cameroon is a country favoured by providence. The vast human and material wealth with which we are endowed bestows on us a role in Africa and the world which no one else can assume or fulfill. But the fear that haunts me daily is that we might have betrayed irretrievably this high destiny of our nation. For instance, can you explain why a richly blessed country like Cameroon should be going about begging and borrowing? What did we do with the countless billions that a generous providence poured into our state coffers in six decades of our independence? That money was enough to launch us into the middle rank of developed nations and transformed the lives of our poor masses. But what did we do with it. It was stolen and salted away by corrupt state agents and their accomplices. It was squandered through uncontrolled importation of luxury cars and other goods for state agents and office holders. It was embezzled in through inflated contracts to an increasing band of party loyalists who have neither the desire nor the competence to do the jobs. It has been consumed in the escalating salaries of a grossly overstaffed and unproductive public service, Money that was supposed to be used to create employment through industries has been embezzled with impunity by a few unscrupulous individuals, who have either starched the same in foreign accounts or bought shares in foreign companies to the detriment of the majority of Cameroonians. But in as much as I am appalled and outraged by what is happening to our country, I must at the same time acknowledge the effort that the government is making recently to try to correct the situation. But we must at once admit that the state can do very little when the parents don’t take their responsibility in the homes. The state cannot go into individual homes and ask parents to correct their children. I think the state is doing much. It is not the state asking state agents to embezzle; it is not the state asking teachers not to teach morals to students. I think the state is doing a lot. We see structures put in place to fight corruption, monitor human rights abuse, regulate the press etc.

    But Barrister Nico Halle, for the man of law that you are, I haven’t heard you castigate the judicial system for failing to play its role adequately or for participating and promoting corruption in the country.  You mean our judicial system is upright?

    I have not said or insinuated that our judicial system is playing its role satisfactorily. I did not say that. I think our judiciary has its share of the blame. There are so many corrupt magistrates and corrupt lawyers, just like there are good ones too. But I must say that the number of corrupt lawyers and judges is overwhelming. The good ones represent a very small percentage. Otherwise, how do you explain the fact that a very rich nation like our has become so poor, heavily indebted and beggarly yet culprits of embezzlement are walking free and brandishing their stolen wealth in public with impunity? Why should a few be swimming in superfluous wealth, while the majority is wallowing in abject poverty? Why should the treasurer, tax officer, customs agent from ENAM own several houses and drive in luxury cars, while teachers from ENS are so poor and desolate? What explains these discrepancies in our society. It is nothing else but corruption and embezzlement. And the buck stops at the table of our judges to bring culrits to book

    Ntumfor how did you receive the news of the student who stabbed his mathematics teacher to death in Yaounde recently? We saw the Minister of Secondary Education rush to the school to calm down flaring tempers and reassure the teachers. But is that enough? Can government not do more?

Interview

I Earned My PhD Through Hard Work, Tenacity & Sacrifice

 -Dr. Nsaibirni Robert Fondze, Dr. of Computer Science

Wednesday 24 April 2019 was not an ordinary day for Nsaibirni Robert Fondze Jr, and perhaps, his siblings and loved ones. This was the day the lad from Nso, defended his PhD in Computer Science at the University of Yaounde 1. It was the first PhD defense by an English speaking student since the inception of the University in 1961. For decades running, the department of Computer Science had been a veritable slaughter house for English speaking students. It is perhaps why we of The Median Newspaper consider Dr. Robert Fondze’s PhD as a feat. And we could not be indifferent to the incredible achievement. Reason why our editor, Ayukogem Steven Ojong took time off and caught-up with the latest PhD in town to scoop his impressions. His remarks make for interesting read. Here are excerpts.

**Congratulation Doctor on your brilliant PhD Defense.

Dr. Nsaibirni Robert Fondze Jr. (now Doctor), shares his joy as title of PhD is confered on him by very emminent Varsity Dons in the jury, including Prof. Maurice Tchuente, Prof. Fouda Ndjodo Marcel and Prof. Agustini Alexandra among others.

Thank you very much. It was a very tough road but I am happy that it all came to an end and a brilliant end for that matter. I am very happy and I hope that my defending a PhD in Computer Science will serve as motivation to the younger ones coming behind.

**It is not every day that you hear of a PhD defense in Computer Science at Ngoa-Ekelle. It certainly was an uphill climb you had.

It was in fact an uphill climb. PhD defenses at the Faculty of Science and especially the Computer Science department are rare. But there have been a few in the past decade. We have had at least 4 PhD defenses at the faculty of Science in the past few years. PhD research is a very difficult process not necessarily because the courses are difficult, but because of the difficult working environment. Most often the PhD candidate does not have the needed resources to do the research. PhD research is supposed to be a full time job. It is supposed to be at least a three-year engagement that you take to improve knowledge in a particular domain. Unfortunately in Cameroon we don’t have the kind of resources that can permit for this. So as a PhD student you have to think out of the box to be able to make things happen. You have to provide for yourself in carrying out your research and make sure you finish the work within the stipulated deadline. In my case I was lucky to get into contact with Centre Pasteur du Cameroon. I worked under a partnership that was created between the Department of Computer Sciences, University of Yaounde I, and Centre Pasteur. It is always paramount to get the resources needed to carry out a PhD research. Usually a PhD research is not done by a single person in a single laboratory. You need to forge partnerships. You need to travel around and know how things are done elsewhere. You need to work with other people who are in the same domain; you need to see how science has evolved in the field you are trying to get into; you need to attend conferences; you need to discuss with people who have grown in the field. All these activities need lots and lots of resources.

**So how did your own research proceed?

-I should say there was an invisible hand that was pulling me along. I did my research for the Masters Degree at the Centre Pasteur du Cameroun. At the time there were some researchers who had come on a visit and I was called to do a presentation on the work that I did in my Masters. After the presentation they asked if I would like to continue with the research. They said they would be ready to provide me with some resources if I was ready to continue with the research. I jumped for the opportunity and the result is what we are celebrating today.

Gov’t Is Liquid, It Has No Problems Paying Salaries

-Service providers are also being paid chronologically

-Moh Sylvester, DG of Treasury, Monetary and Financial Cooperation

What is the situation of the treasury at the moment?

               

Moh Sylvester, DG of Treasury

The treasury can never be empty. We paid salaries on December 21, 2018. Contrary to what people write and claim that we will not be able to pay salaries in January, we have no issues with paying salaries. Our main concern right now is to make sure that small and medium-size enterprises are paid regularly. We are trying to catch up with the delays we had due to certain circumstances. What I can say is that we are continuing to pay service providers chronologically - first in, first out- though we may have emergencies from time to time.

                Why do you put so much emphasis on payment of service providers?

                There was a time it came to our notice that people were no longer interested in public tenders, we focused on making improvements and so now that we are paying regularly, they will only have to come running. The Treasury Department has always had as objective to pay service providers and those who have accounts with the state in 30 days. That has always been the major objective contrary to the 90 days which is indicated in CEMAC texts. We have been doing that for the past five to six years. In June 2017, we started having financial difficulties and that is why we signed the Financial and Economic Programme with the International Monetary Fund to enable us meet up with our objectives of paying people regularly.

                Did you meet those objectives in 2018?

                We did, though the results were not what we expected. One of the reasons we could not meet up with our objectives in 2018 is the security situation of the country which was not very good. There was quite a huge expenditure on security and the situation also contributed in reducing government revenue. This was greatly witnessed in the brewery industry and telecommunications sector. The tax contributions of these companies actually reduced. We also had a reduction in customs revenue due to those difficulties in the North West and South West regions. The second challenge we had was the presidential election. A lot of expenditure on it caused the treasury to shrink. We had operations of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) which had to be paid with a lot of diligence since we were struggling to meet up with a deadline. Then, we also had the PLANUT programme which was also being executed alongside the normal execution of the budget.

                We gave priority to salaries, not forgetting small and medium-size enterprises. I think those who were carrying out supplies with government realized that at one moment we were no longer following chronological payments. But from October 2018, most of them were called up by their bankers who informed them that their money was being paid. These payments were made, thanks to the budgetary support we got from our partners and with the FCFA 200 billion we raised from the financial market. The FCFA 200 billion helped us pay outstanding bills. By mid-December, payments for state suppliers were made chronologically. Even if we have difficulties, we do not have to give the impression that one needs to know someone in the treasury department in order to be paid or that there is disorder in payments. So even if we do not pay in 60 days, we make sure that payments are done chronologically. Most service providers can attest to that.

                We also got some budgetary support of FCFA 98billion from the African Development Bank and about FCFA 105 billion from the European Union in mid-December and we will use it to pay service providers. Service providers should rest assured we shall continue with payments.

Interview

We Will Talk with Our Brothers in the Bushes 
  -Chief Bate Epey, Mayor of Tinto Council
-Separatist fighters took advantage of the enclave nature of Tinto and made it their hideout and fortress
-All dev’t projects in Tinto council in 2018 were abandoned because of insecurity
- We will accelerate the development projects in Tinto in 2019   
The Mayor of the Tinto Council, in Upper Bayang subdivision of Manyu division has said that he and his collaborators will engage dialogue with separatist gunmen if only to convince them to allow for development projects to be carried out in the municipality. Far from indiscretions by some persons that he and staffers of the council had escaped the council area and sought refuge elsewhere, Chief Bate Epey Robert says he had long returned to Tinto and has been busy working and sensitizing the populations on the need for projects to be executed and for life to return to normalcy. Mayor Bate Epey made these and other remarks during a chat with The Median’s editor, Ayukogem Steven Ojong, shortly after the budget session of the council, holding in Mamfe, on 18 December 2018. The following are excerpts.

**The Tinto council has just held its last session for 2018 in Mamfe town, instead of at the council chambers in Tinto. What informed your decision to carry the session to Mamfe?

Chief Bate Epey, Mayor of Tinto Council

--Thanks for this question which I consider very pertinent. You may want to know that the Tinto council area is very porous, apart from the fact that it is situated at the crossroads. That is to say the roads leading mainland Southwest, NW and Lebialem including notably the Kumba-Mamfe, Ekok-Mamfe-Bamenda, Kumba-Batchuo-Bamenda, Mamfe-Bakebe-Menji and Kumba-Bakebe-Menji all go across the Tinto council area. So, just as the vehicles crisscross our municipality so to do other persons crisscross the municipality. This includes even the separatists who are in the bushes with arms and who have for some time now been terrorizing the populations of the council area and making life almost unbearable for inhabitants. So we thought that it would not be secure to rally the councillors in Tinto for the council session. This is because the Mayor does not handle security issues. Security issues are the prerogative of the SDO and DOs. So when we put the matter to the SDO of Manyu and the DO of Tinto, they advised that we rather assemble the councillors in Mamfe where the security is guaranteed. So the decision to hold the council session in Mamfe was upon the express advice of the SDO and not the Mayor. You know that the SDO is the supervisory authority over the councils in the division.

**You just adopted a new budget for the council for the year 2019. Given the high level of insecurity in the council area which has brought council activities and economic life in the council area to almost zero level, how do you expect to finance this budget not to talk of realizing planned projects?

--It may interest you to know that we took all these concerns into consideration during our review of the budget. We took into consideration the insecurity and the economic slowdown. We took into consideration that all the population have either relocated to other towns or to the bushes and it would be difficult to collect taxes. We noted that those carrying arms have made the mayors and councillors their primary targets and this pushed the latter to seek refuge in the divisional headquarters. We brainstormed on other issues of concern like the logging companies that have been prevented from operating. In voting the budget therefore we took into consideration the fact that virtually all the economic activities in the municipality have witnessed a lockdown and that it would be difficult to raise money from taxes. But we at once also contemplated measures that can rekindle these activities because we cannot just sit and fold our arms while our council area goes in ruins. So, we decided that we would clean up the markets so that business activities can start again. We told ourselves that to do this we must first see how we can talk to our youths who are in the bushes with arms and let them to know that it is not reasonable for them to make the development of the council impossible because it is the locals who feel the pain and not those they claim to be fighting. We plan to make them to know that the development of the council area knows no colour and that whether you are a secessionist or federalist or an economic operator, everybody needs development. Everybody, be it the so-called Ambazonians or Cameroonians, we all need roads, markets, hospitals, schools, water, electricity and more. So, we took all these into consideration during our review and adoption of the budget. Happily enough the government has set the pace for appeasement and has put in place practical modalities on how the appeasement, disarmament and rehabilitation plan would proceed, it is our hope that normalcy will return and business and social life can return to Tinto council.

**Can you paint a picture of how the 2018 budget was realized giving the insecurity and the fact that you and your staff were out of the council for most part of the year?

-- I should say that in spite of the frightening insecurity, we tried what we could to realize some projects. But I must emphasize that aside the Ambazonia conflict which has made life in our council area very difficult, the council is naturally very enclaved. You may want to know that apart from the trans-Africa highway that passes from Bamenda through our municipality (Numba-Batchuo) to Mamfe and Ekok, and the portion of the Kumba-Mamfe road also passing through the council (Nfaitok-Bathuo), there is no other Km of tarred road in the Tinto council area. So for a municipality that counts 59 villages and which stretches from Widikum in the NW to Batchuo and which borders Lebialem, Meme and Kupe-Muanenguba divisions, there’s only about 80km of tarred roads. The Bakebe-Tinto-Menji which is about 95 Km is barely motorable. To cut it short, I should say roads are the bane of Tinto (Upper Bayang) council area. However, we are comforted by the fact that the ministries of public works and that of town planning have allocated some funds to us which can help alleviate our road problem. I hope that our brothers in the bush will permit the projects to be realized by the contractors especially giving that development projects have been stagnant for a complete year. As for the year that just ended I must say that we did not achieve much in terms of realization of projects. We had to build classrooms in Diffang, Tinto-Mbu and Ekourite. Only one of these classrooms was realized. We had a building to attach to GS Kepele. It was not realized. We had to provide a medical facility in one of the villages. This also was not done. We had to provide benches, chairs and other equipment for some schools, but this could not be done. The reason for all of this was because the contractors said they could not go and risk their lives just because they want to execute projects for the council. However, we hear that the government has extended the execution time for some of these projects up to February. So we hope that some of them can be realized within this period. I seize this opportunity to once more tell our brothers who have up arms that development has no colour and so they should allow for these projects to be carried out.

Interview

Success of D’la GA Is Victory for Cameroon Lawyers

 – Ntumfor Nico Halle, former President Bar Gen. Assembly

Ntumfor Nico Halle

Senior Advocate of the Cameroon Bar, Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, who served as president of the General Assembly (GA) of the lawyers’ association for four years, (January 2015 to 24 November 2018), has said that he used his stewardship to uplift the Bar and improve its image, apart from giving value-added to the Presidency of the Bar GA. Nico Halle at once noted that he could do better if the presidency of the GA had a budget to finance its activities. He regrets for not being able to organize a common dinner and/or gala for the lawyers, during their two-day EGA in Douala, on 24 November, which EGA saw the election of new members into the Bar Council, apart from the election of the President of the GA and the Bar Council, Bartonnier. Nico Halle made these and other remarks, during a telephone chat with The Median’s Editor, Ayukogem Steven Ojong, shortly after the Douala EGA. The EGA saw the election of Barrister Morfaw Evaristus as President of the Bar GA, and Barrister Charles Tchakounte Patie as President of the Bar Council (Bartonnier), apart from the 15 members of the Bar Council. The following are excerpts of the very revealing interview. Read on…

                ##Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, You have just come to the end of your mandate as the president of the General Assembly (GA) of the Cameroon Bar Association. You organized an elective General Assembly (EGA) of the Bar which many have hastened to describe as hugely successful. What are your immediate impressions?

                -I hasten to say my impressions are high, impressive and optimistic. I give all the glory to God almighty that I invoked to come in and cover these elections. I asked the lord to come and help me to mobilize the lawyers of the nation. And I must thank him because the mobilization was total; it was huge; unprecedented. I also take this opportunity to congratulate my learned colleagues of the Bar who marked their presence and even those who sent proxies. Cameroonian lawyers are a wonderful people and I am very proud to have been their servant for four years. I promised them that I will serve them with loyalty and truth and that at the end of my mandate I will present them a balance sheet of my stewardship, which I did. I thank them for their support. They were my masters and I their servant. Steve, I must acknowledge here that the EGA was ground-breaking. There were no incidents. There was harmony; everybody was so happy to have been part of the process to put in place a new team to take over the management of the Bar association. Yet, I must mention that for all through the four years I spent not one penny that came from the Bar coffers, not one Franc. For all the trips I made to Yaounde and throughout the country, most often with my driver, I spent no penny of the Bar’s money. If I have to put all the bills together– hotel, fuel, feeding, lodging etc, it would not be less than fifty million cfa francs. But it was my own way of sacrificing and giving back what the lord has given me. And I am very sure that my colleagues the lawyers are aware of the sacrifices I made to the extent that if I had asked for a second mandate I think I would have had no match especially considering the avalanche of calls that I have received asking me to stay on. Lawyers are a learned people: you cannot manipulate or encapsulate them. If you can manage lawyers successfully then you can manage any other group of persons. I had a wonderful and cordial relationship with all of my colleagues, even if there were a few cases of betrayal. But I consider these cases as occupational hazards that should happen in life. I want to particularly thank my predecessor, Barrister Tang Emmanuel who stood by me, unconditionally and unimpeachably.  I have also promised the same support to my successor, Barrister Morfaw Evaristus. I think that should be the spirit.

                ##Ntumfor, reports from Douala hold that the elections were very successful and transparent. What did you do to ensure transparency?

  -Dur     ing the elections that brought the outgoing Bartonnier, Jackson Ngnie Kamga and myself, to office, I noticed that there were numerous cases of fraud and all sorts of malpractices. So, I took a personal vow that this should not repeat itself when I will organize the next EGA. That was why when I convened the EGA for 24 November 2018 I told my colleagues that no fraud or electoral malpractices would be tolerated. I told them that as lawyers we must show the good example in terms of transparency and respect for the laws of our association. I said this believing that lawyers should be the ones to lead, while all others follow them. That was how I decided that we must institute and implement a one ballot system during our voting process. It is true that some colleagues were opposed to this, but I stood my grounds because I had to assume my responsibilities as the president of the Bar GA. So the one ballot system helped tremendously to check fraud. Then we were very strict with the validation of the proxies that some colleagues brought in. Because of this strictness many proxies were rejected and you could see them piled up there in the hall. So people did not have their way this time to vote three, four, five times like was the case before now. Then the transparent ballot boxes we used also prevented any stuffing of the boxes before and after the voting process. Also, i warned the members of the electoral committee that any of them that was seen or even suspected of campaigning or trying to collude with any candidate, would automatically be removed from the committee. I asked all the lawyers to be vigilant about this and to denounce any cases of suspected fraud or collusion. All these measures helped to block the fraudsters, some of whom could not conceal their frustration and embarrassment. I must say that I have been congratulated by a huge majority of lawyers for this transparency which has only helped to brighten the image of the Bar, apart from ensuring the legitimacy of those elected. I cannot count the number of calls that I have received congratulating me for the success of the EGA. You realize that when I took over as president of the GA, I pledged that I was going to sanitize the Bar. And that was why even before the EGA, I went round preaching morality, dignity and integrity to lawyers. I told my colleagues that a lawyer who has no morality, dignity and integrity is not fit to be called a lawyer. It is my hope that other institutions of the state can follow the good example of the Bar Association and also adopt the one ballot system in elections.

                ##Part of the success of the EGA was because Anglophone lawyers attended in huge numbers. One would have expected them to stay away given that the Bar did not show the expected solidarity with them during the difficult period they had with the government sometime ago. So what did you tell your Anglophone brothers and sisters to get them come in these huge numbers?

                -I did nothing special; I think that my credibility played the magic. My brothers know that I am a man of unimpeachable integrity and so they believe in me. But I must point out emphatically here that the Bar Association is not a political party neither is the Bar a pressure group. The Bar is a professional association. So why would members of a professional association refuse to attend the GA of their association? How can they bring change in their association if they stay away from its general meetings? So it was incumbent on the Anglophone lawyers just like their Francophone colleagues to come and be part of history. Yet, it should be stated that attending a GA is not mandatory; it is optional. Members attend out of their own volition. The choice to attend is personal and there are no sanctions for members who fail to attend. As the President of the GA my prerogative is to convene the GA. Whether members came or they did not come was not my pre-occupation. But I must admit that the EGA at Castel Hall, Douala, was ground-breaking and historic. The quality of the deliberations and especially the quality of members that came was impressive. Almost all the former Bartonniers and former GA Presidents were present: Yondo Black, Monthe, Ben Muna, Charles Tchungang, Eta Bisong Jr., Francis Sama, Hypolite Meli, Abunaw, Job, Tang Emmanuel and many more; just about all the prominent lawyers in the country were there. In fact, it was a high-profile event that we had at Castel Hall in Douala. I think the Anglophone lawyers only exercised their democratic right by attending the EGA. It is the role of the Bar to uphold democracy and the rule of law in society. And I think that it dawned on the Anglophone lawyers, and rightly so, that, by attending the EGA in their numbers they can step up their chances of finding a solution to the problems that they raised; problems which i must admit are national, institutional and constitutional in character. I cease this opportunity to thank the Anglophone lawyers and all the members of the Bar for coming.

                ##There was dancing and rejoicing in the hall following the proclamation of the result of the Bar Council Election. In your opinion, was the rejoicing in celebration of the victory of Charles Tchakounte Patie or in celebration of the ouster of Jackson Ngnie Kamga?

                --I think the lawyers were dancing not in celebration of victory for whosoever, but rather in celebration of victory for the Bar; victory for their noble profession. And this has been the spirit even at past EGAs. It had nothing to do with who was elected or who was not elected. I have always said that we should stand for strong institutions and not strong personalities. People should come and go, but institutions must remain. People shouldn’t think they must be the only ones to lead. We are about 4000 lawyers at the Bar, and each of these lawyers has a legitimate right to be the Bar President. And that was why I said to myself that I should not do more than one term. I trained to be lawyer and not to be president of the GA of lawyers. There is just no reason for anyone to try to eternalize themselves in office. Before the Bar GA, I have been in the CMF, in NOWEFU, in ONEL etc. And in all these institutions I made sure I left when the time was right. I am in other structures and I don’t plan to be there forever.

Interview

Secession is not an option in SWELA

 -Moki Jacob Etukeni, SWELA Scribe

Moki Jacob Etukeni

The Executive Secretary of the South West Elite Association has said that the association cannot be active as it should be because of the ongoing Anglophone crisis. Moki says

            **What is the atmosphere in SWELA at this time?

            As you may be aware, the present crisis in the region makes it very difficult to rally the people to fight for the cause of SWELA. This is why we have become virtually inactive.

            ** So would it be correct to say that you have not been able to achieve your mandate as a result of the crisis?

            I would rather say I have not fully achieved my mandate because we were able to do some work before the crisis started. We organized two workshops which had to do with the development of the region and which have counted a lot as far as the development of the region is concerned.

            ** What are some of those things that you would have loved to achieve but which you could not achieve because of the ongoing crisis?

            Indeed if we had the opportunity we would have come over to the headquarters to lobby for some projects to come to the region. But we have not been able to do this because of the prevailing circumstances.

            ** So what exactly is your mission to Yaounde?

            Frankly we are here for a tripartite concertation that involves SWELA, the Chiefs and some elites in Yaounde, to look at the insecurity in the region and seek ways to chart a way forward. We also reviewed the situation of the two institutions that is SWELA and SWECC, which have for some time now been on leave.

            **The elite and leaders of the South West have been said to be quiet all throughout this crisis. Why haven’t you spoken out, you and the chiefs, to either condemn or support what is happening?

            You push me to be cautious when you talk of condemning. However, right from the unset of the crisis and even before it started, SWELA had done a lot of work in terms of sending out memoranda, and communiqués all of which had to do with the grievances that are being expressed today.

            ** So during your concertation in Yaounde did you talk about initiatives to end or perhaps reduce the tensions in the SW region?

            Yes of course. We brainstormed on how it is going to be possible to bring back the peace in the region.

            **But some of the elite in Yaounde have been accused of being in a comfort zone. What does that mean?

            In fact, by comfort zone it means there are no skirmishes here in Yaounde. Apart from that the expression was used to call for negotiations and/or dialogue. So, when I talked of coming to meet our brothers in their comfort zone, I meant that they are resident in Yaounde where there is relative quiet, while we are coming from the areas where the violence and destructions are taking place.

Interview

Refusing to vote is part of democracy

– Enow Abrams Egbe, Elecam Board Chair

**As you have published the list of candidates to run in the 7 October presidential election, are there guarantees the elections will effectively take place throughout the country, especially in the NW and SW?

Enow Abrams Egbe, Elecam Board Chair

I am just returning from the field and judging from the performance in terms of registration of voters in most areas I think there are Cameroonians who want to vote. But you must know that refusing to vote is also part of the democratic process. Our effort is to make sure that polling stations are put in areas where both electors and polling materials are well protected. That is why we now talk of polling centres instead of polling stations. This will make it possible for polling booths to be regrouped in areas that can be easily manned by security. We are not oblivious of the fact that the enemy does not want elections to take place in these troubled regions. But we are also aware there are Cameroonians who want the elections to take place. Proof of this is the volume of registration that we received in the NW and SW. So we are hopeful that there Cameroonians in the NW and SW who will want to vote, and they must be allowed to exercise their civic right.

**Some candidates are complaining that the rules of the game are not respected. Mr. Kum Ihims of the BIYA party raised the concern for example that candidate Paul Biya of the CPDM should be dropped because his documents dropped at Elecam carry a different name from his real names. How serious or not is this allegation?

I think I have a lot of respect for Mr. Ihims. But I want him to know that candidate Biya Paul satisfied all the conditions for eligibility for the election of the president of the republic. But if Mr. Ihims is not satisfied with the decision of Elecam it is left for him to petition the constitutional council and seek redress.

**What is the situation with the distribution of voters’ cards? Are people getting their cards as required by the law?

Enormous sensitization has been done to get registered voters to come for their cards. But you know Cameroonians are known to always wait until the D-day. I should however say that ever since the electoral corps was convened, a lot many people have come for their cards. I can say about 75% of cards have been withdrawn. And I must cease this opportunity to hail those political leaders who have been sensitizing their militants and Cameroonians to go and get possession of their voter’s cards. But I must emphasize here that the law is very clear about possession or not of voter’s cards by registered voters. It states that if a duly registered voter cannot find his/her voter’s card on voting day, he should go to the pulling station with his ID card and be identified on the voters register for the centre. Also for those who could not take possession of their cards because distance constraints or whatever, the voters’ cards are made available at the polling stations for them to come and collect and vote. Elecam even has the prerogative to notify registered voters through their phone numbers to come for their cards. So we hope to have attained at least 90% of withdrawn voters’ cards by polling day.

**Why did you reject the files of some persons who applied to be candidates in the presidential election?

The conditions for eligibility are clearly spelled out in the electoral code. But I must tell you that it was terrible and even frightful what we noticed with some applications. Some files were virtually empty. In another country such files should not have been received in the first place. Some candidates did not have their certificate of nationality; some had not paid their tax levies. I know people will always hang on the 30 million fcfa caution. But this was not the condition that caused the rejection of most of the files. Elecam as a regulatory body also has a social role to play. So we did not bother very much about the 30 million frs caution. This was simply because we wanted many more candidates to take part in the election.

**So do you think a candidate like Olivier Bile who said he could not raise the 30m at the time he submitted his file, but has petitioned the CC saying he now has the money handy?

The law is the law. He had seven years to prepare his candidature. This was sufficient time to have raised this money and also build his file. I respect Mr Bile but unfortunately the law is not a respecter of persons.

Interview

I don’t Run the Pan-African Parliament’s Budget

Hon. Nkodo Dang, President of Pan-African Parliament

-Hon. Nkodo Dang, President of Pan-African Parliament

Ahead of the recent conference of heads of states of the AU that held in Mauritania, Foreign Ministers of Member countries suggested to the heads of states to suspend the budget of the Pan-African Parliament pending an audit into what they considered as the scandalous management of the President of the Parliament, Cameroonian-born Roger Nkodo Dang. But in this outing with the press, Hon. Nkodo Dang says the Heads of states absolved him of all the allegations of wrong-doing. 

**African heads of state have finally adopted the budget for the continent. They did not say anything about the proposal by African Foreign Ministers for the 2019 budget of the Pan-African Parliament to be suspended. What’s your take on this?

--I think the African heads of state have taken a good decision. Normally the June-July session of the African Parliament is consecrated to the examination and adoption of the budget of the African Union. And the budget is not voted in bits. It is voted whole. True, some Foreign Affairs Ministers wanted to force the suspension of the Parliament’s budget, but that was not on the agenda of the session. Some ministers were relying on information relayed in the press to the effect that there were some financial improprieties at the Parliament that needed to be looked into before the budget is voted. Unfortunately for them, the budget was voted in its entirety. At least, that is what I know.

**What is the role of the President of the African Parliament that you are in terms of recruitments and management of the budget?

Recruitments at the Parliament are through consultants who proceed by way of published tenders. It is the consultants who are in charge of the entire recruitment process. And like the AU statutes stipulate, a list of three qualified candidates is sent to me. From this shortlist of qualified candidates with an average above 60%, i have the latitude to choose one. As for the management of the budget article 21 of the internal regulations stipulates that the SG of the AU renders account of the financial management at the plenary. This is to say that it is the SG who runs the budget; he is the vote holder, the liquidator, accountant and cashier. Firstly, never has the President of the Parliament been implicated in the management of the budget. Secondly, it is not the President of the Pan-African Parliament that defends the Parliament’s budget. So as we speak I don’t even know how much we have as budget, neither do I have a cash safe in my office. All what is used in my office is furnished by the SG.

**Some people believe that the request for the suspension of the Parliament’s budget is not unconnected to the post-electoral battles going on at the institution. Do you agree with this?

Interview: Babies Die of Sickle Cell Yearly.

- Dr. Denis Nsame, Dir. L’be Reg. Hospital

Cameroon on 19 June 2018 commemorated world sickle cell day under the theme "sickle cell and blood donation, a gift for life.” Sickle cell is a chronic inherited disease affecting mostly Africans. Reason why the government of Cameroon is taking all necessary measures to step up its fight and prevention. In the following interview The Median’s Ticha Melanis sought to know from the Director of the Limbe Regional Hospital, Dr. Denis Nsame, the cause, manifestation, incidence and management of the disease in Cameroon.

Dr. Denis Nsame

*What is sickle cell anaemia and how is it contracted?

      Sickle cell is anaemia is a chronic disease and hereditary disease. Hereditary meaning you cannot have it if not from birth. Sickle cell is the malfunction of the hemoglobin (red blood cells). This is because the red blood cells assume a crescent shape instead of the normal disc-shaped. When this happens, the red cells cannot carry oxygen adequately to nearby tissues. This is because with its abnormal crescent shape the diseased red blood cells cannot flow through smaller blood vessels.

*How does one know they have sickle cell anaemia?

      You cannot read on the face that someone has sickle cell. It is a genetic disease transmitted from parents to their children. To be sickle cell patient, it means you have the gen of SS which indicate the parents were carriers either AS and AS or AS and SS. Those suffering from the disease suffer a lot of pains and are generally anaemic because their red blood cell are always destroyed and they are prone to infections since their blood stagnates and allows for any germs to grow causing headache, passage of blood in urine, shortness of breath amongst others.

*How is sickle cell diagnosed?

     Diagnosis is through a blood test. It is done through electrophoresis of the hemoglobin which will indicate if you are AA, AS or SS. If you are AA it means you are normal, AS indicates sickle cell trait while SS indicates you have sickle cell anemia. The result of the test usually takes up to 14 days to come out.

*How can sickle cell be prevented?

        It is advisable for people wishing to get married to carry out a blood test so as to know their status. If a couple is AS/AS there is a 25% chance of them having a sickle cell child. But it is up to them to decide. Doctors are just there to advice and inform them on the risks involved. It is advisable for an AS person to partner with someone who is AA.

*Can the disease be cured?

There is no cure per say but it can be managed. There is bone marrow transplant for children with severe case of the disease but in Cameroon, it is much more refined medically and there is still a lot of research going on. The bone marrow transplant alleviates your condition and reduces the risk of the patient having a crisis. But it won't change your genetic status. If sickle cell patients don't have treatment they may die before the age of 5 because of the complications that come with the disease. If they have good medical follow up, they can bypass this age and live for more than 20 years with less crisis. The crises are more in the younger age.

Interview

Agbor Balla on RFI:

-Ambazonia Independence was precipitated, ill-timed

 -Biya created the Anglophone problem, he cannot be part of the solution

The President of the defunct Consortium of Anglophone Civil Societies, Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, who is also the President of the Fako Lawyers Association , FAKLA and Founder/CEO of Buea-based Centre For Human Rights And Democracy in Africa, has said that the Biya regime created the Anglophone crisis, and they are incapable to find solutions to the problem. Balla says about 1000 Anglophones have been jailed since the unset of the crisis and that more and more civilians and soldiers are being killed on a daily basis as the crisis escalates. He says from every indication the Biya regime is at a loss of solutions to the crisis and only a new regime will hopefully solve the problem. The widely travelled and free-talking Vice President of the African Bar Association in charge of Central Africa, who spent eight months in jail because of his role in organizing and coordinating Anglophone protests, was guest last week, on Radio France International, RFI’s program, ‘Spotlight on Africa’. The following are excerpts of the exchange.

**Welcome Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla. What’s the latest on the jailed Anglophone leaders that were extradited from Nigeria?

Human Rights Lawyer And President of the outlawed Consortium of Anglophone Civil Societies,
Nkongho Felix Agbor Balla, said it all on RFI

--The latest is that there is no latest in the sense that we don’t have any information. So far, nobody has seen them; nobody has spoken to them be it their lawyers or their families. I have been there twice with a couple of lawyers and we were not allowed to see them.

**Aside the leaders transferred from Nigeria, do you know how many Anglophones in total are currently in custody?

--There are close to 1000 detained between two maximum security prisons in Yaounde- The Kondengui Principal Prison where I spent eight months and the Kondengui Central Prison where Bibixy Mancho, Pen Terrence and others are being kept. There are others detained at the Gendarmerie Headquarters, SED, in Yaounde. Others are at the Judicial Police Headquarters in Yaounde. Then there are about 409 in the Central Prison in Buea, SW region. Others are scattered in the Bamenda Central Prison and in other prisons in the country. These are just the ones we can identify. Some have already been tried and sentenced to various prison terms. Pen Terrence for example was given 12 years, while others had 11 years. Mancho Bibixy and Tsi Conrad were found guilty of terrorism, secession and group rebellion. Their matter has been a adjourned to the 24 of May when hopefully the verdict will be pronounced.

**Why do you think you were released from Jail last Year?

--To be sincere and honest with you, we don’t really know which criteria were used to release myself, Dr. Fontem, Justice Ayah Paul and about 51 others.

**Do you support the violence carried out by some separatist groups? They say they are defending the people against crimes carried out by the Cameroonian security forces.

--It’s a very tricky one for me. I believe in self-defense; I believe in the right for people to protect themselves and for people to protect their people. I think the right to self-defense is a fundamental right. But I don’t agree when you go beyond self-defense and you start doing things which are out of the law. That is where I have a problem with the ongoing violence. I think the whole issue of self-defense also stems from the fact that most of the people I have spoken to and who advocate an armed struggle justify their position by saying that the government arrests and kidnaps people arbitrarily and takes them to Yaounde to be detained and tried. Maybe these guys are trying to protect the people against these arbitrary actions of the government. So it is quite a tricky balance; people fighting in self-defense and committing offences at thesame time.

**The violence is quite close to your home. In fact your family house in Mamfe was attacked. How did this make you feel?

--I felt a bit sad and disappointed because I believe that for most of my adulthood I have in one way or the other contributed or fought for our people. I did not start the struggle in 2015 as most people are wont to believe. Maybe I came to the limelight only in 2015/2016. But I have been in the struggle all along, since the days of the All Anglophone Conferences when I was a young boy. So for me who went to jail because of the struggle and having my dad buried whilst I am in jail, to have our family house burnt, I don’t think it was fair. But it is not the majority of the people and that’s why I am not very worried. I believe that in any struggle you have people who disagree with you. You will always have people who do not reason or think like you do. But I caution violence, and I keep telling whoever cares to listen that we can disagree without being disagreeable. True, we have a common goal to fight; to fight for the right to self determination of our people. But we must understand that not everybody will think like you.

Interview

Malaria must be diagnosed & treated

- Dr. Denis Nsame, Director Limbe Regional Hospital

                Cameroon on 25 April 2018 joined the rest of the world in commemorations marking World Malaria Day, celebrated under the theme: “Ready to Beat Malaria”. Malaria is one of the deadliest diseases affecting Cameroon with a death toll of about 3000 people annually. It is for this reason that the ministry of public health disbursed 40 billion for the national fight against malaria in March 2018. The commemoration of world malaria day by stakeholders is important because it provides an occasion to highlight the need for continued investment in the fight, prevention and control of malaria. In this exclusive interview, The Median’s Ticha Melanis, caught up with the Director of the Limbe Regional Hospital, Dr. Denis Nsame, who gave answers to questions on the spread, prevention, treatment and control of malaria. Read on!

              

Dr. Denis Nsame, Director Limbe Regional Hospital

  **What is malaria and how is it contracted?

                --Malaria is a chronic infectious disease caused by a parasite called plasmodium which has about 5 types in humans and with the most dangerous being Plasmodium Falciparum.

                **How does the parasite find itself in humans?

                --This parasite has a vector which is the female Anopheles Mosquito. People get malaria by being bitten by an infected Anopheles Mosquito that must have been infected through a previous blood meal taken on a person who is infected. Since the parasite is found in the red blood cell of an infected person, malaria can be transmitted through blood transfusion, organ transplant and from a mother to her unborn baby {congenital malaria}.

                **When does one suspect he has malaria?

                --It can take close to two weeks for one to have signs and symptoms of malaria from the time the female anopheles mosquito bites you. This is because the parasite has a circle (incubation period) to go through before it develops to malaria. Early symptoms are fever, headache, body pains and joint pains. Signs for complicated malaria include digestive problem, vomiting and loss of consciousness. If you have these complicated symptoms it means the malaria disease is severe. Malaria is classified into two types: simple and severe malaria which is very dangerous.

                **How is malaria cured?

                --It is interesting to note that Malaria is one of the parasitic diseases that have a cure. Before talking of the cure, I want to let you know about the preventive method called ATCs which are first line drugs like Quaterm. When it is severe we give the patient antimonite injections or quinine injections.

                **So how has the Limbe Regional Hospital been tackling the incidence of malaria?

                --The regional hospital Mile 1 Limbe being a reference hospital handles complicated cases because of the health system. We have very severe cases of malaria from the health centers and districts hospitals transferred to the regional hospital. It is difficult to find cases of simple malaria in the regional hospital because we have a community action that provides malaria treatment on the field. The statistics of simple malaria received by the regional hospital from 2015- 2017 are 1716, 2367, 3048 cases respectively. For severe cases from 2016 -2017 we had an increase of 227 cases. Actually malaria is always on the increase. We are happy because malaria in pregnancy dropped from 404 in 2016-217 in 2017 and this is very encouraging to the pregnant mothers and the hospital. The regional hospital sensitizes patients on the causes, prevention and proper case management of malaria in the hospital premises since we don’t do outreach programs.

Interview

We Advocate Change Through Civic Participation Not Through Street Violence

 - Ndasi Elvis Nukam, President Mandela Fellows Cameroon

**Tell us briefly what you invited 500 youth leaders to discuss in Yaounde today.

Ndasi Elvis Nukam, President Mandela Fellows Cameroon

--We invited the youth leaders to listen to edifying discussions from informed and knowledgeable panelists on the various themes for discussion which all centre on the main theme: youth engagement in Promoting Peace through Dialogue and Social entrepreneurship. The discussions will proceed through breakout sessions that is, those who are interested in business and entrepreneurship will be in one hall, those for public management in another hall and those for leadership in a third hall. The discussions will be interactive. At the end of the day we will do an evaluation to be sure that the youths truly had an impact from the discussions.

**You are the Cameroon President of Mandela Washington Fellows; who are Mandela Washington Fellows and what do they do?

-Mandela Washington Fellows are young Cameroonians that were selected from among thousands of applicants to undergo a six-weeks training in leadership, business and entrepreneurship in several Universities across the US. During the training they had the opportunity of meeting with different institutions that are doing works that are similar to their training. This gave them the opportunity to build connections before returning to their countries and see how they can use the knowledge gained to create an impact in their communities. Also you have the Yali Leadership Fellows who also did a similar training like the Mandela Fellows. But their training was here in Africa, in Senegal, Ghana and Nigeria.

Interview

We Will Give Our Cameroonian Clients The Best Legal Defence

-  Femi Falana, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN)

In an exclusive interview with the online newsmagazine, Pan-African Visions, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana, has hit hard at Nigerian authorities, blaming them for “recklessly deporting” Cameroonian separatists. Falana has vowed to defend the Cameroon deportees but admits Nigeria has every reason to ensure stability in Cameroon

*The Cameroon Government announced recently that leaders of the Anglophone movement led by Mr Julius Ayuk Tabe in Nigeria were handed over to Cameroon, how did this happen?

Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana has vowed to give Sisiku Ayuk Julius and other deported
Cameroonian separatists the best legal defence

It is true that a number of Cameroonian refugees and asylum seekers who were illegally arrested and detained by the federal government were and deported from Nigeria to Cameroon on Friday, January 26, 2018.  When we received information of the plan to deport them we rushed to the federal high court to stop the illegal plan. We also reached out to the Comptroller-General of Immigration, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the office of the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees in Nigeria. As soon as the Commission confirmed the information it dispatched a letter to the federal government pointing out that Nigeria has a legal obligation under international law not to deport the detained Cameroonians. But in a demonstration of reckless impunity the National Security Adviser, Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd) deported our clients in defiance of the intervention of the United Nations and the pending suit in court. Out of shame the National Security Adviser could not disclose the deportation of our clients from Nigeria but the Government of Cameroon decided to celebrate the deportation and threatened to prosecute our clients for terrorism. I have protested the deportation to President Buhari and demanded that our clients be returned to Nigeria without any delay.

*You were one the lawyers who was mentioned in the case, what role did you play?

My learned colleague, Mr. Abdul Oroh is handling the case with our law firm. Both of us were at the high commission of Cameroon last Tuesday to demand for access to our clients who are currently held incommunicado in Cameroon. We were asked to submit a letter to that effect and we have done so.

*Does Nigeria have any extradition treaty with Cameroon, what laws were respected and what laws were violated?

Nigeria has no extradition treaty with Cameroon. For that reason the federal government could not file extradition proceedings in any local court. Hence, the deportation was carried out outside the ambit of the Extradition Act. No law was respected whatsoever but many laws were breached by the federal government which has continued to exhibit authoritarian tactics and rule of might under a democratic dispensation that is supposed to be anchored on the rule of law. In deporting our clients the federal government violated Section 1 of the National Commission for the Refugees etc Act which has prohibited the expulsion, extradition or deportation of any person who is a refugee to the frontiers of any country where his life or freedom would be threatened on account of his membership of a particular group or political opinion or whose life may be endangered for any reason whatsoever. The federal government also breached the human right of our clients to enter Nigeria, reside, seek and obtain asylum  guaranteed by Article 12 (3) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act. The Act further provides that every individual shall have the right, when persecuted to seek and obtain asylum in other countries in accordance with the laws of those countries and international conventions. Apart the violation of such laws the federal government breached its legal obligations under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 Organization of African Unity Convention on Refugees and which have guaranteed the rights of refugees and asylum seekers in Nigeria to protection.

*Among those deported were some said to have Nigerian citizenship and working here, and others with refugee status or seeking same. What does the transfer or deportations tell us about the Buhari Administration?

We have established that three of the deportees are naturalized citizens while others are recognized refugees and political asylum seekers in Nigeria.  Twelve of our clients who are the leaders of the people of Southern Cameroon have been living in Nigeria for several years. Some are lecturers at the Ahmadu Bello University and the American University in Yola. Three of them are lawyers.  Those who are not refugees among them have been granted permanent resident status in Nigeria. You can only expel a foreigner from your country if he violates the law. Even then an asylum seeker cannot be turned over to the authorities of a country that is likely to persecute him. Under no condition can a Nigerian citizen be deported from the country. The only time that a Nigerian citizen had been deported was in 1980 when the Shehu Shagari regime expelled Mr. Shugaba Abdulraman Darman and dumped him in Chad. The case challenging the deportation was declared illegal by the high court which ordered the federal government to bring him back to the country. The court also awarded damages in favour of the deportee. The illegal deportation of the naturalized Nigerians and the refugees has caused a huge embarrassment to the federal government because there is no legal justification for it. Can you believe that the National Commission for Refugees, the Immigration department and the ministry of foreign affairs were not consulted before the deportation of our clients?