The Chia Report

You Lazy (Intellectual) African Scum!

Culled from Mind of Malaka (January 18, 2012) and written by Field Ruwe***

They call the Third World the lazy man’s purview; the sluggishly slothful and languorous prefecture. In this realm people are sleepy, dreamy, torpid, lethargic, and therefore indigent—totally penniless, needy, destitute, poverty-stricken, disfavored, and impoverished. In this demesne, as they call it, there are hardly any discoveries, inventions, and innovations. Africa is the trailblazer. Some still call it “the dark continent” for the light that flickers under the tunnel is not that of hope, but an approaching train. And because countless keep waiting in the way of the train, millions die and many more remain decapitated by the day.

Above the Law: Cameroon’s faceoff with the International Criminal Court.

By Honoré A. NGAM* & edited by Innocent Chia
(honorengam@yahoo.com)

Cameroon has ratified most of the core international human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Cameroon, like much of Africa actively participated in the deliberations and negotiations leading to the creation of the ICC and featured among the first countries to sign the Rome Statute on the International Criminal Court on the 17 July, 1998. Ironically, this early enthusiasm towards the ICC has been blighted by a prolonged reluctance to ratify the ICC statute earning Cameroon the status of an ‘ICC hesitant’ country.

Re-tooling for the food crisis in the Horn of Africa

Article culled from Climate and Development Knowledge Network

Can small-scale adaptation actions address the food crisis in the Horn of Africa?

by: CDKN Global | on: 12pm, November 01, 2011

 Yes, small-scale adaptation actions should be widely adopted as a way of addressing recurring food crises in the Horn of Africa, says Dr. Richard Munang of the UN’s Climate Change Adaptation and Development (CC DARE) programme. Large-scale, top down commercial agriculture fails to build the resilience needed in the Horn of Africa to avoid crisis after crisis.

Obiang Nguema's son surrenders Ferrari to U.S

Intro only by Innocent Chia

Article culled from Yahoo! Autos

If anyone had lingering doubts about Obama's inaugural promise to unclinch the fists of dictators across Africa, he served another reminder in a pre-taped interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The spate of dictatorships that have crumbled within the last 10 months - Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya - provides more than a sneak-preview of prevailing anxieties in surviving dictatorships - Paul Biya of Cameroon and Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea.

While Cameroon's CPDM has uncharacteristically not celebrated its "People's choice" "victory" from the elections of October 9th, Obiang is beginning to feel some ground shifting from underneath...If the dictator will not crumble on his own, his collaborators do not have the same security in the respective villages and neighborhoods... If the collaborators crumble, the dictator cannot replace them fast enough... The Obama doctrine is that there is no safe haven for dictators, their kids or collaborators...at home in Cameroon or abroad in the US!

ELECTIONS-FRAUD-PEACE: The Cameroon Blend

By Roland Abeng - Barrister at Law
The stage had long been prepared for the outcome of the October 9th presidential elections in Cameroon.  The Law creating Elections Cameroon and its subsequent modifications which diluted the powers of the institution; the 2008 constitutional amendment removing presidential mandate limits; and, of course, the “PEOPLE’S CALL” for president Biya to stand as candidate for the elections are just some of the acts that helped seal the outcome of the October 9th event.

Should Africans care about limping Greece?

By Hinsley Njila for www.chiareport.com ***

Equities in the US are on track for their worse quarter since 2008 even as many investors fear that economic data from China and Europe is pointing toward a global slowdown. My focus in this article is on the current financial nightmare in Europe that is the catalyst of the current bearishness, and more importantly the potential short and long-term consequences to African economies regardless of the fix.

Kah Walla gets major protest endorsement from Dr. MAL Fobi

Intro by Innocent Chia

Dr Mal Fobi’s much coveted endorsement has been won by Kah Walla, Presidential candidate at the upcoming October 9th elections in Cameroon.  In the shell shocking move particularly rebuking of erstwhile Cameroon opposition front leader, Ni John Fru Ndi - said to be mimicking President Biya’s every move to eternalize himself at the head of the party and the nation – the US and world renown surgeon touts Kah Walla as a "tool for Devine Intervention" by which Cameroon will be spared of the Arab spring bloodbath.

It is not only an endorsement that revitalizes a campaign that many see as doomed to fail on the merits of geopolitics and limited knowledge of the candidate outside her stronghold of Douala and a couple other cosmopolitan areas. The campaign is in dire need of financial support, a boon that the California based Dr. MAL Fobi brought to the SDF in 1992. Even more than inviting the rest of the Cameroon Diaspora, and possibly some Hollywood heavy-hitters, to support financially and otherwise, the endorsement also turns the lights on President Paul Biya’s charade as much as on Kah Walla and the Cameroon People’s Party to deliver. 

 

Diabetes – Cameroon’s ticking timebomb

By Hinsley Njila (with Intro by Innocent Chia)

An extrapolation from the latest British Medical Journal, the Lancet, indicates that diabetes is on par to be the leading killing disease among Cameroonian women. According to the study that spans almost three decades, from 1980-2008, there has been a 60% increase in the prevalence of diabetes in the Cameroon female population. Compare this number to the 15-30 % increase during the identical timeframe among the male population. In the following piece, Hinsley Njila speaks his heart through his mind, imploring the government and Cameroon media to spring to live before the clock runs out of the ticking timebomb. The call for a sense of urgency stifles popular cliches that "Black men love their women fat".  

CPDM disqualifies President Biya for reelection

By Philip Acha

Much like his surreptitious act of changing the name of the country from United Republic of Cameroon to Republic of Cameroon has come back to haunt annexationists and empowered secessionists, Biya cronies are working overtime to figure out a self-inflicted constitutional conundrum created by over maneuvering and overzealousness. According to Alain Didier Olinga, the former Deputy Director of the school of International Relations (IRIC), who recently intimated the constitutional hara-kiri and got fired from his job, amending Article 6(2) of 1996 Constitution in April 2008  disqualified President Biya from the 2011 race. Some constitutional experts made their arguments to The Chia Report on condition of anonymity… 

President Biya Prepares Successor

By Philip Acha

Fact: the only way Biya does not win the 2011 Presidential elections in Cameroon is if he decides not to run for the office. Indeed, for the first time since 1992 President Biya, although the statutory presidential candidate for CPDM (since he is party leader) is yet to announce his candidacy for October 2011 elections. At first this may look normal till you realize that the usual suspects on the opposition bench are also delaying presidential campaign kick-off. Could they be privy to “hidden” information? Or maybe they want to identify whom they are running against in the CPDM.

Cameroon and "Motions of Support"

By Julius Fondong

Someone recently quipped that if we were to go by the numerous motions of support addressed to President Paul Biya and read every day over CRTV, there will be no need to hold elections in Cameroon. As I write this there is a debate raging in Cameroon over whether university lecturers and intellectuals can send motions of support to the president. According to Professor Jacque Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education, there is no reason why they shouldn’t.

Cameroon - The March Forward

By Arrey Obenson*** and  edited by Innocent Chia

Since I authored a piece in The Chia Report a few weeks ago there have been a significant outpouring of commentaries and expectations. I essentially drew two conclusions from all the commentaries I received. The first is an expressed need for immediate action that will bring change to Cameroon.The second point I deduced is that people are yearning for a decisive strategy that will lead to eventual change. This follow up is intended to call on every Cameroonian to join the dialogue and take action that will bring positive change to Cameroon. We are no longer entitled to stand by as idle spectators while others make decisions that define who we are and where we are headed.

Biya Plans for War Against Cameroonians - Appoints 10 New Generals

By Philip Acha

A soldier without political education is a potential criminal - Thomas Sankara 1985

  In a presidential decree reorganizing Cameroon’s Armed Forces, Commander-in-Chief, Paul Biya retired four generals and promoted ten others to varying posts of responsibility. This is the culmination of military reforms announced by President Biya a decade ago in 2001. The four slated for retirement are Generals Pierre Semengue 76yrs, Oumaroudjam Yaya 73yrs, Nganso Sunji 75yrs  and Tataw James 78yrs. Keen observers of Cameroon’s military may not be surprised that Biya retires James Tataw (legally blind) and Pierre Semengue (suffering from a partial stroke). Actually, these presidential decrees attempt to mask a huge malaise within Cameroon’s Armed Forces. 

O Cameroon, Where is your soul?

By Arrey Obenson *** and edited by Innocent Chia

I have been pondering the words of the National Anthem of Cameroon for quite some time now.  It is true every word pays homage to the past, cherishes the present and inspires the future. These choice words were intended, rightfully so, to inspire citizens of Cameroon to become actors in the destiny of their beloved country, not mere spectators of it as the case arguably may be for the unhealthy majority. The words of the National anthem paint a picture in our minds of many who gave of their blood and sweat, of many who toiled for the independence and freedom our country – Cameroon. It is a painful regret that their dreams, now long forgotten, have been watered down by years of growing disregard to the sense of nationhood. 

How Backward a Place is Cameroon?

Julius Nyamkimah Fondong

A couple of weeks ago I received a mail from my kid brother that sent me thinking. He had just returned to Cameroon from Doha, Qatar, where he spent a week attending a conference.  This is what he said: “What is bothering me now is that I cannot reconcile that side [Doha] with this so much dirt I do see around. Really wish to spend a longer part of my life that way. Even on no beer”.

In the second part of this write-up, I will revisit why replicating a Jasmine Revolution in Cameroon has fell on deaf ears. It is definitely not the absence of ingredients for an all out massive protest. 

A Crumbling Regime in Cameroon

By Philip Acha

Nobody, with the probable exception of the Minister of Finance, could predict or warn against the looming bankruptcy of the fastest growing micro-finance institution in Cameroon; Cofinest (Compagnie Financiere de l’Estuaire). The social extent of this development can be gauged from the 850,000 savings accounts run by Cofinest. On the street level, this translates to 85,000 people per region in Cameroon. Beyond the numbers, Cofinest touches the soul of Cameroon - football. Originally, Cofinest was a common initiative group created by supporters of Union Douala. From 1996 it became a micro-finance institution with 508 shareholders and up to 850,000 accounts by December 2010. In the following piece, Philip Acha layers-up on a crumbling house of cards.

Sauce For Goose is Sauce For The Gander

By Philip Acha - Intro by Innocent Chia

In my mind there are more questions on the lips of many across the world today than there are answers to the falling house of cards all across the Middle East or North Africa. The Western world is overly worried, as it ought to, about its varied interests in the region - the security of Israel other treaties. 

 

Demonstrators, however, have other democratic aspirations that may be at odds with the expressed interests of a Western world that preaches people power with the same mouth with which it supports stability enshrined in autocracies. In this piece, Philip Acha ponders some more on the revolutionary threads.

The Haiti you Never hear About

*By Julius Nyamkimah Fondong

Edited by Innocent Chia

  As afternoon aged into evening, marking the end of another weekday last year in Haiti on January 12th, a quaking earth buried with it some of the most precious life and damaged property older than many lives. At the Chia Report, I mourned not only for the people of Haiti that I have come to love through my great friend, Richard Fish and his mom – I panicked because I knew not of the condition or whereabouts of some people dear at heart, including our very own Julius Nyamkimah Fondong. A year after surviving the perils of Haiti he revisits a country that is almost antonymous to brightening superlatives.

Lifting Africa out of the Climate Change Malice

By Richard Munang** for The Chia Report.

Edited by Innocent Chia

The predictions are not very positive for Africa:  Africa has contributed the least to climate change, but it is expected to be hit the hardest by the consequences of climate change. Africa is going to get drier. Rainfall will become more erratic and the consequences may include a decline in agricultural production in many areas that could trigger a migration from rural regions to African cities and to countries outside the continent. We will be seeing further reduced economic growth prospects as a result of the climate changes, thereby compounding what already is a very difficult development challenge. This mid-November 2010, delegates from around the world will gather for the UN climate change talks in Mexico. As debate lumps over how emissions can be curbed, there is one area where the entire world needs to agree: We definitely have to adapt.

Rotten Inside

Philip Acha

Perception soothes … Reality is Rotten.

“…where corruption abounds, laws must be very numerous”. (Tacitus – Rome AD56-AD117) 

The latest report from Transparency International (TI) breezed through Cameroon with the obvious criminal silence that is characteristic of the guilty. Highly ranked at 9.3 on 10, are Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore. Cameroon ranks 146 on 178 alongside Cote d’Ivoire, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Nepal, Paraguay and Yemen with a score of 2.2 on 10. As a rule-of-thumb in Cameroon, such reports are spun by apparatchiks to demonstrate external conspiracies to destabilize Cameroon. They prove a point unintentionally! Institutionally unreliable and structurally weak states do get easily manipulated by external reports. What is TI’s methodology and which countries rank alongside Cameroon?