THE WILL OF GOD FOR SOUTHERN CAMEROON AT THIS POINT IS A REFERENDUM.
Dear Cardinal TUMI,
I
am writing this letter to you, hoping that the people of Southern
Cameroons will be patient and for once give you and your team a benefit
of doubt as you attempt to listen to the different views and opinions as
you find Solution to the Southern Cameroon problem during the upcoming
Meeting you have convened.
As
a moral Authority in Cameroon for so many years, I do not doubt your
sense of truth and Justice. I say so because I believe that, on the one
hand, God wants to manifest himself to the government of Cameroun as a
God of Truth and Justice. On the other hand, he is revealing himself to
the People of Southern Cameroon as a God of Mercy. Truth, Justice, and
Mercy are all part of the attributes of God, and he chooses how to
dispense them to individuals and nations without compromising His
integrity.
The people of
Southern Cameroon voted in a Plebiscite to join La Republic du Cameroon
in a Federal system of Government in 1961. Whether this was a right step
or a mistake is not the issue here. It is a historical fact. There were
terms binding the two States together in that Federation. Over the
years, because of the selfishness and wickedness of one party, it was
considered that the other, because she was small in size could be
manipulated, marginalized and systematically assimilated into the larger
part. That is why, from a Federal Republic in 1961, we mysteriously
find ourselves in La Republic, the name of the bigger Party at the time
of the Union.
Sir, a lot
has happened in Cameroon within the last two years that are facts that
are in the public for anyone to read and see for themselves. My concern
is to remind you that where we are now, the government of Cameroon has
lost its credibility in the sight of the people of Southern Cameroon.
The inability of the government to initially dialogue with the
Consortium, the torture, the arbitrary arrests, the targeted killings
and the War declared on the Southern Cameroonians are a testimony to the
hatred of the regime against a part of the Country she wants to make
the World believe she governs. Unfortunately, this has only helped to
open the eyes of the people to a point where they are all willing to die
than to cowardly submit to such slavery. To add insult to injury, the
regime while still pursuing its master plan of wiping out protesting
Southern Cameroonians, went ahead to organize elections in this parts of
the Country where they have practically chased into the bushes or out
of the Country the majority of the masses. Using the plight of Southern
Cameroonians to their advantage, a miserable 5% (from their own
statistics) for most part made up of Soldiers and government officials
gave the government Party a crushing majority in S.W. and N.W. Regions.
What a shame. What moral and Political injustice. Let me also recall
that the government, using the plight of the suffering displaced
Southern Cameroonians, made fund raising with a target of 12 billions
which was supposed to go to those who lost properties and the displaced.
Now that campaigns are over and the military is well equipped to
continue the burning of Villages and killing of innocent civilians, I
can assure you the project has been realized.
In
the face of all of these, what message do we have again as Servants of
God to the people of Southern Cameroon? What message does a Pastor have
for a Slave under the yoke and burden imposed on him by the Slave
driver, if not to stand with him and seek his liberation. Or should we
ask him to remain under the yoke of slavery and die so that God will
receive his Soul. Any true man of God with a conscience in Cameroon at
this moment should know that our real assignment at this moment, is to
stand with the oppressed in their quest for Justice. This should be done
not only by Prayer, but by proclamation as well. We should speak the
truth.Nobody should be fooled, the way to true Peace in Southern
Cameroon is by going back to the roots. There is injustice, craftiness,
pride, and deceit buried in the root of the Union. A system and a
pattern of evil by the government geared towards Suppressing and
Marginalizing the Anglophones for fear that they should not grow and
become a bigger threat in the future. This has manifested in different
ways, at different times, in different places all over Cameroon, until
lately the time of full occupation was rife. Otherwise, what can even
remotely explain the fact that even English Common Law Courts were
already taken over by French Civil Law Judges, and English Schools were
taken over by French teachers who do not understand English. Why is it
that our Bilingualism only understands the French Language and only
considers the Francophones?
Some
people will want us believe that we were one nation in German Cameroon
before the French and English came and divided us. This is a week
argument and a hypocritical attempt to escape from reality by the party
that always seeks to marginalize. In German Cameroon we were more than
250 ethnic groups brought together by the colonial power, in most of
the cases against our will, to serve her own interest. We were only one
in the sense that we are all created by God, whether Black or White, Jew
or Gentile. God requires all men to repent and be united with Christ so
that we can be one family here on Earth. Nevertheless, from the
scattering of the Human race at the Tower of Babel, God permitted
diversity. Every Nation (people) have a right to self-determination. The
government is there to facilitate and protect this right. The
government exist because of the people and not vice versa. That is why
the quest for independence made sense. Now, when independence was
granted for those who were colonized, lines were drawn, not by God but
by the Colonial Powers. God created the Earth and He still keeps the
title deed (Psalm 24:1). However, it is not God that drew the lines over
Nations to demarcate them and set boundaries between one nation and the
other as it presently stands. This was done by man. God just stood as a
witness. The name Cameroon was given by man, and when it was given so
many parts of the present Cameroon were not included. Also, when the
Germans were in charge, the map was different from what it is today. So,
the Union between Southern Cameroon and La Republic is a Historical
fact, but not a Gospel Truth. The map of any nation on earth is not
static but dynamic, depending on what God decides to do with that
nation. That is why there are so many nations and Kingdoms that no
longer exist today on Earth. God can decide to use His Sovereign Power
as the Owner of the Earth to separate two people who do now agree to
walk together (Amos 3:3).
In
view of the facts above, and taking into consideration the devastation
brought upon the people of Southern Cameroon by the Government of La
Republic du Cameroon, recognizing also that the will of God in this
matter is for Truth and Justice to be established(reconciliation can
only come after), it is my humble opinion that the next step for the
Southern Cameroonians is a Referendum. This Referendum will determine
whether or not Southern Cameroonians still want to continue with the
Union with La Republic. Another reason why a Referendum is the solution
is because the government claims that those who are advocating for
Secession are a negligible minority. The Referendum then will check the
veracity of that claim. Therefore, if we are to revisit the root of the
problem of Cameroon as recommended by many, we must realize and
recognize that the root of our problem is a Union which has not worked.
It has resulted into a situation where one party, having all the
Political, Judicial, Economic and Military might, with all its numerical
Strength is about to wipe out the other from the face of the Earth in
which only God has the title deed. If there will be any All Anglophone
Conference at all (and I think we should give it a chance), the wisdom
of God demands that the people of Southern Cameroon be given a chance in
a REFERENDUM to determine their future. Anything short of that will be
tantamount to trying to treat a serious wound lightly.
By
hook or by crook, there is a people who exist here on Earth and who see
and identify themselves as English Speaking Cameroonians from the
Southwestern and Northwestern Region of Cameroon (They have recently
identified themselves as Ambazonians; which is also their right), the
former British Colony of Southern Cameroon. These people, whose
language, education, training, and values have been impacted by the
British, are in a way different from those of the other part of the
Country called Cameroon, who were impacted by the French. This is the
difference between the Anglophone and the Francophone in Cameroon, but
this is not what is bad or bringing problem. I will like our Francophone
brothers to take note of this. What is bringing problem is the fact
that over the years, since the two parties came together, there has been
a systematic plan orchestrated by the Government and Sponsored by the
French Colonial Masters, to marginalize and consequently assimilate the
Anglophones thereby eliminating all that he represents in the Country.
The proof is vivid in all sector of life in the Country. This is the
Gospel Truth about Cameroon, and the almighty God will not allow this
injustice. I love my French brothers and Sisters on the other side. I do
not preach hatred and division. But I have a duty to speak the truth. I
also thank God for their passion in standing to defend the truth in
condemning what they see as fraud in the present Elections of October 7,
2018. This means they too have the same instinct against injustice. I
only hope that they will understand and see reasons with Southern
Cameroonians when they stand up to say enough is enough.
To
conclude this epistle, dear Cardinal, I will like to remind you and
your Team who have offered to serve as facilitators and Moderators of
this event that History and above all God, stands as your Judge. The
government of Cameroon, who has only accepted this Conference
reluctantly because of pressure and lack of no better alternative, will
try to influence it by infiltrating with its agents to have the last
say. That will be counterproductive and will lead to even more bloodshed
than we are experiencing now. The People of Southern Cameroon are
between Federation and Separation, and only a Referendum held in
Southern Cameroon for Southern Cameroonians can be a Just bargain.
May God help the people of Southern Cameroon.
Rev. T. H. Mbu-Arrey
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