Let's Stop Bushfires

 

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No To Bushfires

 

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Stop To Bushfires

 

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT NEWS

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Let's Stop Bushfires

 

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Ending The Anglophone Crisis

" Both Separatists & Yaounde Regime are Reaping Economic Gains from Crisis”

- Bah Akwen Nadien National President UPC Youth Wing

 

Bah Akwen Nadien is the National President of the Youth wing of the UPC Party in Cameroon, notably known in French as Jeunesse Démocratique du Cameroun literally translated in English as “Cameroon’s Democratic Youth.” She is equally a Humanitarian Aid Personnel, a Human Rights Activist and an Advocate for change in Cameroon. In this interview she declares that the Anglophone Crisis has deliberately been ignored by both sides because of the financial gains both sides are reaping from it. There is a tendency on both sides to nurture the crisis and make it last longer with an aim of feeding fat from it. Diaspora Leaders she says have refused to look for a middle ground  and have adamantly been uncompromising and driven by personal ambitions. They by refusing to present a common front have prolonged the war not disturbed by the alarming degree of bloodshed that keeps increasing daily.

The Yaounde Regime on the other hand has branded the crisis as a Socio-political crisis and is prescribing Social Solutions to a problem that is political and needing political solutions. On both sides of the coin, delaying tactics are being used while humans are slaughtered.

She was interviewed By Francis Ekongang Nzante.

..........

The Anglophone Crises remains a thorny issue. It is getting bloodier with each passing day. If you were to blame the Separatist Leaders in the Diaspora what would that blame be?

.................

The Anglophone problem is both Historical and Political. It needs to be tackled politically. A lot of people have given the problem an inadequate name. Some have tagged it a Socio-political problem. Social is related to living together, merging or mingling together. Cameroonians do not have a problem of living together. English Speaking Cameroonians are scattered in the ten regions of the country.  When you give an inadequate name to a problem then inadequate solutions will be prescribed to the problem. That is why the problem has persisted for so many years. Once an adequate name is given to a problem, an appropriate solution will be gotten for that problem. We have seen a lot of Social Solutions being brought into the table. This has not solved the problem because it is not a Social Problem. It is high time we handle the Anglophone Crisis politically. It is a historical problem. It is a long term problem that has lasted for so many years. Many people think the Anglophone Crisis started in 2016. No! The Anglophone Problem started in 1972 when the Federal Constitution was sabotaged! It’s the Marriage Certificate that bonded us together with French Speaking Cameroonians. The Anglophone Crisis is a result of the accumulated grievances since 1972. This problem has degenerated into a situation of Economic gains. Lots of people are making economic gains from the crisis at the detriment of the suffering masses. It is a political problem but rather than apply a political solution, politicians are busily pursing their personal ambitions. They as such have given the problem another name so that they will maintain the problem for as long as possible so as to continue feeding fat from it. They have as such created DDR Centers, the Peter Mafani Musonge's Bilingualism Committee. We don’t need all these because our problem is not a Social Problem. We don’t have a problem of living together. The Yaounde Regime knows this problem very well and knows the correct political solutions to use but is not doing anything about it. They have deliberately prescribed social solutions to a problem that is purely political so as to feed fat from the crisis.

..................

What is your take on the way the Diaspora has been handling the problem?

............

The Diaspora has constituted a major problem in the crisis. Most of the Commanders of the Separatist Fighters are in the Diaspora. I blame them because of their inability to come together and look for a common ground. To have mercy on the innocent people who are dying on Ground Zero. If they had done this, the regime in place will not keep on coming up with questions like who am I going to talk to? Who are we going to dialogue with? Who are we going to meet?  The division among Separatists Leaders in the Diaspora. The Egoistic Diaspora. The Self Centred Commanders constitutes one of the problems that is hindering the bringing to an of the raging crisis. They are so divided and personal driven and egoistic. They have killed that human feeling in them because when they see the way people are dying it doesn’t seem to touch them. Kids, mothers and young men are continuously dying but they don’t care for if they did then they wouldn’t have maintained their firm positions. They don’t want to compromise and look for a common ground. When something is being done for the common good then there are some compromises that must be made so that peace and normalcy returns. It is true that there’s a saying which states that change cannot come without the spilling of blood but the blood that has been spilled this time around is too much. If you go back to statistics, over 40000 people have been killed. This excludes cases like the unconfirmed ones, the kidnappings, the displaced amongst others. It is very pathetic that we have a Diaspora that refuses to feel the pain that people are going through back home. You can’t kill the same people you claim to be fighting for. You can’t fight for people and at the same time prevent children from going to school. Education is the only thing that parents can give their children. At the same time you see these same Diaspora Leaders living a well planned life abroad with their children going to very good schools. They live their comfortable lives abroad while they leave suffering Cameroonians back home to fight their battles for them. They keep nurturing this war because it has become a war of economic gains for both parties. Both Separatists and Yaounde Regime are reaping Economic gains from the crisis.

.....................

What about the Anglophone Elites back home?

....................

They’ve been so disgraceful. Look at the Members of Parliament. We call them MPs because they are supposed to represent the people and speak on their behalf. They are supposed to table the plights of the poor and vulnerable. They escaped from the problem. Our institutions have failed. The Cameroon Government is the height of disgrace. They cause a problem, nurtured the problem and then gave it a wrong name. They then proceeded to prescribe wrong solutions and make the problem to last for as long as possible to permit them fill their pockets. They don’t care. They don’t want to compromise. They are playing their cards very well. But they forget that nothing on earth lasts for ever. While people are suffering in the South West and North West Regions, the elites are living a flamboyant life in Yaounde globe trotting. They have sacrificed humanity for money, for fame, for power and they think they are the sole guarantors of life.

.........................

You are the National President of the Youth Wing of the UPC. How can the decisions that you take influence the stance of the UPC on burning National Issues?

.................

The Youth Wing of the UPC is embodied in a body called Cameroon Democratic Youth and this body has a reasonable degree of autonomy. This means that we are free to take decisions and stands. We do not depend on the mother party. We have the sole responsibility to state our plight the way we feel and the way we deem it necessary for the good of all Cameroonians. Cameroons population is dominated by the Youths. More than 70% of Cameroon's population is made up of Youths so we've got weight. We are talking about the power of the masses. That’s what’s important in Politics. I as the President of the most populated entity in Cameroon certainly has that influence. When I take a stand, the mother party will certainly not remain indifferent to the stand that I take.

 

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CAMGEW Engages in Environmental Education With Community Children

  -Creates Child Friendly and Safe Space

 

CAMGEW has  engaged itself in Environmental Education with Kilum Ijim Forest Community children on Bushfires, causes of Bushfires, consequences and tools used in Preventing and Managing Bushfires. This took place in Oku on the 17^th of December 2021. This activity took place with 26 community children made up of 10 boys and 16 girls.

It was an interactive program in which children identified the causes of Bushfires like smoking in and around the forest, burning of farms  like the slash-and-burn method of farming, the burning of bushes to hunt animals, burning by grazers to get new vegetation for animals and poor methods of harvesting honey by untrained bee Farmers.

The children were made to understand that Bushfires can result in the burning of trees, hives, fruits, vegetables, animals which are all found in the forest.

Some of the consequences of Bushfires were identified together with the children. The children were shown some tools used in fighting Bushfires when they occurred. They were equally shown how to use these tools should the need arise.

The children also learnt that many people had died because of Bushfires and that farms had also been destroyed because of Bushfires. They also learnt that Bushfires had made many people to become poor and that these people have not been able to pay their children’s school fees, buy their children’s books and feed their families.

CAMGEW staff continued to tell them never to engage in bushfires and also to ask their parents or guardians never to involve in Bushfires. The Children learnt Christmas songs in preparation for Christmas. At the end of the session the children departed in a very happy mood for their homes.

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

 

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"Anglophones Constitute the Key to Political Transition in Cameroon"

 

-    --Bah Akwen Nadien National President UPC Youth Wing

 

Bah Akwen Nadien is the National President of the Youth wing of the UPC Party in Cameroon, notably known in French as Jeunesse Démocratique du Cameroun literally translated in English as “Cameroon’s Democratic Youth.” She is equally a Humanitarian Aid Personnel, a Human Rights Activist and an Advocate for change in Cameroon. In an unprecedented declaration she has stated unequivocally that Genuine Political Transition can only come if English Speaking Cameroonians are given the Political Powers that were legally theirs from the beginning of the Union of the two Cameroons. The 1972 Constitution she said made nonsense of the Federal Constitution and left Anglophones embittered. She said the bitterness and resentment among Anglophones could only be dampened or quenched if power was given to them after 60 years of  Francophone dominance. She called on Anglophone elite to rise above manipulated divisiveness and claim the power that legally belonged to them.

She was interviewed By Francis Ekongang Nzante.

...............

Many political minds and a cross section of Patriotic Cameroonians have repeatedly hammered on the need for Political Transition in Cameroon. They constantly disagree on the form that such a transition should take. What do you propose?

.....................

Yes lots of things have been said about the need for Political Transition in Cameroon but almost no proposals have actually structured a proposed transition process for the country that is accepted across the various political shades. Transition simply means change and this comes in two forms. Are we transiting for the better or for the worse? We need to table these questions before deciding on the kind of transition that will suit Cameroon. For this to be done we need to go back to our historical museum. We need to take a look at our history to be able to shape a meaningful transition.

What kind of questions are Cameroonians Supposed to be asking themselves?

..............

Cameroonians need to ask themselves real questions. How did we come together? What problems have we been facing since we came together and why have we been facing these problems?  We need to go back to our lives before and after independence. French Cameroon had their Independence in 1960. They established their Constitution and were fine with it. English Speaking Cameroonians who were administered from Nigeria decided to join French Speaking Cameroonians in 1961. The terms of this staying together were defined and adopted at the Foumban Conference.  We lived in harmony and love until 1972 when an unfortunate event took place. The Federal Constitution was sabotaged. That’s when Cameroon became a disaster. We are facing the consequences of that violation of the Federal Constitution today. To go in for the best transition in Cameroon, we must visit the 1961 Constitution which stated that if a French Speaking Cameroonian was the President then the second in command must be an English Speaking Cameroonian and that second in command position was called the Prime Minister. But when we look at the 1972 Constitution and how it was amended, when we look at the 1996 Constitution we see that everything has been changed. Now there’s no second position for the English Speaking Cameroonian.

There has never been any political transition in Cameroon. First there was Ahmadu Ahidjo's UC Union Camerounaise or CU which existed from 1958 to 1966. Afterwards the name of the party was changed to CNU Cameroon National Union. The name CNU was used until 1989. The CPDM was created in 1985 but was just a fraction of the CNU. It was simply rebranding because the content remained the same. From the CU to the CNU and the CPDM nothing has ever changed in Cameroon. It has always been the same party with the same content and different names. Transition should involve a change of content and approach.

.............

Concretely Speaking how can Political Transition possibly come about in Cameroon?

..................

Power has over stayed in the hands of French Speaking Cameroonians and needs to come into the hands of English Speaking Cameroonians. That’s the real transition that Cameroon needs!

This Transition needs to be effective. We need to call on all English Speaking Cameroonians from the Northwest to the Southwest Region to return to normalcy. Recently we've been  observing stigmatisation of Anglophones by their fellow Anglophones. These are distractions from the ruling government because they know that Transition is being born. Power needs to go back to English Speaking Cameroonians. This will be the only way to quench the anger caused by the Sabotage on the 1961 Constitution in 1972.

Some have said Power needs to go back to the North....

It is wrong to put English Speaking Cameroonians on the same footing with the Grand Nord. The Northern Regions are part of French Cameroon and it should be recalled that it was the French Cameroon on the one hand and English Cameroons (Southern Cameroons) on the other hand who came together on the bases of two equal entities.

The 1972 Constitution took away the second position of the Prime Minister and gave it to the President of the Senate. Furthermore the President can consult the President of the Constitutional Council in case of problems surpassing his understanding. He doesn’t consult the Prime Minister because the Prime Minister has no powers. This same Constitution tells us that Prime Minister is the Head of Government and has the powers to propose but not to install. He can propose to the President who may accept or reject.

Anglophones in Cameroon should go above the divisive manipulations of the Yaounde Regime and reclaim the power that is their legal right in Cameroon.

 

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CAMGEW Engages Stakeholders in the Prevention and Management of Bushfires

Preventing and Managing of Bushfires cannot be successful without engaging the community and stakeholders. To succeed in its Bushfire Prevention and Management efforts especially during this Dry Season and afterwards, CAMGEW has engaged the community and stakeholders.

Wirsiy Emmanuel Binyuy, CAMGEW Team Leader who is an Apiculture and Nature Conservation Campaigner explained that for this to take place, Community Leaders identified stakeholders that are now participating in Bushfire Prevention and Management.

Some of these stakeholders that CAMGEW has engaged he said included Youth Groups, Hunters, Grazers, Bee Farmers, Religious Groups, Traditional Leaders amongst others. He emphasized that Traditional Leaders should be made to participate in the implementation of Bushfire Prevention and Management strategies in the Kilum Ijim Forest Area.

“Considering that the engagement of stakeholders work mainly through Community Leaders, we have contacts of Community Focal Points for easy communication. The contacts, especially their phone contacts are always accessible for discussions and for the handling of emergencies and other issues arising from Bushfire Prevention and Management. I call on community leaders to prepare a list of all Community Radios and other Radios whose waves reach their area to promote easy information sharing.”

Wirsiy Emmanuel further said that certain authorities have been identified by CAMGEW and that a Bushfire Prevention and Management Stakeholder Platform had been created. These authorities include:

-The Traditional Administration represented by the Kwifon or the Fon. Considering that Traditional Authority has a great influence over the community, the involvement of Fons is very important. “I appeal to Fons to know that we depend very much on them in our efforts to Prevent and Manage Bushfires.” Wirsiy Emmanuel said.

·      The Stakeholder Platform also includes the Municipal Council represented by the Mayor. “Mayors are as such called upon to include Bushfire Prevention and Management in their Programme of Activities” he said.

·      Also included in the Stakeholders Platform is the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife (MINFOF) and

·      The Ministry of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development (MINEPDED) represented by the Regional and Divisional Delegates.

·      The Administrative Authorities like the Divisional Officer, the Senior Divisional Officer, and the Governor depending on the level of operation is also part of the stakeholders Platform.

·      Elected Community Leaders like Members of Parliament and Senators are stakeholders at the level of the Parliament and the Senate.

 

Actors identified and used by CAMGEW as vehicles for Education include:

·      Forest Honey Cooperatives

·      Forest Management Institutions that manage Community Forests in the Kilum Ijim Forest.

·      Local Organisations that work for the community.

·      Social Groups like Youth Groups, men, women, churches.

·      Schools and Training Centres.

·      Traditional Councils.

·      Water Management Committees.

·      Cultural Groups like Manjongs, Chung, Kikums amongst others.

·      Forest Stakeholder Platforms and Traditional Herbalists amongst others.

Servidzem Ernestine Leikeki did not fail to thank the Green Livelihood Alliance GLA and the Women Engage for a Common Future WECF for their financial donations and which she emphasised was instrumental in the success of CAMGEW's efforts in sensitising on Bushfires in the Kilum Ijim Forest Area.

 

By Francis Ekongngang Nzante

 

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CAMGEW's Communication Techniques in Bushfire Prevention and Management

ACommunication has always been very important for information and education on Bushfire Prevention and Management in forest areas. Communication therefore remains the most important tool to be used to reduce the effects of Bushfires and the regularity with which it occurs.

According to the Forest Social and Women Empowerment Officer of CAMGEW Sevidzem Ernestine Leikeki, the following methods are being used by the Cameroon Gender and Environment Watch (CAMGEW) in communicating about Bushfire Prevention and Management.

  •  Communities need training Workshops, seminars and sensitisation through social and cultural groups to better avoid or manage bushfires.

•     Radio Talks on bushfire prevention and management need to be organized in Community Radios.

• -There is need to produce and distribute posters, flyers, booklets and the use of Forest Sign Posts on bushfire prevention and management.

•      Communities must make use of Town Cryers.

•  All Forest User Platforms like hunters, bee farmers, herbalists, firewood fetchers amongst others to take action and also lead the bushfire sensitisations.

•Men's Traditional Clubs like Manjong and Mfuh Houses must remain a source where bushfire sensitization messages are sent out to the community.

•     Traditional Councils where community members come together need to be used for sensitisation.

•  Forest Management Institution (FMI) Platforms to take action and also lead the sensitization campaign against bushfire.

•      Forest Honey Cooperatives need to take action and also lead the sensitization campaign against bushfire.

•      -One-on-one approach need to be used especially on door-to-door campaigns against bushfire.

• -Learning-by-doing in Bushfire Prevention and Management practices.

•Group sensitisation through schools, churches, social and cultural groups.

•    We cannot abandon social media and that is why the following need to be used for bushfire sensitization and communication: Telephone calls and Social Media Platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Websites, blogs amongst others.

•  Many people want to see, touch and feel the problem and the proposed solution. This brings in new ways of tackling issues and arts and crafts is good especially as it is creative and innovative. Arts and craft through drawing, painting, dancing, singing, sketches amongst others remain good to tackle bushfires.

Sevidzem Ernestine Leikeki acknowledged that collective work had always been the approach used by CAMGEW in preventing and managing Bushfires in the Kilum Ijim Forest Area. She calls on everyone in the community to work as a team in fighting bushfire. She encourages everyone to help share information, skills, knowledge and experience they have on bushfire to prevent the occurrence of bushfire this year. Let everyone be a messenger and let everyone take action in his or her own way to prevent bushfires. She thanked Green Livelihood Alliance (GLA) and Women Engage for a Common Future (WECF) for their financial assistance to CAMGEW to campaign against bushfire.

 

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"The Political Elite Has Reduced Cameroonian Academicians to Beggars"

 

-Professor Ngam Confidence

 Professor Ngam Confidence is an Associate Professor of History precisely Political and Diplomatic History of International Relations. Vice Dean of Admissions and Records in the Faculty of Law and Political Science and a Researcher into issues of Politics and Diplomacy in Crime wave. This Educational guru is Cameroonian trained and was trained in the University of Yaounde 1. He amongst other thorny issues has declared that the Political Elite with the help of the gun and Finances has pushed the Cameroonian Academician into becoming a beggar.

He  was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante.

 

Professor Ngam during one of his Academic outings

......................

There was a time when Higher Education in Cameroon was completely void of professional orientation. What do you think has contributed to this rapid transformation?

.................

The Cameroon Higher Education is not an independent isolate. It is transforming with the global dynamics of transformation of Education in the Tertiary Sector. To put it in the right perspective we must look at the personal ambitions of the Ministry of Higher Education and we must look at the global change in Educational Expectations and perspectives. We must look at the failures of the kind of education that was promoted after the colonial era. I think the change comes from a totality of things coming from Cameroon's Ministry of Higher Education to move with changing times especially within the programme of the BMP that is the Bachelor, the Masters and the PhD.  There was the need to retailor the curriculum to suit the global dynamics in the digital migration trends. There was also the need to professionalise Education to be able to make those graduating from Cameroonian Universities not only to be job seekers but to also be employers. Generally to fit them within the mould of global dynamics and to make them also marketable out of Cameroon.

.................

Do you think the Ministry of Higher Education is still doing something that should not be done?

 ...................

I prefer to look at what the Ministry is not doing. I think there is a lack of follow up of the effective implementation of the BMP Programme. The follow up of the outcome of the reorientation of the curriculum. There is no check system in the field to see if the implementation is actually going on. Most of the time when you get only the official report there is the possibility that the officials give you only what they think so I think the Ministry of Higher Education should be able to put in place a follow-up Programme. They are presently doing their best in the digitalisation but I think they have to do more by practically being in the field.

...............

What do you think should be the orientation of Educational stakeholders in the Private Higher Educational Sector to make our products more competitive in the international job market?

......................

I must confess that the Private Higher Educational Sector in Cameroon runs very delicate Programmes.  Despite the problems that we have in Cameroon education is very cheap. They have enormous packages that can stand as excellent world passports. The problem is the ability to be able to get the manpower to deliver the goods and getting exposed to areas where students will receive professional training. I think the first thing with the private sector is linking up with the world market out of their zone of interest. The second could be the issue of getting qualified manpower. I think the private sector has to fight for subventions and the state needs to know that it is in its interest to protect the private sector. I am a product of the private sector. I have taught in the National Polytechnic University Institute Bamenda. I have taught in the Catholic University of Cameroon. Unlike elsewhere where the Private Sector competes neatly with the public sector, I think the Private Sector in Cameroon needs to get that level of parity.

Professor Bernard Fonlon once wrote a paper that has been constantly referred to. The Genuine Intellectual meaning that he shifted attention to the person to whom you have to transmit knowledge. The Cameroon Higher Education Sector should have a curriculum that also pays attention to the moral transformation of the person being trained. When we came to CATUC as teachers, there was a course we were being taught which focused on the human person and the moral transformation that is required. May I daresay the Cameroon Educational System is producing a lot of intellectuals  who are lacking in the morals to be able to do the mind transformation and therefore that holistic transformation is not there. There is no description of how a higher education guru should be. Elsewhere in some western Universities where I have had the opportunity to visit there is this transcription on how the person should carry himself and how he should run the affairs of his life and how you had to qualify not only in terms of status but also in terms of doctrine so I think that’s what the Educational Sector in Cameroon is supposed to do.

Recently I presented a paper during the matriculation ceremony at EXHIST University in Bamenda. I think that paper was inspired by the challenges our University students are facing at the moment. It was centered on creating hope in a situation of complete hopelessness. Trying to say that there is a place for every individual who seeks for distinction even in the hopelessness. May I say that I met a woman in the USA who had a qualification with a distinction and who had applied for work in 47 schools. Only one of these schools was prepared to take her and it took her seven months. This was a white American. So the youths should know that America is not just a land of honey. It is a land for those who distinguish themselves. It is a land for those who are morally upright and hopeful. In Cameroon the old are usurping the opportunities. The old are not giving way to the young. But I think there is still a chance for tomorrow.

We understand that you lecture Diplomatic History at the University of Bamenda.

.............

Yes. History is a domain that has seriously been invaded by charlatans. Now Mathematicians, Lawyers and people in other domains of the Abstract Sciences now speak with authority in the domain of history. History is a science with its values. The kind of history I teach and practice is situated within the focus that history can never be corrected. History is meant to inform you of your past so that you can better your present for the benefit of the future. There is no way you can correct the fact that Britain colonised America. There is no way that you can correct the fact that you were born out of wedlock if you were born out of wedlock. You must not use your past as a trap. Use it as a Springboard. Know your past to know what you can do now. Cameroon as a nation has a past and that past occurred within the circumstances of that time. If we accept that the USA had independence in 1776 then we should also accept the fact that Cameroon had independence in 1960. I am of the Critical School and not of the Complacent School. I am not also of the Lost Generation. There is hope in the horizon for those who try to make the environment better.

................

How do you stomach the fact that certain people in the circles of the Political Elite twist historical facts for purely political reasons?

.................

I cannot really jump into Mathematics and begin to give formulas neither can I jump into a Law Chamber and begin to talk Law. Political Elite should be humble enough to submit themselves to history not from the logic of interpretation, wishful thinking and the boldness of imagination. So history is the way you tell it and there are professional historians. Even as Professional Historians you watch and record events from your own perspective. It is difficult to find a Historian who can be able to stay out of this bracket and begin to see historical events and report them as they are. We are in the Social Media Euphoria where everyone can seek to represent historians. The Political Elite should give history a chance. For except you know your past then can you master your present and better shape the future. The past has to be appreciated within its context. The fact that you were born out of wedlock is the circumstance of that moment and you can’t kill your parents about it.

...............

As a Discipline, how is History implanted in Cameroon Universities?

...............

When you are in Sciences you carve out your locus of studies. With the present trend of things I am getting into criminology and that’s what is called the extending frontiers of history. Otherwise Diplomacy should be allowed to be a Discipline just like International Relations and Political Science. This carving out gets into the realms of what we call Interdisciplinarity. This is informed by Sociology and Anthropology and the other sectors of knowledge to be able to see how historians can appreciate Diplomacy, the sciences of relationships either institutionally or internationally. The University of Bamenda is presently reforming it’s own curriculum to include History Heritage and Strategic Studies. With Political History, Diplomacy, International Growth, Gender Dichotomy and even including Criminology. This will prevent History from being presented to students as a straight jacket where you only study the facts of the past and allow them there.

................

What place do Academicians occupy in Cameroonian Society?

.................

The weapon of a faculty is its pen. In Cameroon there is a dichotomy between the Science that is produced and the Science that is used. The Political Elite with the gun and the financial resources have reduced the academicians to a level where they can go around and beg. Academics in Cameroon beg for Upliftment and for Survival. That’s an African problem. A problem about Corona Virus can be decided in the office of someone who is not an expert. What is going on in Cameroon is that though conferences constantly take place, the proceedings at these conferences are not gazetted for eventual use. The Ministry of Scientific Research and the Ministry of Higher Education most of the time are worlds apart. The Research that we do are supposed to be galvanized and given to the Ministry of Scientific Research. Research that is carried out is supposed to be used for the common good. There is supposed to be a National Research Policy. The results of this research should result into certain changes in governance and affect decisions touching on certain key issues like management and even on Cameroon Diplomacy. Unfortunately this is not the case and so the Political Elite continue in their glamour. This has resulted into brain drain. They are forced to go where their brains are needed.

 

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Precaution Measures Carried out by CAMGEW and Periods when Bushfires are Common

 Mr Wirsiy Emmanuel Binyuy is the CAMGEW Team Leader and an Apiculture and Nature Conservation Campaigner. He explained when contacted by this reporter that CAMGEW has taken a number of precautionary measures against Bushfires.

He said prevention of Bushfires was better than cure. Hear him: “It is important to be careful before, during and after Bushfires to reduce their impacts. This can be done in the following ways:

·  -Do the back burning early in the morning or late in the Evening on sunny days.

·     -After back burning, the fire should be completely put off with water before you leave.

·      -Avoid burning on windy days

·     - Wider traces are required on slopes because there is a high risk of fire crossing.

·      -Community members should not attempt to manage Bushfires without firefighting tools

· -Make sure you obey local laws regarding Bushfires.

·     - Work like a team while putting off Bushfires to be sure of each one’s position and safety. Solidarity is our insurance and so we are all each others keeper.”

Another precautionary measure he explained is that of sharing experience. He said “no one knows everything. Some people know more than others in some aspects because of their exposure. Some people and communities have suffered Bushfires many times and so have been able to develop skills and gain experience that they can share. Communities stronger in Bushfires need to share their skills and experiences with weaker communities in this domain. Persons skilled in Bushfire management need to share skills and experiences with other communities. Institutions with knowledge, skills and experience in Bushfires need to share with communities in need.”

With regards to periods that Bushfires occur, Wirsiy Emmanuel Binyuy said most persons who cause Bushfires set it when there are fewer or no people around and when the fire grows wild there’s no hope to put it off. Most Bushfires he said occur during the following periods:

·      During Public Holidays when people are resting at home.

·      During traditional resting days when forest people respect their traditional days by staying at home.

·      On Fridays or Sundays when there are church services and when people are praying in the mosques.

Records of Bushfires in the Kilum Ijim Forest Area have proven this he explained siting a case that occurred on the 11^th of February 2014 during the National Youth Day celebrations when everyone was on the celebration ground in Elak-Oku. The fire he said emerged from a farm close to the forest and got into the forest. He said before community members could leave the ceremonial ground to go home and change their attires and move to the forest part of the forest was already burnt.

Sevidzem Ernestine Leikeki, Forest Social  and Women Empowerment Officer for CAMGEW with 11 years of experience said much ground had been covered so far on stopping Bushfires. She thanked Green Livelihoods Alliance GLA and Women Engage for a Common Future WECF for their financial donations which she said had gone a long way to help CAMGEW in its sensitisation efforts on Bushfires in the Kilum Ijim Forest Area.

By Francis Ekongngang Nzante

 

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT NEWS

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Mah Manwi Juliana Ngentso Laid to rest

 

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

Mah Manwi Juliana Ngentso was laid to rest on Friday the 10^th of December at the family compound at Alatening in the Santa Sub Division in the North West Region of Cameroon.

Mah Juliana’s final journey home began with a Night Virgil without corps at the family residence in Alatening village on Thursday the 9^th of December. The removal of her mortal remains from the Akum Holy Family Hospital Mortuary took place on Friday. She was eventually laid in state briefly for viewing at the family compound at Alatening.  After this brief viewing Traditional rights and farewells were carried out around the mortal remains strictly by close family members.

Next was the procession to the Saint Martin’s Catholic Church Alatening where a Requiem mass was said. Burial took place at the family residence at Ngoh Quarter.

The throngs of people that turned out to bid Mah farewell was a concrete manifestation of how she was dearly loved not only by her family but by the entire community.

Mah Manwi Juliana Ngentso was born in Chomba in 1929 to Nkwenty Muma and Celine Ndune. She got married to  Pah Atanga Nesuh in 1950. She was an industrious woman who got involved in trading; buying oil from Bali and selling in Alatening to educate her kids. Though she didn’t go to school herself, she was determined to make sure that her children received the best of Education. Another Business activity of hers was the production and sale of Corn Beer in Alatening.

 If the success of children were a reflection of how successful parents' lives were then Mah Juliana Ngentso was indeed a successful woman.

She was a very serious Catholic Christian and urged all her kids to be baptized in the Catholic Church. She was equally a member of Saint Jude and she handed her Saint Jude uniform to Nji Linda before passing on to eternity.

When her health started deteriorating in 2016 her daughter Mami Rose Neh took her to Ndop for medical care but due to the raging Anglophone Crisis she left for Bamenda where she lived with her son Edward Atanga until her demise on the 23^rd of September 2021 at the Saint Blaise Hospital.

Mah Juliana leaves behind 5 children out of the twelve that she gave birth to, 17 grand children, 51 great grand children and one great great grand child as well and friends and relatives to mourn her.