A few weeks ago at a public function, I met a young(?) Cameroonian. His striking and matching outfit which he shared with his wife gave him away as coming from the western English speaking region, the same one that peacefully chose to leave Nigerian in 1961. When he sought to introduce himself to me as coming from the Cameroon, I more or less shut him down with a statement to the effect that he had announced his origin by the proud display of his outfit.
I then proceeded to recall the Endeleys, John Foncha and other South Cameroonian politicians who used to hold sway with Zik and M I Okpara in Enugu from 1957 to 1961. I was there. It was like I was chatting with a long lost younger brother with absolutely no animosity. Why should there be? Finally I added my old neighbour in Lagos, a South Cameroon opposition politician late Albert (AS) Ngwana, who while he was alive was relentlessly hunted by President Paul Biya. Ngwana was a most memorable mentor in matters of the Catholic faith, a force in the Opus Dei. It is possible that 56 years down the road Ndigbo are the largest single non-indigenous investors in Southern Cameroon. Because the split from Nigeria was so peaceful, there are actually no stories to tell.
That our stubborn and pig headed politicians and the military class with the support of the likes of the "founder of modern Nigeria" Obasanjo, will choose to learn nothing from this case study is most striking. As for OBJ, who projects himself as an AU troubleshooter, his visits to and analysis of Eritrea, South Sudan etc, have availed him nothing. He cannot be too old to learn.
No comments:
Post a Comment