BY CANUTE TANGWA (First published on 02/01/2008)
Douala-Mbengers like other Cameroonians are worried about the state of preparedness of the Indomitable Lions at the upcoming 2008 African Cup of Nations. They have temporarily forgotten about their litany of sorrows that begin and end with poor this, poor that.
Each match won by the Lions ushers’ uncontrollable mirth in bars and homes. This accounts for the Cameroon exception in conflict-torn Africa. Everything goes so far as the Lions continue to devour other teams in any competition. Some say we are at peace because the Lions make us happy.
Thus, serious thought should be given to Sustainable Football Management in Conflict Resolution in Africa: The Case of Cameroon (especially Douala). I would imagine warring factions in, say, DR Congo or Darfur observing a one week ceasefire for every match the Congolese or Sudanese national team wins! For example, the Congolese Leopards play and win 50 matches in a year. For each match won, rebel factions observe a one-week truce. Hence, there will be 350 days of no fighting! What about that?
Down to Jottings. In times of social and political anxiety like these, the Anglophone community in Mbeng cannot be indifferent. After all, the call for the non-limitation of this or that in our national space is often the handiwork of elites who are no pushovers (djimtete) in Mbeng. In matters of football, they cannot be aloof because they have contributed and continue to contribute their quota to football development.
Remember that the first indigenous Cameroonian coach to lead the Lions to an African Cup of Nations final (in Sudan) was an Anglophone: the emblematic Raymond Fobete. It is instructive that Jules Nyongha, another Anglophone, has close family ties to him. Tataw Eta Stephen was a longstanding captain of the Lions. As regards refereeing at African Cup of Nations level, the ramrod and athletic Michael Wacka led the pack. And the history of football commentaries in Cameroon cannot be complete without Mark Nibo, Peter Essoka and the inimitable Zachary Nkwo.
Yes, you would expect the colony of Anglophones in Mbeng to be industrious, enterprising and influential like the Jews, who are essentially a people of the Diaspora. Those in the Diaspora often do better than stay-homers. The challenges abroad are formidable. There is the urge to make it, to prove a point in a land where you do not really belong or are made to feel like a stranger. The large community of Anglophones in Mbeng has almost all the trappings of a people in the Diaspora.
New York is to the Jews as Bonaberi and pockets of settlements in Bepanda, Bonamoussadi, Village, and Kotto are to Anglophones. Bonaberi is a city within a city. There is a bit of Buea, Kumba, Limbe, Bamenda, Mutengene, Tiko and so on in Bonaberi. The faces are familiar, the language and politics the same and the jokes are not far-fetched. At times, I wonder whether any person living in Bonaberi can say he is in Douala-Mbeng proper. My friend Balayo can bear witness to this cruel joke! Small wonder, mainland Anglophone Mbengers refer to Bonaberi as West Cameroon!
Majority of Anglophones elect to stay in Bonaberi, which is like a signpost. Some say strangers always like gateways because it would be easier to scamper home when the going gets tough, in anyway.
Indeed, a medic, sometime ago in Akwa, aptly captured the feeling of not belonging. I complained about recurrent bouts of malaria and dirty drinking water. He looked at me and said: “I drink clean, sparkling water from West Cameroon. Every weekend, I send my chauffeur to Buea to fetch water!”
Main city Anglophones make it every weekend to Bonaberi to attend village meetings, hear and comment on the latest vibes across the Mungo. Bepanda (Akum stronghold), Village, Kotto, Makepe and Bonamoussadi are fast gaining notoriety. In Tabula Rasa, the hottest joint for Anglophone youths and adult youths, the latest gossip is examined, analysed and synthesized over bottles of beer and plates of pepper soup; pepper!
It was there that I caught the Veteran Club fever. Yes, even kids are now veterans! I went away with the impression that after warming up exercises, veteran club members drink beer (dem dey put’am for body) as if Guinness and Brasseries would wind up the next day!
Out of every five Anglophones in Bonaberi at least three began life in Douala main city. They had a feel of Douala-Mbeng before retiring to Bonaberi. Sometime ago an Anglophone was made chief of one of the quarters of Bonaberi. A good number of clinics, petty and big businesses are owned by Anglophones there. Around Bepanda, Marché Central area, Camp Yabassi, Akwa and Deido, Anglophones spar with the Bami-Nigerian business class.
This entrepreneurial spirit has spilled over to churches. Catholic and Protestant church projects litter Douala-Mbeng and Bonaberi especially. Fundraising for church projects is commonplace. Most Catholic priests are Nigerians. There is a general belief that Nigerian priests are the best answers to the rise of Pentecostal ministries. Arguably, they are very charismatic in their preaching.
Some Anglophones do not like staying in Bonaberi. They advance three reasons: financial, economic and social (kongosa or gossip). “Man no fit do anything whey dem no talk”, an Anglophone who lives in Village complained. According to a lady at Bonadibong: “dem dey over put eye for man i thing for Bonaberi. Over show, show and oversabi dey for Bonaberi”.
That is Bonaberi where upstarts and the landed gentry fight for space and attention in church and public spaces. That is Douala-Mbeng where smart, industrious Anglophones are making it big (nine digit salaries) in their careers and businesses. On Friday evenings you can hear the usual refrain: “Massa, I dey go Limbe; I dey go Buea; or I dey go Kumba”.
Comments