Kanute - Kronicles from the Heartland

Why are we all hypocrites ?

By Kanute Tangwa aka K(c)anute Tangwa

We immersed him in the Wouri/

 

We made him Fon of Fons/

 

We made him Chief of Chiefs/

 

We made him Lamido of Lamidos/

 

We made him enter all our Sacred Traditional Shrines (Ngumbah Houses) laying hands on him/

 

Asking our ancestors to give him long life, courage and above all POWER/

Forty-two years later, we turn around and are surprised at his long stay at the helm of State/

Why are we all hypocrites ?

Cameroon : COALITION or ALLIANCE? Have We Got It Right?

 

By Kanute Tangwa aka K(c)anute Tangwa

 

Hate him or like him, Joshua Osih dropped something of political import two weeks ago/

 

What he said apparently went unnoticed/

 

Because we were shouting ourselves hoarse with a new buzz word/

 

* COALITION

 

Indeed, from the amount of trumpeting (Hugh Masekela would wince)COALITION just found its way into our political lexicon/

 

Yet, the fundamental question should be/

 

* When appropriate to coalese or to ally?

 

Here, Joshua Osih set the ball rolling with insights that even the most novice of political actors should have known/

 

His statement laid bare/

 

The fundamental difference/

 

Between COALITION and ALLIANCE/

 

When he said talking about COALITION in a one-round presidential election is akin to playing ball with the CPDM/

 

...is heresy to say the least/

 

He was right/

 

Why?

 

COALITION makes political sense in a two-round election/

 

COALITION is a short-term political arrangement ideal in a two-round electoral process where no party wins a majority in round one/

 

Hence, parties irrespective or respective of political bent then coalese to win an outright majority in round two/

 

A political alliance is long-term and often brings together parties of similar political bent/

 

Indeed, some pundits hold that there is a thin line between coalition and alliance/

 

* I agree

However, practically, on the political turf, there is a fundamental difference.

Last line : A complete review of the electoral code would ensure a level playing ground/

As political things stand, COALITION or ALLIANCE will not do the trick.

Our History: Our Palaver, Our Wahala

By Kanute Tangwa aka K(c)anute

There is no King Kong as far as the written History of Cameroon is concerned/

 

There are a plethora of historians and researchers who have written and are writing/researching about the history of Cameroon

Which history? Some may ask

 

Indeed, there is one history with one common denominator: Rio dos Cameroes/

There is one history with one common denominator: Kamerun/

 

There is one history with one common denominator : The UPC and OK/

 

There are three histories with three denominators: British Southern Cameroons, British Northern Cameroons and the French Cameroons/

 

There is one history till date with three denominators: Federal Republic of Cameroon, United Republic of Cameroon and Republic of Cameroon/

However, in any field there are precursors, pacesetters, luminaries and beacons/

 

Precursors we have/

 

Pacesetters we have/

 

Luminaries we have/

 

Beacons we do have/

 

Perspective, focus, purpose, drive and interpretations may be different but historians and researchers on Cameroon agree that only facts are sacrosanct, and nothing else/

 

Any historical narrative has strong political undercurrents that shape the idea of a common weal and common republican values/

 

Hence, the need for a Cameroonian historical narrative/statement that defines who we are in our diversity, our stance as a people and our vision/

 

Such historical construct should be developed by Cameroonians for Cameroonians and for the world

 

 

 

Cameroon: Living Together and Otherness (WE and THEM)

By Kanute Tangwa aka K(c)anute Tangwa

You are first and foremost from an ethnocultural or ethnolinguistic sphere before being a Cameroonian/

 

A colonial construct, which you can't wish away, Anglophone or Francophone before being a Cameroonian/

You are invariably TWO in one/

 

• A culturo-political duality: ONE country, TWO persons in ONE.

 

You are a Cameroonian because you are a true son or daughter of an ethnoculturo-linguistic sphere/

 

While appreciating and tolerating the Otherness of other Cameroonians/

 

You exhibit where you come from by espousing the culture, mores, tradition of your sphere/

 

Not the repugnant aspects of your culture/

 

Such as/

• Exclusion

• Discriminatory stigmatas like WE and THEM,OTHERS

 

While appreciating and tolerating the culture, tradition and mores of the Other/

 

Now that you are fully conscious of your micro identities (ethnoculturo-linguistic spheres and Anglo-Francophoness /

 

You can live and think Cameroonian through official bilingualism/

 

Through mastery of our histories and OUR HISTORY/

 

• Drawing from our histories and OUR HISTORY common collective republican values of living together.

 

Through intermarriage/

 

Through the institution of a national lingua franca/

 

For language can build, innovate, break barriers, build bridges and elevate/

 

For language can destroy, blow up bridges, build barriers/

For language is the vehicle of thought processes, social cohesion and motor of development.