CI-NEWS

How Eric Tataw intends to counter momentum on schools resumption in NW&SW; claims raising money for

2019-08-12

No: 440

How Eric Tataw intends to counter momentum on schools resumption in NW&SW; claims raising money for separatist fighters.

The growing momentum generated by the schools resumption campaign in the North West and South West regions after three years of ‘enforced boycott’ by Anglophone separatists may crumble in the face of a fresh counter-campaign by activists.

US-based journalist cum activist who prides himself among the leading voices in Southern Cameroons’ quest for self-determination, Eric Tataw , has reiterated that no school will resume in the North West and South West regions of former British Southern Cameroons.

Taking to his Facebook page in a live show that was streamed by over 12 thousand viewers, Eric Tataw floored claims that a conducive environment would be granted for children to return to school in the troubled Anglophone regions come September.

Tataw minimised recent social media campaigns all geared at reopening schools in the North West and South West regions that were forced to shut down in 2017 as the simmering Anglophone crisis escalated.

During his social media outing, Eric Tataw announced that a significant sum of money had been raised and would be distributed to the various restoration armed groups so as to foster their defence and ensure that their objective of keeping schools shut down is attained.

“We are not going to have schools resume in Southern Cameroon. My name is Eric Tataw and I want to take the full responsibility of the shutting down of schools this 2019.”

In a direct threat to those campaigning for school resumption he said: “anybody, from principal to bursar, vice principal and head teachers that will go to school should not be spared. I want to invite all restoration forces to arrest and detain anybody that will go to school.”

“We will not tolerate, anyone that disobeys this law,” he warned.

The warnings by Eric Tataw have dampened hopes for hitch-free schools resumption in the Anglophone regions. Given the threat he constitutes, some parents are suggesting ways of containing him. One of the ways recommended to rein in the activist is that the US government which has itself backed the re-opening of schools should press him to back down or even consider prosecuting him for propagating hate-speech.

The events that led to today’s crisis first began in 2016 when Anglophone activists took to the streets in Cameroon’s two English-speaking regions to protest against perceived marginalization and discrimination. As part of this campaign, trade unionists proposed a boycott of schools to add pressure on the government. From October 2016, teachers went on strike and parents and students avoided educational facilities to support the struggle.

The situation in Cameroon, however, escalated rapidly. Rather than negotiating and recognising the protesters’ grievances, the regime of President Paul Biya used force to break up the Anglophone demonstrations. They arrested many of the protest leaders. In response, the movement became more radical. Demands shifted from calling for more autonomy to demanding complete secession for two English-speaking regions of North West and South West. An armed insurgency emerged. Both the Cameroonian army and rebel fighters engaged in grievous human rights abuses.

The armed revolutionaries – more extreme than the protest leaders – vowed to keep the “no school” campaign in place, only this time through the use of force if necessary.

The idea of shutting down schools is not welcomed by all in the North West and South West regions. But many are those who fear to speak up for fear of reprisal. However, a group of journalists and newspaper publishers led by Ngah Christian of The Guardian Post, Civil Society organizations and the government of Cameroon have all made it their agenda to ensure effective school resumption despite threats from Ambazonia fighters and loyalists.

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How Eric Tataw intends to counter momentum on schools resumption in NW&SW; claims raising money for