CI-NEWS

This is just the first step- Chief Nkemayang Paul Foanyi, CEO of The Star Media House and member of

2019-10-08

No: 450

This is just the first step- Chief Nkemayang Paul Foanyi, CEO of The Star Media House and member of the Lebialem delegation.

What were some of the resolutions taken at your committee?

My commission was not a very difficult commission because we were talking about the return of refugees and IDPs. What can we do for them to come back safely? The first thing we said was the ceasefire. The second thing we said was soldiers should return to the barracks and then the separatist fighters should drop their weapons. This will provide an enabling environment for the children in the bushes and out of the country to return and go back to school.

Are you satisfied that some of the separatists have already laid down their arms as seen during the MND?

I was very satisfied. Before coming to this dialogue, I called on my brothers from Lebialem, both in the Diaspora and the bushes, to consider participation because nobody throws a parcel without opening it. And there is a common saying that you can reject the message but not the messenger. I am very satisfied that I met people, listened to contributions and I think that this is just the first step. The PM is not the head of state to say the decision has been taken. The head of state will have his advisers to sit down and evaluate the report for him to see how to implement what.

If I also listened to the Sultan of Foumban who is very close to the Head of State talking about limitation of term of office or rotation of power, then things will no longer be the same again. Aboubakary Mohammed, Vice-president of the Senate, as well as Akame Mfoumou, made revolutionary proposals which made participants begin to think of results. I think I am going proud that we kick-started the process.

Do you foresee this dialogue bringing an end to the Anglophone crisis?

It will be for me an overstatement to say the dialogue is going to end the crisis. First the boys in the bushes say they want secession. After secession some of them say they want federation. None of the two has come. Government was still insisting on decentralisation which has failed us. But as I said, this is just the first step which could bring results to end the crisis. But we might have to go back to the drawing board because we did not examine the root causes. But what from what I have heard from experts like Abouem a Tchoyi, bishops who are very well read, from Dr Simon Munzu, if the special status promised us is well managed we are going to benefit.

What in your opinion is special status?

The powers that be will define what Special Status means. Let us see whether the special status is better than a federation or whether it would help us better than secession.

Another important recommendation was that the military courts should stop trying civilians. It was also recommended by the bilingualism committee that Cameroon should return to the United Republic, meaning that discussions were frank. People should not think that because federation was not called all is lost.

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This is just the first step- Chief Nkemayang Paul Foanyi, CEO of The Star Media House and member of