Papa Ndong Manuel es un hombre muy curioso
Es un personaje contemporáneo
Pero cree que es de otra epoca
Hoy está en la calle del presidente
Y si quiere, puede ir en la fiesta de su esposa
Pero dice que está esperando la justicia y la bondad de Dios.
Papa Ndong Manuel tiene un hermano aue vivie en Malaba
Entonces,puede ir de visita en Guinea en casa de su hermano
Pero el viaje no le gusta mucho
Dice que iré en Mala solo cuando la tierra sera mas grande
Iré cuando el mar no sera hipócrita y pasiva.
Dice a todo el mundo
Que necesita muchas cosas despues de ir
Cabina teklefóno, mujer guapa aque no es su esposa
Qeuire tambien un asreonauta
Dos jugadores de béisbol Americano
Realmente,
No es moderno de ninguna manera, Papa Ndong Manuel
Es muy primitive, muy idealizado y muy misterioso.
mardi 29 septembre 2009
lundi 28 septembre 2009
TIKUM MBAH AZONGA PUBLISHED BOOKS
1. La Bande Fumante :(Edited by Jean Claude Awono and Tikum Mbah Azonga) , 1999, an anthology of poems in French by Cameroonian poets who are members of La Ronde des Poètes, published by Les Editions de la Ronde, Yaounde.
2. Gouttes d`Encre (Edited by Jean Claude Awono and Tikum Mbah Azonga), 2005, an anthology of poems, some in French and some in English, published on the occasion of Teachers` Day 2005 with funding provided by the late Atamson Peter Ngu, then Principal of Government Bilingual High School, Bamenda, Cameroon. Book published by Les Editions de la Ronde, Yaounde.
3. The Wooden Bicycle and Other Stories: Tikum Mbah Azonga,, 2003, a collection of ten fictional poems depicting the ups and downs of everyday life, published by Patron Publishing Company, Bamenda, Cameroon. This book has for years been used as a classroom text for prose by some of Cameroon`s secondary schools, variously in Forms 1, 2 and 3, depending on the institution, and at the Universities of Buea and Yaounde 1.
4. Sighs and Whispers from Within: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2005, a collection of poems published by Patron Publishing House,Bamenda, Cameroon. The book is also in use in Form 2 in Cameroonian secondary schools since it was published.
5. Modern Cameroon Poetry For Cameroon Secondary Schools: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2007, published by Patron Publishing House, Bamenda, Cameroon. The book is being used in Form 3 in Cameroonian secondary schools.
6. Tomatoes for Four: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems funded by the Cameroonian Ministry of Culture as part of the government`s drive to promote Cameroonian arts and culture. Published by Fambata Publishers, Buea, Cameroon.
7. A Toi, Maman Cameroon (Poems in honour of the Cameroonian woman): Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems, about half of which are in French and the other half in English. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears. Published by Fambata Publishers, Buea, Cameroon.
8. Cup Man and other Stories: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of eight fictional short stories set in Cameroon and Britain. Published by Langaa, Bamenda, Cameroon.
9. Say No To AIDS: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems aimed at HIV AIDS sensitization partly funded by the National AIDS Control Committee of Cameroon and prefaced by the Minister of Public Health. About half of the poems are in English and the other half in French. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears.
SOME FORTHCOMING BOOKS BY TIKUM MBAH AZONGA
1. Autour de la Tour, Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in French spanning the author’s years in the journalism profession. There are quite a good number of poems dedicated to the author’s colleagues. Most of the poems were written during the period the author served as a journalist for the Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV, 2001-2008.
2. Echos de l`Adamaoua, Tikum Mbah Azonga: Poems in French set mainly in the Adamaoua, one of Cameroon`s ten provinces (today, regions) where the author worked for four months. The poems which are an appreciation of the people, culture and way of life of the people because the Adamaoua, the North and the Far North , commonly referred to as `the northern provinces`, are very different from the southern ones in terms of religion, way of life , climate and vegetation.
3. Me nga kar wa nala,(I told you so), Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in Ewondo, a dialect of the Beti family of languages used in three of Cameroon`s ten regions as well as in neighbouring countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and parts of the Republic of Congo.
4. Mi Corazon de oro (My heart of Gold), Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in Spanish, one of the three official languages of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC) of which Cameroon is a member. The other two languages are French and English. The members of CEMAC are Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
2. Gouttes d`Encre (Edited by Jean Claude Awono and Tikum Mbah Azonga), 2005, an anthology of poems, some in French and some in English, published on the occasion of Teachers` Day 2005 with funding provided by the late Atamson Peter Ngu, then Principal of Government Bilingual High School, Bamenda, Cameroon. Book published by Les Editions de la Ronde, Yaounde.
3. The Wooden Bicycle and Other Stories: Tikum Mbah Azonga,, 2003, a collection of ten fictional poems depicting the ups and downs of everyday life, published by Patron Publishing Company, Bamenda, Cameroon. This book has for years been used as a classroom text for prose by some of Cameroon`s secondary schools, variously in Forms 1, 2 and 3, depending on the institution, and at the Universities of Buea and Yaounde 1.
4. Sighs and Whispers from Within: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2005, a collection of poems published by Patron Publishing House,Bamenda, Cameroon. The book is also in use in Form 2 in Cameroonian secondary schools since it was published.
5. Modern Cameroon Poetry For Cameroon Secondary Schools: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2007, published by Patron Publishing House, Bamenda, Cameroon. The book is being used in Form 3 in Cameroonian secondary schools.
6. Tomatoes for Four: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems funded by the Cameroonian Ministry of Culture as part of the government`s drive to promote Cameroonian arts and culture. Published by Fambata Publishers, Buea, Cameroon.
7. A Toi, Maman Cameroon (Poems in honour of the Cameroonian woman): Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems, about half of which are in French and the other half in English. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears. Published by Fambata Publishers, Buea, Cameroon.
8. Cup Man and other Stories: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of eight fictional short stories set in Cameroon and Britain. Published by Langaa, Bamenda, Cameroon.
9. Say No To AIDS: Tikum Mbah Azonga, 2009, a collection of poems aimed at HIV AIDS sensitization partly funded by the National AIDS Control Committee of Cameroon and prefaced by the Minister of Public Health. About half of the poems are in English and the other half in French. No translation as each poem was written in the language in which it appears.
SOME FORTHCOMING BOOKS BY TIKUM MBAH AZONGA
1. Autour de la Tour, Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in French spanning the author’s years in the journalism profession. There are quite a good number of poems dedicated to the author’s colleagues. Most of the poems were written during the period the author served as a journalist for the Cameroon Radio and Television, CRTV, 2001-2008.
2. Echos de l`Adamaoua, Tikum Mbah Azonga: Poems in French set mainly in the Adamaoua, one of Cameroon`s ten provinces (today, regions) where the author worked for four months. The poems which are an appreciation of the people, culture and way of life of the people because the Adamaoua, the North and the Far North , commonly referred to as `the northern provinces`, are very different from the southern ones in terms of religion, way of life , climate and vegetation.
3. Me nga kar wa nala,(I told you so), Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in Ewondo, a dialect of the Beti family of languages used in three of Cameroon`s ten regions as well as in neighbouring countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and parts of the Republic of Congo.
4. Mi Corazon de oro (My heart of Gold), Tikum Mbah Azonga: poems in Spanish, one of the three official languages of the Economic Community of Central African States (CEMAC) of which Cameroon is a member. The other two languages are French and English. The members of CEMAC are Cameroon, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
samedi 26 septembre 2009
TIKUM MBAH AZONGA ET LA LITTERATURE
16/11/2007 - Lu 178 fois
Le journaliste et enseignant parle de sa vie d'écrivain.
Propos recueillis par Jean Francis Belibi du Quuotidien mutations
...............................
JFB:On vous connaissait jusque-là comme journaliste, on vous a découvert il y a quelques jours écrivain à l'occasion de la dédicace de vos ouvrages. Peut-on savoir qui se cache derrière votre personnalité ?
TMA:Ma carrière de journaliste comporte deux étapes. La première qui a commencé en 1984 lorsque j'ai été recruté comme journaliste au sein de la maison médiatique " West Africa " à Londres, j'y suis resté un certain nombre d'années et il y a eu une rupture lorsque j'ai décidé de revenir au Cameroun. J'ai donc travaillé dès ce moment comme principal du Collège bilingue polyvalent Latcho à Bamenda. Une fois lors de l'émission " The Wake up show " de Becky Ndive sur le poste national de la Crtv en 1999 et en 2001, mes talents de journaliste sont revenus à la surface. Puis j'ai été recruté comme journaliste à la Crtv en 2001. Une occupation que je mène avec ma carrière d'enseignant vacataire au département de français de l'annexe de l'Ecole normale supérieure depuis la même année, et depuis le 29 octobre dernier j'enseigne les méthodes de collecte et de traitement de l'information aux étudiants de deuxième année de l'Esstic. Je fais tout cela à la fois.
JFB:Vous avez procédé il y a quelques jours à la dédicace de trois ouvrages dont un en coproduction avec d'autres auteurs. De quoi parlent vos livres ?
TMA:Je préfère parler de fête au lieu de dédicace. Il s'agissait de célébrer quelque chose qui a pu être réalisé. C'est le fait d'avoir jusqu'à trois ouvrages qui sont utilisés au programme de certains établissements secondaires. Il y a " Sighs and Whispers " qui a été inscrit au programme l'année dernière, il y a " Modern Cameroon Poetry " qui est un ouvrage collectif qui est une anthologie de poèmes est au programme depuis le début de la présente année scolaire. Il y a enfin " The Wooden bicycle " qui est un recueil de nouvelles que l'on retrouve à l'Université de Buea et à l'annexe de l'Ens de Bambili depuis deux ans. Depuis le début des classes, certains établissements secondaires comme le Lycée bilingue de Ndop, le Lba à Yaoundé, l'ont adopté même s'il ne figure pas dans la liste des manuels scolaires du ministère des Enseignements secondaires.
C'est une langue qui existe, parce que comme vous le savez, il y a des langues mortes, qui ne se pratiquent. L'ewondo aussi c'est parce que c'est une langue que je pratique. C'est la langue de la capitale de notre pays et je crois que nous nous devons de lui accorder toute l'importance qu'elle mérite, un peu comme l'est le swahili à Nairobi ou à Kampala, le lingala à Kinshasa ou à Brazzaville, ou encore le wolof à Dakar. Et puis je travaille dans un environnement ewondo. J'ai d'ailleurs participé avec beaucoup de plaisir à l'émission " Nkul Beti " il y a un an. Mon engouement pour cette langue ne date pas d'aujourd'hui.
JFB: Ecrire pour vous c'est une passion ou un métier?
TMA:La littérature n'est pas un métier dans notre environnement. On n'écrit pas pour en vivre. Si ça marche, tant mieux. C'est une passion. Ce qui explique je ne publie pas toujours tout ce que j'écris. J'ai en ce moment huit manuscrits dans mes archives.
__________________________________________
Source : MUTATIONS du 16 novembre 2007 et du 26 septembre 2009
Le journaliste et enseignant parle de sa vie d'écrivain.
Propos recueillis par Jean Francis Belibi du Quuotidien mutations
...............................
JFB:On vous connaissait jusque-là comme journaliste, on vous a découvert il y a quelques jours écrivain à l'occasion de la dédicace de vos ouvrages. Peut-on savoir qui se cache derrière votre personnalité ?
TMA:Ma carrière de journaliste comporte deux étapes. La première qui a commencé en 1984 lorsque j'ai été recruté comme journaliste au sein de la maison médiatique " West Africa " à Londres, j'y suis resté un certain nombre d'années et il y a eu une rupture lorsque j'ai décidé de revenir au Cameroun. J'ai donc travaillé dès ce moment comme principal du Collège bilingue polyvalent Latcho à Bamenda. Une fois lors de l'émission " The Wake up show " de Becky Ndive sur le poste national de la Crtv en 1999 et en 2001, mes talents de journaliste sont revenus à la surface. Puis j'ai été recruté comme journaliste à la Crtv en 2001. Une occupation que je mène avec ma carrière d'enseignant vacataire au département de français de l'annexe de l'Ecole normale supérieure depuis la même année, et depuis le 29 octobre dernier j'enseigne les méthodes de collecte et de traitement de l'information aux étudiants de deuxième année de l'Esstic. Je fais tout cela à la fois.
JFB:Vous avez procédé il y a quelques jours à la dédicace de trois ouvrages dont un en coproduction avec d'autres auteurs. De quoi parlent vos livres ?
TMA:Je préfère parler de fête au lieu de dédicace. Il s'agissait de célébrer quelque chose qui a pu être réalisé. C'est le fait d'avoir jusqu'à trois ouvrages qui sont utilisés au programme de certains établissements secondaires. Il y a " Sighs and Whispers " qui a été inscrit au programme l'année dernière, il y a " Modern Cameroon Poetry " qui est un ouvrage collectif qui est une anthologie de poèmes est au programme depuis le début de la présente année scolaire. Il y a enfin " The Wooden bicycle " qui est un recueil de nouvelles que l'on retrouve à l'Université de Buea et à l'annexe de l'Ens de Bambili depuis deux ans. Depuis le début des classes, certains établissements secondaires comme le Lycée bilingue de Ndop, le Lba à Yaoundé, l'ont adopté même s'il ne figure pas dans la liste des manuels scolaires du ministère des Enseignements secondaires.
C'est une langue qui existe, parce que comme vous le savez, il y a des langues mortes, qui ne se pratiquent. L'ewondo aussi c'est parce que c'est une langue que je pratique. C'est la langue de la capitale de notre pays et je crois que nous nous devons de lui accorder toute l'importance qu'elle mérite, un peu comme l'est le swahili à Nairobi ou à Kampala, le lingala à Kinshasa ou à Brazzaville, ou encore le wolof à Dakar. Et puis je travaille dans un environnement ewondo. J'ai d'ailleurs participé avec beaucoup de plaisir à l'émission " Nkul Beti " il y a un an. Mon engouement pour cette langue ne date pas d'aujourd'hui.
JFB: Ecrire pour vous c'est une passion ou un métier?
TMA:La littérature n'est pas un métier dans notre environnement. On n'écrit pas pour en vivre. Si ça marche, tant mieux. C'est une passion. Ce qui explique je ne publie pas toujours tout ce que j'écris. J'ai en ce moment huit manuscrits dans mes archives.
__________________________________________
Source : MUTATIONS du 16 novembre 2007 et
LANGUE MATERNELLE: UN SON DE CLOCHE QUI PERSISTE ET SIGNE
(Article paru dans le quotidien national camerounais, MUTATIONS, le 6 mars 2007)
_______________________________________
L’Unesco promeut le multilinguisme, en encourageant la reconnaissance et l’acquisition d’au moins trois niveaux de compétences linguistiques pour tous ; une langue maternelle, une langue nationale et une langue véhiculaire.
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga*
________________________________________
Décidément, les jours se suivent et se ressemblent. La Journée Internationale de la Langue Maternelle, célébrée avec faste le 21 février au Cameroun comme ailleurs dans le monde est passée, consommée et devrait en principe être classée. Mais, que non, car ses échos continuent de se faire entendre de part et d’autre. Les médias nationaux ne cessent d’y revenir.
Quoi qu’il en soit, dans le cas de notre pays le Cameroun, un tel débat ne fait que suivre l’ordre normal des choses, compte tenu de la multitude des langues maternelles que compte le pays. En effet, les chercheurs et linguistes ont dénombré plus de 230 (deux cents trente) langues sur l’ensemble du territoire national camerounais. Et à cela il faut ajouter les deux langues officielles que sont l’anglais et le français. Et bien entendu, le pidgin qui sert de lingua franca. Ce phénomène fait du Cameroun, une véritable mosaïque linguistique, c’est-à-dire, un brassage, voire un métissage qui ne fait qu’enrichir davantage un patrimoine linguistique, culturel et touristique déjà très fourni.
Le Cameroun n’étant qu’un microcosme dans le macrocosme qu’est le monde linguistique, on peut bien imaginer à quel point la multiplicité des langues gagnerait de l’ampleur. Tenez ! Il y a près de 7000 (sept mille) langues maternelles dans le monde pour 225 (deux cents vingt cinq) pays. Cela veut dire qu’en moyenne, chaque pays compte 30 (trente) langues. En termes de continents, l’Afrique (35.9), l’Asie (47.0) et l’Océanie (48.2) se taillent la part du lion avec les moyennes les plus élevées. En outre, il faut noter qu’un tiers des langues du monde se parlent en Afrique. Incidemment, ces continents à eux seuls représentent jusqu’à 70 (soixante dix) pour cent de la population du monde. Dans une telle situation, le multilinguisme devient inévitable et incontournable.
La multiplicité des langues nous amène à un autre phénomène, c’est-à-dire, celui du multilinguisme (ou plurilinguisme), le multilinguisme pouvant être défini comme la complexité qui résulte de la collaboration des langues. Le multilinguisme peut revêtir plusieurs formes dont la forme individuelle et la forme étatique. Au plus simple degré, ce phénomène peut grosso modo correspondre au phénomène du bilinguisme, voire le trilinguisme de l’individu. Au sens le plus large du terme, c’est-à-dire, le multilinguisme social, le phénomène peut s’étendre à la communauté. Au sein du multilinguisme, on peut retrouver la diglossie qui est un autre phénomène social caractérisé par l’emploi d’une des langues que l’on maîtrise pour remplir une fonction sociale spécifique telle que la fonction interpersonnelle ou religieuse et l’emploi d’une autre langue pour remplir une autre fonction comme celle des affaires ou de l’école.
La langue maternelle, et par extension toute langue, revêt une importance charnière pour son peuple comme pour la communauté au sens le plus large du terme. C’est précisément cette conviction qui a dû pousser le Directeur Général de l’Unesco à dire, dans son message au monde à l’occasion de la Journée Mondiale de la Langue Maternelle de cette année : "La langue est une fondation de la culture, de l’essence de l’être humain. Elle est l’école du respect de la terre, de l’histoire et de la culture de l’homme."
Par conséquent, l’Unesco s’est assigné comme mission la promotion du multilinguisme, notamment dans le système scolaire en encourageant la reconnaissance et l’acquisition d’au moins trois niveaux de compétences linguistiques pour tous ; une langue maternelle, une langue nationale et une langue véhiculaire. "
A y regarder de plus près, on se rend compte que 14 sur 22 pays en Afrique subsaharien ont fait du français une langue officielle comme d’ailleurs 11 sur les 18 pays anglophones de la même région ont fait de l’Anglais. Pourtant le pourcentage de personnes parlant ces mangues dans la région est minime, c’est-à-dire, entre 3 et 5 pour cent. On note également que très peu de pays enseignent leurs langues maternelles/nationales et que bon nombre de pays préfèrent plutôt y accorder un certain temps d’antenne, souvent à la radio.
Un autre constat est que les langues du monde semblent s’être livrées à une sorte de jeu qui est régi par la loi du plus fort. C’est probablement ce phénomène qui a poussé Jacques Dhaussy (1989) à écrire dans La Gazette (No. 49, mars-avril 1989): "L’une des langues de la C.E.E. prendra-t-elle le pas sur d’autres? On devienne laquelle, qu’Allemands, Néerlandais et Danois pratiquent avec facilité. L’anglais deviendra-t-il la ‘lingua franca’ du grand ensemble économique ? Ou bien chaque Etat devra-t-il se battre davantage pour sauver sa culture?".
Les conséquences de la percée que les langues étrangères font sur les langues maternelles /nationales sont lourdes. Cette préoccupation est réelle, étant donné que 50 %, soit la moitié des langues du monde risquent de disparaître faute d’usage, si des mesures draconiennes ne sont pas prises d’urgences par les Etats d’une part et par les autres acteurs d’autre part, mais surtout l’Etat qui de par ses politiques nationales est en mesure de poser des actes qui portent. Une étude faite par le chercheur camerounais Bitjaa Kody (2002) démontre que les jeunes camerounais perdent progressivement leur Langue maternelle au profit de la langue française. De même, Castellotti et de Carlo (2002) ont noté une maîtrise insuffisante de la langue maternelle en ce qui concerne la morphologie et la syntaxe, pendant leur implication dans le double processus enseignement/apprentissage. Tel était le cas surtout lorsqu s’agissait de passer d’un code linguistique à un autre.
Ceci étant, on est en droit de se poser la question de savoir si les langues maternelles sont vouées à l’échec, ou il y a quelque part une sortie de secours. Dans le cas du Cameroun, il faut reconnaître qu’en plus des efforts déployés par les Nations Unies par le biais de l’Unesco, ni l’Etat camerounais, ni le secteur privé tel que les ONG n’ont baissé les bras.
Par exemple, dans un article paru sous le titre : " Pour une application des modèles généralisables d’enseignement des langues nationales au Cameroun publié dans The African Journal of Linguistics (2002), Gabriel Mba, enseignant à l’Université de Yaounde 1 préconise l’utilisation de ce qu’il appelle "modèles d’enseignement généralisables" sur l’ensemble du territoire national camerounais, et même au-delà.
Selon l’auteur, une telle approche permettrait une meilleure gestion des langues sur les plans scientifique et administratif. Sadembouo et Tadadjeu (2002) quant à eux estiment que : "si le français est une Langue Seconde pour la majorité des Camerounais, son enseignement devrait partir de celui de la Langue Première des apprenants". Ces deux derniers chercheurs constituent d’ailleurs les piliers d’une solution pratique aux carences liées à la langue maternelle. Il s’agit du Projet de Recherche Opérationnelle pour l’Enseignement des Langues au Cameroun (PROPELCA).
A tous ces efforts, il faut ajouter l’initiative très originale de la SIL, ONG linguistique américaine fermement implantée au Cameroun avec pour objectif de former les autochtones d’autant de langues maternelles que possible à écrire et à lire leurs propres langues maternelles.
Quoiqu’il en soit, une chose est sûre : malgré le difficile avancement des langues maternelles, il incombe à tous les acteurs dans le processus d’usage de celles-ci de tout mettre en œuvre pour les sauvegarder, leur utilité n’étant plus à démontrer. Sûrement, il est possible de mettre l’accent sur les langues maternelles tout en conservant les langues "étrangères", et nous entendons par là, les deux langues officielles que sont le français et l’anglais. C’est une chose noble que d’avoir dans son pays jusqu’à 230 langues et avoir comme cerise sur le gâteau, deux autres langues (même si elles sont étrangères) comme langues étrangères. Comme le dit si bien le dicton, abondance de bien ne nuit pas.
_______________________________________
L’Unesco promeut le multilinguisme, en encourageant la reconnaissance et l’acquisition d’au moins trois niveaux de compétences linguistiques pour tous ; une langue maternelle, une langue nationale et une langue véhiculaire.
Par Tikum Mbah Azonga*
________________________________________
Décidément, les jours se suivent et se ressemblent. La Journée Internationale de la Langue Maternelle, célébrée avec faste le 21 février au Cameroun comme ailleurs dans le monde est passée, consommée et devrait en principe être classée. Mais, que non, car ses échos continuent de se faire entendre de part et d’autre. Les médias nationaux ne cessent d’y revenir.
Quoi qu’il en soit, dans le cas de notre pays le Cameroun, un tel débat ne fait que suivre l’ordre normal des choses, compte tenu de la multitude des langues maternelles que compte le pays. En effet, les chercheurs et linguistes ont dénombré plus de 230 (deux cents trente) langues sur l’ensemble du territoire national camerounais. Et à cela il faut ajouter les deux langues officielles que sont l’anglais et le français. Et bien entendu, le pidgin qui sert de lingua franca. Ce phénomène fait du Cameroun, une véritable mosaïque linguistique, c’est-à-dire, un brassage, voire un métissage qui ne fait qu’enrichir davantage un patrimoine linguistique, culturel et touristique déjà très fourni.
Le Cameroun n’étant qu’un microcosme dans le macrocosme qu’est le monde linguistique, on peut bien imaginer à quel point la multiplicité des langues gagnerait de l’ampleur. Tenez ! Il y a près de 7000 (sept mille) langues maternelles dans le monde pour 225 (deux cents vingt cinq) pays. Cela veut dire qu’en moyenne, chaque pays compte 30 (trente) langues. En termes de continents, l’Afrique (35.9), l’Asie (47.0) et l’Océanie (48.2) se taillent la part du lion avec les moyennes les plus élevées. En outre, il faut noter qu’un tiers des langues du monde se parlent en Afrique. Incidemment, ces continents à eux seuls représentent jusqu’à 70 (soixante dix) pour cent de la population du monde. Dans une telle situation, le multilinguisme devient inévitable et incontournable.
La multiplicité des langues nous amène à un autre phénomène, c’est-à-dire, celui du multilinguisme (ou plurilinguisme), le multilinguisme pouvant être défini comme la complexité qui résulte de la collaboration des langues. Le multilinguisme peut revêtir plusieurs formes dont la forme individuelle et la forme étatique. Au plus simple degré, ce phénomène peut grosso modo correspondre au phénomène du bilinguisme, voire le trilinguisme de l’individu. Au sens le plus large du terme, c’est-à-dire, le multilinguisme social, le phénomène peut s’étendre à la communauté. Au sein du multilinguisme, on peut retrouver la diglossie qui est un autre phénomène social caractérisé par l’emploi d’une des langues que l’on maîtrise pour remplir une fonction sociale spécifique telle que la fonction interpersonnelle ou religieuse et l’emploi d’une autre langue pour remplir une autre fonction comme celle des affaires ou de l’école.
La langue maternelle, et par extension toute langue, revêt une importance charnière pour son peuple comme pour la communauté au sens le plus large du terme. C’est précisément cette conviction qui a dû pousser le Directeur Général de l’Unesco à dire, dans son message au monde à l’occasion de la Journée Mondiale de la Langue Maternelle de cette année : "La langue est une fondation de la culture, de l’essence de l’être humain. Elle est l’école du respect de la terre, de l’histoire et de la culture de l’homme."
Par conséquent, l’Unesco s’est assigné comme mission la promotion du multilinguisme, notamment dans le système scolaire en encourageant la reconnaissance et l’acquisition d’au moins trois niveaux de compétences linguistiques pour tous ; une langue maternelle, une langue nationale et une langue véhiculaire. "
A y regarder de plus près, on se rend compte que 14 sur 22 pays en Afrique subsaharien ont fait du français une langue officielle comme d’ailleurs 11 sur les 18 pays anglophones de la même région ont fait de l’Anglais. Pourtant le pourcentage de personnes parlant ces mangues dans la région est minime, c’est-à-dire, entre 3 et 5 pour cent. On note également que très peu de pays enseignent leurs langues maternelles/nationales et que bon nombre de pays préfèrent plutôt y accorder un certain temps d’antenne, souvent à la radio.
Un autre constat est que les langues du monde semblent s’être livrées à une sorte de jeu qui est régi par la loi du plus fort. C’est probablement ce phénomène qui a poussé Jacques Dhaussy (1989) à écrire dans La Gazette (No. 49, mars-avril 1989): "L’une des langues de la C.E.E. prendra-t-elle le pas sur d’autres? On devienne laquelle, qu’Allemands, Néerlandais et Danois pratiquent avec facilité. L’anglais deviendra-t-il la ‘lingua franca’ du grand ensemble économique ? Ou bien chaque Etat devra-t-il se battre davantage pour sauver sa culture?".
Les conséquences de la percée que les langues étrangères font sur les langues maternelles /nationales sont lourdes. Cette préoccupation est réelle, étant donné que 50 %, soit la moitié des langues du monde risquent de disparaître faute d’usage, si des mesures draconiennes ne sont pas prises d’urgences par les Etats d’une part et par les autres acteurs d’autre part, mais surtout l’Etat qui de par ses politiques nationales est en mesure de poser des actes qui portent. Une étude faite par le chercheur camerounais Bitjaa Kody (2002) démontre que les jeunes camerounais perdent progressivement leur Langue maternelle au profit de la langue française. De même, Castellotti et de Carlo (2002) ont noté une maîtrise insuffisante de la langue maternelle en ce qui concerne la morphologie et la syntaxe, pendant leur implication dans le double processus enseignement/apprentissage. Tel était le cas surtout lorsqu s’agissait de passer d’un code linguistique à un autre.
Ceci étant, on est en droit de se poser la question de savoir si les langues maternelles sont vouées à l’échec, ou il y a quelque part une sortie de secours. Dans le cas du Cameroun, il faut reconnaître qu’en plus des efforts déployés par les Nations Unies par le biais de l’Unesco, ni l’Etat camerounais, ni le secteur privé tel que les ONG n’ont baissé les bras.
Par exemple, dans un article paru sous le titre : " Pour une application des modèles généralisables d’enseignement des langues nationales au Cameroun publié dans The African Journal of Linguistics (2002), Gabriel Mba, enseignant à l’Université de Yaounde 1 préconise l’utilisation de ce qu’il appelle "modèles d’enseignement généralisables" sur l’ensemble du territoire national camerounais, et même au-delà.
Selon l’auteur, une telle approche permettrait une meilleure gestion des langues sur les plans scientifique et administratif. Sadembouo et Tadadjeu (2002) quant à eux estiment que : "si le français est une Langue Seconde pour la majorité des Camerounais, son enseignement devrait partir de celui de la Langue Première des apprenants". Ces deux derniers chercheurs constituent d’ailleurs les piliers d’une solution pratique aux carences liées à la langue maternelle. Il s’agit du Projet de Recherche Opérationnelle pour l’Enseignement des Langues au Cameroun (PROPELCA).
A tous ces efforts, il faut ajouter l’initiative très originale de la SIL, ONG linguistique américaine fermement implantée au Cameroun avec pour objectif de former les autochtones d’autant de langues maternelles que possible à écrire et à lire leurs propres langues maternelles.
Quoiqu’il en soit, une chose est sûre : malgré le difficile avancement des langues maternelles, il incombe à tous les acteurs dans le processus d’usage de celles-ci de tout mettre en œuvre pour les sauvegarder, leur utilité n’étant plus à démontrer. Sûrement, il est possible de mettre l’accent sur les langues maternelles tout en conservant les langues "étrangères", et nous entendons par là, les deux langues officielles que sont le français et l’anglais. C’est une chose noble que d’avoir dans son pays jusqu’à 230 langues et avoir comme cerise sur le gâteau, deux autres langues (même si elles sont étrangères) comme langues étrangères. Comme le dit si bien le dicton, abondance de bien ne nuit pas.
TIKUM MBAH AZONGA PUBLISHES THREE BOOKS
This article was published in THE POST ONLINE under the byline of Christopher Jator Njechu on 29 October 2007 and downloaded from UPSTATION MOUNTAIN CLUB on 26 September 2009 by the author of the books, Tikum Mbah Azonga.
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Three news books have found sanctuary in Cameroon's library. "The Wooden Bicycle" - a collection of short stories, "Sighs and Whispers" - a collection of poems and "Modern Cameroon Poetry Book 3" - an anthology of poems were written by a translator and CRTV journalist, Tikum Mbah Azonga.
He, however, co-authored "Modern Cameroon Poetry Book 3" with Dr Doh, a university lecturer in America and Ben Young Junior, the Principal of GBHS Fundong in the Northwest Province.
All the three books which treat themes of everyday life: experiences, joys and pains, focus on the curriculum for Cameroon schools and are used in classes I to III, respectively. Speaking shortly after the launching, Tikum Mbah said in "Sighs and Whispers" he is putting across the message that poetry is an overflow of emotions; that this message is deeply embedded in the poem called 'Afo-Akum'.
In short, the message is that life is what you make it. According to Tikum, the short stories as well as poems should interest everybody. "Somebody, everybody has to learn something from the books," Tikum said.
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FOOT NOTE BY AUTHOR OF BOOKS
All three books later went on to become official set textbooks in Cameroon's schools. "Sighs and Whispers from Within" was one of the National Book Commission's two options for Form Two Poetry, while "Modern Cameroon Poetry" enjoyed the same treatment in Form Three. "The Wooden Bicycle and Other Stories", although not on the official booklist for secondary schools, continues to be a favourite classroom textbook for prose in some reputable secondary schools of the private sector. The book is also beeing used as a set text book at the University of Buea and in the Department of English Modern Letters at the Ecole Normale Supérieure Annexe in Bambili.
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Three news books have found sanctuary in Cameroon's library. "The Wooden Bicycle" - a collection of short stories, "Sighs and Whispers" - a collection of poems and "Modern Cameroon Poetry Book 3" - an anthology of poems were written by a translator and CRTV journalist, Tikum Mbah Azonga.
He, however, co-authored "Modern Cameroon Poetry Book 3" with Dr Doh, a university lecturer in America and Ben Young Junior, the Principal of GBHS Fundong in the Northwest Province.
All the three books which treat themes of everyday life: experiences, joys and pains, focus on the curriculum for Cameroon schools and are used in classes I to III, respectively. Speaking shortly after the launching, Tikum Mbah said in "Sighs and Whispers" he is putting across the message that poetry is an overflow of emotions; that this message is deeply embedded in the poem called 'Afo-Akum'.
In short, the message is that life is what you make it. According to Tikum, the short stories as well as poems should interest everybody. "Somebody, everybody has to learn something from the books," Tikum said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
FOOT NOTE BY AUTHOR OF BOOKS
All three books later went on to become official set textbooks in Cameroon's schools. "Sighs and Whispers from Within" was one of the National Book Commission's two options for Form Two Poetry, while "Modern Cameroon Poetry" enjoyed the same treatment in Form Three. "The Wooden Bicycle and Other Stories", although not on the official booklist for secondary schools, continues to be a favourite classroom textbook for prose in some reputable secondary schools of the private sector. The book is also beeing used as a set text book at the University of Buea and in the Department of English Modern Letters at the Ecole Normale Supérieure Annexe in Bambili.
vendredi 25 septembre 2009
CAMEROON IN THE YEAR 2024
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 12th of November 2003. The paper was broadcast when Paul Biya just celebrated 21 years in office as President of Cameroon. The author used that occasion to fast forward the clock of time and look at what Cameroon would look like in another 21 years. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.
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Without any doubt, celebrations are an interesting aspect of everyday life. They give those who are being fêted an opportunity to be the centre of attraction and those joining in the feast, a pretext to wine and dine. Nonetheless, feasting can also be an excellent occasion for carrying out an inventory and assessing progress made so far. The next logical advantage is, of course, the fact that forward planning can also be done. In other words, the way forward can be charted, either as the icing on the cake or as a way of balancing the assessment equation.
Following on from the merriment of Paul Biya’s 21 years in power, let us now take a leap forward and get a snapshot of Cameroon, 21 years from today. That day will mark the twentieth anniversary of the presidential election billed for next year, 2004, if the election takes place as scheduled¹. It is to be noted that if Paul Biya still runs as a candidate for his own succession, then the election will mark the beginning of a second seven-year presidential mandate for him, since he had the constitution amended by the National Assembly, prolonging the presidential term from five to seven years. Although this move was generally widely approved by members of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) of which Paul Biya is chairman, on the whole, the opposition cried foul, interpreting the measure as an attempt by Paul Biya to “hang on to power at all cost.”
The year 2024 will be just one year before the current millennium, clocks its first quarter century. However, the key question as to who will be the main actors on the stage in Cameroon or elsewhere in Africa remains a difficult one because at this point in time, it is hard to tell, unless one is of course, Madame Soleil, able to read and interpret the future from her famous crystal ball. One thing is clear though: some of us will have departed from this world, just as some more will also have been born, as if sent by the divine will to numerically replace the deceased ones. It would be interesting to know if by that time, Cameroonians will have stopped making death triumph over birth. The point is that for at least a decade now, Cameroonians have glorified death in the sense that daily, the media are awash with death announcements. It is always death announcements one hears over the radio or sees on television, or reads in the newspapers. There are hardly any birth announcements, as if Cameroonians were only dying and not being born.
Things have got to a point where when a man dies, for example, different announcements come from his wife, children, employer, social group leader, former school mates and friends. A closer look at this phenomenon indicates that deaths have actually been transformed into commercial activities. When a man dies, the family deliberately leaves him in the mortuary while paying a fee for keeping him there, until it is felt that enough announcements have reached enough people who will through their contributions in terms of money or food or drink, make the funeral a “good” one. A “good funeral” in the Cameroonian context has become one in which those who come to sympathize with the bereaved go away feeling happy that they have had enough to eat and drink. Otherwise, they go away disgruntled and wondering aloud why this has been such a bad “cry die” that one had only so little to eat and drink. Often, a musician is paid to entertain sympathizers during the night vigil. He plays music, usually in the large and open yard so that people can dance as a way of paying last respects to the dead person. One individual who has raised wake-keeping musical entertainment to an art is Loh Benson, a musician by career. In fact it is said that Loh’s love for music began when he was still in primary school. At the time he used to play to entertain peers, teachers and parents. Today not only does he have his own compositions, but he is being emulated by others who earn a living by entertaining at vigils. In one part of the town of Bamenda, that is the Nkwen Fondom of Bamenda III sub Division, night vigils have been banned by the Fon. The reason given is that when so many people come out at night and congregate, appalling acts are committed. These include promiscuity, theft, witchcraft, abduction and rape.
Opinions are divided over the origin of the commercialization of funerals. One school of thought holds that it all began in the mid nineteen eighties when the economic crunch hit Cameroon very hard and while in the quest for money, people realized they could capitalize on funerals by getting as many people as possible to come bearing “gifts of sympathy”, some of which like money, could then be converted into other needs. Another school of thought affirms that it was a deliberate attempt to highlight deaths in order to show Cameroonians and the world that President Paul Biya was ruling the country so badly that “everybody was dying”. Whatever is the case, there is a third school which posits that all that waste of money on a person who is no more is a mere misplacement of priorities. For that reason, those who hold that view state categorically that it is better to honour people when they are alive so that they can see and appreciate, not when they have turned their back and the corner and are out of view and out of sight.
One aspect of the year 2024 which will certainly interest Cameroonians is their President, Paul Biya. The question is whether or not he will still be on the political scene. The fact is that in 2024, if Biya is still alive, he will be 91 years old. So, can he still be in power? The technical answer is, ‘yes’, if he still has the strength and can hold himself together. But the most likely answer is, ‘no’, because at such an age, one is normally exhausted and deserves a rest. The point is important because there are Cameroonians who would ruthlessly push Biya out of power, if they had their way. He is being held responsible for overstaying his welcome, and thereby virtually turning the republic into a kingdom of his own. He has also been charged with allowing corruption to triumph in an unbridled manner and then attempting vainly and at the eleventh hour, to curb it.
Nonetheless, the problem of Paul Biya, if the truth be told, is not just he alone. It is also Cameroonians and the opposition, but perhaps the opposition more than just Cameroonians. Cameroonian’s opposition is greatly divided, first of all because with over two hundred political parties, they are bound to speak with different and deferring voices which are difficult for the electorate to understand. The best option would have been for the opposition to merge and form one or two strong parties which could then counter Biya more strongly and meaningfully. However, when it comes to that, especially on the point of choosing a single presidential candidate to represent the opposition against Biya, no opposition leader is willing to yield an inch to the other. This hide and seek game reminds me of the tale about the mice race that was decimated by the cat. When during a meeting of the mice it was unanimously agreed that a bell should be tied round the neck of the cat so that once it was approaching, the mice would be warned and take cover, nobody was willing to go and tie the bell around the cat’s neck. In other words, no one was wiling to be the one to “bell the cat”.
Whatever is the case, it is certain that the year 2024 will come. But then since time is a very tricky phenomenon, that year will be here so quickly that it will take many unawares. When that time comes, our Cameroon is likely to be still firmly in place, despite the changing roles of the people that make it up: age, retirement, death and birth. This occurrence of permanence on the one hand and change on the other confirms clearly the dictum that “people come and go, but the nation remains.” This nation, twenty one years on, will be dominated by today’s youths who will have attained leadership status and will be more or less in positions of power, pulling one or two strings in the governing of the country. In fact, according to the United Nations Population Fund, these ‘new adults’, so to speak, will constitute the largest such transitional segment, numbering some one billion two million souls. Nevertheless, the UN body warns that the way forward is littered with political, social and economic hurdles. To stem the tide, everyone is therefore urged to strive to attain the millennium goals which were outlined by world leaders to be attained by the year 2015.
The road to 2024 is both long and bumpy. But what does that mean specifically for Cameroon? Right now, despite what some Cameroonians may think, the country has made some progress. The country is increasingly being made to host international events, economic indicators are generally on the upward trend and social amenities are being improved. Nonetheless, the country is still sometimes perceived as being adrift, rudderless and unmanned. The civil service remains unduly bureaucratic and corruption is still endemic and blatant. Although President Paul Biya has had some senior officials, including cabinet ministers put in jail, general public opinion is that it is too little, too late, and by the way, how about the many other known hardened embezzlers who are still walking free? And in any case, why have those flung in jail not been made to restore to the State what they are said to have stolen?
The only way to make the year 2024 a resounding victory for Cameroon in particular and Africa in general is for each citizen to work ceaselessly and devotedly. That is what will make the difference between a positive balance sheet and a negative one.
_______________________________________________________________________________
¹ The presidential election eventually took place as scheduled and Paul Biya won.
________________________________________________________________________
Without any doubt, celebrations are an interesting aspect of everyday life. They give those who are being fêted an opportunity to be the centre of attraction and those joining in the feast, a pretext to wine and dine. Nonetheless, feasting can also be an excellent occasion for carrying out an inventory and assessing progress made so far. The next logical advantage is, of course, the fact that forward planning can also be done. In other words, the way forward can be charted, either as the icing on the cake or as a way of balancing the assessment equation.
Following on from the merriment of Paul Biya’s 21 years in power, let us now take a leap forward and get a snapshot of Cameroon, 21 years from today. That day will mark the twentieth anniversary of the presidential election billed for next year, 2004, if the election takes place as scheduled¹. It is to be noted that if Paul Biya still runs as a candidate for his own succession, then the election will mark the beginning of a second seven-year presidential mandate for him, since he had the constitution amended by the National Assembly, prolonging the presidential term from five to seven years. Although this move was generally widely approved by members of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) of which Paul Biya is chairman, on the whole, the opposition cried foul, interpreting the measure as an attempt by Paul Biya to “hang on to power at all cost.”
The year 2024 will be just one year before the current millennium, clocks its first quarter century. However, the key question as to who will be the main actors on the stage in Cameroon or elsewhere in Africa remains a difficult one because at this point in time, it is hard to tell, unless one is of course, Madame Soleil, able to read and interpret the future from her famous crystal ball. One thing is clear though: some of us will have departed from this world, just as some more will also have been born, as if sent by the divine will to numerically replace the deceased ones. It would be interesting to know if by that time, Cameroonians will have stopped making death triumph over birth. The point is that for at least a decade now, Cameroonians have glorified death in the sense that daily, the media are awash with death announcements. It is always death announcements one hears over the radio or sees on television, or reads in the newspapers. There are hardly any birth announcements, as if Cameroonians were only dying and not being born.
Things have got to a point where when a man dies, for example, different announcements come from his wife, children, employer, social group leader, former school mates and friends. A closer look at this phenomenon indicates that deaths have actually been transformed into commercial activities. When a man dies, the family deliberately leaves him in the mortuary while paying a fee for keeping him there, until it is felt that enough announcements have reached enough people who will through their contributions in terms of money or food or drink, make the funeral a “good” one. A “good funeral” in the Cameroonian context has become one in which those who come to sympathize with the bereaved go away feeling happy that they have had enough to eat and drink. Otherwise, they go away disgruntled and wondering aloud why this has been such a bad “cry die” that one had only so little to eat and drink. Often, a musician is paid to entertain sympathizers during the night vigil. He plays music, usually in the large and open yard so that people can dance as a way of paying last respects to the dead person. One individual who has raised wake-keeping musical entertainment to an art is Loh Benson, a musician by career. In fact it is said that Loh’s love for music began when he was still in primary school. At the time he used to play to entertain peers, teachers and parents. Today not only does he have his own compositions, but he is being emulated by others who earn a living by entertaining at vigils. In one part of the town of Bamenda, that is the Nkwen Fondom of Bamenda III sub Division, night vigils have been banned by the Fon. The reason given is that when so many people come out at night and congregate, appalling acts are committed. These include promiscuity, theft, witchcraft, abduction and rape.
Opinions are divided over the origin of the commercialization of funerals. One school of thought holds that it all began in the mid nineteen eighties when the economic crunch hit Cameroon very hard and while in the quest for money, people realized they could capitalize on funerals by getting as many people as possible to come bearing “gifts of sympathy”, some of which like money, could then be converted into other needs. Another school of thought affirms that it was a deliberate attempt to highlight deaths in order to show Cameroonians and the world that President Paul Biya was ruling the country so badly that “everybody was dying”. Whatever is the case, there is a third school which posits that all that waste of money on a person who is no more is a mere misplacement of priorities. For that reason, those who hold that view state categorically that it is better to honour people when they are alive so that they can see and appreciate, not when they have turned their back and the corner and are out of view and out of sight.
One aspect of the year 2024 which will certainly interest Cameroonians is their President, Paul Biya. The question is whether or not he will still be on the political scene. The fact is that in 2024, if Biya is still alive, he will be 91 years old. So, can he still be in power? The technical answer is, ‘yes’, if he still has the strength and can hold himself together. But the most likely answer is, ‘no’, because at such an age, one is normally exhausted and deserves a rest. The point is important because there are Cameroonians who would ruthlessly push Biya out of power, if they had their way. He is being held responsible for overstaying his welcome, and thereby virtually turning the republic into a kingdom of his own. He has also been charged with allowing corruption to triumph in an unbridled manner and then attempting vainly and at the eleventh hour, to curb it.
Nonetheless, the problem of Paul Biya, if the truth be told, is not just he alone. It is also Cameroonians and the opposition, but perhaps the opposition more than just Cameroonians. Cameroonian’s opposition is greatly divided, first of all because with over two hundred political parties, they are bound to speak with different and deferring voices which are difficult for the electorate to understand. The best option would have been for the opposition to merge and form one or two strong parties which could then counter Biya more strongly and meaningfully. However, when it comes to that, especially on the point of choosing a single presidential candidate to represent the opposition against Biya, no opposition leader is willing to yield an inch to the other. This hide and seek game reminds me of the tale about the mice race that was decimated by the cat. When during a meeting of the mice it was unanimously agreed that a bell should be tied round the neck of the cat so that once it was approaching, the mice would be warned and take cover, nobody was willing to go and tie the bell around the cat’s neck. In other words, no one was wiling to be the one to “bell the cat”.
Whatever is the case, it is certain that the year 2024 will come. But then since time is a very tricky phenomenon, that year will be here so quickly that it will take many unawares. When that time comes, our Cameroon is likely to be still firmly in place, despite the changing roles of the people that make it up: age, retirement, death and birth. This occurrence of permanence on the one hand and change on the other confirms clearly the dictum that “people come and go, but the nation remains.” This nation, twenty one years on, will be dominated by today’s youths who will have attained leadership status and will be more or less in positions of power, pulling one or two strings in the governing of the country. In fact, according to the United Nations Population Fund, these ‘new adults’, so to speak, will constitute the largest such transitional segment, numbering some one billion two million souls. Nevertheless, the UN body warns that the way forward is littered with political, social and economic hurdles. To stem the tide, everyone is therefore urged to strive to attain the millennium goals which were outlined by world leaders to be attained by the year 2015.
The road to 2024 is both long and bumpy. But what does that mean specifically for Cameroon? Right now, despite what some Cameroonians may think, the country has made some progress. The country is increasingly being made to host international events, economic indicators are generally on the upward trend and social amenities are being improved. Nonetheless, the country is still sometimes perceived as being adrift, rudderless and unmanned. The civil service remains unduly bureaucratic and corruption is still endemic and blatant. Although President Paul Biya has had some senior officials, including cabinet ministers put in jail, general public opinion is that it is too little, too late, and by the way, how about the many other known hardened embezzlers who are still walking free? And in any case, why have those flung in jail not been made to restore to the State what they are said to have stolen?
The only way to make the year 2024 a resounding victory for Cameroon in particular and Africa in general is for each citizen to work ceaselessly and devotedly. That is what will make the difference between a positive balance sheet and a negative one.
_______________________________________________________________________________
¹ The presidential election eventually took place as scheduled and Paul Biya won.
jeudi 24 septembre 2009
CAMEROON AND THE ELECTED OFFICIAL
This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Station on the 10th of July 2002. The paper was broadcast following the publication of municipal elections that had just been held. Legislative elections which took place on the same day were still being awaited. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), Yaounde, between 2002 and 2005.
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An English language dictionary of unquestionable international repute defines the word, ‘character’, as “all the mental or moral qualities that make a person, group, nation, etc, different from others”. Another description is given as, “the ability to handle dangerous or difficult situations; moral strength.” This paper attempts a look at the political character of the Cameroon elected official.
For the newly elected councilors who saw added responsibilities thrust upon their shoulders when they were designated by their various constituents recently, the real task has only just begun. As representatives of the local communities, they will have to muster all the momentum and astuteness with which strength of character can endow a leader. This will enable them to secure even more strongly, the confidence of the electorate who by giving them their votes, in a way swore and stood by them. Having such strength of character will also ensure that the newly elected officials not only keep at bay those losers who may be overtly or covertly plotting against them, but actually convert them into friends, even if they are only political friends with all the implications that go with that status. Perhaps over and above everything else, the new councilors must realize that the electorate expects a new lease of life from them. True, some of the voters’ expectations may be unrealistic and unrealizable. But then, that is all part of the political game.
When legislative election results are also formally announced – and that should be soon – the newly elected parliamentarians will find themselves faced with a similar task. Even so, there will be more for the deputy to chew than the councilor, for, the former has dominion over a larger constituency in surface area and demographic terms. This stance is lent credence by the fact that it is said and widely believed here in Cameroon where both French and English are official languages that the parliamentarian is a “député de la nation”, and not only that of his or her constituency. The parliamentarian will move around more and mix with more people. He or she is the one who will have direct access to ministers in order to plead for development projects in their constituencies. He or she is the one who will occasionally be placed on a trip abroad along the lines of parliamentary exigencies. As such the deputy will have the advantage of comparing notes not just with deputies from other parts of the country, but also from other parts of the world. From all of the above, it is clear that the task of leadership is a Herculean one. No wonder, one pundit once said: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”
Nonetheless, the danger is that these men and women now being sworn in may soon commit the cardinal sin that most leaders, especially political ones, are guilty of, once they get to power. They soon forgot those voters who brought them to their newly found glory. By so doing, they show weakness, rather than strength, of character. As the late famous musician, Elvis Presley, once put it: “I don’t like people who go into politics for themselves. If you want that, you can go into show business.” Another commentator, Victor Cousin, said: “You can only govern men by serving them”.
In the exercise of their duties, some politicians behave as if they are God’ gift to the world. Yet the bible is clear on what should be the line of action to take:
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. “ (Psalm 24:1-2).
Yet when it’s time for the next elections, the same rulers will return to the same constituents with their political hats in their hands, on bended knees, armed with sour gifts and stale pledges, promising them heaven and earth. At that point, the electorate may very well reject them on the grounds that when they were hungry and thirsty, the politicians failed to give them food and drink.
As the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw once put it, “An election is a moral horror, as bad as battle, except that it doesn’t have the blood. It is a mud bath for every soul concerned.”
Surely, now is the time, on this dawn of a new era, for our leaders to start building bridges which will link them to the future. In so doing, they must remember that the people they meet on their way up are the same ones they will meet on their way down. That may be the utmost test for political strength of character.
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An English language dictionary of unquestionable international repute defines the word, ‘character’, as “all the mental or moral qualities that make a person, group, nation, etc, different from others”. Another description is given as, “the ability to handle dangerous or difficult situations; moral strength.” This paper attempts a look at the political character of the Cameroon elected official.
For the newly elected councilors who saw added responsibilities thrust upon their shoulders when they were designated by their various constituents recently, the real task has only just begun. As representatives of the local communities, they will have to muster all the momentum and astuteness with which strength of character can endow a leader. This will enable them to secure even more strongly, the confidence of the electorate who by giving them their votes, in a way swore and stood by them. Having such strength of character will also ensure that the newly elected officials not only keep at bay those losers who may be overtly or covertly plotting against them, but actually convert them into friends, even if they are only political friends with all the implications that go with that status. Perhaps over and above everything else, the new councilors must realize that the electorate expects a new lease of life from them. True, some of the voters’ expectations may be unrealistic and unrealizable. But then, that is all part of the political game.
When legislative election results are also formally announced – and that should be soon – the newly elected parliamentarians will find themselves faced with a similar task. Even so, there will be more for the deputy to chew than the councilor, for, the former has dominion over a larger constituency in surface area and demographic terms. This stance is lent credence by the fact that it is said and widely believed here in Cameroon where both French and English are official languages that the parliamentarian is a “député de la nation”, and not only that of his or her constituency. The parliamentarian will move around more and mix with more people. He or she is the one who will have direct access to ministers in order to plead for development projects in their constituencies. He or she is the one who will occasionally be placed on a trip abroad along the lines of parliamentary exigencies. As such the deputy will have the advantage of comparing notes not just with deputies from other parts of the country, but also from other parts of the world. From all of the above, it is clear that the task of leadership is a Herculean one. No wonder, one pundit once said: “Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.”
Nonetheless, the danger is that these men and women now being sworn in may soon commit the cardinal sin that most leaders, especially political ones, are guilty of, once they get to power. They soon forgot those voters who brought them to their newly found glory. By so doing, they show weakness, rather than strength, of character. As the late famous musician, Elvis Presley, once put it: “I don’t like people who go into politics for themselves. If you want that, you can go into show business.” Another commentator, Victor Cousin, said: “You can only govern men by serving them”.
In the exercise of their duties, some politicians behave as if they are God’ gift to the world. Yet the bible is clear on what should be the line of action to take:
“The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. “ (Psalm 24:1-2).
Yet when it’s time for the next elections, the same rulers will return to the same constituents with their political hats in their hands, on bended knees, armed with sour gifts and stale pledges, promising them heaven and earth. At that point, the electorate may very well reject them on the grounds that when they were hungry and thirsty, the politicians failed to give them food and drink.
As the Irish writer George Bernard Shaw once put it, “An election is a moral horror, as bad as battle, except that it doesn’t have the blood. It is a mud bath for every soul concerned.”
Surely, now is the time, on this dawn of a new era, for our leaders to start building bridges which will link them to the future. In so doing, they must remember that the people they meet on their way up are the same ones they will meet on their way down. That may be the utmost test for political strength of character.
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