Giving A Listening Ear

Ongoing consultations between elite of the North West and South West Regions with certain segments of the population have been attracting discussions at several levels. As expected, some people give the impression that there are other ways to go as far as the social unrest in the two Anglophone regions of the country is concerned. But following the statement signed by the Director of Cabinet at the Prime Minister’s Office, Ghogomu Paul Mingo, the contacts are intended to have constructive dialogue with the people, commune with them and take a message of peace and goodwill from the Head of State, Paul Biya especially after the events of 22 September and 1^st October, 2017 that gave another dimension to the tension which has rather gone for too long now.
The economic, social, academic and political life of the two regions has witnessed drastic setbacks. Businesses have been back-pedalling, schools operating at an epileptic rhythm and the population wondering if anyone is listening to their cry. For one year now, efforts to tackle the problems posed by teachers and lawyers have not been able to bring back stability. Political activists have taken over the debate with preoccupations over the form of the State. From every indication, even those who argue in that direction show little signs of a clear orientation.  
While some talk of a two-State Federation, others want Ten States as a way of getting the administration closer to the people. Yet, the 1996 Constitution talks of Cameroon as a Decentralised Unitary State. The speed of the decentralisation drive may not be to the taste of everyone, but the Head of State has not only insisted that people should look for solutions to their problems within the ambit of the law, he has equally posited that Cameroon is one and indivisible. Whether such a position is favourable to all and sundry is an entirely different story.
With the persistent unrest since October 2016, the Prime Minster Head of Government, Philemon Yang accompanied by other elite in both regions is once more on the field to understand the tenets of the crisis and look for a way forward. There are people who talk of credibility and legitimacy as if to say the entire elite of both regions should be recreated. One thing remains obvious. No matter the people that are in place, the solution has to come through an exchange of views. Those who are in power today have a vision which some may chose to disagree with. That is a democratic choice that is in line with t...