Below is a press release issued after a meeting by sons and daughters of the Division to look at the way forward.
“A meeting bringing together sons and daughters of Kupe-Muanenguba Division from different walks of life was held on Friday, 25 May 2018 in Yaounde.
Convened at the behest of and chaired by the Minister Assistant Secretary-General at the Presidency of the Republic, ELUNG Paul CHE, the meeting sought to review the prevailing socio-political atmosphere in the Division and to brainstorm possible ways and means of mitigating the situation, which is degenerating into chaos by the day.
Participants were all deeply concerned about the mayhem in the once peaceful Division, now turned virtually into an epicentre of violent agitation. They saw the compelling, very urgent need for open dialogue and for an impartial, objective diagnosis of the causes so as to come up with sustainable solutions that will help restore the much cherished peace in the Division.
They further voiced concern about the exactions of criminals, which ultimately result in otherwise avoidable loss of human life and property and the displacement of the local population, the consequences of which shall haunt us long after their causes shall have been forgotten and remedy unavailable.
Our offsprings, whose future we claim to be fighting for, have been taken hostage while children in other Divisions are still going to school. This is not only unacceptable because we are, perhaps inadvertently, violating their fundamental right to education, but is also a rather unreasonable way of preparing them to be slaves to their mates elsewhere with whom they will be unable to compete in future.
Faced with this, participants were unanimous that it is an unfortunate situation that benefits no one and that needs to be addressed urgently and in all objectivity. There is an urgent need to bridge the communication gap between the elite and the local population in general and youths in particular. The following resolutions were therefore adopted:
1. There is dire need for tolerance and reconciliation, which can only be possible if there is effective and open communication. Given the breakdown in communication, the people who are giving them various kinds of support need to be identified, including our brothers and sisters in the Diaspora and made to realise the utter futility of this perilous adventure. The clergy and other people of goodwill should also be involved;
2. The elite should endeavour to reach out to disgruntled youths and bring them closer. Due to their predicament, and precarious socio-economic circumstances, they became vulnerable and thus receptive to illusionist propaganda and brainwashing. Resorting to violence as a way of settling dispute is strange to the character of the Kupe/Muaneguba man. There is thus need to educate the youths to restrain from unlawful activities and raise awareness on the dangers of using extreme means to voice grievances, however legitimate. This has already proven to be counterproductive because the prime victims are their own kith and kin who are unable to cultivate their farms and to sell their produce;
3.Such outreach would also warrant contributions to raise funds to be used in providing relief to displaced persons, and in due course assisting those whose houses were burnt to encourage them to return to their homes and also seek lasting ways of gainfully occupying the belligerent youth;
4. There is a crying need to brainstorm ways and means of creating a more enabling environment for our offspring to effectively resume classes in September so that they can be able to stand competition in future;
5. Kupe-Muanenguba needs to meet at least once every quarter to fraternise and share ideas that could help pre-empt such occurrences in future and foster unity amongst us.”
Yaounde, 25 May, 2018
For and on behalf of the people of Kupe-Muanenguba
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