On the 5th of November 2024 there was a landslide in Dschang in La Republique du Cameroun’s border province known as La Region de L’Ouest, for being the western-most province of that country bordering onto Ambazonia in the North.
Ambazonia News extends the prayers of neighbouring Ambazonia to the victims, many of whom have, for generations freely come and gone into Ambazonia, intermingling with Ambazonians.
Five days after the disaster, La Republique du Cameroun’s “Prime Minister, Head of Government” posted on X to blame nature and offer prayers and condolences to the victims. He referred to the voice of Mr Biya, whose own social media post is still to come. Mr Biya clearly think his other clever invention – the “presidential silence” is appropriate for this massive loss of life.
There has been no visit by any La Republique du Cameroun minister to assess the situation, probably because there was a similar landslide in the same area in 2021, killing more than 50.
As “Le Cameroun c’est le Cameroun”, Ambazonia News is not questioning what was done to mitigate future occurrences if/when the 2021 episode was assessed.
Even for LRC, it is striking that the “government” has been so mute – even to the lack of the usual communique which would credit Mr Biya with releasing many billion of XFA to console the victims.
While there was nobody at home for the disaster, the government was busy projecting a documentary of Mr Biya’s achievements in his 42 years in office and organising celebrations and orations to mark ascension to the the Presidency. Don’t blame Ambazonia News! That is the language they use in their circles.
There is no shortage of ministers in La Republique du Cameroun but it seems they were all too busy – even JDDM who is meant to be from the neighbourhood of the disaster!
There is a possible explanation. The RDPC, Mr Biya’s “governing” party may well have been pre-occupied with celebrations on the 6th of November, but at least one of them could have commented or shown an interest. None of them did maybe for the callous reason that they did not want to be seen to be taking the lead. Yes that is a bad thing as Mr Biya is ailing and has a habit of culling the tall poppies. It wouldn’t do to project one’s self in the fevered atmosphere of Mr Biya’s imminent departure. So nobody did!
So they celebrate the 42 years of someone who succeeded a much younger person in office – the much younger person having decided to step down when they were a much better “leader” than Mr Biya subsequently proved to be!
The RDPC tabloid “Cameroun Tribune” ran an earnest editorial repeating Mr Biya’s 42 year old “mantra” of New Deal, plagiarized from the US of course, but claimed and celebrated as Mr Biya’s idea. No irony that under the new deal the regime not only could not carry out his other slogan of “Rigour and Moralization”, which were meant to fight nepotism, tribalism, corruption…
It is not an exaggeration to say that Mr Biya institutionalized those vices in his 42 years – to the extent that his regime is now in grid-lock too ashamed to repeat itself when “nature” provides the ill-timed [more like timely] evidence, if it were needed, that “Rigour and Moralisation” have become “Laissez-faire and Immorality” much like the descent of Rome into anarchy on the eve of the fall of the Roman empire. Speaking of Rome, this, if there were any doubts, is the nth crossing of the Rubicon! Even the normally fearful Camerounese are voicing discontent about the silence and disdain regarding this latest Dschang Disaster.
it is time for Mr Biya to formally bow out. It is no secret that he has not been “in” for at least a decade!
As Ambazonia News has postulated in the past, there is no one at home in La Republique du Cameroun!
Ambazonia needs to go ahead with running our country. It was never a protest or plea to gain special status of devolution or federation or any other supplicant status in a country which is so inept and unable to manage its own affairs.
Ambazonia News Briefs 