Bernard Okalia Bilai Archives
“Those who are in the bushes are not ghosts. They are human beings. And it has been proven that they are in contact with many people. Let those facilitators use those contacts to bring them out so we can go for dialogue together.”
Okalia Bilai Bernard, Governor of Cameroon’s South West Region was speaking Thursday, September 19, 2019 shortly after presiding at a regional consultation meeting ahead of the Major National Dialogue aimed at resolving the bloody crisis crippling the North West and South West Regions.
The Governor went on to call on armed men who seek the independence of a country they call Ambazonia to drop their arms, leave the bushes and come for dialogue.
Okalia says there is need for the people to look in the same direction as they go to the dialogue table, which direction he says will lead to lasting peace.
“…But we should not be looking in the same direction alone. Let us pull those our brothers who are in the bushes to come with us so that we can look in the same direction in the benefit of the South West Region,” Okalia said.
The Governor told his audience that they all know at least one separatist fighter or are in communication with them. He therefore enjoined them to talk the armed fighters out of the bushes so that they can take part in the upcoming Major National Dialogue.
Okalia says when they next meet on Wednesday, September 25, 2019, to pick delegates to represent the South West at the Major National Dialogue, the Non-State Armed Groups should be present to have their say. Those who are in contact with the armed groups were thus charged to fetch them and bring to the dialogue table.
When we have to talk of dialogue, it means that those people who are holding guns must be part of the decision-making on how to bring back peace, said Chief Peter Agborbechem Tambi, Associate Professor and Dean of the Faculty of Education at the University of Buea.
Chief Ndiko Fonderson Henry of Mevio Village, President of the Limbe Chiefs Conference says there is need to find a common ground given that the aspirations of each and every Anglophone can never be met.
“We should know that no one person’s aspirations can be met completely because either way, no one aspiration can favour every Anglophone. So, we have to filter and find the middle ground,” he said.
Fon Fontem Asabaton, Traditional Ruler of Fontem says everyone should welcome the Major National Dialogue. ““The dialogue is like a package. We don’t throw away a package without finding out its content,” he said.
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