KamNDEM.

Cameroon may be where the answers to Africa’s liberation come from. I saw a list of all the key people in the country, and they were all very older men. How can such older people hold an entire populace comprising brilliant young people hostage? The answer is divide and rule. I have worked in many African countries, but two places where I saw overt prejudice were Kenya and Cameroon. Nigerians may hate each other, but they hide it until they can do each other in. In Kenya, the Luo and Kikuyu guys in the same office in 1999 weren't talking to each other and were sending emails back and forth with me in the middle. They would talk to me separately but not to each other. They kept every interaction formal. I found it odd until I understood from the conversation that they hated each other. Even Nigerians pretend before they stab you in the back. Cameroon was special. They treated us very well and like royalty. The food was phenomenal, and the Mekwe was for the gods, as we were told “allegedly.” The people were brilliant and fast learners. We thought it was a great place to get people skilled up and leave them in charge, but that was a bad mistake. The Cameroonian guys we left behind to continue work were the guys the people we were working for hated. We didn't understand the local divisions and didn't see it coming. The driver who was taking non-Cameroonians to and from work refused to take his fellow Cameroonians to the office; it was that bad. The whole thing degenerated rapidly, and we were out of there and have never been back to work there. Kenya wasn't even that bad, as they still worked together. These divisions are music to the ears of old politicians. One old politician may do you harm, and instead of taking it out on him and his accomplices, you hate the larger group that they belong to based on stereotypes that become validated when they hate you in return. The craziest part of Cameroon’s division is that it is largely based on adopted colonial languages. I have met Cameroonians, and I know for a fact that many are exceptionally brilliant. I believe they can come together and find a solution that the rest of Africa can learn from. I don't think the old men dying off will be the simple solution, as other almost old men are ready to take their place. The solution lies in what the youth do to end the divisions and have one voice. This is the same problem that plagues most of Africa. Family members quarrel but remain family members. African citizens quarrel, and the next thing you see is weapons. Rwanda’s solution was a strong leader. Cameroon’s solution may be something different and more durable. We are watching and praying that they figure this out. It is easier for it to happen in a smaller country than Inna bigger one. Cameroon may give Nigeria and others the template to remove the oppressors.