National Day To Drum Up Unity

Commentary

Celebrations marking the 46th year of Cameroon’s Unitary State are over as May 20, 2018 finally came and went. Throughout the country, administrative authorities, civil right leaders, and even heads of religious denominations joined the fray to recall the values and importance of peace, unity and living together.

Even as Cameroonians across the board felt and demonstrated the need for values that bind them together, no one can be oblivious of the discordant voices that have been raised in the past two years in the North West and South West Regions.

With the radical stance that certain individuals have taken to make their views heard, the need for dialogue proposed by President Paul Biya remains the best way out of any differences affecting  the sense of unity in diversity that the founding fathers sought to implement.

To go by the theme of the celebration; “Cameroonian citizens, let us remain united in diversity and preserve social peace for a stable, indivisible and prosperous Cameroon,” the underpinning message was clear yesterday and should be the same today and tomorrow. “United we stand and divided we fall” could be qualified by some pessimists as a vain slogan, but such wise sayings have been tested throughout the ages.

However, the actual problem which is how to manage differences in diversity must never be confused with individual frustrations, discomfort, and the desire to build a nation capable of standing the test of time.
In various speeches about the evolution of events, especially in the North West and South West and the vision for an inclusive Cameroon;  the Head of State has repeatedly pointed out that people should not focus more on the differences than the issues that bind Cameroonians together.

He has even had to point to sacrifices that those who built Cameroon had to make for the nation to be what it is today. He recalled that those who are there today have the responsibility to hand over a stronger country to the next generation. Addressing youth on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Youth Day in 2017, President Paul Biya noted that; “Patriotism is a virtue that some people might wrongly consider outdated.

Even today, it remains a mark of responsible and nobly asserted citizenship for the nation.” Coming out to declare their commitment to the nation on May 20, 2018 could have been a milestone to some in the regions that face social crisis, but the bottom-line is that those who came out to celebrate the National Day were simply out to demonst...