Beer drinking – response to wallang

Bobe Wallang,

A very timely contribution, with interesting ideas on the way forward.

Camerouneses (like many other sub-Saharan Africans, in Zambia for example) have developed an appetite for beer that is, to put it mildly, above average. In fact, if you look at this syndrome very closely, you could say that beer-drinking has become an integral part of what we can now call the "Camerounese cultural mindset".

No one is blowing anything out of proportion. Just as you included some numbers to support the points in the second half of your post, if one added the numbers showing the footprint and effects of beer-drinking in Cameroun, some people would think it was a joke. Especially because there are few or no services to help those who become alcoholics, and one wonders whether the companies supplying these products are liable or not. Of course, in an environment where the law is a joke, the chance of that happening is as remote as a paved road from Fundong to Laikom this decade.

Calling on Camerouneses to make a sacrifice (abstaining from beer for 40 days and 40 nights) is surely not an overblown request. In my humble opinion, if citizens want to make important, life-changing decisions, it might be a good idea to keep alcohol as far away from the decision-making as possible. Who knows: maybe the decision-makers at the Foumban conference were under the influence of alcohol. If not, how come they sold their birthright for a few shillings?

The fact that you mention the disconnect between the youth and the elites is telling. And you suggest an organizational structure, and finances, to help establish a "new breed of leadership". That all sounds good. But the question is: in what socio-political context?

The basic document that makes a state what it is in Cameroun is broken. Efforts to bring people to the table to use their brain muscles to retool this document (the National Conference) were sidelined for expediency and "chop-I-chop" policies, which led, a few days ago, to the crowning of Emperor Biya & Sons Limited.

As an observer of trends and events in this part of the world, it is safe to conclude that only a people's revolution will actually bring the change that is needed. But unfortunately, if the people are not sober, they cannot organize; and if they cannot organize, change will continue to be an elusive objective.

It cost me two shillings to post this.

iBoisɨ
~wv

— Wanaku Verdzekov