Institutions of AMBAZONIA? + Institutions Last, Individuals Don't

"Humans come and go. Institutions last much longer."

What does this mean for AMBAZONIA? Answer: everything.

For the past century, our people have been thrown and tossed from one authority to another, and in the meantime the very foundations of our indigenous Ambazonian communities have been deliberately dismantled or thrown into disarray.

Another 40 years in the desert?

Without pointing accusing fingers at Portugal, Germany, Britain or France (and its proxy agent, LRC), the citizens of AMBAZONIA need to recognize the problem in order to analyze and solve it. Absent that, we could be in our own man-made desert for another 40 years.

Was colonization a civilization?

Many colonized Africans grew up assuming that Europeans colonized the people of the "Dark Continent" to bring them "light". Or, as some African elites thought (and still think), that colonization was a civilizing mission by European agents slicing and dicing land in Africa for themselves. How long has it taken for at least a few Africans to realize that was not the case?

Colonial institutions that have little to do with community members' lives

British Southern Cameroons, aka AMBAZONIA, has been in conflict with French Cameroun, aka LRC, since 2016. Moreover, this conflict has been apparent since 1961, with a UN-approved experiment to put two formerly colonized African states (colonized by different European states, Britain and France) into one state, for reasons that today make no logical or common sense.

And the kicker is that the current UN dispensation avoids revisiting this issue like the plague. The result: conflict, loss of human life and the perpetuated suffering of the people of British Southern Cameroons, aka AMBAZONIA, under a regime whose institutions have little to do with the daily lives of these communities.

Institutions vs individuals

The simplest trick in the book, from the get-go, was for LRC to dismantle the institutions that held the citizens of British Southern Cameroons together as one unit, one people.

The question citizens may ask is: what is an institution (in the context of Ambazonia)?

AMBAZONIA: left with nothing!

Fact: Ambazonia was colonized (you cannot "uncolonize" it or just forget that it was). So citizens have to deal with past colonial rule, the institutions used to colonize, and also the individuals and positions within those institutions.

But guess what: once LRC took down any and every Ambazonian institution, the positions available to the individuals who ran them were taken down too, leaving NOTHING.

As a reference point, it helps to look at a few definitions of institutions and their importance in "society". [This points to sociology, whose experts can give more meaning to the chaos in the Cameroons in general, and in British Southern Cameroons, aka AMBAZONIA, in particular, in order to help our people.]

What are the five main types of social institution? The five major institutions in sociology are political, educational, economic, family and religion.

As a citizen of Ambazonia, try to picture which Ambazonian institutions fit these descriptions. Of course, other categories of institutions can be created, or already exist, but the point here is this: when a community of people is organized for success, these institutions are as stable as a rock, providing consistency in policy and a place for younger citizens to bank their hopes.

What if s/he gets hit by a bus?

Absent that, relying on an individual raises the question: what if s/he gets hit by a bus? Then what? Find another workhorse?

The smart thing humans do, and have done for millennia, is create and maintain solid institutions, and protect them as if the life of the community depended on it.

The struggle keeps going in recursive circles

We are witnessing the dismantling of institutions in AMBAZONIA, for reasons I still cannot explain to the younger generation. If these institutions are not rebuilt, let no citizen wonder why the "struggle" keeps going round in recursive circles.

Trust vacuum

REPEAT: the dismantling and breakdown of institutions in Ambazonia creates a TRUST VACUUM that can only be filled by a REDO of those institutions. Again, why are institutions important? No matter what political leverage an individual or group has in AMBAZONIA, as long as some institutions are not on board, there is going to be a hiccup.

Building blocks of states: land, people and institutions

Given that there are many institutions, the question becomes: which are the most essential? We can list the same categories (political, educational, economic, family, religion) and fill in the blanks. If you ask me, at this point Ambazonia should be clear, in all five categories, about what each institution represents and means for them. If citizens do not know, or are not aware, would it matter to anyone? LRC would prefer that citizens have little or no conscious understanding of the building blocks of states: land, people and institutions.

Back to the future

If citizens remember, the beginning of the "active" struggle was triggered by the Teachers' Union (educational) and the common-law lawyers (legal institution). A few episodes of the struggle have featured religious leaders commenting on, or suggesting, how to bring peace to British Southern Cameroons, aka AMBAZONIA. Most citizens of Ambazonia belong to a religious constituency. So, as an institution, religion plays a part in the restoration of Ambazonia. It is interesting to note that the individuals leading religions do not really matter, because they can be hit by a bus. But the institution remains. The question is: within the State of Ambazonia, what part is this institution (or any other) playing to help end the suffering of the people of Ambazonia, without compromising with the lying, diabolical UN–France–LRC bind that has held since 1961?

Rehash: strong individuals (proverbial "strongmen") do not cook beans for my GrandMa in Ambazonia. Strong institutions DO cook beans for her.

So…

Ija'iku fɨlasi!

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Institutions Last, Individuals Don't

11 April 2023

Unless we want to ISOLATE ourselves and not deal with the rest of the world, AMBAZONIA needs to create and maintain INTERFACES that other "interfaces" can recognize, understand and work with.

So far, the language and posture of those claiming to represent my GrandPa in AMBAZONIA have not scratched the surface of this interface-building business (not yet).

There is a way to talk to humans, friends and enemies alike. It requires tact and, above all, "cultural dexterity". Running into other athletes' lanes in a relay race (politics) is a no-no and can cause unnecessary accidents.

INSTITUTIONS LAST, INDIVIDUALS DON'T.

So where will CHILDREN bank their hopes? In an institution, or in an individual? Some of our ancestors knew the answer. Is the new generation really that ignorant?

Citizens should make wise decisions, unless everyone has become a Nyamfɨkah.

Ija'iku fɨlasi!

— Wanaku Verdzekov