The World Shouldn’t Wait Till We Become Another Statistics —Dr. Sako, Ambazonian Leader

BY FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

The leader of the ‘Federal Republic of Ambazonia’, an internationally unrecognized proto-state of British Southern Cameroons, Dr. Samuel Ikome Sako has expressed deep concern over the silence of many African leaders on the ongoing human catastrophe in the Ambazonia region since 2017 when Cameroonian President, Mr. Paul Biya declared war on his people.

Speaking Sunday during a virtual press conference with select journalists across Africa, Dr. Sako said the leaders should not wait till they become another statistics before they react as recent events have seen tens of thousands of innocent Ambazonian citizens killed and hundreds of their villages razed with the people fleeing into neighbouring countries as refugees.

“How many more people will be killed before the world wakes up? This is what happened in Rwanda and the World was living in denial until after the genocide and they came up with figure of 800,000 to I million. Why should Africa wait till the people of Ambazonia become another statistic? Why should Africa not wake up while it’s still happening? This will cost them nothing more than to speak up and put the Cameroon government on the spot to answer some questions over this ongoing catastrophe,” Dr. Sako said.

He disclosed that the death toll keeps increasing as a result of atrocious crimes perpetrated by the military forces of French Cameroon, culminating with the recent gruesome killing at a checkpoint of a 6-year old school girl, Caroline by the security forces who shot her on the head.

According to Dr. Sako, as of now, more than 30,000 civilians have been killed with about 500 villages burned to the ground, and more than 120,000 refugees in neighbouring countries while there are over 1.5 million refugees/IDPs in French Cameroon and Ambazonian territories respectively.

He added that about 10,000 enforced disappearances —Ambazonian citizens unaccounted for, likely massacred and buried in mass graves across both territories by French Cameroonian genocidal forces— while several massacres including those of Ngarbuh, Mautu, Santa-Pinyin, Bali, Bafut, and Kumba are well-documented in various universities and libraries in many Western nations.

Sako noted that as much as the Ambazonian leaders are trying to adopt the peaceful process to achieve their desired goals, they might be forced to defend themselves if the ongoing massacre by the French Cameroon is not stopped.

Also commenting, Ms. Irene Ngwa, Ambazonian Secretary of Communications lamented that while millions of other African children are going to schools and enjoying the comfort of their parents, millions of Ambazonian kids are traumatized as they are forced to survive under the elements in a debilitating conditions with their parents in various IDP camps.

While Ms. Irene singled out Nigeria Government and the media for their magnanimity towards the people of Ambazonia, yet, she believes the West African country —who was one of the 62 nations that voted YES in 1961 at the United Nations for the independence of Ambazonia people— can do more by leading those other African countries to champion the call for the desire recognition and aspiration of the 8 million people of Ambazonia.

In his own contribution, Dr. Ngwambe, Deputy Secretary of Communications, thanked both the Nigerian and Ghanaian government for standing up and identifying with the people of Ambazonia. He however pleaded with more African countries to speak up and help put an end to the genocide being perpetrated by the French-backed Cameroonian Government.

According to Ngwambe, African nations should support all the current efforts aimed at resolving the conflict in the country which include the implementation of the 2019 Switzerland proposal to mediate between Cameroon and Southern Cameroons (Ambazonia) as a way forward to justice and lasting peace.

He noted that this initiative was endorsed by the United States, United Nations, European Union, Canada and other countries but French Cameroon supported by France has refused to commit to the Swiss-led Negotiation Process, despite Ambazonia’s commitment to it.

On 1 October, 2017, the leader of Ambazonia symbolically declared their independence from the remaining Cameroon—but yet to be recognized as a nation by any country in the world— but ever since, the “Federal Republic of Ambazonia” have in recent times adopts severally peaceful means to register their agitations including the enforcement of a school boycott and embarked on a civil disobedience action known as ‘ghost towns’ every Monday.