Tino Foy once mentioned in one of his posts that if anyone wants to change Cameroon, he or she should first start by closing ENAM and we all had a good laugh over it. Considering the number of persons who would literally kill to get into this school, that one guy comes up suggesting that it should simply be closed down might have seemed far stretched.
Personally I found that suggestion of his particularly hilarious.Then someday, the little bulb in my head lit up and I started thinking about it,I mean we all have days when we suddenly assume philosophical roles and begin pondering on some issues.
I know somebody who recently passed the entrance into ENAM and it was of great delight to many of us who know him given that the school has been greatly mystified and the chances of getting there are very slim. That said,this friend and I alongside other friends engaged in a heated argument on Donald Trump calling some countries ‘cesspools.’
I maintained that indeed these countries cited and others including Cameroon are what Donald Trump called them and that instead of demanding apologies to cure their wounded pride,African countries should use the insults as a wake up call and act on it; to better life in their countries. My friend insisted that "The leader of the world's greatest power doesn't say such ".
We quickly narrowed it down to down to the situation of our own country, as usual I hammered criticism upon criticism on the government while he took the stood in defense of the current government. When things got really hot, he said something which got me thinking, actually he said two things.
First, he said the government has given him STABILITY and for that he is infinitely grateful. This statement is in fact the quintessence of the prevalence of the status quo. People go into public service not with the intention of serving the nation but with the hope of achieving some kind of security and status as members of the administrative corps. Those who happen to go there for unselfish reasons are soon brainwashed to seeing things in the light of the majority which consists of coming and getting as much as you can without bothering about the masses they are supposed to empower.
Next,I said something about everyone putting his or her hands on deck to elevate our country and combat the failing system upon which he answered "Nobi dat tok go flop fridge".This statement depicts the sum total of the modus operandi adopted by our government officials who instead of carrying out their duties in honesty and truth, are more concerned about thickening their wives' pots of soup and the fattening of their bellies.
With all these said one can easily understand that emergence in Cameroon is far-fetched and will still be so in 2035 given that people who got into state establishments just a few months ago are already in the same frame of mind as those who got there in 1982.
All the same,I know this piece of writing will not be complete if propositions to end this way of thinking and acting are not made. First, parents should stop spreading the false gospel which says that only a government matricule can assure a comfortable life.
Next, youths should not be fooled by the sight of pot-bellied men in designer's suits who parade the streets in convoys of 10 cars and think that therein lies the essence of life ,there is greater accomplishment in personal endeavour. Martin Luther King,Bill Gates, Steve Jobs,Andrew Carnegie and many others in history have proven this.
Also, we should revamp our ways of thinking and acting, bearing in mind that being in a position of responsibility is a call to service, service to the public and not to one's self or any particular group of persons.
- Asafor Emmanuel