Isn’t ironic that we have a reputation for birthing and grooming many internet fraudsters but we seem to have one of the most vulnerable populations to scams. I was talking to a friend the other day and we shared a huge laugh after he said there are only three healthy industries in Cameroon - Agriculture/Food, Telecom, and Fraud.
I mean, our government is just another big scam - just imagine the amount of money stolen from people in the name of fiscal stamps and certification of Documents. I needed to make a medical certificate so I could get a replacement driver’s license. I was charged 1,500 FCFA for a piece of paper that had, I think, 600F written on it, got a receipt for 600F and saw the doctor for a signature without examination. I guess for complying with paying a certain amount and not arguing when the receipt says otherwise, I had passed the fitness test for road worthiness in Cameroon. I mean the police sure loves people of that nature.
May I add that that was the second time in three months that I am having to prepare that same medical certificate. Aren’t those things supposed to be valid at least for a few months? So If I have affairs with 6 different government entities on the same day, I have to make six different medical certificates? what about certification of documents. Should that be something you need to do more than once for each document? I mean - WHAT HAPPENED TO TECHNOLOGY?
We started this year with some money multiplication scheme and nobody till date has been able to explain to me how an idea that made absolutely no sense managed to attract so many victims. I am a firm believer that easy money is bad money, especially when it comes to people who have not been around a lot of money. If I wake up tomorrow and I am told Dangote is now the richest person in the world, that is a possibility. He is already in a position to become that in a matter of seconds. However, if I hear I can invest 100,000 FCFA today and get 300,000 after 60 days, my scam alert antenna goes ‘piong.’
I’m skeptical about virtual currencies - bitcoin and the like. It however seems that was the wave people rode into the 20 for 80 scheme. I’ve met people who were so excited about bitcoin but couldn’t even tell me what the blockchain technology is all about.How do you invest in something you don't even understand?
We are all aware of this thing called the internet. We have our grandmothers on WhatsApp and we know more about Facebook than Mark but it seems we have refused to see technology for what it really is - a tool for development. We treat it like a pair of shoes you bought because your friend bought one.
We still have people who are supposed to be in university who do not know how to use a Gmail account. If I say that is something that can land you in serious trouble, some will say I am exaggerating but it is true. Another amazing tool which many have used to change the world and develop their communities is google. Even though it is so simple to use, many of use still don’t know the use not to talk of how to use it.
I do this little exercise whenever I want to prove to people that there is such a thing as knowing how to use google and knowing how to use google begins with having common sense. We all know what a ‘petit coat’ is. Now, how many of you know what that is called in English? I have polled enough people to say less than 30 percent of Cameroonians can answer that.
I found out the English name for ‘petit coat’ with the help of google. If you have the same problem how would you have applied google to find it. How fast can you find it? I did with one search phrase and one link click. I am sure most will find it eventually but if we have to look closely at how everyone got the answer, someone will die laughing. I’ll tell you how I got it after your comments on how you got it.
In the next part of this article, I will be showing you how we can use technology to solve many administrative problems that contribute to our failing socioeconomic and political systems.
- Tino Foy