It has actually been five years since I moved back to Cameroon not knowing what I was signing up for. I had never had to live on my own in Cameroon before and fend for myself so my memories of Cameroon were mostly the exciting adventures of a secondary school kid.
We also have a culture where when parents or elders are discussing, children have to go to the room so I couldn't have known much about the realities of the life of an adult Cameroonian.
Kids are always saved the trouble of knowing their future is going to be dim; I don't know how that is supposed to help. I always joke to myself when I see young kids playing around happily -In my mind I'm thinking "just wait till you grow up."
For the last five years, all I have seen in Cameroon is questionably good intentions and a glorious celebration of insubstantial gains. I don't think the Cameroonian has a good barometer for progress, reason why we can't even establish standards.
When you look at the poor work done in the name of renovating the Omnisport stadium or the low quality Limbe Stadium and compare it to the satisfaction expressed you can tell that by 2035, we would have been sold on the idea of emergence while our heads lie flat on the ocean floor. What we are being sold are distractions not progress; that is why in the midst of a national crises, we celebrated the female lions emerging runner up and spent 500 million FCFA touring around the country with a trophy only to have the team kicked out of a hotel weeks later for unpaid bills.
What we are doing in Cameroon is basically trying to dig ourselves out of a hole. (Pregnant pause)
We have superficial plans that do not fit any defined process. We are more concerned with looking busy rather than getting the job done. We are copying and pasting solutions without looking at the root of the problems we have.
That is why the government will supply students with computers instead of building libraries with a few computers, reliable internet access, and a variety of books and resources those students can use to develop employable skills. Most people who received those computers know no other use of a computer other than what they already do with their cell phones.
We are not responding to our environment, we are not looking for our strengths to improve on them, we are trying to cover up our weaknesses. We are not building assets. We spend our time acquiring liabilities. When you look at most of the high level government sponsored construction projects, they are being carried out by foreigners which means the same foreigners will still have to come back when it is time for maintenance. What then is happening in our technical schools? Must we adopt the kind of infrastructure we see on TV or can we use our basic skills and creativity to build something unique?
We want to treat life as if it was a marathon where you have to keep running whereas life is more like a game of basketball, you can take time outs and reevaluate your strategy.
What I am saying is- we all remember we are supposed to be emerging in 2035 but we don't know exactly what that means. What are the goals? How do we measure progress? Are those even the right goals? A serious government would have had a website dedicated to the emergence where data is keyed in daily to show/track progress.
We are not serious, we are all in the business of photo ops and propaganda. The business of ministers inaugurating eyelash shops for pea-brained socialites. We are delusional and we lie to ourselves so much and believe our own lies. We are building a house of cards that will collapse in 2035.
Truth is we don't care and we are making it cool not to care.
- Tino Foy