Irksome spell

The year 2020 was plagued by surprises, most of them unpleasant. In Cameroon, despite efforts made to stall the separatists trend with its ravaging effects in the North west and South west regions, die-hard secessionist fighters saw nothing wrong in kidnapping innocent citizens including traditional rulers, men of God, and eliminating lives of even school children. What a year! Fortunately, efforts aimed at restoring peace included not only the implementation of important decisions taken during the major national dialogue, but also, the mobilization of ex-separatist fighters to join the rehabilitation centres where they can be trained to be useful to themselves and the nation.
Furthermore, in its efforts to weather the storms that provoked the crisis, Government successfully organised regional council elections and put in place regional councillors who in respect of the law elected their president and other bureau heads, in preparation for take-off.
As the efforts for restoration of peace continued during the year, religious groups prayed not only for peace to reign in the country, but also for the eradication of a global health pandemic that has been claiming lives in thousands, especially in Europe and the United States of America. While in Cameroon people could smile that the loss of life was not counted in thousands, the Government in its dynamic approach to eradication of the disease continued to insist on citizens to respect barrier measures of combating the pandemic.
Elsewhere in the world, the source of hope was the invention of a vaccine against the pandemic that surprisingly within the year surfaced with a second wave that again claimed lives in thousands.
Other unpleasant surprises of the year included protests which apparently had become an indispensable means to an end. Some of the surprises even came from citizens of World democracies. Their failure to demonstrate political maturity after elections surprised many. Once again, the problem was personal interests and not political institutions.
What a challenge it is for leaders and the led to prove that they love their nations better than their political positions!
 
Transitions
2020 will also be remembered as the year in which African nations lost many of their former leaders; Pierre NKURUZIZA of Burundi, Pascal LISOUBA of Congo Brazzaville; Moussa TRAORE of Mali; Amadou TOUMANI TOURE of Mali, Sidi OUDI of Mauritanie; Mamadou TANDJA of Niger and Jerry RAWLINGS of Ghana. France also lost its well respected former President Valery Giscard D’Estaing. They all played...