Effort-Reward in Real Life

Most of the times Most people will always like to put in the least effort and expecting to reap the highest benefit-This is the phenomenon of inverse/paradoxical reciprocality of life.But when things turnout otherwise demotivation is incriminated as the cause for inertia. The reality of life is that, for a given effort, one gets at its best an on par benefit or less but never more..except….! (EIN 2013).

Values and Virtues

Never give up your morals values or virtues in exchange for anything. When the European missionaries came to Africa, they told us, polygamy or more precisely polyandry was “bad” and a “sin”. Polyandry was an African cultural value for an avalanche of reasons. Then, nothing was mentioned of human rights to protect this African value. Today, same countries under the pretext of “human rights” want to force homosexuality to us something which is not only considered as a sin in most religions but a cultural taboo that doesn’t tie with our good African moral values. Africans wouldn’t succumb to any duress as homosexuality will only add our burden and increase the pending list of unsolved social problems. In Cameroon, it is proscribed in accordance with article 347 of our penal code with deviants punishable, likewise in most or all African countries. If you are a proponent of homosexuality then Africa is not the place for you. Bravo, Nigeria, Senegal, Uganda, Gambia…….

Wars & Peace

Wars are a consequence of geopolitical power struggle and financial gains. The majority have nothing to do with bringing peace and happiness to ordinary people which is always the media motive for war. Don’t go to war hoping to gain peace in return!

If men would consider not so much where they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of uncharitableness and angry feeling in the world says Joseph Addison.

Everyone must not share the same opinion and everything must not be the same- homogeneity is alien and utopic to man. Discussing differences & compromising to come out with practical win-win solutions is what really makes life interesting. Life is not a dichotomous black/white Yes/No, Left/Right, Win/lose ….as conventional teaching has conditioned us to think. Life is a spectrum with 80% of the events,  people & thinking falling within the Gaussian middle. Unfortunately, the powerful, minority and  extreme right-left 20% determine and set the pace for the rest to follow!

Imagine a homogenous world where everyone one was to think in the same way, had same hobby, ate same food, spoke same language, belonged to same religion, ethnicity, and

all plants had same color…what a dull world would it have been!

Therefore we must not simply fight, nor go to war because we are different or think differently!

Just thinking aloud at the dawn of a New Year.

African Leadership Fallacy

It is a long held African Fallacy that change in leadership is the silver bullet that will solve all the nations' and continent's problems. This strips the vast majority of the entrepreneurial duty to work at bettering the lot of their people waiting for the day when the Almighty God or some telekinesis will take the life of their incumbent or usurp them from power. But sooner or later they're disillusioned when the much awaited change doesn't arrive with a change in leadership. Certainly leadership ought to be an important component to the "Development Equation" but in most African countries it has been made the sole predictor, and with this fallacy in mind we're all hands folded waiting for magic solutions.
It is time to forget this governance obsession and return to nation building. It is time to consider "poor leadership" a constant in the equation of development and begin to do what we need to do to advance. When good leadership meets our train having left the station it will only propel us many generations ahead. There is no problem without a solution but as long as the solution is narrowed down to some concepts called "good governance" and "democracy" which I am quite sure we wouldn't be having even in the nearest remote future we are bound to keep spinning our wheels on same spot. 
Democracy is just a simple template.Its application must consider the timing,logistics, cultural values and social preferences. A copy and paste solution has never worked and will never be. It is just one of the many forms of governance, if it doesn't work then alternative forms should be a given a try.Insisting that democracy is the only solution is dogmatic and fallacious.It is time to try something else... ( Gabila Fohtung and Ignatius Esene)

MAY 20th CELEBRATION AND BILINGUALISM IN CAMEROON.

Today May 20th Cameroonians celebrate the “National Day”. What is the significance of may 20th to Cameroonians?

FACTS:
Cameroon has no single date of independence.
On January 1, 1960 French Cameroon gained independence and became the Republic of Cameroon and in 1961,
On the 1st of October 1961 the former British Southern Cameroons gained independence from the United Kingdom and thus emerged a two-state Federal Republic of Cameroon.
On the of 20th of May 1972 a nation-wide referendum resulted in the dissolution of the two-state federation, transforming the federation of two states into One State, A United Nation-A United Cameroon.
On February 4, 1984, President Paul Biya issued a decree changing the official name of Cameroon from the "United Republic of Cameroon" to the "Republic of Cameroon".
How United Is the Republic Of Cameroon? What are the elements of National Unity?
One of the elements is undoubtably “bilingualism”. Cameroonians ought to take pride in being a bilingual nation, one of the rare two in the world having French and English as official languages. But how true is this? How real is this ? Every honest and patriotic Cameroonian will concur with me that Cameroon is still miles away from truly integrating this wasted advantage. “Wasted” in the sense that the authorities that be haven’t realize that bilingualism in Cameroon is a plus, is a strength, is an opportunity and not a threat.
In the 80s , Cameroonians were leading most international organizations that needed representatives from Africa because of our innate advantage of bilingualism but today we possess a very little chance to compete as others have joined the race and even surpassed us. Governments across the world are investing in languages.
How is bilingualism related to the 20th of May? By celebrating may 20th, we are commemorating the union of two people initially speaking “two languages”. The union ought to hold this point with high esteem. 
IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE THAT THE LETTER HEAD OF THE PRESIDENCY OF A BILINGUAL NATION BARES JUST ONE OF THE LANGUAGES.This is the bitter truth but must be spoken. This puts into question the unity itself. Do not judge me wrong for I am an apolitical patriotic Cameroonian that wants just the best for my dear fatherland. I am just being honest with myself. For a country as heterogeneous as Cameroon, the respect each other's cultural values is a necessity for national unity.
Bilingualism is one of the elements that will make Cameroonians feel truly Cameroonians. Although every Cameroonian ought to be bilingual, when conditions preclude this, the person’s language of preference should be respected! It is the responsibility of the government to promote this. My first exposure to the French language was in form one having had my primary education with no exposure---this applies to many other Cameroonians.
I think Cameroon will become a true united nation the day all Cameroonians are able to speak French and English.
Happy National Day.

Prism of Vision

One’s “perception”, “belief” and “judgment” depends on one’s “prism of vision”-the angle from which one looks and sees, chooses to look and see or has been taught to look and see! 

Destiny 2

Never compare your journey with others for your path is unique. Own it and make the best out of it.
People become what they become; by omission or by commission they become what they become. It is as true as you and I are living today and will die tomorrow.No philosophy can disprove of this logic!

Learning

Anything written in black and white can be learned.

Anything written by man can be learned by man .

Anything that has been learned by man can be learned by  man.

Anything that has been learned  and known by someone,

 can be learned  and known by anyone and everyone.

All that is required is to be simple, systematic and dedicated.
Don't say you can't if you haven't tried it.

                                                                     

Life

It never rains but it pours….it never shines but it blazes! Every second, every minute and every day in our lives we are subjected to temptations that tax our self-control and drain our willpower. We get worried and frustrated especially when we get the feelings of just spinning our wheels in the mud.

Unfortunately we can’t control nor predict life’s surprise stresses but once adversities set in we must take the lesson from the difficult situation avoiding to add more stress to stressful times.

We never get to know people nor places too well until life presents its other facets. In the course of our journey to destiny we meet various people positioned by God to lead us!

Some will bring a challenge……. others will bring support,

some will bring provision and some will fuel your trials.

Some will bring the whole package for your good.

But we shouldn’t be too certain that we already know the full value of the people God has placed in our lives for life is a process and humans are dynamic.

A friend once penned that “God doesn't come down from Heaven to help his faithful ones, but sends people in the form of angels”. Nothing in this world happens randomly; our destinies have already been designed. I used to worry but I do so no more for there is no problem without a solution. Everything shall come to pass for every cloud has a silver lining.

At the end of the day there will be no tales to tell and no stories to write if events didn’t happen.

The Healing Hand

Recently, I had a discussion with my mentor a veteran and a professor emeritus of neurosurgery.Though an old hand with many cumulative years of experience and excellent surgical skills, he has always shown modesty of his prowess. A few days ago he revealed to me an important professional secret which I have been meditating on .....the healing hand of God!

I became curious about his attitude as he prayed with the patient each time we had to act even if the patient was of a different religious denomination from his.I had earlier observed that some patients with (malignant) conditions already classified as doomed to die within weeks to months had an extra-ordinary survival of years to decades in his hands.So in my inquisitiveness, I asked my teacher why all medical literature and experts were/are condemning patients with such conditions to death even before their divine call comes

He said I quote"It is not all about intelligence, it is not all about skills or knowledge, it is about the healing hand of God".
No matter how talented one is, one has to always have in mind that the divine one determines the final outcome of every intervention or action we undertake in life.This doesn't some how undermine the importance of good training and the need for the medic to forge for excellent skills and a proficient hand craft.
When one considers a patient as a brother or sister not just a mere object for training nor  a client for making money, a spiritual bond is added to the physical patient-doctor relationship.This bridge brings in the main determinant of the team's success-God.
A condition sine qua non for the success of surgery is harmony in the operation room,harmony with oneself, harmony between the surgeon and the patient and other members of the team and the environment.The presence of an odd third party in the theatre who is not in synch with rest of the team members leads to a desynchronization---the bond is breached with a risk of failure of the surgery.This confounder though often neglected should be sought for before and during surgery and corrected.
To make long short, one should always remember that ....it is not all about talent,intelligence, nor knowledge...there is always a hidden divine hand of healing.Our humane actions should never be dissociated from divine providence.
Pray before you act and your actions will be miraculously transformed into success.Good day.