In Cameroon, just like in many countries all
over the world, hypocrisy is one of the major characteristics or aspects of
human relationships, etc. It is perceivable (overtly and covertly) on a daily
basis in the lives of children, adults, the elderly, etc. It is one of the
traits of human nature, a nature which is downgraded by duplicity in its
various forms. It is in this light that in family life, inter-personal
relationships, tribal/ethnic activities, socio-linguistic matters, political
issues, trade unionism, professional matters, religious activities, women’s relationships,
satanic matters and other domains of life in the Cameroonian society,
it rears its ugly head.
In the Cameroon society, there is a lot of
hypocrisy within family circles. In
this connection:
-
Husbands
cheat on their wives and, at the same time, pretend that they love them. Wives
act in a similar manner;
-
Many
wives who are maltreated by their husbands pretend to live happily in their homes and vice versa;
-
Parents
pretend to love their kids on an equal basis;
-
Relatives
of nuclear families pretend to love these families and vice versa;
-
Etc.
Furthermore, each family in Cameroon hypocritically
strives to present the best possible image of itself.
It is in this light that it meticulously conceals its evil or atrocious deeds
and clearly presents a positively spurious or fake picture of itself to the
society or world. It skillfully shatters or discredits other families and
pretentiously depicts itself as one of the best families in the world.
Many inter-personal
relationships in the Cameroonian society are partially based on
hypocritical attitudes, attitudes which seriously undermine what President Paul
Biya refers to as Cameroon’s ultimate goal.
To this end, a person who is considered by another person as his/her best
friend may be the source or origin of his/her downfall or demise.
The latter may skillfully pretend to be a trustworthy friend and thereby
obstruct the progress or success of the former in many domains. At times,
he/she may go as far as killing his/her friend very easily because of the genuine
trust his/her friend has in him/her.
A lot of hypocrisy is perceivable in tribal/ethnic activities in Cameroon.
When some Cameroonians talk in public about tribalism, one may naively think
that this phenomenon does not exist in Cameroon. They deceitfully and
hypocritically talk like anti-tribalism angels, messengers of anti-tribalism,
etc. They misleadingly and hypocritically depict a Cameroon devoid of tribalism.
In order to buttress their anti-tribal arguments,
they always mention the omnipresence of inter-tribal marriages in Cameroon, the
inter-tribal reactions in the political sphere, etc.
Unfortunately, tribalism is exceedingly
present in Cameroon. It is very present in offices, playgrounds, schools, neighbourhoods, churches, mosques, hospitals, markets, media
houses, families, etc. Many activities and dealings, in terms of public service
recruitments and appointments, political party politics, economic matters,
church politics, etc, are regrettably influenced, to
a great extent, by tribal considerations.
The level of hypocrisy found in inter-tribal
issues in Cameroon is similar to that obtainable in socio-linguistic matters. On a daily basis, the two main linguistic
communities in the said country (the French-speaking and English-speaking
communities) utter hypocritical statements which easily and erroneously enable
someone to believe that all is well between these two communities. They
strenuously and hypocritically argue that these communities have succeeded to
surmount their differences in a variety of domains.
Their welfare arguments in favour of the said two communities are debunked by many
clashes between these communities. They clash in schools, marriages, offices,
shops, health institutions, cabs, churches, playgrounds, media houses, etc. Worse
still, they are now clashing in a very devastating war in the two Anglophone
Regions. They are hypocritically living together in a weird type of union, a
union which will not be successful having all sorts of deceit, a union whose
deceitful and hypocritical character was indirectly shown by Dr John Ngu
Foncha (former Vice-President of Cameroon, former
Vice-President of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, etc).
Political
parties
in Cameroon display a lot of hypocrisy. They have very democratic constitutions
and institutions meant to ensure democracy. However, they pretentiously preach
democracy during political rallies. They affectedly explain their democratic intentions
and nature in media houses. Their preachings, explanations,
utterances, etc are a far cry from the reality
noticed in their field activities, a far cry from the crying injustices or
abuses embedded in their undemocratic practices.
Some of these practices are as follows:
-
The
undemocratic expulsion of members;
-
The
dictatorial attitudes of some party bigwigs;
-
The
use of fraudulent means during intra-party and extra-party elections;
-
Unfair
intra-party and inter-party destabilization activities;
-
Lack
of financial, moral and other forms of accountability;
-
Etc.
Cameroon’s trade unions function in a very hypocritical atmosphere, an
atmosphere which was, and is still, bred by the re-modelling
of trade unions in Cameroon after its independence.
Trade union leaders are very vociferous when called upon to defend or uphold
the rights of trade union members in various domains. They always threaten to
go on strike with their members whereas most of them use their threats as a
ploy to blackmail the government in order to receive personal bribes from it. They
keep on deceiving their members that they are working in their interest whereas
they are torpedoing all trade union moves to be successful and hypocritically
working for their respective personal interests.
A good number of Cameroonians pretend a lot
in their various professions or
professional set-ups. Some of them pretend because they are jealous of
their more successful colleagues and are yearning to occupy their posts.
Furthermore some other pretentious workers claim to respect and love their
bosses whereas they are the ones destroying them behind the scenes. This
hypocritical situation is omnipresent and omnipotent in professional relationships
in ministries, companies, churches, etc.
The behavioural patterns
in religious circles in Cameroon are
a glaring example of hypocrisy in the lives of Cameroonians. Although the
religions in Cameroon have moral/spiritual models (such as St. Joseph) and preach
virtue (they do so in sermons, deliverance sessions, media houses, schools,
prisons, car parks, playgrounds, etc), this preaching
exercise is not sufficiently put into practice since many Christians, Moslems
and believers in other religions frequently behave hypocritically in the
society.
A good number of those persons who preach
virtue in churches, mosques, temple, synagogues, etc
are the same people who practice vice. They do so in terms of public service
promotion and recruitment; the delivery of public service; the management of
family affairs; the management of religious affairs; the handling of school
issues; the manner in which people are treated; etc. Furthermore, in some
paradoxical cases, the more prayerful a person is, the more harmful he/she
becomes! In a nutshell, hypocrisy and religion are strange bedfellows in
Cameroon, strange bedfellows indeed!
In Cameroon, women usually exhibit hypocritical attitudes. They pretend to be one
in mind and heart, to love each other sincerely. They hypocritically claim to
be each other’s keeper, etc whereas their activities
and attitudes constitute stumbling blocks to their welfare, success or
progress. Their hypocritical attitude is omnipresent, an omnipresence which
lends more credence to, and is perceptible in, BUCREP’s claim as to the road to
the attainment of gender equality in Cameroon.
It is on the strength of the foregoing that a
good number of women pretend to support their fellow women who are involved in
feminist activities. They provide just lip- service support or allegiance. Moreover,
some women hypocritically advocate the appointment and promotion of female
workers to top positions in public and private sectors. When these workers are
appointed or promoted, the former overtly or covertly display a sense of
jealousy vis-à-vis the appointees or the promoted.
A good number of Cameroonians pretentiously
claim that they are not involved in satanic
or evil practices. They openly and devotedly take part in moral and
religious activities in their respective families, churches, offices, etc. They
do their utmost to present a righteous picture of their respective characters.
Unfortunately, they are members of cults or
secret organizations. They secretly, openly and wholeheartedly participate in
the activities of these cults and organizations. They sacrifice blood, human
lives, human organs, etc. They take vows of poverty, fidelity (to evil spirits,
etc), secrecy, etc.
In conclusion, it could be said beyond
reasonable doubt that hypocrisy (in its various forms or facets) occupies a
prominent place in the Cameroonian society. As already seen, it is perceptible
in family life, inter-personal relationships, tribal/ethnic activities,
socio-linguistic matters, political issues, trade unionism, professional
matters, religious activities, women’s relationships, satanic matters and other
domains of life. It is noticeable in schools, churches, hospitals, offices,
markets, shops, bars, restaurants, streets, motor parks, airports, railway
stations, playgrounds, seminars, conferences, workshops, etc. In order to
considerably reduce it, there is need for all the stakeholders in the
anti-hypocrisy domain (the Cameroonian Government, psychologists, sociologists,
parents, politicians, workers, religious leaders, women, etc)
to set up a solid front to fight against it wherever and whenever it is necessary.
