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Greener Journal of Social Sciences Vol. 14(2), pp. 285-288, 2024 ISSN: 2276-7800 Copyright ©2024, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International. |
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Cameroon: Land of
Excessive Criticisms
Dr.
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ABSTRACT |
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This article is an attempt to show that in Cameroon, excessive
criticism exists in many sectors of life (the media, education, health, the
rule of law, sports, transport, labour, etc). The government is one of the
greatest victims of this type of criticism. There is need for those who
indulge in it to turn and stick to objective and constructive criticism
(coupled with objective and constructive proposals) for the sake of societal
welfare. |
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ARTICLE’S INFO |
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Article No.: 111324168 |
Accepted: 13/11/2024 Published: 13/12/2024 |
*Corresponding Author Kijem Joseph Yuh E-mail:
yuh750@gmail.com |
Keywords: |
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In Cameroon, there are many cases of
excesses. One of these excesses is exaggerated criticism, exaggerated criticism
from individuals, institutions, etc. This criticism amounts to what is stated
in the famous Biblical verse in the Book of John concerning Nazareth.[1] It concerns the following: education, the
media, sports, music, the rule of law, health, transport, labour, the
Anglophone Crisis, youths, the forces of law and order, women, etc.
Many Cameroonians wrongly
claim that the current government has not done anything in the domain of education. They fail to see that the
current government in Cameroon has created a good number of secondary, high and
university institutions. They downplay the glaring fact that this creation has
taken education closer to the masses or population and has led to the
recruitment of thousands of teachers. Education in Cameroon has achieved great
results.[2]
A good number of media houses in Cameroon indulge in
excessive criticism, thereby abusing Article 19 of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights.[3] They unfairly find faults almost
everywhere as far as government action is concerned. In this connection, the
majority of their journalists, debate participants, etc make a mockery of even
laudable government efforts in the various domains of life. They spent a lot of
time demolishing the little successes the New Deal Regime has obtained since
its creation.
Many Cameroonians do
not take into consideration the past glories of their country in the domain of sports when they are criticizing its
sports performances. They, for instance, simply claim that Cameroon has
completely failed in the domain of football; they do not take into account the
glorious days and years of Cameroon football, days and years during which
Cameroon won some trophies or titles, days and years during which some
Cameroonian footballers excelled on football pitches.[4]
A lot of lovers of music in Cameroon wrongly think that
today’s generation of Cameroonian musicians is useless, useless in terms of
lyrics, useless in terms of sounds, useless as far as dressing
is concerned, etc. They do not see anything good in this generation. They do
not acknowledge the fact that in this generation, there are many talented and
upright musicians, musicians who strive for societal progress in various
domains.
One of the domains
suffering from excessive criticism in Cameroon is the one dealing with the rule of law. Many Cameroonians believe
that nothing good can be obtained from their judicial system since it is very
corrupt and inefficient. This is not true since there are many examples of good
judges and fair verdicts in the said system. Not every aspect of this system is
unacceptable. There are lots of good points concerning it, points which are
amenable to Article 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.[5]
Cameroon’s health system is a conspicuous victim
of excessive criticism. A good number of ungrateful Cameroonians do not
appreciate and believe in the laudable efforts of many health workers who toil
(with derisory salaries) for the sake of their patients. They see only
corruption, heartlessness, laxity and other vices whereas the said system has
some good points. Though this system has problems, a good number of health workers
transcend these problems for the sake of their patients’ health, etc.[6]
The transport system in Cameroon is not as
shattered as many Cameroonians claim. In this connection, there are many good
roads in big towns such as Douala, Yaounde, Bafoussam and Garoua whereas the
presence of these roads is ignored by these Cameroonians in media discussions, academic
debates, informal discussions, etc. Furthermore, contrary to popular opinion,
there are many good taxi or cab drivers in Cameroon, good in terms of driving,
good in terms of morals, etc.
Cameroon’s labour framework is replete with cases
of severe or excessive criticism. To this end, some Cameroonians have an
exaggerated negative picture of Cameroon’s civil servants. They believe that
all civil servants are lazy, inefficient, etc. They do not wish to acknowledge
the glaring fact that there are many efficient and patriotic civil servants,
civil servants who can sacrifice a lot of their time, energy, expertise, etc serving
their State.
Many Cameroonians -
especially those who hail from the English-speaking regions of Cameroon - have
an exaggerated negative perception of the role of their government in the
resolution or handling of the Anglophone
Crisis in Cameroon. They claim that the government has not done and is not
doing anything to salvage the gruesome situation caused by this crisis whereas
it has been investing a lot of financial and other means in the resolution of
the said crisis.
In Cameroon, there is
a serious or worrisome inter-generational clash between the old and the young. In
this vein, many elderly persons wrongly believe that all youths have failed in all aspects of life. Unfortunately, they do
not wish to believe that many youths have excelled and are still excelling in
many activities, domains, etc. Some of these activities, domains, etc concern
start-ups, music, football, research, etc.
Cameroonian women are victims of excessive
criticism in many aspects. Some Cameroonians who believe in male chauvinism and
the inferiority of women vis-à-vis men claim that Cameroonian women do not have
the capacity to handle top positions in the private and public sectors whereas
many women now occupy such positions in the political, administrative,
financial and other set-ups due to their competence. This competence has given
them the prominence portrayed by Muam George in his article entitled ‘’Kom and
Gender’’.[7]
The forces of law and order in Cameroon are
subjected to excessive criticism. Many Cameroonians wrongly claim that all
gendarmes, policemen, policewomen, etc are corrupt. They do not believe that
there are many gendarmes, policemen, policewomen, etc who work patriotically.
This is completely wrong because in Cameroon’s gendarmerie and police stations,
on Cameroonian roads, in Cameroonian stadiums, etc a good number of
Cameroonians have experienced the praiseworthy work of many gendarmes,
policemen, policewomen, etc.
It could be inferred
that Cameroon is suffering from excessive criticism as far as many issues in daily
human life are concerned. As regards this unfortunate phenomenon, the issues
mentioned in this work are just the tip of the iceberg. There is need for those
who indulge in excessive criticism to criticize objectively and constructively.
Furthermore, they should also make helpful proposals alongside their objective
and constructive criticism. Lastly, those who are criticized excessively should
turn and stick to Rain’s reaction to criticism.[8]
BIBIOGRAPHY
A)
Books
1)
Good News Bible (Deuterocanonical
Books/Apocrypha), Kolkata, Swapna Printing Works Pvt. Ltd., 2009
B)
Articles
2)
BrainyQuote, ‘’Criticism Quotes’’
Available at:
brainyquote.com/topics/criticism-quotes
Consulted on: 12/6/23
3)
Eleonora Fallwickl and al, ‘’Education
in Cameroon’’
Available at: wenr.wes.org/2021/04/education-in-cameroon
Consulted on: 24/4/23
4)
Muam, G., ‘’Kom and Gender’, Voice of Bostas, Yaounde, Delight
Ventures, 2018
5)
Tandi, E. and al, ‘’Cameroon Public Health
Sector: Shortage and Inequalities in Geographic Distribution of Health
Personnel’’
Available at: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PMC/articles/PMC4440287
Consulted on: 24/4/23
C)
Legal and Related Instruments
6)
International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (1966)
7)
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948):
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Cite this Article: Kijem, JY (2024). Cameroon: Land
of Excessive Criticisms. Greener
Journal of Social Sciences, 14(2): 285-288, https://doi.org/10.15580/gjss.2024.2.111324168.
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