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Redefining what it means to be Cameroonian
As we move further into the 21st century we have to redefine what it means to be Cameroonian. Our tumultuous history and recent hardships have left many of us with a bitter/sweet taste about our nation. Skepticism and cynicism for good reasons have drawn us further from our homeland. However that does not rid us of the responsibility to confront these issues and to find solutions to them. So we have to redefine what it means to be Cameroonian once more...
It means embracing yourself and your roots in their entirety.
It means loving and devoting oneself completely to the land and its people and not to leaders who come and go, building or destroying along the way as they so choose.
It means participating and supporting prosperity in the land all the time and leadership only when it deserves it.
It means condemning the wrongs while playing an active role to right them.
It means knowing our history - the good and the bad and building a new sense of patriotism.
It means bringing in all Cameroonians to play an active role in the construction of the new Cameroon and not just some.
It means embracing our individual tribes while appreciating the others and leveraging our great diversity to construct a one of a kind nation.
It means upholding the virtue of honesty and casting aside the plague of corruption while teaching our kids who are the future of the nation to do same.
It means respecting our women and empowering them to participate in the building of the nation, while insisting that there be a two way respect street that supports our men and preserves our core family and societal values.
It means being positive role models for our children.
It means advancing in our own way, based on our own values and not as a caricature of other societies.
It means preparing to sacrifice or give up something for the nation we desire.
It means dropping notions of inferiority and superiority when we interact with the greatest or the least of our kindred.
It means building a nation which we will all be proud to call home no matter where we find ourselves in the world.
It means maintaining our cultures, while dropping the limiting beliefs that hold us back.
It means working hard and not expecting something for nothing.
It means realizing that we cannot do it all on our own therefore we need all the sons and daughters from all 10 provinces.
It means focusing on the intangible things that will help us build the nation instead of the tangible things like money, fame, big houses and fancy cars.
It means highlighting the things we do well rather than always using pessimism as our starting point.
It means raising our standards and believing that we are not doomed to an unfortunate past, but can shape a new future.
Finally it means remaining steadfast and each making an individual commitment that we will never ever give up no matter the odds, until we achieve our vision of a new Cameroon.
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