Home Or Exile
...writer who is critical of the managerial policies of the political leadership of his country is often faced with the option of either staying in the home country and dying of starvation and persecution and even detention for his ideas or going into exile, usually to the North where he can enjoy the fruits of his labour, in the seclusion and isolation of his new abode, far away from the warmth of the celebrated African hospitality and the source of inspiration for his works.
Introduction
Africa, more than any other continent on planet Earth, is beleaguered with all sorts of problems ranging from the HIV/AIDS pandemic, civil wars and cross-border conflicts, economic woes fired by endemic corruption, famines, mismanaged democracies and mismanaged economies, neo-colonialism, etc. The continent’s history is equally characterised by intertribal wars, slavery and colonisation. With so many problems plaguing the continent, is it possible for the African writer to be indifferent?
Cameroon is located in the armpit of the Gulf of Guinea and prides itself as “Africa in miniature” with its huge bum sprawling on the Atlantic shores while its tiny head is sticking into Lake Chad. This may not be a reflection of the level of intelligence of the majority of Cameroonians but may fairly reflect the managerial style of the political elites. Cameroon, like the rest of the African continent is highly endowed with natural and human resources. There is food in great abundance and variety yet people are starving in some parts of the country to such an extent that the World Food Programme has had to come in with assistance. Cameroon has oil, timber in abundance, minerals underground and different climatic zones suitable for a great variety of food and animal production. The literacy rate is estimated at over 70%; and the country has produced some of the finest intellectuals....
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