 :
How would you classify Cameroonian writers today? Are they still
strictly Anglophone or Francophone, or increasingly bilingual? Are
there political, aesthetic or subject differences between the different
language writings of the Cameroon?
Ngwane: Cameroonian writers are
still described as Anglophone and Francophone based first on the
historical context of the country and second by the themes that
each class evokes in their works. There are of course political
and subject differences between these two classes in the sense that
while the overall democratic subject goes through both writings
the specific political considerations of Anglophone marginalization
remain relevant to the discourse of any serious Anglophone writer.
Style is not the issue. Maybe mood is. Challenged by a political
elite (whether ruling or opposition), which is insensitive to the
goals of democratic development and resource allocation, there is
unsurprisingly much anger and bitterness from the writers.
:
Do these national and racial identities matter to you as a writer?
Ngwane: Absolutely. Even when
one considers oneself as being above the foreign cultural binary
or dichotomy of Anglophone and Francophone, the leadership’s
inability to address fundamental questions on the state of our Cameroonian
union, especially its failure to implement development policies
that reflect the law of derivation, continually impose this parochial
language on one. And here the issue is not about appointing Anglophones
to positions of status (not power), symbolic as that may be. It
is about respecting the spirit of the Foumban brotherhood, and forging
for all of us a common citizenry. This will not necessarily erase
the separate linguistic identities on which laid a solid foundation
for nationhood in 1961. So writing about the particularities of
one component of the nation is indeed a patriotic act towards healing
the wounds of the 1972 referendum. I was recently extremely scandalized
to note that no Francophone writer attended the burial of the celebrated
Anglophone writer Bate Besong (who died on 8 March 2007 in the company
of 2 other Anglophone literary luminaries) even though he was one
of the few Anglophone writers to have attended the burial of the
celebrated Francophone writer Mongo Beti a few years ago. More so
not a single Francophone newspaper (except the Franco-bilingual
Cameroon Tribune newspaper) carried elaborate front-page coverage
on the tragic death of Bate Besong.
:
As a writer from Africa, interested in the representation of particular
African experiences, does the continuing relocation of African writing,
including its criticism, through migration to Paris and other literary
centres abroad, bother you?
Ngwane: No. A writer should be
like a tortoise, always carrying along its home or protective shell
wherever it goes. If the African Diaspora will accept reciprocal
relations with the continent across the Atlantic, as in the example
of Aime Cesaire, then there is no cause to fear this migratory export
of our continent’s literature. The important issues for me
are: How relevant are these movements to the realities of the masses
on either side? Is the discourse still African in content and message?
Have the egalitarian concerns of continental African writing become
drowned by its close migratory proximity to the elitist perceptions
of metropolitan literature? Indeed does the African writer still
remain the conscience of his/her people even if he/she becomes an
exile of sorts? These to me are the real challenges – the
need to sustain the vibrant voices of our writings and remain connected
to the aspirations of our people. Remember Ali Mazrui used to say
we have suffered from many years of colonial penetration. This may
be time for Europe and America to get their own dose of African
counter-penetration. – a feat our politicians have failed
to perform but which committed African writing can.
:
In Cameroon, as in many parts of Africa, a writer is frequently
challenged by intense and adverse political situations. How would
you respond, as a writer living the African experience in Cameroon,
to critics, especially those outside Africa, who decry the dominant
political content of writing from Africa?
Ngwane: How can we forget Chinua
Achebe’s rich metaphor of the man who left his house burning
because he preferred chasing the rat? The glue that binds African
society is politics. Our very survival as a people depends on how
we are governed, and politics is indeed the template on which society
is built. Each political decision impacts on the economic and cultural
life of the people. Of course as a cultural practitioner I am aware
of the beauty of our tangible and immoveable cultural patrimony,
I am fascinated by the vibrant touristic potentials in the continent,
I am proud of the enormous human resources that struggle to overcome
all the natural and man made disasters. But who is ignorant of the
fact that all these potentials and resources continue to be held
in check by local predatory politics and imperialistic interest?
As long as the African ship of state continues to sail the sea as
a rudderless object, the African writer shall continue to play the
role of the compass and if need be, whenever there is that opportunity,
also grab the role of the pilot.
:
Part of the ambition of our literary paper, African Writing,
is to introduce the national writings of Africa to each other. Contemporary
Cameroonian writing has many outstanding authors who may not be
well known elsewhere in the continent. So talk us through Cameroonian
literature today, George. What is its particular character, its
peculiar challenges? Who are the authors to read? Is Anglophone
Cameroonian writing thriving?
Ngwane: Cameroonian literature
is on the decline. First the writers themselves are disillusioned
by the absence of a reading culture in the country. So if your work
is not considered in the schools textbook list, you are left frustrated.
Second, in spite of the President of the Republic’s Grant
in promoting Arts and Culture in Cameroon, albeit with a bias to
music, our Ministry of Culture still needs to re-examine the justification
of its existence. In most countries the Culture department serves
as the Embassy of its artistes. It provides opportunities for its
artistes. That is still to be seen with our present Culture Department.
Lastly our writers have failed to aggregate themselves into unions
and associations and speak about their concerns. Of utmost necessity
is the establishment of a model publishing house in this country
by Cameroonians in the country and in the diaspora. Instead of our
writers allowing their survival instincts to push them into party
politics, consequently losing their independence and ability to
see things from a neutral perspective, they need to redress the
poor writing climate that has not produced even one National Book
Fair since independence. I am afraid with the early generation of
Cameroonian writers ageing, dying or climbing to the pedestal of
administrative and political power; the budding writers may have
no role models. With the death of Bate Besong, Anglophone writing
in Cameroon shall never be the same again. This vacuum may be filled
by newspaper writings but in terms of the commitment to book production,
supported by that sense of rage and confrontation, that running
battle between the butt of the gun and the barrel of the pen that
defined the contributions of our Bate Besong and by extension the
quintessence of Anglophone writing, I am afraid the sting will be
missing from our writing for a long time. Yes I have seen the works
of Samuel Akombi (children’s fiction), Mathew Takwi (poetry),
Ekpe Inyang (drama), George Atanga (prose), Aseh Andrew (non-fiction),
but they pale into shadow when compared with the works of such Cameroonian
first/second generation writers as Hansel Eyoh, Kenjo Jumban, Mbella
Sonne Dipoko, Mongo Beti, Rene Philombe, Ferdinand Oyono, Francis
Bebey, Bole Butake, Babila Mutia, Epie Ngome, Victor Musinga, Guillaume
Mbia, Sankie Maimo, Calixthe Beyala, Werewere Liking, Charly Gabriel
Mbock, Comfort Ashu, Mesack Takere, Linus Asong, Nsanda Eba, Bernard
Fonlon, Ndeley Mokosso, Francis Nyamnjoh, George Ngwane, Churchill
Monono, etc. Nonetheless we should keep an eye on the new writings
of Alobwede Epie, John Nkemgong, Vivian Yenika, Patricia Temeching,
George Nyamndi, Henry Jick, Florence Dati, Charles Ateba Eyene,
just to mention these few.
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