Our greatest struggle is not merely against conflict. It is also against poverty, unemployment, ignorance and the withholding of vital information that could help our people understand their true economic worth.
I began this series of write-ups by examining SONARA in Fako, the iron-ore potential of the North West, the crude oil resources of Ndian Division, and now the natural-resource potential of Manyu Division. My purpose is to expose a truth that has remained hidden or neglected for far too long: our regions possess the human talent, strategic location and natural resources required to build something extraordinary.
Yet generations of our people have been conditioned to see only scarcity, division and despair where enormous opportunities exist.
Countries such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria did not depend entirely on foreigners to build their economies. Their citizens—including members of their diasporas—have played important roles by investing capital, transferring knowledge, establishing businesses and creating employment.
Many Cameroonians abroad would also like to invest at home. However, nationality restrictions, an unfavourable tax environment, weak investment policies, political uncertainty and limited access to reliable information continue to discourage or obstruct them. These barriers must be reviewed if Cameroon genuinely wants to mobilize the knowledge, capital and experience of its diaspora.
Manyu lies within the Mamfe sedimentary basin, which has documented potential for oil and gas, alongside salt, timber, lignite and indications of other minerals. Across the South West are petroleum, natural gas, timber, fertile agricultural lands and other resources. The North West also possesses enormous agricultural, mineral, tourism and human-capital potential.
Imagine these resources being responsibly developed and processed locally: thousands of direct and indirect jobs; thriving local businesses; increased royalties and tax revenues; better schools and hospitals; professional and technical training; stronger family incomes; and communities in which young people can build meaningful futures at home.
Now imagine the infrastructure connecting that prosperity: modern roads and railways linking the North West through Manyu to the South West; access to seaports; and efficient trade corridors connecting both regions to Nigeria—Africa's most populous country and one of its largest markets. Such infrastructure could also expand Cameroon's access to Nigerian and wider continental commerce.
But infrastructure alone cannot create prosperity. The North West and South West must cooperate. Our entrepreneurs, traditional institutions, professionals, communities and young people must see one another as partners—not as competitors or enemies.
UNITY + RESOURCES + INFRASTRUCTURE + INVESTMENT + LOCAL PROCESSING = JOBS, PROSPERITY AND HOPE.
Economic development alone will not resolve every cause of the conflict. However, shared prosperity, opportunity and economic interdependence can create powerful foundations for peace and stability in the North West, South West and Cameroon as a whole.
Our greatest resource may ultimately be neither oil nor gas, timber nor minerals.
IT IS OUR ABILITY TO WORK TOGETHER.
TO THOSE WHO KEEP ASKING WHETHER I HAVE ABANDONED “THE STRUGGLE”
What exactly is the struggle if it does not include freeing our people from poverty, unemployment, ignorance and economic captivity?
An important dimension of the struggle is the battle against the concealment of information that prevents our people from understanding the true value of their lands, natural resources, strategic location and human potential.
When people do not know their worth, they can be kept permanently poor, divided and imprisoned within a narrow imagination of what their future can become. They can then be manipulated into surrendering their interests through fear, misinformation and blind allegiance.
The real struggle is not to sit behind fake profiles or remain within comfortable spaces while questioning whether others have abandoned it. The real struggle is to win the battle for information, awaken the consciousness of our people and direct their attention towards the essential causes that can transform their lives.
The more our people understand their true worth, the better prepared they will be to defend their rights, demand accountable leadership, protect their lands and resources, and pursue the opportunities that genuinely matter.
Once they understand what is at stake—and what unity can achieve—they will remain focused because they know that the struggle is worthwhile and that their sacrifices must eventually produce freedom, dignity and prosperity.
This is not an abandonment of the struggle. It is an expansion of the struggle—from merely surviving conflict to building the prosperous future our people deserve.
Two regions. One economic corridor. Millions of possibilities. A future worth building—and a struggle worth winning—together.
— Dr. David Makongo
#Manyu #SouthWest #NorthWest #Unity #EconomicDevelopment #Jobs
#Infrastructure #LocalProcessing #DiasporaInvestment #PeaceThroughProsperity #Cameroon