Hunger generally describes a situation where a living being is badly in need of food. In which case we say he she, it, we, they are hungry. It can however be used as a euphemism to express a strong desire for something.
Whichever way one views it, one thing stands out – to be hungry is neither a sin nor a crime. The forgone notwithstanding, it has being noticed that hunger in any form can lead to anger if not well contented. It is for this reason that hunger has led to malfunctioning and consequently malpractices in some liberal professions, a good example being our very own journalism.
Journalism, like many other professions, is often badly affected by hunger. If it is true that one should not publish, if he is not doing so for money, it is even truer that other considerations must be made before making information public.
It is therefore very preoccupying to seek to weigh the attitudes of professional pressmen in a situation of strive like is obtaining nowadays in Anglophone Cameroon. What should be or should have been the role of the media, the private sector in particular, in these trying times? Or maybe getting back to the fundamentals, what is the role of the press, the fourth power, as it is often called?
The socioeconomic landscape in Cameroon and many African countries is such that making ends meet in any liberal profession is a challenging feat. The situation generally opens up to deviant behavior from pressmen.
If journalists are not cued up in some airtight corridor, for some God sent CELCOM to use his discretion to dole out a few thousands to a select few journalists for a so-called coverage, it is within the press organ itself, where journalists are subjected to the whims and caprices of the publisher or manager.
Because newspapers for example must publish, publishers at times turn to begging and borrowing. In other cases, they are obliged to do adverts at a scornfully low rate or even enter into unrealistic exchange services.
When it comes to the government doing its traditional role of supporting private initiative by giving statutory grants, politicking sets in. First of all, it is made to look like the ruling party largess. This is the most annoying part.
The successive puppet dictatorial regimes have made Cameroonians to completely forget that the State is completely different from the government. The government changes at intervals while the State remains. State subsidies to nationals should be conditioned only by fulfilment of constitutional prerogatives and NOT by regime friendliness and ‘republicanism’ whatever the latter is supposed to mean.
One other expression of hunger which at a closer look is more dangerous than downright witchcraft, is seeking prominence. Some of us pressmen want to gain notoriety without minding the morality of our actions. In the situation where we, especially Anglophones, find ourselves, playing dirty, in the name of “belly filling or food on the table” philosophy is just too sinful.
At the fourth year of a deadly, crazy and avoidable conflict, no true blood Anglophone should play ignorant. We all know how it started even if we may not be too sure how it will end.
The Anglophone journalist must not be an activist for the separatist cause, some have chosen to be activist and they clearly say and do so. If it happens that State-owned media has been transformed to government propaganda machines, it is not the fault of CRTV or Cameroon Tribune Anglophone journalists.
What represents pure journalistic Satanism is this attitude of ours who hide behind the private press and carry out to the letter government propaganda, misleading national and international observers. More saddening is the fact that some of those doing these have felt the grunt of the strife.
Those of us who are peace loving journalists must know what to do. We must clamor insistently for dialogue. Falsehood, propaganda, blame game have not helped for four long years. It will obviously not help in the next decade. Let us value the lives of our brothers and sisters, military, rebels and civilians alike.
Let the war end.
Mr President, save your people, call for inclusive and genuine dialogue. Anything else can come in any order.