Barrister Agbor Balla dismissed from the University of Buea-Cameroons
4 min read
Barrister Balla and Berinyuy Cajetan(Founder of HRLRC)
From this act, one can conclude that politics have relegate the precious University of Buea. It is from this act of unknowing that I understand the difference between dishonest intellectuals and real intellectuals.
Barrister Agbor Balla is an inspiration to law students, to this generation and will be an inspiration to the generations to come. He is my MENTOR, a human rights defender, a freedom fighter, a justice seeker, and a real leader we want in our today’s society. His advocacy for the respect of human rights has no boundaries and it has continued to contribute to shaping the policies and laws to be more human rights friendly for ourselves and our children. His impact is being felt in every society because of his continuous advocacy.
Our children will enjoy his advocacy plus the children of some intellectuals who never create an impact but cares about their positions and bellies against the interest of truthful and practical education.
Every learned teacher has to teach his/her students issues affecting the current societies, if for example, you banned teachers from talking about the COVID-19 pandemic, you are a bad leader. Discussing the Anglophone crisis should not be a taboo to students of the Anglo-Saxon University of Buea because they are feeling the effects of the ongoing crisis and they need to understand the problem which leads to the crisis. Notes that for the past four years, there has not been a secured education in the Anglophone regions of Cameroon. Children and youths have not been to school for four years and the few who are privilege to attained classes, the government authorities do not want them to know what is happening, and this is bad faith.
The identical exam questions which lead to Barrister Agbor Balla’s dismissal from the University of Buea have been seen being set for an exam in the Faculty of Laws and Political Science-university of Yaoundé and the said lecturer has not been queried. Could this be another way of silencing prominent Anglophone Cameroonians?
It is worthy to note that, Law students of the Faculty of Laws and Political Science have long written the said exam and their exam marks recorded without any problem from the university authorities. But when the Minister of Higher Education wrote requesting the University authorities to suspend the Freedom Fighter, that was when the professors from the precious university could discover that the exam questions were against the university policies. There is no doubt that the dismissal of a human rights defender was politically motivated, but one thing remains for sure the reputation of the University of Buea has been downgraded by this unknowing action of our time.
I wonder if the authorities in the University of Buea could deliberate on their own without the influence of the Minister of Higher education. If that were so, why didn’t they informed the Minister of Higher Education rather than the minister informing them about the exam questions? Why is it that the exam questions were not annulled and students rewrite immediately after the said examination session?
From all indication, there was no problem with the exam questions which was under the framework of the Law course “Political and Constitutional History of Cameroon” introduced to the Faculty of Laws and Political Science only this academic year. But when the minister of Higher Education used his political position and not an academic position to influence the university to dismiss an inspirational lecturer, some learned professors fall short of practical education.
The UB authorities could have followed due process, deliberate themselves and come up with an independent and reasonable Anglo-Saxon like decision and not politically motivated decision which is a very big blow to the university we hold in high esteem.
Those trying to silence the moderate thinkers of our time should be cautious of what they are doing to this generation and the generation to come including their children.
Barrister Agbor Nkongho Felix popularly known as Barrister Balla is currently a Human Rights Defender, Freedom Fighter, Cameroon Finest Lawyer, Justice Seeker, Founder, and President of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa. He has served in the United Nations and African Bar Association and his continuous advocacy for the respect of human rights is changing the narrative of the respect of human rights and the rule of law in Cameroon.
Berinyuuy Cajetan
Berinyuy Cajetan is the founder and publisher of Human Rights and Legal Research Centre (HRLRC) since 2017. He has intensive experience in strategic communications for Civil Society Organizations, campaign and advocacy, and social issues. He has an intensive experiencing in human rights monitoring, documentation and reporting.
