Speaking Monday, October 12, from the Yaoundé Central Prison where he is serving a 15-year jail term, Mancho said the education of a generation cannot be sacrificed for anything, no matter how legitimate the claims can be.

Mancho’s coffin revolution had coincided with an Anglophone teacher’s strike called in support of grievances expressed by Common Law Lawyers at the time.

On that fateful November 21, 2016, Mancho Bibixy, a newscaster at a local radio station, stood in an open casket in a crowded roundabout in North West Region’s capital Bamenda.

Using a blow horn, Mancho denounced the slow rate of economic and structural development in the city, declaring he was ready to die while protesting against the social and economic marginalization of Anglophone persons in a predominantly French-speaking country.

The history teacher cum journalists says as unrests in Cameroon’s North West and South West regions soared, the rich moved their kids to safer areas to study while the poor paid the price.

Close to four years down the line, Mancho regrets that the struggle has gone against the ideals of the Coffin Revolution he stood for – a struggle that has rendered the poor even more helpless.

Hear him: “As a leader, I have to constantly make an assessment of the struggle and make changes if necessary. Such changes must be for the benefit of the people. The school boycott was addressed to the government of Cameroon. The people now insist on an international mediation that will look into the root cause of the crises. Such a process takes time. Again, the government was winning the hearts of our people by helping them go to school. We could not sit and watch them being loved by the people they were killing.”

He says had the government addressed the grievances expressed in 2016, things would not have dragged on with locals having to breathe gunpowder every other day.

“The situation has become worse than in 2016 when we launched the coffin revolution,” Mancho said. “We had an opportunity in 2016 to look at ourselves in the mirror and do the right thing. The response of the government was so primitive which has dragged the country into an outright war.”

Reminded that the first ghost town that took place on January 9, 2017, in the Anglophone regions was called by them, Mancho said it was never envisaged to become a way of life for the people.

“We never envisaged a moment when ghost towns will become traditional on Mondays,” he said, trying to wipe a tear that fell from his right eye. “I was with Agbor Balla in January 2017 when people called requesting that we declare a three days ghost town but we refused. The government's intransigence has pushed the people to this new level of defiance.”

Despite Mancho’s endorsement of school resumption in the North West and South West Regions, the likes of Lucas Ayaba Cho, Ikome Samuel Sako, Christopher Anu Fobeneh, Ebenezer Akwanga, and a host of others, who say they are leaders of the Ambazonia separatist struggle, insist on a boycott. Given that these anti-school activists are based abroad where their children are receiving the best of education, Mancho says the people will always win.

He condemned the arrogance of those who now pass for leaders of the struggle, asking where they were when some of them inhaled teargas and shared in the sufferings of the masses.

His words: “Most of those you call leaders only joined the struggle after learning from the coffin revolution. They don't know the taste of suffering. They don't know the taste of teargas or the sound of a bullet. I’ve been arrested every year from 2002 till 2017 for standing up to the people. I know their pain and I declared in 2019 that pro-school activists will be victorious and you can see the sign of victory coming.”

Mancho reveals that their proposals sent to last year’s Major National Dialogue were never considered by the authorities.

“The Coffin Revolution sent her recommendations during the Major National Dialogue but they were not considered because it was too impartial for those who think Anglophones must be second class citizens. The way forward is a negotiated settlement addressing the root cause of the problem,” said Mancho. “My message to both parties has remained the same over the years. Every war ends where it would have been avoided and that is the dialogue table. They can fight and destroy human lives and resources for as long as they like. A lasting and mutually acceptable solution will only come from the dialogue table.”

Asked if today’s situation in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions is what they bargained for, Mancho, struggling to fight back his tears, said: “I regret the lives being lost. I weep for the destruction going on. I lament seeing the inhumane situation of our refugees and IDPs. I regret being ruled by blood-sucking leaders who have no regard for human life. I regret teaching my history students that the UNO [United Nations] was better in maintaining world peace than the League of Nations. I regret knowing a group of old and educated leaders who mismanaged a simple political problem to the level of genocide.”

Mancho, however, smiled when he said their quest for change has not been a waste.

“We are dealing with a government that prefers its survival above the well-being of its people. Our revolution was not a waste. We just cleared off all appointed government delegates who sat on elected mayors. The government expects to solve the grievances in a way that will portray the government as victorious. We want it done in a way everyone will feel victorious. That is the deadlock but we will overcome it.

“Despite the bleak situation, I remain optimistic that a solution will be found someday. It’s just a matter of time.”

Mancho Bibixy Tse is currently serving a 15-year jail term at the Yaoundé Central Prison. He was arrested on January 19, 2017, in Bamenda and was tried at the Yaoundé Military Court on charges of terrorism, secession among others.

By Atia Tilarious Azohnwi