I’m sitting on my working desk pondering, flipping a thousand pages in my head, pages of books I’ve been able to go through since I became conscious about the things of life as a teenager right up to this hour. Drowning deep in thoughts more like a trance and it occured to me many Cameroonians aren’t living intentionally. So I captioned this as the “Cameroonian Dream” but is there such a thing as a Cameroonian Dream?
I do know everyone had their personal dreams when growing up, we often resounded it until it became fun, always aiming for the big titles and positions in society. Then you begin to flip through calendars as years go by: the passion dies down naturally and the excitement gradually fades away until you have no clue about what you want in life.
You can’t discover your purpose, you can’t define your essence, everything seems blur as you see more light, you are convinced life is HARD. I agree with you from your perspective life seems very unfair but life being generally unfair to everyone actually makes life fair : the fact it doesn’t discriminate life is life and when you reach at the stage of flowing with the tides and toasted against your will by life’s waves and currents be assured “life happens” You and I know dreams come true, but we forget in a hurry nightmares are dreams too, when hoping for the best it’s equally okay to expect the worst, that’s why it’s important to aim for the moon so in case you miss you might land for the stars, anyways all of them shine bright – how ironical it is it comes through only in your darkest of moments to illuminate your path.
So what is the Cameroonian Dream? The dream every passionate youth had as a teenager, going through basic regular education as everyone ordinary child. Getting enrolled at the secondary level, through high school then obtaining every necessary certificate to further studies or Higher education. Then a period of three years or less presents you with the most flooded degree of our time, a big smile on your face as you match and parade in your graduation robe momentarily the best day of your life! I put it to you. Year in and out thousands of youths graduate but where do they go to?
At the back of your mind you have figured out what kind of job you’re going in for, the very lucrative ones especially if it’s the white-collar jobs where you won’t settle for less. Then your ultimate dreams starts transforming into that nightmare when the burning desire to be part of the working class diminishes as your effortlessly drop applications seeking for a job and it ends in a sham. It’s inevitable you join the queue of job seekers then it occurs to you in a flash you are living the reality of “Chomage” a word you have been familiar with throughout your educational formation but you didn’t pay particular interest to cause of course nobody wants to identify with negativity. At that moment frustration creeps in you watch the news, you observe the society and the environment you live in, then your consistently curse the government for all your mishaps and misery. At least you have everyone to blame but yourself so the burden doesn’t way on you entirely ,you have somewhere to brush off the pressure , dump your hurt, filth and failures unapologetically.
That’s the first dream, living right, undergoing education, getting employed earning high, starting a home and then retiring happy and fulfilled.
Then comes another dream which is quite similar to the one above but the slide difference is that , after all the “chomage” you are not comfortable sitting and cursing the government with no major changes but you decide to search for greener pastures elsewhere. You then “fall bush” – “anywhere but not Cameroon”, that’s the thought that keeps resounding in your head until you eventually leave. I don’t know much about green growth but one thing I do know is the grass is never really greener on the other side, it actually appears greener or if it really is ,then it’s because the owner spends time watering it, unless watering yours is not an option that will be my suggestion.
You’re now overseas the goal is to make money, come back home and invest, settle down or possibility of staying in the said country until you gain nationality then it’s still okay to curse the government and why not the entire country from there? Another dream! Then there’s the nightmare which is seemingly becoming the ideal dream. Sometimes the wrong choices provide best solutions but it doesn’t change the fact it was a wrong move. What do you do then in a complex society? You have to do what you have to do to survive.
That’s how life fucked up everything and tend the whole game sideways until you become part of a convulated system you signed in it without your will but didn’t sign up for. Youths now are engaged in quick money generating schemes, indulged in the inexplicable meager petty jobs which would have never been an option or a topic of discussion in your earlier days of job seeking. We are losing each new generation to juvenile delinquency as it has become the new way of life, if you don’t blend in then you are not living. That’s the third dream, who knew the nightmare was the dream that would come true?
The “Cameroonian dream” was just a dream, your reality and my reality aren’t the same- the dreams are never really the same even if they are , there are different routes in making them come true. But I do know there are dreamers in Cameroon who have made it happen and are still making it happen, when you realize nobody will make it happen for you and it’s all on you then you will realize there’s nothing like the Cameroonian dream.
I believe the “Cameroonian dream” is simply you believing that your dreams can come to life by your own efforts, it’s dependent on you in a country where everything and anything is possible to start with. You can make it if you chose, my dream doesn’t have to be your dream in order for the dream to be valid and come true, that’s the Cameroonian dream. Self realization that no one will help you unless you try, self orientation that you are chasing your desires and your interest and not being limited by the system, because everyone is involved doesn’t make it right. The dream is you doing you, go home with this thought “If you can make it Cameroon, you can make it anywhere- The Cameroonian dream”
