A few months ago One Love

who is clearly Cameroon’s most politically outspoken urban artiste sent out what can be described as a clarion call to some top Cameroonian urban artistes to come together for a song aimed at inviting the parties involved in the ongoing Anglophone crisis to come together for a peaceful resolution of the said crisis. Almost all artistes mentioned in that post seemed to ignore it and even though the post seemed to carry some weight, it was just a matter of time before One Love’s invitation was swept under the rug and forgotten. At that time the more sensitive ears among us were left to wonder what impact such a song will have in Cameroon and we also wondered whether it was even necessary for such a song to be sang. Well, whether the song was or is necessary is no longer up for debate given that the so-called “song for peace” is here now! Generally it is good for not trying to establish blame and move straight to resolving the matter at hand but with the advent of war and destruction of lives and property, alongside the massive displacement of people it is quite clear that someone has to take the blame, I mean nobody willfully woke up and left his home, something pushed them and that thing needs to be addressed and done so it with urgency. But that isn’t what the artistes on that song have done. They did come out with a message but if their intention was to push for any sort of immediate action, they have failed. The song now seems to have caused more harm than good, as a lot of people have come out to criticize the artistes and their song, as it stands now it seems like they have instead added fuel to the flame as everyone seems to question what impact the song has created, how necessary was it and is it well executed. Meanwhile on a personal note I do not understand the algorithm employed to choose the artistes that featured on that song, I even think they could be better choices for a song that aims at influencing peace talks in the war torn zones of English-Speaking Cameroon. The song speaks so well of dialogue and peace without mentioning the areas which desperately need the peace they are advocating, if a stranger should hear the song he might just think the entire nation is plunged into bloody confrontations meanwhile it is just the English speaking parts of the country. It is quite obvious that the song is a formality given that a lot of fans have been wishing for such a song, it seems it was done to please them and not to affect anything. Some people also think that the song is very appropriate and addresses the issue of peace as it should be done claiming, they believe the artistes involved have done a great job by even attempting to say something in a country where the default is to run when faced with tough situations, another camp thinks the song hasn’t been given enough time to create the necessary impact it can or should create. What do you think about this song, is it unnecessary, without impact, wrongly timed, wrongly themed, just fine, misunderstood or are the fans expecting too much from urban artistes in Cameroon. Drop your thoughts in the comment section!
Written by
Emmanuel Asafor