Bøger af Joseph Kijem

In our daily lives, we deal with some phenomena which, superficially and mistakenly, are considered completely destructive. One of such phenomena is ignorance. On account of various circumstances or situations, it is not only destructive. It is destructive and/or constructive. It constitutes a relieving and/or devastating phenomenon in moral, social, political, economic, religious, psychological and other domains. This situation is depicted in the following sections of this work: ignorance can stabilize some relationships; ignorance can protect the innocent; ignorance can shield moral principles or standards; the protection of churches' stability by ignorance; ignorance can stabilize families in terms of scandals, etc; ignorance can shield sects and related groups; arrogance and a sense of superiority can be bred and encouraged by ignorance; ignorance slows down female or women's dynamism and desire to progress or prosper; knowledge acquisition through written materials in libraries can be obstructed by ignorance; leadership can be damaged by ignorance; ignorance can destroy a country's image and future; ignorance can keep Christians in a blackout; etc.

Cameroon¿s transport sector is in dire straits. All its three or triangular components (air, land and sea components) leave much to be desired. It is experiencing a lot of challenges in terms of the following aspects: acquisition of means of transport; obtainment of transport documents; training of drivers, riders, etc; some driving and riding attitudes; accidents; state of comfort of persons who board commercial motorbikes, cabs, buses, trains, etc; working conditions of motorbike riders, drivers, pilots, etc; physical worthiness of motorbikes, cars, buses, trucks, etc; transport costs; safety and security of persons being transported; safety and security of means of transport; corruption in the transport sector; the situation of transport trade unions, associations, etc; the state of infrastructure; issues relating to state-owned vehicles; insurance worries; monitoring and evaluation issues; technological and research neglect; reckless or daring riding and driving; overloading issues; etc. The Government and other transport sector stakeholders should sincerely, judiciously and meticulously work together in and out of transport offices for the betterment of this sector.

In Cameroon, agricultural issues are not seriously handled. The government is making some efforts to tackle them, efforts which are, generally speaking, below expectations in terms of many agricultural aspects. A considerable part of Cameroon¿s human, financial, technical, psychological, material and academic resources leaves much to be desired in a good number of aspects. This situation is observable in the following fields: training in agricultural schools; funding of agricultural activities, projects, courses, etc; management of projects, programmes, corporations, etc; management of the situation of agricultural employees, farmers, etc; farm-to-market roads; the life of agricultural cooperatives; statistical activities; agricultural industrialization and mechanization; agricultural communication; monitoring and evaluation of agricultural projects, programmes, activities, training, funding, etc; grassroots agriculture; sale of agricultural products at the national and international levels; promotion of agricultural research or initiatives; societal perception of the agricultural milieu; agricultural trade unions, associations, etc; exchange activities; etc.

In many spheres of human life, there are secrets. These secrets contribute either positively or negatively to the prosecution of human activities. In this connection, families all over the world keep secrets. These secrets concern a good number of domains and are meant to ensure the survival and welfare of families and their members. Some of these domains are presented in the following sections of this work: secrecy and adultery; secrecy and incestuous relationships; concealing information concerning assets and financial accounts; concealing the identities of biological children; hiding the reasons for contracting some marriages; hiding family histories; secrecy as well as family disabilities, inabilities, deficiencies, etc; secrecy concerning past lives; non-disclosure of financial and economic situations in families; non-disclosure of professional secrets; protecting mothers¿, daughters¿ and sons¿ relationships with influential persons (religious leaders, politicians, businessmen, musical stars, sports icons, etc); protecting spiritual activities; Etc. Finally, there is need to know when to keep the said secrets or disclose them.

Cameroon is bedevilled by a plethora of problems. These problems are found in almost all domains of life (social, economic, cultural, political, etc). They are attributable to some major despicable phenomena such as faithlessness in the perception of some issues, mindlessness in the handling of some matters and lawlessness in a good number of activities which are in sore need of law and order. At least one of these three phenomena is discernible in each of the following societal ills: lateness in offices, ceremonial grounds, etc; drunkenness in bars, during ceremonies, etc; poor or immoral dressing in villages, towns, etc; malpractices in detention centres; poor governance in political parties; electoral excesses; misconduct in the driving milieu; condemnable urination and defecation habits; unacceptable practices concerning schools; media-related worries; excesses in the musical domain; unsuitable public service activities; irresponsibility in family life; high-handedness in administrative circles; frequent violation of legal instruments; inadmissible activities in markets; etc. This situation has to be urgently tackled if Cameroon has to dream of emerging by 2035.

The prison system in Cameroon is a mess in various domains (social, economic, psychological, financial, material, spiritual, etc). It is a reflection or an embodiment of a poorly managed country, a country which is wallowing in the predicaments of colonialism and neo-colonialism. This book is an attempt to present some of the glaring aspects of these predicaments. This presentation shall be done in the following points or sections: interaction among inmates; interaction between inmates and visitors; interaction between prison staff and inmates; interaction between prison staff and visitors; health issues; income-generating activities; spiritual matters; educational issues; cultural dimension; sexual matters; sports in prisons; young people in prisons; female inmates; elderly inmates; the situation of inmates living with disabilities; persons awaiting trial in prison cells; recruitment of penitentiary staff; training of penitentiary staff; the working environment and retirement issues. These points or sections take us, in just a very brief presentation, to the world of tribulations in Cameroon¿s prison system, a system which is undergoing a journey down the drain in many respects.

This book is an attempt to supplement the human rights education endeavours in Cameroon¿s primary and secondary schools. It lays emphasis on the practical aspects of human rights education. It brings to the fore a tripartite pedagogic approach. In this connection, teachers and parents, on a separate basis, as well as these two groups, on a joint or combined basis, are called upon to render human rights education in Cameroon¿s primary and secondary schools more resourceful and purposeful. This tripartite set-up can lay a solid foundation in the mindsets of those who shall handle family, community and State affairs in Cameroon in the near future.

This book highlights the superlative state of St Joseph¿s morality and spirituality amidst the trials and tribulations of worldly or earthly life. He meticulously puts into practice almost all the cardinal and non-cardinal virtues of the society (peace, love justice, tolerance, patience, faith, obedience, hope, bravery, charity, etc). St Joseph¿s virtuous life should serve as an example for all members in the School of St Joseph in Cameroon (and even other Christians and non-Christians in the world) as far as daily endeavours or activities are concerned in families, offices, businesses, churches, meeting groups, political parties, discussions, etc.

In Cameroon¿s public service, despite the fact that there are several forms of motivation (decoration of workers or the award of medals, the granting of some allowances or emoluments, etc), the motivational spirit is glaringly lacking. The efforts made by the government towards that direction do not create any concrete or significant impact on workers¿ output. This situation is exacerbated by the fact that there is no streamlined or well-coordinated policy to ensure public service motivation. It seems as if the world of motivation in Cameroon¿s public service is a jungle, a jungle which is amenable to the principle of Darwinism or survival of the fittest. In this work, motivation in the said public service is subdivided into two parts, namely, financial and non-financial motivation. Financial motivation is that motivation which directly involves monetary issues while non-financial motivation deals with the other forms or types of motivation.

The realm of public service training and development in Cameroon¿s public service is not very different from that of many African countries in particular, and developing countries in general. These two aspects, which are very fundamental elements in the life of any public service, are paradoxically relegated to the background in Cameroon. The recipe presented by officials who are responsible for ensuring that the said aspects are positively and conspicuously discernible behave as if they expect someone else to come and do their job. It is in this light that there is a quasi-urgent need to address and redress the situation so that Cameroon can boast of civil servants who are well trained and amenable to the novelties of public service administration and duties. Furthermore, by improving the nature of public service development in Cameroon, civil servants would increasingly contribute to the welfare of the Cameroonian society through the acquisition and putting into practice of some public service development notions.

This book is an attempt to show that, despite the efforts made by the Cameroon Government in the domain of mobility and redeployment in the public service, a lot still has to be done in terms of plans, policies and programmes in these two vital domains, as well as the implementation of the instruments ensuring rational public service mobility and redeployment. At the end of this book, some recommendations are provided so as to better the situation.

This book, which brings to the fore, some of the shortcomings of Cameroon¿s health system, focuses on some of the significant topics of any health system. They are as follows: recruitment and other staffing matters ; training; remuneration and motivation; unorthodox practices; the working environment; the handling of health crises and emergencies; the illegal sale of drugs; the quality of staff; traditional medicine; research; the evacuation of patients abroad; health plans , committees and programmes; Universal Health Coverage and the Health Solidarity Fund; financial matters; health and communication; infrastructure and materials; health and stigmatization; etc. Despite some efforts made by the Cameroonian Government and Cameroonians to humanize and modernize their health system, much still has to be done in terms of funding, training, evaluation, communication, collaboration, investments, legal issues, etc.

This book is a depiction of the situation of violence in the Cameroonian society. It is a generalized phenomenon, a phenomenon which is omnipresent and omnipotent in almost all domains of life. A good number of these domains have been discussed in this work within the framework of this omnipresence and omnipotence. They are as follows: the educational realm; transport (especially land transport); the public service; family life; the musical realm; the health sector; the media milieu; the private sector; detention and imprisonment spots; government circles; political parties; the sports domain; leisure spots; the religious milieu; social interaction in streets and their neighbouring areas; tribal/ethnic conflicts; clashes based on Cameroon¿s official languages (French and English); vulnerable groups and natural or environmental events. On the strength of the said discussion, there is need for the Cameroonian Government, the civil society and Cameroonians to judiciously address the phenomenon of violence.