Ekema Emmanuel Likine, Executive Director of the Eagle's Eye Magazine.

Editorial for the month of July 2020. Focus: The white and black faces of competition.

Competition from every perspective is a good thing among Human beings, Communities and Countries at large but it is very important to note here that there are two types of competition. To start with, positive competition helps to bring out the best in people. it inspires and it is also the basis of grading people especially in the domains of academics and sports. Positive competition also promotes innovations through hard work. On the ugly side, negative competition has sadly sent so many people to their early graves by people who could not measure up to them. Some people also died prematurely because they were comparing their lives with others . We all know that life is irrational so people can never have the things of this world on an equal proportion. There will always be greater and lesser people than us whether we like it or not.

As an individual, you have something that others don't have and others have something that you don't also have so why are people trying to change the unchangeable. In clear terms, people who have a negative competitive spirit are just chasing the wind. As a social scientist, I have observed with great astonishment how some senior people compare their lives with that of their younger brothers and sisters. If we must compete, there are preconditions that must be taken into consideration. The first is that only people of the same age group should compete among themselves. You cannot be a senior person by far in age and you expect those younger than you to have the same level of achievements like you.

Secondly, we can only compete with others if we had or have the same opportunities in life. You cannot be born with a golden spoon in your mouth and you are comparing your life with a son or daughter from a very poor background. It is a reality that some people had houses, bank accounts, businesses, cars and jobs kept for them even before they were born.

Why injustice often leads to violence.. ?

It is heartbreaking to see that most of the efforts of the Head of State of Cameroon to improve the living conditions of his citizens is often destroyed by people with no sense of objectivity. The President of the Republic has fought corruption vigorously but I must say that it is still deep-rooted in the minds of some people. The ongoing integration of 3000 basic education teachers into the Public Service is a laudable initiative from every perspective but unfortunately corruption has once again shown it's ugly head. What can explain the fact that so many teachers with more than ten years of teaching experience have been conspicuously left out in this recruitment while some with less than two years after they left teachers training colleges have been taken.

It is unacceptable that the only hope of survival of these teachers is once again destroyed by greedy and corrupt individuals. I think that it was natural or common sense to integrate teachers using an up to down approach. Meaning starting with the most experience and move downwards. The President's vision of bringing education very close to his people by opening schools in every village in Cameroon has really increased the literacy rate in the Country but this initiative has not been very satisfactory because most teachers who were sent to villages to teach underprivileged children are fast leaving because of no salaries and dashed hopes of not been integrated.

I wonder why basic education teachers are not integrated at once into the Public Service like their Secondary education counterparts. Every level of education is important so no level should be given preference over others. It is not too late for the Minister of basic education to look into this situation that has devastated so many young Cameroonians. I think our Country will be more united and prosperous if merit is put at the forefront of all Government actions.

Employment as a means of ensuring social peace and stability.

It is the dream of every graduating student to find a job and take care of his or her self, provide for his or her parents and family members at large. Beyond these reasons we all strive to work, what is of interest to this writer is the importance of work as a vector of peace and stability in every society. Although we have white collar thieves ( Those who embezzle public funds), we cannot ignore the fact that work helps to stabilize the morality of people. It is easy for jobless people to commit crimes than people who are busy on a daily basis. As we all know, once people lack the means to make earns meet, they will definitely resort to illegal ways to earn a living.

This is the reason why crime is inevitable because unemployment is a permanent cankerworm in all societies around the world. As I said earlier, some people are born criminals but lack of work often transform some good people to criminals because of the situation they find themselves. Since work is a vector to ensure social peace and stability, it is thus the prime duty of Governments to ensure that more jobs are created in order to keep citizens responsible and productive. Citizens and Governments have shared responsibilities as far as ensuring social peace and stability is concern.

On the part of Governments, the private sector must be empowered with enough capital and tax reductions that can facilitate small companies and enterprises to strive. This is because no Government can employ all her citizens alone. Only a State - Private sector partnership can reduce unemployment to the lowest minimum. As concerns the responsibility of citizens, we have to understand that all of us cannot work in big offices but every work we do certainly put food on our tables which is the most important thing. Any Government which is serious to fight crime should provide more jobs to its citizens.

Post Covid - 19 Preparation; What must Governments Do..?

The covid - 19 pandemic currently rocking the world has brought life almost to a total halt. Nobody could imagine that a day could come so soon when money and power seems to be very meaningless because this disease affects everyone without a distinction of social class or colour of skin. It is true that our Governments around the world are working very hard to contain a wide spread of this deadly virus but I think that much clairvoyance is needed at this early stage to avert the numerous political, social and economic crisis that will erupt once the covid - 19 pandemic is brought under control.

In this regard, Public Authorities must devise a holistic and horizontal plan of action that will help civil servants, economic operators and those who are not working to pick up the pieces of their lives as soon as this health crisis is over. For this reason, the communist system of equal sharing of resources among citizens must be upheld at this critical moment where humanity is battling for her very existence.

I have no doubts that capitalism which is often associated with egoism is part of the reason the world is going through such a horrible crisis. To lead is to anticipate so I hope those who are leading us will take appropriate measures to safe the planet now that things are still controllable.

What is the true meaning of power.. ?

Power from a political standpoint is the capacity of an individual or a democratically elected leader to influence others to follow a particular course in life. This is why only people with well defined road maps (manifesto) should be allowed to run for elected offices. It is worrisome to see today how some people have misunderstood the concept of power to mean live in luxury at the expense of others, trample at will on the rights of those they consider weak and oppressing people who don't have the means to fight back. The power a leader dispense at a certain moment to determine the course of events or force others to act against their will does not make him or her a deity to be worshipped but they are rather public servants whose prime mission is to bring about positive change.

The natural benefits that are related to every level of power should never overshadow the cardinal reason why some people have been chosen to head the Village, City, Company, Constituency, Region and the Country at large. True power is therefore the ability of a Leader to improve what he or she met. In elaborate terms, it means initiating policies that will better the lives of the people under your command. It is not a secret to know that once people are economically satisfied, social peace is naturally achieved and sustained.

The quality of a leaders power is reflected positively or negatively in the lives of the people who depend on he or she. 2020 started with a lot of difficulties world over so it is not too early for public officials to start looking themselves in the mirror of their own laid down objectives if they are responding to the right needs of the people under their care . In the political battle field specifically, we know that the next election is prepared the day the first one is won. Our politicians therefore have the yam and the knife now, to cut to self destruction or further election victories. The choice is theirs.

What is a social movement ?

A social movement is when a large group of people are protesting about a common problem or fighting to change an unfavorable situation that affects all of them. When an individual is worried about a particular situation, it produces little or no effect but once more than one person start calling for a change of something, it becomes a social movement that public authorities have to manage with care if not the social crisis will escalate to a political movement. Social movements usually go out of control when cosmetic solutions are given to well founded problems.

There is usually an outpour of emotions when people realize that those in leadership vehemently refuse to listen and take their predicaments into consideration. I think it is in the best interest of public administrators to always apply the human face of power in the discharge of their duties if not small grievances will always turn out to uncontrollable situations that can get the entire country into a very bad situation. On the other hand, those who are involved in a social movement to denounce a particular situation or call for a change must always be ready for a concession.

That is to say they have to be moderate in making demands and the ability to accept what the other person is offering on the other side of the table while expecting more. So many conflicts in the world are still in a stalemate because no side is ready to listen and accept from the other. No conflict can ever come to an end if people don't accept the point of view of others. No war, strike and movement is worth the trouble because we are all strangers in this world. Since nobody will be buried with wealth, why don't we make life worth living for everybody by sharing things equitably..?

How do people become evil.

No human being is born evil but some people copy or inherit the act of doing evil things from other evil people. That said, it is imperative to indicate here that a large majority of wicked people we have in the world today, is due to greed, too much ambitions, envy, negative thoughts and the environment they live in. A new born baby is like a computer bought from the shop without any programme in it. The capacity of your computer therefore depends on the quality of programmes you installed in it so too does a human being becomes what his or her thoughts and environment brings into his or her upbringing.

If you are born were witch craft is the order of the day, there is a strong possibility that you will become a witch or a wizard. In the same vein, if you interact mostly with people who are involved in money rituals to earn a living, it is difficult not to become one of them except God decides otherwise in your case. As the old saying goes, birds of the same feathers, usually fly together. It is not a secret to know that man by nature is a jealous being that is why so many human beings are likely to do evil than good.

God just like Satan, needs a host (human being) to accomplish their mission for humanity but it depends who we make ourselves available for. If you harbour thoughts of making others succeed in life like you, God will definitely continue to bless you to be a blessing to others. On the other hand, if your thinking is all about causing the down fall of others, Satan will easily use you as a tool to hurt those around you.

The long and short of this topic under review is that the ways of the Lord are difficult to follow but they lead us to eternal Glory while the ways of the devil are very easy but they lead us into everlasting destruction. The thin line between doing good and avoiding evil is constantly thinking positive. The choice is yours.

Governance by elitism;

Elites are considered as people who are in the highest level of every society in the world. In most cases, Countries are run by this group of people who call themselves the ruling class. To add more flesh to what I have just said, an elite can be any individual who is very influential within a particular Community. He or she can therefore be an agent of development or a vector of destruction. Talking about development, most leaders in the world work through elites to push through their development projects across their respective Countries. Elites with good intentions have to therefore always take down to the grassroot what is meant for their people and on the other hand, transmit the exact needs of their Communities to the competent authorities for actions to be taken but unfortunately, elites who have their people at heart are very rare to find in our world of today.

Some elites are very self centred to an extend that it is them or nobody else. Such people can never tell the leader the truth their people are going through. If a leader is depending on such elites who do not want to see youths become successful, it is evident that the good intentions of the leader will never get to such a Community. Egoistic people should never be considered as elites because they will stagnate not only the lives of young people but the Communities as a whole. Governance by elitism usually cuts a leader off the reality his or her people are going through. It is true that no leader can be every where at the same time but I think he or she has to be surrounded with people who really wants him or her to succeed.

A leader who does not have the right collaborators will continuously be in problems with his or her people. Every leader who truly wish to succeed in his or her mission of serving the people correctly, must from time to time bypass the elites who are on his or her side. By so doing, he or she will definitely achieve so many envisaged projects. After all, the people voted you as their leader not the elites.