As Cameroon enters another year marked by grief, mistrust, and unresolved communal tensions, prominent human rights lawyer Nkongho Felix Agbor, popularly known as Agbor Balla, has issued a strong call for urgent, structured community dialogue, warning that “silence is no longer an option.”
In a statement titled “Cameroon Cannot Afford More Silence: Dialogue Is No Longer Optional,” Barrister Agbor Balla, founder and president of the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Africa (CHRDA), said recent violent events, including the tragic killings in Ndu, highlight the dangerous fragility of social cohesion across the country.
“These killings were not isolated acts of violence,” Agbor Balla said. “They are symptoms of deeper fractures, mistrust, exclusion, unresolved grievances, and the steady breakdown of communication at the community level.”
Dialogue as Prevention, Not Crisis Management
Agbor Balla emphasized that peace cannot be sustained solely through force or security measures. Instead, he argued, it must be deliberately built through inclusive and continuous dialogue that addresses tensions before they escalate into violence.
According to him, community dialogue is often misunderstood as a symbolic gesture or public-relations exercise. In reality, he said, it is a structured process that allows communities to confront difficult truths, manage grievances, rebuild trust, and prevent conflict.
“Where dialogue exists, tensions are addressed early,” he noted. “Where it is absent, fear and misinformation take root and when fear dominates, violence follows.”
He warned that across Cameroon, communities increasingly speak about one another instead of to one another, a silence fueled by trauma, fear, and neglect that has become “profoundly dangerous.”
Why Civil Society Must Take the Lead
While acknowledging the role of public institutions in maintaining peace, Agbor Balla argued that civil society organizations (CSOs) are uniquely positioned to lead community dialogue efforts, particularly in fragile contexts.
ABS January 21, 2026.
He cited several reasons such as the deep grassroots trust many CSOs enjoy, their flexibility and ability to respond quickly to emerging tensions, and their capacity to include marginalized voices such as women, youth, displaced persons, and traditional authorities. He also stressed the neutral convening power of civil society when dialogue processes are properly structured and non-partisan.
“Civil society can create safe spaces for difficult conversations spaces where people can speak without fear,” he said.
Although some civil society initiatives already exist in Cameroon, Agbor Balla described them as fragmented and insufficient given the scale of the challenge.
Toward a National Culture of Dialogue
He called for a coordinated, nationwide community dialogue process spanning all 10 regions of Cameroon and grounded in local realities. Such a process, he said, should aim to address grievances early, establish local early-warning and mediation mechanisms, reduce misinformation-driven violence, and strengthen social cohesion.
“This must not be a one-off event or a donor-driven project,” he insisted. “It should become a permanent peace-building infrastructure, anchored in communities and owned by the people.”
Learning from Ndu
Reflecting on the tragedy in Ndu, Agbor Balla said the nation must move beyond mourning toward reflection and action. While dialogue cannot erase the pain of loss, he argued, it can prevent future tragedies by reopening communication channels and humanizing opposing sides.
“Cameroon does not lack speeches about unity,” he said. “What it lacks is sustained investment in the difficult, patient work of listening, mediation, and reconciliation at the grassroots.”
A Shared Responsibility
Agbor Balla concluded with a broad call to action, urging public authorities to protect civic space, traditional and religious leaders to act as bridges within communities, development partners to prioritize dialogue as a prevention tool, and citizens to choose engagement over confrontation.
“The cost of silence is written in blood from Ndu to many other communities whose suffering never makes headlines,” he warned. “If Cameroon is serious about peace, community dialogue must move from aspiration to action, now more than ever.”
His message adds urgency to ongoing national conversations about peace, accountability, and the role of civil society in holding together a nation under strain.
Comments
Post a Comment