THE SHINING EXAMPLE OF WESTERN UNION

Public businesses are useful because they are of service to the public. However, they can also become social utilities in the sense that they go the extra mile to support the community in particular and society in general. Such is the case with the Cameroonian enterprise, Western Union. The mushrooming of its branches in Cameroon and its relatively efficient running have made it a reference point in the country when it comes to money transfer and even job creation. The organization has covered Cameroon so well that it has now turned to other countries where it is also making significant inroads. Such is the case with Gabon, Chad, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Benin. Normally, this breakthrough ought to serve as an eye-opener to Cameroonians. But in reality, it is unlikely to move our country men and women. This is because we are by nature not business-inclined. We are more likely to sit still and complain and wail and criticize than get up and look for something to do. On that point, we have lessons to learn from our neighbours the Nigerians because they are prepared to move to any part of the world and settle there, if that place has business prospects. When I was a student in France, a study carried out on foreign students in the country indicated that Nigeria had more students in France than any other African country, including the former French colonies. Yet, if anything, Cameroonians probably have more to gain from venturing out than nationals of most African countries. We are bilingual in both French and English, a factor which is a huge asset. Our Anglophone unemployed graduates can teach English in the Francophone counties just as Francophone graduates can teach French in Anglophone countries. For the Francophone candidates, Nigeria is very fertile ground on account of its thick population and its proximity to us. Anglophones have a wide range of French-speaking, Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries from which to choose. Earlier this year, Gabonese President Bongo made English the second official language of the country, which means it needs many English teachers. But how many Anglophone candidates have been seen trooping to the Gabonese embassy in Yaounde to obtain further details? Cameroon has a large range of retired professionals who span a wide spectrum of fields. Even so, they usually do not even consider looking for a job outside of the country, even as a consultant- as a possibility. Frankly, the day we learn to start taking daring business decisions, we shall go far.