A rare moment of dialogue and reconciliation unfolded at the Bamenda I Council Hall on Monday, August 31, 2026, as Dr. Taniform Peter, Section President of CPDM Mezam 1A, met face-to-face with journalists of the North West Region.
The consultative meeting, convened at the initiative of Dr. Taniform, was aimed at addressing years of accumulated grievances between the press and the political class in Mezam.
In an unusually frank exchange, journalists from print, online, radio and television did not mince words. They described their relationship with elites as exploitative.”We are only remembered during elections. Once the campaigns are over, we are abandoned,” one journalist lamented.
Their complaints centered on four major issues: poor or no payment after field coverage, constant disrespect and disregard from elites and their protocol teams, being used to propagate false campaign manifestos, and the total lack of accountability after elites attain office.
Journalists working in the North West, a region still grappling with a protracted socio-political crisis, also said they work under high risk with little or no solidarity from the political class.
Responding to the concerns, Dr. Taniform Peter said journalists remain the cornerstone of democracy and development, and without them, no meaningful growth can be achieved in Mezam.
He called for an end to mutual distrust and proposed a new social contract based on forgiveness and responsibility.”I will personally engage the elite of Mezam and beyond. We need a verbal memorandum of understanding built on mutual respect, fair compensation for the press, and accountability from us elites,” he said.
He added: “We have reached a level of understanding to forgive each other and get a concrete medium of accountability for our elites.”
The high point of the meeting was a humanitarian and solidarity gesture from Dr. Taniform. In honour of journalists who have died in the line of duty, he donated school bags and 50,000 FCFA cash for each child of a deceased journalist as part of his back-to-school support program. He went further to announce an immediate cash donation of 1,000,000 FCFA as seed money for North West journalists.
He challenged other elites of the region to emulate the gesture, so that together, a substantial fund can be raised to launch a concrete project that will improve the living and working conditions of journalists.
The journalists, visibly moved, welcomed the initiative as historic and pledged to keep the communication channel open, while urging that the resolutions taken at the Bamenda I hall should translate into concrete action in the months ahead.
By Munya Charles Babila
