Wirba Joseph

Wirba Joseph Mbiydzenyuy (born January 8, 1960), is a Cameroonian politician, humanitarian and social activist.

Wirba Joseph Mbiydzenyuy
Born (1960-01-08) 8 January 1960
Jakiri, Northwest Region, Cameroon
NationalityCameroonian
OccupationParliamentarian

Early life and education

Wirba Joseph Mbiydzenyuy was born into the household of the warriors of Mbisha-Kwe’ebiri, Rohntong, in Jakiri, Bui Division of West Cameroon. His parents Mama Theresia Biy and Papa WIRBA Dor did not have his birth officially recorded as he was born in a rural setting having neither a health facility nor birth records, at a time when women were assisted by traditional birth attendants (the ma’nkoiy). He was delivered at his family home, before, on, or about January 8, 1960.[1]

Joe began his primary education at the local primary school in Kinsenjam, he then continued his education in a secondary school in Bamenda and completed high school in Nkambe.

After graduation, Joe got admitted into the University of Yaounde, Where he majored in Comparative Literature, the Teaching of Literature in English and English as a Second Language.

Political career

On May 26, 1990,[2] Wirba Joseph and an inner circle of leaders worked to bypass, frustrate and push back the army in order to successfully launch the Social Democratic Front (SDF),[3] the main Cameroonian opposition party. Wirba was an active participant and advocate for the freedom of the people of West Cameroon in the All Anglophone Conference that was held in Buea, on April 2 and 3 1993, with follow-up meetings on April 29 to May 1, 1994 in Bamenda. Wirba remain a devoted member of the SDF and in September 2013, Joe Wirba won a landmark election in Jakiri in September 2013 to become a Member of Parliament for Jakiri Special Constituency since.

Wirba Joseph was the first Cameroonian parliamentarian to raise the 2016–2017 Cameroonian protests, which would later escalate into the Anglophone Crisis.[4] He eventually abandoned his party's policies and came to support the independence of Ambazonia.[5] Fearing for his safety, he fled to Nigeria in early 2017. He briefly returned and reappeared in parliament, but soon fled the country once again, this time to the United Kingdom. In January 2019, he published a book called "Wirbaforce", which is his personal tribute to those who had lost their lives in the Anglophone Crisis.[6]

Wirba believes that the creation of the Interim Government of Ambazonia in October 2017 was a mistake, calling it an "imaginary structure" that paved the way for the 2019 Ambazonian leadership crisis. Wirba has also revealed that he had been contacted by Ambazonian president Sisiku Julius Ayuk Tabe and asked to assume leadership of the revolution, which he declined.[7]

References
  1. Bandy Kiki. "Things You Don’t Know About Hon. Wirba Joseph | Kinnaka's Blog". kinnakasblog.com. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  2. "" My experience from the 1990s...helped me stay ahead of my hunters" - Honorable Wirba Joseph finally breaks the silence". cameroon-concord.com. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  3. "Cameroon: Goodbye Fru Ndi, Welcome Wirba Joseph By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai - allAfrica.com". allafrica.com. Retrieved 2017-05-11.
  4. Cameroon: Fru Ndi’ rejects Ambazonia fighters demands to force elected SDF officials to resign, Journal du Cameroun, Apr 28, 2019. Accessed Jun 30, 2019.
  5. Cameroon: “We will have an independent state of Ambazonia”- Hon Joseph Wirba, Journal du Cameroun, Jul 12, 2019. Accessed Jul 12, 2019.
  6. Cameroon: Hon. Wirba launches book on Anglophone crisis in UK, Journal du Cameroun, Jan 12, 2019. Accessed Jun 30, 2019.
  7. Crise anglophone : Un ancien député du SDF appelle les séparatistes à dire la vérité aux masses souffrantes, Le Bled Parle, Jul 4, 2019. Accessed Jul 4, 2019. (French)
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