UY1 campus: Students and lectures refuse new cinema hall

Camouflage to some, another 45 years of exploitation of the country chanted by some in displeasing to the new cinema hall, owned by the French businessman, Vincent Bollere.


“What in Cameroon is Bollere not controlling”, said a lecturer in French. The most painful part of the entire story is that, the university had made the school to believe that, it was a school hall purposely for the Performing arts and Cinematography student not knowing the political agenda hidden from the population that it was still, Bollere; owner of the blue buses roaming the campus everyday transporting student for free.

“Why are Cameroonians this blind, this is another 45 years exploitation? Do they thing a French man can do something in Cameroon for free? This man is trying to impose the French culture in the country by starting with the biggest university. He knows that by starting with this campus, the French will easily have their way forth. The country is good at looking the picture not reading the picture”. A theater semiotician said in French.

“The French will exploit that building for some number of years (probably 45 years) before handling to the government, same as the blue buses” the angry French lecturer continues.

On the part of the performing arts and cinematography students and lecturers, their main problem is:

1. The building was open without them being aware.

2. No lecturer in the department was informed.

3. The head of the department was called from his office to attain the ceremony that same morning without knowing anything.

4. Lectures said they were shocked to see banners all in the campus for a ceremony about their department that they know nothing about.

5. Not even a performance of a play nor a university film was premiered.

6. It was instead the ballet dancers, from the school dancing club that opened the hall while the department has traditional dancers as well.

7. They claimed that it was A.S.C’s (Arts de spectacle et cinematographie) while none of the students were there present to say anything.

8. The films they screened that day were not even Cameroonian films.

Who are they fooling?

The performing arts and cinematography lecturers have been humming of them not recognized by the school nor the government and was thinking for them opening the Cinema hall, the country will know their existence and what they have been doing and what they are capable of doing “it would have served us to let them know we exist” the angry French lecturer concludes.

From sources within the school, the students and the school directors are planning to boycott the hall and continue performing in the French Cultural Center (IFC) which they claim to be having problems there or keep on fighting at the CCC (Cameroon Cultural Center) which at times they are not well treated in their own state hall or either to continue in the German Cultural Center; Goethe Institute.

The same hall, Pavilion-3, the ex-students and presents students are performing their play, is the same hall after which is kept clean for lectures.

A school as large as University of Yaounde1 is proud of having no state own hall and the one that has come Canal Olympia, would as well not be free to access.

The question is, why does the Cameroon government not able to build a cinema hall in 2016 for the school? Why are the other private Cameroonian business men not investing in the cinema halls as well?

One thing is certain, the school has a cinema hall, though locals have started complaining about the location of the hall not good.