Pope’s visit has set stage for gov't to dialogue with separatists –Archbishop Andrew Nkea.

Among the many expectations, the Archbishop says he expects actions which will give flesh and meaning to the several messages of the Holy Father.

Among the expectations, the religious leader said, is to work to see how to dialogue with separatists in the bush and get them to dialogue with government for peace to return to the North West and South West Regions.

In an interview granted Vatican News on ‘what next’ after the Papal visit, the spiritual leader said beyond being an event, everyone is looking forward to things that will happen after. 

“When the Pope comes to a place, it is an event but really, that event is not as important as the aftermath of the event,” the Archbishop stated.

His Grace Nkea expressed delight that there is general happiness with the messages, which the Holy Father delivered. He intimated that: “That question what next is very important for all of us”. 

The Archbishop said the entire country needs to purse to digest the message.

“I think that in the whole country, we have to sit down and digest that message, all those messages that the Pope brought,” Nkea, who is also President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, told Vatican News.

Another thing the Archbishop declared is to, “…see what it takes to be able to implement some of the things” that the Pope said. 

“I will give you an example. In Bamenda, he was talking about the time for peace is now, not tomorrow and you discover that, we, as Bamenda people, have to start reflecting concretely on this message. If the time of peace is now, how do we make that now to happen?,” Nkea rhetorically questioned. 

‘The big dialogue dream’

The chief shepherd of the Bamenda Archdiocese, said local committees will be put in place to see how to make peace a reality.

“So, we have to really set up committees, to study how to implement these words of the Pope and see how we can make this peace a reality,” Nkea said. 

He also added that work will also be on: “How do we dialogue with the fighters in the bush and how do we get them out of the bush to dialogue with government?. These are things that we, members of the civil society and church, will have to do to be able to make sure that the words of the Pope don’t get wasted”.

To note that His Grace Nkea, was among those who addressed the Holy Father during his visit to the Bamenda on Thursday, April 16, 2026. 

In his speech during a meeting at the Cathedral in Bamenda, the Archbishop recounted some of the horrors of the armed conflict in the North West and South West Regions, informing the Holy Father of the people’s  quest for peace.

He had also said the Holy Father visited Bamenda, where the soil is soaked with the blood of many children. His Grace Nkea had also mentioned what the church has gone through. He reminded the Pope about the targeting of the clergy.

“Priests, religious figures, and bishops have faced harassment, beatings, kidnappings, and even death. A generation of widows and orphans has been created, with many families rendered homeless,” he had told the Pope.

The Archbishop had also noted that: For the past eight years, many of our people have suffered a lot from a situation they did not create. Yet, the church continues to carry the gospel as a light of hope among a traumatised people".

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3767 of Tuesday April 21, 2026