Cameroon: A Presidents' Frantic Race Against Time
BY AJONG MBAPNDAH L-(PANAFRICANVISION)-For a man who has been in power since 1982, President Paul Biya's achievements
to many Cameroonians fall way below expectations. In his mid seventies today, the sun is clearly setting and not rising for his
political career despite designs by him and his ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) to ensure that he continues
in power for as long as he wants or perhaps nature permits. In accordance with the 1996 constitution which provided for a
maximum two presidential terms of seven years each, Cameroonians were hoping that the long sojourn of Biya will end in 2011
when fresh elections are due.
Having served his two terms, many hoped that the absence of Biya at the polls will offer Cameroonians the long opportunity they
have been waiting for to initiate change but helas, President Biya beat them to the game with constitutional reforms which did
away with term limits.
Prior to the the 1996 constitution, the term of office for the president was five years with no limits. By raising it to seven years
renewable, President Biya and his associates probably thought those will be unending years. With the electoral machine designed
to guarantee his victory with any percentage margin that he wants, prospects of life without a presidency not only throw fear into
Biya but also cohorts who rely on him for their protection and sustenance.
Using the overwhelming majority that he has at the National Assembly , President Biya in February of this year and against huge
protests from Cameroonians did away with term limits, thus paving the way for additional years in power for himself .But after 25
years in power, just what does Mr Biya hope to achieve or wants to do again?
In the 60s upon his return from studies in France, Paul Biya joined the upper echelon of the civil services in Cameroon and has
remained there serving amongst others as Secretary General of the Presidency and Prime Minister under the government of first
President Amadou Ahidjo.In November 1982, President Ahidjo surprisingly resigned and his choice of successor was Paul Biya.
Although the constitution at the time stipulated that the Prime Minister will take over the affairs of the country in case anything
happens to the President, the choice of Biya as Prime Minister and heir apparent was that of Ahidjo's alone.
Calm, and educated , Biya quickly charmed his way into the hearts of Cameroonians with his offer of a 'new deal" which harped on
rigor and moralization. On a visit to the North west and South West Provinces of Cameroon which are English speaking , he
actually spoke in English.With a predecessor who never uttered a word in English, Biya was quickly adopted.In the North West
Province, the Traditional rulers known as Fons actually crowned him as the Fon of Fons, a thing many look back in disgust at
today.
The economy he inherited was in sound shape with Cameroon ranking amongst the most prosperous in Africa. External debt was
minimal and Cameroon had solid international standing providing two Secretary Generals in succession for the then Organization
of African Unity(OAU).Former President Amadou Ahidjo did not only serve as Chairman of the OAU but was chosen by his peers to
present the case for Africa against apartheid at the United Nations General Assembly of 1977 in New York.It was common to find
Ghanaians, Nigerians, Chadians, Indians and more flocking to Cameroon to share in the prosperity. Those are the years many
today look back at in nostalgia.
As the sun sets slowly but steadily on his political career, President Biya is faced with serious challenges which will make or mar
his legacy.One of them remains the repatriation of the remains of his predecessor Amadou Ahidjo who died in exile in Senegal in
1989.For someone who ruled the country for 22 years and voluntarily handed over power to Biya, many find it hard to imagine
that his remains continue to rest in Senegal. Prior to his death, his relationship with Paul Biya had deteriorated so much to the
extent that he was tried in absentia and slammed with a death sentence for an attempted plot to unseat Biya in 1983 and later
implicated in the failed military coup of April 1984. Although his regime was definitely not the best of democracies and human
rights, the fear that many lived with during the Ahidjo years was accompanied by economic growth and shared prosperity unlike
what prevails in Cameroon today. Though the death sentence he was slammed with was commuted by President Biya, the
reluctance to bring back Biya’s remains for a decent burial befitting a man of his status , exhibits signs of some deep rooted
grudge on the part of Biya.
Questioned by Eric Chinje of the Cameroon Radio and Television in the early 90s about corruption in the country, President Biya
said there were no proofs. Yet it is an open secret that it not only exists but has done untold damage to the country.
Transparency International, the International Anti Corruption watch dog actually ranked Cameroon as the most corrupt country in
the world in 1997 and 1998.Attempts made by the government to fight this cankerworm have resulting in heavy jail terms
slammed on some barons of the regime but many consider this inadequate.
Pierre Desire Engo, Member of the Political Bureau of the ruling CPDM and Director of the National Social Insurance Fund and
Mounchipou Seidou Minister of Posts and Telecommunications were jailed in 1998.
It took over ten years for others like Alphonese Siyam Siewe of the National Ports Authority, Emmanuel Gerard Ondo Ndong of
the Council Support Fund amongst others to be arrested.Cameroonians however remain perplexed that these arrests are not
accompanied by efforts to recover the loot of the personalities arrested. Of recent there was the arrest of former Secreatry
General at the Presidency Atangana Mebara, former Finance Minister Polycarpe Abah Abah and Former Health Minister Olanguena
Awono but besides the charges of embezzlement, many were quick to see in it,their alleged involvement in a group dubbed G11
with plans to prepare the succession of Paul Biya in 2011.
The bulk of those arrested in the fight against corruption this far are all high profile militants of the ruling party-which is known to
serve as sanctuary of sorts to all who seek shelter from multi-dimensional crimes.It is not uncommon to find that the bulk of
those who are well known for bleeding the public purse , indulging in flagrant human rights abuses like Fon Doh Gah Gwayin ,
traditional ruler of Balikumbat who in 1994 presided over the gruesome murder of a political opponent and others see in the ruling
party shelter from persecution and public wrath. Considered by many to be the incarnation of corruption, the crusade of President
dubbed "epervier" has failed to convince skeptics as to its relevancy and purpose.
Since 1990 when Cameroon embraced multi party politics, there has not been a single election that has met the basic tenets of
democracy. In the Presidential elections of October 1992, President Biya won by a margin of 3% obtaining 38 % of votes as
opposed to 36% for his opposition challenger John Fru Ndi. However it was an open secret that Mr Fru Ndi of the opposition
Social Democratic Front leading a coalition of opposition parties actually won the election. Observer Missions of repute such as the
US based National Democratic Institute actually cast strong doubts on the legitimacy of Biya's victory. He is still in power and
using a combination of flawed elections, superior financial power with the state treasury at his disposal, and force amongst others
to reduce the opposition to nil and the country to a de facto one party state .The cacophony within the ranks of the opposition
has only played to his favor.
Taking patience for weakness can be very dangerous. This was the case in February 2008 when an uprising by Cameroonians to
protest arbitrary price hikes and designs by Biya to change constitutional term limits jolted many. Sylvester Akombu Toh of the
human rights group Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture -ACAT placed the estimated death toll at over 100, though
by government estimates it was much lower. Biya got away with his plan and did away with term limits with the help of his
overwhelming majority in parliament but the warning signs were there for all to see.
Considered by many as a time bomb, the Southern Cameroons problem to which he has paid a deaf ear looms large in the
horizon. Marginalized and given second class status in a union that they were forced into, Southern Cameroons a former United
Nations Trust Territory under British rule is today reduced to two provinces with growing clamor for its statehood to be restored.
Not known for dialogue on domestic issues, President Biya has continued to ignore a problem which has continued to grow
progressively. Calls by former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2000 for dialogue as a means of redress were
never heeded to.
What seems to amaze many is Biya's ability to outfox the international community. Cameroonians are sometimes at a loss to
understand why the international community will be so focused on Zimbabwe whereas elections organized by their own
Cameroonian leader have been worse. With a worsening economic situation, high rate of unemployment, and succession battles
within his own party, secessionist tendencies from Southern Cameroonians and pretty regular attacks from yet to be identified
sources in the oil rich Bakassi Peninsular which was just ceded to Cameroon by Nigeria, President Biya may find it really hard to
add flesh to the skeletal nature of what he has to show as a legacy for over 25 years in power.
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