Politics

Back in the 1990s, thousands of Cameroonians were not only willing… thousands accepted to be brutalized during street protests and rallies. Hundreds of thousands joined ghost town campaigns. Tens of thousands accepted to be arrested, detained, tortured, raped, “disappeared” or killed.

It was, they considered, a small price to pay for the ideal they were fighting for. Only few guessed or could have imagined then that they would be rewarded with one-man rule for over a quarter of a century. Few of those who fervently believed in the magic of “power to the people” could have imagined that the opposition political party they fought so hard to build and for which so many were killed would – by 2017 - become one of Cameroon’s least democratic political parties.

Welcome to the Social Democratic Front (SDF)! Welcome to the shameful legacy of the once endearing SDF leader, Ni John Fru Ndi. This is the same politician… I beg your pardon… this is the demagogue whom younger SDF colleagues – like Hon. Joseph Wirba and yours truly – did not hesitate to referred to as “Pa”. This is the man who had millions chanting the “Papa eeeellleee… Yayayoooo” as he took to the soapbox. Twenty-seven years after, one thing is obvious: how the mighty have fallen! You would be ashamed to brag about such a record… except if you are Mr. Fru Ndi, who apparently does not know how not to.

Definitely irked by the fact that one parliamentarian (Hon. Joseph Wirba) has, indeed, stolen his political thunder, Mr. Fru Ndi used a recent media outing (interview granted Equinoxe TV and aired by CRTV) to find a very public way of hauling that Member of Parliament (MP) under the bus. The SDF leader is apparently so irked he cannot even bring himself into recognizing the MP by his name or title.

The Fru Ndi Rant, as it should be called, begins with words to the following effect: “One of the SDF parliamentarians, Joe Wirba… after he talked in parliament… He came. I congratulated him,” says Mr. Fru Ndi. Only a few seconds later, he admits: “I cautioned him”.

Question: which is which? Did Mr. Fru Ndi “congratulate” or “caution” Hon. Wirba? Did he do both?

The case Mr. Fru Ndi makes for the political crucifixion of Hon. Wirba accuses the MP of daring to be himself; not the SDF… of daring to speak up in support of Southern Cameroonians, whereas the SDF would have preferred their massacre. Ahmadou Ahidjo would have been very proud of Mr. Fru Ndi when he says the following of Hon. Wirba: “He talked more from a personal point of view - I, not we. He talked not from the point of view of the party”. Ni John Fru Ndi wants viewers to know he was generous with advice to Hon. Wirba. “He should make sure that when he is talking he is talking as an SDF member”. Translation? How dare anyone within the SDF outshine Fru Ndi? If Hon. Wirba had such a powerful speech, why did he not let the boss deliver it?

Like all rants, this one opens a window into Mr. Fru Ndi’s heart. What the viewer sees is a man who, after 27 years of “come-no-go” rule, remains anxious to advertise the party as “private” property; not open to those who, like Hon. Wirba, he lambasts as “opportunists”.

“Is the SDF a place for opportunists?”, he asks, really meaning to say: “only one opportunist is welcome here”. The SDF, he adds, is not “where you come and start your own thing and you are running in your direction and expect the party to follow you”.

Got that, Hon. Wirba? Don’t try to run for president or prime minister from the one seat Mr. Fru Nid already occupies. And, please know that no one who wants to still be around would join you. Not other MPs. Not the Divisional Coordinator of the SDF for Bui Division. Not the mayor. Never mind that thousands of the people turned out to encourage you at that rally. This is no longer the “power to the people” party.

What Does Cautioning Hon. Wirba Mean?

Even if it is hard, let us still try to understand what Mr. Fru Ndi cautioned Hon. Wirba about. Did the SDF leader caution the MP from Jakiri not to decry the rape of his niece at the University of Buea by security forces? Did he caution Hon. Wirba not to ask to many questions about colonialism? Questions like: “does the president know that the governors and SDOs sent to West Cameroon behave like colonizers”? Did Mr. Fru Ndi caution Hon. Wirba to keep quiet about being told by cabinet ministers that Southern Cameroonians were supposed to melt like cubes of sugar in a bowl of water? Did Mr. Fru Ndi caution Hon. Wirba not to tell the colonial regime that “the people of West Cameroon cannot be your slaves”? Did he caution Hon. Wirba to say, instead, that Yaounde conquered Buea in war? Would Mr. Fru Ndi have preferred no one accused Yaounde of having a “master plan to finish our culture” in West Cameroon?

When the SDF leader says Hon. Wirba did not speak on behalf of the party, is it because the SDF does not really stand for federalism? When Mr. Fru Ndi claims (with TV cameras rolling) that the MP from Jakiri did not speak for the party, can anyone imagine what Mr. Fru Ndi has said to the colonial regime (with the cameras off)? If Hon. Wirba got so much love from Mr. Fru Ndi for calling Southern Cameroons West Cameroon, what exactly has Mr. Ndi said about Hon. Nji, whose speech from the same floor of parliament, preferred the name Southern Cameroons? Imagine what the SDF leader feels about the MP from Bafut speaking up so eloquently on behalf of the people during a meeting with Premier Yang?

Happily, Mr. Fru Ndi’s rant educates Southern Cameroonians about the profound depths of dictatorship into which the SDF has sunk. MPs for the SDF, he says, are not authorized to hold any views of their own. They are legislators for the party. Never mind the people.

Without trading one evil for another, it is worth pointing out that even the ruling CPDM proved more tolerant of their MPs holding their own views. While still an MP for the CPDM, Hon. Paul Ayah Abine resigned from that party in January 2011, more than a year ahead of end of the term in 2012. The CPDM did not deliver him give him up for arrest until five years later.

Not Possible to Fool the People All the Time

By playing “cry baby”, Mr. Fru Ndi has brought attention to and highlighted the magnanimity of Hon. Wirba, as shown in his letter. Unlike Ni John Fru Ndi, Hon. Wirba knows that in Biya’s Cameroon “laws exist only on paper”. He knows that “the real law of the land is the absolute authority of the president” and that the president “rules by the barrel of the gun”.

However hard Mr. Fru Ndi tries, he and the SDF people like him and Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam have made a hostage won’t fool the people and won’t certainly undo what I call the Wirba Shine. Who has forgotten how Hon. Mbah Ndam claimed that the terrorism law which is now being used to imprison Southern Cameroonians did not curb civil liberties? Shortly after that counter-terrorism legislation was passed Hon. Mbah Ndam claimed that the law “has not limited the right of anybody”. He added that the law “has not deprived Cameroonians of their right to public manifestations (sic); it has not deprived political parties of holding public rallies and manifestations (sic) against evils committed by the government”. This is the same Hon. Mbah Ndam who claimed that “the military tribunal that exists in Cameroon today is no longer that murderous military tribunal of old”. He said the regime follows “due process”.

Just as Mr. Fru Ndi was the man of the hour in 1990, Hon. Wirba is the man of the hour today. Sadly, this is the same Fru Ndi who does not want to get out of the way for younger politicians like Hon. Wirba to follow despite being on record saying: “I have done my best. If citizens feel disgruntled with the regime, they should lead a protest march and I will support them”, adding: “Let them lead and I will follow”. Mr. Fru Ndi has never wanted to follow despite admitting two years ago that his party had failed Cameroonians and that he was giving up. “We have fought so hard to change things in parliament, but failed”, Mr. Fru Ndi confessed.

What is the logic of saying the above and then trying so hard to prevent Hon. Wirba from taking “the bold step to cry out against the regime’s systematic enslavement of the people of West Cameroon”? Those of us who, like Hon. Wirba, felt we developed a “Father-Son” relationship while working with Mr. Fru Ndi and the SDF, wonder why the SDF indulges in such betraying silence. Hon. Wirba is right. Mr. Fru Ndi no longer stands by or speaks up for the people. Not even when the people need him the most, as Hon. Wirba did. Mr. Fru Ndi’s “complete silence on such a capital issue” as the independence of Southern Cameroons - which also touches “every West Cameroonian at home or abroad” – enocurages the oppressors (the colonizers) to hunt all our people down with impunity. As in Hon. Wirba’s case, silence on the independence of Southern Cameroons has forced all of us Southern Cameroonians to realize that we are on our own. For with a democrat like Fru Ndi, no Southern Cameroonian needs a dictator.

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Ntumfoyn Boh Herbert

30.Mar.2017

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His Excellency The National Chairman SDF Party
Your Excellency
7. March 2017

I hope you are in good health knowing that the upheavals in the country even denied you the opportunity to rest after your operation. We are lucky to have such a selfless leader in you who can sacrifice his health to be there for the people. God will continue blessing you for your countless sacrifices you are tirelessly making to serve your people. When the few fall to see your great efforts, the many will see, and that many includes God who sees and knows even what is hidden in every human heart. Thank you for the great work you arc doing for the nation.

 The times have been tough on me but I must apologize for the long silence. I was very well aware of what this violent government would want to do to me after what I said and did. The order for my arrest was given on the 20. of January 2017 by Mbarga Nguele on the instructions of the SG at the presidency In collaboration with the minister of Interior. I got the signals on the 19. of January and that same day they came for me. Using the old tactics you taught us from the 90s, I led them in my car to a secure location, parked the car there, went into the building and quickly took care of my safety. They spent that whole day and night waiting by the car before realizing what had happened.

There were friends, militants and relatives who kept reminding me that I had parliamentary immunity_ But I knew Cameroon better from our struggle at the inception of our great Party, in the early 1990s, that laws exist only on paper and the real law of the land, is the absolute authority of the President who rules by the barrel of the gun! With that in mind I took no chances and worked extra hard to stay safe. A week later I finally realized that the telex for my arrest had two names on it: Wirba JOSEPH SDF MP and AYAH PAUL ABINE I
I have attached a copy to this letter.

 Your Excellency, as your son and one of those who stood up to be counted at the birth of the SDF, I owe you the truth about how I feel. My truth is that during this very trying moment, you my leader did not stand by me or even speak up for me when I needed it most! I may be wrong my Chairman, but I think that your complete silence on such a capital issue I raised, and which touched every West Cameroonian at home and abroad at heart, encouraged our oppressors to hunt me down with impunity! Your silence made me realize that I was on my own, and being a man who can stand on his own feet, I went ahead to defend our people and myself the best way I could. And thanks be to God the People stood by me, defended me, protected me and kept me safe.

 When I took the bold step to cry out against the regime's systematic enslavement of the people of West Cameroon, I knew what the consequences could be; disapproval and rejection from some, jail, exile and even death. I have no regrets at all. if the price i have to pay for standing up for our people my life, then it is a price i stand ready to pay.

Thanks a million Your Excellency and best wishes of good health to you.

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Rita Akana

29.Mar.2017

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Gathered around the "Alternance 2018" movement, the opposition parties had planned to nominate a candidate in March to take their vote in the election. The initiative has so far gone comatose

"Alternance 2018", a movement of the civil society created by Florent Ndzana, proposed to organize in March the very first primaries of the Cameroonian opposition. But his initiative remains, so far, a far fetched dream

The opposition remains deeply divided over the choice of a single candidate for the 2018 presidential election while the Cameroon People Democratic Movement (CPDM) celebrated on March 24 its 32 years in power.

According to the chronogram adopted by the civil society movement "Alternance 2018", it was on March 15th that the primaries had to begin with a view to choosing the Cameroonian opposition candidate in next year's presidential election .

The date of 15 March has come, but was not respected when due. 

"The primaries are still in sight. We have run into many administrative barriers and  the reluctance of some people. However, the leaders of the parties have  agree to organize the primaries to designate a Cameroonian opposition candidate, "said Marie Jeanne Abega, regional delegate of the" Alternance 2018 "movement for the central region of Yaoundé.

According to her, a dozen opposition political parties and as many civil society organizations have already signed up to the 2018 Alternative movement.

A move that calls for a massive vote in favor of a single opposition candidate to overcome the CPDM, the ruling party for 32 years in Cameroon.

History recalls that the failure of a single opposition candidate had already been recorded in 2004.

John Fru Ndi, president of the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF), rejected the choice of his opponent Adamou Ndam Njoya of the UDC.

Fru Ndi had been eliminated because he did not speak French, one of the official languages of Cameroon. A criterion that is still contained in the declaration of candidature proposed by the Alternance 2018 movement to the leaders of the political parties of the Cameroonian opposition.

Nevertheless, since 2004, the main political forces of the opposition are divided on the idea of a single candidature.

"The actors who currently dominate the main opposition parties have so much mistrust and distrust among them," said Cameroon political scientist Njoya Moussa.

Added to this is the fact that John Fru Ndi's party does not want to share his leadership.

"In the opposition, the SDF believes that any regrouping of political formations must be done around it. However,  critics say this is the behind the  the failure of the opposition in Cameroon, "adds the teacher Njoya Moussa.

The position of the SDF has not changed on this principle of natural leadership.

"The SDF assumes and deserves its political place in the opposition,"  a memeber  of this party tells Camcord

The political hunt to the old guard of the opposition.

For its part, the union for the brotherhood UFP of Olivier Bile, adheres to the initiative of Alternance 2018 to nominate an opposition candidate for the 2018 presidential in Cameroon, but under one condition.

"We are political actors who want to bring a new dynamic to the future. It must now begin with these primaries, which for us constitute a non-negotiable condition, "affirms the president of the UFP,

The Cameroon people party of Edith Kah Walla welcomes with less enthusiasm the option of presenting a single candidate of the opposition.

"It is important to have credible elections in Cameroon. An election with two rounds clears of itself, the candidate that the opposition will support. But the current regime does not want a two-round presidential election, "said Edith Kah Walla, president of the Cameroon People Party.

With so many differences, some Cameroonians are skeptical about a single opposition candidacy during the 2018 presidential election.

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Rita Akana

28.Mar.2017

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The daily Mutations reports that under cover of the Social Democratic Front (Sdf) officials confessed that the party does not yet have the 80 million FCFA to organize the congress. This could explain the fact that this high mass was postponed again last Saturday during the meetings of the members of the National Executive Committee (NEC). In order to raise this money, the newspaper said that the contributions were broken down as follows, 25 million for the party, 36 million for parliamentarians, 13 million for local elected representatives and 6 million for the Regions and From candidates to primary.

The paper also points out that other party cadres indicate that the dismissal of the congress is not due to the ideas of cash tensions within the party. But rather because of the anglophone crisis that is struggling to end. They admit, however, that the question of the organization of the congress was debated at the assizes last Saturday that were held in the residence of the Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi. "We are still discussing it. And I remind you that we held more congresses than the RDPC. What is more important? Make sure that children go to school or choose their leaders, "says the Chairman.

It should be noted that the official reason that was given to justify the postponement of the SDF congress is the English-speaking problem. "The Northwest and South-West are not stable and we have to get everyone from the Regions," says Ni John Fru Ndi.

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Rita Akana

28.Mar.2017

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"The time has therefore come for our nation to put into place a new paradigm for the management of our cultural diversity. That is the price we must pay to find the true unity we seek and through it the strength for which we clamor. The legal system of Cameroon is bi-jural constitutionally, politically socially, culturally and intellectually. Disregarding this fact is an assault on the very foundation on which our nation is built. While it is true that diversity might well create ambiguity complexity and even confusion, the danger of assimilation under the guise of harmonization now appears as a time bomb."

Forcing learned gentlemen of the law into the streets robed in their wigs and gowns is something no Government should wish for. Lawyers are the defenders of those without power, and the watchdogs of the rule of law. Citizens, who are witnesses to such a spectacle, will immediately feel fragile, and the existence of the rule of law in any country will immediately be questioned. As pictures of lawyers flooded the social media last November 08, 2016, and as I saw lawyers in the streets of Bamenda armed only with their ideas, their professional paraphernalia and the request for a dialogue, I wondered about the kind of denial that causes a few to think that because they shut their eyes nothing is happening; and that because they close their ears nothing is being said.

The fact that I can relate without any strain to the frustration of the Common Law practitioner convinces me to conclude that, the effects of cultural diversity in a country on the behavior of its citizens are complex and powerful. The time has therefore come for our nation to put into place a new paradigm for the management of our cultural diversity. That is the price we must pay to find the true unity we seek and through it the strength for which we clamor.

From the dawn of the Federation of Cameroon, the biggest challenge that hung over it like the “Damocles Sword”, was and has been the management of our diversity. Passionate Southern Cameroonians who had the vision of a United States of Africa, thought that maybe a United Cameroon was just the place to start. They felt the shackles that were constituted by a legacy of different colonial cultures could not be allowed to stand in the way of the reunification of peoples torn apart and dispersed by a War they did not start and had nothing to do with. A War which caused the colonizer to suddenly discover in Africans the virtue of valuable partners for the purposes of war but at the same time maintaining them as second class citizens for the purposes of colonization. The Federation that was born guaranteed the protection of diversity. It did so through its constitution. A Bilingual Nation, Federated States with their own Parliaments and Governments, a President and Vice President, one from either culture. Inherited laws, practices and customs maintained in either state of the federation and several other guaranties. So the Common Law lawyers had a Bar freely elected and independent, the civil law jurisdictions had no bar and were under the control of the Government whose prerogative it was to appoint lawyers.

Under the seduction of a 100% increase and even more in salaries West Cameroonians made the chant “going federal” their mantra. Yes, salaries were doubled even tripled, and some people moved to Yaounde. Arrears were paid on the new salaries and people carted away ton loads of money. “Federalization” was indeed a misnomer, for what in fact was the path to a centralization that spelt the death of the Federation. Still in good faith, the new form of the Union was given a chance. Dealing with the legal framework meant the organization of the Bar had to be revisited. So a new Law was passed in 1972 creating a Cameroon Bar totally controlled by the Government in which the lawyers were appointed by a presidential decree. The decade that followed was one in which the Bar fought for its independence and that is another story. The point of this article is not to make a pilgrimage into the past, but to reflect on the way forward. Some of those who have made the need to have a homogeneous society their objective, have failed to ensure that it does not become synonymous to assimilation. Any society with a minority that has a specific historical, geographical, and socio-political history must be managed in a manner to allay any fears of assimilation or discrimination and prejudice.

The movement of the Common Law Lawyers today must bring us to admit that diversity in our country has been mismanaged. This has produced, negative dynamics, ethnocentrism, stereotyping and cultural clashes. These negative dynamics over the years have combined with imbalanced structures to create an atmosphere of social injustice. While it is true that diversity might well create ambiguity complexity and even confusion, the danger of assimilation under the guise of harmonization now appears as a time bomb. In such an atmosphere polarization of social groups becomes easy and this ultimately will breed cynicism and resentment and even heighten friction and tension that could all lead to unfathomable consequences in terms of civil and political unrest.

It will be remiss of me to give the impression that there are no other diversities to be managed. Different groups have come up with memoranda about their regions, what is the response? These are the cries of people who feel that they have been left behind or in some cases left out totally. Many international reports have concluded that the economic predicament of the areas attacked in the Central African Region, indeed facilitated the penetration by the terrorists. Thus many regions do face discrimination in many subtle forms, which are slowly contributing to disappointment and anger. When conflict is the unfortunate outcome, the “majority” or the group controlling power will see and treat any incident as “isolated” when in fact the minority just count it as another event in the pattern of oppression and injustice that is embedded in the system.

I must hasten to add that there have been times when I have personally been witness to the clear demonstration of political will to protect diversity and ensure the respect of our constitution . When the very first OHADA laws were promulgated, the then Minister of Justice, Mr. Laurent Esso, delayed the application of the OHADA laws throughout the territory until they were translated and duly gazetted. He did this regardless of the coming into force date as per the Treaty. He insisted to the dismay of OHADA authorities that our nation is bilingual and bi-jural. Further the accommodation of customary law in our judicial system is clear evidence of the fact that diversity can be accommodated.

In the final analysis, we must avoid building a nation where dialogue is assimilated to weakness and the strength of nation demonstrated by the use of force against its own people. We must have a system that builds in horizontal and vertical communication in the management of our diversity. We must unlearn practices rooted in an old mind set, change the way we manage diversity in our nation, shift our culture, revamp our policies, redesign and create new structures and emphasize the fact the ultimate goal of any Government is a better life for it citizens. The Swiss, the Nigerians, the Belgians, the Canadians, the Tanzanians just to name a few have all learned this. It is urgent that a high level Dialogue be initiated. So heed to the cry of the Common Law Lawyers we must, otherwise in the words of Alan Paton in his revered book Cry the Beloved Country “I have one great fear in my heart, that one day, when they are turned to loving they will find that we are turned to hating”. Respecting diversity might well mean CRTV will have a channel or channels in English, Cameroon Tribune reverts to having an English Edition as it once did and the Supreme Court having Common Law Benches sitting as it once was.

The cultural assimilation of a people no matter how well disguised cannot be successful and can ultimately only lead to disastrous consequences for all the concerned. The legal system of Cameroon is bi-jural constitutionally, politically socially, culturally and intellectually. Disregarding this fact is an assault on the very foundation on which our nation is built.

*Akere Muna is a Cameroonian lawyer who is currently the Chairman of the International Anti-Corruption Conference Council. He previously served as the Vice-Chair of Transparency International, and he has presided over the Pan African Lawyers Union and the Cameroon Bar Association.

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Rita Akana

28.Mar.2017

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It was an awkward situation at the MRC coordinators installation ceremony at Nyong and Nkelle Division as the sympathizers loyal to the Founder Maurice Kamto were held hostage by traditional dance groups, catering service and bike riders for nonpayment of bills. All these happened in the presence of the party chairman Pr. Maurice Kamto himself.

The captors expressed disappointments at MRC for not being able to pay for services demanded.

“Why should they tell us to come and dance when there is no money to pay us” she says. We were hired from a very far village to come and dance and we need to be paid in order to go back home” she adds.

Some angry motorcycle riders vowed to collect their dues before leaving the ceremonial premises.

“We have accompanied them and spent the whole day here. Now they are telling us that there is no money. He says. We must wait here and take our money from these people” he adds

Onlookers say it took the timely intervention of the forces of law and order for peace to regain its place at the Eseka ceremonial hall.

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Ndi Derek Giyoh

28.Mar.2017

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