“O Cameroon, thou cradle of our fathers….” is the beginning of a long stretch of patriotic calls to all sons and daughters of this richly endowed, strategically placed and divinely favoured country called Cameroon. An outsider who reads through these lines might think that the average Cameroonian citizen has a very high standard of living. Paradoxically, many are unable to afford a daily three square meal; rather, it is by divine grace that a cross-section can get two meals in a day. WHAT is wrong and WHERE?
The problem is at the level of the ruling elite of Cameroon (WHAT) and the way they govern the country (WHERE). In the long cycle of Cameroon’s history, it has moved from free democracy (pre- independence period) to dictatorship (post-independence, first republic), to forceful democracy, advanced dictatorship and kleptocracy (second republic under Biya).
In most of president Biya’s end of year, new year and national day celebration messages to the nation, Cameroonians have been called upon to be and remain patriotic, especially during challenging moments. While the call for patriotism is very powerful, essential and necessary for our nation’s building, it would be plausible to question if our elite who ought to show the example, really practice what they preach. There is a form of caricature governing in Cameroon which has in the long run made the dysfunction to become the function and the abnormal to look like the normal.
Cameroonians have for more than 20 years been under the charm of political deceit and dishonesty. From the high level of government to the lowest, political power-play, power mongering and “gangsterism” has grossly affected different sectors of the country. The personal rule system that characterises the Biya regime is problematic. Personal rule is a system of government where all power and decisions rest on the leader (president) regardless of existing laws and institutions given that they can be changed and deformed at the leader’s will. In Cameroon, Biya has full control over the executive, legislative and judiciary and is commander in chief of the army and police. This form of plein pouvoir has been the stepping stone to the monopoly and dictatorship under which Cameroon is harboured. In April 2008, Biya revised the Constitution of 1996 in order to have an unlimited mandate and eternalise himself in power.
Moreover, the government of Biya had greatly contributed to the deepening of malpractices into the fabrics of the society. Most of the CPDM appointed elites (ministers and general managers) have demonstrated real unpatriotic examples to many Cameroonians. Extortion of public funds and corruption had become the order of the day. Billions of CFA frs are embezzled and stocked in foreign banks to the detriment of the country’s economy. To get documents and files treated on time in some public offices requires that one “gives something”. Civil servants ask for or get bribed for jobs they are employed and paid for. Cameroon has become such that, meritocracy has been replaced by mediocrity and in order to succeed in any public competitive exam such as ENAM, ENS, Polytechnic or CUSS, what matters is not “how much you know” but rather, “how much you have”. This crippling disease which is still regarded as a misdemeanour is exacerbated by the impunity that accompanies it. Big or privileged thieves who play the regime’s game and fulfil the CPDM party’s demands, freely parade our cities with eye-catching, expensive and flashy cars and either get promoted for their services rendered to the party or are switched to manage other ministerial portfolios.
Since the presidential elections of October 1992, elections in Cameroon have never been free and fair; marked by mass rigging, intimidation, deceit and coercion. The organisation and management has all along been under the armpit of CPDM dominated bodies; from the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation to the National Election Observatory (NEO known in French by its acronym ONEL). This state of affairs has led to a mood of frustration, voter apathy and withdrawal from electoral participation. After more than 25 years of democracy-hijack, the government under intense internal (opposition parties) and international (Common Wealth, US embassy) pressure finally decided to set up the much demanded “Independent Electoral Commission”. On 29 December 2006, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) was created by law as an independent commission. Following section 8 (2) of the law of creation, “members of the electoral board shall be designated from the midst of independent personalities of Cameroonian nationality , reputed for the stature, moral uprightness, intellectual honesty , patriotism, neutrality and impartiality”; while section 13(11) holds that “… the duties of chairperson and vice chair and members of the Electoral Board shall be incompatible with those of …members of a political party or support group of a political party, list of candidates or candidates”. There is no denying the fact that Cameroon has one of the best laws in Africa but its applicability is often where the problem lies. Despite these powerful legal dispositions, the president of the republic on 30th December 2008 went on to appoint an arsenal of CPDM party members with doubtful morality and integrity to fill the membership of ELECAM (9 out of the 12 appointed ELECAM members). By appointing staunch CPDM central committee party members and supporters like Fonkam Azu’u as chairperson and Dorothy Njeuma in to the membership, Biya is trying to safeguard his power-grip. A change of dancers and uniforms (NEO to ELECAM) but the same music. With this state of affairs, most political parties, led by the SDF have declared that they will not partake in any elections organised by a CPDM party dominated electoral body.
Thanks to the personal rule system, the president reserved for himself the right to appoint members of what is supposed to be an independent electoral Commission. With such powers, Biya could not be stupid or foolish to appoint his regime opponents in to a body like ELECAM, thereby sapping his political plans. In a democracy, the power to appoint members of an independent electoral commission had to rest with the civil society (especially the ecumenical bloc) after serious scrutiny, with parliament (an independent one) ratifying and promulgating it into law. This would ensure its complete disconnection and freedom from government influence. This unlawful and unpatriotic gesture by the president has only helped to aggravate the voter apathy and resignation attitude that is entrenched amongst Cameroonians.
It has long been hoped by many Cameroonians that Biya will leave power at the expiration of his presidential mandate in 2010, but the Constitutional amendment of 2008 and the present atmosphere which shows no signs of withdrawal renders many even more frustrated. However, some Cameroonians are still hopeful that someday, a change will come and a third republic (regime) will be set up. The question one asks himself is whether the future third republic which will be put in place after Biya will be very different from the present one?
I am afraid to say that there will be differences but not too great. The malpractices of the present republic are so deeply rooted into Cameroonians and the Cameroonian society to the extent that they have become normal, “politically correct” and part and parcel of daily life. They have even permeated some religious bodies. The worse affected group is the youths, often referred to as the leaders of tomorrow, who have learned to compromise their moral rectitude into to survive. Many are forced to bribe in order to get a job for which they are qualified and competent. Girls have to sacrifice their integrity and female dignity in order to satisfy the exigencies of sexually harassing bosses just to maintain their positions.
The growing and almost frequent police repressions and brutality in Cameroon has led to a culture of fear amongst many young people. It becomes sometimes almost difficult for some young people to remain comfortable when one or a group of uniformed men pass by. The culture of impunity and selected justice for thieves and embezzlers that characterises the regime has made young Cameroonians to take the law in their hands when it comes to rendering criminal justice. This had led to a new phenomenon known as jungle or mob justice where any criminal that is apprehended by the masses is either burned alive or stoned and beaten to death. This reminds me of the interahamwe militia in Rwanda in 1994 who butchered their fellow brothers to death as a way of re-instituting political justice in the country (regain power). The situation is so appalling that it got a wise man questioning the kind of generation the present regime is raising, by allowing such inhumane actions to persist because of apathy by state officials to step up justice in Cameroon?
Impunity has helped to promote “unethical” (as far as Africans are concerned) behaviours like homosexuality which is supposed to be punishable by Cameroonian law (section 347 b of the penal code). In addition, it is now commonplace in the streets of our cities and country sides to see children ask for motivation (bribe) before they can provide any information or directives to a new person in town, or do a favour to an elderly person. Youths in colleges and higher institutions have copied so much from their leaders (elites) that simple elections to occupy student positions are flooded with irregularities; sweets and candies being distributed to mates in order to win their votes ( just as politicians do during campaigns). Some who occupy positions as financial secretaries and treasurers have copied the attitude of running away with funds belonging to local groups and associations to which they belong. It just denotes what will happen when some get to occupy political positions in future governments.
There is no gainsaying that most youths who have succeeded to trick their ways through corruption into lucrative professional schools like ENAM (National School of Administration and Magistracy) will be replicates of their predecessors upon completion and posting. Since some parents had to get indebted, selling plots and other properties, or sacrificing the education of younger off springs in order to raise the millions needed for “back door” entrance into these institutions; it is expected that once posted, they raise (by embezzling) and pay back the money that was borrowed on their behalf . This can also have a domino effect even on their colleagues who may see embezzlement as a faster way of meeting the growing needs of younger ones in particular and families in general. It therefore leads to a cycle of corruption and embezzlement in the Cameroon system from elites to youths.
There is a saying that: if all you have is a hammer, everything to you becomes a nail; let’s hope that the next republic does not simply become a facsimile of the present one, which is responsible for the misery and frustration of many Cameroonians today.
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