A letter to the Youths of Cameroon

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Before anyone should doubt if what we mean here is business or a mere social fair; let me try to set the records straight the way that I see it. It is a secret to no one that since the presidential elections of 1992, Paul Biya categorically decided to beef up his political machinery at every angle to ascertain his grip on power. To achieve this, he placed his close collaborators, cronies and tribesmen at strategic positions of the government. He vehemently opposed the creation of an independent electoral body to oversee all elections; but went on to create ONEL-NEO (National Elections Observatory), filling it to the brim with his political misfits and a few Anglophones sell outs to create a confused balance. His ploy was very strategic. He handed the overseeing of the entire electoral process in the hands of MINAT (Ministry of Territorial Administration) whose workers are under the government payroll. Tell me whose interest they will serve? With such machinery in place, it has been difficult to beat/defeat Biya through the ballots since then till the last elections in October 2004.At the approach of the 2011 elections, Biya revised the Constitution amidst street protests, and resuscitated the defunct NEO by creating ELECAM- Elections Cameroon. By so doing, he merely changed dancers, hair-stylists, dressers, pedicure and manicure specialists, but maintained the same fundamental melody that characterized his regime - the rigging and fraud Bikutsi - melody which we dance willy-nilly.
I hear many opposition leaders in the likes of Fru Ndi (if at all he is still one), and Kah Wallah (whose courage and determination I admire) making fervent calls to massively register on the electoral lists, in order to bring about change. Those calls are genuine and sound like good campaign strategies. However, let us re-iterate here that youths are young but definitely not stupid. We might not be seasoned politicians yet, but we do follow-up political discourse in advanced democracies Like France, USA and Ghana. From the election of Sarkozy in France , to that of Obama in the USA and John Atta Mills in Ghana, we all witnessed heated debates and the open progression from one stage to the other in these elections , till the final uncontested winner was declared. These examples showed us that an election depends 50% on a solid, independent, transparent and open electoral body and system; and the votes account for 50%. The political fiascos in Zimbabwe, Kenya and recently in Cote d’Ivoire are gentle reminders of the impact of a bad, state-controlled or influenced electoral process. Biya never struggled to gain power, given that he was served with the presidency on a platter of gold like a kid being given candy. It is just obvious by the way he disrespects not only the Cameroonian people and the electorates ; the presidential profession and keeps devising schemes to ensure easy and smooth electoral victories.
Haven set this premise; I will like to know where we think we are going with a body like ELECAM? Where are the opposition candidates heading to, if not to a slaughter house that has been set ready by Biya and his cronies? Participating in such a political charade will only help to give Biya’s sagging political stamina some more democratic credibility in the eyes of the international community while maintaining the enslavement of Cameroonians. Iam not advocating for a political boycott at this stage, but if nothing is changed, that should be one great option to consider amongst many others. If the regime cannot dissolve ELECAM and put in place a truly independent electoral body; thereby making it possible for political alternation through the ballots to be a reality, then we are merely dancing on broken bottles, set to harm our integrity, civil rights and political choices. If you needed a reason to protest, this right here should be enough to stir you up.This is what we should be fighting against.
From this vantage point, the next best option will be to stop the political coup which Biya and his close collaborators are planning against the youths and the rest of the Cameroonian population who are trapped in the claws of the system. Youth unemployment cannot be over emphasized since it has reached its highest level. Sad to know that about 70% of Cameroonian youths are either unemployed or have left the country in search of greener pastures; meanwhile the greenest pastures are in Cameroon, but their access routes are surrounded by barbwires and high-tensions cables.
After seeing what the youths in Tunisia and Egypt did and achieved, Biya was pricked by fear to quickly announce on February 10, 2011 - the eve of the "National Youth Day" - the plans to recruit 25 000 graduates into the public service. He did same in Bamenda and promised the building of a university , as if Bamenda people were studying under trees. After 28 years of silence, neglect, exploitation, repression and assorted imprisonment;is that what a "head of state" will promise a noble and hardworking people? Seriously who cares about those fake campaign promises and generational liars. Paul Biya thinks the youths are a bunch of stupid imbeciles who can be toasted around at will with sweet words. That time is past.Fellow brothers and sisters, there is “the fierce urgency of the now” to take our destiny in our own hands. Let us rise up as “one man” and stop the upcoming political mayhem which will put the lives of our loved ones in peril. We the youths have the knife and the yam. If you were growing weary after trying in February 2008(hunger strike), and May 2005 (student strike); let the recent events in Tunisia and Egypt galvanize you. The ground is fertile, very fertile. It is up to us to decide what kind of crop we want to see planted. Do we want the same corn and groundnut that has caused us diarrhea, or we want something with more protein to make us grow big and strong? Are we going to see history take its toll on us for the trillionth time or we are resolved to write our own history? Fellow youths let us not be bystanders and reporters, let us be the makers, movers and shakers of our history. Let us fight the fight that will shape our destinies. They have long talked of the end of the tunnel, but the tunnel seems to be an elastic one; reason why no one but the blind king can see its exit. Well, we no longer want to get there. We are ready to break that tunnel and its visionaries. We prefer some green pastures than a tunnel made of concrete. Whether you are Muslim or Christian, Francophone or Anglophone, let us unite and fight our common enemy, enemy to progress. In Egypt, Christians stood as human shields to protect their Muslim brothers during prayer time, and in the end, they rejoiced together. We too can achieve that. It is 2011 or never. Rise up now and cry out.

No elections in Cameroon under ELECAM!!!

No continuation under one President for more than 28 years!!!!

No dictator in Cameroon

king Paul Biya MUST GO!!!!

New Era, New Leadership, New Vision!!!!!