The leading Cameroon opposition party the Social Democratic Front according to revelations gathered from within the ranks is more than ever before girding its loins for a final sprint to regain what some call lost grounds ahead of the upcoming Presidential Elections. Reactions from younger vibrant members in decision making positions within the party especially from the North West and South West Regions point to this fact.
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| Akere David Achu |
Ahead of the very important 2017 National Convention of the party billed for Bamenda, a school of thought believes that the party is en route to recover lost ground and get even further than it has ever been. This school holds that the party never lost any ground in the first place but was simply a victim of an unfair playing ground.
One of the fresh perspectives from which this reporter eked
out information was Prince Akere Divine Achu, the newly elected Social
Democratic Party Ward Chairman for Ntaghem II Ward II in Bamenda. This Microsoft
certified systems engineer and web designer both in the United States and in
Cameroon is one of those fresh bloods in the party with the educational and
political backgrounds that pushed this reporter to seek his views.
He uses his uncles the erstwhile Prime Minister and now
Senator Achidi Achu as well as former Governor Achu of the East Region as
examples of people prepared to serve this country dedicatedly and in any
capacity and at anytime. This reference from this young man reflects just how
far he wants to go in Cameroon within the ranks of the SDF. But just how does
he think the party has to move forward?
Hear him “the very structure of our country itself has to be
revisited because if you look back at our history we got into a union under the
principle of a federal system. Somewhere down the line, we found ourselves in a
unitary constitution which they call a unitary decentralized state. It’s a
little contradictory when you talk of a unitary decentralized state. That’s why
we stand for a federal state because we believe that it is the best system for
a multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic and a multi-historical nation like ours. Most
of the former French Colonies in Africa are going with a certain mantra of De
Gaulle who said that federalism is secession. We can have a good federal
structure that maintains our unity still as one strong nation. We are not for
breaking up as such. SDF intends to build a stronger country more united under
a federal structure that takes into consideration regional characters.”
Commenting on the feeling by some that the party is on the
decline he quipped, “many politically minded Cameroonians are of the opinion
that from the early 1990’s up to its peak in 1992 when the SDF reportedly won
the Presidential Elections, the party has since then been on a decline in its
popularity. I will beg to differ a little bit on that. I believe the SDF is
still on its peak. It’s a process you know. We sometimes say that progress is
progressive. The election results of late may not reflect that but we are still
the most popular political party in this country. This is because the message
of change of Social Democracy which is equal opportunity for all is still
strong. We still need that change more than ever before.”
While many of those
who constitute “fresh new blood” are of the opinion that new persons should be
given the opportunity to stand as Presidential Candidate, Akere Divine bluntly
put the issue in this manner; “Permit me to use this opportunity to re affirm
my absolute support for the National Chairman of the Party Ni John Fru Ndi and
the current leadership of the party. The party has gone through trying times
but we’ve always come back stronger. Of course when a party is going through a
total reorganization of its organs, there are bound to be new people coming in.
We are sort of being reborn with new blood coming in. We are coming back strong
because we intend to take back grounds lost and even move further. You know
we’ve decided that we are going to stay engaged in the political process
peacefully through elections and otherwise but that does not mean that we
believe that we have a level playing field.”
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| Felix Teche Nyamusa |
Felix Teche Nyamusa, SDF 2018 Presidential Hopeful pending
primaries as he has come known recently in some media circles in Cameroon was
one of these fresh perspectives that this reporter caught up with. The uniting
factor between the two is their optimism though they differ in the way to go
about it.
Teche Nyamusa is of the opinion that everything is being put
in place to block the positive evolution of Democratic processes in Cameroon
and that such a situation desires a much more upfront approach if the SDF plans
to provide a practical solution to the “cross roads” in which Cameroon finds
itself. According to an interview he granted EDEV Web News, such a situation he says demands a last resort for
the party.
Hear him, “Once a leader decides not to listen to a majority
of his people, these people take to the last resort and the last resort will be
sustained efforts to send away such leaders using whatever means possible. A
while ago, the regime came up with a law on terrorism that was trying to
intimidate Cameroonians. I think we are too smart and above such things. If a
people stand up and say the electoral laws are bad, that they don’t have good
roads and that their educational system is nothing to write home about you can’t
refer to that as terrorism. If the people condemn the fact that ELECAM which is
the only electoral body has its members and most of its highly placed personnel
appointed by one party which is itself participating in the elections it is not
terrorism. I think that there comes a time when people will stand up against
all of this. In 1992, the coalition of opposition parties won elections with
the SDF candidate Ni John Fru Ndi as leader. I think that one of the ways
forward is a coalition. That’s what I am working for and that’s what other
countries have done. Once we stand up, it will be a sustained struggle by the
coalition. Apart from there being a one man show in Cameroon, the history of
the country shows that it is made up of two historical entities. If it means
that we will stand like we did in the early nineties which culminated with our
success in 1992 we should do that and sustain it.”
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| Ebako Abel Ndoh |
Ebako Abel Ndoh on his part is an SDF Mayor of Kumba I
Municipality. His goal at the moment if his utterances are a true reflection of
his ambitions is to make sure that the Social Democratic Front stays in control
of things in Kumba in an otherwise CPDM dominated South West Region. Questioned
by this reporter recently he said the SDF had come to stay in Kumba. He said if
the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement ever hoped to see the light in the
Kumba Municipality and to maintain a hold on some of the other peripheral areas
in Meme on which they still have hold then they will have to sit up. From the
forgoing, the young blood in the SDF constitute people who are very ambitious
and poised to make SDF the strongest force in the country be it at the grass root,
the middle ranks as well as at the National level.
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