Cameroon risks losing Southern Cameroons due to bad governance.

Felix Teche Nyamusa, SDF Presidential Hopeful.

Among other things, the Presidential Hopeful of the leading opposition party the SDF has declared in an exclusive interview that just like Northern Cameroons were lost to the Federal Republic of Nigeria, so too does Cameroon risks losing Southern Cameroons due to bad governance. He in this revealing interview also puts forth his concept of an ideal state for Cameroon. He doesn’t equally lose sight of the fact that he has the task of beating Ni John Fru Ndi within the Bamenda Electoral District before hoping for anything. He was interviewed by EDEV’s Francis Ekongang Nzante.

Felix Teche Nyamusa

How far do you think the resolutions that were arrived at during the most recent Executive meeting of the SDF touched on issues disturbing the party at the moment?

I think that the Commission put in place by my party to investigate the atrocities of the government in the ongoing Anglophone Crises is laudable. It now depends on how this wonderful idea will be pushed through. The party has a National Executive at the Head of which is the National Chairman but it now depends on how the commission out its activities. Cameroon is part of the Community of Nations and we have ratified a couple of international chatters like those on Human Rights and the UN Chatters which talk of Good Governance. The government cannot just clamp down on people simply because they want to be better governed.

You are known to have complained about the postponement of the Elective Convention. It has finally been scheduled for October. What do you say about this?

Yes it has though a specific date has not yet been given. A specific date should be given because there are stakeholders involved in the preparations. We should not be as arbitral as the CPDM that gives unspecific rendezvous for important elective exercises.

How appropriate do you think October is for the National Elective Convention?

Well when it was earlier postponed, reasons were given for the postponement but now I don’t even see the reasons why it was postponed because nothing has changed to justify the choosing of October as the time for the exercise. The Anglophone problem has not yet been solved and we don’t think that by October the problems would have been solved. I don’t still see why a reorganizational exercise that was started at te level of the basic organs progressively to the regional level was stopped at the National level. The Democratic Process is like a crusade and should be continuous. When you stop, converts may fall on the way. We should not allow the Democratic process in the hands of the ruling party alone. It is now a one-man-show with the ruling party doing things the way it wants using State funds to manipulate people. They get into the Cameroonian purse and make it difficult to distinguish between the ruling party and the State. The Constitution allows for the President to call for elections when he chooses so if we don’t  have enough time to make the population understand our stance, then we will be going in for a lost battle as has been the case in the last couple of years with the incumbent already sure of winning.  

What is your plan of action as a presidential aspirant?

I am proposing a two state federation for Cameroon. Ni John Fru Ndi is proposing a Four State Federation which is not acceptable to Anglophone Cameroonians. The original intention of the plebiscite was for a two state federation with equal status; Bijural and Bilingual. After so many years, you cannot insist in going against it. The two-state federation is most rational. It simply means that in a bijural system, if you have a problem as an Anglophone Cameroonian you will be treated under the Common Law system. Same with any French speaking citizen whose issues will be handled using the French civil Law System. It doesn’t mean that more powers will be given to the Anglophone Cameroonian. It was the idea of the founding fathers of the unification. They did not plan for the marginalization of either the Anglophones or the Francophones. Due to bad governance, we lost Northern Cameroons to Nigeria. We should always talk well to the people and woe them to understand us and come to our side. Cameroon risks losing Southern Cameroons due to bad governance.

How receptive has the French Speaking Cameroonian been to your Ideal State?

In my ideal state, neither the English nor the French Speaking Cameroonian will be marginalised. Everything will be based on competence. I have been talking to Francophones and they have been listening. According to my manifesto there will be the payment of reparations to all marginalized groups in society be they francophones or Anglophones. We have enough money to do that on the entire Cameroonian territory. Reparation will be paid to marginalised groups.

There is the absence of a fair and level play ground with ELECAM running the show.

We plan to carry out a national programme convincing Cameroonians that ELECAM is not the competent body to carry out elections in Cameroon.     I think that the Lawyers and the teachers are taking their stand and that stand we are going to take it nationwide to show that ELECAM is not a legitimate body to supervise elections in Cameroon. We want to create an acceptable electoral body. But if they insist to continue with ELECAM then that will push us to the last resort like the teachers and the Lawyers have done which is that when the government refuses to listen to the demands of the people like is the case in Cameroon, that government should be sent away using whatever means. We have ratified agreements with the international Human right bodies and what the Lawyers and the Teachers are doing is constitutional.

Looking at the build up to this election, what are those aces that you have put in place to make sure that you are well understood within the Social Democratic Front?

In the SDF I have to first of all be voted as Chairman of the party before going in as the Presidential candidate. To go in as the Chairman I will have to first of all go through the primaries. I am of the Bamenda Electoral District and it seems John Fru Ndi is also of the Bamenda Electoral District. I think that I have sensitised the people and I will still go to the field before the October rendezvous to further sensitise them. Some people especially fans of Ni John Fru Ndi because of lack of understanding of the true situation say I am trying to distabilise the party but this is not true. In pure Democracy, we will go into the field and I will present my manifesto. He is talking of a 4 State Federation while I am talking of a two state Federation. I will also be talking of the party having its own Secretariat. We’ve been having meetings at Fru Ndi’s residence. Yes it helps but we cannot remain there. If we don’t yet have a place then we should rent one. We should also have an elected Secretary General and not somebody who’s is handpicked and who seems to be somebody’s private secretary. We want a Secretary General who masters his own role like any other person in the party. I will meet John Fru Ndi in the field and I think that I have what it takes.

Any message?

The message is that Anglophone Children have lost one school year and I think that we should develop alternate education. The children from the nursery to the University cannot continue to stay away from school. Being at home for a year is proof that the people have rejected what the system has been doing. We should think of plan B like was the case in South Africa where Bantu Education was introduced for the blacks and a more progressive Educational system for the whites. The Blacks after one year rejected Bantu Education and came up with Cultural Education which is their own Education that would make their children to be like the children of other people studying elsewhere. In those days in South Africa, there were no private schools but today we have private schools. We create an educational system based on the system of self help. The Anglophones cannot be talking of self governing of self governing when you don’t think of self reliance. People can volunteer and take a lower pay. We can also reach out to international NGOs. In September we should create something that suites our needs and make our children go to school. We should register on the electoral lists and vote so that we will be ready to fight the regime sustainably.

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