The Regime in Cameroon has outlived its lifespan!

Professor Paul Nchoji Nkwi

Member, Cameroon’s Constitutional Council

Paul Nchoji Nkwi has been a professor of African Anthropology at the University of Yaounde I, the Catholic University of Central Africa, and the St Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary in Bambui. Professor Nchoji Nkwi, has a whole lot of achievements to his name. He was the founding President of the Pan-African Anthropological Association (1989-1994). In 1973, he won the Frobenius Essay Award and he has equally been Vice President of the African Academy of Science.In politics, he has served as the Policy Adviser of the Social Democratic Front (SDF).

Edev Newspaper’s Ekongang Nzante Lenjo caught up with Professor Paul Nchoji Nkwi shortly before his appointment by President Paul Biya alongside 10 others from the ten Regions of Cameroon. In addition to the multiple activities that the professor is involved in, he also teaches at the Catholic University of Cameroon in Bamenda. The professor in this interview states that the regime in Cameroon has outlived its lifespan and that in social history most regimes nose dive after a generation. He begins this interview by taking a look at 2017.

“I think 2017 was a tumultuous year at least among us from the Northwest and Southwest Regions of Cameroon. The Pandora’s Box virtually exposed some of the deep seated problems that we have lived through during the last fifty something years. It was the hope of many that the first six months would lead to a Constructive Inclusive Dialogue permitting all of us to seat around the table and talk about those basic problems of the country called Cameroon. This would have given us an opportunity to talk about the things that divide us as well as those that unite us. The real dialogue that should have occurred has not occurred.”

The President of the Republic is of the opinion that dialogue has already started and that he has been having useful feedback from the Commission of Bilingualism and multiculturalism that he created.

To begin with the Commission on Bilingualism, it is a farce. It is a hoax and it cannot solve the problem. That commission is an attempt to divert attention from the Anglophone problem to something which we do not need at this present moment in time. You cannot believe under any circumstance that there is dialogue simply because you send Mr. X to talk to Mr. B or whatever. That is not dialogue. It is a process that involves the collection of additional information to prepare your dialogue. The Prime Minister came, the ministers came sat around the table with all the stakeholders especially the teachers. The ministers were that of Justice and that of Education and they simply sat with these people in some sort of a fact finding mission. They simply came and talked to groups of persons and it was a fact finding mission to create grounds for a constructive and inclusive dialogue. 

Many said 2018 was going to be a very difficult year. Are facts on the ground are proving them true?

Let’s say that 2017 was a difficult year. Firstly most of our children stayed out of school. For parents to deny education for their children is terrible. So for parents or a group of parents to deny education for their children simply mean that they don’t think the existing set up can give their children the kind of education they need. There is no need churning out children from school without that quality knowledge and with little chances of them finding their feet on the ground. Many of our graduates are without jobs. Many of the bike riders in this town have degrees in their pockets. It means that the system has slowly collapsed to an extent where you need to bribe to go to professional school, you bribe to get elected. That is the system we find ourselves in. Take for example during the negotiations in its early stages that people drove up from Yaounde to talk with teachers and they tried to bribe them. If those teachers leaders were not morally grounded then these crises might have taken a different turn. The second thing is what none of us understands. Prime Minister Philemon Yang came here and the Ministers of Education came here and they sat and talked and agreed first on 19 points. They eventually prepared a document of 25 points. They were supposed to sign that document on a Wednesday and all those people were arrested on a Tuesday. Even if you call a dialogue today I will not come because I will also be afraid of being arrested. I think that one of the dramatic things that occurred at the end of 2017 was the failure of the Head of State to come out and tell people that I am sorry let us come together and talk as a family. Everybody was expecting this message but what did we hear?

What exactly did we hear?

The President is more preoccupied with his re-election and probably preoccupied with the reelection of those who have brought this country to its knees. And that is why he says it’s an election year. Is he telling those Cameroonians who were on the streets to come out and vote? 

With the realities on the ground do you think the chances of dialogue have completely collapsed? What do you foresee for Cameroon in 2018?

To begin with, dialogue has never started in Cameroon so dialogue did not collapse. What I see is the clamour for dialogue and I can say 80% of Cameroonians in the Northwest and Southwest Regions are in favour of dialogue that is inclusive and that opens the floor for us to explore what our problems are all about. They have rather told us that if you want to come to the table expecting that you will bring change to the nature of the state, then nothing will take place. The 80% that are in favour of dialogue have been pushed to the next possible move; that of civil disobedience. You cannot tell us to go to school and we go. We are not going to do anything that you tell us to do.  Take what happened in Tardu in Kumbo a few days ago and it has happened in many other places. They go into villages, brutalise innocent people, burn their houses and burn down their agricultural reserves. A person who has been virtually humiliated in this manner will hardly come to the dialogue table. The arrogance of those people against the church is absolutely the arrogance against God. Any regime that goes against God is digging its own grave. In the Democratic Republic of Congo the only way for Christians to demonstrate their anger is with their Rosaries praying in the streets. Is that what we want? The people who govern have forgotten one basic thing; that most regimes dictatorial or not usually have a life span of a generation and after that, they begin to nose dive and it may ultimately end in chaos. The Regime in Cameroon has outlived its lifespan. Those are realities in Social History. Take for example the Soviet Union which collapsed. The so called Soviet Union that assembled many nations and Russia was just one of them collapsed. The same thing occurred in Yugoslavia. Tito did everything to maintain his grip but failed and it broke into six different nations. It takes about 30 years and if Paul Biya had good advisers they should have told him that. If he left ten years ago probably he would be a happier person. The chaos and need to rethink the nature of the State in Cameroon is unstoppable.  You can go to Nigeria, catch people and lock them up, but you are merely igniting the process. 

Recently, Christian Cardinal Tumi and Arch Bishop Samuel Khleda called on Biya not to participate in any future elective exercise in Cameroon. What would you say to the President if you had a similar chance? 

My message will be the same. I will toe the Tumi line or the Khleda line. Time is up for the President to run and let us not chase him out. Let him willingly walk out but if he doesn’t work out he will be chased out. Where is Mugabe? He is happily retired. A new way of thinking and forces of violence are an indication that it is time for him to bow out. Take for example if it is true that soldiers in the army are deserting; you pick up soldiers from Yaounde to Mamfe and when you reach Kumba some disappear. Some get to Mamfe and disappear. Why? Do you remember that Indira Ghandi was shot by his own body guards at the end of a long line of the Ghandi family? The person who was supposed to protect him removed the gun and simply shot him. Imagine the guy who stole the brief case with money. That was his own way of saying “Pa I have been seeing you siphoning this money so let me take this.” It can get to a state where there is a revolt. He has served this country as Prime Minister, Head of State and it is time for him to quit and give other deserving sons and daughters of our country an opportunity to create a new sense of leadership.

It was a pleasure talking to you.
Thank you.

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Anti-Secessionists in Cameroon propose Federation on Trial Bases

    

Unionists propose transition without Biya

CPDM Anglophone lackeys fail to make inroads in NW & SW

By Francis Ekongang Nzante

“A Federal System should be implemented for a trial period of 15 years followed by a referendum” is the stand that most Anglophone Cameroonians who are not for an immediate separation of the two English Speaking Regions have responded favourably to. Some may not have bought the idea of a trial period but all have fallen behind the idea of a Federal System. Opinion sampling from a cross section of Anglophone politicians reflect this stance. The bone of contention however is how to bring the concerned parties around the same table and make them agree on how to forge ahead.

Meantime there is a growing group of Cameroonians who though accepting that the over Centralized System in Cameroon has failed have not yet out rightly come out to support a Federal System of government. This group of middle ground players proposes the build up to an acceptable atmosphere for meaningful dialogue where discussions will begin with the form of the state. Some quarters have referred to them as unionists while others have referred to this class of people as those in favour of a renaissance in Cameroon. The most progressive people in this school of thought are those who believe that the Republic of Cameroon should be rebuilt from its foundation. Anything short of this will be simply window dressing. The most daring in this group have gone ahead to state that President Paul Biya cannot be part of the transition process pointing to the fact that he has not shown any real desire to bring about change. This group insists that what is most important at the moment is the form of the state.

Meantime, seemingly completely cut off from this national desire to move on are some who are increasingly coming under open criticism especially from the two Anglophone Regions. This group constitutes Anglophone CPDM Elites whose actions have pushed their regions of origin to ponder over the logic that might be guiding their actions. Their actions show them to neither be genuine unionists nor Federalists. This week has seen them trying but failing to make inroads in their regions of origin (SW and NW) simply because no Cameroonian who truly loves his country can fathom what guides their actions. Take a look at this: on Sunday October 15, most of CPDM elites from the NW Region assembled at Ayaba Hotel in Bamenda and against all expectations held a closed door meeting from which the Media was completely barred. Next day Monday, saw the Prime Minister Philemon Yang meeting with selected people from a cross section of activities in the Region. The series of meetings were held with entrepreneurs among other service providers in the region. This activity was also carried out in the Divisions. This of course will be followed by reports that will add to the endless reports that have been made since the Anglophone Crises. This doesn’t gel considering what public opinion is presently clamouring for on the National triangle called Cameroon.

Just on cue, Senator Nfon V. E. Mukete, the Patriarch of the Bafaws in Kumba has criticized what he has referred to as the cowardly nature of Anglophone elites.  

  “A Federal System should be implemented for a trial period of 15 years followed by a referendum”     

Hon Yoyo Emmanuel, erstwhile SDF MP

To think that Biya cannot be removed from power through elections is defeatist. He might have won all elections in the past albeit fraudulently but I think it is because the rest of Cameroonians who do not believe in him have not really been organised. At this moment I think that Biya’s popularity is at its lowest. You see a Head of State who was sworn in to protect the integrity of the state and promote National Unity but who at the time when one part of the State is in crises can afford to pay no attention to it and say nothing about it. Instead he instructs the soldiers to go and massacre the people. Information we have indicates that his own people; I mean his tribal brothers are embarrassed by his behaviour. This is coupled with the fact that he has not been able to handle the economy of this country properly. He had a first trial with the International Monetary Fund and failed and the IMF is coming in again. This is the best time for Cameroonians to remove Biya from power. The only thing is for Cameroonians to mobilize and fight the corrupt electoral system which is his strongest tool.

 

Honourable Yoyo Emmanuel

Do you think the constituted opposition has its feet firm on the ground to push the fight through?  

I don’t want to talk about a constituted opposition since it will give the idea that opposition parties are working together. What I know is that if all opposition political parties and the people discuss, things will happen. We have seen that in some countries, change has come through the people and not through a political party. We have also seen Political Parties win without necessarily forming a coalition. What I mean here is that the people can be mobilized to come together, seek reasons and try to oust Biya. Macron did not win in France because he brought together political parties so I think that any other person or a group of persons can come together and form a strong team. This can be feasible in Cameroon especially with the unpopularity of Paul Biya at the moment. Biya’s strongest tool is the corrupt set up. What such a body should do is to destroy the fraudulent setup. So we shouldn’t say that the Biya regime cannot be removed through elections.

With the way the political landscape is structured, and with the modus operandi of political parties how optimistic are you with regards to political transition?

He can be replaced. If the people come together and fight the fraudulent system it will be the ideal moment considering the weak position he occupies at the moment. He has not been able to resolve any of the issues on the table. He is being weighed down by age and is an absentee President even in the heart of crises and any serious person or group of persons can come in and throw him out.

Some Anglophone Cameroonians are Federalists, secessionists, and a few of them Unionists. Where do you place yourself and why?

The important thing here is not where I stand. Rather, what is important is where a majority of Cameroonians stand. At the beginning of these crises many Anglophone Cameroonians wanted the problems to be solved in a federation and many people bought it. When you look at AAC I and AAC II, you will understand that even at that time, many Anglophone Cameroonians were not happy with the way things were turning out so they wanted that we go back to the federation of 1961 at least. They have been fighting for this but the powers that be have never listened to the problem and treated it objectively. Today I can tell you like someone living and communing with the people in a rich retirement that a majority of Anglophone Cameroonians now want outright separation. They don’t talk of secession but separation. This separation has its roots in the legal implications of what happened in 1961. They are using logical arguments to say that the union never really took place. I understand them very well. I maybe one of those who has found my roots in this system no matter how bad it is but that doesn’t really matter. All of us have been living witnesses to the fact that Anglophones in this country are seriously marginalised, undermined, neglected and taken for granted. In that respect I think that they are right to ask for either a federation or separation. Some are saying that this thing started with people asking for certain specific problems to be looked into and have expressed dismay at the fact that the problem has taken this dimension. I think this is being naïve because every revolution in history always started with one small thing. They have simply realised that if what they are asking for is to be sustained then it has to be in a certain system which is either a Federation or as a separate state. They have gone beyond just looking at the Educational System and Legal System. Telling us that you have recruited 50 Anglophone Court Registrars now when you will turn around and recruit 700 Francophone Court Registrars tomorrow means nothing has changed intrinsically. Biya is using the approach of the sixties to solve problems of the 21^st Century. Now new dynamics have come in. In the past they could lie since there was no internet but now they can’t because thanks to the internet everybody knows the truth. They are stagnant while things are evolving. Those of us in the union who still believe in federalism have to fight really hard to explain to the rest of the Anglophones why we should still remain with the francophones in a federal system.

As a federalists, what do you think is the best proposal for Anglophone Cameroonians?

The only way to convince Anglophone Cameroonians is to convince the Biya regime to implement Federalism on a trial bases. For example, a Federal system should be implemented for a trial period of 15 years followed by a referendum will be organised to as ask Anglophone Cameroonians if they were happy with the way things went on during the experimental period. If the referendum shows that they are satisfied, then they will stay in the federation and if not they will be free to separate. This is the only way that a peaceful separation can be achieved. We should not go into a federalism that will be another way to tie us down again. For this to work there should be a third party to help instill confidence. When I talk of a third party I am thinking of the United Nations, The African Union, ECOWAS, the EU amongst other bodies of similar stature.

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