Afterthought: December 29, 2010:

True exponents of change have been observing the recent confidence and audacity of the Biya regime in its latest foray into the Northwest province and the humiliating posturing of known leaders from this honorable province of change, leading the struggling masses and advocates of change in the province feeling that they have been completely deserted.  We have also been observing the increasing number of presidential hopefuls that make pundits to wonder if they understand what the struggle is all about. In fact, one would be tempted to borrow from Che Guevara in his observation that “the problem with Africans is incomprehension.”

It is mind-boggling imagining  that   change can be realized in Cameroon under the current setup of a decrepit opposition, the best-rigging machinery the world has ever produced (the French imposed anachronistic system under the stewardship of  Paul Biya) that disenfranchises  more than half of its population before elections, prevents more than half of the registered voters from voting, ensures multiple voting for its supporters, prevents the opposition from having  representatives in  most of the polling booths and acts at will in multiplying  the vote tallies at the booth, district, divisional, provincial(regional) and  national levels. And when the election masquerade is over, France as usual would be there to congratulate Biya, thereby leading the international effort for the regime’s legitimization.

We are about to get into the next decade of the New Millennium. The conflagration of forces, time and destiny is on the side of advocates of change. The New Cameroon would be born in this decade. But it would be a hard and merciless struggle. It would need an effective organization, dedicated leadership, a spirited population, a united purpose, a national ideal, knowledge of our history and reconciliation with our past to make the change less costly. It would involve dismantling the system. That calls for undivided ranks in the opposition. We should start 2011 building-up resolve, clearly defining a strategy, identifying our goals and clearly identifying the camps.  Indispensable in the effort are purposeful debates, progressive alliances and an effective PR.

The New Cameroon will be born on the shoulders of the post-independence generations, the Parlement age-group, and especially on the feet and voices of the post 1990-generation.

Janvier Tchouteu 

The Mistakes To Be Avoided in Building The New Cameroon

by Janvier Tchouteu,