THE MISTAKES TO BE AVOIDED IN BUILDING THE NEW CAMEROON:

Triple Agent, Double Cross

The demanding task confronting union-nationalists today is the realization of the New Cameroon, which entails the effective utilization of new, modern and progressive ideas and technology to build a modern economic, political and social system. The initial stage of realizing the New Cameroon involves the all-colossal task of overcoming the conservative, reactionary, corrupt, discriminatory, repressive and oppressive forces that constitute the system that has the lever of power. This anachronistic alien system is determined not to allow the change that the majority of Cameroonians are craving for. The system I am talking about is made up of the imperialistic lords in the French powerhouse and their puppets and collaborators in Cameroon. The image of that anachronistic system today is the Biya regime.

Most, if not all union-nationalists have a clear notion of what to expect out of a New Cameroon that would have to emerge from the current system. But many Cameroonians are incoherent when it comes to:

·        The path to take to overcome the initial obstacles of the system and the Biya regime.

·         And the extent to go to build the New Cameroon of our dreams.

In building the New Cameroon after getting rid of the legacy of the forces of oppression and suppression against the people, Cameroonian union-nationalists would be confronted by the all colossal task of molding a New Cameroonian mentality devoid of docility, corruption, discrimination and pessimism. That new mentality, which is an indispensable component of Cameroonian union-nationalism, would then resurface the best of our creative, dynamic and progressive potentials; and then harness and drive our strengths for an effective utilization of our resources  and the great opportunities that abound in building the New Cameroon.

In the initial stage of ridding ourselves of   the obstacles of the anachronistic French-imposed system under the Biya regime today, union-nationalists risk finding themselves derailed from their original ideals and dreams from divisions that might arise from their ranks and   differences in the degree of commitment to the cause.

The fact that the obstacles union-nationalists would encounter in the various stages of the cause are so colossal, some union-nationalists may be tempted to react in two negative ways:

·        Carry out makeshift changes and console themselves that they have done the job.

·        Or  exert too great a force in their over zealousness, which even though would destroy the obstacles to the New Cameroon, may also leave us on our knees, and perhaps render us incapable of building the New Cameroon of our dreams.

We should avoid these partial and blind commitments in our union-nationalism. Instead, rationalism should prevail in any action that we are taking or are about to take for the interest of Cameroon. That way, mistakes would be avoided.

Basically, the Cameroonian dream embodied in the ideals of  its Union-Nationalism is the best rallying force for all Cameroonians. However, despite the genuine intentions and goodness of this ideal, its possible pervasion by mistakes or errors in the course of its application risks distorting the essence of the struggle, derailing the cause and discrediting the noble intentions of the century old Cameroonian dream by taking out the humanity from its fabrics and leaving it as any other dry-as-dust political ideology that humanity has rejected. The thought of the possible rejection of our Union-Nationalism because it has lost its humaneness is something we cannot afford, since that would mean the rejection of the Cameroonian dream and our collective hopes that have sustained us for close to a century. In order to avoid such a rejection, Cameroonian union-nationalists should avoid mistakes in the determining domains of the lives of the people.

   1) Firstly, the fact that we are in a pathetic level of economic underdevelopment despite our enormous material and human resources may have created a complex based on despondence, something that many Cameroonians would have to overcome at the early stage of the task of building the New Cameroon by union-nationalists. The new union-nationalist government would have to come up with an immediate solution to erase that complex of despondence, an immediate solution that would require using our material and human resources that despite being in abundance are so disorganized, inefficient and disillusioned. Only through the path of a rapid improvisation and effective utilization of this underperforming human force for the optimal use of our material resources, shall we obtain an initial boost and solution that would do much to overcome the difficult initial period of fear and uncertainty. In its first step to overcome the initial  obstacle caused by  fear and uncertainty emanating from decades of division, corruption, repression, inefficiency and incompetence, the new union-nationalists government would have  to instill administrative efficiency into the transforming system and provide competent and  sufficient  managers at all or most of the strategic  and potentially cumulative sectors of the economy. This would ensure a quick initial boost to the economy and restore confidence in its management and direction. Such a positive step would direct the Cameroonian economy forward towards efficiency in the management and utilization of our human and material resources, drawing strength from the spread effects of the initial actions and direction.

   2) This economic readjustment must be immediately and closely followed by political liberalization through the establishment of a truly progressive democratic tradition. The progressive democratic tradition should be one that would ensure the total, complete and universal human rights of its citizens and accept their rational freedom, liberty and equality. It should be compatible with the complex Cameroonian reality and should be capable of ensuring the harmonious cooperation of all the Cameroonian forces and entities in the development of the land. Then, through the natural checks and balances of nature, the new and rational democratic tradition shall ensure the complete and irreversible burial of   the dictatorship that resulted to bureaucracy and incompetence, the bureaucracy and incompetence that nurtured a culture of corruption and discrimination which we know are the vices that eroded morality, trust and cooperation between the different forces in Cameroon. The positive outcome of this democratic tradition would be our break with underdevelopment. Simply, it is only after the realization of this clean democratic atmosphere to buttress the new economic drive shall there  be a clear prospect of sustainable prosperity looming ahead.

   3) The New Cameroon would also need a new culture in order to advance into the modern age through a new economic policy and a new democratic tradition. This new culture does not presuppose the destruction of the old ones or the implementation of uniformity, but rather advocates a metamorphosis based on the lessons of the past and today, to a new freedom and creativity that is compatible with modern civilization. The new culture would set the pace for progress by making the best out of our recent and distant pasts. It would not imitate the past with all its constraints and irreconcilable diversity. The new culture would create uniformity out of diversity rather than propagate diversity to maintain differences. The propagation of differences that does not enhance the wellbeing of the nation is static diversity or conservatism in its worst forms. It stands as an obstacle to progress and a death-embrace with the past. This avoidable static diversity rejects technological civilization, something that the New Cameroon cannot afford to do without. The result of accepting static diversity would be that the traditional concepts of a family, a tribe, an ethnic group, a social organization, social norms, religious views, economic life, a linguistic entity and even a race, would prevent us from moving along with the changing times. Some of the consequences of accepting static diversity would be:

·        We would not manage birth rates to match our potentials.

·        We would not soberly review or revise our anachronistic traditional and religious beliefs to accommodate the demands of our times and the challenges of the future.

·        And finally, we would not be able to accept the advantages of technological progress that are indispensable in our drive to attain great economic heights, which is a major prerequisite in the realization of the Cameroonian dream.

Abraham Lincoln railed against conservatism or static diversity when he said that:

“What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried”

The quest for the New Cameroon is a rejection of our horrible past and an embrace of a future that would guarantee progress, freedom, liberty, development, harmony, peace, unity, integrity and democracy for all Cameroonians. It is our bargain to become a cherished part of the future economically united and politically integrated Africa. And above all, it is our manifestation to have a place among the community of civilized nations.

Even Karl Marx rejected the dead weight of the past in his writings when he pointed out that:

Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances   directly given and transmitted from the past. The traditions of all the dead generations weigh like a nightmare on the living. And just when they seemed engaged in revolutionizing themselves and things, in creating something entirely new, precisely in such epochs of revolutionary crisis, they conjure up the spirits of the past to their services and borrow from them names, battle slogans and costumes in order to present the new scene of world history in time honored disguise and this borrowed language.

Yes, Cameroonian Union-Nationalism was born from the shortcomings of the past nine decades of our past. It has been tragic. Nevertheless, great lights were revealed, enlightening figures that as leaders of our civic-nationalism sustained the spirit of the Cameroonian dream. However, despite their tremendous role, Cameroonian union-nationalists should be sober enough and avoid living and thinking behind the times, as if they are still haunted by the defeats suffered over the century. We should not conjure or imitate the past in our efforts to reorganize our lives and build the New Cameroon.  Our cultures and traditions should be invoked only to help in providing guidelines in bringing  progress and in bringing forth to life individuals who through modern technological uniformity would contribute to new cultures that would accommodate modern demands and reality. These new cultures should be capable of burying the inherent traits of despotism in our pasts while promoting freedom of choice, openness and creativity.

   4) Another mistake to be avoided by the New Cameroon would be blind nationalism. This may sound intriguing since the force to lead the realization of the New Cameroon would be led by union-nationalists. Yes, Cameroon’s union-nationalists are modernists and unifiers in their civic-nationalism, based on an ideal to bring diverse people together by harnessing their compatibilities. Cameroon's union-nationalists are opposed to fundamental nationalists, ethnic nationalists, assimilative nationalists and ultra-nationalists with ideologies that exclude and stress on differences. The prefix “Union” attached to our nationalism indicates that we are out to include in the furthest extent of the word, rather than exclude, but in a manner that recognizes the legitimate interests of the constituent peoples that make the Cameroonian state and their rights to their freedom, prosperity and destiny in cooperation with other forces of the world, but not in subjugation to any. Nevertheless, this spirit of our Union-Nationalism should not be overstretched to exceed rational bounds through exaltation because the regressive outcome of such blinding emotions would be xenophobia and internal discrimination. The repercussions from such an overstretched nationalism would be the loss of its union character. Such a distortion of our Union-Nationalism would impede our development and would give rise to a new political tradition that is not democratic and representative. Furthermore, any retrogression into blind nationalism from that shortfall would breed a new culture that would be out of touch with global civilization and technological uniformity. The mistake of transcending our Union-Nationalism is that we would be taking the humanity out of its fabrics, thereby leaving it as barren as a desert. The outcome of such a mistake would be the rejection of our advanced form of civic-nationalism and an eternal doubt in the noble intentions of the ideals of Cameroonian Union-nationalism. Such a rejection is something the forward-looking Cameroon cannot afford because it would mean the rejection of the idea that has guided and guarded Cameroonians in their century-old dream, a dream that sustained their hopes through tragic and turbulent times. In a nutshell, no blind form of nationalism should be allowed to distort the genuine and progressive purpose of Cameroonian Union-nationalism, the only advanced ideal that can realize our collective dreams.  Union-nationalists should accept criticism and self-criticism as measures to prevent the derailment of the century-old ideal.

   5) Should the forward-looking Cameroon look back at all? Yes it should.

·        However, the forward-looking Cameroon should not look back to the past to make it an integral part of the future; but rather it should regard the past as a guide, a lesson to learn from, but not a lesson to copy. The only aspect the forward-looking Cameroon must always look back at is the progress of the people. The forward moving Cameroon should always give a helping hand to those who fall or are being left behind in the forward drive of prosperity. The leadership of the New Cameroonian ideal would have to bear in mind all the time that the land they are leading has been borrowed from the younger generation(s) after them. With such a responsible mindset, the leadership would always jealously protect the land and ensure that our children are adequately educated, prepared,  and are competitive and protected enough to take over and carry on with the virtues of the New Cameroon in order to secure a better future for their own children. That way, union-nationalists would be playing the roles of guarantors of continuity.

·        Socially, the New Cameroon would have to equate the drive of prosperity with a rise in the standards of living of the struggling masses. Housing, schools, hospitals, electricity, water, roads, and other social and public infrastructures should never be allowed to lag behind our true progress and the changing times. Rational provisions should be put in place to take care of the handicapped, the old, the unfortunate and the underprivileged.

Colossal as the task may seem, it is realizable and it is our only bargain with our future. The New Cameroon would easily be realized after Cameroonians develop the sense of commitment and start feeling or considering themselves a  part of the process of nation-building, development and prosperity. That would be at a  time that our collective mentality and psychology would be capable of accommodating the new demands of the New Cameroon; that would be when union-nationalists and their advanced representatives  would have become humanized enough to put the general purpose of our land above personal considerations. By so doing, we shall then consider the plight of our land and the Cameroonian people as issues that also concern us fundamentally. Then that way, Cameroonians shall have that sense of purpose, convinced that they have an appreciable role to play in building, protecting and sustaining the New Cameroon. With the realization of that collective progress, we shall be able to boast with certainty that we have built a new mentality that is collective, and that  would greatly reduce or even eliminate corruption, racism, favoritism, tribalism, ethnocentrism, absolutism, inefficiency and bureaucracy. A sense of belonging and commitment is something union-nationalists must build in order to sustain the New Cameroon and its advanced ideals.

It may seem difficult if not impossible to realize a New Cameroon without going through all or some of the possible mistakes that might be committed as a result of inherent human weaknesses and a possible over-commitment or over-zealousness from union-nationalists. Nevertheless, if mistakes are likely to be made, we are expected to allow criticism as a norm in society and be self-critical ourselves. That entails being modest enough to ask ourselves whether we are wrong in each action we take, and if so, to admit the error(s) in our action(s) for correction. And after correcting the error(s), we should make the maximum effort to ensure that no more errors or mistakes are made.

Janvier Tchouteu                                                                    May 1995

Janvier Tchouteu, author of “FALLEN HEROES: African Leaders Whose Assassinations Disarrayed the Continent and Benefitted Foreign Interests”

https://amazon.com/dp/1980996695/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_JX6Q26H573RSKG7HT9V6

Janvier Tchouteu is the author of " The Mistakes To Be Avoided in Building The New Cameroon"

Cameroon: France’s Dysfunctional Puppet System in Africa

by Janvier Tchouteu

The Mistakes To Be Avoided in Building The New Cameroon

by Janvier Tchouteu

Why Cameroon Needs a Fundamental Change

by Janvier Tchouteu

Who the Enemies of the People are, and How They are Fighting Against Change: and Others

by Janvier Tchouteu

THE SUICIDE OF THE CAMEROON STUDENT MOVEMENT (PARLEMENT):

Map of the World

Cameroon on a Map of the World

Triple Agent, Double Cross

The majority view prevails that the higher institutions of learning have sown most of the great ideas that have sought to liberate mankind from the tyranny of those in power. But no master in the art of revolution or liberation can say with certainty that the maturation and implementation of those ideals took place in the schools. Those are the inherent weaknesses of student movements. They can sow, but they can never nurture and harvest. Time constraints, the artificially of the student environment and the temporality of the student society, act as inherent limitations to attempts by various student movements to nurture and implement their ideals.

The student movement of the University of Yaounde, alias Parlement, in 1990-1991, could not overcome those inherent weaknesses like other student movements elsewhere in the world. Parlement’s open embrace of the quest for multi-party democracy in Cameroon that 1990 was expected of a progressive movement cognizant of the worldwide wind of change generated by Mikhail Sergeivich Gorbachev’s Glasnost and Perestroika. Parlement rejected the French-imposed system because of its inhuman, corrupt, discriminatory, oppressive, ethno-centric and unrepresentative nature. The movement’s rhetoric gave it a revolutionary outlook, especially in its call for total, complete and immediate change of the inhuman system under the stewardship of the Paul Biya regime. But we never went beyond to propose an alternative system to replace it. Nevertheless, that failure is accepted as a convention in student movements, the final limitation of student bodies. All the same, the Cameroonian people expected Parlement to create a bridge to the general society through which they could convey their sown and growing ideas to the broader society whose interest Parlement also stood for. The Student Movement did not create that bridge. Yet, we cannot afford not to blame ourselves for failing in that regard.

The student movement failed horribly in creating a bridge to link itself to the masses. Cameroonians still remember April 02, 1991, hardly a year after the May 26, 1990 march in Bamenda, which forced the bloodstained Biya regime to accept multi-party politics in Cameroon. I remember it too as  the first time in the history of the University of Yaounde, when the students went beyond the confines of seeking only their interest within the anachronistic university and the system (handouts of allowances, food, impotent certificates and jobs), and launched the first series of protest marches that marked the third phase of the Cameroon struggle. Not only did Parlement demand that the regime convene a Sovereign National Conference as advocated by the vast majority of the Cameroonian people, it also openly rejected:

·        The inhuman French-imposed system.

·        Our dehumanized mentality and values that the system had shaped.

·        the overbearing French control that was suffocating the nation.

·        And above all, Parlement called for a fundamental change in Cameroon’s institutions of learning, especially the higher ones.

To the foresighted, such far-reaching or revolutionary demands had to be realized within a short while for Parlement to be spared the journey into oblivion through its own failures. That short or limited time frame could not exceed three-years―the average time of a student’s stay in the university. We were already into our second year in 1991 when Parlement went beyond its confines by calling for far-reaching socio-economic-academic and political changes. By  taking that position, Parlement basically gave itself two options only:

·        Stay steadfast in order to realize those far-reaching revolutionary objectives that would open the road to a New Cameroon.

·        Or surrender to the system and the Biya regime if the fight becomes hard and merciless.

The popular student movement did not:

·        Secure the realization of a Sovereign National Conference that was a popular demand in Cameroon at the time.

·        set in motion the destruction of the inhuman French-imposed system and the retrogressive mentality and values prevailing in the country.

·        Hold down the Biya regime in a struggle of attrition that would have guaranteed a fundamental reformation of Cameroon’s institutions of learning.

·        And above all, Parlement has contributed little in the difficult path to realize the New Cameroon.

Drawing from those failures, the history of tomorrow may have no place for us because we failed in being a positive part of the history being made today.

It has been reflected upon with clarity that our student movement put on a revolutionary garment, which was justifiable when considering the purpose of its creation. The Student Movement became revolutionary when:

·        It called for a complete overhaul of our system of education by demanding that it be replaced by an educational system that is compatible with other contemporary advanced educational systems of the world.

·        It rejected all the values of the present system under the Biya regime.

·        It boldly demanded a complete Cameroonian say in Cameroonian affairs, which is an embodiment of the people’s independence, right, freedom and liberty.

To succeed in its revolutionary path, the student movement was expected to match its revolutionary rhetoric with the appropriate revolutionary actions. We did not do that. That fatal failure was our suicide. And even that was seen coming. That failure could have been averted had Parlement discarded its amateurism and committed itself to revolutionary methods―procedures that are in defense of what is right despite the expected deprivations for its advocates.

   1) Firstly, the student demonstrations that began on April 02, 1991 lacked proper planning and an effective direction. The failure of Parlement to extend cooperation beyond the university bounds to the populations of Yaounde and beyond, and even to other student bodies in the Secondary, Technical, Commercial and High Schools marked the beginning of its march towards its doom. The outcome of Parliament’s lonely path was the failure of the protest marches in exerting pressure on the Biya regime to force it to budge in its obstinate stand against democratic change, which the student body organized in Yaoundé and even in the provinces during the University Students’ two month sojourn in the dark,. Parlement’s limited population and influence could not stir the society and government towards the all-embracing junction of change that would have led to the New Cameroon. As a result, Parlement only disrupted without acquiring the strength to change the system (permit me to applaud Franklyn Sone Bayen and Derek Ebenezer Akwanga, the only High School student leaders who with their able lieutenants successfully stirred the student populations in Mamfe and Limbe respectively to protest in the streets without direct cooperation from Parlement and despite the heavy intimidating presence of the armed forces). Parlement’s shortcoming of disrupting without acquiring the strength to change the system, made it to acquire a romantic outfit while retaining its revolutionary tone.

   2) The second reason for Parlement’s failure was its poor organization, which gave it an Anarchists outlook despite its advanced and humanizing intentions. This was due to:

·        The absence of an effective publicity or propaganda body.

·        the failure to conduct a thorough pry or research to come out with statistics on Parlement’s strengths, the opportunities the current state of affairs offered, the weaknesses of the system and the extent it could go to cling onto power.

·        The limited effort Parlement made to create sub-branches in the provinces and even within the student grounds in Yaoundé.

·        poor communication that bogged down the free flow of information and opinions between the general student body and the leadership, resulting in distrust and the lack of cohesion;

    3) The leadership in particular got drunk from militant rhetoric without fully harnessing the potentials of the student movement for militant actions to realize its objectives. The militant rhetoric instead misled Parlement to overestimate its strength. Our militant rhetoric unfortunately only helped to unite and prepare the Biya regime for an onslaught against us. And they finally unleashed their full force when we were least prepared. The students could do little to resist the regime’s aggression by its armed forces on the heavily crowded Parlement grounds in Bonamoussadi-Yaoundé that memorable day of May 06, 1991. Even so, the leadership’s militant rhetoric was necessary at the initial stage of the struggle to stir up the students for the demanding task of confronting and defeating the Biya regime and the anachronistic system it was defending. However, the leadership should have moved on to the second and more demanding and realistic part of the task―that involves organization, formulation, and implementation. The fact that the militant rhetoric prevailed throughout tempts critics to believe that the leadership was either for fame and glory or that they had not fully mastered the true purpose of a student movement in a revolutionary situation that also involves addressing the demands of the Cameroonian masses. Today, we are portraying ourselves as a spent force that has discarded its militancy since we became a part of the general society. Yet, a majority of us are still living on our pasts, which are tainted by regrets. We are now a part of the general society, yet we have failed to fully discern the problems faced by ordinary Cameroonians. We continue to brood over the failures of our noble intentions, which by present-day evaluations could not have been fully in touch with the general societal reality.

   4) The fourth reason for Parlement’s failure was traditional interests. The fact that Yaounde University students failed to continue the boycott of classes and rushed back to the campus from  their  areas of refuge after the April crackdown for the sole purpose of collecting their stipends which the government was using as a bait to lure them back;  the fact that many students continued to feed from the heavily subsidized university restaurant; and the fact that they showed up en-masse following the government’s improvised ploy of mid-year re-registration, which proceeded, with the resumption of classes, gave enough reasons for Parlement to revise its strategies.

We should have strengthened our solidarity. But we did not. That is why pundits looked at it as a divine favor when the armed forces of the Biya regime cracked down on the students commemorating the first anniversary of the bloody launch of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in the Parlement grounds (square) on May 26, 1991, thereby orchestrating the second flight of students to the provinces. Still, we failed to correct our past errors; retaining our romantic fervor instead.  The fact that the University students had not fully grasped the true purpose of the struggle made them to fall prey to the regime’s second bait that threatened to terminate their enrollment if they did not reregister for the announced June end of year exams, even though students had been involved in only three months of studies that academic year. The majority of the Yaounde University students discarded their militant fervor and revolutionary objectives and rushed back to the campuses for fear of being betrayed by their peers. In the end, for the sake of self-interest, a small majority folded, believing that the custodians of the system would favor them with a pass if they wrote the exams. By accepting the masquerade of a successful academic year, the Yaounde University students unfastened the string that was suffocating the Biya regime and relieved it of the specter of an annulled academic year. For a pass and the acquisition of impotent certificates, students of the University of Yaounde sold the ideal that had raised our image in the eyes of the society that we were bound to serve. For a while, or perhaps forever, the songs of Parlement have ceased to be heard. “Nous sommes du Parlement (We are of the Parliament)” and Parlement Oui, Oui, Oui, Auto Defense Non, Non, Non (Parliament Yes, Yes, Yes, Auto Defence No, No, No) may soon constitute songs of our distant memories that bring with them regrets than pride and glory. Students of the University of Yaounde reneged that June 1991 when they capitulated by;

·        re-registering,

·        collecting their stipends,

·        And by sitting for the end of year exams.

The tragic result has been the loss of faith in the student movement. By the beginning of the 1991-1992 academic years, Parlement had become a spent force. However, as it is the course of all student Movements, Parlement had to go through its three-year span to 1993.

   5) The student movement (Parlement) like any other radical organization was susceptible to penetration by agents. Nevertheless, we shouldn’t be afraid of thinking, talking, planning and acting for fear of agents. Instead, the possibility of their presence around should keep us on the alert, make our lips less slippery, our plans more thorough, our actions more guided and effective, and our results tenable. Those are possible only by having the right ideals and proper organization. That means accepting radical actions when appropriate and deliberately creating detachable chains in operations. Unfortunately, we had a poor organization and allowed agents to pervade our midst. These were:

·        The agents of the government.

·        the politically immature who unconsciously acted as agents by being too vocal and overtly militant in advocating violence that ended up implicating the movement;

·        The liberal and moderate students who in their virginal minds believed that the puppet Mafioso Biya regime stirring the French-imposed system that is the base of Francafrique (official and underground French networks in Francophone Africa) could be made to reason through conciliatory moves.

It was by exploiting the rhetoric of the politically immature that the government staged its lethal blow on Parlement. The fact that some immature Parlement militants and leaders promised death to traitors and agents of the government exposed the movement to possible trump-up charges. The Biya regime exploited that when it burned Njoya and Kamga Collins in their rooms in 1991 and 1993 respectively and charged their deaths on the student movement. However, it was only in 1993, after the death of Kamga Collins that the regime felt confident enough to carry out its final sweep. Aware that the movement was divided and heaving out labored breaths, the inhuman Biya regime expelled what was left of the post-1991 batch of the Parlement leadership from the University of Yaounde and the new University of Buea. Today, Parlement has ceased to be a cohesive force, with its leadership in the Diaspora―abroad and at home, and with some even serving as agents of the government, the dehumanized French-imposed system.

                                                                                                    March 28, 1995                                                              Janvier T.C

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 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 “Africans are suffering from incomprehension.”

It is mind-boggling imagining  that   change can be realized in Cameroon under the current setup of a decrepit opposition, the most efficient election-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 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, author of “FALLEN HEROES: African Leaders Whose Assassinations Disarrayed the Continent and Benefitted Foreign Interests”

https://amazon.com/dp/1980996695/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_JX6Q26H573RSKG7HT9V6

Janvier Tchouteu is the author of " The Mistakes To Be Avoided in Building The New Cameroon"

Cameroon: France’s Dysfunctional Puppet System in Africa

by Janvier Tchouteu

The Mistakes To Be Avoided in Building The New Cameroon

by Janvier Tchouteu

Why Cameroon Needs a Fundamental Change

by Janvier Tchouteu

Who the Enemies of the People are, and How They are Fighting Against Change: and Others

by Janvier Tchouteu