By
Kristian Ngah Christian in Yaounde
The presence of a powerful CPDM delegation at last
week’s SDF convention that held in Bamenda from 12-14 October, 2012; after 22
years of hostility was perhaps one of the most significant political events in
Cameroon’s recent history. The presence of the CPDM delegation that was led by
the assistant party scribe, Minister Gregoire Owona is so pregnant with
implications and meaning that it almost overshadowed the main event. It should
be recalled that the SDF had formally forwarded an invitation to the CPDM party
chairman, Paul Biya who in return delegated a strongman delegation of his party
comrades to sit in for him.
Political watchers have been quick at describing the
historic presence of the CPDM delegation at the SDF convention as the
declaration of a ceasefire between the warring right and left in Cameroon. For
them, it had at least six implications: Will Fru Ndi now join government as
wished by the CPDM in the 1990s? Or will the SDF become phased out? Or will Fru
Ndi now tone down on his criticism of Biya? Or will the North West CPDM barons
continue to feed Biya with lies about Fru Ndi? Or will the security now cease
to make capital of the rebel tag on Fru Ndi? Or will the tense political
atmosphere in Cameroon now become defused?
SDF
entry into government
In the wake of protests by the opposition following
the controversial declaration of President Biya as winner of the 1992
presidential election, the issue of an SDF entry into government was mooted as
a way out of the political tension. The SDF which originally advocated a
transition government soon agreed to join the Biya government but negotiations
collapsed. Banking on the break-down of talks between the SDF and the Biya
regime, Bouba Bello Maigari’s UNDP agreed to a joint platform with the CPDM that
culminated in his party joining a coalition government that has lasted for the
past 14 years. But with the SDF now
extending an invitation to the CPDM and the latter accepting, political
observers say any proposal by Biya for Fru Ndi to join government may be
fruitful. The problem here is however that should the SDF accept to join
government, North West CPDM ministers will lose their posts.
End
of SDF
The intimidating presence of a powerful CPDM
delegation at the SDF convention and the speech made by Gregoire Owona;
indicating that the ruling party had always opted for dialogue with the SDF was
a very strong indication that the CPDM might not have been the devilish and
hostile political party the SDF had made Cameroonians to believe. If anything,
the CPDM delegation stormed the Bamenda congress hall where the SDF convention
was taking place like conquerors, made a few promises and then accepted to
receive his longstanding opponent for talks. Already, it is feared that the
CPDM might have used last week’s Bamenda convention to win more sympathies from
SDF militants. This fear, coupled with the fact that talks may be afoot for the
SDF to enter government has further fuelled fears that Cameroon will be left
with no viable opposition party. This may return the country to the post-1990
one-party era.
Fru
Ndi piping down
Another implication of the CPDM delegation at the
SDF convention is its effect on the political posture of the SDF chairman.
Having declared a ceasefire, it is feared that Fru Ndi will no longer have the
authority to criticize Biya as he was wont to doing.
No
more food for lies-telling NW CPDM bigwigs
At the news that President Biya was sending a CPDM
delegation to the SDF convention, a prominent North West CPDM bigwig who
doubles as member of government was overheard screaming “Fru Ndi don move chop
for we mop”. It is no longer news that Biya
was constantly being fed with lies from North West CPDM barons that the SDF
chairman was not ready for any dialogue with him. North West CPDM bigwigs and
members of government who saw their interests threatened are said to have done
a lot to block Fru Ndi from meeting Biya. They painted the SDF chairman as a
monster but at the same time kept assuring their master that they could break
the SDF hegemony in the region. It is true the SDF has ‘lost’ some grounds in
the North West like Ako/Misaje, Nwa, Balikumbat, Oku, Menchum due to massive
election-rigging. But with the coming of the biometric system, CPDM
election-riggers especially in areas like Ako/Misaje are said to be having a
continuous running stomach because they will not have any more lies to tell
their master in Yaounde. Those of them who maneuvered their way into government
after rigging elections to become parliamentarian(s) should now be counting their
days in government with the finger of the hand. Now that Fru Ndi and Biya can
sit on the same table, will they still have the courage to tell the same lies?
The mere fact that Biya opted to send a Francophone, Gregoire Owona; to lead
the CPDM delegation to the SDF convention is an indication that the president
has lost trust in North West CPDM barons who should now be gnashing their teeth
in disappointment because they will have no more lies to tell Biya about Fru
Ndi. Biya and Fru Ndi who are known to have exchanged telephone numbers can now
talk to each other without passing through a third party.
Security
deflated
The security has always painted Fru Ndi as a rebel
to President Biya. Huge financial resources are believed to have been placed at
the disposal of security agents to furnish the presidency with damaging
information about plans by the SDF to destabilize the regime with foreign
funds. In the heydays of the ghost towns operations and the February 2008
hunger riots, agents were hired to implicate the SDF chairman until he decided
to sue the former interior minister, Marafa Hamidou Yaya for libel.
The presence of the CPDM delegation at the SDF
convention in Bamenda last week permitted regime barons to see the SDF and its
chairman in a better light. Fru Ndi was not the rebel or monster they expected
to meet. Even from a distance, one could judge from the physical appearance of
the CPDM delegation that they were even safer in Bamenda. One sure thing is
that the security will henceforth lose some of the advantages they got from
propagating the rebel tag on Fru Ndi and the SDF.
Defusing
political tension
The ingrained hostility between President Biya and
Chairman Fru Ndi is believed to have had its toll on the development of
Cameroon. The SDF which is a member of the Socialist International movement
went on a diplomatic offensive against the Biya regime. This prevented foreign
investors from coming to Cameroon because they were convinced that the peace
and stability that Cameroon boasts was shaky. With the new era of
reconciliation and political harmony between the country’s two main political
actors, the political stalemate would obviously be defused. The use of a single
ballot paper at the SDF elective convention; in the presence of CPDM barons,
might push government to adopt same in future political consultations and pave
the way for the organization of more credible elections whose results would
meet acceptable international standards.
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