Senatorial Elections: Inside out of Dingha Ignatius Bayin

Dingha Ignatius Bayin: CPDM senatorial candidate for NW

Over the years, an avalanche of blessings has come upon the people of the North West region in particular and Cameroon as a whole. The benedictions are either natural, developmental, financial or human. One of the greatest, if not the greatest of these human blessings is, without doubt, Dingha Ignatius Bayin, a senior inspector of treasury in the ministry of finance.

Dingha is also the president general of the Ngoketunjia Development and Cultural Association (NGODECA). He also doubles as the long-serving president general of the Balikumbat Development Organisation (BADO).  Owing to his invaluable contribution to the development of his village, his division of origin, his region and his country, he would surely have been created if he was not born!

In Balikumbat subdivision where Dingha hails from, many refer to him as “the white man of the village.” They call him so not only because of his amazing cleanliness, but also on account of the fact that he does his things so reasonably “like a white man.” That, of course, is the man who has been invested as one of the CPDM senatorial candidates from the North West.

Incontestable development icon

There is no questioning the fact that the Ngoketunjia division in the North West region of Cameroon disposes of respected and respectable personalities who have the development of their area at heart; personalities who have actually contributed in no small way in the transformation of their home division. But it would not be an overstatement to mention here that what Dingha does in this direction seems to permanently overshadow what the others are doing.

When it comes to contribution for development projects, for instance, the senior inspector of treasury makes sure he chips in the most handsome envelope. He does so not in a bid to show off his riches, but simply because he is truly committed to the genuine development of his area.

Someone once described Dingha as the solution to all the problems faced by Ngoketunjia division in general and the Balikumbat subdivision in particular. Somehow this could be an overstatement; but it is only an exaggerated view meant to emphasize the tremendous contribution that this level-headed, generous and unassuming development icon is making to transform his subdivision and division into an undeniable Eldorado; and his people into a harmonious group of development-seeking patriots.

Dingha has been the president general of the Balikumbat Development Organisation for close to fourteen years and is currently the president general of Ngoketunjia Development and Cultural Association.  This confidence bestowed on  Dingha comes only as a decision of the ballot box and is seen by many as a deserved reward for the loads of hard work done over the years for his people.

“Dingha is a man out of the ordinary. Where his contemporaries sing war, he preaches peace. Where they trade verbal sabres, he calls for convivial reunion. Where they destroy, he rebuilds. Over the years, he has stood out as one of the few Ngoketunjia elite who have the division and the people at heart. His contributions to development projects out here are simply enormous. There would be no space in your newspaper, Mr. Journalist if I were to name all of them to you”, Sama Valentine, a Ngoketunjia elite told The Guardian Post.

Generosity that knows no bounds

The same kind of change of posture is noticed with those who go to Dingha for financial or other forms of assistance. If they go with a frown on their faces because their pockets are empty, they return grinning beamingly with pockets stuffed with banknotes. If they enter his house with threadbare clothing, they come out with gorgeous outfits. If they visit the Ngoketunjia Development and Cultural Association president general on an empty stomach, their tummies bulge by the time they take leave of him.

This is to say that Dingha’s generosity is legendary; it knows no bounds, as a matter of fact. And it is not limited only to the people of Balikumbat. Out of the village, the visionary leader equally sprays gifts and nauseam. Someone once described Dingha’s ears as ever ready to listen, his heart as always set to feel for others, and his hands as ever ready to stretch out to his neighbours.

Unlike some well to do persons who complain of harassment by the underprivileged, Dingha will instead complain if for a week no one in distress shows up to him for assistance.

 

Ingenious and astute politician

As a politician, Dingha exhibits no less ingenuity. He knows the game only too well and plays it with amazing dexterity. Most of those who together with him had declared their support for the New Deal administration when Paul Biya became president in 1982, and eventually the CPDM chairman in 1985, backslid in the early 1990s when multiparty politics was introduced. They had abandoned the CPDM for the SDF which many saw at the time as the party sure to take power at any given election. Dingha, we were told, refused to bow to threats of elimination if he did not abandon the CPDM course for the SDF.

The senior inspector of treasury had only one response for those who wanted his head if he did not resign from the CPDM. He reportedly told them without fear of contradiction that the political philosophy for which he was prepared to sacrifice his life was that propounded by the Biya regime and that his role model was President Biya.

Dingha goes down in history as one of the few North Westerners who in the early 1990s could defy all the odds, don a CPDM outfit and stand in public to address a CPDM rally, even though a mere mention of the name Biya or CPDM anywhere in the North West at the time was considered suicidal.

Dingha has remained steadfast to the party to this day and it is no exaggeration to assert that it is owing to this loyalty and his good works under the umbrella of the party that more than 90 percent of Balikumbat natives and a majority of Ngoketunjia people support President Biya’s party today. It should be recalled that since the advent of multiparty politics, the CPDM has won by a large margin all its elections in Balikumbat; thanks also to Dingha’s support of party activities and his unending and indiscriminate generosity.  

Dingha: Radical for Biya

Elected alternate member of the Central Committee during the last CPDM congress, Dingha is a paragon of an adept Biya disciple. ‘Biya’ is the brand that sets Dingha’s heartbeat – he thinks ‘Biya’, prays ‘Biya’, eats ‘Biya’, drinks ‘Biya’, sleeps ‘Biya’ and believes ‘Biya’. It is often said in private discussion forums that among the thousands who loiter around President Paul Biya for diverse reasons, if there is one person who can readily give-up his life for the boss, it can only be Dingha. Someone even had the temerity to say that Dingha’s belief in the Biya philosophy far outweighs the commitment of ten Beti CPDM stalwarts put together.

It beats the imagination of many to witness the sort of passion and unflinching rage with which Dingha goes about executing orders from President Biya. When it comes to sweeping the way for his master to pass, Dingha ignores the world around him and commits himself to Biya’s service. 

Dingha who is also the Balikumbat CPDM section president participated actively in the North West CPDM coordination unit of section presidents where he was treasurer. He has equally undertaken several political missions and funeral ceremonies on behalf of the CPDM. He has equally attended political seminars on behalf of his party like the seminar that was organized for CPDM section presidents at the Yaounde conference centre. Dingha also represented the North West CPDM at a seminar that was hosted the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing Shangai and Gwanzou. Such is the unbridled commitment and selfless service to the pursuits of President Biya and the CPDM that have earned Dingha a treasured place at the master’s table.

This renewed recognition of his belief in the Biya formula is certainly going to reinvigorate his lion-fighting spirit for the CPDM in the North West in the upcoming senatorial elections. It can already be expected of Dingha to bulldoze the way in the North West like he did in the 2011 presidential elections for a whooping victory (74.6%) for the president.

 The electoral college in the North West constituency will have to face Dingha and his influence-peddling machinery on the ground in the coming senatorial elections. This unbowed ground movement has the fame of fearlessly going every extra mile to make the North West a-CPDM territory.

As Biya’s foot soldier in the former opposition stronghold (North West), Dingha’s endorsement as a CPDM senatorial candidate has secured him another dose of courage and a fair amount of steam to radically make a difference for the ruling party in the North West region.

Dingha down but not out

It is an established fact that more than 95% of those who are sacked from positions of responsibility go about running anti-Biya campaigns and throwing banana peelings on the way of those who  succeed them in their various positions. But this is not the case with Dingha who was replaced as the paymaster general for the North West. For, he continues to thank President Paul Biya as a role model to world leaders and for giving him (Dingha) the opportunity and trust to serve Cameroon and Cameroonians. Since several years ago that he has not been paymaster general, Dingha has continued to preach the CPDM doctrine which he so much believes in and support party activities heavily.

For a man who has given so much to Cameroon and served Cameroonians selflessly, many are those who continue to swear that Dingha, with or without a senatorial post will bounce back powerfully.

Incorruptible treasury inspector

The 52-year-old Dingha who goes down in history as Cameroon’s longest-serving paymaster general (for a eleven years running) has manifested incorruptibility and exemplary management. Unlike many of his past and present colleagues, his name has never been cited in any corruption or embezzlement scandal. Instead, it has always been mentioned whenever good governance is the topic of the day. Today, speculations are rife that he will sooner or later be a laureate of the awards that the supreme state control started giving to good state managers this year.

It is also amazing that Dingha has never publicly uttered a word against his detractors who spend sleepless nights throwing banana peelings on his way. All these because of his level headedness, political maturity and also because he has an incredible presence of mind and would not want to evoke sentiments that will cause unnecessary distractions at a time when all his efforts and those of other Cameroonians should be geared towards making Cameroon an emerging nation by 2035. What a great senator Dingha Ignatius will be if elected on April 14,2013!