NEWS ANALYSIS

Fuel price increase & Fru Ndi’s suspicious silence

 By Peterkins Manyong,

 Guest writer & Publisher of The Independent Observer

Of all the recommendations Christ made to keep the flame of love burning in human society, there is none which is more difficult to apply than that which says: “We should turn the other jaw when one is slapped.’’ The difficulty of implementing this doctrine lies in the fact that retaliation is a reflex in human nature. Those who think it is easier to preach than to practice this doctrine further argue that when we forgive or condone injustice, too often we are indirectly encouraging it. John Dryden tells us that:  “Self defence is nature’s eldest law”

Within the past one month, Cameroonians have been struggling to cope with a decision by the New Deal regime to hike fuel prices. The logic behind the increase is understood by every rational being. But the suddenness of the decision without a state of the nation address is a clear testimony that Biya is taking Cameroonians for granted. The pain of the injury on Cameroonians, the majority of whom live below the breadline was further aggravated by a call by the regime for Cameroonians to make sacrifices. How much sacrifices have Biya and his myrmidons made on behalf of Cameroon? Is Biya not the same president who frequently travels abroad with a bloated delegations of bloated good-for-nothings and squanders the nation’s wealth with impunity? Which president’s presence in Switzerland and France attracts angry demonstrating crowds of his own countrymen than Paul Biya? If we believe Hon. Ayah Paul (and we have no reason to doubt him), the secretary general at the presidency earns 2.5 million FCFA per day. Is it a secret that the convoy of a mere minister visiting a region is made up of more PRADOs than that of the presidents of other countries like Ghana and Benin, for instance? The very ministers who want Cameroonians to make sacrifices can’t give up a franc of their inflated allowances. What makes life unbearable is not a single serious act of provocation but rather a series of little provocative acts frequently repeated.

To put the matter more simply, it is better to give somebody a blow that even takes him/her to hospital than to pinch the person’s jaw every now or smash his or her leg at every given opportunity. The Biya regime has pinched the jaws and trampled on the feet of Cameroonians the more than the average human can bear.

SDF’s conspiracy of silence

There is nothing more consoling in the midst of adversity than a kind word. In a nation ruled by an oligarchy that uses the sledge hammer on its citizens more often than plain commonsense recommends, a word of rebuke to the tormentor can be remarkably soothing. In the case of Cameroon, the country’s main opposition party, the SDF, was expected to act spontaneously by either condemning the hike in fuel prices or the Biya regime for not preparing the minds of Cameroonians for it.

This is what the party did within the first eighteen years of its existence. Signs of acquiescence began to appear in the conduct of the party’s leadership in 2008 when Biya decided on the revision of the country’s constitution to end limits to presidential terms. While Cameroonians in their vast majority opposed then planned gang-rape on the constitution, Fru Ndi opposed any move which could embarrass the Biya regime. Not only did Fru Ndi snub a proposal for an SDF led nationwide strike in collaboration with Dynamique Citoyen, Fru Ndi obstructed a similar march by Littoral SDF; led by its provincial chairman, Jean Michel Nintcheu.

During the extraordinary parliamentary session that held to revive the constitution, SDF MPs whose main protest weapons since they entered the national assembly had been boycotts and walk-outs decided to attend. Hon. Joseph Mbah Ndam, then SDF group leader even recommended those portions of the constitution to be amended thereby given the regime the moral support it needed to perpetrate its rule over Cameroonians. It will require the most sublime wit or even witchcraft for Fru Ndi to convince any right-thinking Cameroonian that Fru Ndi didn’t teleguide all what went within the SDF in parliament.

Since that ‘betrayal’, it has been one controversial stand after another. Cameroonians don’t need to be told in detail again about the conflicting signals that have been emanating from the SDF chieftain since December 2010 when Biya visited Bamenda and the meeting with the director of cabinet at the presidency, Martin Belinga Eboutou on the eve of the senatorial election. This writer is yet to confirm allegations that Fru Ndi was in Yaounde on the eve of the fuel price hikes. Since the decision was taken, no single statement has been uttered officially by the SDF chairman. Only Hon. Fobi Nchinda of the SDF has spoken on the issue.