There will be presidential elections, and barring a major change in current trends, 78 year old Paul Biya who has ruled this country since 1982 is set to be kicked out.
How this came to be is a long and sad tale. In his first few governments when he came to power, Biya appointed the best in their respective fields to key positions to propel the country forward. Then some of these people started helping themselves to the tiller and soon, bribery and corruption was institutionalized.
Some of these cats grew too fat and the president did what was natural; attempt to curb their influence by throwing them in jail.
But on the eve of presidential elections, his henchmen seem to have gone too far. Some of his closest advisers are languishing in jail and now, Biya has his sights on Cameroon's foremost privately held business- the Fotso Group.
Last week, security forces staged a lame attempt to arrest the son of magnate Fotso Victor. For a developing country that is struggling even to feed its population and where it is near impossible to start a business, systematically targeting a successful businessman like Yves Michel Fotso is simply disingenuous.
If this is an attempt to further cause Cameroonians employed by Fotso companies to lose their jobs and scare foreign partners of the group, then Biya is in for a surprise.
A premise for weakening the Fotso group may be so that no opposition campaign gains financing or logistic support from its holdings which include a multinational bank, and an airline.
What Biya will get will be the exact opposite. He will lose the entire Western region to the opposition in the 2011 election. Many of the struggling youth hold the soft spoken Fotso Victor in high esteem. He is a household name and role model for many.
Holding the Fotsos to ransom and expecting to get a single vote in the Western region of the country, or even in the Littoral where many towns have a majority of inhabitants from the Western region is a gross miscalculation. No right minded person will see one of their own humiliated daily, without good cause, and still vote for Biya.
And speaking of campaign financing, anyone who has not been living under a rock should know that most elections these days are funded in a dispersed way. Each individual contributing where they are most competent. As such, a bendskinner will carry passengers to a rally for free, a water seller will freely distribute iced water at meetings, a computer literate person will build a website, and so on and so forth.
Such mobilization that comes from the free will is stronger, durable and more resilient than any number of policemen or soldiers with guns.
That is what is coming to Biya. Wherever he is reading this, whatever he is doing, he will be blind sided by the oppressed people of Cameroon. How does your's truly know - just google "Paul Biya 2011" and read what the people think.
"Vox populi..."
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why does yves michel fotso not declare his candidacy for president. i will gladly vote for him. he is an example to the cameroonian people
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