Biya's next government: Amalgamating the CPDM and SDF

Within the next few weeks, expect Paul Biya, Cameroon's embattled president to appoint a new government. It will have members of the former opposition party, the SDF making their entry into government for the first time.

The key thing to watch out for will be the intricate balancing act that will be made to maintain the North West and South West regional equality. Thus, the prime ministry will go to a South Westerner, most likely H.E Peter Agbor Tabi, and this will create room in government for about two SDF militants to occupy some non strategic ministries.

Recent incidents in the Maghreb may push Biya to get his new team on the ground sooner rather than later. And with presidential hopefuls declaring themselves on a daily basis, the CPDM would rather have their campaign out and rolling.

So, the vetting of potential SDF ministers is taking place in the shadows, while Biya works on logistics (about 5 hours to fly in the old presidential Gulfsteam 3 from Mvomeka to Switzerland non-stop in case Nanga - Mbokos take to the streets like in Tunisia and he has to flee) and waits for his French Vendors who have the contract to produce campaign materials.

So, once those containers with campaign materials hit the Douala seaport, then, we will have the new government, and the roller coaster ride which is what presidential elections look like in Central Africa may begin. Until then, we have a lame duck government, and anything happening now is just people lining their pockets as they are not sure they will be retained when the new government is announced in a few weeks time.
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Biya's next government: Amalgamating the CPDM and SDF

Within the next few weeks, expect Paul Biya, Cameroon's embattled president to appoint a new government. It will have members of the former opposition party, the SDF making their entry into government for the first time.

The key thing to watch out for will be the intricate balancing act that will be made to maintain the North West and South West regional equality. Thus, the prime ministry will go to a South Westerner, most likely H.E Peter Agbor Tabi, and this will create room in government for about two SDF militants to occupy some non strategic ministries.

Recent incidents in the Maghreb may push Biya to get his new team on the ground sooner rather than later. And with presidential hopefuls declaring themselves on a daily basis, the CPDM would rather have their campaign out and rolling.

So, the vetting of potential SDF ministers is taking place in the shadows, while Biya works on logistics (about 5 hours to fly in the old presidential Gulfsteam 3 from Mvomeka to Switzerland non-stop in case Nanga - Mbokos take to the streets like in Tunisia and he has to flee) and waits for his French Vendors who have the contract to produce campaign materials.

So, once those containers with campaign materials hit the Douala seaport, then, we will have the new government, and the roller coaster ride which is what presidential elections look like in Central Africa may begin. Until then, we have a lame duck government, and anything happening now is just people lining their pockets as they are not sure they will be retained when the new government is announced in a few weeks time.
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The Tunisian Effect: Can it happen in Cameroon?

For twenty-three years, the Tunisian people hoped to see their country progress. For twenty-three years, what they saw was oppression and stifled growth. They were denied the opportunity to grow financially.

As anyone who has lived under a repressive regime will tell you, when you halt a people's economic empowerment, you make them hungry, and hungry people are more concerned with finding the next meal, not dissecting the intricacies of where their tax money goes.

So, in typical autocratic fashion, with an African flavor, Mr Ben Ali held his people to ransom for two decades. Unbeknownst to him, books he banned or made difficult to import could be read on the internet. People could bypass his state controlled media and organize in a dispersed way.

And so, the culmination of his rule came this week and was greeted with joy and festivities. He will see the potential and enterprise of a people unleashed from his sumptuous surroundings in Saudi Arabia to which he has been exiled.

Now, could the same thing happen in Cameroon? Could the Cameroonian people rally as one and march to Etoudi to demand Biya's departure?

Conditions in both countries are very similar. The is a large population of youths looking for jobs, both countries have had only two presidents since independence, there is widespread corruption and the president recently instituted the life presidency in Cameroon, something that does not happen in modern societies.

In Tunisia, it was a University graduate who could not find work who set himself on fire, triggering the chain reaction that led to Ben Ali's ouster. The same kind of protests spilled over to neighboring Algeria.

It should be recalled that similar protests occurred in Cameroon in 2008 and led to the arrest of one of Cameroon's foremost artists, Lapiro de Mbanga who is still languishing in jail. He is no doubt subjected a regular passage on the balancoir, Cameroon's fearful version of extraordinary rendition.

Today, it just needs one overzealous policeman to harass a taxi driver or bend skin rider. That will ignite the keg, and Biya will wonder whoever told him the Cameroonian people loved him when he will be watching people dancing for joy on the streets of Yaounde and Douala from his safe haven in Switzerland.

Yes, what happened in Tunisia may happen in Cameroon. It will take much less than someone setting themselves on fire, and yes, there will be a very huge crowd in all the streets, all across the country to mark the end of twenty-nine years of oppression.
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The Tunisian Effect: Can it happen in Cameroon?

For twenty-three years, the Tunisian people hoped to see their country progress. For twenty-three years, what they saw was oppression and stifled growth. They were denied the opportunity to grow financially.

As anyone who has lived under a repressive regime will tell you, when you halt a people's economic empowerment, you make them hungry, and hungry people are more concerned with finding the next meal, not dissecting the intricacies of where their tax money goes.

So, in typical autocratic fashion, with an African flavor, Mr Ben Ali held his people to ransom for two decades. Unbeknownst to him, books he banned or made difficult to import could be read on the internet. People could bypass his state controlled media and organize in a dispersed way.

And so, the culmination of his rule came this week and was greeted with joy and festivities. He will see the potential and enterprise of a people unleashed from his sumptuous surroundings in Saudi Arabia to which he has been exiled.

Now, could the same thing happen in Cameroon? Could the Cameroonian people rally as one and march to Etoudi to demand Biya's departure?

Conditions in both countries are very similar. The is a large population of youths looking for jobs, both countries have had only two presidents since independence, there is widespread corruption and the president recently instituted the life presidency in Cameroon, something that does not happen in modern societies.

In Tunisia, it was a University graduate who could not find work who set himself on fire, triggering the chain reaction that led to Ben Ali's ouster. The same kind of protests spilled over to neighboring Algeria.

It should be recalled that similar protests occurred in Cameroon in 2008 and led to the arrest of one of Cameroon's foremost artists, Lapiro de Mbanga who is still languishing in jail. He is no doubt subjected a regular passage on the balancoir, Cameroon's fearful version of extraordinary rendition.

Today, it just needs one overzealous policeman to harass a taxi driver or bend skin rider. That will ignite the keg, and Biya will wonder whoever told him the Cameroonian people loved him when he will be watching people dancing for joy on the streets of Yaounde and Douala from his safe haven in Switzerland.

Yes, what happened in Tunisia may happen in Cameroon. It will take much less than someone setting themselves on fire, and yes, there will be a very huge crowd in all the streets, all across the country to mark the end of twenty-nine years of oppression.
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Significance of Hon. Ayah Paul Abine's Candidacy

The Hon. Ayah Paul Abine has resigned from the ruling regime's CPDM party. This visionary, who knows the value of CFA 100 has over the course of three terms in parliament been amazed by the budgets brought by ministers for consideration.

The waste was appalling. So, first, he tried to bring other members of parliament to reason. It is always a good thing when there is antagonism between the branches of government.

But, in a move that displays the immaturity of the Cameroonian democracy, some of his colleagues publicly mocked him. Why wouldn't they, they have known only two presidents in 50 years, so the concept of change at the helm is alien to most of them.

The Honorable gentleman's logic is simple, instead of spending so much money on fuel for well-paid government officials, it should be spent on creating jobs for youths. And that is just one line on the government's budget. Imagine the savings that could be realized if waste could be eliminated, if not completely, then least to a reasonable level given the social reality in Cameroon.

So, turning a new page, and as if to fulfil a new year's resolution, the Hon. Gentleman has closed the door of a major chapter in his life - his militancy in the ruling regimes CPDM.

Now, a new chapter in his life and the Cameroonian story begins. What is most lacking for the Hon. Ayah Paul is traction. He says just the right things, has the right ideas, is married to a Francophone from Douala (no fear of secession), and has the academic and professional credentials relevant for the presidency of Cameroon.

Maybe he needs to connect more with the grassroots. The same people who are the silent majority, invisible, yet always present. These are the unemployed youths, the Taximen, Buyam-Sellam, and of course, the Nanga Mboko.

He needs to speak more forcefully to these groups, for they will be the ones to decide the winner of this year's presidential election.

We can only wish the Hon. Gentleman more luck, energy and good health in his battle to ensure a better life for all Cameroonians. History already has him recorded as the one who stood up to Biya's lifelong presidency, now, maybe the next chapter in Cameroon's glorious history may have the Hon. Ayah as the one who built thousands of schools, hospitals and churches. The one who constructed farm to market roads, the one who abolished school fees in Universities, who at last built a road to Akwaya, do that there was no longer a need to go through Nigeria to reach that Sub-Division. In short, history may remember him as the one who made Cameroon prosperous and gave cameroonians the life they all craved.
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Significance of Hon. Ayah Paul Abine's Candidacy

The Hon. Ayah Paul Abine has resigned from the ruling regime's CPDM party. This visionary, who knows the value of CFA 100 has over the course of three terms in parliament been amazed by the budgets brought by ministers for consideration.

The waste was appalling. So, first, he tried to bring other members of parliament to reason. It is always a good thing when there is antagonism between the branches of government.

But, in a move that displays the immaturity of the Cameroonian democracy, some of his colleagues publicly mocked him. Why wouldn't they, they have known only two presidents in 50 years, so the concept of change at the helm is alien to most of them.

The Honorable gentleman's logic is simple, instead of spending so much money on fuel for well-paid government officials, it should be spent on creating jobs for youths. And that is just one line on the government's budget. Imagine the savings that could be realized if waste could be eliminated, if not completely, then least to a reasonable level given the social reality in Cameroon.

So, turning a new page, and as if to fulfil a new year's resolution, the Hon. Gentleman has closed the door of a major chapter in his life - his militancy in the ruling regimes CPDM.

Now, a new chapter in his life and the Cameroonian story begins. What is most lacking for the Hon. Ayah Paul is traction. He says just the right things, has the right ideas, is married to a Francophone from Douala (no fear of secession), and has the academic and professional credentials relevant for the presidency of Cameroon.

Maybe he needs to connect more with the grassroots. The same people who are the silent majority, invisible, yet always present. These are the unemployed youths, the Taximen, Buyam-Sellam, and of course, the Nanga Mboko.

He needs to speak more forcefully to these groups, for they will be the ones to decide the winner of this year's presidential election.

We can only wish the Hon. Gentleman more luck, energy and good health in his battle to ensure a better life for all Cameroonians. History already has him recorded as the one who stood up to Biya's lifelong presidency, now, maybe the next chapter in Cameroon's glorious history may have the Hon. Ayah as the one who built thousands of schools, hospitals and churches. The one who constructed farm to market roads, the one who abolished school fees in Universities, who at last built a road to Akwaya, do that there was no longer a need to go through Nigeria to reach that Sub-Division. In short, history may remember him as the one who made Cameroon prosperous and gave cameroonians the life they all craved.
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