Biya campaign promises: A SCAM?

When Paul Biya, head of the regime that was handed power by President Ahmadou Ahidjo 28 years ago finally came to Bamenda in the North West region of Cameroon two days ago, it was like watching a game of cat and mouse. He basically slipped into town, hiding from the official protocol that had rehearsed many times over and was in place at the Bali airport waiting for him.

How he got into town should not surprise us, for the last time he even cared to stop by and check on the people whose lives he governs was a full 20 years ago!

Now to some of the promises made during this campaign visit.

- The creation of a University in the North West Region:
This is long overdue and should have happened at least two decades ago. Anyways, Biya only made a promise, just like he did when he promised to have the Ring Road tarred a lifetime ago. We should not forget that we still have a lot of ground to cover before actually having university students in amphis. Paul Biya still has to sign a decree legally creating the University. Then, a few years later, as has been his style over the past 28 years, the Application Decree which is what will effectively define the structure of the Institution, will have to be signed. And then maybe two or three years later, the Rectors and other staff will be appointed.

Bottom line is, if Mr Biya wants to create a University (which any leader who loves and communes with his people would have done decades ago, anyways), the day before coming to Bamenda, he could have signed the decree creating the University, then proceeded to sign the Application Decree, and shortly thereafter, appointed the top executives of the Institution. He has been on the job for 28 years and should know who can fill what spot.

- The Creation of a Secretariat for Veterans' Affairs.

Good point, but it bears repeating, it means nothing to the veterans when it is just talk and no action. Appoint officials to lead the structure and we can believe you are serious with the campaign promises. For someone close to three decades on the job, it shouldn't take a week to do so.

- Tarring of the Ring Road.

This has been the cry for most of the people of the former West Cameroon. Not tarring this road has been a very effective political weapon as it stifles economic activity, and hampers wealth creation. If you are broke, there is little incentive to take to the streets and fight for your rights, because you will be busy looking for your next meal. So it has always been in Mr Biya's interest not to have this road paved. He will never do so as long as he is resident in the Unity Palace in Etoudi.

- Hydo-electric Dam in Menchum Falls.

Another lofty idea that looks good on paper, but unfortunately will not see the light of day so long as Biya is in Etoudi. Commercial electricity power generation in Cameroon is a monopoly. There are vast foreign interests that have essentially taken over whole swaths of Biya's government hostage. They will lobby and silence anyone who opposes them. They will never allow a major project that will bring cheap electricity to millions in the Nroth West region. If villages get power, then it means many more will get hooked up to the internet and maybe by this time next year when we would have had a new president in Etoudi, thousands more in villagers scattered in rustic huts and compounds around Menchum Falls would be blogging, just like your's truly, detailing what suffering they had had to endure under the Biya regime.

Conclusion

So, to summarize, Mr Biya came to Bamenda, with fear in his heart and made some empty promises like he always did in the past to get a cheap applause from his henchmen who traveled with him from Etoudi in Yaounde. What he must have realised is that he is making promises on projects that should have been a "fait accompli" twenty years ago. Better late than never. A new president - Hopefully Kah Walla (no affiliate of mine) will sign the Application Decree and appoint the executives of the promised institiutions, and execute other pending projects -like tarring the Ring Road,- with dispatch. Paul and Chantal and Frank Biya can watch from Switzerland.
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Paul Biya launches campaign in Bamenda, after Kah Walla in Yaounde!

Following in the footsteps of Kah Walla, Paul Biya has launched his bid for president of Cameroon in the 2011 presidential elections. He made some promises, many of which seem extravagant considering the state of the country's economy. We know how long it takes to execute such campaign promises. We need look no further than some of the provisions in the current constitution of the republic of Cameroon that have never been applied. Also, it has taken Biya 28 full years to mutter a few words in English. The former West Cameroon has been neglected for long enough by Mr Biya. As Kah Walla would say, the "Time has Come" and Biya must GO!

My Biya and his cronies are very frequent abroad and he only comes to the people to legitimize the rule of his regime in the eyes of the world. Irrespective of the show he put up in Bamenda in an attempt to steal the thunder from the opposition, the top flight contenders like Ms. Kah Walla will keep snapping at his heels. Biya would rather first get a brand new jet to make his frequent European trips than allow funds to be disbursed for a University in Bamenda. It is all just campaign rhetoric. After all, he has been ruling the country for 28 years, he does not trust the educational system to be worth a dime, so his children attend school in Switzerland. He has totally neglected the healthcare sector, his wife delivers all her babies abroad! So it is every man for himself in Biya's Cameroon.

But it does not have to be so. Listening to Kah Walla's plans for the country, you get a sense that we can quickly stop the backward slide in which the country finds itself, and even reverse this trend. Look at Ghana, which currently has double digit growth! Cameroon's economy is growing at a paltry 3.9%.

The ruling regime will spend a ton of money to get Biya re-elected. The country would be better off using that money to tar the Ring Road, actually build the infrastructure to house the University in Bamenda and maybe throw in a Church or two. Biya has outlived his usefulness to the Cameroonian people, period, he should retire to Switzerland where he spends all his time anyway.

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Showdown in Bamenda 2010: Cameroon VS Paul Biya.

Here we go once again. The embattled head of the regime that has held the people of the West African Nation of Cameroon in check for the past 28 years has to face his people. But there is only one catch. He seems to be afraid of the very people whom he rules!

It has often been whispered behind closed doors, and out of earshot of Paul Biya's henchmen that the time has come for the ruler of this country to hand over to someone who really cares about the people. But it is no surprise he does not give a damn to the people he rules. He spends more time in Switzerland with his cronies, or basking in the sun in the French resort city of La Baule. So who cares if there is no health centre in Dimako, or Kousseri or Pottor Pottor Quarter?

The millions of dollars that could have been better spent improving the infrastructure and lives of ordinary Cameroonians that instead is splurged on foreign media like the Jeune Afrique group is no longer effective.

What the people of Cameroon want is change. As Mr Biya tests the waters and has his henchmen on the ground in Bamenda to get a feel for what the population has in store for him, he can't help but feel a sense of urgency, that only the unknown can inspire in one.

Had he had some foresight, he may have chosen a more cosmopolitan city like Douala or Buea, or even Yaounde for the commemoration of the military. There is a certain unity of thought in Abakwa, that transcends party or religious affiliations. It goes beyond the fact that many generations of elites from the North West region have begged for the Ring Road to be tarred to no avail, beyond the jailing of one of the best managers in the country, Zaccheus Forjindam. It is one that comes with the realization that Bamenda is Ground Zero for Democracy in Cameroon. If you disregard democracy, come to Bamenda at your peril.

Parse all he wants, the verdict will remain the same, the people of Bamenda will NOT show up for any activity involving Mr Biya. He may feast with the Fons.
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Paul Biya: Bamenda, December 7th 2010

On Tuesday, December 7th 2010, life will come to a standstill in Bamenda, and pretty much everywhere else in Cameroon. The presidential election to hold in 2011 will most certainly be decided here in Bamenda on that fateful day. Expect Paul Biya to show up.

In a brazen move which at the time seemed like the sort of daring to which African leaders loved showing, 77 year old Biya announced he will be heading to the opposition stronghold in Bamenda for the country's military's 50th anniversary. But in today's media where events are chronicled minute by minute, what seemed like a wise decision a year ago has now turned into a thorn in Biya's flesh.

The anniversary has been postponed at least three times. If we are to believe Mr Biya's word any longer, then he effectively has less than 25 days to show up in Bamenda or take another serious flogging in opinion polls.

So, after a lot of feet dragging, the date of December 7th 2010 has been chosen as the day when the world will see whether Biya will dare show up in Bamenda.

The last time he was in town, the state run media CRTV had exclusive access and drowned out any competing views. Now, it is a very different playing field. Mobile phones with video cameras are ubiquitous, reporting is instantaneous, and any poor behavior by Biya's thuggish security detail will be dimly viewed by the international community.

So it is in this climate of distrust and uncertainty that Biya has to face the people of Cameroon. The Fons will be there, anyone who is somebody in town will be there, and all civil servants will be invited.

The one great absentee, the one that really matters, will sadly be absent. The population of Bamenda will not be on hand the welcome Paul Biya on the 7th of December 2010, and that gesture, fully represents the way Cameroonians feel. May Mr Biya take note.
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