Cameroon in 2011

On January 05th 2011, Paul Biya, president of the republic of Cameroon for the past 29 years received new year wishes from diplomats and dignitaries.

What stood out was the presence of erstwhile opposition leader Fru Ndi in the Unity Palace. As yours truly earlier remarked in this blog, Cameroon no longer has an opposition party. So 2011 marks the end of the SDF being an opposition party, leaving a large void in the political arena in Cameroon.

This year, expect "operation Epervier" to slow down. The arrest of Yves Michel Fotso proved the point that you cannot be too wealthy or powerful in an African state like Cameroon that operates under the radar of Western Watchdogs.

The SDF will enter the next government, with Joshua Ossih picked as minister over the contentious Mbah Ndam. Fru Ndi will wait for the application decree of the Senate and hopes to get a seat (and immunity) in that chamber.

Cavaye Yegiue Djibrill will remain speaker of the parliament. For those who think the North has been forgotten, take a quick look at the budget of the National Assembly. Cavaye is fine, and will rally his people together with Ahmadou Ali to vote for the CPDM coalition.

Peter Agbor Tabi will become prime minister, as some of the youth in Kupe Manenguba and Manyu become more critical of government negligence in the province. Professor agbor Tabi is soft-spoken, and commands respect among a large swath of the country. He also has a proven and hard to beat track record as chancellor of the university of Yaounde 1, and minister of Higher Education. He will bring in the South West vote.

The pending dam projects (about 3 major ones as of this writing) for which money has been raised will not start in 2011 as the country will be in full electoral swing.

2011 will also be the year when at least ninety percent of ministers will be seen dancing on TV to rally their constituents.

Cameroon will still resist efforts to have radar equipment installed to view and control air traffic around Douala and Yaounde airports. The reason will be no one wants to have a record of planes landing at sea and dropping off or picking up contraband destined for latin America. The skies will be unsafe for passengers, but someone at the civil aviation authority will be making serious money to block installation of such equipment.

Kah Walla will become the main opposition to the Biya-Fru Ndi coalition. She will lose the election but have a higher national and international profile for standing up to the two old men (Biya and Fru Ndi).

Hon. Ayah Paul Abine will continue his activism but will not gain traction. The press will randomly pick on his nuggets of wisdom such as pointing out that the restrictive rules endorsed by the CPDM could come back to bit them if they happen to lose power, but for the large part, he will stay a one man operation.

Atanga Nji will use money and other means to personally quell the SCNC activism. Expect secessionists to get wealthy overnight as they are bought over. The story of South Sudan is too real and too close. It could happen to the former West Cameroons and Paul Biya needs the oil money.

Happy new year all and May God bless our beautiful country - Cameroon!
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Kah Walla and the Cameroon Tea Party Movement

A lot of movement has taken place in Cameroon since Ms Kah Walla announced her candidacy for the presidency of the republic. For one, it seems to have spurred incumbent regime head, Paul Biya and his henchmen. If Kah's historic run at the finish has only this as its achievement, then it would have been a good experience for Cameroon as a whole.

Shortly after independence, president of the Federal Republic of Cameroon, Ahmadou Ahidjo banned political parties and the Cameroon National Union (CNU) was the lone authorized. Things remained pretty much the same, with a change of name to the Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement (CPDM) to mark the Ahidjo-Biya transition in the early eighties of last century.

When John Fru Ndi launched the SDF in 1990, it marked the return to multi party politics in Cameroon.

Paul Biya and John Fru Ndi have both revealed to Cameroonians their heavy- handed methods, and like birds of a feather, got together two weeks ago in Bamenda. There is no room for opposition or a different opinion to the wishes of these two men. And thus, Cameroon suffered, children died from curable illness while the president has his kids treated in foreign hospitals. Kids study in the open air while the Biya kids ride in a jet to school. Yet he gets to rule the lives of millions of Cameroonians. It is an inconvenient arrangement which was bound to be short-lived.

So step in Ms Kah Walla. She provides an alternative to the two henchmen who still have vestiges of colonial heavy handedness deeply entrenched in their ways.

She is the head of the Cameroonian Tea Party. A third pathway to the presidential palace at Etoudi. Since she launched her campaign, Biya has done what would normally take a decade to accomplish. He has created a full-fledged University, and is actively seeking funds for the Ring-Road (and presidential campaign?). He also appointed officials to head the Bamenda University.

The tea party is comprised of the rural women, unemployed youths, the poor, weak, and disenfranchised in Cameroon. In other words, those who have had it tough under the Biya regime - which is most Cameroonians. Looking at the Tea Party constituency, it is no surprise Ms Kah is generating such a buzz. She is within striking distance of Etoudi. She is young, eloquent, well connected locally and internationally, and speaks for the masses. She grew and still lives in Cameroon, as opposed to Biya who prefers Switzerland and all his children have foreign passports.

The Cameroon Tea Party Movement headed by Ms Kah Walla will likely rout Biya and his henchmen in the 2011 presidential elections. It will be all the better for Cameroonians, both at home and abroad. She needs all the help she can get to achieve this.
In 2011, "BIYA Must GO"
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Craigslist rolls out anti-scam security measures.

The popular online website craigslist.org has a new set of measures aimed at protecting its users.

Ranked by ALEXA.COM as the 10th most visited site in the United States, craigslist has been a favorite for scammers.

Notwithstanding the bold warnings in red found on almost all pages on the site, people still fall prey to advance fee scams perpetrated by con men.

A typical transaction would involve a seller with a late model vehicle for an incredibly low price, who just happens to be out of the country, but is willing to get the low price if sent through instant payment services like Western Union or Moneygram. The victim wires the money, usually to Nigeria and then never sees the car.

These security measures have been long awaited. The new procedure locks out registered craigslist users and requires them to change their password. Then they have to be confirmed using a security code that they input on the website. It is sent through a US or Canadian number, and the user can choose either a voice call in English, French or Spanish, or an SMS with the code.

What this achieves is it authenticates that the user is an actual person, and not a computer, then, through the number to which the security verification code is sent, links that number to the account holder.

So, a scammer with no US number is effectively shut out of the system and those who pist multiple ads in many cities will easily be traced and can be banned from the website.

Expect a cottage industry selling craigslist authentication codes to take root.
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Paul Biya - Fru Ndi Friendship out in the OPEN! Kah Walla only opposition left in CAMEROON!

For many years, it has been suspected that there is some sort of friendship tie between Paul Biya and Ni Fru Ndi of the former opposition party, the SDF, that goes beyond the use of proxies.

This was confirmed during Biya's recent visit to Bamenda this week.

After keeping Mr Ndi and a bunch of Fons waiting for him under a tarpaulin, Biya finally got to shake hands publicly with the head of the SDF. With that single handshake, it became clear that the SDF is in league with the ruling regime's CPDM. The line has been blurred between the SDF and CPDM. Elements of both parties are now officially and publicly interchangeable.

Some backroom deals and concessions have been made. But what deals and at what price to democracy in Cameroon. The disenfranchised and those who hope for better access to clean drinking water or healthcare facilities must have been very saddened seeing the ease with which the former opposition party leader, Mr Fru Ndi, was tamed.

Kah Walla was right to have slammed the door in Fru Ndi's face. It took courage and foresight to do that. It is that kind of visionary leader Cameroon needs to move forward, and not people who cheer Biya on even after they have lost cherished ones because of the poor state of infrastructure in the country after 28 years of Biya's regime.

Fru Ndi and Paul Biya may enjoy the spoils of the wealth that rightfully belongs to all Cameroonians. But in 2011, that will all change. Each and every Cameroonian should register to vote. We need a young dynamic and articulate leader to point the country in the right direction.

Fru Ndi and Paul Biya have proven at last, they are one and the same, the hope for progress in 2011 in Cameroon now rests solidly on one candidate, Ms. KAH WALLA.

She will bring much needed transparency in government, tar the Ring Road, appoint a Rector for the Bamenda University, establish the deep seaport in Limbe and put an end to practices that continue under the Biya regime such as breast ironing of young girls or female genital mutilation.
"Run Kah, Run..."
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