Open letter to John Fru Ndi and the SDF

Time for SDF to recover lost ground

Dear Chairman Fru Ndi,

As faithful witnesses of the political scene in Cameroon, we of this newspaper take upon ourselves to offer well-meaning suggestions to you, as you and militants of your party converge on Bamenda Tuesday to celebrate 25 years of the existence of SDF.
    We urge you and the SDF to use the occasion as a most welcome opportunity to climb back to the high political ground which you once occupied, so that from that vantage point you can once again respond to the reckless arrogance of the CPDM regime with power.
    We say this because politics is a power relationship in which the stronger destroys the weaker.
    It behooves us at this time to also wish you and the SDF a happy celebration on the occasion of your Golden Jubilee. We presume that you will use the occasion of the Golden Jubilee to address the burning issues of your party and those of the nation in general.
    Even as we address you these lines, we are not unmindful of SDF’s antagonism towards newspapers that demonstrate evidence of a dogged editorial independence. That notwithstanding, we rise above such petty considerations especially when it comes to the welfare of Cameroon for which both the SDF and The Median have always shared a common concern.   

    Such is the lofty standpoint from which we share the following thoughts and suggestions with you.
    We think that with the approach of 2018 Cameroon is on the threshold of a new era for which the SDF seems summoned by destiny to facilitate its arrival. We urge you and the SDF not to miss that golden opportunity which the Biya regime will thrust on you. Make sure Tuesday’s Silver Jubilee is the turning point in the chequered history of the SDF.
    Easily, the most gruesome event in the last decade of our history was the nationwide strike in February 2008 when the youths spontaneously and desperately expressed pent-up anger against the Biya regime in protest of long years of economic hardship endured by the populations that no longer believed in a future in their country.
    As anyone could see, it was hardship and hunger that led to looting, burning and destruction of symbols of economic prosperity and of a burdensome government. Jean Michel Nintcheu will confirm that political demonstrators do not do this.
    Paul Biya and his aides got it all wrong in reducing the strike to the activities of political manipulators.
    The strike demonstrated abundantly that the downtrodden masses, with their backs to the wall in their hardship, could rise like one man and face up to the regime. This is what we call ‘people power’.
    It takes only a call, Mr. Chairman, for this to happen again.
    As 2018 approaches, destiny summons you to action. Take advantage of the readiness of the nation and serve strong, firm notice to the regime now.
    To be blunt, in the last ten years or so the SDF has been more or less off track. The party has either contradicted its own policies or been complacently silent where it should have taken a strong stand on issues.
    Easily the SDF lost the leadership that was once so strongly its own, even on highly controversial issues like constitutional revision and the recent anti-terrorism law.
    In this regard we extend a strong and warm handshake to Jean Michel Nintcheu who demonstrated courageous leadership of the party in the Littoral and gave direction to the party on these issues.
    Yet we seize this opportunity to stateboldly that the Chairman failed to demonstrate the firmness that was expected of him in denouncing the anti-terrorism law. Those who listened to your remarks at the press conference in Yaounde rose from the conference room with a sense of disappointment. Many were unanimous in saying that the outing was a failed one by the Chairman; they said you did not sound like the Fru Ndi that they used to know.

That is why we hereby suggest that you adopt a new policy based on the following points:

a)    Make a thorough denunciation of the Biya regime as having failed to bring economic development, social justice and democracy in Cameroon.

b)    Condemn Paul Biya for plunging the country into acute poverty in which the populations live today. Remind Biya that he failed to provide leadership in the national crisis in February 2008. And to this day he has refused to apologize for the many Cameroonians who were killed during the strike
.
c)    Call on Paul Biya to resign forthwith as a result of his incompetence and that of his government.

d)    Declare the SDF’s outright rejection of ELECAM and call for a truly independent election management organ. Also strongly reject the anti-terrorism law and Biya’s continued stay in power.

Based on the foregoing we suggest the following decisions or similar:

1)    Suspend SDF’s continued participation in the National Assembly to weaken Biya’s boast that institutions in Cameroon are working.

2)    Declare a monthly programme of protest demonstrations across the country against ELECAM, anti-terrorism law, economic hardship, etc.

3)    Denounce the excessive constitutional powers of the president and dispatch a delegation abroad to lobby Cameroon’s foreign partners and expose the regime as simply incompetent and a failure.

    Yet, in the end it is Cameroonians who are directly responsible for bringing about change in their own country. It is a shame when we try to place this responsibility upon foreigners with the excuse that the opposition is weak.
    If the opposition is weak the force of people power can be made to support it. This cannot fail. What it takes is leadership. Events have placed that leadership on you and the SDF.
    We wish you and SDF militants a happy and successful commemoration.

Yours Sincerely,
The Editor

N.B: This is an adaptation from an open letter that the editor of The Herald addressed to Chairman Fru Ndi in 2008, following the deadly nationwide hunger strikes that year. Fru Ndi was falsely accused by the government of instigating the riots.