Recollections on Biya’s 33-year rule

33 years under President Paul Biya have been characterized by high and low moments
By Tanyi Kenneth Musa in Yaounde
Fright and excitement gripped Cameroonians on 4 November 1982 when Ahmadou Ahidjo announced his resignation as President of the United Republic of Cameroon over the 8 p. m. news of Radio Cameroon. But things went very fast. Two days later at 10:03 a. m., the young (he was just 49 years old), handsome and energetic Prime Minister Paul Biya, then his constitutional successor, was handed power at the National Assembly.
    Little did Cameroonians know about this simple, self-effacing, ex-seminarian son of a catechist who had done his higher education in France. In fact, for over 20 years, he had worked in different capacities in the administration as he grew up quietly in the shadow of his mentor (Ahidjo). 
  
Wind of change for 16 months
    These positive attributes of the new President were palpable in the first 16 months of his leadership. A veritable wind of change blew across Yaounde and Cameroon with the birth of the New Deal, the setting in motion of the democratization process, the liberation of political prisoners, the increase of civil servants’ salaries, the augmentation of scholarships for students, the institution of budgets for the health and education sectors, the rehabilitation of some great figures of Cameroon nationalism, etc.
    In 1983 alone, Biya gave interviews and conferences and went to different parts of the country, pulling crowds of enthusiastic Cameroonians who hailed and extolled him. In fact, the new President’s popularity had reached its peak.

The abortive coup of 1984
    However, President Biya’s actions were not going in the way of his predecessor whose close supporters felt orphaned and thus attempted to seize power in a bloody coup d’état on 6 April 1984. The coup was foiled and most of its perpetrators summarily executed. The barons of the regime saw Ahidjo’s hand in it, and tried and condemned the former President in abstentia.
    Since then, things have never been the same again. The snail (Biya) that had come out of its shell recoiled into it and has remained there ever since.

Forceful demands for reforms
    After the botched 1984 coup, the next major challenge that the President faced was the forceful demands for meaningful democratic changes made by Cameroonians in the early 1990s, thanks to the wind of change coming from Eastern Europe that was blowing across Africa. There was the ghost town operation in Douala, the demand for a national conference, for the introduction of multi-party politics and for university reforms. At the time, there was just one university existing in Cameroon – the University of Yaounde.
    As it were, President Biya resisted the demand for a national conference, which he described as “sans objet” (not necessary), but succumbed to the others. The 1990 liberty laws were passed, which led to the introduction of multi-party politics, and other state universities were created.

Economic crisis, 1992 presidential election
    The economic crisis, which saw the light of day in the late 1980s reached its peak in the early 1990s. The situation was aggravated in Cameroon by the embezzlement of public funds by many of the President’s appointees, but which he failed to take note of at the time. Civil servants’ salaries were thus slashed by more than half, causing misery in most Cameroonian households.
    By 1992, just ten years after he came to power, he had become so unpopular that he is said to have genuinely lost the presidential election of that year to the chairman of the opposition Social Democratic Front, John Fru Ndi. However, thanks reportedly to machinations orchestrated by the then president of the Supreme Court, Alexis Dipanda Mouelle, he was made to “steal” Fru Ndi’s victory. President Biya was later to consolidate his grip on power as he systematically put in place a powerful machinery that would ensure his victory in all future elections.

2008 nationwide riots
    Even more worrisome were the nationwide riots that took place in February 2008 as a result of the high costs of living in the country. The riots, which lasted for just a few days, paralysed the country’s economy in no small way. Many Cameroonians died during the riots while others paid for it by going to prison, notably the popular and virulent musical artiste, Lambo Sandjo Pierre Roger aka Lapiro de Mbanga of blessed memory.
    The President was forced, during the incident, to make an acrimonious address to the nation, referring to those he suspected of instigating the riots as apprentice sorcerers. Nevertheless, he gave in to some of the demands of the population. 

ELECAM, biometric registration
    The persistent call for an independent electoral board caused President Biya to set up Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) which many argue operates according to the dictates of the President who handpicked its members, most of whom were (are?) members of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) party.
After ELECAM was put in place, the clamour for biometric registration in elections was also heeded by President Biya.

Operation sparrow-hawk
    Perhaps what has excited Cameroonians most during President Biya’s 33-year rule is the spectacular arrest and detention of senior state officials – former ministers and directors general of state corporations – for embezzling state funds, in an operation code named “Operation Sparrow-hawk.” While some Cameroonians consider it good and most welcome, others say it is purely biased and meant to settle scores with some of the President’s enemies. The operation has slowed down tremendously, but it is far from being over.
    Under President Biya, Cameroonians are noted for corruption, false pretence, “feymania” and what have you? All of this has been linked – rightly or wrongly – to the harsh economic conditions the country has been going through. It is because of this deviance in attitudes that the international watchdog Transparency International classified the Cameroon as the most corrupt country on planet earth on two occasions.

Indomitable Lions’ high and low moments
    Other exciting moments during President Biya’s reign include those when the national football team, the Indomitable Lions, brought overwhelming joy to the collective heart of Cameroonians by riding roughshod over their opponents in Africa and even the world. In President Biya’s reign, the Lions have won the Africa Cup of Nations four times, reached the semi-finals of the World Cup and won the Olympic gold medal once.
    Their inspirational performances always caused the President to cite them as the best of examples as he called on other Cameroonians to emulate them. The President even had to adopt the lion symbol to frighten his opponents in elections.
    However, the Indomitable Lions have been a mere shadow of themselves in recent times. For this reason, President Biya no longer makes reference to them in his speeches. The female national football team are now calling the shots and making Cameroonians proud.

Routine activities, economic growth
    Rituals that have been identified with the President since he took office are his New Year and Youth Day addresses on 31 January and 10 February respectively as well as his constant travels to his hometown Mvomeka’a and to Geneva in Switzerland. Sometime ago, time he told foreign journalists that he rules Cameroon more comfortably from Geneva than Yaounde! 
    An inspiring thing about President Biya’s reign after all is that despite the hardship that Cameroon has been facing over the years, the economy is currently experiencing a growth of about 6%. This, perhaps, is what makes the President and his close ones believe that the hope of the country becoming emergent by 2035 would be fulfilled.