34 years of Biya: What balance sheet?

 By Tazoacha asonganyi, Yaounde
Humans in their early age enjoy youthful exuberance and the ability to dare, and to test the many fresh ideas they always have. They work hard, get old by the day, lose the excitement of action and the energy of youth, and by the law of nature, eventually “retire” from active service and rest. This is true of all human institutions. They can age as the persons that incarnate them lose the excitement of action and the energy of youth and fall into complacence. For these reasons, political parties, countries and other human organizations need to renew leadership and strategies regularly or they easily fall into decrepitude.
    Competition is a force that keeps human effort alive, especially when everybody is playing by the same rules and everyone’s effort is rewarded in equal measure. Political parties compete for votes. Regions or states compete in bringing welfare to their people. Countries or flag-bearer companies compete for placement of their goods and services and sometimes manpower in the world marketplace. The countries that do not promote competition at all levels, or do not renew leadership regularly to keep it youthful, creative and innovative, have only themselves to blame for their backwardness and the generalized poverty of their people. It is the same with political parties. In 30 years, the CPDM, the party that has managed the affairs of Cameroon during that timeframe, has left us with an environment that does not promote competition, and is destructive of liberty and the creative and innovative forces of the individual.
    During the 30 long years, the “successes” and “achievements” lined up by the party are mainly on paper, with nothing concrete to show, whether in democracy or economic development. A trip down memory lane will surely show their perpetual leader rubbing shoulders with all types of world leaders, but he will be found nowhere inspecting a new production plant, supervising the construction of a flyover, inaugurating a six-lane road, cutting a ribbon for some cutting-edge made-in-Cameroon good or service to hit the market from some strategic “emerging” industry or some ivy-league institution..

    For the 30 years, the state has been manned by the same CPDM party apparatchik. State affairs have been run by the same people who have done the same thing the same way, over and over again, and doggedly refused all renewal, innovation and change. All that stares at them at 30 is emptiness against which a 1000-billion FCFA umpteenth “emergency” plan recently emerged from the blues! Of course, they can also show several of their barons that are in our prisons because they served themselves generously from the public purse. If as a gift of the anniversary Cameroonians were to be given information about Cameroonian foreign account holders and certain details regarding their deposits and balances during the 30 years, we would easily confirm what we all know – that the population of corrupt CPDM officials in prison now is just the tip of the iceberg. After all, their leader abhors article 66 of the constitution to check corruption, since it was put there not to protect our common wealth, but to placate foreign interests.
    In 30 years, the party has left us with many unfinished battles. Of course, the unfinished battles are not those linked to the saying that in politics, no fight is ever finished. Such a saying is in reference to the self-conscious debate of society on itself; to society’s continuous questioning of itself. It is based on the understanding that democratic society can never come to some arrangement where participation and debate are no longer necessary; on the understanding that democratic society is only possible within a political framework that is open to challenge and change.
    The unfinished battles the CPDM has foisted on us include the failure to settle on a constitution that defines enduring principles that serve general, not partisan interests; failure to adopt an electoral system that is not amenable to manipulation by factions; failure to institute a contracting system based on the public/sacred trust bound by unshakable commitment to, and fulfillment of the Public Interest; failure to institute an education system that develops human dignity and provides talents and skills to power national competitiveness; failure to promote a Cameroon union that respects and upholds the cultures and traditions of the uniting parts; failure to integrate the sacred nature of the rule of law in all societal transactions, etc. In speeches, declarations and slogans, they will tell you all these battles have been won and laid to rest, but that is very like the CPDM!
    They have usually justified some of these unfinished battles with the excuse that democracy is a learning process; that Rome was not built in a day.      Therefore the “mistakes” and “failures” and “steps” that we present as unfinished battles are just part of the travails of democracy! They have therefore been quite comfortable sitting around and doing nothing. In this, the CPDM does not seem to know that unlike the industrial revolution that took some 100 years to settle down, the “new” industrial revolution of today is happening in a hurry, in a flash, and needs all our own attention. They do not seem to know that their failures distract us from engaging in more challenging battles.
    In an age when new technologies and globalization are only pulling peoples apart along ethnic, religious, historical and nationalistic lines, their excuses of  Rome-not-built-in-a-day pose a threat to the future “peace and stability” of Cameroon.
    It is a misfortune for Cameroon to be burdened by a political party that stood still chanting slogans and intentions, and embezzling public money to produce billionaires within their ranks.     To make matters worse, while they indulged in their antics, the world moved on with heightened creativity, innovation and change, powered by continuing rejuvenation that infused energy and knowledge into governance processes to bring progress and happiness to beneficiary peoples.                 Unfortunately, the signs are that we shall continue to live with their quibbling and gaffs, with the slogans, motions and intentions, and the haggling for the spoils that will surely follow the changes that must occur sooner than later. In the meantime, opportunities will continue to pass us by.