Fako Politics:

Understanding the Mayor Ekema Phenomenon

By Franklin Sone Bayen

The Mayor of Buea, Patrick Ekema is a veritable phenomenon

Patrick Ekema Esunge would not, by the figment of anyone’s imagination, be an Ambazonia advocate or sympathizer, would he? Yet, inasmuch as that is so obvious, sheer anti-Ambazonia sentiments is not what is driving the Buea mayor to multiply actions that leave Ambazonia partisans outraged. The Ambazonia Phenomenon has only raised a platform for a demonstration of the Ekema Phenomenon, a pretext for Ekema to make quite another point. And he seems to be having a field day, making his point and scoring points from his political hierarchy.

            It is easier to swim along with the popular brouhaha over Ekema. It makes sense to do so for an unapologetic advocate of the Southern Cameroon cause that I am. It makes sense, especially seeing the abusive actions he is piling unto his unenviable record: overzealous administrative sanctions, gun wielding, irrational sealing of businesses, academic fraud, lavish spending, etc.

            However, from my vantage point as a journalist with information not available to the madding crowd, especially those who have only come to know Ekema as a social media carricature, it behooves me to bring to notice what I consider the real motive behind the “Ekema madness”. To do this takes proffering analytic insights that only those not driven by populism can afford to express. I believe that others with perhaps better insights than me on the subject are too sucked and soaked in perpetrating or enjoying Ekema-bashing to bother to do the journalist thing to offer useful enlightenment.

EMBATTLED

            Never mind his apparent show of self-confidence; the Buea mayor is an embattled CPDM politician fighting a survival battle against his political opponents. He is the sworn political enemy of about every powerful Buea CPDM elite, especially M3, that is his predecessor now Senator Charles Mbella Moki, National Assembly vice president Emilia Monjowa Lifaka and former prime minister Peter Mafany Musonge. Not as if his detractors are great friends, but though they have their own political fights, they are united in one purpose – the Ekema Must Go campaign. Ekema is determined not to go; he is rather striving to grow.

To accede the municipal stool, Ekema only came back from a spell in limbo. As first deputy mayor under Mbella Moki in the 2007-2012/2013 mandate, Ekema had not been seen in his office for months if not years, over disputes with his boss. He only returned to city hall after Mbella’s election to the Senate, to complete Mbella’s municipal mandate. He subsequently obtained his own mandate (the current one) in 2013. 

            Though Mbella Moki was out of city hall, he still wielded enormous power as Buea CPDM section president which looked like a threat to Ekema’s hold on Buea. During the reorganization of CPDM organs in 2015, Ekema sought to become the new Mbella Moki of Buea, to add the local CPDM top job to his mayoral credentials; to cumulate both functions as Mbella Moki had.

            That signaled red to some of the most powerful Buea CPDM elite (M3).Should an “undesirable” mayor double as local party chief, he could become too powerful. It could consolidate the position of the mayor/party chief as a kingmaker for investiture of candidates for elective public office including himself. Who would have needed that more than the embattled, endangered Ekema? Conversely, succeeding to keep party office out of Ekema’s grip would be a sure step to jeopardizing his run for reelection as Mayor in 2018 or whenever the race held.

            However, a mayor presiding over a huge budget that provides him with the war chest for an electoral battle could easily carry sway. Obviously fearing this, M3 hatched a plot to stall Ekema’s plans. One of their tactics was to lure Ekema and Mbella Moki to agree not to seek party office. The so-called peace deal out of a stormy CPDM meeting held at the behest of M3 imposed a call on Mbella and Ekema to give room for a fresh face to emerge. Mbella obviously embraced the deal easily. Ekema did not. He found in it a distraction ploy and kept his eye on the ball.

            The mayor swung into action, energizing the base and mobilizing potential voters across the socio-cultural spectrum. At an unprecedented mass rally at Mile 16 that made waves for weeks thereafter, several lower rung party officials and traditional rulers openly declared support for Ekema.

            Buea was simmering with prospects of an Ekema electoral avalanche. Then, bang!The CPDM Central Committee rejected Ekema’s candidacy. No one was fooled. The M3 cabal had done it. They had succeeded to pull the strings to thwart Ekema’s ambitions. If none other, Musonge’s role at the helm of the party’s Disciplinary Committee a couple of years earlier gave him the pretext, if not also the clout, to influence such an outcome. Little-known Mafany Namange, presented as a puppet-vassal of M3 was propelled into office.

Three years down the road, Ekema has yet to come over it. He is obviously still bitter and persists in his demonstration of force at every opportunity to prove that, though cheated out of the race for office, he still wields power within Buea municipality and the party and he can fix and spoil whichever way it suits his interests. On the day of the installation of the Namange team at the helm of Buea CPDM, Ekema organized a simultaneous side event attended by several subsection officials who rather ought to have been at the installation ceremony. He has had occasion to stage similar “rebel” shows and has clearly proven to be fighting more to make an Ekema point, even when his actions may seem to be benefiting his political family.

BULWARK

            Ekema’sAmbazonia standoff could be his biggest way of breaking ranks with his well-placed enemies (most of them doing little besides lip service) and going solo to make an Ekema point. Defying threats to his personal safety, Ekema is engaging risky actions that should stand him out as the Buea bulwark Yaounde can count on to stem the Ambazonia tide banging around Buea shores. What with the symbolic significance an Ambazonia takeover of Buea would be?

            The euphoria around the Ekema Trophies will, in the eyes of some, further demonize the Southern Cameroon cause, as if what appears to be wrong in a cause makes wrong even what is right about it.  Or that the evil that a cause seeks to fix is necessarily made right by what is seen to be wrong in the cause.

            Inasmuch as Ekema is obviously resolved against Ambazonia for all the professed political and sociocultural reasons, see in the relish in his actions more of a craving to emerge as an indispensable strongmanwithout whom Buea would easily slide into the grip of marauding Ambazonia “terrorists”.

            Ekema’s high-risk defiant march to the Governor’s office on July 30, coming only the day after the hurried release of abducted Fako chiefs which he boasted was in response to his 24-hour ultimatum, only further legitimizes the mayor’s antics. True or false, the timing of the release favoured the mayor. That is what matters in politics. The raw, sometimes irrational courage he demonstrates makes him look like the Atanga Nji of the South West, though his “role model” has paid more lip service than personally braved as much as Ekema has.

            Tell me that when the time comes for CPDM investiture of its candidates for future elections, the Central Committee will again listen to Ekema’s political enemies, however well-placed, and kick him out of the race again as they did in 2015.

            Ekema the brave soldier (General Ekema) brought home a war trophy – the freed Fako chiefs. In corporate management, that is called Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Which KPJs shall Namange, Mbella, Lifaka and Musonge show to justify why they must be listened to in their new scheming against Ekema? And who shall they present as the capable one, besides Ekema, who will step out boldly where they have only as much as spoken mere words?

            That is the central motive for the Ekema hullaballoo – a craving for his personal deep endearment into the heart of Yaounde in exchange for protection againsthis predator Buea brothers.

•          The author, Franklin SoneBayen, can be reached at: (237) 677-897-167 / 693-693-881 or frankbayen@gmail.com. He is a United States Press Fellow, publisher of MEDIApeople newspaper, founder of CReAM, and initiator and administrative secretary of the Courage In Journalism Awards (CIJA)