One sure thing about the anti-Biya regime campaign that`s being launched next week is it won`t be called "enough is enough with Biya regime" or No more Biya campaign.
Just as alternation has apparently become the forbidden word for " Biya is a guarantee for Peace in Cameroon" campaigners, a simple No or enough is enough with the corrupted regime or No more Biya is seen as too negative and even too disastrous for those who don`t want Paul Biya to resign from his position as the Cameroon`s longest serving Head of State to hold the post.
So, apart from an upbeat alternation is and could be possible slogan, what else should people in Cameroon expect when Ruefli Hafis and others launch the " Yes we can make it possible with alternation"?
Setting aside dark mutterings from some opposition comrades who are still uncomfortable about sharing a pro-Alternation platform with coalition politicians, the one plus for the no more with Biya campaigners is that it would be hard for their launch to be as big as a disaster as that of the " Only Biya is the guarantee for Peace in Cameroon" lot.
The RDPC and the opposition have both used showbiz and sporting supporters for their campaign. Endorsements from showbiz and sporting supporters are all very well. But allowing them actually to speak is way too risky.
Far away from home and with local connection, hopefully there will be some of those embittered, discontented and abused by the regime, hard-headed businessmen and women who have been around the block a couple of times and know how tough it is for a country like Cameroon to survive in an ever more globally competitive world.
Sure, Cameroon is capable of having an alternation. But at what cost and for what purpose?
What people in Cameroon need to heard next week is why Paul Biya is not the only one who can preserve the peace in Cameroon and also that after him, there will be a huge possibility for the country to move forward both in term of prosperity and national security.
An alternative to the present state is the best choice for over 19 million of people with more than 53% living in depth poverty.
On the economic front, Ruefli Hafis said that the journey to alternation would be " painful and uncertain"...
I’ve to thank Hafis Ruefli and Charles Atangana for this paper which gives a clue on the “Yes, we can make it possible with an alternation”. But quite sincerely, what is the meaning of an alternation in the case of Cameroon? Since this concept is unclear it makes it difficult for those not accustomed with political Micmac of Cameroonian intelligentsia to grasp the real intention behind the coming campaign.
ReplyDeleteFrom the depth of my mind and the memory of a Cameroonian from a working class background, remembering my talks with people from different background, I believe that Cameroonians are no more waiting for an alternation with Biya’s or like minded people. This regime deepened our fellow countrymen sufferings, damaged the external reliance of Cameroon hardly built by President Ahmadou Ahidjo during is relatively short reign of 22 years.
Our countrymen are sick of current political offer. They and our partners are looking for the spring of new breed of leadership that is able to align our beloved country in modern public service mastery proposing a fair and clear political spectrum with built-in alternation, fair competition for access to jobs and positions in the administration. They are looking for mean of their words, committed expressing a new vision. In addition, they are waiting for a cleaned economic arena whereby they can compete among themselves and foreign partners to harness the best of our land.
What they need, what we need is a simple alternative with new people and the best from the Biya’s decayed rule – Yes, I believe we can still find these people from the current chaos.
Having discussed several times with Ruefli about his commitment and concern for cameroon, I can simply guess that his intention was misunderstood. I therefore appeal for the sake of his initiative for better clarification.
Yes, together, we can make it!
Roger Yomba N., BS, MS, NEPAD Award 2004.