Road Companion to Democracy and Meritocracy: Further Essays from an African Perspective

20. Mixed Signals of the Emerging Shape of Things

189 20 Mixed Signals of the Emerging Shape of Things F aithful watchers of our political thermometer would agree that the political temperature has been dropping towards normality in recent times. Among the factors responsible for this trend, the following can be mentioned: (1) the highly diplomatic contribution of some foreign missions towards democratisation in Cameroon; (2) the Social Democratic Front (S.D.F.) party congress in Buea during which the leadership of the party changed its usually highly confrontational tone to a more mature and mellowed one reminiscent of a credible shadow government poised and ready to take up the reins of governance; (3) the U.N.D.P. party congress in Ngaoundere during which the opposition made common cause and the S.D.F. and U.N.D.P. went into an alliance, backed by a public oath by Ni John Fru Ndi and Maigari Bello Bouba never to betray or let down the “Cameroonian masses; (4) Prime Minister Peter Mafany Musonge’s non-confrontational style of doing things which contrasts sharply with his predecessor’s hawkish approach characterised by a philofolly of back-scratching and obsession with l’autorite de l’état; (5) the government’s belated acceptance to open up the electoral registers to all eligible citizens under credibly fair conditions without the usual hide and seek and sundry magu-magu. If this trend continues, and if embezzled money, SOCAPALM oil and Korean rice don’t start flowing (awuuf get bone?) as polling day approaches, then we are poised for a real democratic break- 190 Road Companion to Democracy and Meritocracy through. (By the way if anybody sees where they are eating avwuf he should not rush to come and call me. I don’t believe in awuuf. I relieve in sweating for what I get. Foofoo corn is always very sweet after you have sweated very well). Such a break-through would be in everybody’s better interest (as I have never tired of repeating) including the hoodlums who have raped and wrecked our country and nearly ruined our lives. This trend offers an opportunity for the New Deal regime of His Excellency Paul Biya to ease itself out of its embarrassing office without any loss of face and without too many severe and serious consequences. The press or print media, both private and official has also made remarkable improvements in objective reportage and fair comment. I have once awarded a gold medal to La Nouvelle Expression for good investigative journalism on the CELLUCAM AFFAIR. It is my pleasure to pass on the gold medal today to our own CAMEROON POST, with a red feather for Charlie Ndichia, for its investigative story on the long-running and systematised fraud at SONARA. Don’t we now understand why the New Deal government stubbornly refused to bring the accounts of SONAEA and SNH to the open even under pressure from the IMF and World Bank? Prophets usually go without honour among their own members of the same household. So let me here also pat Julius Afoni on the back for his interviews which have a way of teasing out very remarkable truths and facts from his interviewees. It should, however be mentioned that in the trend under focus, the electronic media, alias CRTV is still lagging behind. In political news, the CRTV still has only the CPDM, WCPDM and YCPDM on its agenda, as usual. It is surprising that up till now they have not yet dementied that Ni John Fru Ndi went to Rome and met the Pope at the Vatican and shook his hand, discussed with him and received his blessing. This might indicate some positive progress on the part of the CRTV, albeit negatively conceived. I have followed some of the SDF primaries keenly and they are a great contribution to the democratisation process, in spite of the fact that a few camels seem to have successfully sailed through the democratic eye of the needle. What it all shows is that education and awareness at the grassroots about democracy and meritocracy is very essential in the process. Without such education and 191 Mixed Signals of the Emerging Shape of Things awareness, demagogy will always have a role to play and ordinary people will unthinkingly cast their precious vote for the fellow who offered them the last awuuf bottle of beer without calculating their middle and long-term interests. The S.D.F...