FIFTH ORDINARY NATIONAL CONVENTION
OF THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC FRONT
YAOUNDE APRIL 16 – 20, 1999.
WELCOME AND OPENING SPEECH
BY THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN NI JOHN FRU NDI.
Your Excellencies, Members of The Diplomatic Corps,
Distinguished Invited Guests,
Leaders and Representatives of Sister-Parties of the Socialist International and Other Friendly Political Parties,
Members and Sympathisers of the Social Democratic Front
Ladies and Gentlemen.
It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to Yaounde, the political capital of Cameroon on this occasion of the holding of the 5th Ordinary National Convention of our great party, the Social Democratic Front (S.D.F).
Before we start, I will beg all of you to stand and observe a minute of silence for the memory of our departed comrades and more especially for the memory of Dr John NGU FONCHA, one of the illustrious architects of our nation who has just departed from this world last Saturday 10th of April 1999.
May their souls rest in perfect peace !
From this high podium at the Convention Centre, perched on one of the seven beautiful and rolling hills that make up Yaounde, I wish to welcome everyone who has come here to encourage us, to cheer us up, to support us and/or to participate in what we want to do during these three days. Yaounde owes its name to the legendary hospitality of the Ewondo People and is derived from the word "ONGOLA" which in Ewondo means "fence". History has it that the Germans, the first colonial people to set foot here, lost one of theirs while coming from the Coast (Kribi). All the way, they were refused a piece of land to bury him. It is here that the chief of the Mvog-Ada, Chief ESSONO showed them a burial place. After burying their kin, the Germans erected a fence round the tomb. It is from this famous fence "ONGOLA" that comes the name YAOUNDE.
Thanks to that very hospitality, we find ourselves here today.
I salute Your Excellencies, Members of the Diplomatic Corps for having abandoned your exacting duties to be present with us here today.
I salute Leaders and Representatives of the Political Parties of the Socialist International Family who have travelled from every corner of the world to attend this Convention and to see for themselves how we are doing it here in Cameroon,
I salute the Members of the Social Democratic Front for their endurance and steadfastness to the task we set for ourselves on 26th May 1990 when we launched this Front for the Liberation of Cameroonians from the yoke of a crushing monolithic oligarchy that has held the Cameroonian People hostage and destroyed the very fabric of the nation.
I salute all Sympathisers of the Social Democratic Front for their day-to-day material and moral assistance during the nine tedious years of the existence of our party.
I salute all Cameroonians and every other person who has made it here today in response to our invitation.
I call on all of you to be witnesses to the decisions that will be taken at this Convention and to be Ambassadors of the Social Democratic Front where ever you go from here.
Permit me to especially salute the courage and determination of the People of the Centre and South Provinces who have in no un-mistaken terms refused to let barriers be erected to divide Cameroonians on the basis of language, ethnicity or political creed.
Thanks to them we are here today!!
Fellow Delegates,
Our friends have come from far and near to witness how we do it in our Convention. As they follow our deliberations, I urge all of you to conduct yourselves in a manner that will not only do us all proud but will reflect the Dignity that we have earned, the Maturity that we have acquired, the Honour and Respect that we have for our guests and for ourselves.
During this Convention, you shall be called upon to take far reaching decisions that will affect not only the life of our party but also the future of our nation.
You shall also be called upon to elect members into the highest Executive Organ of our Party, the National Executive Committee. So this is, amongst other things, an "Election Convention".
I do know that the simple mention of the word "elections" sends shock waves down the spines of all of us here because of the traumatic experiences Cameroonians have lived in all elections organised by the so-called New Deal regime.
But remember, this is an SDF election and as you know – our primaries for elections inside the party as well as for national elections have clearly demonstrated this – SDF elections remain an example of a transparent, free, fair and democratic electoral process.
You will therefore not be voting on subjective grounds. Competence must remain the watchword. Select men and women of timber and calibre; people capable of facing the daunting challenges which you will chart during this Convention; men and women of integrity; men and women that are up to the task of successfully taking the S.D.F. into the next millennium.
For quite some time now, our detractors have been peddling some confusing noises insinuating that the leadership of the S.D.F. has failed.
Let me say here loud and clear: If you, delegates sitting in here, are convinced that even I, Fru Ndi your Chairman, has run out of steam or has lost sight of the original purpose of our mission; if you sincerely believe or hold that the hierarchy of the S.D.F. has failed under my leadership, please do not return me to office on emotional grounds.
It would be unfair to the S.D.F. and unpatriotic to Cameroonians if you were to elect me out of mere sympathy for the fact that "This man started this thing, how can we throw him out now"? That would be very sad indeed ! Our Party needs a National Executive Committee that can take Cameroon out of the mess into which this corrupt and bankrupt regime has plunged it.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The burden of liberating the Cameroonian People from the shackles of dictatorship, poverty, misery and disease rests squarely on the shoulders of the S.D.F. This Convention should therefore enable us to give our party effective and appropriate support for this purposeful mission.
Let me use a local example: To me the SDF is like a plantain tree carrying a very very big bunch. Passers by stop to admire the big bunch of plantain. But very few think of the pressure on the plantain tree carrying that bunch. Even those who do think of the pressure on the tree might not know in which direction to support it when the wind blows. Some in the excitement might put their fork stick in the direction of the wind, thus causing it to fall. Whereas, the purpose of the support is to let the tree stand and bring the bunch to maturity. So, please support the SDF by choosing fork sticks strong enough to keep the banana-tree standing and by putting them in the right direction so that the fruit is harvested to be enjoyed by all. By choosing capable men and women to the National Executive Committee, you would have taken the first step in choosing the right fork sticks which our party so greatly needs.
Distinguished Guests,
Fellow Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The ears of all Cameroonians and indeed the whole world are now tuned to Yaounde; to this Convention Centre. They are waiting anxiously to know what will emerge from our work here.
Therefore, I need not bother you with a long speech. There is very serious work to be done. So, let us get down to business.
I welcome you once more to this Convention.
I wish you fruitful deliberations.
I hereby declare open the 5th Ordinary National Convention of the S.D.F.
GOD BLESS YOU
The end
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