We have all been through it 20 times before. Like others, it is drab, empty and uncharacteristic of a state of the nation address of a reigning Head of State.

The speech opens with the now overplayed note of the threats that “loom afar”. But how far one is tempted to ask? Is the threat not right inside our own house? We no doubt have the luck that there are no shooting battles in our country, like we have all round us, but is this because of the absence of the injustices that lead to shooting battles elsewhere? History tells us that stability and lasting peace are dependent on the relative satisfaction and therefore on the relative dissatisfaction of all stakeholders in a society, with everyone having something, but nobody getting everything. Wars and crises arise not simply from the existence of arms but from clashing interests or the ambitious pursuit of unilateral interests by ruling regimes. Our nightmare now is that the dictum that the evil that men do lives after them, has caught up with several countries, and is most likely to catch up with ours. The late President Boigny never knew that his policies would lead to a divided Côte d’Ivoire after him; nor did Mobutu know that his one man show would lead to a fratricidal war in Zaire after his death…In life and power, they were proud to talk of the peace that reigned in their countries, and maintained a haughty spirit against the Opposition and other stakeholders, all attitudes that mark the Biya presidency! What is sure is that the judgement of the Biyas will be harsher, because they failed to read the lessons of history and so refused to be cautious of history’s fickle ways. One expected that with the evidence of conflict around us, the time had come for Mr. Biya to state with precision, not ambiguity, how he intended to face the challenge of defusing the future by tackling potentially explosive issues today. He had to go beyond generalities and detail some problems troubling the nation.

One of those problems is elections, which, we are told, were “conveniently organised”, safe for some administrative deficiencies! He invites Cameroonians to a reflection on the causes of the deficiencies in elections in Cameroon and claims that the results of the election show that Cameroonians endorsed the objectives of the CPDM and support its efforts! We all know that by law, after elections, the National Elections Observatory (NEO) shall draw up a general report on the conduct of the elections and forward it to the President of the Republic who shall publish it. Are these declarations of Mr. Biya based on such a report? After two NDI reports, one IFES report, one Commonwealth report, one Francophonie report, one report of the Representative of the UN SG, several Memoranda and Releases of the National Episcopal Council and several other local reports of the Opposition and Civil Society all spanning 1991 - 2002, and all detailing serious deficiencies in the electoral system, here is the Head of State playing the ostrich!! One would think that he is unaware of the seriousness of the problems posed by these acts of his representatives on the field, but his declaration that “we are acquiring a democratic culture which, while shielding us from adventures, is the surest guarantee of the stability of our country” indicates that he understands that the adventures and the instability all round us, are a result of defective electoral systems! Who does not know that our electoral system is a national tragedy and a political liability to our country. Mr. Biya tells us that his Administration has not always known how to adapt to the new democratic dispensation by maintaining a rather authoritarian attitude, but he seems to forget that the administrative officials he appoints act by his authority and in conformity with his orders; that their acts are his acts. One expected Mr.Biya, to unashamedly asked for compassion in the name of these his representatives, who, for whatever reason, did things wrongly. After all, we all hope that Cameroon will be there longer than any crisis. He, as Head of State therefore has the obligation to ensure that our faith in the country is maintained and is eternal.

In the past, he used to try to transfer guilt from himself and his representatives that maintain a repressive archaic administrative system, to the opposition and others who fight against the injustices of his system. I guess he now should know that the evil deeds of his Administration have become too serious to be bridged by declared intentions and eloquent phraseology.

Without telling us whether the dangers and threats he talked about recently in relation to decentralisation have been allayed, he informs us that “from the top”, he will embark on “the vast project of decentralisation” that will ensure “at the level of the local communities, a better participation of citizens in public affairs”. Why vast? Why such obviously empty declarations from someone who has replaced Mayors voted by the people with Government Delegates appointed single-handedly by him? From all evidence, a strong central government has since become a threat to the ability of the people to govern their own lives. In any case, one would have thought that Mr. Biya would have since understood that “states” are instruments at the service of the people and not vice versa; that the collective interest is what is called national interest. His foot dragging and pious declarations are only sings of the confusion characteristic of his regime.

There are too many generalities in the speech: our economic prospects are bright, the trend of our macro-economic situation is satisfactory, the situation of our public finances is improving, our exports lack momentum, there is inflationary pressure, the ensuing generation of wealth and creation of jobs, considerable efforts so that the vast majority of Cameroonians may have access to health and education, the most effective therapies have been made available to a vast majority of patients, information and prevention of AIDS has not been overlooked, the political system is well advanced…These are all platitudes of a Head of State who fears to present any statistics to back-up his declarations because the statistics will betray the serious failures of his regime. For example, according to the Centre for the provision of medicines (CENAME by its French acronym), anti-retroviral drugs (anti-AIDS drugs) are available to between 250 to 350 of the over 1 million AIDS patients. Further, in the Central Hospital in Yaounde, a study has shown that of nearly 1800 declared cases, only 63 have access to drugs for treatment! So which “vast majority of patients” is Mr. Biya referring to? Interestingly, the only figure he gives in the speech is the 5% growth rate touted by the regime for quite some years now. Although all expert analyses show that the rate is well below 5% (probably as low as 2%), the figure 5% continues to come up often, as if it is a factor of some magic formula. Yet, we are all aware that so far the government has been unable to come up with a convincing strategy for the reduction of poverty in Cameroon. These programmes comprise a number of time-bound and measurable targets like halving poverty by 2015, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal education to all. It is generally recommended that halving poverty by 2015 in a country like ours will require two-digit growth rates for nearly fifteen years! Assuming that the figure of 5% is right, will this take our country anywhere? The UN SG has said that to meet these Millennium goals requires “respecting human rights, democracy, good governance and other special needs of Africa”. Does this speech of Mr. Biya not tell us that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that Mr. Biya participated in adopting in the UN “will serve only as grim reminders of the human needs neglected and promises unmet” (to use the words of UN SG Kofi Annan)?

It is the role of government to provide an environment that liberates the forces of creativity in a country. Problems should be a challenge, not an alibi to a government; leaders are measured not only by their success but also by their striving. Mr. Biya, the reigning Head of State who is supposed to be the visionary and the prime mover proclaims: let us process our raw material, let us make our tourist sites known, let us grow profitable conventional crops on our vast expanses of fertile land, let us create small- and medium-size enterprises and industries in all provinces, it is urgent that a medium and long term energy plan be launched! In a state of the nation address, the Head of State should tell the country what the government has done in these domains. Is it not legitimate to expect this of somebody who has been in office for the last 20 years and is still in office? We are told that a comprehensive medium and long term energy plan should be launched so that Cameroon can develop an industrial fabric commensurate with its ambitions and at the same time, we are asked to create small- and medium-size enterprises and industries (that need lots of energy) in all provinces! We are told that the energy problems we are having are due to the lack of the foresight of his regime! Indirectly, he is telling those who have been blaming AES-SONEL about the regular blackouts, that it is the fault of his regime, not that of the authorities of the privatised company! In other words, those who want to organise demonstrations against AES-SONEL, should direct their demonstrations to Etoudi!!

It will be recalled that in October 2002 the SDF wrote to the CPDM inviting them to another round of discussions to explore avenues to perfect the electoral system in Cameroon, so as to ensure the registration of all citizens of voting age and greater freedom and transparency during elections. This was because the electoral process re-enforces the divisions in our country, highlights ethnic divides and prepares us for the sort of conflicts we see in countries around us. What we have in Mr. Biya’s speech is a veiled response to the invitation. We are told that those who are unsatisfied with the electoral system are also free to defend their rights through a judicial institution independent of political power and that the “loopholes” in the system give no justification for violent protests! Well, it has usually been said that many third world Presidents do not live in their countries; that they do not know the realities in their countries. This is obviously true of Mr. Biya! The trappings of protocol and blockades by a buffer of servants and sycophants make them unable to know the real world their people live in. But intelligent leaders have trusted informants who ensure that they know the realities in their countries. Either Mr. Biya lacks these or he wilfully refuses to tell the truth to the people. For a man who has such a tight grip on the judiciary to talk this loosely means that there is obviously bad faith. It looks like for Mr. Biya, gains of a victory in a massively flawed election override the loses that the nation incurs in political division and the threat of civil disorder. The larger interest of peace is of no interest to a regime to whom democracy has been the scarcest commodity during their long reign!

Mr. Biya admits in the speech that the adventures and the instability all round us, are a result of defective electoral systems. It therefore has the same effect like challenges to “our national unity” that can “pave the way for disquieting drifts”. The Memoranda from the Grand Nord, from the East and from within the CPDM are indicative of the fact that repeated leadership failures have emboldened a growing number of CPDM militants and sympathisers to shed their silent frustrations and speak out against the impending disaster the regime is preparing for the country. Is Mr. Biya playing the ostrich again with these Memoranda?

There is an important subject he failed to broach: corruption. For good reason because the fight is not succeeding at all. There is an absence of bold, selfless leadership at the top such as unambiguous refusal to be corrupt or to tolerate corruption at the nerve centre of national authority. When Mr. Biya leaves the country with his whole family accompanied by the teachers of his children and spends 2 months out of the country, this does not send a good signal to the citizens. When publishers of books said to be appropriate for our education system and put in the curriculum are seen fraternising and funding the NGO of his wife, this does not send the right signals to the citizens. When revelations about corrupt practices related to the privatisation of state corporations are made, like did my friend Celestin Bidzigui about CAMRAIL and other state corporations, it does not send the right signals to the citizens. When the special files sent to the Presidency by Mr. Garga Haman Adji about corrupt practices in state corporations remain untreated for all these years, it does not send the right signals to the citizens. There is no use pretending that we are engaged in a fight against corruption! The omission of corruption was by design!

Every leader of a nation wonders at times how he would be remembered in history. With this in mind, such leaders while in office, always know that it is better to aim grandly than to wallow in mediocre comfort. Our own has preferred this comfort, but with time, has discovered that enthusiasm and secret religious cults are no match for motivation and political vision. In the retrospective analysis of the end of Mr. Biya’s reign, there will be many vignettes, like his declaration to a French journalist that he was the best pupil of Mitterand, or his banter to another journalist that he would be remembered as one who brought democracy to Cameroon!

It might be appropriate to end with this advice of Mao (to Biya). “So many deeds cry out to be done, and always urgently. The World rolls on. Time passes. Ten thousand years are too long. Seize the day; seize the hour”. Another statesman once said that he knew what he wanted, and how to get it, and that because he knew what he wanted and what the others were capable of, he was completely prepared. One can only hope that Mr. Biya knows what he wants for Cameroon, and that he know what other Cameroonians want. If this were to be the case, we would have no reason to worry about the future of the country. But is it?

Yaounde, 4th January 2003.

Tazoacha Asonganyi
Secretary General of the SDF

The end