President Biya En Route for Life Presidency in Cameroun

By Innocent Chia
His Royal Highness the Fon & Sorcerer-in-Chief of Cameroon, Paul Biya and his surrogates surreptitiously submitted a bill to revise the constitution in favor of scrapping presidential terms in Cameroon. The bill No. 819/PJL/AN, submitted at the tail end of the week ending April 5th, 2008 to the rubbers tamp National Assembly that is controlled at over 85% by Biya’s ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement, also makes a new provision shielding him from indictment for any crimes committed during his tenure. In what beats any twisted logical premise, its cynical authors claim that the amendment, when passed, will strengthen the democratic culture in Cameroon.

Earnestly, it would be pretentious not to admit that the foolhardiness of Biya and his griots is probably stunning every political guru and pundit that is paying attention to next Rwanda of Africa – Cameroon. We all remember the deaths of over 100 Cameroonians at the end of February 2008; lives lost to police and military brutality at the behest of an overzealous and mandate-less executive that has deafened to the cries of the beleaguered masses that are sick and tired of Biya’s 26 years of empty promises, poverty, and are forced to live from hand-to-mouth. But the improbability of Biya featuring on 2011 ballot now seems like a distant dream for Cameroonians, generations of whom are condemned to live with the choices of hopelessness versus Biya – both synonyms.

We learned from sources at the Presidency of the kangaroo Republique du Cameroun that President Sarkozy of France may have pulled the trigger that is causing Biya to be hell-bent on modifying the constitution in order to eliminate any term limits. According to these sources, several screws must have loosened during Biya’s premier working visit with the new French leader on October 26th, 2007 because it is purported that Sarkozy reiterated to Biya that he would not favor any constitutional shenanigans to keep Biya in power past 2011. It is on the heels of this intimation that Biya gave an uncharacteristic interview with the French cable channel “France 24” in which he said that the “constitution does not provide room for another term for him in 2011,” slyly adding “not for the time being”.

His entourage is said to have been taken aback and surprised by this answer to the question asked by Louis Keumayou, President of the Panafricanist Press Association. If anything, the entourage considered it a slap to President Sarkozy who was attempting to tell the ruler what to do in his country. This is said to have galvanized the CPDM bigwigs into multiplying their “pleas” for their parliamentarians to review the constitution for a life presidency for savior Biya. What hogwash!

But even sadder is the fact that while the populace is still burying and mourning the dead, vampire Biya and his acolytes seem to be unflappable and could care less about what the overwhelming majority of Cameroonians think. After all, did they not turn the February uprisings into a simple bread and butter business? Are civil servants not happier now that they have a 15% increase in salaries? Who cares or can even compute the fact that the increase only covers a three year inflation rate at 5% a year? Did Biya not order a reduction of gas prices at the pump by a penny and are drivers not back on the streets merrily grateful for this show of generosity? What else do I want for Biya to do?

One thing is certain: Biya will die; which is a no-brainer that sounds like what someone who is giving up and surrendering to fate would say. But it is true and it is unfortunate that he cannot swap places on death row with me. Paul Biya has the power to decree whatever he chooses, or to coerce his stooge parliamentarians and knucklehead advisers into passing any bill to protect him. However, what he has no power over is that of seeing into it that what he has decreed will come to pass just as he pleases. This includes the new Article 53 of the proposed bill. Section 3 of the said Article stipulates that “Acts committed by the President of the Republic in pursuance of Articles 5, 8, 9 and 10 above shall be covered by immunity and he shall not be accountable for them after the exercise of his functions”.

In the words of those “Wise men” that crafted the proposal, I can certify to them that those who will then be in power will not lose sleep over revoking Section 53 on the grounds that it was “designed and adopted in quite particular post-crisis context”.

Innocent Chia
Citizen Journalist
Email: innochia@gmail.com