90-year-old Biya is marking today (Nov. 06) his 41 year-rule over the divided Cameroonian nation.

Last year, thousands gathered in Yaoundé, for the occasion but the president did not attend.

Paul Biya, a former Prime Minister, took the reins of Cameroon on November 6, 1982 following the resignation of the country’s first president Ahmadou Ahidjo.

Many voices within the ruling CPDM crime syndicate have already called for him to vie in the 2025 presidential election for an 8th, 7-year term.

Critics of his regime, however, wore black on Sunday. Some cited corruption, bad governance, and an ongoing succession battle.

Biya who celebrated his 90th anniversary last February is Africa’s second-longest serving leader.

Under him, Cameroon has faced challenges in recent years that range from a secessionist movement in the country’s English-speaking regions to the threat in the north posed by Islamic extremists aligned with the Nigeria-based Boko Haram group.

Paul Biya last won a presidential election in 2018.

Source: Africa News

A delegation of the Communist Party of China led by Wang Junwei, director of the Academic and Editorial Committee of the Institute of Party History and Literature of the CPC Central Committee, visited Cameroon from Saturday to Tuesday.

During the visit, the delegation held meetings with Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Theodore Datouo and Jean Nkuete, the secretary-general of the Central Committee of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, elaborating on the Chinese path to modernization and China’s policy toward Africa.

The two sides also exchanged views on the implementation of the important consensus of the two heads of state and on deepening relations between the two parties and the two countries.

The Cameroonian side expressed its willingness to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with the Chinese side, draw on each other’s strengths and explore the path to modernization suited to its own national conditions.

Source: China Daily

Joshua Osih was elected Sunday, October 29, president of the Social Democratic Front (SDF), said this party, which is one of the two main opposition movements in Cameroon, a country led unchallenged for more than forty years by Paul Biya.

Mr. Osih, 54, until then first vice-president of the party, succeeds John Fru Ndi, who died on June 12 after having chaired the SDF since its creation in 1990. The SDF is the first opposition movement represented in the National Assembly with 5 seats out of 180 in a chamber largely dominated by the party of President Paul Biya. At 90 years old, the latter is regularly accused by the UN and international NGOs of repressing the opposition in this vast Central African country of nearly 30 million inhabitants.

Mr. Osih was elected with 62% of the votes of SDF activists gathered in congress against two other candidates, Jean Takougang, member of the party’s electoral commission, announced to AFP. John Fru Ndi had long been the main opponent, very close to winning the presidential election in 1992 with nearly 36% of the vote against nearly 40% for Mr. Biya. But in recent years, the SDF has lost ground, going from 43 deputies in 1997 to only 5 in 2023.

“Violation of human rights”

During the 2018 presidential election, the SDF recorded the worst score in its history, with Joshua Osih receiving only 3.35% of the vote. It was the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (MRC) which then positioned itself as the leading opposition party, its leader Maurice Kamto winning 14.23% of the vote against 71.28% for Mr. Biya.

In June, Amnesty International accused the government of “violation of human rights”in particular by imprisoning “arbitrarily” opponents, civilians, journalists, civil society leaders and by having them judged by military courts, invoking acts of “terrorism”.

Mr. Kamto was imprisoned for nine months without trial in 2019 for peaceful protests against the government and was only released after international pressure. The MRC has no elected representatives in the Assembly because it boycotted the 2018 legislative elections.

In 2019 and 2020, nearly 700 MRC executives and activists were arrested like Mr. Kamto, during and after “unquestionably peaceful marches” but “objects of violent repression”, had accused experts mandated by the UN in November 2022. The majority were released after eight months of detention without trial but forty-seven were sentenced to prison in 2021 by a military court. Forty-four are still imprisoned.

Source: AFP

On the evening of Oct. 4, two frightened-looking middle aged men in T-shirts were forced by armed men to sit on the ground in the middle of a village square in Guzang, in North West region of Cameroon, one of two main English-speaking regions in the predominantly Francophone Central African country.

The two men were alleged to have been spies for the national Francophone-led government. In a video seen by Semafor Africa, and shared widely on Cameroon social media in recent weeks, the men were lined up and executed by a firing squad in front of a small crowd of villagers. The execution has been claimed by the armed wing of the Ambazonia Governing Council (AGovC), a separatist group.

That moment of almost casual, coldblooded violence earlier this month is a dark reminder of one of Africa’s low profile but seemingly intractable armed conflicts taking place in Cameroon’s English-speaking North West and South West regions, which the separatists refer to as an independent state called Ambazonia.

The battle has also moved to Washington DC’s K Street, infamous for its expensive lobbying firms. Houston-based separatist leader Chris Anu confirmed to Semafor Africa that, on behalf of the “Federal Republic of Ambazonia,” he had contracted the lobby firm Scribe Strategies, led by veteran Washington player Joseph Szlavik, in a bid to make their case to key Africa watchers on Capitol Hill and at the United Nations.

“La Republique du Cameroun [government of Cameroon] is in the habit of saying that it doesn’t know who to talk to in Ambazonia,” Anu said. “By hiring a lobbyist, we are saying to LRC that they now know who to talk to and how to reach us.” He said the separatists will be speaking with “one voice” in conducting future negotiations or referendum matters via the firm.

Know More

Cameroon’s armed separatist conflict has claimed the lives of over 6,000 people, displaced 630,000 internally and a further 88,000 as refugees to next-door Nigeria. Its roots lie in Europe’s imperial past. In 1884, Germany annexed swathes of independent kingdoms in Central Africa to form a colony it named Kamerun but lost it after World War I to Britain and France which partitioned the territory.

In the 1960s, some in the British territory wanted independence by forming their own state, and not by joining neighbouring Nigeria or the already independent French Cameroun. However, they were not given that third option under a U.N.-organized referendum. This has bred frustration and secessionist agitations ever since. In 2016, protests against the imposition of French language officials in English-speaking schools and courts sparked protests and strike action by lawyers and teachers. But things turned violent the following year.

Amindeh’s view

For the past seven years, the lingering Anglophone crisis has attracted little global attention aside from the odd headline, presumably because it doesn’t significantly threaten the interest of major foreign powers.

Much of the battle is being fought on the ground and also on social media platforms with separatist activists and pro-government operators taking turns to spread propaganda.

It’s important to note both sides in the crisis have been spending in the U.S. to fund a lobby war. Since the conflict erupted, separatists told us they have contracted at least two lobby firms, Foley Hoagg and now Scribe Strategies & Advisors. The government for its part has used several lobby and PR firms on a variety of matters. They include Glover Park Group, Clout Public Affairs, Mercury Public Affair and Squire Patton Boggs.

It seems the conflict has descended into a stalemate with both sides hoping that the other will get exhausted and give up. As Arrey Elvis Ntui, a senior analyst for Cameroon at Brussels-based International Crisis Group, put it, the conflict has outlived narrow efforts made by the government and Anglophone separatist groups in the last seven years. “What could change the scenario is the parties doing what they have so far failed to do: discuss an end to hostilities and a political solution,” Ntui posited.

Room for Disagreement

Cameroon’s government insists that the socio-political upheaval in its North West and South West regions is an internal affair which it has under control. When the Canadian government announced early this year that Cameroon’s leaders had agreed to enter a peace process facilitated by Canada, Yaoundé was quick to issue a rebuttal. “It is first and foremost up to the Cameroonian people, to the institutions and leaders that have been freely chosen, to seek appropriate ways and means to address problems facing our country [Cameroon],” it said in a statement.

The View From Buea, South West Cameroon

Dr. Suh I Fru Norbert, a political scientist and conflict resolution expert at the University of Buea in the South West region, said nothing substantial had changed since the shock of the executions. “In a situation of asymmetric warfare, it is common for fighters to make sporadic appearances of the sort to remind the enemy they can still do something…However, what appears as a puzzle is to see such a mobilization at a market square in the day without the presence of conventional security forces,” Norbert told Semafor Africa.

Culled from News.Yahoo

Former Secretary General at the presidency of the republic Professor Titus Edzoa expressed his willingness to lead a transition government in the event President Biya agrees to step down.

Edzoa, however, maintained he will not support another mandate for President Biya in the next presidential race.

Professor Titus Edzoa told Equinox TV that any change in the government should be made under constitutional processes.

“Should there be a transition government and I am asked to serve the Cameroonian people solely for transition purposes, I would agree to lead,” Edzoa said.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The Cameroonian government has put in place the system of “divide and rule”, which makes attempts by the country’s military to overthrow President Paul Biya impossible, a Catholic peace entity has said, allaying fears of “a possible coup” in the Central African nation.

Following recent military coups in Africa, particularly the July 26 one in the West African nation of Niger that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum from power, and the one in the Central African nation of Gabon on August 30, which resulted in the ouster of President Ali Bongo from power, the 90-year-old Cameroonian President reportedly made significant changes in his military, reshuffling the country’s defense delegate to the presidency, the staff of the air force, the navy, and the police.

According to Denis Hurley Peace Institute (DHPI), which has presence in Cameroon, the Central African country’s citizens are calling for the forceful removal of President Biya who ascended to the presidency through a coup d’état in 1982.

According to the peace entity of the Southern Africa Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Cameroonians are congratulating Gabon and have “unanimously called on the military leaders of Cameroon to follow suit.”

A coup in Cameroon, DHPI says, may be an uphill task for the military who have been divided into various groups, and an animosity created among them.

“It must be noted that Paul Biya, who has been the ruler of Cameroon since 1982 had diversified the Armed Forces in the country as a preventive measure for a possible coup,” the peace entity says.

Having suffered a failed military coup in 1984, Biya is said to have wasted no time in creating many arms of the military. In this light, the country has the Gendarmerie, the Regular Army, the National Presidential Guard and the Rapid Intervention Brigade widely known by its French acronym as BIR.

“With this diversification of the Armed Forces, Biya has used the tactic of divide and rule as some arms of the military are given preferential treatment to the detriment of others, for example the BIR is supposedly the envy of the Armed Forces in Cameroon,” DHPI says.

The SACBC entity says the diversification of Cameroon’s Armed Forces, coupled with the recent adjustment in command of the top brass of Defense Sector “has canceled out any possibility of a military coup taking place in Cameroon any time soon.”

“Paul Biya will continue wielding power until a different strategy is devised to unseat him”, the Catholic peace entity reports, adding that President Biya’s early years in office had been “tarnished by tyranny and breaches of human rights.”

Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Chad, Sudan, Niger and now Gabon have all faced the upheaval of military takeovers over the past three years, removing democratically elected presidents.

Culled from aciafrica

A Nigerian Lawyer and Former Chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu has alleged that the Cameroon President, Paul Biya did not campaign in the last election and was strangely announced the winner. He said in an interview with Arise TV news that the democratic choices of the people in Africa have become strangulated recently. He further argued that the crisis of elective governance in Africa is crisis of interminable Presidencies.

He said, ”When government makes it impossible for people to exercise that option to renew that legitimacy properly, then the democratic choices become strangulated. And that is really what you have in many countries.

Paul Biya did not campaign in the last election in Cameroon and he was announced the winner. And anyone who looked at Paul Biya the last time he appeared in the United States will feel sorry for him. Because nobody should be exposed to the kind of indignities that he subjected himself to as an old man.”

Source:  Opera News

The National Chairman of the ruling CPDM crime syndicate in Yaoundé has condemned the recent coup in Gabon that ousted sit-tight leader, Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Paul Biya, one of the longest-serving dictators in Africa has ruled for 41 years.

A statement issued by the Minister of Communication, René Emmanuel Sadi, on Thursday, said, “The Government of Cameroon has taken note of and is worried about the events that occurred in Gabon on 30 August 2023.

“It condemns the ongoing anti-constitutional change of Government which violates the fundamental principles and values of the Economic Community of Central African States and of the African Union.

“It calls on all the stakeholders to ensure the physical integrity of President Ali Bongo Ondimba and members of his family, the rapid restoration of constitutional order, and the preservation of peace and stability so dear to the sons and daughters of Gabon and the other Central African countries.”

The situation in Gabon reportedly forced Biya to make new appointments at the Defense Ministry’s central administrative unit.

Biya has ruled as the President of Cameroon since November 6, 1982, having previously been Prime Minister of Cameroon from 1975 to 1982.

With the latest coup in Gabon on Wednesday, Africa has experienced eight coups over the last three years, since August 2020 which is good news for the suffering new generation.

By Chi Prudence Asong with additional reporting from Ewang Miriam Metchane

The war in Southern Cameroons is demonstrating that there appears to be widespread concerns that something fundamental is wrong with the union with French Cameroun not only in terms of perceived political marginalization, but also in terms of socio-economic exclusion and ensuring justice in all spheres.

Few including Prime Minister Dion Ngute and the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji maintain that nothing is wrong with the Republic of Cameroon and that all what is required is attitudinal change on the part of the political leadership.

For Southern Cameroonians, the United Republic of Cameroon experience simply needs a rebirth, a fundamental rebirth. While there appears to be widespread consensus about the need for separation in Ground Zero, there is a lack of consensus on the type of rebirth and the process of bringing about the desired change that will keep the two Cameroons together. Convening a Grand National Dialogue was advocated as one of the steps to be taken towards an attempt at fixing the problem with the two Cameroons.

Prime Minister, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute now thinks that much progress has been made in the implementations of the recommendations of the Grand National Dialogue.

The pro Yaoundé Southern Cameroons political elite was addressing members of the committee charged with the follow-up of the implementations of recommendations of the Grand National Dialogue during their fifth session on August 11, 2023 in Buea.

According to Mr. Dion Ngute, President Biya has signed a couple of decrees and implemented many recommendations of the National Dialogue.

Dion told members of the corrupt CPDM committee that “Basic infrastructures are being rehabilitated; special funding was allocated in the 2023 finance law for the construction and development process. The funds were increased following the recent amendment of the said law signed by the Head of State. Major infrastructures such as the Limbe Deep Sea Port are ongoing; a lot of work has been done there.”

On a lighter note, Dion Ngute recommended that; “We therefore have to continue in our efforts towards a complete return to normalcy by maintaining our focus and believing on the commitments, to fulfill the aspirations of our people.”

The secretary general of the committee, Felix Mbayu, spoke on what has been achieved in terms of infrastructural development, employment and agricultural productivity.

The Grand National Dialogue can never be an automatic solution to the problems in Southern Cameroons. It remains a Francophone scheme designed to attract ordinary Southern Cameroonians to relate with Yaoundé.

We of the Cameroon Concord News Group think that Prime Minister Dion Ngute is part of the French Cameroun retrogressive force using the so-called Grand National Dialogue to take Southern Cameroonians backwards.

Prime Minister Dion is indeed a good example to demonstrate that practice does not make perfect.

By Asu Isong

London Bureau Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group