The Effective Date of Cameroon’s Independence is October 1, 1961.
Professor Tazoacha Asonganyi, Lecturer
at the University of Yaounde I and former Secretary General of the
Social Democratic Front, SDF, is reputable for his straight talk. In
the following interview with The SUN’s Mbenju Mafany, at the
sidelines of a conference organised by the citizen association,
Cameroon O bosso, over the weekend in Douala, he delves into the
current debate created by protagonists and antagonists of the
independence and reunification anniversaries of Cameroon. He equally
highlights, amongst others, the plight of opposition parties in
Cameroon and the wobbling electoral system ahead of the 2011
presidential polls. Excerpts…
There is a current debate on the independence and reunification of Cameroon especially now that there are talks of fiftieth anniversary celebrations. Where do you stand?
Cameroon got its independence on two different dates. First French-speaking Cameroon got its independence on January 1, 1960 and English-speaking Cameroon got its independence on October 1, 1961, and there was effective reunification between the two Cameroons on October 1, 1961. We are saying that the world cry and that of other African states was that so long as part of Africa was still under colonisation all of Africa was still under colonisation. Thus so long as part of Africa is not yet independent all of Africa is not independent. Why not transfer the world cry to Cameroon so long as part of Cameroon was not yet independent on January 1, 1960, all of Cameroon was not yet independent therefore Cameroon was not yet independent. Therefore the effective date of Cameroon’s independence is October 1, 1961.
But Professor is there need for such an argument now?
Of course there is great need because there is an effort to wipe out the identity of Southern Cameroon that came into union with the Republic of Cameroon. To have the courage in 1984 to sign a law and change the name of the country from United Republic of Cameroon to the Republic of Cameroon is malicious.
Are you saying there is a problem with our history or should we simply blame historians?
The problem is on the part of politicians not historians. You know that by 1984 the ordinance of subversion was still in force and the ordinance was put so that you could not oppose whatever the government was doing. So it was like the person who signed the law was doing it single-handedly and no parliamentarian could stand up and challenge that. You know what happened to Mbida and others after independence when they wanted to oppose the one party system of Ahidjo. They went to jail and came out virtually in vein. So really it should be blamed on politicians.
How has this affected the evolution of the country?
It has affected the evolution of the country because it looks more like assimilation than unification. It looks like there is an effort to “Frenchify” Cameroon. Go and check how the North West and South West Regions are governed. There people give instructions in French and they do not even understand English. What type of integration is that?
So Professor what is the way forward?
The way forward is the national conference that in 1990 had no objective now has an objective for the discussion of our country’s fifty years of independence and an agenda for the next fifty years. You could attribute any name to such a conference but there must be a national dialogue to discuss what has gone wrong in the last fifty years, how we can move forward as a happy nation that can provide space for everyone to prosper during the next fifty years.
Next year Cameroon would be having a presidential poll. Do you envisage any change at the helm of the nation because it is apparent that President Biya would run again?
I do not see any change especially with the current situation. You know we have seen elections since 1992. We know that elections are just called elections in name and they are not elections. I share the view of the person who says that even if you put a western politician such as Tony Blair, Gordon Brown or even Barack Obama against President Biya under the present conditions in Cameroon they will all be crushed because there are no elections. The SDOs and Governors would say there is ELECAM now but it is just like talking to children because we know all that ELECAM stands for and what it is doing underground. It is like they are using us like children.
Are you insinuating that the opposition in Cameroon has no chance to conquer the regime in power?
They do not have any chance under this present condition. They did not have any chance in 1997 and 2004, and they will not have in 2011.
If you were to advise the opposition in Cameroon what would you say?
The opposition has not made any effort to mobilise its forces because there is still a lot of selfishness. They still stress people rather than causes. There is no big issue that is called change. There is no big caurse like it was put up in 1992, which was union for change, and the country was mobilised around the concept of change. Now we do not know what they want. This one says it wants this leader or that leader so they are putting the interest of men rather than the interest of causes. And if you cannot sacrifice your personal interest for a causse then you are wasting your time. If you cannot sacrifice the interest of your political party for a causse then you are wasting your time.
Talking about you and the Social Democratic Front, SDF, you did divorce with the party a couple of years ago. Is your separation from the party irreconcilable?
I was expelled from the SDF with Article 8.2 in 2007. I was expelled from the party. I said that I would not run for the position of the Secretary General of the party because I wanted to remain a simple militant of the party and carryout my party activities at the base and they gave me 8.2. So you want me to go back? Who has changed there? Is it the leader of the party or his stalwarts who were around him encouraging him that Asonganyi should have 8.2? Who has changed?
You have attended a workshop organised by Cameroon Obosso. They have an eleven point agenda on electoral reforms. Are these points realistic in a polarised country like Cameroon?
Yes they are. I told Cameroon O’bosso once that most of the issues they have raised now are things that were raised by the opposition during the tripartite and they were waved aside. I know that they would still be waved aside by the regime in place. But the country is moving ahead it is not standing still. So we should continue to build up these points so that if we have the opportunity to discuss about the future of the country concretely we would not go far to search for ideas.
Prof Tazoacha Asonganyi
