Maurice Kamto, leader of the opposition Cameroon Renaissance Movement party (CRM), has urged the population in three northern regions to refuse the “worst” that the Biya regime has planned for them.
In a statement on Facebook, the CRM president who is hoping to contest the upcoming presidential election said the ruling party, the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM), is facing political emancipation.
His comments come amidst the resignation of the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, from the government.
After Tchiroma’s resignation, another Northerner, Bello Bouba Maigari, who is the Minister of Tourism and Leisure, equally declared his candidacy, breaking his long-time alliance with the ruling party.
“Recent political events have put the spotlight on the populations of the Northern Regions, which since the first pluralist elections in the 1990s have been viewed by the CPDM regime simply as a reserve of votes to adjust election results,” said Maurice Kamto.
The CPDM, he added, has never cared about the wellbeing of the northern people, except for a few positions allocated to a few elites.
He purported that the regime has neglected, forgotten and abandoned the Grand North in terms of security, infrastructure and energy; access to drinking water; education; health; and industrial development in this large geographical and human area.
“For years, we have been trying unsuccessfully to draw the regime’s attention to this disastrous situation, which is highly detrimental to national cohesion. Does the current regime not treat the people of the Northern Regions with condescension and contempt, only thinking about them at election time?” he questioned.
Abandonment of Ahijo’s Corpse Abroad
Amadou Ahidjo was Cameroon’s first president and hailed from the North. After falling apart with his successor, Paul Biya, Ahidjo fled the country into exile in Senegal, where he later died.
Since then, his corpse has never been brought back home for burial.
That, according to Kamto, is among the forms of stigmatisation that the Grand North has suffered under the Biya regime. Northerners are now standing up and taking full responsibility for their destiny, he said.
“After the trauma of the serious events of 1984 and the abandonment abroad of the remains of our country’s first president, Ahmadou Ahidjo, the conscious youth and the people of the northern regions in general are returning to the political arena and intend to bring all their weight to bear in the choice of our country’s leaders, particularly in next October’s presidential election,” he stated.
Sudden Change
As key northern allies cut political ties with President Biya, Kamto said this sudden awakening seems to have taken the ruling regime by surprise, which, due to its reactionary nature, sees only mistrust and insurrection.
To him, the regime is panicking and believes it can use manipulation and hate speech to create tension and even open conflict between socio-cultural and religious communities in the Northern Regions in the hope of curbing growing awareness and a peaceful political revolt.
Kamto claims CPDM militants online and in the press are promoting this project with impunity and could lead to violence.
“Has the ruling power learnt nothing from the unnecessary, deadly and destructive civil war that it irresponsibly provoked in the English-speaking regions of the North-West and South-West almost nine years ago? How far is the CPDM regime prepared to go to retain power? Faced with these hateful excesses, the potential consequences of which would be disastrous for the entire Cameroonian nation, I solemnly call on the ruling power to put an end to the dangerous game it is currently playing in the northern regions,” he said.
Call to Be Vigilant
He adds that the Cameroonians in this part of the country, regardless of their socio-cultural communities and religions, have long since found a balance and created the conditions for peaceful coexistence.
“Even if there are things to improve, wisdom must prevail, and the government should contribute, where necessary, to creating or improving the conditions for peaceful coexistence, instead of lighting a fire that could engulf this important part of our country.”
He, however, urged them that regardless of their political affiliations, they should give in to the shameful manoeuvres of an incompetent and disoriented regime that fears the electoral sanction of the people, who are now standing up and determined to be the sole masters of their destiny.
Historical Elections
Tensions are flaring up in the Central African nation as the presidential election approaches in October.
President Paul Biya is 92 years old, and his participation or non-participation makes the election unprecedented.
His party, the ruling CPDM, is losing allies as the National Salvation Front of Issa Tchiroma Bakary and the National Union for Democracy and Progress of Bello Bouba Maigari have pulled out of a long-time alliance.
