The Bamenda Congress Hall tells a story of neglect. Its walls are dirty, toilets are blocked, and some light fittings have fallen off, leaving parts of the 41-year-old building in a deteriorating state.
Yet, for the occasion, party fabrics and decorations covered sections of the ageing structure, temporarily masking its condition as the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) gathered to celebrate President Paul Biya’s 44 years in power.
The celebration also marked one year since Biya was sworn in for his eighth term as president. Party militants and officials, dressed in CPDM fabrics, converged on the hall for an event that focused more on the party’s political survival than on an assessment of the president’s four decades in office.
Philemon Yang, the CPDM Regional Permanent Coordinator for the North-West, chaired the event. Many had expected his address to highlight the president’s achievements, particularly his promises on youth and women’s empowerment, national stability and good governance.
Instead, Yang used the occasion to rally party supporters around the need to retain political control, particularly in upcoming local elections.
“We must win the next election because they are crucial for us,” he told the gathering, warning that losing local elections could cost the CPDM control of the Senate and other elective institutions.
He also defended the government’s decentralisation policy and the special status granted to the North-West and South-West regions, describing them as a comprehensive solution to the problems facing the two crisis-hit regions.
“Decentralisation and the special status constitute a holistic solution to the problems of the North-West and South-West regions,” Yang said.
However, he did not provide a detailed assessment of how these measures have addressed the concerns of communities affected by years of armed conflict, displacement, disrupted education and economic hardship.
The event comes as the CPDM seeks to consolidate its political influence in the North-West, where the Anglophone crisis has continued to challenge state authority and public confidence in government institutions.
Forty-four years after Biya assumed power in 1982, the celebration offered an opportunity to account for his administration’s record. But at the Bamenda gathering, the emphasis was largely on the number of years in office and the importance of keeping the ruling party in power, rather than a detailed account of what those years have delivered to the population.
Behind the party decorations, the deteriorating condition of the Congress Hall stood as a visible reminder of the gap between political celebrations and the state of public infrastructure in the region.