An open letter to H.E. Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon
August 18, 2011.
Your Excellency,
Accept my warmest patriotic greetings. Mr. President, the political controversy concerning the yet-to-be-announced presidential election and your candidature as incumbent, leaves us uncertain.
Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon
There is a popular saying that, “If you don’t do politics, politics will do you,” and this pertains to dialogue, agreements, disagreements, and voting. A friend of mine declared that politics are “all we have to help us as a nation, to live together in peace, harmony and be each other’s keeper.” That said, contrary to what some people may believe, I believe politics is not a bad, evil practice and a source of death for many, but rather, that it’s a social engineering tool which — if well managed — will enable us put in our best for the well-being of our families, our community, our nation, and the continent of Africa.
Mr. Paul Biya, some people call you “The Father of the Nation,” just like Nelson Mandela in South Africa is also regarded by most South Africans as “The Father of South Africa.” They are right because you, like many other Cameroonians of your generation, have done your best, according to the culture in which you were groomed, to make Cameroon a better place for us — the younger generation and generations to come. Of course, this was not a sacrifice since you were — and are — rightly remunerated for the job you rightfully applied for – the President of the Republic.
Mr. President, the main reason for my letter is not to tell you what is wrong or should be done to Cameroon, since you and I — like most Cameroonians in every nook and cranny of this great nation — are aware of. Instead, I am writing to you about some Cameroonians, who run to you, lavishing all kinds of praises and encouraging your candidature as if you were the only one who can be president of the Republic of Cameroon.
Mr. President, for almost three decades at the helm of this nation now, I think none of those who pour “motions of support” on you, asking you to continue this tedious and demanding task really care about you and Cameroon. These “motion of supportionists” pretend to love you, but most of them have built good countryside homes for their own fathers, asked them not to do any work, and employed house assistants for them, so that they could live as long as possible and enjoy life with their grand and great grandchildren. Yes, for that is what “love” means for someone like you, who has given his all for Cameroon. Cameroonians would certainly want to see you enjoy this kind of rest.
Mr President, Cameroon belongs to you and all Cameroonians too and, since the creation of the earth, we are told problems have always been part of us. Even some great nations have not been able to stay away from problems. Mr President, just like you, I don’t believe democracy is necessarily achieved through change of president nor do I believe it is achieved through staying in power for so long.
This early 2011, we have observed some younger presidents who have erased “dialogue” as a weapon that brings life and peace from politics and have chosen “violence” in order, according to them, to depose those who have stayed in power like you, as a means of bringing democracy in the world. Dialogue, and the power of ideas in which you strongly believe in is unable to bind us as a nation. This to me, is simply because we, as a people, with you as the conductor are unable to transform our rich debates which are animated by our intelligent and hard working brothers and sisters into a concrete, powerful and legal tool.
These “motions of supportionists” are destroying the image of our fatherland when they utter denigrating statements like “There is no single Cameroonian who can govern this country except Paul Biya.” Listening to them, one would think that for the 50+ years of independence, with all the educational structures, that you have put in place, the training you have given the younger generation, and even the so much freedom of speech you have promoted, are portrayed to the world by these “motion of supportionists” as mere façade and indirectly telling the world that as president, your reign has been unable to train a single Cameroon who can take over the destiny of this nation when you leave. I’m afraid they are making others to think that Cameroon will be privatised or governed as a trusteeship when you won’t be there.
More still, since they seem not to believe in nature’s call – death, one would think that they are carrying out deep research in the sciences of cloning so that, once nature plays its normal routine on you, they would clone another Paul Biya.
Mr. President, one needs no degree to understand that these guys are mere hypocrites. They pretend to be with you, meanwhile they are with the openings you provide them to illegally amass wealth and crumble the Cameroon that you have been struggling to build. Do you remember the story of Jesus Christ and His disciples? Remember that it was only one of His who sold him for 30 pieces of silver. When faced with a little dent, some of these disciples even denied ever knowing Him. Look at Ben Ali, Mubarak, and Ghaddafi, whose “motion of supportionists” chicken away and now call them criminals. These overzealous people have done this with the Charles Taylors, Hissene Habres, Mobutus and have used their names to commit all kinds of atrocities on honest and innocent citizens, not only by embezzling and extorting money from them, but by cold bloodedly killing them. These crimes are tagged on these leaders and today that they are in trouble, all their “motion of supportionists” are all into hidings.
Mr President, no one bewails for his country if he or she does not love sincerely. These guys who claim to love you more than they love themselves and their own fathers, will chicken out through the small door and join the next team when you are ‘voted” out. They will write all kind of books showing the world how you were the devil yourself.
Awafong Julius T - Outreach Coordinator, VoteSizing Institute, Yaounde-Cameroon VoteSizing.org
I believe a sincere and honest citizen believes in and promotes his country. I think we should promote “peace-work-fatherland” and not Paul Biya, for people and political parties will pass but Cameroon will stand. There’s is rather no assurance that after you, Cameroon will stand but you can make it stand, by not only thinking of going to rest, but by helping reform the democracy that can guarantee more equitable elections based on a weighted voting concept which I call “Votesizing” which is out to separate money from power, which is a means of crumbling the basement and pillars of government corruption.
Mr. President, look at this as a letter from a son to a son of mothers of Cameroon.
Once again, I would wish to express my appreciation for your concern about our great nation.
Yours sincerely,
Awafong Julius T
Outreach Coordinator, VoteSizing Institute, Yaounde-Cameroon
VoteSizing.org
