At MRC elective convention: Opposition drums fresh coalition to unseat Biya.

The leaders of the various opposition political parties took turns Sunday to call for the coalition at the elective convention of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement, MRC, which began late Saturday in Yaounde.

Previous attempts at opposition alliances, it should be noted, have fallen apart due to infighting and regional differences. 

However, the new coalition in gestation will be tested when members come together to pick a candidate for the 2025 presidential election.

Earlier before the political leaders took to the rostrum, delegates at the MRC elective convention had overwhelmingly re-elected Prof Maurice Kamto, as national president of the political outfit.

The veteran politician was re-elected unopposed. He secured 99.23% of the total votes cast. His Secretary General, Barrister Christopher Ndong, was also retained unchallenged. 

Paying bride price for victory

When Prof Kamto took to the rostrum, he first thanked delegates for converging on Yaounde massively to participate at the convention.

He rejoiced that, despite the road blocks, allegedly mounted by the Biya regime, the gathering was holding hitch-free. 

“When I look at all of you rallied here at this time of the night, how can I not be excited?”, he questioned rhetorically.

“They obliged (referring to the Biya regime) us to start our convention at night. Well, we can never forget that in our culture, we pay the bride price of a woman only at night. This night, we are paying the bride price for our victory. We wouldn’t leave this house which we have come to pay bride price without getting victory,” he told a large crowd of his supporters at the Yaounde Conference Centre.

Huge crowd of MRC supporters attending convention 

Need for coalition

When well-known anti-Biya critic and Member of Parliament, MP, Hon Jean Michel Nintcheu, who leads his Front for Change in Cameroon, FCC, party mounted the rostrum, he immediately called on opposition parties to rally behind Kamto as their candidate of choice in the next presidential poll.

The outspoken politician expressed concerns about the country's political and social situation, criticising the SDF leadership and its lack of response to the Anglophone crisis. 

Hon Nintcheu asserted that the current regime is on the verge of collapsing, before calling for support for the candidacy of Kamto, whom he likened to the late Ni John Fru Ndi in the 90s.

“Cameroon is on autopilot”

Turning to the issue of the day, the Douala-based politician, told Kamto and his followers that the third convention of the MRC was being held within a special context. 

He sarcastically stated that the convention was holding at: “A context of the end of a reign in which President Biya will be 91 in less than three months. A context in which decisions affecting the life of the nation are taken in the morning and reversed in the afternoon. A context in which Cameroon is on autopilot, due to President Biya's inability to govern, with camps clashing fiercely for control of power”.

He insisted that the said chaotic situation “must be a wake-up call. The forces of change must be ready. Anything can happen at any time. The presidential election can be anticipated. That's why we need to be ready, day and night”.

“Mr. President, I ask you here and now to be ready, duty calls,” he urged Kamto. 

Call for united patriotic force 

Nintcheu told the Yaounde rally that he has launched a patriotic appeal for the coming together of the forces of change, in order to build a real dynamism around the person who best embodies the opposition to unseat President Biya and his regime.

He said: “In any case, the questions that every political leader and every Cameroonian committed to the ideals of change must ask themselves are the following: Who objectively best embodies the opposition in Cameroon today? Who gives President Biya and his regime the most sleepless nights? Which political party's public demonstrations, with a few exceptions, are systematically banned? Which political leader is the object of a veritable obstacle on the part of the dictatorial regime in Yaounde? That person is you (referring to Kamto)”.

“…this dynamic must be built around you. In fact, the Yaounde regime itself has designated you as the man to bring down and as its most credible adversary!” he told Kamto.

Kamto legitimate coalition candidate 

Nintcheu described Kamto as the legitimate candidate of the true opposition and the people of change.

“I must confess that I am pleasantly surprised and impressed by the extremely powerful echo of this appeal among our people, both at home and in the diaspora. I have also noted some reservations on the part of certain leaders concerning the timing. Some criticise me for going faster than the music. To these, I say, with my 33 years' experience of political struggle in Cameroon, that we must not repeat the mistakes of the past,” he continued.

Why Kamto is choice of opposition

Speaking on the choice of Kamto as potential leader of the coalition, Hon Nintcheu recalled that: “The only time an opposition candidate has won a presidential election was in October 1992, when the Union for Change candidate, the late Ni John Fru Ndi stole victory from President Biya. Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi was nominated as the candidate of the Union for Change before being invested by the political party he chaired”.

He said: “I have the honour and privilege to indicate here in this room that I was one of the major players in this move as president of Labour Movement, RAP party. How could I forget, President, as a young university professor at the time, that you played an important role in the dynamics of the Union for Change, taking an enormous risk for your future academic career, which seemed all mapped out”. 

“I still remember your memorable speech at the Union for Change candidate's campaign rally at the Bafoussam Municipal Stadium. It's right and proper that you should benefit today from a return of the elevator, as we say trivially,” he continued. 

He then insisted that members of the coalition must avoid the mistakes of 2004, “which remains for me the most traumatic experience of my political commitment!”

He recalled that: “In 2004, political parties formed a coalition with a view to the presidential election. This coalition was well structured, with branches in several regions of the country. As far as the coastal region was concerned, meetings were held in my office, which were transformed for the occasion into a veritable headquarters! We organised marches, pounded the pavement for the computerisation of the electoral roll, and swallowed huge quantities of tear gas. My friend, Cyrille Sam Baka, won't deny it! Large rallies presided over by coalition leaders were organised in several major cities. The people were galvanised and had regained their confidence! But as soon as the electoral body was convened, this beautiful edifice collapsed like a pack of cards!”.

Debacle blamed on oversized ego

He regretted that: “The leaders, driven by their oversized egos, were unable to agree. The name of Akame Foumou was even put forward as a consensus candidate! Finally, the late Dr Adamou Ndam and Ni John Fru each filed their own candidacy”.

“No, we must not repeat the mistakes of that cursed year! We must reverse the paradigm, appoint our torchbearer and build momentum around him!”, Nintcheu pleaded.

He said Cameroonians have no more time to lose in scrutinising different ideologies and their nuances! 

“They want us to get along and to move forward together. The FCC is in favour of uniting the forces of change around the MRC leader. We need to rediscover the inspiration that gave us our strength in 1992,” he said.

He noted that: “In 1992, it was Chairman Fru Ndi. President (Kamto), you are today what the Chairman was in 92. You are the one who will repair the terrible political damage caused by the historic electoral hold-up of 92”.

He boasted that FCC's available energy will be deployed to gain ground, to lead the fight against declared or hidden adversaries as well as all the collaborators and other moles lurking in the shadows.

“Mr future President of the Republic of Cameroon, you are the best penalty taker in the opposition. I invite you to start training again right now. We won in 92 and we're going to win in 2025,” Nintcheu concluded.

Others in support of coalition

Meanwhile, taking the cue during at the convention, the National President of the Popular Action Party, PAP, Denis Njang, told the gathering that his party was ready for a coalition to unseat the current regime.

He said if there is no viable opposition coalition, the nation’s hard-earned democracy will suffer.

“At the popular Action Party, we believe that the voice of every citizen of Cameroon must be heard in decision making process. “This necessitates the reform of our democratic institution as they function today so that the executive can be truly held accountable to the legislature,” Njang said.

He insisted that accountability must be a key word in governance and “we must develop the culture of holding our government to account”.

“They often say, desperate times call for desperate measures. This is the time for us all to unite and fight against corruption, bad governance and the maladministration that has brought our country to its knees and at the brim of disintegration,” he added.

The MRC convention, it should be said, was also attended amongst others by the National President of the National Union for Democracy and Progress, NUDP, Bello Bouba Maigari.

The SDF, expectedly, boycotted!