CEMAC: Achilles Heel of La Francophonie .

However, those values cannot be achieved when leaders cling to power for decades, either by force, breaking laws or tinkering with the constitution.

At a two-day symposium in Yaounde, last week, organised by the Ministry of External Relations, MINREX, it emerged that constitutional instability is a cause for concern in the Central Africa Sub-region.

Opening the ceremony, the Secretary General at MINREX, Chinmoun Oumarou, who stood in for his minister, Lejeune Mbella Mbella, explained that the colloquium was intended to mobilise experts, researchers, administrations and institutions, among others, whose actions in the field contribute to the construction, defense and consolidation of the rule of law.  

He added that they could also chart the way for the promotion and respect of human rights and support electoral processes in Central Africa.

The discussion was topical in that the Sub-region is notorious for bristling with manipulated constitutions more than any other Regions. The Region has the first three longest serving ‘elected’ leaders, not only in Africa but in the world.

The first is Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea. He came to power through a military takeover on August 3, 1979. He holds the record of 43 years at the helm of state and ran for a sixth term at the age of 80, last year.

Before him, there was Omar Bongo of Gabon, who ruled for over four decades and died on the throne. His son took over, rigged elections and the military came in violation of the constitution.

President Paul Biya, the runner up has 42 years of service and his party's acolytes are appealing to him to take a seventh mandate next year, for another seven years. 

His longevity in office is thanks to a change of the constitution, which does not provide for term limits at a time France, the "mother" of La Francophonie, has a presidential mandate that is renewable only once.

The Republic of the Congo has the third longest serving president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has been in power for 39 years, albeit not uninterruptedly. 

He was president from 1979 to 1992, then returned to office in 1997, after a civil war. He was ‘re-elected’ in 2016, after the passing of a new constitution, then won a fourth mandate on March 21, two years later.

They give the Central African Region a world record. They are all Francophone countries using the FCFA, regarded as a neo-colonial string by critics.

Although Cameroon is bilingual, the English component of some 22 percent of the population hasn't changed its classification.

Another common denomination among the CEMAC countries with stay-put leaders is military coups, with the exception of Cameroon that has had just a failed coup attempt. 

But it cannot be rated a stable country, given the unresolved conflict in the North West and South West Regions. One of the root causes of the brutal conflict was the tinkering of the federal constitution.

The importance of last week's Yaounde colloquium was highlighted by the its high-level attendance by personalities, such as the Senior

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon Hilarion Etong, who was recently elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie, APF; representatives of members of government, members of the diplomatic corps and some officers of the Combined Services Military Academy, EMIA etc.

They brainstormed on the aegis of: “Constitutional stability in Central Africa, in the light of the Resolution of the Yaounde Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie, CMF”.

Reflection during the conference focused on the "constitutional stability and democratic challenges in Central Africa, constitutional justice and political stability". 

Their conclusion was that the La Francophonie "bloc is fixed on the promotion of democratic values, good governance and human rights that should be revamped and placed at the heart of its actions to ensure all member nations, amongst others, escape the rising rate of instabilities hindering development and progress in the bloc".

But the glum and frustrated of the people of the subregion with an amorphous overarching manipulation and military takeovers have not been impacted by such pointed declarations from numerous Francophonie colloquiums, ministerial conferences and summits.

The Yaounde event was to prepare for La Francophonie summit, in mid-October in France. They should be told the truth that their "shared values" of democracy have been a fallacy in the Sub-region. 

La Francophonie needs to put words into action, to be relevant at an era France's influence in Francophone Africa is fizzling out in the face of geopolitical competition.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3231 of Monday September 16, 2024