Editorial: Welcome home Mr President, but….

The Guardian Post joins other Cameroonians to welcome the President, Head of State, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Chairman of the Higher Judiciary Council and National President of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, CPDM, party.

In those challenging positions and at 91, he deserved the long vacation. He needed it to reflect on the litany of problems facing the country, especially on the eve of a presidential election that has been predicted by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, and other articulate commentators as portraying an uncertain future.

President Biya deserved the long leave to parry off lobbies by some of his party sycophants, who, in their covert competition for power within the regime, are just egocentric hypocrites worshiping the president in public, but covertly hankering to succeed him.

At The Guardian Post, we are sure that after the reinvigorating rest and in "excellent health" as his Director of Civil Cabinet told the nation, he is now as fit as a fiddle to work on some of the pending files he couldn't handle from abroad.

First as a State of law, the judiciary has often come under the hammer of criticism as court proceedings are delayed, causing congested prisons. The reasons for such delays, which is "justice denied", is often attributed to shortages of magistrates. The Higher Judiciary Council, which should appoint, sanction and promote outstanding magistrates to expedite the judicial system, has not been held for years.

The president needs to urgently convene the council.

There is also the urgency to review the electoral process and empower youth from age 18, who are "leaders of the future," to be able to take part in political consultations.

The loophole in the electoral law is the absence of a single ballot, to slash cost, prevent stuffing of ballot boxes and simplify the compilation process.

There is no reason only the result sheet from polling stations should be submitted by Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, while the same authentic copies from opposition parties should be rejected in the case of electoral litigation.

He should also delete legal provisions that have been introduced and perceived as intended to knock out his potential challengers, as there can be no credible reason to explain that those who participated at the last presidential election cannot be qualified to run again next year.

The president should, as a legalist, order the review of the electoral law, to address those concerns that have been raised by credible opposition and the international election observers, to avoid the violent protest that erupted at the 2018 presidential poll.

With presidential election coming up next October, the issue of infrastructure, such as roads, and amenities like electricity, drinking water and medical facilities are on the front burner, which he needs to urgently address.

The president should be aware that while away, his whereabouts remained a mystery. When he left the country for China early last month, it was officially announced as it should be the tradition.

After the conference, there was no official announcement that he had left for Geneva. That created tension, rumours and anxiety, not only about his whereabouts but his state of health.

For medical ethics, the state of health of anybody should be kept private with the exception in Western democracies where that of top public officials is public knowledge. But the location of our president should be known to all Cameroonians to avoid vicious speculations, which are not in the development interest of the nation.

If the spin machinery of the government and that of the ruling party had been proactive and kept the nation abreast that the president was on vacation in Geneva and also "working" from there, the devilish rumours, infanticide false claims and fake news that have done no good to the image of the country, would have been avoided.

After everything, President Biya is back. The nation finds itself at another hinge moment in history-grappling with the fundamental question of democracy, as one philosopher defined it: “How do we get from where we are to where we want to be, without being struck by disaster along the way?”

If we should provide an answer, President Biya's impact should be felt to reflect why a teeming population swamped the streets of Yaounde and the airport to welcome him.

They want to feel his authority of being on the driving seat, not by proxy. He should do so not just by addressing the legal and infrastructural issues raised, but with a sweeping cabinet reshuffle to weed out deadwoods, power mongers and especially those said to have been implicated in the Covidgate, the Olembe Stadium construction scandal and Glencore gate for them to face the sword of justice.

The president has done that before, especially with an impending election that requires a "campaign team government," for the ruling party's natural candidate, even if he honourably "retires to the village," after a historic rule of over four decades.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3268 of Wednesday October 23, 2024