Biya deceived me by lifting limitations of mandate - Marafa

The famous prisoner has just published a book where he revealed, among other things, the reasons presented by Paul Biya to revise the April 2008 Constitution, and the hunger strike as well as the 2002 elections.

At the time of reading "the choice of action, my ten years in the Minat", one cannot help wondering about the modus operandi of the author to produce and deliver a manuscript of more than 400 pages to his publisher Les Editions du Schabel, while Marafa Hamidou Yaya, is detained at the SED since April 2012 and is deprived even from reading newspapers.

The publication of his first prisoner book indicates that Marafa Hamidou Yaya is the editor of his letters, as evidenced by his inimitable style, his sense of narrative and his obsession with precision and detail. And also the consistency of his epistolary and now book work.

The book that promises to be a best-selling book is more on the ten years passed by Marafa Hamidou Yaya as Minister of State in charge of Territorial Administration (Muhammad).

It also has a narration on the hours before the postponement of legislative and municipal elections of June 2002, including the central role that he said to have played to get the president of the Republic, against the advice of Belinga Eboutou, Fame Ndongo and René Owona, to cancel at the last minute the planned vote of June 23.

"For the third time, braving the storm, I told him that the elections will not be held the next day and that he himself will not be able to perform his duty. He asked me who was saying that the president of the Republic, will not be able to cast his ballot in the ballot box. I know that he was convinced that we can force and impose the taking of the poll. I refused to comfort him in this unrealistic view of him repeating that the report is our only solution."

Former Minat minister also returned to the riots of February 2008, which went off while he was in Garoua. "I hope that history will help to shed light on these events," he wrote. He said he discouraged the president of the Republic to allow the Defence Minister Remy Ze Meka, got to Douala, epicentre of the riots: "I was firmly against the fact that we were dealing with a civil disorder, which should be handled by the civil authorities. The president of the Republic agreed with my position."

Marafa Hamidou Yaya reminded himself that he had accused the leader of the opposition Ni John Fru Ndi of being seen in the company of criminals to coordinate the riots. And he has never presented a public apology demanded by the leader of the SDF, "confident in the evidence I had."

'The choice of action' is thus: Although usefully studded with inspiring anecdotes and first-hand accounts, the story is sometimes monotonous, especially during the evocation by sector of the Marafa Hamidou Yaya artwork at the head of the Minat from 2002 to 2011.

There is concern for the author to build an image of tireless worker, initiator of reforms, always striving hard Patriot in the interest of the country. "I did serve Paul Biya, I served the best interests of the nation," he said.

Yet the former SG/PR has its reasons of copyright. First, he considered that the issues described in his book are a more urgent and more critical news. Then, he wanted to pay tribute to the men and women who accompanied him, including Christiane Soppo, his Secretary. Finally, he wants to bear his share of responsibility.