The visiting Ivory Coast Assembly Speaker, Guilaume Kigbafori Soro, who was on a working visit to Cameroon, speaking to the media, refused to answer questions relating to whether Laurent Gbagbo, former Ivory Coast President, was giving financial assistance to the SDF or not.
Soro was answering questions from reporters at a press conference last Saturday at the Hilton hotel in Yaounde. Asked if in his then capacity as Gbagbo's Prime Minister, he has any idea of how money exchanged hands between President Gbagbo and the SDF, Soro waived the question to the SDF chairman, John Fru Ndi. "I can't say with exactitude if there was any exchange of money between Mr. Fru Ndi and Gbagbo. I think that question can better be answered by Mr. Fru Ndi. However, between close friends, there would always be minor exchanges of ..." The former Ivorian warlord said.
On how he felt after the SDF Members of Parliament stormed out after his presence in the National Assembly was announced, Soro mocked at the SDF: "Their walk-out made me a more popular person in Cameroon." He disclosed that their walk-out greatly contrasted with the action of those who stayed behind to welcome him: "I was immortalized when I saw the whole hall, including ambassadors rose in my honor," he bragged.
But Soro later took a harder stand against the SDF parliamentarians' move: "Go and tell them that next time I come they should not even come around the entrance of the National Assembly."
Soro had made the statement cynically to mean that the SDF's walk-out of parliament made him a popular person and so to him if next time they stay completely away from the assembly, his popularity may even be greater.
He also used the press conference to pour venom on Gbagbo, his former ally. He qualified Gbagbo as the bearer of the entire crisis Ivory Coast has been through. He did not spare any single opportunity to waive responsibility of the Ivorian crisis on the former president. He said that Ivory Coast was plunged into crisis as a result of Gbagbo's refusal to quit power after he lost the 2010 presidential elections.
He pointed out that several world leaders, including US President Obama advised Gbagbo to quit power after he lost the election; however, the latter stood his grounds. He claimed that Gbagbo was warned to stop the maiming and killing of Ivorian citizens to no avail. "Tell me, if you were the one, what you could have done," Soro questioned.
Another pertinent issue that the Ivorian Speaker addressed was the economy of Ivory Coast since Alassane Dramane Ouattara took over power. He boasted that the Ivorian economy has attained a level it has never witnessed for several decades. He reiterated the declaration by the country's Communication Minister of late that Ivory Coast growth rate was at 9%.
Soro added that the minimum monthly wage in his country stands at 72.000FCFA up from 36.000FCFA in the days of Gbagbo. The amount projected by Soro is nearly triple that of Cameroon, which stands at 28. 000FCFA.
Soro, however, dodged a question on whether he would readily give his support to any Cameroonian youth who intends to follow his footsteps to overturn the political landscape in his country even if it means taking to the streets and using the gun as he did in Ivory Coast to unseat Gbagbo. He merely babbled around and did not give any concrete response.
He remarked that Ouattara has proven beyond doubts that he is capable of paddling Ivory Coast to its expected destination and his support to him in 2015 would be inevitable.
Soro granted audiences to several personalities and groups throughout his stay in Cameroon. First, he met with the Prime Minster, Philemon Yang on the very first day of his arrival, then the President of the Senate, Niat Njifenji and then the Head of State, Paul Biya.
He equally received in his Hilton suite the Council of Traditional Rulers of Cameroon, led by its Secretary General, Nfon Chafah IV of Bangolan and later newspaper publishers, under the cover of their federation, FEDIPRESS.
