SDF now survives on CPDM goodwill - Political Scientist

Dr. James Arrey Abangma, Lecturer at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Buea has said that at 25, the SDF is weakening and now only relies on the goodwill of the CPDM party to survive.

He faults the dwindling fortunes of the SDF on “politics of the stomach” and the SDF policy to expel militants from the party. He spoke to ATIA TILARIOUS AZOHNWI in this interview. Excerpts;

The SDF is 25 years old and celebrating. Is it a worthwhile celebration?

There’s much for the SDF to celebrate 25 years after. For one thing, the SDF has refused to submit itself to be destroyed like some other political parties. I think that is a great achievement. Secondly, the SDF serves as a wage to contain the aggressiveness of the CPDM party. In the past, those who belonged to the SDF were treated as outcasts, but things are changing. The CPDM has learned to accept the opinions of other Cameroonians.

Judging from its mission, is the SDF where it ought to have been 25 years after creation?

The ambition of every political party is to win power and the SDF has gone very close to that despite the hostile landscape. Were the political landscape more accommodating, the SDF should have realised much more than they have. There are certain errors the SDF is making.

As a political party, they need followership and the SDF has been systematically engaging in the dismissal of those who have contrary opinions. There is a need for stocktaking and the abolition of Article “8, 2” clause which is used to dismiss some of their members. The SDF needs to secure its followership. Until they win power, I’m not sure they would have achieved their ultimate objective.

Many are those who believe that in the ‘90s, the SDF had the required followership to win elections, but they squandered it through successive election boycotts.

With the advent of multiparty politics, I think the SDF carried the aspirations of every Cameroonian. But with the passage of time, the government strategy of impoverishing Cameroonians has killed the SDF spirit. Many concerned Cameroonians have bowed to politics of the stomach.

This has led to the dwindling fortunes of the SDF. The SDF cannot mobilise the required resources to fuel its electoral machinery like would the CPDM. I think with the idea of stomach politics, many more persons are submitting themselves to the CPDM.

If the SDF did not boycott elections, they would have taken the CPDM by storm and realised their ultimate objective of winning power and wielding it. But that too has remained one of their greatest errors. But on the other hand, if you judge things, you’ll realise on the point of rationality that opposition parties had made and agreed not to go for elections.

I think that too is not a mistake because they kept to the spirit of opposition. That is why they did not go in for elections. I think as a party that one must rely on, if they went for elections, they would have betrayed the course of the other political parties.

There are those who hold that the problems of the SDF are caused by Fru Ndi, not followers. Do you share this opinion?

Fru Ndi like any other political party leader may have committed some minor errors. But I see Fru Ndi’s capacity to withstand many odds as an achievement. For that, I congratulate him. Many people feel that Fru Ndi has overstayed in power. They fail to know that he’s the Chairman of the SDF and has not been the president of this country. Fru Ndi is a party leader.

When I took students to him last time, he said they had made many moves to get many other people involved, but they shy away when time came. To me, the problem of Fru Ndi staying on as SDF chairman stems from the fact that there’s no credible person to succeed him. That is the greatest problem Fru Ndi has. Political development is best determined by the one who is in power. As long as president Biya stays in power, he’ll keep curtailing freedoms.

Can opposition parties in Cameroon follow the example of their Nigerian counterparts by forming a coalition that can oust the present regime?

In Cameroon, the civil society is very weak. They average Cameroonian is poor, compared to Nigeria where you have many rich people who can sponsor the wind of change. In Cameroon, government policy alone can cripple any vibrant businessman in one week. Arbitrary taxes are forced on business persons and so they are frightened. As such, they cannot sponsor the opposition, even if a coalition were to be created. Businessmen are conditioned to think only CPDM.

Can an SDF-led coalition seize power in 2018? Do you foresee such a scenario?

In Cameroon, we have the problem of language. There is that idea of mutual suspicion between the Anglophone and Francophone. I think getting a coalition with francophone parties will be a big problem.

So can the SDF ever reach its ultimate objective; that of winning power?

Even if you unite all the political parties, the way elections are organised, it will be difficult for the opposition to win. Elections are not free and fair. If elections results are determined by the one who is in power, then the opposition cannot succeed.

Are you saying that the SDF is helpless in the face of all these challenges?

Not only the SDF. All other political parties are helpless. And if things continue to be the way they are, then we need an independent electoral body that can organise elections from start to finish. Such a body should start from registration of voters to the declaration of results. If that is not achieved, we cannot dream of an opposition party taking power in this country.

Is the SDF doomed to die 25years after its creation?

I think the SDF is weakening. The SDF now relies on the goodwill of the CPDM party. As long as stomach politics determines the ideology of Cameroonians, it will be difficult for political parties to make it.

You see the SDF with a chance after Biya’s exit?

The after Biya picture remains unclear. If things continue the way they are, after Biya there will be chaos.

Do you see an SDF without Fru Ndi?

If you take away Fru Ndi, there’ll still be an SDF we can count on. There’ll still be some credible people in the SDF without Fru Ndi. The party cannot revolve solely around one person. But, the strength and direction of the SDF after him cannot be determined for now. The threat to the existence of the SDF has largely contributed to this state of affairs. The SDF is much secured at Fru Ndi’s house. Time is not ripe for the party’s headquarters to be moved from Ntarinkon.

You mentioned a while ago that the SDF is merely dancing to the CPDM music. What do you mean?

Due to the mode of organisation of elections, everything revolves around the CPDM. The CPDM pulls the strings. They decide to give to each opposition party what they (the CPDM) so desire. That is why I say the SDF is dancing to the CPDM music.

You’ve militated in the SDF since 1990. As a militant and as a political analyst, what is wrong with the SDF?

The SDF has a problem of stagnation. The CPDM seeks to kill the SDF. I give you an example in Akwaya where it is the military helicopter that has to transport polling equipment, and as well as transport the results to Yaoundé.

While the results are still coming from the field, the helicopter leaves with prepared results. This frustrates the SDF given that its militants don’t see the reason to turnout on Election Day. This holds sway for other rural areas where the military is involved in the electoral process. The influence of administration is also very strong. It is only in urban centres that the opposition can win elections since the people are more enlightened to protect their votes.

With such a scenario, we are frustrated to think that elections can never be won from the ballot box. I advise the SDF to do well to win in the urban centres. In the rural areas, it is near impossible for the opposition to win given the role of administrative officials. As they celebrate their Silver Jubilee, I can only wish the SDF well.