60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference in focus

The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, CPA which is currently holding its 60th conference in Yaounde is news making. The official opening Monday 6 which was chaired by President Paul Biya who is the vice patron of the association smacked of several news scenes which could not miss the inquisitive journalist’s eye. The Guardian Post now relays some of the interesting sites of the conference as it saw it.

Fru Ndi isolates self The national chairman of Cameroon’s frontline opposition party, John Fru Ndi, arrived at the Yaounde conference centre at about 9:20 a.m. On entering the hall, the chairman was immediately offered a sit at an obscured corner at the balcony of the hall; amongst some general managers of state corporations. He was sitting directly in front of Jean Jaques Ndoudoumou, the former general manager of ARMP.


About one hour later, a protocol officer approached Fru Ndi and asked him to leave the seat for a ‘more convenient one.’ This time around, Fru Ndi was brought a little closer, but behind government ministers. He was placed directly beside the rector of the University of Yaounde II, Oumarou Bouba. That position kept him one step away from an army general.


Just few minutes before President Biya’s arrival, the same protocol officer approached the chairman again, asked him and all those sitting around him to march along the ceded passage to a different corner of the hall. But the protocol guy met a stone wall this time around.


The chairman’s response was a definite No. He resisted all pleadings to quit the seat. Attempts by the protocol to get a beautiful young damsel caress the chairman’s legs and get him out of the seat ended up in fiasco.


While others who were sitting on the same row with him heeded the orders, Fru Ndi deliberately isolated himself on the row. The chairman had also told journalists that he refused to be screened by security operatives at the entrance of the conference centre.


Fru Ndi tickles Joseph Owona Journalists had cued around Fru Ndi, SDF national chairman, outside the hall immediately after the official opening ceremony for interviews. Just then, the chairman of FECAFOOT normalisation committee, Joseph Owona interrupted. He shook hands with Fru Ndi and then later engaged him in a light-hearted discussion.


While Owona told Fru Ndi: “you look good, it shows you are eating well,” Fru Ndi in turn told him: “No, rather you are fine because you are just from Brazil.” Then in a lower tone and with his lips directed to Owona’s ears, Fru Ndi tickled Owona: “I hear you even went to Brazil with a small girl?” At this juncture, Owona merely smiled and moved away.


Belinga Eboutou “advises” Biya to deliver speech in French Two minutes to President Biya’s speech, the director of civil cabinet at the presidency, Martin Belinga Eboutou had pulled out a block note from his pocket, removed a leaf from it and scribbled something inside. He then beckoned on one of the junior officers of the state protocol.

He thrust the note in his hands and the protocol officer made straight to his boss; the chief state protocol officer, Simon Pierre Bikelle. Upon examination of the note, Bikelle then tossed it over to the chief of presidential security, Ivo Yenwo, who was sitting just adjacent him who later returned it to Bikelle.


Bikelle then forwarded it to the president’s personal body guard who was sitting just next to him. The body guard, dressed in official wear then handed a green file which was resting in his hands to Bikelle alongside the note.


Bikelle proceeded to unveil the file, scrutinized its content, alongside Ivo for several minutes. Two clipped papers were lying inside.


After some concertation between him and Ivo, Bikelle juxtaposed the positions of the papers; placing the one above to the bottom and the one at the bottom above.


He then closed the file and returned it to the body guard. Just then President Biya was called up to deliver his speech. We watched keenly. His body guard preceded him, carrying the same green file. He then unveiled it and pulled out one of the papers and placed it on the lectern. It was the president’s speech, delivered in French.


Journalists immediately concluded that Biya’s speech had been prepared in two versions, one in English and another in French. It was interpreted that Belinga’s note to Bikelle was authorizing him to ensure that they table the French version for presentation.


They might have agreed to study the atmosphere in the hall before deciding on which language the president should address the delegates. Had it been one of the French language speakers had delivered his speech in French as it was suspected, Biya may have read but the English version.


Atanga Nji steals show with dark spectacles The minister in charge of special duties at the presidency, Paul Atanga Nji arrived the hall in night-dark spectacles.

He attracted a lot of attention especially journalists who continued to ask questions on what could be the idea behind the ‘mysterious’ appearance of the minister. He was sitting at the balcony of the hall amongst several other government ministers who attended the ceremony.


But behold, Paul (not Paul Biya) immediately ‘plucked’ out the dark lenses just as the president stood up to read his speech. He then replaced them with transparent ones.


Minister Atanga Nji proceeded to reinstate his dark lenses immediately the president regained his seat. When later we spotted him begging for a handshake with Fru Ndi, Atanga Nji was not wearing anything in the name of lenses. “What was he up to’’?, was the question on every journalist’s lips.


Laurent Esso exhibits supremacy over colleagues Journalists of the private media hardly cover ceremonies bringing together all government ministers like the monthly cabinet meetings usually presided over by the head of government. Occasions like that of last Monday give the unique opportunity for these inquisitive journalists to find out hidden knowledge about their interactions.


The minister of justice and keeper of the seals who is a former minister of state, secretary general at the presidency of the republic, Laurent Esso arrived the conference centre last Monday a little earlier than other ministers.


But he was offered a seat just like any other ordinary minister. What attracted our attention is that all ministers who shook his hands stood up before doing so. Esso would not smile though the ministers’ handshakes were accompanied by seemingly-panic smiles.


Students begged to occupy empty seats Apparently the ceremonial hall had been prepared to host over 3000 attendants. But this was not going to be the case. Shortly before the head of state’s arrival, several empty seats could still be spotted all over the hall. The organisers felt uncomfortable to receive President Biya in a half empty hall.


Students who were hired from the school of administration and magistracy, ENAM, for the specific mission to display flags of the various member countries were then beseeched to occupy some of the empty seats so as to give the impression that the hall was full to capacity.

Unable to get all the seats occupied, the officials proceeded to march in hostesses to occupy the remaining seats, though the seats seemed to add as more people were brought in to occupy them.


It is not clear if some invitees refused to honour their invitations or if the organisers had merely decided to fill the hall with more seats than the expected attendees.


Anglophone journalists treated special It rarely happens. In fact, it has never happened before. Anglophone journalists have never been given a place of honour in any official ceremony in Cameroon presided over by President Biya. It happened last Monday.


We did not immediately realise it until when journalists turned up for their badges at the ministry of communication early that morning.


Several Francophone journalists were told that the presidency did not print badges for them. But virtually all Anglophone journalists who applied for accreditation were issued badges.


While in the hall, a special section reserved for pressmen. Few minutes after journalists had occupied the seats, a lady emerged with a list containing names of accredited reporters and those eligible to take seats on the section.


She began screening and interrogating ‘intruders.’ “What is your name? Are you an Anglophone? Because this section is reserved strictly for Anglophone journalists,” she declared.


Chantal Biya, Yang ‘missing’ State media, both the CRTV TV and radio had made so much noise about the presence of the First Lady, Chantal Biya, at the official opening of the ceremony.

The radio had announced continuously that President Biya would be accompanied to the ceremony by his spouse, Chantal Biya. But it was never the case as Biya alighted alone from his car.


Her absence could reasonably be justified given that the First Lady just only recently lost her mother. Her remains are still being kept in a mortuary. But most shockingly was the conspicuous absence of the prime minister, head of government, Philemon Yang.


His absence created more disbelief, given that the prime minister is of English expression. Of the three Cameroonian authorities who occupied seats at the high table, none was Anglophone. Did he boycott or was assigned to take care of other pressing state issues?


SDF MPs hero worship Fru Ndi Fru Ndi’s presence at the Yaounde conference centre last Monday was given more meaning by SDF members of parliament. Hons. Joseph Mbah Ndam, Awudu Mbaya, Forbi Nchinda and Josua Osih made sure no one talked to the chairman without any of them by him.


Mbah Ndam for example stayed glued to the chairman after the official ceremony until his departure from the ceremonial ground. They moved behind him, guided him to strategic points and were the ones who dictated the press organs Fru Ndi granted interviews to.


Their mere presence beside the chairman added more impetus to the personality cult that has been built around Fru Ndi and gave to understanding that Fru Ndi to most SDF MPs is a demi god.


UB choir student collapses One of the members of the University of Buea choir group which animated the ceremony from start to finish later collapsed during reception. It is not yet clear what resulted to her collapse, but we were told that the choristers were singing since 8 a.m. till about 2 p.m. when the ceremony closed. Another one whose only name we got as Gwendoline became dizzy and was immediately rushed to hospital in order to avoid another collapse.


The UB students who were chartered from Buea had sent some of the delegates, notably those from Lesotho crazy with their scintillating melodies. The Lesotho delegates kept on dancing and jumping especially when they identified the lyrics of some of their beatings being chanted by the UB choir.