Has Blaise Compaoré put sand into Biya’s garri?

Thoughts about the fall of Blaise Compaoré after 27 years of rule not only darkened the atmosphere during the commemoration of the 32nd anniversary of President Biya’s ascension into power but also put to question the president’s plans for 2018

The tragic and disgraceful exit from power of President Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, critics say, does not augur well for his Cameroonian mentor, Paul Biya. Coming at a time when the latter is commemorating his (hold your breath) 32nd year in office, it has been described by pundits as a warning signal to those who feasted on 6th November (the day Biya came to power) that 'the disease that affects cocoa cripples coffee as well'.

If there is any one Head of State on the African continent who inspired the fallen Burkinabe strong man, it is President Paul Biya. Marveled by the Cameroonian leader’s charisma and determination to rule his country for years on end, Compaoré who overthrew his childhood mate, close friend and colleague, Captain Thomas Sankara, in a bloody coup d’état in 1987, sought to develop 'Biya-like wings' and fly along with him.

Compaoré might not have been a regular visitor in Yaounde, but at each of the rare moments that he had the opportunity to meet his mentor in a Heads of State summit abroad, he was so cornered about him in a way that no one else did. And like a true schoolboy, he imbibed his lessons ad nauseam; reason why he almost always sat next to Biya during such summits.

Observers were therefore not astonished when, after lording it over his countrymen as a soldier for some years he transformed himself into a civilian President and sought to rule endlessly. He rigged and won election after election as he absolutely got corrupted by absolute power. Compaoré was not only the Head of State he was also the army chief of staff and defence minister!

One year to the end of his last mandate, power had become so sweet to the dictator that he made arrangements for a life presidency bid. Article 37 of the country’s Constitution which limited the President’s mandate had to be modified to make sucsh a mandate unlimited. But as members of the Burkina Faso parliament were bracing up to open discussions on the twisting of the Constitution, the Burkinabe people, tired of Compaoré’s misrule, took to the streets, burned down the parliamentary building and organized riots that led to the death of 30 or so people.

From the cosy confines of his marbled presidential palace, the dictator saw danger and pleaded with his countrymen to allow him to finish his mandate, with the remaining one year serving as a transitional period. But the people’s ire had grown so ferocious that all they wanted was for him to step down. Compaoré had no choice. He threw in the towel and fled to Côte d’Ivoire in a 33-vehicle convoy!

Commenting on the fall of the Burkinabe President in an interview published elsewhere in this newspaper, Dr. Owona Nguini, lecturer of Political Science at the University of Yaounde II at Soa, says what has happened to Blaise Compaoré can happen to any other African leader who has no intention to quit power soon because there is no credible institutional framework that guarantees objective and democratic rule.

This is certainly not the situation in Cameroon now, but critics hold and strongly so that such a possibility cannot be ruled out here. It is the view of many that the recipes for this kind of crisis are not absent from Cameroon’s territorial triangle. For one thing, President Biya has stayed longer in power than Compaoré did. Secondly, there has been a limitless presidential term in Cameroon for some time now and this will see Biya running again for the 2018 presidential election at a time when he will be 85 years old!

So, no matter how distant Cameroonians may think they are from the Burkinabe situation, fears are rife in the hearts of many that there could be a spill-over effect sooner or later here. And that could explain why some were seen biting their nails in ponderous rumination while celebrating President Biya’s 32nd anniversary in power.