Mid-term message to President Biya

Mr. President, the month of May 2015 marks the midterm of your seven-year mandate that has been underway since November 2011. I would like to take this opportunity to convey an important message.

I know that as President of the Republic you do not have real friends. You are surrounded by people who usually speak to you in waffling language because they all are afraid of you. But I believe that in a country like Cameroon there must be people who can take the courage to tell you things as they are.

I feel in the depths of my spirit that I am one of those people. That is why I ask you to pay close attention to what I am going to tell you.

At the time we mark the mid-term point of your current seven-year, you have spent over 33 years at the helm of the Cameroonian State. That’s a lot. At the end of your term in 2018 you will have spent almost 37 years as head of state. Such longevity in power should be sufficient for any human being.

Mr. President, with all due respect to you, I am obliged to tell you that this seven-year term should be your last term as President of the Republic of Cameroon.

I wish to take the opportunity to tell you 3½ years in advance to begin to make arrangements to go to retirement. Your political career has not been a failure. You have made important contributions to your country. You have also made mistakes. But your successor will have the task of correcting these mistakes.

But the Cameroonian youth which is largely composed of young people born after 1982 (the year of your accession to power) no longer want you as the head of the state. This youth wants to see a change of head of the country.

The Cameroonian people know that in 1982 President Ahmadou Ahidjo left office peacefully and you succeeded him peacefully. That is why the Cameroonian people expect you to hand over power to your successor peacefully in 2018.

In my humble opinion, the most important issue that you need to pay attention to for the next three years is a retirement residence for yourself. You have lived in the Etoudi Palace for 33 years; but Etoudi palace is an official residence and you will be forced to leave it in 2018. This is why I think you need to start thinking about your retirement home now.

I know that you have a private residence in Mvomeka’a ; but in my opinion it is not suitable to serve as a retirement home for the simple reason that Mvomeka’a seems a bit remote and therefore very few people will be willing to travel to visit you in this village.

This is why I believe you must think about building a retirement residence in Kribi on the edge of the sea. This is where you can receive visits during retirement. I will not advise you to build a retirement home in Yaoundé because your successor will not like it.

As I address this message to you, the people of Burundi are in the throes of a violent confrontation with President Pierre Nkurunziza who wants to run for another presidential term whereas the constitution does not allow it. But I think that basically, the problem is very simple.

It is because President Pierre Nkurunziza has not yet built a retirement home that allows him to go into retirement as provided by the constitution. This is why he insists on running for another presidential term in spite of the resistance from the street.

Mr. President, if you follow my advice, Cameroon will be spared this kind of drama in 2018. But if you neglect this advice and in 2018 you are still tempted by the idea of running for another seven year term of office, I can assure you that the Cameroonian youth will mobilize to inflict a crushing defeat on you at the polls. If by chance this were to happen in 2018 you shall go on retirement in the most unpleasant conditions and your peace and tranquility will no longer be assured.

Mr. President, I allowed myself to send this message 3½ years from the end of your mandate in order to sensitize your entourage about the eventuality of your departure into retirement. I believe I have rendered you a valuable service – that I have done my duty as a citizen. Indeed through this gesture, I believe I have also rendered service to the Cameroonian people at large. Thank you Sir.

Long Live Cameroon!

Dr. Susungi is a retired senior official of the African Development Bank. He has also acquired extensive working experience in banking, oil & gas and telecommunications in Nigeria. He was previously an economic adviser to the SDF in the 1990s and the principal author of NESPROG which was presented to the Cameroonian people in 1997.

Dr. Susungi has just completed a book entitled: “Deutsch Kamerun 1884-1916?, coming out soon.