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| Ni John Fru Ndi |
FC Junior
The National chairman of the leading opposition party in Cameroon, Ni John Fru Ndi has
vowed that he will make sure that no journalist will ever become Mayor, Parliamentarian
or Senator on his party’s ticket( the Social Democratic Front-SDF). Chairman Ni John Fru Ndi busted out to journalists
at the Mini Agropastoral Show organized by the Tubah Council last December. He
blamed journalists for propagating rumours that he (Fru Ndi) kicked the bucket
(died). According to SDF chairman, the counterfeit information about his death
was cooked up by journalists during the National Communication Forum in Yaounde. He went further to illustrate and substantiate
his argument by adding that journalists who had never called him, were calling
and asking whether he was doing fine. For that reason, he swore that no journalist
shall hold any public office on the SDF ticket.
Journalists were taken aback by the
chairman’s declaration yet many still look at it as a political statement shouldn’t
be considered while to others are of the opinion that there is a lot of
seriousness in what he intended. Some political analysts have also expressed indignation
at Fru Ndi’s declaration giving that it was the press that catapulted the SDF
in the 90s.
However Fru Ndi said that like his
friend Paul Biya he will not say that he has more twenty years to live, but
rather he will “chop corn” on the grave of everyone who said he had kicked the
bucket.
Back to the issue of journalists not
assuming any public office on SDF ticket, Fru Ndi it should be noted is just
like Louis XIV who said he was the state because he is the Chairman of the National
Advisory Council-NAC which implies that he advises himself, he is also the
Chairman of the National Executive Committee-NEC and the chairman of the
Investiture Committee. By implication, in his capacity as the chairman of the
Investiture Committee, he (Fru Ndi) appoints Mayors and Parliamentarians the
way President Biya appoints Ministers, Directors etc……
The most pathetic thing is that this statement
is coming at a point in time that journalists were bent on supporting their
colleagues like Beatrice Animbom Munjo to pick the ticket to Parliament as the
MP for Bafut-Tubah, Martin Fon Yembe as Mayor of Ndu, Chris Mbunwe as Mayor of Nkambe
and Teche Nyamusa as MP for Mbengwi as well as Francis Wache (who Nkor people allegedly
want him to contest in any elective post). History had it recorded that the
first journalists who would have assumed an elective public office in the SDF
was Vanegasen Mochiggle, but went he won the primaries to contest in 2007 in
the Bali-Santa Constituency, President Biya carved Santa into a Special
Constituency and Bali was attached to Bamenda. Mochiggle was forced to drop his
beat for Parliament. Annebom Munjo who contested in the primaries in
Bafut-Tubah packed home a meager 16 votes and dashed the hopes of journalists
supporting their colleague during campaign.
Now that Ni Fru Ndi declared journalists
unwanted specie, many hopes will certainly die prematurely. However, anyone who
doubts Ni John Fru Ndi’s declaration should not that he is not a politician who
misses his words. Hon Akonteh Andrew,
Hon Augustine Jua, Hon Kwemo Pierre, Hon Ngwasiri and Hon Ndobegang may have a story to tell just like Mayor
Mangoh Jones Tanko (Nkambe), Mayor Chiato David
(Njinikom), Mayor David Kangong Nfor (Ndu) and the Mayor of Bafoussam III
were sacked from the party for challenging the decision of the Investiture
Committee before being rehabilitated.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa
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