Matters Arising: What if Atanga Nji’s Closeness to Biya is the Problem?

Paul Nji Atanga: What if he is not guilty?

Counterfeit indictments are always of particular interest to Judases because cynicism has often been at the forefront of giving voice to wrong accusations and or drummed up intrigues. A good example is the famous Salem witch trials (in which innocent young women were falsely accused of being witches) as well as the Satanic Panic moral panic (in which dozens of innocent men and women were falsely accused of sexually assaulting children and others) and hundreds of examples in between, skeptics have often been there to remind the public to ask for evidence before rushing to judgment. Of course, this is nothing new; people routinely do things because they have an interest in doing so, especially the so-called politicians.

The much trumpeted summon by the Special Tribunal arguing Minister Paul Nji Atanga to report for interrogation could easily be captured through Roy Baumeister’s theory of two spheres of evolution. It is obvious to believe that the way information from the Special Tribunal is filtering out to the media has shaped men and women psychologically similar in this matter. Could it be that Minister Paul Nji Atanga’s closeness to President Biya is giving some people sleepless nights?

Of course, men especially politicians always make numerous false accusations when their interest is seen to be or is at stake, simply because every other thing is all in matters of the public sphere. Political villainy is out in the open and common knowledge and tactics of character assassination, and the Special Tribunal Court is seemingly tilted to it. In Cameroon, it is common that every time someone is arrested, a list of embezzlers is published by the various media. The arrest of Mendo Ze, former General Manager of CRTV is a case in point. Some politicians have used this method to settle political scores while others have used it as a means to give the dog a bad name for it to be hanged.

Paul Atanga Nji is Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic and Permanent Secretary of the Security Council. Popular opinion especially in the North West holds that it is obvious that Minister Paul Nji Atanga is victim of a well calculated obnoxious act by those who continue to wonder who and why an "Anglo" could be so close to the Head of State. Like the witches in Macbeth, they feed social guards with fabricated information as well as the media, many have observed. As to how Atanga Nji illegally received into his account the some 469 MFCFA (as reported by some media organs) remains another mystery. The amount, according to the reports was deposited into account no. 031562-004-58 bearing the name “Ets des Jeunes homes d’affaires” but owned by Atanga. The issue is not the amount; on the contrary, the issue is who is feeding the Press with half baked information? Could it be that someone is doing so just to because "Anglophones" are considered as second class citizens and non should be so close to President Biya? This is the multimillion FCFA question..

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)