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| Dr. Nfor N Susungi: The Great Mind |
By Dr. Nfor N Susungi
In
1992, the SDF boycotted the parliamentary elections charging that the
election would be rigged. But in the same year, the SDF put up John Fru
Ndi as its Presidential candidate and the outcome is known to
everybody. That is all water under the bridge. But five years later in
1997, the context was different. We launched NESPROG as the party’s
economic platform for the parliamentary and Presidential elections.
Riding on a NESPROG wave we campaigned for the party throughout the
country in May and June 1997 from Kouserri to Moloundou and from Garoua
Boulai to Wum.
When the parliamentary elections were held, we
monitored the results from the SDF Headquarters in Bamenda until it was
finally announced that the SDF had won 42 seats in the National
Assembly. There were lots of irregularities throughout the country. A
meeting held in the residence of Mr. Philip Che in Yaoundé resulted in
the issuing of the “Yaoundé Proclamation” drafted by the Late François
Sengat Kouo, President Ahidjo’s former Minister of Information who had
been convinced to join the SDF by the Late Dr. Martin Ngeka Luma. The
Yaoundé Proclamation was a document lacking any teeth. It was full of
sound and fury, but signifying nothing.
When the National
Assembly was convened, there was an intense debate at the grassroots
level as to whether the 42 SDF MPs should take their seats in the
semicircle. The popular view was that the SDF should stay away from the
National Assembly in protest. Naturally, the elected MPs wanted to take
their seats in the National Assembly. As pressure mounted on both
sides, the Chairman finally ruled that the SDF MPs shall take their
seats in the National Assembly and act as an Opposition. No quid pro
quo was negotiated in order to arrive at that position. When the
National Assembly convened, SDF MPs were elected to positions in the
Bureau of the National Assembly and the SDF with its 42 MPs qualified to
elect a Chairman of the SDF Parliamentary Group.
However,
when the National Assembly discussed the Finance Law (the National
Budget), the SDF MPs took an active part in questioning the various
Ministers that were asked to testify before the National Assembly. I
sat in the visitors’ gallery and watched as the Minister of Finance came
to explain his budget to the law makers. However, when the moment came
to vote on the budget itself, the SDF MPs walked out. This is how it
continued throughout the life of that Legislature. But following the
adoption of the Finance Law the MPs would accept the payment of their
salaries, allowances and allocations for development in their
constituencies. That is the type of Opposition role that the SDF MPs
played in the National Assembly.
The CPDM made tentative moves
to hold negotiations with the SDF in order to find common ground which
will enable the Presidential elections to be held in a more peaceful
environment. The SDF did send a delegation to Yaoundé to hold talks.
But the terms of reference of this delegation were not clear. The
advice which I gave the Chairman privately was that after seating the
SDF in the National Assembly and controlling Councils and Municipalities
throughout the country, the SDF was effectively in power-sharing with
the CPDM. The best way forward was to negotiate with the CPDM
government for around 25-30% of Ministerial positions, Governorships,
Prefets, sous-prefets and even Ambassadors. I made this suggestion
because I believed that once you are inside the system, you will be
there when critical and key decisions are being made. You will no
longer be outside looking in. My suggestion was rejected because there
were people who believed that once the presidential election is free and
fair, the SDF would win and take over the whole government.
When the Presidential elections were announced in October 1997, there
was a much tension and discussion on whether the SDF should participate
or not. The same kind of debate was fuelled by suspicion that the vote
would not be free and fair. The debate focused on the matter of single
bulletin versus multiple bulletins. The SDF wanted the introduction of
single bulletins and a two round balloting until the winner can obtain
at least 50% +1 vote victory. The insistence on the two round ballot
was based on the fact that in 1992, President Paul Biya had been
declared the winner even though he had not won by an absolute majority
(i.e. >50% +1). When the SDF failed to get that concession from the
Ministry of Territorial Administration which was responsible for
conducting elections, the Chairman decided to boycott the Presidential
election of 1997. As a result, the election was a complete walk-over
for President Paul Biya who won by an overwhelming majority.
The SDF was now faced with the irony that it boycotted the parliamentary
elections of 1992 and participated in the Presidential elections of
that year. But in 1997 the SDF did the reverse. It participated in the
parliamentary elections and boycotted the Presidential election.
This is what has destroyed the SDF as a political force. The
electorate was completely disillusioned. This time around the result
was catastrophic because the Presidential term of office was now 7
years. That meant that the next election would only take place in 2004.
That was enough time for the CPDM to do damage control throughout the
country. The CPDM was so successful that when the next legislative
elections took place in 2002, the SDF lost nearly 50% of its seats in
the country. The electorate had lost trust in the SDF.
The
progressive disintegration of the SDF was the direct result of the
mistake of failing to heed the advice of entering into government with a
minority position in 1997 and eventually failing to participate in the
presidential election of 1997 because the party was displeased with the
rules of the game. After the Presidential elections of 1997, President
Paul Biya won by a land-slide without having to rig the vote. He no
longer needed to share power with a party which had turned down
overtures to come into the government. That is how the SDF as a
political party was now held hostage by its MPs in the National Assembly
because they were earning incomes as MPs. They became the only party
members that were listened to. If the SDF had entered into
power-sharing with the government, it would have changed the entire
game.
During the SDF convention held in Yaoundé at the Congress
hall in 1999, the John Fru Ndi first had to resign his position and
become an ordinary member of NW delegation because the mandates of the
entire party hierarchy had expired. He was challenged for the position
of Chairman by Chrétien Tabetsing from SDF France. John Fru Ndi was
reelected as Party Chairman, but his reputation had become dented
because he did not bring victory to the party.
Other key
people in the party hierarchy either did not stand for reelection or
were defeated. It is to be noted that Dr. Kevin Ngwang Gumne who was
the Chairman of the Economic and Finance Commission of the SDF decided
to stand down. Many people thought that I would become a candidate to
replace him. But I was never interested in holding an elected position
in the SDF. I had joined the SDF as Economic Advisor. I always wanted
to remain free so that I can think freely. If my advice was needed, I
would be there. Once I felt that my advice was no longer useful, I did
not want to be held back by party statutory obligations. Dr. Gumne is
now the Chairman of SCAPO (Southern Cameroons Peoples’ Organization).
Dr. Luma had quit the party over a row over the Southern Cameroons
issue to become the Chairman of the SCNC. Mr. Nfor Ngala Nfor who had
been the Chairman of the Political and Constitutional Affairs Commission
of the SDF, was voted out of that position in Yaoundé. He is now the
Vice Chairman of the SCNC. Prof. Tazoacha Asonganyi who had been the
Secretary General of the SDF for over a decade also resigned. Prof.
Ngwasiri a founding member of the SDF passed away. Prof. Carlson
Anyangwe also a founding member of the SDF had long left the SDF to
devote his energies to the Southern Cameroons movement. Mola Njoh
Litumbe who had formed and operated the LDA and contested parliamentary
elections on that political platform abandoned such pursuits and is now
an advocate of the Southern Cameroons cause.
It can be seen
that the failure of the SDF to gain a foothold in power is largely
responsible for the growth of the SCNC. This is now a big problem for
everybody including the government itself.
It is against this
background that I left active involvement in politics to
go back into
the business world. Destination: Nigeria in 2000.
I took the
time to show all of you the painful process of democratic evangelization
which we undertook in 1997. The purpose was to let the youth
understand how far we have come and to underscore the fact that each
election leads to incremental improvement in our democracy. We cannot
achieve the absolute in one fell swoop.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. Minute by Minute Report on Cameroon and Africa
