The city of Foumban has a special place in the political evolution of Cameroon. This is a statement of fact if history means anything to us in this our generation. It is pertinent to remind ourselves of the role that this historic town played in hosting the gathering that gave form to the state, Cameroon. If we blundered in the process of shaping the nation, in the same way as, if we landed on the shores of our fortune as a nation, Foumban will forever remain the foundation of either side of the coin, failure or success of whatever transpired under the patronage of the then Sultan.
But we in this Newspaper, remain convinced that a nation was formed after all, and that, the then Sultan, Mbombo Njoya, should be remembered as the embodiment of this success story. Today, we are reminded of events of more than half a century ago, by a lone voice coming from the house of the then Sultan, Mbombo Njoya, and we want to take this voice seriously because it sounds very much like the voice of the spirit of reconciliation.The current Sultan of Foumban did put it loud and clear, at the just ended Major National Dialogue, MND, in two major proposals, one which demands that the presidency of the republic should rotate between the Francophones and the Anglophones.
In his second proposal, the Sultan strongly believes that what obtains presently, that is, a limitless seven year term in office, is one of the major causes of the disenchantment, not only of the Anglophone alone. As a substitute to what many see as a dictatorial political perception, the Sultan has proposed a five year term of office, renewable once.
There is no doubt that Foumban, in 1961, did reach an agreement providing for a five year term. But either by commission or omission, the clause for a renewal, either once or whatever, was not included. It however surprised many when the constitution was amended in 1996, that the mandate of the president in office was increased to seven years, without limit and without any mention of the possibility for renewal. If Cameroonians are unanimous therefore, that the present disposition has clogged our movement in the course of our democratic experiment, then we can only accept the Sultan’s proposals as a gracious opportunity for us to see exactly where things went wrong to enable us mend the torn edges of our unity.
We foresee these proposals drawing us closer to where all along we have been doubting among ourselves, as to whether we have been on the right path towards a lasting solution to the crisis. We foresee in that aspect of rotating the presidency as a very significant item in the package of special status for the two English speaking regions. It is also known that one other proposal that is inseparable from any form of decentralisation, be it the ten regional structures or the original two state federation, there were proposals that the governors should be elected. We are disappointed that this very proposal has not featured in the final resolutions that have been submitted to the head of state.
It is equally strongly believed that even the Sultan’s two proposals have missed their way to the presidency. If this turns out to be true, it can only confirm the suspicion in many, that the whole idea of dialogue was in bad faith, and that it is all but the ruling party’s interest that a few persons are working behind the scenes to see that the final result of the efforts of Cameroonians, turns out in favour of what they believe in and not what the public is expecting.
We have said it time and again, that the just concluded dialogue was seen as a significant step forward. But if its path is beginning to meander too much, it losses its credibility and this will be disastrous. We however still believe that the Head of State sincerely holds a clear vision of what the special status for the Anglophone regions is all about. And like in our previous editorial, we still insist that he takes the experiences of Canada and Tanzania as points of contact.