Cameroon:profile of Soulaymane Mahamat and brief Bernard Eding (part 7)

Souleymane truly liked his job and also knew that, as long as Ahidjo was president of the Republic, he was like the rock of Gibraltar in his post of finance director. Souleymane was the bright promising and constantly rising star of Northern Cameroonians. In 1981, he was sent again to France by the government of Cameroon, for a training course, that was aimed at preparing him to take over the mantle of general manger of SONARA. The post of general manager was held since the inauguration of SONARA on the 16^th of May 1981 by a White French man. The post of director general of SONARA would have been the coronation of the meteoric rise of Souleymane Mahamat, the cow Fulani, from the town of Maroua, located in the far north province. Unfortunately for him, when he returned from training, in France in October 1982, on the 4th of November of the same year, his mentor or protégé, late Ahmadou Ahidjo decided to quit the post of president of the Republic. But it was not entirely bad for Souleymane, for he still retained his initial post of financial director. However, the new president of Cameroon, Paul Biya, decided to appoint late Bernard Eding, who was serving since 1978 as deputy Director General, as the new head of SONARA.

Paul Biya, a Christian from the greater south, wanted to end the project of his predecessor, who wanted to appoint only Muslim of the greater northern region of the country, as head of strategic companies at the detriment of southerners. Bernard Eding the new boss of SONARA was a national or native of Bassaland and a Christian. Late Mr Bernard Eding, who became the Director General of SONARA from 1982 till his death, was born on the 5th of March 1940 in Edea, Sanaga Maritime division of the Littoral province. He was a graduate of the Ecole Nationale des Industries Chimiques (ENSIC) of Nancy and the Ecole Supérieure du Petrole et des Moteurs (ENSPM) of Reuil-Malmaison, located in the Greater Paris region, France. He has worked with the Gabonese National Oil Refining Company SOGARA or Societe Gabonaise de Rafinage from 1967-1970 and with the French state owned oil exploration and exploitation company Elf-Serepca-Cameroon from 1976-1977[1]. But Souleymane Mahamat, who thinks and believes that he, was born to rule and not to be ruled, did not appreciate the appointment of Bernard Eding as the new Director General of SONARA. Hence he decided in1990 or 1991 to join the opposition Social Democratic Front (SDF).

It must be made clear that, Soulaymane Mahamat did not join the SDF because he admired the courage and project or manifesto of the SDF. He joined the SDF because of two things. First he was disappointed that, he was not offered the post of Director General of SONARA and secondly, those who recruited him on behalf of the SDF promised him that, should they win the 1992 presidential elections, he will be given the post of finance minister. Like most Cameroonians in the 90s, Souleymane was convinced that the government of Paul Biya will fall and will be replaced democratically by the SDF. The decision of Souleymane to adhere to the opposition SDF did not go down well with the government. It was considered as a treasonable felony. He was immediately sacked from SONARA. Paradoxically for the government, her decision to dismiss Souleymane from SONARA instead had a boomerang effect. All of a sudden, a man who was known only within government circles and elites of the far north became a national hero. He even stole for while, the position of star political figure of the country that was enjoyed then by John Fru Ndi. Souleymane Mahamat might after reflections, be accused today of opportunism, but the SDF that recruited him was equally opportunistic.