A whiteman or nothing.

The head http://elie-smith.blogspot.com/2007/09/head-or-introduction.html

Anglo -American and Breton wood institutions activisms in Cameroon ( part 2)

The absence or out right refusal of major political parties to join the proposed government of “national union” was a quandary to Paul Biya and also to the Breton Wood Institutions. After the 1997 presidential elections, the Bretton Wood institutions and their protégé Paul Biya were in a dilemma. As for the radical opposition political parties, albeit the most representative and which was headed by the SDF, they were alone and unaided by her traditional Anglo-American supporters. For the Americans whose activism in the 90s, helped push and implement real democracy in Cameroon, had their minds elsewhere by 1997. Remember, I had early mentioned how startled I was, when the former US ambassador to Cameroon, Mr Charles H. Twining, told me in an interview that: “democracy in Cameroon, had taken a great leap forward”. The US government never wanted to chaperon the opposition any more, for they had their mind elsewhere. It was at a time, when China was making her presence felt on the African continent, and the Americans had to rethink and retool their strategy, especially that which concerns oil and other strategic minerals. Beside China, the other American competitor in Africa was France.

Even though France has a lot of influence in French-speaking Africa, she can’t compete with the Americans in any part of the continent, even in her former French colonies. The Americans are therefore not impressed about the French. For the French, besides nosing around, they don’t have any clearly define strategy in their former African colonies and former area of influence. However, before the 90s, France had a clear cut strategy in Africa, in particular in her former colonies. But currently, France doesn’t have any clearly defined African strategy. Furthermore, even if they had, they don’t have the economic means, spirit of sacrifice and not to mention the needed military capabilities. Any sustained military campaign that France would want to take, must have the support of the US and that of Great Britain. An example of how feeble the French presently are, in their former zone of influence, which is French-speaking Africa, they were almost thrown out of the exploitation of Chadian oil and also in the construction of the pipeline that passes through Cameroon. As for the US, their main preoccupation in Africa these days, is China and China’s activism in the vital and none vital parts of the continent. It might explain why, in 1997, the American government looked the other and allowed Paul Biya to embezzle the elections again.

For in the calculations of the Americans, with Biya in power, they will be able to develop a new strategic agreement and partnership in the West African sub region, especially within the Gulf of Guinea, which will be beneficial to them. This is so because, Nigeria, which the third largest economy in Africa and second largest in sub Saharan Africa, was entering a democratic phase, which has facilitated the emergence of a new crop of leaders. These new breed of politicians, were not ready to be American puppets as their older peers who were generally corrupt. Nigeria, it is well known to be the largest oil producer on the continent and also an ally of the Americans. But as mentioned earlier, there is a changing dynamics in Nigeria. The West African state was beginning to develop closer economic ties with China, aided by the new democratic dispensation. But it was a developement that was not appreciated in Washington DC. For in spite all the calls for good governance and democracy, Washington prefers governments that puts US interest first than governments that put the interest their local population as the fulcrum of their policy. But in spite all the sweeteners meant to hoodwink the opposition that were proposed by the Anglo-Americans, they could not ignore the deteriorating situation in the country.

Cameroon: profile of Soulaymane Mahamat and the doubtful ancentries of Ahmadou Ahidjo and Paul Biya

And these children, whose parents were humiliated by the former ruling class, were the ones who took over the mantle of leadership after independence. For they understood modern ere governance and also had western education and this change of status, created conflicts in most countries in Africa, wherein the former ruling class, lost their privileges to people they used to despise or rule. Concerning the ancestry of Ahmadou Ahidjo and other leaders of Cameroon or even the current president Paul Biya, whose ancestry is also put in doubt by the usual people, it has to mentioned that, prior to 1960, when borders where confirmed, there existed mass migration of African people from one part of the continent or region to the other. Furthermore, colonially drawn boundries have never posed any problems to African people. That might explain why, the parents of late president Ahidjo or current President Biya, may have either come from current Nigeria, Mali, Mauritania or Niger as claimed by people who are floating such information. Or in the case of Biya, it is claimed that, he is from Equatorial Guinea.

Such claims are basless and unfounded. For the questions that have to be asked to people floating the idea or information on the origins of people governing Cameroon are these: what is the native tongue of Biya and Ahidjo? Was the area that they are currently located in, configured in the same way before colonialism? Did Nigeria or Equatorial Guinea exist before the advent of colonialsm and the borders that they created? Concerning Ahidjo’s education, I don’t think he (Ahidjo) went to school more than most people of his generation and more so, who had the luck to be educated. While there is a strong controversy about the ancestry of late Ahmadou Ahidjo and also the rank that he may have had within his family and tribe, Souleymane Mahamat never had to confront such problems. He was from a well known Muslim aristocratic family and whose father wanted him to be educated in a western style. For his father foresaw the preponderant part that western education will play in modern French-speaking Cameroon. Hence Souleymane and his brothers and sisters were all educated. With all the divine privileges that Souleymane had, he never experienced difficulties when he was growing up.

He grew up with servants and was groomed by his father to be a leader. Souleymane was lucky that his father, although a noble and rich minority, who are proud of their glorious past and thus despises Europeans, he nevertheless made an effort to send his children amongst which was Souleymane, to attend the school of White men, this in order to achieve western education. It was not the case with other rich nobles of the greater north, which preferred sending their children to Koranic schools, where they are thought elementary Arabic. When Souleymane went to school, it turns out that, he was very brilliant and upon graduation from primary and secondary schools, he was trilingual. He spoke fluent French, English and Arabic. Not forgetting that, he also spoke Fulani and Hausa languages. His father sensing that his son was brilliant, he developed reflects that was thought to have left him long ago. He decided that such a brilliant son would not serve the government of Cameroon but God. Senior Soulaymane wanted Junior Souleymane to become an imam. But it was not easy for a child who had had the experience of Souleymane to be attracted to a theocratic service as his father wanted.