The Last Stand: Going After Cameroon’s Military Generals

By Joseph M. Ndifor

 

As the date for this year’s presidential election nears, and with no apparent sign that President Paul Biya would easily give up power, even if drubbed at the polls, Cameroonians may now make some last ditch efforts to go after his military generals. We have, mistakenly in the past, generally described Biya’s grip on power in five words, Biya-and- his-military-regime. But as Cameroonians’ desperate efforts to let Biya peacefully relinquish power have been hobbled for years by these men, blame should henceforth be directed at them individually: what are their individual roles for the regime; what military trainings have they received overseas; what has been their take in past military repressions in the country; their oversea missions or assignments; their assets, etc

International protests against the regime and other means of condemnation should, between now and election day, carry the names of these military generals as a means to bring the regime to its knees. There is no other greater threat to a regime that relies on the military for its survival than sowing seeds of dissension within its ranks. And by laying blame individually on these men, Cameroonians can rest assure that that Biya’s outward bravado is just another bubble.

There’s even a bright side to this idea as I write. As the noose tightens around embattled Ivorian leader Laurent Gbabgo who, for four months thought he could rely on his military, one of his trusted generals recently deserted him, and has sought refuge in the South African embassy in Abidjan. Massive ministerial resignations, defections, as well as desertions within the military, seem fashionable these days as the political drama drags on from the Arab world through Cote D’Ivoire.

But what even accounts for this climate of fear, unleashed on Cameroonians, by a military that has no historical evidence, that when push comes to shove, it won’t waver under international pressure? History may be a helpful guide here.

Cameroon has never been embroiled in any protracted civil conflict that could inevitably give observers some veneer of bravery and loyalty of its men in uniform to the regime. Neither has its generals and junior officers participated in any major international conflict around the globe that could also give credence to the fact that in the event of any international sanction against it, it may have the stamina for a long fight ahead.

And apart from the Bakassi imbroglio, there’ve been two significant domestic display of Cameroon’s military might during Biya’s long stay in power, both of which have been mistakenly interpreted as loyalty to the regime.

In the first instance, just sixteen months after he took over power, the April 1984 military coup that unfolded was crushed by his loyalists. But to imagine that loyalty to a regime, barely sixteen months in its existence, would be the same twenty eight years later, is hugely erroneous. Moreover, that April 1984 putsch, coming on the heels of when another dictator, Amado Ahidjo had just resigned, and was highly suspected of being the mastermind of it, was bound to even receive international condemnation and an upper hand for Biya’s merciless crack down on its plotters. But the world has since evolved and some of those military officers, who braved enemy fire to defend him during that period, have also taken notice.

Eight years later, during the SDF launching, six Cameroonians lost their lives after being riddled with military bullets. Such bestiality, interpreted at the time as testimony of loyalty to the regime, also ignored the fact that that military general, who had been dispatched to Bamenda with a contingent of troops to put a halt to the citizens’ yearnings for political freedom, had barely been promoted when political stirrings made headlines in Cameroon in 1990. Of course being eager to please his bosses in Yaounde as a recently promoted general, he was thirsty for human blood that day in Bamenda. Even some of the disparaging statements that the general made about Bamenda people at the time, if caught on tape or on camera today, would likely land him at The Hague as a potential perpetuator of genocide.

There is also that military culture of modesty that generally prevails around civilian regimes that rely on them which, in the case of Cameroon, I’m doubtful if those men can adapt to. The desire for anything foreign, from fanciful cars, women, medical treatment and spending sprees overseas, as well as a ravenous appetite for French food are the stock-in-trade of these officers. Will they give up these “perks” in order to defend Biya, if pushed by the international community that the only means to them is to side with the opposition?

Being cavalier about who takes on Biya with this we-can-do-it-ourselves philosophy has not worked in the past. Yes, the Egyptians and Tunisians took to the streets, and had their leaders pummeled out of power. But as the West focuses on these Arab countries, there is also the stick and carrot diplomacy quietly taking place in Sub-Saharan Africa.

If Gbago goes, which is very likely, it may set a precedent that political stalemates–like the one that was visibly clear in Cameroon after the 1992 election-are other alternatives for the opposition, even if they get shellacked on election day, as those propaganda ministers under these regimes would like us to believe.

But for twenty eight years now, we’ve largely not pointed the international community to these generals as agents of repression. Cameroonians know who they are, and what roles they’ve played over the years for a regime that has consistently defied the will of its people. And rather than play footsie with them, we should take them on.

Comments

[ErdiSamuels]

"Cameroonians know who they are, and what roles they’ve played over the years for a regime". I am sorry we donot know them. Even you search on "google" you hardly find infos about Cameroon socalled "generals and oficer". Their names, pictures, houses, connections, friends, families, wealth etc.
Mr. Ndifor I will appreciate when names are called, pictures posted, wealth exposed etc. This could serve as a presure to these men. They might turn to behave themselves if they know the world knows about them.
So why keep them anonymous? It's just my suggestion. What do Cameroonians thnik?

[John Dinga]

You are looking in the wrong place for answers. It was not the generals whose "hands were tied" in 1992 or the elections thereafter!

[limbekid]

I usually agree with your analyses but this time I think you may be off the mark. In a country where no public official has ever resigned for misperformance I don`t see how exposing the foibles of military leadership, would make a change. These people are used to a certain lifestyle and would do anything to maintain it, regardless of who can guarantee it.

[Felix]

An African wrote about Genocide in Ivory coast and Western Media hypocrisy on this forum,it disappears with the blink of an eye.
Now I can see a US senator request about Genocide in Ivory coast shining like a diamond in the sky. What do you take Africans for?
I am asking the Administrators of this forum.

[Kamer Chat]

I think the solutions that you are proposing are a good step ahead, but can't be seen as the complete answer to our problems or the solution. Exposing these generals will not change much, but it will somehow make them take the heat as well as their master Paul Biya which in turn can help in times of storm as they might make the right decisions since they will then know that if they make the wrong ones, we will expose them after what.

[Bamda boy]

We need to start by changing our self, put down the beer which Biya owns a share in and 75% France and start getting involed while talking less.

[Burberry UK]

My mate physical activity is also football obviously most on my family customers appreciated it.

[Amouta Denis]

It's often surprising that a country, held hostage by a military for this length of time, would have Cameroonians embarrassingly telling readers following the publication of this article that the military is not the problem? They are those that have kept a dictator like Biya in power for this length of time, and ought to be condemned outright without reservation.
Keep the military out of the picture in Cameroon and see whether that regime would survive a single day. Call a spade a spade: Biya's regime won't survive a night if the military is not around.

[Prisco]

Cameroon has been under hostage for a long period of time,when i talk about Cameroon under hostage i mean the leader,i think the Military is only playing their part,they are not keeping any one in power but the leader is keeping has self in power,are we just going to full our hands and sit watching our Father-land fail?

[manolo blahnik shoes]

Very, very nicely done!