Fire Fru Ndi Now!

By Innocent Chia
From a modest observation of sports fans the world over, we all seem to think that we know better than the coach, especially a coach on a losing team. This is acutely true of soccer fans in the banana state of La Republique du Cameroun, home of the erstwhile revered Indomitable Lions. To a man, each Cameroonian soccer fan has always known better than the coach and never hesitated to demand that the coach be fired when the squad is floundering and losing game after game, competition after competition.

This passion, unfortunately, has hardly translated into the political arena where the leaders – Paul Biya, Fru Ndi, Bello Bouba, Ndam Njoya et al – have been forever holding unto power with ironic cheering from the same fans that show little tolerance for losing coaches. In this piece, I liken Fru Ndi to a coach who has a record, a scorecard or report card against which he must be judged. My assessment at the end of the day is pretty obvious – Fire the Coach! The SDF has to fire its Founding Chairman in order to find its way back as a winning team or eventually disappear from the political map of relevancy.

Even the late Steve Jobs, Founder of the almighty global brand, the Apple, was once fired by his own Board of Directors… How did they arrive at that conclusion? I bet they came to the conclusion by using much the same set of criteria that companies, political parties, non-for-profit organizations, and countries utilize to fire any employee, up to the CEO and Board Chair – the party leader or to vote out the President like Jimmy Carter in 1982 or George Bush in 1994. In the instance of Steve Jobs, the market and the numbers necessitated drastic measures and he was let go. In the Carter and Bush cases, the majority of voters disliked the direction in which they were taking the country and kicked these guys out.

It is not overly presumptuous to say that in Cameroon as is the case in most African States, citizens go to the polls with little regard to the track record or report card of the individual(s) they are voting into office. Citizens are not sophisticated enough to understand that they are all investors in their country of birth and need to be reported to on how the business of the country is faring. Be not fooled, however, that Fru Ndi and the rest of the so-called opposition have long understood politics to be nothing more than an investment and have been cashing out as much as they can - what my business savvy friends call return on investment - ROI.

Meantime, there is no denying the role of the ethnicization of politics or the politicization of ethnicity; politics of the belly; corruption; party loyalty; spoilification; revenge or vendetta and a litany other things that you know.  It is also possible that some politicians are blank slates with little for the electorate to go by in making informed decisions as to how they will handle the business of the region or the country. Before he came to national prominence on May 26th 1990, John Fru Ndi was not an unknown quantity in his native Northwest Province. His bookstore, Ebibi Book Center, grew into national renown. He was even President of PWD Bamenda in 1979, year in which the team lost at the infamous finals to Dynamo Douala.

In the single party days of Ahmadou Ahidjo’s CNU, Fru Ndi was a player. This guy therefore has a long track record against which SDF members should and must objectively judge him and determine whether he still has any fight left in him to lead the party.

One must admit that there is always a certain degree of difficulty when comparing one thing against itself. Most Cameroonians are only now able to appreciate, or even loathe the more, the regime of Ahmadou Ahidjo because they have Biya to compare with. It is against this backdrop that I find it illuminating to attempt apples to apples comparison of the period 1990 to present day between Biya and Ndi.

I agree with you who are disagreeing with me already on the grounds that Biya is President and Ndi is not; that Biya has powers that Ndi cannot exert; that Biya has resources that Ndi can only dream of… I agree with you on all of that and then some more...

But, here is what I am judging both men on: Both are leaders of their respective parties; and both have run against each other as contenders for the Presidency. Fair or not, these two criteria are probably the best tools that we have in assessing whether Fru Ndi is a political charlatan or the prodigy that others label him to be. Because numbers tell an implacable tale, I have decided to chart up how both have faired on the national spotlight in competitions against each other and in competitions between their parties, the SDF and the CPDM.

Fru Ndi and Biya head-to-head

 What is obvious is that Biya has improved his game by several leaps and bounds. It is irrelevant what that game is: pre and post electoral fraud; corruption; intimidation of allies and foes (like jailing the G-11 members); buying foreign observers... The fact of the matter is that he has become great at it and left John Fru Ndi in the dust. The question then for party members is whether to continue using the same rusted and beat-up player against someone who knows his opponent that much? Is it not time to change coaches for a new appraoch, new tactics or new strategies?

CPDM vs SDF match-up

In the CPDM against SDF party match-up, the SDF has lost about 75 percent of its seats in parliament. At the same time, the CPDM has grown its number of representatives by 50 percent. Even in his North West fief, John Fru Ndi and the SDF have been undercut and undermined. Serious members have to be asking themselves where what went wrong and why they are losing election after election? The role of a party boss is to grow his flock. In a perfect world, enrolling new members is the only way you grow your voice and increase the chances of getting national and international covergae and winning elections.

The SDF has to look at itself and ask the question: Is membership growing or we are losing members? Is Fru Ndi still commanding the same crowds at organized rallies or he is having more crowds at funerals? If he is not, why is the party still keeping him there?

There comes a point when the old man himself has to wise-up. Parents must not die for their own kids to become parents. Fru Ndi is SDF's past that is nolstalgic, but the past all the same. He is not the future of the party. It is immoral for him to be eyeing a Senate seat. I say it is time to Fire Fru Ndi and hire a new fire brand for the party. Numbers don't lie. The coach has to be fired. Fire Fru Ndi now!

 

Comments

[Ewu Ewongu]

Chia, your head-to-head analysis assumes that all the elections were free and fair and that all the allegations of election rigging beginning with the 1992 presidential elections have been unfounded. However, there is ample evidence, including on this very blog, that this has not been the case. So while we can fault Fru Ndi/SDF for a lack of a coherent policy, we can definitely not fault them (at least not completely) for their fabricated election losses, particularly in the NW province.

[Fon Emmanuel]

This is quite absurd. Mr Chia must be making such comparisons for reasons best known to himself and definitely not to determine the competence of Mr John Fru Ndi as politician and Chairman of the SDF. In Cameroon politics can be likened to the struggle to steal or slaughter a pig. The only defense the pig has is to scream for the whole village to know that he is in terrible distress. That is what the SDF has been doing and succeeding all these years in stopping the thief or murderers from getting away with their evil intention. Otherwise how could anybody win against the CPDM in any elections?
I would assume that Mr Chia by this article would want us to believe that a smarter and more tactful opposition politician would be able to counter the rigging of elections by the CPDM government. This false assumption harbours on the premis that the CPDM uses some sophisticated methodology to rig elections. No. They don't. They simply swap figures in the crudest ways to their favour and do so every single time without shame and fear. They owe explanations to nobody and that is it. How can anybody win in such situations? Why then should we judge Mr John Fru Ndi under such unfair conditions? In my opinion screaming like the pig has been largely successful because it has succeeded to frighten the CPDM crooks from stealing or crushing the Cameroon nation completely.

[Acham David]

"In the single party days of Ahmadou Ahidjo’s CNU, Fru Ndi was a player. This guy therefore has a long track record against which SDF members should and must objectively judge him and determine whether he still has any fight left in him to lead the party."

Rubbish! As if you, Chia, never sang praises for the regime. It amazes me that this reporter who once worked for CRTV, singing praises for the regime, now has the audacity to throw insults at Fru Ndi and others for being hypocrits. And as if, going by his analysis, Fru Ndi has had a level playing field against the monster at Etoudi called Biya over the socalled presidential election.

[Mc Tarvish]

Please lets be analytic and not just judgemental. Because we hate the regime doesn't mean we sympathize with Fru Ndi. Its not a write wrong question and answer session. Saying the writer of this article once praised the regime is an absurd remark and goes to buttress the sit-tight attitude disciples of Fru Ndi abhor. I supported SDF in the last elections and will never support the ruling party just because one is a demon and the other is Satan. I attended a closed door G-8 meeting and when I heard Fru Ndi speak I immediately inscribed in my note book that this man could never have been the president. Where are the top dons that started the SDF together with him? He lacks every political prowess. He is an older thug with vitriolic sarcasm that pulverizes the plight of this nation. What agenda has he that has been implemented at a microcosmic level? You mustn't get to Etoudi to have impact.
It baffles me when you demand a level playing field. Every football player know that home advantage is 13th player if you have the referee on your side. An undulating play ground demands political dexterity and not public sympathy. To be trying to wag his tail clamoring for senate is an indicator SDF and or Fru Ndi becoming vestigial and rudimentary. His opinion will be swallowed and his name smeared

[DR VAKUNTA]

"I say it is time to Fire Fru Ndi and hire a new fire brand for the party. Numbers don't lie. The coach has to be fired. Fire Fru Ndi now!"

You hit the nail on the head, Mr. Chia. When the head of an organization outlives his/her usefulness, common sense dictates that they look for an exit pronto. I have opined in many of my write-ups that Ni John Fru embarked on a laudable enterprise on May 26, 1990 when he launched the SDF party. But this is 2013 and much water has flown under the bridge. Fru has lost the vision he had in 1990.Age is not doing him any good either.Some perspicacious folks have even hinted at the fact that ALZHEIMER'S may be catching up with our revered old man.

The aura he created for himself and the SDF in the 90s has thinned into a specter. Fru Ndi should see these signs as a harbinger of terrible times ahead of him and exit now before some internal forces get him out of his chairmanship. Believe it or not, Fru Ndi seems to be the albatross of SDF at this conjucture. The party needs a younger leader that has the brains and savvy to coach and lead rather than micro-manage party affairs the way John Fru Ndi is doing at this point in time.

[The Ngwa Man, l'ami personnel de la démocratie.]

Brother Chia, though I agree with your conclusion, yes Fru Ndi must be fired (along with Ndam Njoya, Bello Bouba etc). Unfortunately you built your case for conviction on a weak foundation i.e. Cameroon's election results.

Cardinal Tumi made the following statement in an interview with Cameroon Postline:

"You know, since independence, I have never known a single transparent election in Cameroon, even when we had the one-party system. Before the votes arrive in Yaounde, the results were already being announced while the people were still carrying the votes on their heads from the villages." (Mbom, Francis Tim. "If I Were Biya, I Would Resign-Cardinal Tumi." Cameroon Postline. 19 October 2012.)

Need I say any more.

But here comes the problem that Cameroonians are unwilling to discuss. Yes Fru Ndi should resign but are those waiting to earn the reigns of opposition leadership going to continue with the failed tactics of passiveness and accommodation that have marked our 20 plus years of pseudo-multipartyism?

I don't believe in boycotting elections and understand the significance of having a seat at the negotiating table. But I also believe that opposition parties should have militant wings that are able and ready to take very assertive actions when needed to show that they are not toothless bull dogs.

[John Dinga]

It is interesting comparing one who lost after an honorable performance to one who won by cheating.
Cameroon is surely setting new standards everyday in Advanced Democracy.

As we enter the next phase of our famous emergence, 100 Senators (30 of them nominees of the ruling prince!) will be representing the various provinces (sorry Regions) at the new chambers. Elsewhere, Senators are chosen by the electorate after a long campaign in which they must have convinced by outlining and articulating policy/vision for the years to come. In Cameroon's case it is list of Angels sitting side by side with Devils that go to do the people's murky business - voting a budget to sustain a bloated, unwieldy and inefficient structure of patronage governance.

[HONORE NGAM]

Bobe Chia, will firing Chairman Fru Ndi help? I dont think so. Besides you have used the wrong benchmarks to judge his record. Sham elections characterised by all fraud mechanisms ever conceived? The question I even ask is has Cameroon even moved from a dictatorship to a democracy. I sometimes wonder how Chairman FRU NDI has mustered the resilience and patience to lead Cameroonians towards genuine democracy.

[Julius Agbor Agbor, Ph.D.]

Thank you Mr. Chia for the persuasive analysis and conclusion of the need to overhaul all Cameroons' opposition political party machinery, if they have to remain relevant. I guess this was the essence of your message. Now, we may not all agree (and Chia admits this!)on an objective criteria of judging the performance of the first generation of opposition leaders we have had, but it is crucial not to under-estimate the extinguishing force of the Biya/France/CPDM machinery against the independence and democratization of Cameroon. Cameroon is not yet independent in the real sense and until you understand this, you will not understand why multi-party democracy has not yet worked in Cameroon and consequently why instead of political parties; we needed but liberation movements of the type "SDF" with its emblematic figure (Fru Ndi). Folks, let's not be bitter against each other. If someone raises a point in an argument which you think is flawed, you who has a sound argument should correct that person by the strength of your logical argument and not by using derogatory and injurious language. Every one has a point, it's just a difference of perspective. So let's keep the discussion going and in sanity!

[Alfred A,]

My question is, How much were you paid for this article by the powers that be? And how much balance are you to collect? Fru Ndi is more popular than the president, evidence is your devotion to his sacking. Any one voting against the future votes against Fru Ndi led SDF. If you are used to CPDM and therefore an apologist to it I recommend that you start curing yourself by asking for the sacking of(or by sacking)the other political party leaders who have done worst than SDF. When PWD could not break through the football politics, CAMARC came and tried so the political space is wide open for Innocent Chia to come and show Cameroonians how to do better than Fru Ndi.

[elvis]

i will not want to get into the argument of how much right the author of this article is in his conclusion; but it must be acknowledged that an alternative means needs to be put in place to salvage Cameroon from this political standstill. We shouldn't just keep blaming Biya for election rigging because we are sure he will do that all the time. Rather crying against this injustice, an alternative and potent means have to be put in place. Afterall, when birds learn to fly without perching, then hunters should learn to shoot without missing. If he can't look for a solution to Biya's evil wisdom, then he should rightly resign. We need a solution now. A solution that will put even the rigging in threats. Now!

[Nji Franklin]

I am dissappionted with people like mr Chia or what ever u call yourself.don't u have the potentials of also becoming a president of Cameroon.bring yourself up on the political stage and make yourself a man,a REAL MAN like Biya or Ndi.u cannot even win an election of being the president of an association yet u criticize people who have succeeded at least to bring some changes,in fact u can't write the history of Cameroon without their names.what have u done for the country,what do u offer.word of advice to you,if Fru Ndi,Paul Biya and others have failed you,rather that sit there and write bullshit about them,better come up with your own party and lets see what you offer.....and how it goes from there.......