The election is a joke, of course, and every Cameroonian knows it. It’s just a formality to justify the continuation of Biya’s dictatorship. Every Cameroonian I’ve talked to complains that voting is absolutely pointless. A lot of people have said they’re not going to bother voting. Everyone knows who the winner will be. They think that even if they do vote for the opposition, Biya’s people will stuff the ballot boxes. Plus, there is no real opposition. The opposition parties are weak and divided; there’s too many of them with no clear leader. Heck, Cameroon is so diverse, it’s no wonder- there’s not much cooperation between regions, the Extreme North might as well be a different country in how different it is from the Southern regions. More than 52 opposition candidates have registered, but people say a lot of them are probably paid by Biya. He’ll put on a good show- this year, he’s allowing the diaspora to vote.
Biya’s opposition is vocal and well-organized in the Anglophone Northwest, but as far as I can tell in the Extreme North there isn’t much political activism. Lots of people in the Extreme North want change. When I ask acquaintances what they think of Biya, they say unanimously “we need someone new.” Everyone agrees that Biya is too old and has been in power way too long. However, their attitude seems to be: “we can’t really do anything about it,” or “it’s not worth our trouble to get involved.” They just kind of shrug their shoulders. They also don’t say he’s been a bad leader or cite any specific reason. It’s more like we’re tired of him, let’s get some new blood in there. What I gather is they’d be happy if the stars aligned to put Biya out of power, they’d say it’s about time! But they look to factors beyond their control, such as his declining health.
Part of it could be too that it’s not ingrained in Cameroonian culture to question authority, people often accept the behavior of “grands” or rich, powerful, politically influential people with a shrug, as if to say well he’s a grand, he’s got the money to do what he wants.
I suppose Biya does enough to keep people pacified; as one of my friends put it, “We’ve had no big problems since he was in power.” He’s brought stability. Public officials are happy- there’s so much corruption, bribery, and patronage that it’s in their interest that he stay in power. And then there’s the flurry of infrastructure improvements and investments and gifts of food leading up to the elections to win the vote of illiterate people, or at least promises of them. All officials appointed by the ruling party help the campaign by going out to villages and writing down their needs, making promises to put in wells, improve roads, etc. if they'll vote for Biya.
As an aside, you guys should check out photos of President Biya’s wife, Chantal Biya. Her hair is absolutely ridiculous (not to mention the tacky outfits and garish makeup...). I’m sure she thinks she looks great.
As for us foreigners, we are supposed to be “alert and attentive” leading up to the election in the very unlikely event of political unrest. We’re not allowed to leave our posts for most of the month of October.
More on the elections to come later.
2. Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon’s national hero and the most decorated African soccer player of all time, is now one of the highest-paid athletes in the world. He transferred from Inter Milan to a Russian team and his new salary tops that of American athletes like Manning, Rodriguez, and Kobe Bryant. He is adored here- t-shirts with his name on it are everywhere. No one I’ve talked to has criticized him for the transfer; instead, the amount of money just seems to add to their awe of him.
For more details see:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903327904576526622339442518.html?KEYWORDS=eto%27o
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