Gerontocracy in Cameroon – These Old Men Who Govern Us

 By Dibussi Tande

It is extremely important to frequently renew political leadership in every country so new leaders can bring a fresh perspective to global trends and developments, and help move their countries in ways that may differ from previously long held typical and traditional approaches. Christopher Fomunyoh, NDIIA

Last February 13, President Paul Biya of Cameroon celebrated his 76th birthday. This septuagenarian who has been Cameroon’s president for the last for 27 years is the leader of a gerontocracy which has ruled the country for half a century – old men and women way past their prime but desperately clinging on to power. The result? Cameroon is increasingly looking like the pre-Gorbatchev Soviet Union whose entire leadership was made up of the infirm, senile and “walking dead” of the Politburo.

In June 2008, the French language monthly La Cité revealed that 80% of Cameroon’s ruling class consisted of individuals who were way past the official retirement age, and that 80% of the 34 new ambassadors appointed that year were also above retirement age. In fact, some were actually pulled out of retirement – this, in a country where life expectancy is about 52 years. La Cité also profiled 60 key members of the ruling elite, who by virtue of their age, should have long retired and given way to a much younger generation of leaders. Here is a snapshot of that list:

Armed forces

• Major General Pierre Semengue, 73 years old (first indigenous head of the armed forces in 1960)
• General Asso’o Emane Benoit, 71
• General Rene Claude Meka - army chief of staff - 70
• General Mambou Deffo, 70
• General Camille Nkoa Atenga, 70

Public Corporations

• Felix Sabal Lecco - President, National Council of Communication, 90+ years (joined the Ahidjo government in 1969; minister of Justice in 1970)
• El Hadj Ousman Mey - Chairman, National Social Insurance Fund, 83+ years (founding member of Ahidjo’s Union Camerounaise in 1958; Federal Inspector/Governor of North province from 1960-1983)
• Simon Achidi Achu – Chairman, National Investment Corporation (SNI), 76 years (First appointed minister in the Ahidjo regime in 1970; Prime Minister under Biya from 1992 - 1996)
• Adolphe Moudiki – Director General National Hydrocarbons Corporation (SNH), 70 years, (the “young” Moudiki first became a government minister “only” in 1987)

State Institutions

• Cavaye Yegue Djibril - President of the National Assembly, 70 years
• Paul Pondi - President of the Civil Aviation Authority - 80+ years (First Cameroonian head of National Security in 1960)
• Paul Tessa – President of the Anti-corruption commission (CONAC), 70 years (First became a government minister in 1972)
• Jean-Baptiste Beleoken – Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency, 76 years (Was the commercial adviser in the Cameroon embassy in Paris in 1961, and ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1973) 
• Martin Belinga Eboutou – Adviser to the President of the Republic, 70 years (former ambassador to the United Nations, his first key position in the foreign service was as the Charge d'Affaires in Cameroon's Embassy in Brazzaville, Congo in 1970)

Roving Ambassadors

• Jean Keutcha, 85+ years (Secretary of State for Public Works in 1964; Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1971);
• Marcel Medjo Akono, 84+ years (First appointed a provincial governor in 1972)
• Joseph Charles Doumba, 72 (First became a government minister in 1972)

This is merely the tip of the iceberg; septuagenarians and octogenarians still occupy key positions at all levels of the public service, public corporations, the police and armed forces, effectively preventing the much needed and long overdue renewal of state institutions. In the process, an entire generation of young Cameroonians has been permanently sidelined, unlikely to even manage, govern or lead in their lifetime. As La Cité laments,

Au Cameroun, des dinosaures de 1960, sont toujours en fonction, pendant que leurs petits-fils sont en quête d'un premier emploi / In Cameroon, the dinosaurs of 1960 are still in office, while their grand children are still searching for their first employment.

Once a Nation of Young Leaders…

I want to express, on behalf of all of us, our great pleasure in having the President of the Cameroon visit us, and the members of his Cabinet. The President is the second youngest President in the world… The President here is 36-7 and feels that those older than that should step aside! President John F. Kennedy, March 13, 1962

Cameroon was not always a gerontocracy. In fact, most of the individuals who now control the levers of power in the country started off very young. For example, 80 year-old Ferdinand Oyono, who was still a cabinet minister in 2006 and still wields immense power as an unofficial adviser to the President, was Cameroon’s representative at the United Nations in 1960 when he was just 31 years old, i.e., before the current US President Barack Obama was born.

Ahmadou Ahidjo became President of the Republic of Cameroun at 36; Paul Biya was 34 years old when he was appointed Director of the Civil Cabinet at the Presidency in 1967 (with the rank of Minister), 42 years when he became Prime Minister in 1975, and 49 when he succeeded Ahidjo as President of the Republic; General Pierre Semengue, was a very young 25-year old Captain when he became head of Cameroon’s armed forces in 1960.

And the list goes on…

Joseph Owona became director of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC) in 1976, "when he was all of thirty-one years old" (Martin Mayer, The Diplomats, p. 162); Bello Bouba Maigari became Paul Biya’s Prime Minister in 1982 at 35;  Dorothy Njeuma, who until a few weeks ago was still the Rector of the University of Yaounde I became Vice Minister of Education in 1975 when she was 32 years old; Nzo Ekangaki was 28 years old when he became Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1962, and 38 when he was elected Secretary General of the Organization of African Unity (OAU); Paul Bamela Engo, currently a judge at the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea, was 33 years old when he became a Minister Counselor at the Cameroon Embassy in Bonn, Germany in 1964 and 38 when he was elevated to the rank of a Minister Plenipotentiary in 1969, Kamdem Niyim became Minister of Health in 1964 at the age of 23, etc., etc.

Lack of Renewal (political sclerosis, economic stagnation and insecurity)

The inability or unwillingness of Cameroon’s ruling class to renew and reinvigorate its ranks with young blood has led to a political sclerosis that is evident in an over centralized political system which is out of step with the exigencies of a modern 21st century state particularly with regards to democracy, basic human rights, the rule of law and good governance. The old methods of the one-party era still hold sway in spite of the much touted "political liberalisation".

This is also evident in inward-looking and discredited policies from a different age that have no place in today’s global village, and are out of sync with the knowledge economy and technology that drive globalization.  To Cameroon’s gerontocracy, globalization is not about becoming a credible competitor on the African or global market place but about importing cheap products from China or Europe or giving the Chinese and others sovereignty over Cameroonian waters and fertile lands to use as they see fit. 

And, the idea that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can actually be harnessed for purposes of national development is considered a far-fetched one, in spite of regular conferences about the value of “les NTIC’ to Cameroon’s development. Thus, no effort is being made to create a technical and legal framework for e-commerce, and the notion of e-government is limited to creating rarely updated and websites ministries and public corporations.

Any wonder, therefore, why the government would require that the thousands of individuals who want register for the entrance examination into the national police academy travel to Yaounde (sometimes for as long as two days) just to personally drop their applications at the school when these applications could simply have been sent electronically from any internet café in the country?

And no one has yet figured out that ICTs present a way out to the overcrowded and overburdened higher education system…

Even the armed forces apparatus is a victim of an aging leadership which has been completely overwhelmed by today’s security and military challenges, from the proliferation of arms and armed gangs in the central African region and the resultant insecurity on Cameroon’s borders; rise of “grand banditisme” within the country, with last year’s attack on banks in Limbe being one of the most glaring examples; piracy in the oil-rich Gulf of Guinea and armed insurgency on the Bakassi peninsular, etc. Young officers, many of whom are graduates of top military institutions such as West Point, are sidelined by the old generals who studied at Saint-Cyr (Generals Semengue, Meka, Youmba, Mpay, Tchemo) or elsewhere in the 1950s and 60s and who are versed in conventional WWII-type warfare which is of little relevance in dealing with today’s challenges. Even the armed forces handbook, the top secret doctrine d'emploi des forces camerounaises, has apparently not been revised since 1980. The results are there for all to see...

End Note
I am in no way claiming that Septuagenarians and even octogenarians cannot contribute to national development or that they are unable to lead simply because of their age. Far from it. I am referring specifically to the Cameroonian case where a gerontocracy, which as been in power since independence, has abdicated its leadership role, has lost all interest in innovation and modernization to the extent of becoming an obstacle to development, and is more interested in accumulating wealth and devising creative strategies for hanging onto power at all cost.

In a recent interview with Eden Newspaper, Chris Fomunyoh of NDI explained why leadership renewal is critical:

It is extremely important to frequently renew political leadership in every country so new leaders can bring a fresh perspective to global trends and developments, and help move their countries in ways that may differ from previously long held typical and traditional approaches.

Cameroon has, unfortunately, not learned this lesson. The result, as we have seen, is political sclerosis, economic stagnation and rising insecurity within the country and at its borders. Today, Cameroon’s gerontocracy has not just sidelined an entire generation of active Cameroonians willing and able to contribute their quota to national development, but is dragging the country back into the 19th century. Making the leap back into the 21st may soon become a virtually impossible task if nothing is done to rectify the situation.

Comments

[DANGO TUMMA]

MR FUMONYOH, LIKE FRU NDI ,ACHIDI ACU
ET ALL ARE ONLY TALKING BECAUSE THEY
OWN STOMACH ISNT FULL YET AS THEY MAY WANT.
THEY ARE NOT TALKING FOR NEITHER FRENCH-
CAMEROONIANS NOR SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS.
ELSE, FORMUNYOH, WOULD SEE THAT THE ONLY WAY TO BRING DEVELOPMENT TO THE TWO COUNTRIES IS TO HAVE THE ERADICATE COLONIALISM OF SOUTHERN CAMEROONS AND HAVE
ITS INDEPENDENCE MATERIALISE.

[Namaya]

Waoh, this has made my head spin (anti-clockwise)

[Philip Ndum]

Mr. Dibussi, when it comes to Anglophone Cameroon journalism, you are the very best out there. Your articles are not only very relevant, they are very well researched, objective and analytical.
For a while, I have keenly followed your blog and your write-ups are powerful enough to move a people to action, a people with a conscience. Unfortunately we come from a place where apathy reigns and your soul moving sermons may not be sufficient to create a rebirth of our nation.
Praise is something that does not come easy from me, something I consider as a vice. Believe me when I say you are the best and continue the great work. There are those out there with a conscience like me and the fire that you breathe in your write-ups will spread through the few to become a blazing inferno that will consume the filth that we have ruining our nation today.
If there is one critique that I have it is that the production is not constant, frequent enough. If there is anything that I could do to help, you can count on me. Again, keep up the good work and may God Almighty, lover of justice and equity, continue to bless you in all your endeavours.

[Innocent Ndifor Mancho]

Dibussi is the most prolefic of all cameroonian bloggers from west of the Mungo. your blog gives back some of the lost pride of e-journalism from the southern cameroons. Congratulations, brother for investigative journalism. i'd rather have your blog at this pace with well researched and well written reports than read the kind of things i read from some other sites.

stay strong brother.

[Wonja]

There is no doubt that Cameroon is for the old... The statistics given here by Dibussi (coupled with what some of us see here in the country), attest to that.

I especially appreciate the point you raised abt these 80's and 90's guys who don't see any need in the incorporation of the ICTs in administration.It's a pity.

[Dr A A Agbormbai]

Excellent article that really sheds light on some of the current problems that are besieging the country. I never realised that the Cameroonian leadership is so much dominated by past-it men and women. What a shame! It is now clear why there is so much incompetence in the system. This must change!

[martin]

"African leaders are so worried and concerned today with the ramifications from truely democratized societies. They duely understand the theory of reciprocity and are often gripped with the fear that their dids shall live to hunt them if they should relinquish power.

This has forced many African leaders to be the main hindrance to democracy, and as a result the rule of law, accountability and the respect of human rights is an abstract theory in most of the countries on the continent. It has led to a situation where the guy at the top turns a blind eye on all the attrocieties and malpractices of his close and corrupt associates and guarantees them immunity as long as they remain loyal to him.

Many of our leaders have have welcome and encourage what seems to be a new syndrom where by the constitution is twisted to justify their cling to power. A few have prostituted with this and gone away with it while others have faced the heat of resistence from both internally and internationally" bye Eric M Achu
Those that cling on power most be removed forcely to give way if New seeds or else they can never leave power.

[emile]

How come you left out glaring anglophone examples such as General Tataw who must be in his nineties and still in the army when his younger colleagues Mbu,Anagho and Nkweti are long retired.Furthermore you have Elangwe at CDC and Mukete at Intelcam and have been on the government payroll since the former West Cameroon; to name a few.Our main opposition leader is Fru Ndi who is also a septugenarian just as Ndam Njoya. God help us.

[smango]

They RULE
They do not GOVERN
They do not LEAD, because their ass is never on the line. They are like ganakos whipping COWS from behind.

[Wonja]

I listened to a very interesting comment today March 09, 2009 (Commonwealth day and 60th anniv of the organisation) to a comment by Dr Jua Roselyne in UB, very much in line with what Dibussi has presented here. The theme this year, Commonwealth @ 60th:Serving a new generation. The theme signficantly ties with what Dibussi has presented here. Dr Jua, as one of the panelists, lamented the fact that Cameroon was being governed by " sick old men and women", the gerontocracy Dibussi is decrying here.

[Enanga]

You speak the brutal truth Mr. Dibussi. I am a Cameroonian in the United States and although the recent election of Barack Obama inspired and thrilled me, it also made me depressed to think of the corruption and oppression in my fatherland that is preventing capable young minds from leading our country into a better future. Alas, what can be done? I would hate to see in Cameroon the kind of violence that occurs in so many other African countries in the midst of political movements; is there such a thing as peaceful revolution in Africa?

[Mr Agbortabi ephraim]

Excellent fellow cameroonian.you touched the minds of young cameroonians. yes we can make a difference if we are given the chance.All we got to do , is to go on action.Peaceful revolution for change backed by the united nations. i am ready to lead the revolution.this is the right time for it. Obama just did it and we can make it too for our nation now!! if you and others are ready, lets start right the way.

[Mr Agbortabi ephraim]

dear writer thanks for your research and publications. It is a very sensational one and got to be nation and worldly spread by we young patroitic cameroonians in diaspora and also within cameroon.I hereby call for a youth revolution for change from the olds to the youngs. we have to take over from our fathers peacefully and allow them to go and rest in thier villas longed built.Lets put heads together and make our minds and feelings knownto the world and our nation. Once again , i am ready to lead this revolution. count on me as i count on you for going to spread this my readiness to lead the revolution. change change Change we need!!!!!!!!!!

[po mbia]

That crook called Ni John Fru Ndi, has hoodwinked the public for too long and is now is now grappling with the children of the late Albert Che Niba, for the deceased`s estate. It is time this despot is unmasked for the megalomaniac that he truely is.

[The Sun]

The Sun Newspaper 11 Jan 2009

11 Generals to be Retired?

Unimpeachable sources in Yaounde have hinted The SUN that the files of 11 military generals have left President Biya’s desk awaiting sanction. The story, first published by the French language weekly Le Jeune Enquêteur last week, was confirmed by our Yaounde sources that President Biya finally decided to send some of his old and tight friends into retirement.

Following the leak, of the information, there is anxiety within the high command of the Cameroonian armed forces in Yaounde where the old top military officers are still considered as “demi-gods.”

The head of state and commander-in-chief of the Cameroonian armed forces has, at last, decided to take a bold step to send to rest the generals who feared among the ranks as demigods but known to be deadwood because of age and physical tiredness.

Most are said to sleep through-out meetings even sessions dealing with delicate issues like state security. The generals, who are known to have been kept by Biya (in order that they may not foment trouble against his generally spited regime) in spite of the fact that they had passed their retirement time ages ago, never opted to retire either.

For more than five years now, whispers have been filling the high circles of the military in Yaounde especially with the death, last year, of Generals Benae Mpecke and Yakana Guebama, who continued to benefit from Biya’s presidential benevolence despite their old age.

The generals who were supposed to retire continued working, while young colonels, at 55 or 57, had no choice but to go on retirement, albeit with a lot of bitterness - they could not graduate into generals because the generals were sitting tight in their offices.

About some 15 or 20 years today, the Cameroonian army has continued to keep generals, some of them above 79 years - a practice which has marred the Cameroonian army for several decades, though presented as one of the best in sub-Saharan Africa.

Observers maintain that the head of state would not even have thought of sending the generals on retirement but for recent happenings around the country that threatened state security and proved the generals too old to tackle. Others believe that it is pressure from younger officers that has caused President Biya to give up the hope that keeping the generals is reasonable - than letting them go into retirement from where they can have time to plot to overthrow him.

They think it has dawned on the head if state to reinforce the military, by giving the chance to younger soldiers. General Tataw and Oumaroudjam Yaya, are all 80 years old and others like Semengue, Nganso and Asso’o are more than 70 years old. Most of them can’t even walk straight. Meanwhile, there are young brilliant soldiers from higher institutions, who have distinguished themselves in military academics in Cameroon, Europe and America, but have only ended up being sent on retirement while their grandfathers stay on.

What has been described by young officers as injustice has registered a lot of victims. Some disclosed that they have been praying for the old generals to be taken away by death which seems the only way that they can go away and create room for the young officers to grow.

After the death of General Abdoulaye Oumarou Garoua some years ago, Generals Benae Mpecke and Yakana Guema, respectively, died last year, abandoning their posts - which needed to filled. There are only 23 today - from 25 a few years ago.
There are however mixed feelings within the rank and file: while those to whom the generals were godfathers doubt their future without them, the unpublished decision is being greeted with a lot of joy with hope of a better future with the generals gone.

Brief Profiles of Generals

1. Gen Pierre Semengue: General of the Army

He is the first to bear all the grades in the Cameroonian armed forces. He was the first captain, the first commander, the first colonel, the first and only Brigade General for 10 years, the first general of division, the first army corps general, the first and lone today general of the army. Chief of the defence staff for 25 years, he is 73 years old. He is the first on the retirement list.

2. Gen James Tataw, General of Division

Officially he is 75 years old. But his first son is 61 years old. He is presented as the oldest Cameroonian General, despite his official age. He is believed to be more than 80. Sources even say he demanded, 5 years ago, to be retired but the head of state asked him to wait.

3. Oumaroudjam Yaya

He is a 4-star general. General of the army corps, he is inspector general of the gendarmerie. Officially, he is 69 years old. But his physical traits show he is a bit older.

4. Asso’o Emane Benoît

He is 71 years old since June 21, 2008. He suffered two cardiovascular attacks this year. Some people even announced he was dead. He is reported unconscious in a South African hospital where he was taken to last week-end after his suspension by defence minister.

5. Counter Admiral Guilaume Ngouah Ngally

He is officially 69. He is the first general of the Cameroonian navy. And his health is ailing.

6. General Douala Zacharie Massango

At 68 (officially) he is the only Sawa general in Cameroon . It is rumoured that he is seriously sick. He is former commander of the gendarmerie 2nd region

7. Nganso Sunji Jean: General of the Army Corps

He is 71 - the only army corps general in the infantry. He still looks strong but age has begun to weigh on him. He is the inspector general of the army at the Ministry of Defence in Yaounde .

8. Claude René Meka: General of Division

The present chief of the defence staff is about 69 years old - born on the February 2, 1939. He is said to be seriously ill.

9. Other candidates for retirement are Generals Laurent Angouand (68), Isidore Obama (67), Mambou Deffo (69).

By Joseph Roland Djotie
http://the-news-from-cameroon.com/article.php?category_id=32&article_id=1098

[Ambe Johnson]

Supreme Court President Hangs On After Retirement Date

Friday, June 19, 2009

By Kini Nsom
Supreme Court President, Justice Alexis Dipanda Mouelle, has continued to hang onto office after his retirement date expired in May this year.

Chief Justice Dipanda Mouelle was duly expected to retire on May 25, 2007, but President Paul Biya signed an order prolonging his stay in office for two years.

The Presidential decision no. 406-CAB-PR of July 17, 2008 also prolonged the mandate of five other senior magistrates.

The Advocate General at the Supreme Court, Justice Martin Rissouck à Moulong, who also benefited from the same decision was supposed to quit the stage last March 17. Before his stay was prolonged, Rissouk à Moulong was supposed to go on retirement on May 17, 2007. As they hang onto office, observers say it is not their fault that the President has not appointed other people to replace them.
[...]

Other Prolonged Mandates
According to an order that Biya signed last year, the Secretary General at the Presidency of the Republic, Laurent Esso, is expected to retire in August 11. Before his stay in service was prolonged, he was supposed to have retired on August 11, 2007.

Esso, described by many as a taciturn and meticulous character is a First Grade Magistrate who was born on August 10, 1942. This means that he is now 67.
The presidential decision also extended the retirement date of another First Grade Magistrate, Bah Oumarou Sanda, from May 11, 2007 to May 11, 2009.

Bah Oumarou, who has put in many years as the Second Deputy Secretary General of the National Assembly, was appointed Cameroon’s Ambassador to Chad last year. He was born on May 10, 1940. He is 69 years old.
Besides, Jean Fouman Akame, a magistrate by profession, also benefited from the presidential largesse. His retirement date was extended from September 1, 2007 to September 1, 2009.

Fouman Akame, who is the Board Chairman of the Yaounde University 1, was born on August 31, 1937. He is a septuagenarian. The presidential order equally prolonged the retirement date of Fourth Grade Magistrate, Justin Joel Kom, from January 1, 2008 to January 1, 2010. He was born in 1942.

Authoritative sources told The Post that they are many government officials who are supposed to have long retired but have continued stay on. That is why some critical commentators hold that apart from a few cases, the Biya government is largely a gerontocracy made up of sexagenarians, septuagenarians and octogenarians.

http://www.thepostwebedition.com/Content.aspx?ModuleID=1&ItemID=1135

[frank]

what ever things be in the country, one day all will come to pass;GOD being are helper