By Dibussi Tande
On June 15, 1991, delegates from the 30 political parties and 10 associations that made up the National Coordination of Opposition Parties and Associations (NCOPA) held their first ever rally and meeting in Yaounde.
Leaders of the NCOPA in the streets of Yaounde on June 15, 1991
They insisted that the national conference was “incontournable” (unavoidable), and unveiled the “Yaounde Plan of Action” aimed at paralyzing the country indefinitely until a Sovereign National Conference was convened.
I - Sensitization Campaigns
17-23 June 1991: Sensitization and education of masses through leaflets, newspapers, articles, rallies and press conferences.
21 June: Protest rallies against countries actively supporting Biya (France, Great Britain, USA, Canada, Israel). Rallies scheduled at their respective embassies in Cameroon and at Foreign offices abroad. Submission of letters of protest stating that Cameroon will not honor any financial engagements signed with CPDM after July 1, 1991.
June 22: Nationwide rallies by women in favor of national conference and to protest against the killings of innocent and defenseless children, and indiscriminate lay-offs.
II - Blockade of Capital and "Deserted Capital"
June 18: Suspension of classes at the University of Yaounde and refusal to sit for exams until after the national conference.
20 June:
- Massive exodus of population from the capital city
- No movement into Yaounde
- Beginning of blockade (No food supplies until National Conference)
III - Dead Country
June 18-23:
- Halt to cash deposits and withdrawals from banks
- Refusal to honour water and electricity bills, social insurance contributions, etc.
- Refusal to pay taxes
June 24: Beginning of Ghost Towns
- Everyone stays indoors
- No work
- No circulation of vehicles
- Closure of all business establishment
- Hospitals, pharmacies, clinics and emergency services exempted
July 5: If these measures do not convince the President to convene a national conference, members of the coordination and the population will march onto Unity Palace, President Biya’s residence.
A "Demonic Plan"
On June 16, three members of the Coordination, Barrister Nseth Appollinaire of the Parti Socialiste du Cameroun (PSD), Dr. Louis Tobie Mbida of the Parti des Démocrates Camerounais (PDC) and Celestin Bedzigui of the Parti d’Alliance Libéral (PAL) appeared on radio and Television to dissociate themselves from the “diabolical” plan of action, and condemn the violent, extremist and undemocratic methods of the NCOPA. The three leaders created what they called a “republican and democratic opposition” and agreed to meet with Prime Minister Sadou Hayatou. On June 17, Ngouo Woungly Massaga, the former leader of the MANIDEM faction of the UPC who had returned to Cameroon in October 1990 after over three decades in exile, also condemned the Yaounde Plan of Action describing it as “inconsistent and politically irresponsible.”
Lapiro condemns opposition... and falls on his face
On June 19, Pierre Lambo Sandjo aka Lapiro de Mbanga, the popular protest singer who had played a pivotal role in mobilizing street vendors and other laissés pour compte in favor of the opposition demands, organized a press conference at the Akwa Hotel to condemn the Yaounde Plan Action and the ghost town campaign. As if that was not enough, Lapiro was paraded on national TV and given airtime to condemn not just the ghost town, but also the leaders of the opposition. It was a spectacular political about-turn of the “Cameroonian Fela” who had built his entire musical career as an advocate for the petit peuple, the downtrodden, the marginalized and the exploited whom referred to as his “complices” or accomplices.
Lapiro’s songs spoke of the experience of hunger, the excess of suffering and the need for freedom of expression in Cameroon. Most of the lyrics enjoined the state authorities to remember the petit peuple or ‘the forgotten’ each time they dined and wined and smoked cigars. Lapiro accused the state authorities (without naming names) of having plundered the state almost beyond recovery, starving mothers and children, like those in Ethiopia...His songs called for open demonstration and protest against an unfeeling establishment. He frequently referred to the ‘strugglers’ as his people, affirming himself as their advocate... His music came to signify the personal and collective experiences of many. (Nyamnjoh and Fokwang, 2005: 270)
Lapiro had been one of the founding members of the Committee to Release Celestin Monga, was a vice president of OCHD which played a leading role in documenting and informing the world of human rights abuses in Cameroon since the beginning of the national conference clamor, and, he had also become one of the most influential members of the NCOPA thanks to his ability to mobilize the “streets,” particularly the streets of Douala. However, if Lapiro had expected that his complices would agree with his blanket condemnation of the opposition and the ghost town, he was dead wrong and had completely misread the prevailing mood in the country. His erstwhile “complices” instead turned against him, accusing him of betraying “the people’s struggle.” When it was alleged that he had been bought over with the sum of 22 million FCFA, a defiant Lapiro declared that:
“he had never received a franc from any one, and were he to receive any, he added with bravado, it would not be the meagre sum of 22 million CFA francs but at least 50 million to share with his large following. He accused the Ghost Town initiators of being money-minded extortionists. (Nyamnjoh and Fokwang, 2005: pp. 271-272)
In the streets of Yaounde and Douala, tapes of his songs were destroyed, his house and studio vandalized and only a timely intervention of the police saved him from being lynched after he was spotted in Douala (Socpa, 2000).
On June 21, Prime Minister Hayatou addressed parliament for the first time. In his speech, he highlighted the need for a “vast dialog” that would allow Cameroonians to express their opinion on the burning issues of the day. He however insisted that the CPDM favoured an evolutionary rather than a revolutionary change in Cameroon, and condemned the violence which the revolutionary option entailed.
“Operation Ghost Town / Dead Country”
On June 24 1991, Cameroon’s seven rebellious provinces effectively "died" as scheduled. From, Bafousam, Bamenda, Buea, Douala, Garoua, Maroua to Ngaoundere, all banks, markets, and shops closed their doors, while taxi cabs stayed off the streets, and all businesses ground to a halt. The Douala port, which also served neighboring landlocked countries such as Chad and the Central African Republic, shut down. Only the Douala international airport remained open. In Yaounde, the main market was closed but civil servants went to work as usual.
Thus, after six months of political turbulence and uncertainty, after trial runs, hesitations, blunders and bluffs, the dreaded Ghost Town operation finally became a reality.
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