Fuel Price Hike: Trap Set For Yang’s Exit

- Should Move Backfire, Biya Could Appoint Nordist As PM To Safe Face

By Musa Isa

Last week, Prime Minister Philemon Yang was bestowed the onus by the Head of State to concert with syndicate, and civil society leaders. Yang met a cross section of them at the Star Building over the imminent slash of government subsidy to petroleum products. The effect of which would be a corresponding increase in transport fare with its multiplier effect being an increase in the prices of basic commodities. Yang’s meeting had since been seen as a strategy to avert the February 2008-type of rioting. To observers, should this spark-off again, it would not augur well, especially as there have been varied disquiets. The price of petrol has to be increased to 700 FCFA/litre, Chronicle has been told. Any revolt, commentators hold, may place Yang in a difficult situation. Biya, it is believed may have no option but to lay blames somewhere. And the first head to be sacrificed could be that of Yang.

At the end of last week’s meeting, trade unionists and civil society leaders did not present an overt stand, backing the government move. According to Simon Nkwenti, Coordinator of North West Civil Society Organizations, “a lot of reflection has to be done, time taken and Cameroonians educated”. Nkwenti noted that there is also the need to reflect on what has to be done with the subvention withdrawn, else, current prices be maintained.

The Cameroon government has come under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, IMF and World Bank to withdraw its subsidy on fuel. This is the same dictate that was imposed on Nigeria a few months ago. President Goodluck Jonathan had to withdraw subsidies and the price of fuel sky-rocketed. Nigerians could not withstand this. Economic activities were grounded and the economy paralyzed until President Goodluck went back to the initial position.

The Cameroon government has been on in a sensitization bid. It has exploited pages in its state-run bilingual daily, Cameroon Tribune and its audio-visual outfit CRTV. Yet, most Cameroonians who spoke to Chronicle have not been convinced about why subsidies be curtailed.

The fear of the unknown looms large. A school of thought even suspects that this is a strategy by the IMF to paralyze the Biya regime. Accordingly, because an increase in the price of petrol may not be accepted, leading to demonstrations, thus strangulating the Biya regime, reason why it should be implemented.

Prime Minister Yang has thus carried a responsibility which some critics say may become a boomerang. Accordingly, should fuel prices rise and there is a revolt, the man to be blamed, would definitely be Yang. It would be him because he consulted trade unionists and was better placed to inform the Head of State that the move may be very unpopular.

A school of thought even holds that for Biya to have placed the responsibility in the hands of Yang, was a strategy for him to flop and be sacked. It is believed that with the heat which Marafa Hamidou Yaya is presently giving to the Biya regime, following his arrest and trial, there has been need for a fallback position for Biya.

Allegations are rife that to pacify and tilt public opinion in the North, Biya has been looking for a suitable Nordist that can equate the trappings of Marafa. Already, the one eyed is Bayero Fadil, son of the business magnet Oumarou Fadil. A source hinted that Biya just needs a pretext to flush out Yang, in order to bank on a Nordist as his successor. This is believed to be the only strategy that can appease the Nordists to forget about Marafa and become less confrontational to the regime.