Like Cameroon Under Biya: What Future For CATTU After Nkwenti

President Paul Biya came to power in 1982 as the constitutional successor of President Amadou Ahidjo who has ruled Cameroon since independence. At that time, the constitution started clearly that in the absence of the sitting president, the Prime Minister takes over. After a number of constitutional amendments that clause has been removed or modified to mean that in the absence of the President, the House Speaker takes over and runs affairs for some 120 days during which fresh elections shall be organized. The same constitution is very clear on the fact that the transitional president cannot stand for such elections even though within the transitional period he/she can modify or change the government.

The worry afterall is not about the constitution. It has rather been about the future of Cameroon after President Biya as there is no indication that he is preparing anybody to take over after him. The problem with some transitions is never about what the constitution says or not but rather whether a giant and accepted image can emerge to take over from the predecessor and continue where he/she left.

Today in Cameroon, that question can hardly be answered because Biya has not been seen to be preparing anybody. There seem at the same time to be no strong number II. The fear with the future of Cameroon after President Biya is that the country can slide into wrong or a weak leader’s hands. That would not augur well for the nation. That would be a bad sign. The Chinese proverb is very clear on this issue that “one cannot be said to be a success without a successor”. By that, it means that one has to prepare his/her successor before he/she quits the stage. If the future of Cameroon is bleak after Biya, it is more so because within the ruling party, there seem to be nobody that Biya can trust. Even if there are a number of people he can trust, the people themselves do not seem to think that they have the ability to run the affairs of state. In the run up to the 2011 presidential elections, a journalist in Bamenda asked the Rt. Hon Simon Achidi Achu why he was only supporting Biya and not putting in his candidature. Then came the stunning reply: “I am not as experienced as Biya”.

During the same period and this time at a press conference in Yaounde, another journalist sort to know from Communication Minister, Issa Tchiroma why he was not putting in his candidature even though he was national president of a political party. His reply was an embarrassment even to the journalist that asked the question. He invited the journalists in the hall to take a look at him and see whether he looked like presidential material.

So, What Future for CATTU After Simon Nkwenti?

In life there are some things that start like questions without answers and end up like answers without questions. Simon Nkwenti himself, while alive asked this question repeatedly. In one of the elective general assemblies some years ago, he urged fellow trade unionists in the Cameroon Teachers Trace Union, CATTU to be ambitious and aspire to lead CATTU for as he providentially put it, he was getting tired and would in the near future quit power.

That particular election was hotly contested but the contest was more for the Assistant S.G’s post and others than the S.G’s post. Today, per the CATTU constitution, it is clear there is no constitutional void. The assistant secretary general would manage CATTU affairs till fresh elections would be organized after this current mandate would have ended. The question is “what future for CATTU after the sudden demise of Simon Nkwenti. Would CATTU become a moribund institution like others have become after the demise of their founding president. Where Simon Nkwenti is, would he be proud that a vibrant leader has succeeded CATTU? Would the successor’s voice echo and reecho as Nkwenti’s was? Would he live up to expectations, especially with the challenges in the education sector?

Before his demise, CATTU was no longer the only actor on the Anglophone landscape. An epileptic Teachers Association of Cameroon, TAC had been relaunched. Even though it disappeared only months after, he posed a considerable threat to CATTU. It might not have posed as a threat in terms of productivity, but its rowdiness gave the impression that CATTU would no longer say things and go away without a second voice. Would there be someone as strong as Simon Nkwenti to continue fighting for the betterment of teachers’ conditions?

Simon’s Unique Selling Proposition

In marketing communication, there is what is called a product’s unique selling proposition; which means, what makes one product different from another or what would make people prefer one product to another. A vivid example is the fact that all banks perform the same functions, that of banking money. But what makes an individual to choose one bank in favour of another is the extra service the bank can offer. That seems to have been the case with Simon Nkwenti. He had a way with words and all his positions had a feel of urgency in it. His capacity for lobbying and advocacy was so unparalleled many people fear it would be difficult to match after him. So what future for CATTU after Simon? Wait and see.