The Giant of Etoudi: Cameroon’s strongest man

By Zuzeeko Abeng, LL.M, first posted in Dunia Magazine PRINT issue 3


Photo: Roadside sign board, Commercial Avenue, Bamenda

On 20 December 2010, I traveled to my country Cameroon for a much-needed vacation – away from the snow and sub-zero temperatures of Europe. After a 3 and half hour flight delay in Brussels during which I promised myself never to fly SN Brussels Airlines again, I landed at the chaotic Douala International Airport. As expected and to no one’s surprise, my luggage was nowhere to be found, but this did not deter me from traveling the very next day to my hometown of Bamenda, the capital of the Northwest Region of Cameroon and stronghold of the opposition party.

Driving through the city of Bamenda, I was struck by intimidating gigantic depictions of the Head of State, Paul Biya, depicted as a giant (the giant of Etoudi) on roadside sign boards all over the city. These were human size images of Cameroon’s ‘Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces’, ‘Fon of Fons’ and whatever exotic names you’d like to call him, purportedly marching along with the country’s armed forces. I was told the photo which stands tall in strategic areas around town, including Up Station, Finance Junction and Commercial Avenue is a relic of the President’s recent December 2010 visit to the grasslands where he had presided over celebrations marking 50 years of “honour” and “loyalty” of the Cameroon Armed Forces.

Not so much to my surprise, the majority of people I spoke to in Bamenda about the significance of this imagery thought nothing of it – they simply had no opinion whatsoever; while to a few, it was just another photograph of the president.

But to an advocate of equity, democracy and the rule of law like myself, this particular image was outright disturbing. It paints the picture of a supreme being; a strongman and giant with the physical strength and political power in place to crush political descent and silence critics who dare to challenge his reign.

Looking at the photograph, it is easy to conclude that President Paul Biya – who has been in power for 28 years is bigger and stronger than any other Cameroonian citizen and/or state institutions, including the military seen marching behind him.

Speaking in Ghana during his first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa as the 44th President of the United States in 2009, Barack H. Obama clearly stated that Africa needs strong institutions, not strongmen. This controversial photograph of the giant of Etoudi – a strongman at the helm of power in Cameroon – defeats President Obama’s message as well as all on-going attempts worldwide to promote equality before the law, good governance and democracy in the true sense of the word.

It is interesting to note that in 2006, President Paul Biya of Cameroon was ranked among the world’s worst dictators (and the 4 worst dictators in Sub-Saharan Africa) by David Wallechnisky – a Jewish-American author and commentator – in his book titled, “Tyrants: The World’s 20 Worst Living Dictators” alongside Kim Jong-Il of North Korea, Hu Jintao of China, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Aleksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, just to name a few.

As I write this article, the wind of change is blowing across North Africa and the Arab world. Massive peaceful protests and calls for democracy and human rights have sent strongmen like El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and Mohammed Hosni Mubarak of Egypt packing. It remains to be seen for how long the giant of Etoudi will remain standing.

Etoudi is the location of Cameroon’s presidential palace. It is situated in Mfoundi (Yaounde), Centre, Cameroon. According to Google satellite map, its geographical coordinates are 3° 55′ 0″ North, 11° 31′ 0″ East.

SIDE-NOTE: 78 year old President Paul Biya seeks another 7 year presidential term as Cameroonians take to the polls for presidential elections on October 9th 2011. “His mere registration as CPDM [Cameroon’s People’s Democratic Movement] candidate and incumbent guarantees him victory – even before the ballot is cast…” writes Innocent Chia of the Chia Report. It remains to be seen whether Cameroon’s incumbent clinches another term in office.

 

Zuzeeko blogs on www.zuzeeko.com where he tackles issues of fundamental human rights, law, politics, business, social trends and other issues that will get you thinking. He is also founder of Human Rights organization CIVITAS

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