Cameroon's President Paul Biya (78), in power since 1982, was re-elected by 77% of the electorate on October 9. He is routinely compared to other long-serving African autocrats including Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Teodoro Obiang of Equatorial Guinea.

Married to a woman 38 years his junior, Biya spends "working holidays" of up to three months in Geneva. In February 2008, when the country's constitution was amended to scrap term limits, taxi drivers started a revolt in which 200 people died.

The Mail & Guardian spoke to Achille Mbembe, a Cameroonian political theorist and historian based at Stellenbosch University, about what drives African autocrats like Biya and why they survive so long.

Were the elections free and fair?
In the present circumstances, the possibility of free and fair elections in Cameroon is quasi-nil. There is no independent institution in charge of administering elections. Elecam, which stands for such an institution, is controlled by the ruling party and most of its members are known to belong to that political formation. The entire state apparatus, from the bureaucracy to the police, the military and the official media, is mobilised to campaign for the incumbent. Even to talk about "elections" under such conditions is simply farcical.

Three decades at the helm and they continue re-electing him. And he does not seem to have campaigned much. Cameroonians must love him.
He firmly holds them by the balls. He has understood that, in order to stay in power, he needs to do nothing at all. He has invented a style of rule we should call "government by inaction", a form of spectral government that doesn't even require him to be in his country for long periods.

In fact, he spends much of his time either in the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva or in his village. He hardly ever holds a Cabinet meeting. He doesn't even seem to recognise some of the Cabinet members he himself has appointed.

If ordinary Cameroonians are tired of his leadership, how will change come?
It won't be the result of peaceful elections. Many citizens are disillusioned and are fast coming to the realisation that for change to happen might require a modicum of violence. The problem is that the social forces capable of organising such a violent revolt are missing.

Some opposition figures seem to be in bed with the government. Is there an opposition or a vibrant civil society?

The opposition is not only frag­mented, it's short of money and imagination. Corruption and venality are rife. Civil society is emasculated. Most people are struggling for daily survival. They are told -- including by the churches -- that peace at all costs is better than the quest for justice, freedom and dignity.

Good for him.

Biya is one of Africa's longest-standing heads of state.

I think he needs the Gadaffi treatment

someone should send him 'before and after' pictures of Ghadaffi

largie:

someone should send him 'before and after' pictures of Ghadaffi

Gbam!!!

Yeske!:

I think he needs the Gadaffi treatment

I was just thinking the same.

Where is that Nayah of a thing? . . .meanwhile congratulation to Ca-moroons for chosing a very good leader.

I bet France has congratulated him already at the same time hailing Libya's "new found Democracy" . . .ha! what a juxtapose

^^^^ Did France turn Libyans against GHaddafi? Which kind youths we dey breed for naija yi i?

emofine:

I bet France has congratulated him already at the same time hailing Libya's "new found Democracy" . . .ha! what a juxtapose

Don't mind those camelions, they don't have shame or decorum, they were hugging and smiling with Gadaffi few months b4 the revolution. No friend or enemy but Interest, simple.

Wbong:

Biya is one of Africa's longest-standing heads of state.

and Mugabe as well.

Popol has done it again,
Ohh, Mon pays!
Itz no news, was expected, no unity among the opposition parties #usual rigging#
le choix du peuple
Nayah ou est tu? Qu'est ce que vous dites?

D black african race wi continue to remain @d bottom of d ladder as long as we remain frozen stiff& allow dictators lord it over us.Notice that d revolution sweeping thru d Arab world,started in tunisia,africa has not made a single impact on d rest of d continent where worse dictators abound.
Ghadaffi was bad and dead,but compared to d likes of Paul Biya,Robert Mugabe,equitorial guinea,Omar Bongo,etc;d deposed arab leaders were saints.Yet d blacks accept dere lot or ar waiting for d almighty God to intervene,I LAUGH

congratulation to Ca-MOR-ON-ians for successfully voting in your great grandfather paul Beer again.

Keep drinking and dancing makosa! i guess that's all you need to live!

CONGRATS to u Neyah. I now understand y u enjoy spending time with Nigerians on NL i see you don't have men in your country - only makosa dancing she-males! No offense!

I hope Nigeria's foreign policy will reflect the fact that we dont support rulers who change their country's constitution Willy-nilly so they can rule fore-ever.

Please GEJ dont attend Biya's inauguration.

We dont want a repeat of the incident when he was booed after attending Museveni's inauguration (in power for the past 25 years).

Juan carlos has been ruling spain since the death of generalissimo franco in 1975, vladimar putin was the president & now prime minister of russia for the past 10yrs he also wants to re-contest & he might be in power till 2024. But no one is calling them a tyrant since they are europeans

Don't be naive about international politics. If Gaddafi made himself a slave of the west they would help him suppress the rebels like they helped Bahrain. After all the rebels were trained and sponsored by the West. Besides the main accuser in the Gaddafi regime Musa Kusa had all his offenses writen off once he changed camp

As long as any African country is bowing down to her slave masters the country's leadership can go on forever. Until we realize that regime change is tyranny and the west cannot be bothered if Africans are liberated or not we would continue in our current slavery.

Africa is in slavery, the slave masters have chosen some of their slaves to rule over their brothers. Just check who the Nigerian government officials report to in wikileaks and you would understand who is ruling us. Paul Biya would continue to rule the people until they wake up and once his people reject him the slave masters would dump him. That's the game that's our current international politics.


"Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach." - Joseph Stalin

Yeske!:

I think he needs the Gadaffi treatment

Nah, the western powers are not interested as Cameroun has little oil.

NEXT thread please!

belabela:

Don't be naive about international politics. If Gaddafi made himself a slave of the west they would help him suppress the rebels like they helped Bahrain. After all the rebels were trained and sponsored by the West. Besides the main accuser in the Gaddafi regime Musa Kusa had all his offenses writen off once he changed camp
As long as any African country is bowing down to her slave masters the country's leadership can go on forever. Until we realize that regime change is tyranny and the west cannot be bothered if Africans are liberated or not we would continue in our current slavery.
Africa is in slavery, the slave masters have chosen some of their slaves to rule over their brothers. Just check who the Nigerian government officials report to in wikileaks and you would understand who is ruling us. Paul Biya would continue to rule the people until they wake up and once his people reject him the slave masters would dump him. That's the game that's our current international politics.
"Everyone imposes his own system as far as his army can reach." - Joseph Stalin

Thanks bro for your insight
Yet going by the CNN induced rants on NL after Gaddafi 's last breath, many a Nigerian are yet to receive this reality

snowdrops:

Nah, the western powers are not interested as Cameroun has little oil.

Haha
The real ace NATO was pursuing in the 'liberation' of Libya from Gaddafi's grip.

greateros:

congratulation to Ca-MOR-ON-ians for successfully voting in your great grandfather paul Beer again.

Keep drinking and dancing makosa! i guess that's all you need to live!

CONGRATS to u Neyah. I now understand y u enjoy spending time with Nigerians on NL i see you don't have men in your country - only makosa dancing she-males! No offense!

cameroon has samuel eto and a successful national team. they love to have fun, party and drink alot

29 years of automated governance. Now thats large

F@ck him. f@ck all cameroonians.in fact, f@ck all of us subsharan africans for being a low race.we are somewhere between monkeys and humans.
oh god,why did u make me african?

He can rule 4 life for all i care, but one day monkey go go market and he nur go return like Ghadhafi,

Subtle facebook campaigns will awaken the youth. Must add that i don't know if access to Internet is restricted in the Cameroons.

Africans with their low IQ

What a shame

For a grandfather who spends up to 3months at the Intercontinental in geneva,he really must be classy.Are his people in a trance?

This is bad for Africa.

eddy1977:

F@ck him. f@ck all cameroonians.in fact, f@ck all of us subsharan africans for being a low race.we are somewhere between monkeys and humans.
oh god,why did u make me african?

That is one very angry African man.

The only way to oust such a leader is for the opposition to form one strong party and throw him out through vote power.
It has happened in other African countries so what is wrong with others? Dont people ever get tired?
Problem with Africans is that the opposition is weak and greedy.Everybody wants to be president and so we never succeed.
Look at the kind of opposition in Cameroon sharing a bed with the goverment!