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To me, political change is the transition from one government to the other with new and challenging ideas that will benefit the entire nation. I welcome political change because without political change then we are rearing dinosaur rulers (long-serving rulers who grab power, turn the state into a monarchy and rule with clientism).
I lived through a period of political transition in the year 1982-1984 when the former president, Amadou Ahidjo, was handing over power to the present president, Paul Biya. It was not really a good experience. In the beginning, people were happy thinking that the transition would lead to the betterment of people’s lives but this did not prove to be the case. After three years we had economic crises; two years latter we had the devaluation of the franc CFA, the reduction of salaries and the closing of several companies, which led to many people losing their jobs.
The consequences, positive and negative, of political change
The positive changes included democracy (multi-partyism was instituted in 1990), freedom of the press (the media sector was liberalized with several private radio and television stations opened; more information than before could reach the common man).
The negative impacts of the change included the increase of unemployment and a coup d’état (particularly what happened in Cameroon in 1984, which was bloody).
What are your opinions on past or ongoing political transitions and political turbulence in different parts of the world?
The issue is that some of these transitions, like the election of Obama, the end of monarchy in Nepal and the ousting of Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, are good but we have to see these people work for some time to be sure that they will not return to the errors of their predecessors. The irony is that most transitions, for example those in Nigeria and Benin, boil down to the same thing.
Do you think democracy is “the answer” to genuine and progressive political change or a Western imposition that simply has no place in other parts of the world?
In some countries in Africa, like the West African country of Ghana, democracy can be the answer. In Francophone Africa democracy is not the answer, it can only happen with western imposition.
The French notion of democracy will never work in Africa. The experience of Francophone Africa has also shown that we can never have genuine and progressive political change. Take, for example, most of the longest-serving heads of states, who I term the dinosaurs of Africa. They are not really elected in free and fair elections. There is a popular outcry against electoral fraud in every election and voter apathy is on the rise in these countries.
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Writer Profile
emmanuel Enow
Arrey Emmanuel Enow is a Cameroonian and resident in Yaounde. He is the Assistant Manager of the Last Great Ape Organisation (LAGA). He is a writer and writes on diverse issues, both fictional and non-fictional.
He is the delegate in charge of education of 3A Chantal Biya Foundation, SG. Action for Citizen and Community Development and a human rights activist. He has a dream of influencing democracy, empowering communities and healing the world through writing.
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Comments
New Walters Yijofmen Ambu | Nov 24th, 2009
A great forum anyways....
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