Dear brothers and sisters,
We thank God Almighty, the giver of all good things. We thank God for our country Cameroon and for the lives of those visionary compatriots who invigorated our spirit of dignity and the quest for durable freedom for a reunified Cameroon. This 13th September, we remember Ruben Um Nyobe, who was brutally assassinated by the French on the 13th of September 1958. Sixty-six years later and we still wrestle with the loss of this visionary fighter for reunification and true independence.
Before we comment on remembering Ruben, let’s first briefly comment on the plight of our compatriots in former Southern Cameroons and on constitutional democracy around the world. We will return to these topics in future.
1. It is morally wrong for our compatriots fighting for separation to impose lockdowns on the people of former Southern Cameroons. They know that separation is not possible. They now take out their frustration on the helpless people, thereby placing the children in former Southern Cameroons at a disadvantage compared to children who go to school in former French Cameroon. They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. This is true in this context. One may commend these compatriots for standing up for the rights of the people of former Southern Cameroons. But obviously, their attempts to liberate these people through an impossible independent state has now landed them in a totalitarian state controlled alternately by separatist lock-downs and a dominant CPDM party that enforces the unitary state. The big losers are the people and the opposition parties for which the people are now prevented from registering and voting. We call on these compatriots to abandon their ill-conceived separatist project and join the fight for federalism through competitive elective politics.
2. Regarding the state of constitutional democracy around the world, we want to comment briefly on Venezuela and Algeria.
2.1. We reported a few weeks ago that the Venezuela dictator, Nicholas Maduro, has rigged an election he lost by 31% to about 67% obtained by the opposition candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia. The dictator has used institutions of the state to confirm his fraudulent victory and he has issued an arrest warrant for the true winner of the election. Neighboring states such as Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico have not succeeded to compel Maduro to show the polling station results on whose basis Maduro claims victory. The opposition leader is now on exile in Spain, a country led by socialist politicians who are normally sympathetic to Maduro’s socialist party. The matter is not resolved but the world has not been exigent enough to ensure that the freely expressed will of the sovereign people of Venezuela is respected. The country is in tension and the dictator has tried to calm down the situation by bringing forward the date of Christmas to 1st October. The essence of this is the early distribution of free goods by the government in an attempt to pacify the people. He has done this trick before.
2.2. Meanwhile in Algeria, all three presidential candidates express doubts about the results published by the independent electoral commission. That is, even the incumbent President, Mr. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who is said to have won the election with about 95%, has said the election has some irregularities. One glaring contestable fact was the initial report that the turnout was 48% but the final results showed that only 5.6 million of the 24 million registered voters in Algeria had voted, thus just about one quarter of the electorate bothered to vote. The victory of the incumbent was predictable.
It should be recalled that the former president Bouteflika, was compelled to resign in 2019 after 20 years in power through popular protests. An interim government was established in accordance with the constitution of Algeria. The constitutionally mandated election was largely boycotted by the movement that led the protest. The opposition is not organized and their lack of a strong opposition front and candidate, combined with the boycott, led to the election of Mr. Tebboune, a member of the former president’s party. That dissatisfaction continues and explains the massive boycott of the recent elections.
The existence of a competitive political landscape, especially in the form of a strong two-party system, is crucial for a country’s constitutional democracy. Otherwise, the people begin to feel that their voice does not matter; the outcome is predetermined. This indifference can explode in the form of a radical revolution. A competitive well-organized political landscape is necessary. Former French colonies struggle with the culture of stable competitive political parties. The lesson for Cameroon is to enforce the culture of competitive political parties and defend constitutional democracy even in the event of interim governments.
3. Remember Ruben!
3.1. Today September 13th is the 66th anniversary of the brutal assassination of the visionary nationalist leader of Cameroon, Ruben Um Nyobe. His significance in the past and present struggle for the liberation of Cameroon cannot be emphasized enough. Those who understand the spirit of Cameroon’s liberation struggle always point us to this direction. Alexandre Biyidi, also known as Mongo Beti, captured the significance of this our late brother in his revolutionary novel, Remember Ruben. This is an apt slogan and call to action. “Remember Ruben” compels us to think of the life and struggle of this compatriot. It also clarifies the fight before us today.
3.2. Ruben was born in 1913 during the time of German Kamerun. Although his father practiced African folk religion, Ruben was a protestant Christian. He belonged to the Presbyterian denomination. Upon baptism, he took up the name Ruben in addition to his Bassa name, Um Nyobe. He was educated in Presbyterian schools. This upbringing and education had a profound impact on his understanding of politics and trade unionism as a calling to serve God and His people. The religious dimension of Ruben’s political life and that of his fellow UPCists have not been properly appreciated by historians who study Um Nyobe.
3.3. Ruben had a complex world view and his vision of reunified Cameroon was one of learning from the three different European civilizations that had been in Cameroon. He was born in German Cameroon, grew up in French Cameroon, and belonged to a protestant denomination of North American origin. The Presbyterian Church in French Cameroon has an American and Canadian origin. These north American Presbyterians were also largely Scottish or Dutch. The Presbyterian Church in anglophone Cameroon, on the other hand, has a Swiss origin, through the Basel Mission. Presbyterianism is a branch of reformed Protestantism, following the teachings of Geneva Reformation, largely championed by the beloved and talented French reformer, John Calvin. This tradition has a strong political philosophy that favors constitutional and highly decentralized governments. Its conception of ethics is deontological. It has been said that the American revolution was mostly influenced by Presbyterianism and that the system of government in the USA is copied from the organization of Presbyterian churches.
3.4. The French frustrated UPC through electoral fraud in the early 1950s. UPC was outlawed in 1955, leading to the underground war. Ruben Um Nyobe’s fight for reunification and immediate independence was weakened in February 1958 by a strategic move.
A French commissioner, Jean Ramadier, understood the strength of Um Nyobe and the UPC. He decided that France should adopt the UPC platform and thereby weaken the outlawed rebellious party. He gave a speech in the territorial assembly announcing French decision to support reunification and grant independence within two years. Ramadier was a socialist by conviction, partly sympathetic with people’s fight for independence. He had fought in Indochina and been French governor to Guinea during the rise of Sekou Toure.
3.5. The strategic moves of Jean Ramadier were not appreciated by Andre Marie Mbida, the Prime Minister. Mbida, a former Catholic seminarian, was traditionally opposed to reunification as were most Catholics in French Cameroon. Mbida also thought Cameroon was too young for independence, quite contrary to protestant nationalism which had existed even early on through the work of Reverend Joshua Dibundu, Rev Adolphe Lottin a’ Same. Mbida was also unpopular and so was easily sacked and replaced by Ahmadou Ahidjo who faithfully carried out the sham reunification and sham independence, avoiding a presidential election before independence.
3.6. The actions of Jean Ramadier, as strategic as they were for French colonial interests, they were criticized. He preferred to weaken UPC but reportedly didn’t want to kill Um Nyobe. He only lasted three weeks in Cameroon but was the most transformational figure for French neocolonialism. He designed the sham reunification and sham independence. Reunification could not be genuine without genuine independence given the freedom-loving nature of British Cameroons.
3.7. On 13th September, 1958, Um Nyobe was betrayed, killed, and dragged on the streets like a dog, buried like an animal. His name was forbidden in Cameroon for decades. But we owe it to history and future generations to remember Ruben. Remember Ruben!
May God bless you and may God bless the Cameroon of Ruben.
