Chief Charles Taku: Asonganyi Memoire – BOOK REVIEW
The memoire long awaited memoire of Tazoacha Asonganyi is here!
Title: Cameroon: Difficult Choices in a Failed Democracy (A Memoire)
By Tazoacha Asonganyi
Political Analyst, Secretary- General of the SDF (1994-2005), Secretary-General of the Coalition (CNRR) 2004.
Professor Asonganyi dedicates his memoire to two categories of persons. His colleagues with whom he was engaged in the struggle for political change in Cameroon in the Social Democratic Front (SDF) and " those victims of the democratization process in Cameroon who suffered their victimization because they believed in what the SDF and the opposition promised for the Cameroon society; many other ordinary Cameroonians who lived their lives dreaming about the possibility of democracy in their country and ended up being murdered needlessly because of political intolerance".
The above must not be construed as limiting the scope of significant issues the author has addressed in this monumental memoire. The memoire is a classic memoire which provides a comprehensive autobiography of the author. It provides a detailed account of the personal experiences of the author from childhood through his family life and influences, different stages of education, professional life and political life. It x-rays the world in which he lived and grew, the Cameroon national experience, its complexities, missed opportunities and proposed solutions.
Professor Asonganyi addresses the Southern Cameroons Problem stating that "this coming together of the two Cameroons was expected to bring not servitude but instructions on the habits of freedom; to create a crucible for the inculcation of the virtues of tolerance, multiculturalism, conflict resolution, democratization, and integration that were supposed to make possible African unity, rather than sow the seeds of historical amnesia and belligerence".
Addressing the question of the failed democratic experiment which is central in this memoire, Professor Asonganyi writes: "By early 1990s when the political parties were formed, the weak institutions put in place by the one party regime in Cameroon had seriously influenced the political culture of the country; and the political culture had influenced the national character." According to the author, "nations that are not dependent on the strength of the institutions in place are doomed to fail. Therefore it was necessary to change the politicians and the institutions they controlled…..The creation of the SDF was therefore said to be in answer to the call of Conscience, History, and Destiny to bring true democracy and a bright and humane future for Cameroon".
Professor Asonganyi takes the reader through the journey that led to the "difficult choices in a failed democracy" in Cameroon. In respect of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) the picture of the membership of the party that he brings to the reader was potentially problematic from inception. For this reason, the party needed a leadership which recognized the fact that the survival of the party as a vehicle for change and progress required discipline within the party and an ideology that defines the cause that the members set out to achieve. The statement by the distinguished author that "discipline in a political party depends on ideology, on the defined cause, on how knowledgeable the members are of the cause the party has set out to achieve" summarizes the central message that runs through this very compelling memoire which I invite everyone to procure a copy and read.
According to the distinguished author, "following the launching of the party, two categories of people signed up to the party: a few that were convinced social democrats, and the majority whose only conviction was a feeling of unease and a desire for change. There were others that came in as infiltrators with clear missions to destabilize or derail. Whatever their various goals, they were as liable as anyone else to live by the standards of the Cameroon society: they accepted its materialism, and were liable to be corrupted. They hoped that they would serve the party in its structures and in state institutions that the party would soon engage in competition to win power in. The double agent, for survival purposes, would always be careful to respect all the rules, but always active in derailing, blocking, or delaying action, or in leaking information; the real militant was always there defending ideas and principles, and sometimes feeling that they were not rule-bound to respect illegal instructions".
In this situation, the battle for the soul of the party triumphed over ideology and the goals for which the party was formed. The party that was formed to advocate for power to reside with the people progressively joined the club of parties built around a political boss. The image of the party on which leadership was to be founded around a strong party apparatus and a coherent program or ideology was fundamentally dented. Not long, double agents within the party governing structure took over and controlled the party, while fulfilling the destabilizing agenda of the autocratic regime in power.
The unfortunate trend occurred in a number of countries in Africa. However, unlike the SDF, most of the affected parties struggled to rediscover their ideological roots and either came to power through democratic elections or forced significant constitutional and institutional changes that were consistent with their parties' ideologies. Joel D. Barkan in Democracy: What future? Democratic Reform in Africa edited by Muna Ndutu, 2006 p 18 writes that "after 1991, a mix of electoral democracy, in this context, politics, was a struggle between three types of protagonists: (i) incumbent authoritarians attempting to retain power by permitting greater liberalization and elections combined with selective allocation of patronage to those who remain loyal;(ii) insurgents, who seek the spoils of office via electoral means (i.e. 'patronage seekers'); and (iii) reformers committed to establishing democratic rule as well as structurally reforming the state and the economy. The boundaries often blur between incumbent authoritarians and the insurgents and between insurgents and the reformers. The consolidation of a liberal democracy is therefore unlikely until a significant number of reformers ascend to power"
Professor Asonganyi believes that "the problem with the struggle for democracy in Cameroon is that appropriate leadership failed to emerge. The CDU had virtually the same mission as the SDF to institute a democratic society guided by republican ethics, while the NUDP indicated that it intended to pursue the legacy of former president Ahmadou Ahidjo. After the successful attempt of the "Union for Change" to choose a "common" candidate for the presidential election of October 1992, which resulted in the aborted victory of the opposition, everything came to a standstill".
In such circumstances, in order for a significant number of reformers to ascend to power and consolidate social democracy, Professor Asonganyi like Nwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere, expected to and worked relentless towards making the SDF party a party where political and social conflict would be reflected in a well-articulated world of ideas and action. He knew that apart from egregious violations, the regime in power developed and used a policy of mental enslavement, shaping and controlling the thinking of the citizenry to eternalize political power. This policy could only be dislodged through the liberating ideology of social democracy.
He knew that the complexity of the militancy base of the SDF was such that if the party leaders drifted progressively from the ideals of the party as they did, the fundamental premise on which the party was formed could be compromised as indeed it has. A committed social democrat, Professor Asonganyi genuinely considered socio-political freedoms and participation in governance of the party as a basic human need. His vision of the SDF was that of a pluralist, internally-competitive body. He believed in the power of reasoned discourse and exposition linked to a passionate advocacy of principled positions; which alone was capable of providing solutions to the several internal and external problems afflicting the party.
Unfortunately, the progressive drift from the ideology of the party by the leadership of the party resulted in their preference for personal gains above the general cause; personal vendetta and bitterness over magnanimity in responding to criticism and informed discourse. The conduct forced many progressive and committed militants to leave the party.
The memoire of Professor Asonganyi contained a detailed discussion of the ideas which if followed could have allowed the "the SDF to create a just society in Cameroon where freedom under the law and the fundamental human rights; freedom of association and a multiparty system; separation of powers, the rule of law and the equality of all citizens before the law" would be enthroned.
Unfortunately, he was either misunderstood or he misunderstood the contagious power of the corrupting influence of autocratic power on the party leadership. The leaders of the party appropriated the governing structures of the party and engaged in an unprecedented ideological drift that has challenged its ability to bring the change that was promised Cameroonians.
Professor Asonganyi quit the SDF but his social democratic ideological credentials remain unassailable. His education of the masses has kept the social democratic ideology alive in Cameroon. He has kept the hopes of a new generation of social democrats intent on bringing changes to the SDF and the political culture in Cameroon alive. For this, he is endeared to a majority of the national and international public opinion.
Through this memoire, Professor Asonganyi provides a rare insight into the royal but humble background. The distinguished author provides a dispassionate account of the SDF's and Cameroon's failed democratic experiment. He backs his narrative, opinion and conclusions with detailed forensic proof. This memoire will surely generate passionate debate among the several political actors mentioned in the book. However, Professor Asonganyi has stated the well supported facts contained this book in a dispassionate manner, and without bitterness towards any one. He has no reasons to do so. He has aptly demonstrated in the pages of this memoire and his publications ever since he left the SDF that he is a man of ideas at the service of the truth. He is an advocate of genuine change and democratic governance.
Professor Asonganyi consciously intended his memoire to assist political leaders in the SDF in particular and Cameroon in general in the process of introspection, critical thinking, discussion and debate without which the political power they crave will not serve the best interest of the people. It is however, possible however that some may read this memoire and misconstrue the contents or its rationale. That is to be expected. However, no matter from whatever perspective a careful reader may construe the memoire of Professor Asonganyi, one fact stands out. It is a political treatise that will shake the Cameroon political landscape and challenge the dormant forces of change to join the author and progressive forces to rescue the Republic of Cameroon, its people and its political class from collective political suicide towards which they are irrevocably headed. I highly recommend it.
This is not a comprehensive analysis or critique of the memoire of Tazoacha Asonganyi. I will invite readers to make their own value judgments. I will however direct the readers and potential readers to some of the compelling issues which the author has addressed.
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