By Sam Esale
Road to Dikome Balue in Ndian division, Cameroony
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek." (Barack Obama)
"If CPDM has used the same Basic Texts for more than 30 years with minor modifications or amendments, isn't it reasonable to suggest that the Texts be changed since they do not seem to be useful anymore? Children in schools today do not use the same books their parents used 30 years ago. Trash those Texts and get out of this funk or stalemate that the party has been stuck in for 30 years. Change is the only constant we have in life. It is dynamic. Change is a good thing". (Sam Esale)
Pharisees and Scribes in the New Testament of our Christian Bible spent their whole time mastering Jewish laws and traditions, but paid little or no attention to the plight or suffering of the common man, woman and child in Israel or Jerusalem, i.e. the hungry, the sick, the blind, the homeless, the elderly, the poor, the disenfranchised or those at the periphery of society. These Jewish scholars could recite every verse of the Torah but had no idea about what it meant to be compassionate or to love and be loved. They professed knowledge but demonstrated less wisdom and understanding. They made promises but broke them like lovers' oaths. They were scholars of the law who had no idea about the nature, origin and interpretation of the law or human spirit or human frailty and/or human predicaments. Dressed in clean garments, they paraded the streets of Jerusalem like ghosts without souls. They lied and pandered to the Jewish Aristocracy, Roman rulers and Procurators. Every commoner disliked them, but their hearts were hardened like bricks of clay. Yet, they did not care, because what was most important to them was the strict observance of the Jewish rules and regulations or Dos and Don'ts. People and their plight were not important to the Jewish Pharisees and Scribes.
Then came a Nazarene named Emmanuel-bin-Joseph, filled with love and compassion, hope and faith. He cared for the sick, fed the hungry and helped the poor. He fed a multitude of 5000 hungry people with 5 fish and 2 loaves of bread and at one time He turned water into wine at a wedding party. He preached the gospel of love and salvation and revised the dictates of the Old Testament. The most important Commandment became "Love thy neighbor as you love thyself". "Do unto others as you would want others do unto you", he admonished his followers. "Suffer all ye little children to come unto me", He cried out loud. "If you help even the least of these, you have helped me", He told the multitude at the Sermon on the Mount. "Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand", He warned his audience. These ideas were new and strange to the Jews, especially the Pharisees and Scribes who disliked Him and sought to kill Him because He was hurting the image of the Ruling class, messing with the status-quo and making them look foolish and stupid.. They accused him of breaking the Laws. But Christ knew the laws; He broke them because they made no sense to Him. People, especially children, were more important to Jesus than the man made laws and traditions of the Jews of His time. Please, read the Holy Bible for evidence.
They accused Him of blasphemy. They charged Him with sedition. They labeled Him a rebel, a spy and an instigator. They said He broke the law by working on Sabbath. He said the "Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath". When He walked on water, the Pharisees said it was because He could not swim. To them, walking on water was not a miracle. How envious? They accused him of disrespecting Caesar. He said his Kingdom was in Heaven and Caesar was just another man. They said He invoked the demon to bring sanity to madness. He said the Pharisees and Scribes were confused; "A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand", He told them. You cannot worship God and the demon at the same time. Then Judas betrayed Him for 30 pieces of silver and they nailed Him on the cross in Calvary. He died and three days later He rose from His "grave" and you know the rest of the story. Today, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. His followers continue to increase or grow in numbers, millions have come to worship at His alter, not by His military might or strength, or wealth or army force, but by love and faith in the living God of Host. He is risen and his kingdom shall reign forever. He never had a mansion, nor a limousine, or a private jet nor did He have an Army of soldiers. He was just caring, loving and compassionate. He taught us how to pray. He taught us how to love and forgive and serve others. He told us about the Good Samaritan. He taught us how to hope and be faithful. He reminded us about eternity and warned us to take care of our brothers and sisters; to be each other's keeper, for such is the measure by which we shall all be judged in Heaven when He will be sitting on the right hand side of His Father's throne on Judgement day. It will not be about CPDM Basic Texts. It will be about what we did for the least of these. It will be about our love and our compassion. It will be about forgiveness, mercy and grace.
I'm not prone to pandering, nor do I believe in platitudes, but I honestly feel that in as much as this is no moral equivalent, His Excellency President Biya is a good person in his heart. I also do not believe that President Biya desires to be worshipped like a god or be praised even when he does not deserve it. I think that it is the people around him who have placed him in a bubble that makes him look like a demi-god or bad person in the eyes of more than 50% of Cameroonians and the rest of the world. People who kiss up to the President for personal favors or gain, have succeeded in shaping the negative public image of our President. They have kept him out of touch with the Cameroonian electorate he was called upon to serve. Now it feels as if everyone in Cameroon lives at the mercy of the President. That is a glaring reversal of fortune, where the servant becomes the served. Leadership is service, ipso facto. The results of this image problem created by the worshippers of someone who was supposed to be our leading Civil Servant are as follows; (a) As Chairman of CPDM and President of Cameroon, Mr. Biya is not favored by most Cameroonians. (b) 85% of all Cameroonians in USA have a negative opinion of CPDM. (c) 93% of all Cameroonians in USA do not think Mr. Biya is a good leader. (d) 90% of all Cameroonians in USA believe that our country is on the wrong track, in terms of progress and development? (e) 55% of CPDM-USA militants would prefer another President to Mr. Biya. (f) 70% of CPDM-USA militants believe that Mr. Biya's government is corrupt and incompetent. If you doubt these statistics, ask yourself how many CPDM-USA militants voted for Mr. Paul Biya during the 2011 Presidential elections? Compare that figure with the population of Cameroonians in North America. This is not the fault of Mr. Paul Biya. It is the fault of those idle CPDM militants who seek to place him on the same pedestal with gods like Olympus or Zeus, Thor and Aphrodite, thus distancing the President from his people. My friend Julius Taka hit the right note in his coded write up on this subject. His is a sign of courageous leadership and this is not an endorsement.
As a matter of outreach, how strong is CPDM-USA, anyway? If each Branch of CPDM-USA has 20 members as per the Basic Texts and each Sub-Section has 5 Branches, then we can assume that each Sub-Section has 100 militants. If there are ONLY 3 Sub-Sections within the LONE Section of CPDM-USA, then it is safe to assume that CPDM-USA has 300 members. Add about 3 extra at-large Branches to that mix and you'll arrive at a safe figure of no more than 360 CPDM-USA militants. What is the population of Cameroonians in USA? Now, how strong is CPDM-USA? Let’s assume for the sake of this debate that we have approximately 10,000 Cameroonians in USA, but less than 500 of them are CPDM militants as indicated earlier, then what does that tell you about the strength of the Party in North America, its platform or its ideology? Less than 5% of Cameroonians in USA are members of the CPDM Party and that happens to be something we are proud of? How many of these militants are active? If ONLY approximately 150 militants voted for President Biya in the 2011 Presidential elections out of a membership of 360 militants, then it is also safe to say that more than 56% of CPDM-USA militants did not endorse Mr. Biya as Candidate for the high office in 2011. What then is this noise all about when the facts tell the truth about the strength of CPDM-USA and our support for the President? Actions speak louder than words. These are facts and anyone has the right to dispute them. Why is CPDM-USA so weak and what can be done to fire up the organization? How can CPDM-USA be powered to operate like a six cylinder engine running on super octane gasoline? The answer is in CHANGE, both in attitudes and in work ethics...Why then wastes so much time fighting over process and procedure of CPDM, when we have completely failed to demonstrate our knowledge of the Basic Texts, by building a vibrant organization in North America. What is more important, the letter or the color of the envelope?
Take the South East USA for example, and assume that the Sub-Section has 140 members in 7 Branches. What is the strength of our outreach, if we have ONLY 140 militants out of a population of approximately 2000 Cameroonians in South Eastern United States? That is less than 9% of the entire Cameroonian population in that region. When is the last time all 140 militants sat in the same room at the same time? How strong is our outreach and where are our priorities as militants? How many Cameroonians from this Sub-Section are registered at the Cameroon Embassy in USA? What plans do we have to change such disturbing trends or dynamics? Instead of wasting precious time discussing processes and procedures, how do we intend to broaden the tent of CPDM in North America? How do we attract new membership? What is our strategy? What are the Branch Presidents doing to consolidate their organizations and prepare for growth? What kind of growth opportunities do we see? What are our strengths or weaknesses as a Party? Who is our most threatening opposition? What is our brand? How many Cameroonians are part of a "Njangi" group run and operated by CPDM-USA or any of its Branches, as a social or economic initiative? In the last 5 years, how many containers of medical supplies has CPDM-USA shipped to Cameroon, as part of a community development effort or campaign? How many containers of books has CPDM-USA shipped to Cameroon to empower our youth? How many academic scholarships have we offered our Cameroonian youth as a part of our public relations campaign? How many socio-economic or social initiatives has CPDM-USA sponsored in USA or in Cameroon to leverage its power and scope of influence? What do most Cameroonians have in common and how can CPDM-USA capitalize on that communality for the benefit of the party and common good of all Cameroonians...
My guess is that these initiatives are not important because they do not constitute a part of the Basic CPDM Texts. Rules and Regulations are part of the Text. Master them and nothing else is relevant. That is the CPDM Party in North America. Now you see why only 1 out of 10 Cameroonians in the South East United States or 1 out of 100 in all of USA, would want to identify themselves with a do nothing group like CPDM-USA...All talk and no beef or substance.
The above mentioned data is factual and the outcome isn't the fault of President Biya alone. It is also the fault of all those who think that the problems faced by Cameroonians are not CPDM's problems. These weak minds deny the fact that our President must be held responsible or accountable for the poor state of affairs in Cameroon. These are the same idle thinkers who create an artificial boundary between the President and his people. The same people who, like Pharisees and Scribes, want to be noticed for their silly pranks, by refusing to come face to face with the truth or reality. For example, as "father" of all Cameroonians, when is the last time Mr. Biya visited Mundemba during the past 30 years? When is the last time President Biya held a Town Hall Meeting with Cameroonians in USA? On the other hand, how many times has he been to France in 30 years? How then can Mr. Biya claim that he loves these poor folks in Ndian Division or worries about the fate of Cameroonians in North America, when he cannot even imagine the pain and suffering and frustrations they go through every day? He has not met them. How can he then have genuine empathy for the plight of these common folks? How can he understand how his people truly feel? Where is the love? Is that the approved behavior of a good "parent", when you abandon your own "family"? Some say he is the head of all villages in Cameroon and I wonder when he last paid a visit to Dikome Balue, where the people have welcomed visitors from Germany, Poland and the UK.
Nevertheless, I am of the opinion that people around President Biya don't want him to know how bad things are in other parts of the country and they don't want him to come to grips with how much he is disliked by Cameroonians around the globe. Sadly enough, facts are facts. Those people around him don't want Mr. Biya to know that in Cameroon, thousands of children go to bed without food every day. That some parents cannot afford medicine for their loved ones. That some families cannot afford to send their kids to school. That people die every day because of lack of affordable health care or that some villages don't even have clean drinking water and that most small farmers need help.That the roads in Ndian Division as well as other parts of the country are impassable. These people around Mr. Biya don’t want him to know that even among his fans and supporters in America, there are some who have doubts about the future of the country. Perhaps, President Biya himself is interested in knowing about these things, but the DO NOTHING FILTERS protect him from reality. They sing praises to him and cheer him up even when everything is looking south. They don't want him to feel the pains that other people feel. Yet they want these poor people to keep voting for him even when their needs are not met. But I don't think that's what President Biya wants. He wants honesty and integrity. He wants openness and frank discussion and he wants to reach out to his people. He is a better President who happens to be surrounded by a bunch of sycophants and plebs, desiring nothing more than keeping their jobs or positions in power at the expense of the President's public image or reputation... They have kept him out of touch with his people, inside a bubble where they treat him like a god and wearing uniforms with the Presidents face on them for selfish reasons... I don't need anything from the President. All I'm asking is for him to help my people who need those things that only a government can do for its people, i.e. good roads, hospitals, schools, clean water, etc. And anyone who does not understand that can go to hell or continue pandering to the hierarchy, while exposing their ignorance.
I joined CPDM-USA and became Education and Publicity Secretary because I had something to offer the organization. Many of you have told me that I have done more for CPDM in one year than these entire do nothing talking heads have done in their lifetime as members. Dead weights waiting for political appointments. Even the opposition has declared publicly that Sam Esale has given CPDM-USA a good face. I have the evidence and I am not bragging. Each one of us has a God given talent. I am using mine to serve my country at no cost to the tax payer. But more importantly, I joined to help my people because CPDM is the party in power in Cameroon. I found out early that CPDM-USA has no Representation in the Cameroon Parliament and that bothered me a little bit. How would I channel my concerns for Ndian Division to the chain of command when the Section President of CPDM-USA is so weak and does nothing but seek personal gain? Here is a gentleman who attended a CPDM Congress in Yaoundé, without a message from CPDM-USA. With no strong CPDM-USA leadership and no CPDM-USA Representative in Parliament, my choices of dealing with authority became narrowed down to two direct letters addressed to the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon, within the last 7 months. Parliamentarians from Ndian Division have been complaining about the conditions of our road infrastructure for 30 years. I thought I might give it a try. I have waited for 3 months since I sent the last letter before deciding to issue and Open Letter to my President. I knew what I was doing. The people of Ndian Division have been patient for more than 30 years and I feel their pain every night when I go to bed. I wanted everyone to know that someone at the presidency is not sharing my concerns with the President of my country. Now I know someone is paying attention and it is exactly what I expected.
However, instead of waiting for a response to my open letter from the President or his delegate, I run into the same obstacles from CPDM-USA militants who spend their time doing nothing to grow the party but am ungracious enough to rise from their slumber and claim knowledge and understanding of CPDM Laws or rules and regulations. These are topics I can recite verbatim in my sleep. This is where history repeats itself, going back to my introduction. What if the presidency had a different opinion about the open letter? Who are these gatekeepers to the presidency? How much do they know about community organization? What kind of CPDM community have they organized in North America, besides holding small rallies of 10 to 15 people for photo opportunities or pointless Joint Conferences with no concrete agenda, for purposes of placating the Central Committee in Yaoundé? What is the outcome of the few Joint Conferences that CPDM-USA has held since its inception in North America? What concrete accomplishments can CPDM-USA show the President as an indication of good stewardship? After 5 or more years, how many Cameroonians in USA are proud to call themselves CPDM militants or members? Why? What is the growth rate of CPDM-USA? How many real CPDM-USA Branches do we have so far, if quality membership is the life blood of any political party? How many Sub-Sections? How many Sections? Why did Yaoundé shot down the specialized organs of CPDM-USA, i.e. WCPDM-USA & YCPDM-USA? How then can we claim that we understand the Basic Texts of the organization, when we do not follow it to the letter, for the good of the party? How is CPDM-USA responsible for the improvement of the lives of Cameroonians in North America? How is CPDM-USA responsible for the welfare of each Cameroonian community in USA? So, what good is knowledge of the Party Text if we can not show any transformational changes in our activities as Party militants? How can we improve the image of CPDM when we cannot accept the fact that "all politics is local" and we are failing as community organizers? How can we attract more members when we don't admit the fact that change is necessary at party level as well as governance level? What is the purpose of a Political Party? For how long do we have to pretend that we know what we are doing, when all we do is wait for opportunities to sing praises to a President who has been placed in a bubble by a bunch of sycophants.
As a political Party, what have we accomplished for the people of Ndian Division in 30 years? How about the people of Manyu or the people of other regions of Cameroon with almost similar circumstances? Why is CPDM not inspecting what the Party expects from their leadership? What good is the knowledge of these CPDM rules and regulations when Cameroonians are suffering because of the lack of basic necessities like (a) roads (b) clean water (c) affordable Health care (d) food (e) decent shelter (f) access to good education etc? How important are our rules and regulations when compared to (1) Hunger (2) Sickness & Disease (3) Poverty (4) Unemployment, as experienced by millions of Cameroonians? What is the responsibility of the Party elite in Cameroon and the Parliamentarians who represent the party? Who holds these leaders accountable besides the electorate who happen to be illiterate? What have we done for the poor man, woman and child in Cameroon, with all our knowledge of these rules and regulations? What are we advocating for or militating for, when people and their concerns are not at the center of our attention as party militants? Where is the substance? If CPDM has used the same Basic Texts for more than 30 years with minor modifications or amendments, isn't it reasonable to suggest that the Texts be changed since they do not seem to be useful anymore? Children in schools today do not use the same books their parents used 30 years ago. Trash those Texts and get out of this funk or stalemate that the party has been stuck in for 30 years. Change is the only constant we have in life. It is dynamic. Change is a good thing.
Writing an open letter is not my style. I've never done it before and I may never do it again, but after this incident, I've learnt one or two things to confirm my worries about the CPDM party. (A) This organization spends too much time on legalese or Dos and Don'ts and ceremony, but less time on substance. Too much emphasis on process and procedure and zero tolerance for common sense (B) Communities are not organized based on any meaningful guiding principles from CPDM, with common good as the focus or center of attention. It is all about personality worship and it feels more like a cult than a political party of like minded people. Servants have become the served. (C) This organization is designed to not listen to constructive criticism from inside but to rely more on 30 years old, stale and failed opinions from party hierarchy with vested interest or Parliamentarians who are in themselves toothless. (D) The organization lacks focus or a clear sense of purpose or vision for the future. No clear direction in the area of meaningful transformation and connection with the electorate. (E)This organization does not utilize its grassroots to build meaningful relationships with communities, in an attempt to foster unity, solidarity and goodwill. Tribalism, nepotism and favoritism are the order of the day. (F) CPDM is a dying political party grabbing at straws for survival. There is no trust within the rank and file of CPDM as a Party. These observations are mine and they present mixed signals. (1) CPDM can either decide to consolidate, rejuvenate or rise again by applying the SWAT analysis (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat), then design a strategy for survival or competition with any emerging opposition, or (2) A new charismatic opposition leader will emerge to capitalize on the current weaknesses of CPDM, create a "Blue Ocean Strategy" and nail CPDM in the proverbial coffin. That will be the end of CPDM as we know it today, and Mr. Biya may be the last CPDM President in Cameroon, if the opposition is smart enough to see what I see or hear what I hear. Nevertheless, CPDM still has a fighting chance and that depends on whether or not the party officials desire CHANGE or prefer to wallow in mediocrity by holding onto the Status-quo.
While I maintain that my letter has validity in fact and substance, I would like to add that I'm sorry if my letter exposed certain truths about CPDM leadership, thereby making some people uncomfortable or embarrassing the Party. I'm not a perfect man and will never claim to be one, but I'm not a child anymore. When I was a boy I acted like one. Now I'm a man and I must behave like an adult and a Christian. I believe that people will not change if they do not feel convicted by their own behavior or actions towards the people they have been called upon to serve. I also believe that there can never be true Democracy when fellow human beings are still feeling crushed by the merciless claws of mental slavery, ignorance, illiteracy, poverty and disease. I believe self criticism or auto-criticism is a good thing, regardless of how it is dressed. And I want to thank every militant who participated in this conversation, for their honest input. I may disagree with some of them but I must confess that I learn a lot every day by the simple exchange of ideas and opinions. All of you have increased my repertoire of knowledge about the small world around me. Because of all of you, friends and foes, I have developed a broader perspective about this issue. Thank you.
I would like to conclude by stressing that the Grass Roots campaign does not endorse my views or my letters to the President of the Republic of Cameroon. Sango Ngalame's hands are clean in this matter and it will be unfair to use my open letter to President Biya as a political football to derail Mr. Ngalame's campaign for the office of Section President. It is for this same reason that I will withdraw from my position as Communications Director for the Grassroots Campaign, effective immediately, until further notice. I am responsible for the decisions I make and would prefer that Mr. Ngalame's campaign not be impacted adversely by my personal choices.
May God Bless the people of Cameroon
Love
***Sam Esale is a native of Dikome Balue, a village in Ndian division in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. He is currently enrolled in a PhD program in Leadership and Management Studies in the United States of America. He writes constantly to expose the plight and sufferings of his people in a country where a few greedy people have decided to mismanage the wealth of the nation***
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