March 24, 2025 marks the CPDM’s fortieth year since its creation in the Grass Fields town of Bamenda. For the last four decades, it has been Cameroon’s ruling party having the greater chunk of government officials as members.
Forty years down the line, the party claims to have achieved much, but leaves many others have desiring more from the CPDM. One man has been at the helm of the CPDM for the last 40 years – Paul Biya. This has raised questions regarding the party’s practice of democracy – a term which forms part of its name.
Secondly, the overbearing age of the party’s leader is worrisome to some. President Paul Biya, at 92 acts as chairman of the party. There are ongoing calls from various elite militants for him to stand for the umpteenth time as the party candidate in the October presidential elections for another seven-year term.
Moreover, in years past, the CPDM’s means of election victory has remained controversial. Many insiders and observers have disclosed several undemocratic methods with which the party uses to strengthen its grip on power.
The high rate of human rights violations as catalogued by several rights groups paints the last forty years red. A situation made worse by severe attacks on press freedom. Journalists and other individuals who attempt to raise discerning voices are either incarcerated or killed. Corruption on the other hand is the vice that has branded Cameroon wide on international rankings. Accompanied by tribalism and nepotism, the statecraft is almost headed by a defined group of indigenous people and families.
At forty, the birthplace of the CPDM, Bamenda is in ruins following an eight-year-long socio-political conflict in the North West and South West. One in which thousands have been killed, hundreds of thousands displaced, and billions worth of infrastructure destroyed. The Anglophone problem which is the root of the present insecurity was a cry of marginalization perpetuated by the Francophone majority.
Under the watch of the CPDM, Anglophones have remained an unheard minority. The cosmetic solutions to their issues have led to growing calls for secession within the Anglophone community. The CPDM has left Cameroon almost half broken than it was when it took office. It is the same conflict that has made thousands of children in the North West and South West regions miss school for years. While some campuses are now overgrown with grass, others have become barracks for military men.
The CPDM events across the English-speaking regions like always will be graced by elected officials, many of whom do not reside in their constituencies. They only tip-toe in during celebrations to journey off in armored cars almost immediately at the end.
Furthermore, the unemployment rate in Cameroon continues to rise with unending promises of better days. Young graduates and intellectuals have no place at high quarters as the aged have refused to retire.
In the end, Cameroonians long for good roads, clean cities, and portable regular water and electricity supply. The fortieth anniversary of the CPDM is also a time to ask about the long-promised Limbe Deep Sea Port and many other unfulfilled promises to Anglophones in particular and Cameroonians in general.
