Can you imagine a world without the United States of America?
I believe that the Cameroon People Democratic Movement ( CPDM) officials have spent a great deal of their time in power to study the works of Machiavelli especially his portrayal of the Prince as cynical and wicked. If you know Iago of William Shakespeare’s Othello then you might have a perfect character portrait of who a Prince is.That is why I came up with the Democratic Federal Union for Cameroonians in order for us to seek a more perfect union than the imperfect union we have endured in the last 50 years.
Just as Iago was bent to see about the downfall of Othello as a General, so too is the Prince bent to see into it that all his enemies and opponents are destroyed in anyway so long as that will make him retain political power and avoid being held accountable. One of the most cynical ways to mislead the world is by creating this façade of democracy under a political party, which they call CPDM.
I want to discuss this to enable us identify some of the root causes of the abuse of power by the CPDM Party as perfect students of Machiavelli. This will be in contrast with what would have likely happened if they were rather students of Jean Jacque Rousseau or the Founding Fathers of America. I wish they had taken only a moment to explore the works and life of Statesmen around the world who were instrumental in building their nations.
These ordinary people never necessarily became extra-ordinary because of political power. What made them famous is their extra-ordinary leadership marked by the fact that they did not change the Constitution. They fought hard for political leadership in order to use that platform to change their countries and the world. They knew exactly when to exit power following the Constitution because they were answerable to it. They knew they were imperfect servants of the State and people and embrace political leadership as a noble calling.
Therefore, it is incongruous that today some human beings would encourage people to rely on people like Machiavelli to rule others these days. Why don’t they draw inspiration from the 17th century leaders of the free world who distinguished themselves from rulers through a system of government, which was decentralized and accountable to the people? Can you for a while imagine a world without the United States ? Then why don’t we copy their good examples to help build and foster a free and prosperous society in our backyards? A free Cameroonian within the free world must learn how to be smarter than the Prince (Ruler of the CPDM State ) or continue to face his unpleasant music of dictatorship and tyranny. We must always put on the jacket of freedom and remember the United States of America is in this world for a reason.
So who was Niccolo Machiavelli?
Niccolo Machiavelli who was famous with his celebrated work “The Prince” was an Italian Aristocrat who lived from 1469-1527 in the City of Florence . He had a bad reputation for being insidious with his take on the character of rulers known as Prince. He painted a true and realistic picture of what was happening as opposed to what ought to. He observed that men by nature were either avaricious or miserly; a giver or rapacious; one cruel, another merciful, one treacherous, another faithful, one effeminate and cowardly, another bold and courageous, one humane, another haughty, one trustworthy, another cunning, one harsh, another lenient, one serious, another frivolous, one religious, another unbelieving etc. Then he argued that it was impossible to find a Prince who embodies all the good qualities because of human nature. According to him it was up to the Prince to be prudent enough to escape or avoid the human vices, which led to his bad reputation.
He was very conflicted about the method and procedure of the Prince (ruler) in dealing with those subordinate to him and keeping power according to human nature. That is to say he advised his Prince to do whatever within their means to keep power even if it meant to do immoral things like torture, murder and killing of those he believed were a threat to his lust for power. Since he was cynical, he supported questionable means that will make someone become a Prince forever. In other words, “To remain in power the Prince must learn how not to be good”. However, he was criticized for perpetuating the vices of the Prince that led to the abuse of power and human suffering.
Application of Machiavellian’s doctrine of abuse of power by the Prince of the African Dictators
The Italian mafia was inspired by Machiavellian’s duplicity with power. This mafia translates into the French-Francophone dictatorship and tyranny in Cameroon spearheaded by the CPDM Party. They have been out to do whatever it takes to keep political power. They have no regards for the welfare of the civil society because it is not their preoccupation. The flagrant violation of the human rights of Cameroonians especially minority Anglophones is a living testimony to the determination of the CPDM Party to crush Anglophone power, spirit of resiliency and sense of belonging to their own society. In order to remain in power the Prince (President Paul Biya and his government) has definitely learned not to be good at all.
When you hear that University Chancellors have issued threats against Student strikes, that is a mark of betrayal of democratic principles. Instead of educating the masses with the appropriate methods of free and peaceful expressions they resort to repressive measures because they do not care about the civil society. If they had a vision for nation building they would recognize the civil society and educate them about how to express their grievances against the State.
We are a society of tribes and thanks to colonialism, which only attempted to help us find commongrounds through modern forms of government and governance. If the CPDM thinks that it is normal to continue lying to the ordinary Cameroonians that Colonialism was evil why is it that ever since they gained independence they are still holding onto power? At what point do they realize that all people who were born Cameroonians are entitled to know how they govern the country? If we cannot hold the government accountable then why are we a country?
All the societies, from which colonial masters came from have evolved tremendously and moved on. They are not perfect but there is enormous evidence, which shows that the people do hold their leaders accountable. We have all turned to these societies to seek solace, security and prosperity because we have lost faith in our own societies! How does anyone blame innocent people for being part of the civil society? If government does not function in ways that meet the needs of the people then such a government ought not to prevail. Government (The President and his Cabinet, Parliament) is supposed to be the product of the civil society in order to be accountable to them.
Majority of government officials studied in France and also in North America and I am wondering if they did not learn anything from France , Britain , Germany , Canada and United States ? As for me, KI am writing and seeking a peaceful political transition through a transitional government because I have learned about better forms of government within the United States . Consequently, the Cameroon government does not agree with the Social Contract, which was one of the major works of Jean Jacques Rousseau during the 18th century enlightenment (an age of commonsense and reason).
So who was Jean Jacque Rousseau?
The Social Contract was about his political philosophy and he would not agree with Machiavelli. He wrote about the origin of the civil society and focused on the way people who belong to body politics of the State established relationship with one another in order to secure social cohesion and justice for all. Gerard Hopkins who translated the Social Contract said;
“By emphasizing the fact that each member of a society forfeits a certain amount of personal freedom for the greater good of the whole, and by emphasizing that the sovereign has immense responsibilities to the people, Rousseau conceived the structure of government in a novel way. Today we think of that way as democratic, since Rousseau constantly talks about certain types of equality, which he expects to be found in a well-ordered society. Equality before the law is probably the most important element of that society. Equality before the law, a concept we approve today, was a very revolutionary view for 1762”.
No wonder the French Revolution of 1789 was inevitable because Scholars like Jean Jacque Rousseau inspired the civil society to be conscious of the abuse of power and the injustices of the State and French Aristocrats who lived in opulence while the masses were subjected to poverty. The excessive materialism of the King and Queen of France became clear to the French people through Rousseau that not all French people were equal before the law. Consequently when it dawn on people that others were not more entitled to the State and State property than the rest under misery, they stood up
Jonathan Awasom
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