How Biya Has Modernized Cameroon

By Christopher Ambe Shu

Like it or not, Paul Biya’s 27 years as Cameroon’s President have been eventful, as his blueprint of modernizing the country is being implemented. It could be slow, but it has been steady. Mr. Biya desires to be described as a great achiever. Just staying in power, democratically elected, for 27 years  is a telling achievement.
Even if he has weaknesses - which is normal as a human being, his successes in the political, socio-economic, diplomatic domains and otherwise are there for any person of good faith appreciate. But to completely dismiss Mr. Biya‘s 27-year stay at the helm of power as wasted years, as leading opposition parties in Cameroon claim, is too unfair.
 Democratic Reforms
Politically, to begin with, when he assumed the presidential office on November 6, 1982, the country was a one-party system. Democracy was barely practiced within the party. But in March 1985, he transformed the lone party – the CNU - into CPDM, introducing democratic reforms within the party. He reintroduced multi-party democracy in 1990, against protests from some learned Cameroonians. 
 Today, Cameroon has over 200 political parties, with citizens free to belong to any of their choice or even to form more. With the multiplicity of parties came greater freedom of expression. Cameroonians under former President Ahmadou Ahidjo did not actually enjoy freedom of expression.
Since 1992 elections - notably presidential, municipal and parliamentary - have been organized for Cameroonians to democratically choose their leaders and representatives. It is true complaints of electoral fraud and rigging have been alleged by mostly loser-opposition parties such as the SDF, but the Supreme Court has always adjudicated on such complaints.
President Biya listened to calls from the opposition, who felt that the Ministry of Territorial Administration charged with organizing elections, was not trustworthy, and created the National Elections Observatory (NEO) to supervise polls. The opposition still doubted its credibility, insisting on the creation of an independent electoral body, which President Biya has created in ELECAM.
To ensure that democratic tenets are respected, President Biya set up the National Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms to promote Human rights, and abolished administrative censorship of the press.

Improving Infrastructure

On the social domain, the Biya Administration has been doing much to put up social facilities across the nation, to improve living standards.
One can easily find well-equipped hospitals in towns and rural settings. Health centers are spread nationwide. The telephone system has been modernized. Deregulation of telecoms has ushered in MTN and Orange, who now serve millions. Consider computer centers with internet link in many schools. Cameroon has an ultra modern television network (CRTV). With President Biya deregulating the audio-visual sector, there are over 100 private radios and 10 television stations operating in Cameroon.


Major roads have been constructed linking towns and more are still under construction. Electricity and water projects are being extended to rural areas. Almost every village has a primary school. Secondary and high schools as well as institutes are far common in Cameroon now than before. The country now has seven state-owned universities (Buea, Douala, Dschang, Ngaoundéré, Yaoundé I, Yaoundé II and Garoua), plus several privately owned universities. There are many other social facilities that can not be all mentioned here.
 In the economic arena, the Biya administration has created and encouraged foreigners to open companies and industries in Cameroon. His administration, in collaboration with the Brettonwoods institutons, is currently carrying out a structural adjustment program, intended to boost economic growth, alleviate poverty and misery and fight diseases. Cameroon‘s economic growth is steady.

Conscious that Cameroon is endowed with abundant natural and human resources, the Biya regime has set up youth employment programs and projects in different ministries. For civil servants, the Government recently decreed a 15 percent pay raise.
There is no doubt that Cameroon, with one of the best-endowed primary commodity economies in sub-Saharan Africa, still faces problems such as high unemployment, corruption, and embezzlement of public funds, injustices and human rights abuses. But measures have taken by the Biya Administration to check such ills. Many government officials have been thrown in prison for embezzlement and corruption. Many more are currently detained, awaiting trial.
 Opponents accuse President Biya of lacking the political will to put in place institutions provided for by the 1996 revised constitution, such as the Senate and the Constitutional Council. But they forget to note that President Biya has insisted that these institutions world soon be put in place.

Successful Diplomacy

Under President Biya, Cameroon continues to forge relations and maintain good relations with other important nations and international organizations. Cameroon is known as an island of peace in a turbulent Central African sub-region.


One of his latest diplomatic victories was the the return of Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon by Nigeria. Cameroon and Nigeria disputed over the legal ownership of the peninsula for years. But conscious that Bakassi belongs to Cameroon, President Paul Biya finally brought the matter before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

In October 2002, the ICJ ruled that sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula lies with Cameroon. And in August 2008, Nigeria finally ceded Bakassi to Cameroon.This was widely considered as a huge diplomatic victory for President Biya.
Due to President Biya’s track record of successes, militants of his ruling party and other Cameroonians are already calling on him to run for re-election in 2011, when his second seven year mandate ends
NB:This Article was First Published at  www.cameroonforum.net