Tag: Ni John Fru Ndi

Who/What did We Say Goodbye to in Africa, in 2023?

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments1 Comment
Map of Mali

We said goodbye to a lot of people and things in Africa in 2023. Below are 11 of them:

1. We said goodbye to MINUSMA, a UN peacekeeping mission in Mali, which was found to be complicit to the destabilization of the country. The organization had been in Mali for a decade, with no results except a clear collusion with the terrorists (funded by external forces) who have divided the country. On their way out, weeks before they were set to leave at the request of the Malian government, MINUSMA breached their agreements with the government for a safe handout, and left abruptly leaving all sorts of heavy artillery for the rebel groups to take over the city, but the Mali governmental forces were able to defeat the terrorists and free the city of Kidal, a rebel stronghold. Mali Forces Succeed in Kidal where France and Allies could not!

Flag of Burkina Faso

2. In February, France agreed to withdraw its troops from agreed to a request from Burkina Faso’s military leaders to withdraw all its troops from the country within a month. France to Withdraw Troops from Burkina Faso. There were other defense agreements signed in 2018; this is a rescinding on the 2018 agreements. It is the third African country from which France is forced to move out its troops: Central African Republic, Mali, and now Burkina Faso.

Map of Niger

3. On July 26, 2023, President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger was ousted by a military coup d’etat that saw the arrival of president Abdourahamane Tchiani at the helm of the country. France and the international community have been totally against the new government. This has let to a successive rupture of French relations in Niger, starting with a Niger – France Diplomatic Arm Wrestling, where the French ambassador refused to leave the country after the country told him to, which came to an end a few days ago with French troops leaving the country. Since the coup, Niger has been one of the fastest growing economies of the continent, now that the uranium revenues are actually entering the country’s coffers vs. France. All Eyes on Niger, Why is Niger so Poor and Why the Anti-French Sentiment?, Bye Bye to French Troops in Niger.

Flag of Gabon

4. On August 30, 2023, we all woke up to a military coup d’etat in Gabon by the army which ended 56 years of the Bongo dynasty by putting out Ali Bongo. We all thought we were getting someone new, but we got  General Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, who is a cousin of Bongo and used to be the bodyguard of Bongo’s father, the late President Omar Bongo. He was also head of the secret service in 2019 before becoming head of the republican guard. Unlike the coup in Niger, the coup in Gabon was applauded by France and the rest of the international community. Is the Wind of Change blowing in Gabon too?

Map of Morocco

5. In September, Never Before Seen Catastrophes hit Morocco and Libya Few Days apart: Morocco was hit by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake, the deadliest in the country in over a century, said to have claimed over 3,000 lives. Libya was hit by unbelievable floods a few days later on September 10; these floods, the deadliest ever on the continent, and said to have claimed between 5,000 – 10,000 lives, and displaced at least 30,000 people. Our hearts go out to our Moroccan and Libyan brothers and sisters. Africa stands with you. 

Ruben Um Nyobé
Ruben Um Nyobé

6. Marie Um Nyobe (born Marie Ngo Ndjock Yebga), the widow of one of Cameroon’s greatest opposition fighters and freedom fighters, the real Father of Cameroonian independence, Ruben Um Nyobé, passed away on the exact same day that her husband was murdered 65 years ago, on 13 September 1958, on the 65th Commemoration of Ruben Um Nyobe’s Murder. This came just as Cameroon and the Union des Populations du Cameroon (UPC) was commemorating the 65th year of his murder by the French forces in Cameroon.

Ama Ata Aidoo (Source: W4.org)

7. This year, we said goodbye to Ama Ata Aidoo, the first published female African dramatist with her play The Dilemma of a Ghost published in 1965. She was a Ghanaian author, poet, playwright, who served in the government of Jerry Rawlings as Secretary for Education from 1982 to 1983. So Long to Ghanaian Writer Trailblazer Ama Ata Aidoo. She belongs to the generation of African women writers who dared to speak up loud and clear about African women issues at a time when it was not common. In a 2014 interview with Zeinab Badawi of BBC, she said “People sometimes question me, for instance, why are your women so strong? And I say, that is the only woman I know.”

Ni John Fru Ndi (Source: Bonaberi.com)

8. Ni John Fru Ndi, the major political opponent to the current president of Cameroon for almost 3 decades passed away this year. Affectionately called “The Chairman,” John Fru Ndi came up at the twilight of the National Conference in Cameroon with the creation of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in 1990. Over the years, his party came to symbolize hope in a place where there had been no ‘real’ leadership change in over 30 years. His party was seen as the main opposition party to the government for over 2 decades. GoodBye to a Courageous Leader : Ni John Fru Ndi and Ushering the Multi-Party Era in Cameroon. He has left a major imprint in Cameroon’s politics.

9. At the beginning of this month, Mali and Niger ended Long-Standing Tax Treaties with France, putting an end to a 50 years old tax treaty that mostly benefited French companies in these African countries. This will help Mali and Niger to finally be able to tax these companies that make billions in their countries, to get the funds necessary to fund their own economies.

Poster of Sarafina

10. In mid-December, we were stunned by the passing of the South African singer Bulelwa Mkutukana, also known by her stage name as Zahara, a self-taught guitarist who gained recognition with her debut album, Loliwe, in 2011. She enchanted us all with Loliwe. The album was a commercial hit and won the Album of the Year at the South African Music Awards, and loved throughout Africa. Her style fell in the Afro-Soul register with her strong beautiful voice. So long blooming flower, we will keep singing to honor you.

11. Lastly, we said goodbye to Mbongeni Ngema, the South African composer and choreographer who gave us the musical Sarafina!, the movie which focused on the event of Soweto in 1976 and which became a world sensation. 16 June 1976: Soweto Uprising from Sarafina!, The Lord’s Prayer from Sarafina, Visiting the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, Remembrance: 16 June 1976 Soweto Massacre. He passed away on December 27, 2023. President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote, “[Mbongeni Ngema]’s masterfully creative narration of our liberation struggle honoured the humanity of oppressed South Africans and exposed …”

GoodBye to a Courageous Leader : Ni John Fru Ndi and Ushering the Multi-Party Era in Cameroon

On By Dr. Y.In Great Moments, Great PeopleLeave a comment
John Fru Ndi (Source: NewsduCamer.com)

Ni John Fru Ndi, the major political opponent to the current president of Cameroon for almost 3 decades has passed away. Affectionately called “The Chairman,” John Fru Ndi came up at the twilight of the National Conference in Cameroon with the creation of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) in 1990. Over the years, his party came to symbolize hope in a place where there had been no ‘real’ leadership change in over 30 years. His party was seen as the main opposition party to the government for over 2 decades. He was unavoidable in the political arena, and ran for president several times. He came close to winning in the October 1992 presidential election, but through some constitutional gymnastics and some play by the Supreme court (always) his win was pulverized and given to the governing party. The Supreme Court judge who heard his petition alleging fraud, said his “hands were tied” – and let the official results granting victory to incumbent Paul Biya, with 40% of the vote, stand. This caused great upset among SDF supporters and Fru Ndi was placed under house arrest for three months in his home in Bamenda, and a state of emergency was declared in the country. Later, Fru Ndi was nonetheless invited with his wife to the inauguration of US President Bill Clinton in January 1993.

Ni John Fru Ndi (Source: Bonaberi.com)

Like everyone back then, Fru Ndi began his political career in the 1980s as a member of Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC). Through the years, he grew frustrated with the one-party system. In 1990, during the years of the National Conference when Cameroon officially ended the one-party rule, he formed the opposition party the Social Democratic Front (SDF). Although he hailed from the Northwest province of Cameroon (English speaking area of Cameroon), he strove to represent all Cameroonians, and aspired for the unity of the entire country seeking a federally unified Cameroon. He addressed the masses in pidgin English. Soon, SDF came to stand for “Suffer don finish” – where with his arrival in power, his party would usher the end to suffering. At political rallies, he would raise his fist to shout “SDF” to the crowd, who would chant back en masse: “Power to the people!” This call and response was repeated until the third time when they would roar back: “Power to the people and equal opportunities!” The masses were galvanized; for many Cameroonians who had been muzzled for far too long under the one-party frame, this was the opportunity to exercise their civic duties and participate in the political life of their country. They saw in Fru Ndi the alternative to the stuck-up politics. Their efforts were repressed by the governing party; the early 1990s were the years of strikes, street protests, “zero-deaths,” and more.

John Fru Ndi addressing the masses in Bamenda (Source: Cameroonpostline.com)

In recent years, Fru Ndi was not a supporter of the secessionist rebellion in Anglophone Cameroon that has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced countless people over the last six years. He was even kidnapped twice and beaten up by militants of the secessionist group in 2019, and part of his house was burnt down. The  secessionists were angered by what they saw as his betrayal for not supporting their demand for an independent state of Ambazonia, as they call Cameroon’s two English-speaking areas – the Northwest and Southwest regions. This forced him to sadly relocate from his beloved Bamenda to the capital Yaounde. He was very proud of his origins and rarely was seen wearing anything but atogho, traditional Bamileke clothing from the Northwest region, or Boubou: A Traditional African Garment.

Flag of Cameroon

Many claim that he should have united the opposition behind one leader against the government, as he had failed to get the coalition formed by the opposition to agree to field a single candidate to take on Mr Biya; or that he had been corrupted by the governing party.  Fru Ndi may have made mistakes, but at some point he represented the hopes of millions, hopes for a different future, a different alternative; and he had the courage to stand up and create a party who united people from all levels of the society, ushering the era of multi-party in Cameroon which was often paved with thorns. He has left a major imprint in Cameroon’s politics.

Below are some tributes from AfricaNews,

“I salute the memory of a singular, charismatic and courageous leader,” said current opposition leader Maurice Kamto who ran for president in 2018.

“The story of the return to multi-party politics in Cameroon cannot be written without [Fru Ndi’s] name in bold gold,” said politician Akere Muna, who ran for president in 2018. “His life is a lesson to the fact that leadership is about serving and not about being served,” he said.

“Ni John Fru Ndi for the SDF (Social Democratic Front, editor’s note) was the guide, that is to say, the man who traced the furrow along which we walk, the man who against all odds imposed the return to a multi-party system in Cameroon on 26 May 1990 and with it a set of individual and collective freedoms granted to the entire Cameroonian people” Marcel Tadjeu , Chairman of the Douala 5 SDF electoral constituency told AfricaNews correspondent.

Read also articles on the BBC, ABC, and AfricaNews.