Abreast with Ngoko
Samuel Etos’ lesson to politicians
The recent inauguration of the new headquarters of the Cameroon Football Association, known by its French acronym FECAFOOT, has brought to the fore some hidden ingenuity in Samuel Eto’o Fils, president of FECAFOOT.
Beyond the fanfare and pageantry that characterized the event, a very important feature that seemed to have eluded many who went there to frolic and be seen to belong to the Joneses, is the encomium that was showered on the Prime Minister and Head of Government.
By way of reverence to the PM, Eto’o said there is a hard and fast line of demarcation between a politician and a statesman. The reason he made the distinction is that by his reckoning, politicians are prone to concentrate on the electoral cycle instead of the welfare of citizens, while statesmen lean more on ensuring that the state is positioned on a high pedestal within the comity of nations via palpable achievements. His conclusion is that the PM belongs to the latter class.
Further than the deference to the PM, the import of Eto’o’s comment is not in the distinction he makes between politicians and statesmen, but in the timing and setting of the outpouring, which to discerning minds, is a scathing indictment of the astounding political ineptitude inherent in our politicians. To begin with, the event was coming on the heels of month-long parliamentary session whose major outcome is the postponement of earlier-programmed elections and the coming into being of a new law that invests in the head of state the authority of ad infinitum elongation of the mandate of municipal councillors. What a coincidence!
What Samuel Eto’o has done is quite audacious in the sense that many consider him as an enfant cheri, of the repository of power in Cameroon. His action, by this token, runs counter to what is expected from someone who has benefited enormously from the presidency of the republic in terms of personal relationships, and by extension, support to reach his current station in life.
Nevertheless, this audacity must be seen as the outgrowth of a latent ingenuity which many can hardly discern because of a delirious penchant of always leaning on the optics of his successful football career without factoring in the colossal experience he has gathered over the years. This explains why he could pull the stunt of public indictment of a system that is supposed to be his livewire without many, noticing the nauseating dent it has stamped on the government’s image.
Imagine the setting! The occasion attracted everybody who matters in Cameroon, apart from the head of state, and the decision-making machinery of world football. Oh yes, Eto’o has used the opportunity to the fullest to instill a sense of empathy in his ‘godfathers’ who, unfortunately, have consigned concern for fellow citizens to the land of no return. He was euphemistically telling them that they have ferried Cameroon into ruination via inordinate fixation on emerging victorious in elections regardless of the reality of having been vomited by the electorate.
Oh yes, he was reminding them how they bring the full force of state apparatus to bear on their imposed victory. The hundreds of deaths occasioned by the overzealousness of a zombified forces of law and order have meant nothing to them in their directionless quest to ride roughshod on despondent citizens.
Indeed, Eto’o has told them that politicians must strive to leave landmarks that will serve as legacies of their unearned privileges to be at the helm of state affairs. Of course, he has proven this necessity to serve with altruism by inviting them to the inauguration ceremony of an edifice that had been abandoned over the years. It was not just an event to be counted among the power brokers of Cameroon, but an opportunity for introspection. Introspection that should call to mind all the abandoned projects and unfulfilled promises to Cameroonians.
If politicians in Cameroon did not fit the description Eto’o has ascribed to them, particularly in a country that is wallowing in post-electoral confusion stemming from accusations of mass rigging and alienation of potential rivals by the ruling oligarchs, they would have concentrated on calming the tensed nerves of the aggrieved citizens by initiating dialogue with all stakeholders.
Such a trajectory would have spared us the current impasse of stagnation in government actions wherein nothing seems to be in the offing regarding actions that are supposed to promote the welfare of citizens. Insistence on maneuvers to win elections has instead brought diminishing returns into the fray, with ministers serving in the same position for decades. And, this scenario persists despite promises of a new government in the days ahead. Unfortunately, the sense of urgency embedded in the need for a cabinet reshuffle and appointment of a vice president, has been swallowed by a dangerous affliction called indolence.
Eto’o has moreover, reminded politicians that they should be seeking solutions to pressing problems like the fratricidal war between non state actors and the military in the Northwest and Southwest regions, instead of touting hapless citizens with distractions like the current introduction of the position of vice president that adds nothing to the welfare of a people who are already overwhelmed by the pangs of financial ambush. How else would one describe a system of governance that increases taxes on a regular basis but has nothing to show for the delayed gratification imposed on citizens? It is as if the governing class is haunted by the imminence of a looming Armageddon.
Some may say Eto’o does not have the intellectual clout to come up with such a resounding display of crowd psychology mastery as ensued during the inauguration of the FECAFOOT headquarters, but ingenuity is not only innate. Sometimes it comes from the ability to combine available resources in doses that produce solutions to seemingly intractable problems. It is also the ability to bring together people perceived as being intelligent, and make them look foolish in front of an international audience like Eto’o has done.
He may not have written the speech, but the intuition to cast his net wide and get the right person to accomplish set tasks is part of the genius in him.
Maybe, after a moment of recapitulation of the events of that fateful day, it will dawn on our politicians that it would have been more meaningful to concentrate on completing the Yaoundé/Douala dual carriage road, provide regular electricity supply to Cameroonians and ensure that a basic necessity like roads does not form part of the daily concern of Cameroonians.
Eto’o is challenging politicians to understand that when there are no roads, farmers cannot take their produce to the market. The absence of roads directly translates into avoidable poverty for the producers who will not have money to buy other necessities just like potential buyers of their produce will be faced with price hikes owing to scarcity in accordance with the laws of demand and supply.
Absence of electricity, too, will deprive cottage industries and the informal sector of means of survival and the consequent effect will be mass insurrection that the much vaunted and overzealous forces of law and order will be unable to contain.
Politicians do not need to give traction to the feeling that winning elections even at the cost of sacrificing lives is their sole purpose in representing the electorate. Fulfilling electoral promises and exhibiting a sense of empathy with the electorate will cost less and lead to mutual benefits for politicians and their constituents.
, and the potential buyers who will be faced with scarcity and attendant hikes in prices. When there is no electricity, cottage industries and the informal sector that depend on it will suffer. The multiplier effect of this will be mass discontent that even the much-vaunted overzealous forces of law and order would not be able to contain. Eto is saying that those responsible for our descent into hell, no thanks to the adoption of abominable corruption as our governance mantra.
