Paul Biya’s 26th anniversary in office: With little money going to the provinces the event could not but be sober.

Anyone in power for more than a quarter century who still bothers about celebrating the anniversary of his accession to power is surely not a good sign. Celebrations are a feature of dictatorships, especially those that haven’t done well with economic development.

Typically dictatorships like Cameroon like to keep the people’s attention on their leaders. Observe, for instance, how Paul Biya even after all these long years in office, still wants to bring Yaounde city to a halt before taking a ride to or from the airport.
If you don’t live in Yaounde there is this other feature you surely know. The people must know that it is by the dictator’s grace that the nation ticks. On the very high directive of the head of state, we hear all the time, the Prime Minister will undertake his routine activity.
Yet another feature of dictatorships: Public officials must constantly refer to the divine wisdom of the head of state. Quote him as often or credit him with whatever you say. So came along 6th November the 26th anniversary of Biya in office.
But this was different. The cheap money that vote-controlling officials in the public sector used to throw out at the grassroots and bring so much life to party activities was no more available this time around.
Paul Biya’s unpredictable selection of his corruption culprits has frightened everyone and kept them on the look out. Although corruption itself has not stopped that careless ostentation and competition among budget managers has ceased.
There was far less to share this time and smaller were the crowds that turned up.
Most curious of all, the man for whom all the trouble was for did not as much as come out of his home to join in the climax event which was a variety show at the Yaounde conference centre.
And why would Paul Biya not even record a thank you statement to be run on radio? Yes, conceit and arrogance of the leader is yet another of those features of dictatorships. “I appointed them all to their positions, let them honour me,” the dictator says.