Cameroonian Youths to Endure More Lies

When I passed my Advanced Levels in 1987, I was excited to enroll in the University of Yaounde, Ngoaekelle. I hadn’t the faintest idea how I was going to raise the money to live in Yaounde and attend lectures. My mother had labored so hard making garri (dried manioc flour) which she sold at Tad Market to sponsor me through secondary school. Garri in the 1970’s was not the gold it is today. Eni, my mother sold 30 cups of garri at only FCFA 100 then. She needed two basins of garri every market day to be sure of a weekly income of FCFA 2,000. This financial insecurity, notwithstanding, I reassured Eni I will make it through University.

No tuition was paid in Yaounde University from its creation in 1963. When I enrolled in the Faculty of Laws and Economic Sciences in 1987, it was in the hopes of benefitting from the university bursaries (EPSI) graciously distributed then. EPSI ranged from FCFA 25,000 to FCFA 80,000 a month. Even the undeserving students collected bursaries for 10 months in a year. Those who were not lucky to benefit from the welfare state from the beginning of the year were given ‘EPSI pitié’ (solidarity financial assistance) of a flat FCFA 100,000 at the end of the year. The university restaurant was doling out good quality food, by today’s standards, at FCFA 55 a meal. “Yaounde fine,” we used to say.

With this background, peasant girls and boys like me could afford to aspire for higher education. Even some of the corrupt ministers, secretary-generals and professors who think today’s peasant girls and boys don’t deserve a decent education, all benefitted from the welfare state, colonial or independent. One of these poor boys, cum professor, still in active service advising the president took an infamous decision towards the end of 1991 to end bursaries at university. Later on, he imposed the payment of FCFA 50,000 as tuition by university students.

In his New Year message to Cameroonians, President Paul Biya promised FCFA 3 (three) billion to deserving Cameroonian students at university level. At the beginning of February, a month after the president’s speech, some research fellows and I went to a university administrator to ask what has happened to the financial assistance the Head of State promised in his New Year message.

“Politics,” the university administrator retorted.

Four days to the celebration of Youth Day on 11 February 2010, Prof Jacques Fame Ndongo, Minister of Higher Education released the blueprint for payment of the financial assistance to ‘deserving students’. It emerged that 60,000 (sixty thousand) students will receive FCFA 50,000 each. To qualify for this amount, applicants must have paid their fees of FCFA 50,000 each.

There are more than 200,000 Cameroonians at post secondary level. Mr. President pulls his political gamble right. The figures add up neatly. Government makes sure over a 120,000 students pay in fees of 6 (six) billion for it to give back 50 percent to ‘deserving students’. In the context of Cameroon and its intractable corruption, anybody will chuckle at the term ‘deserving students’.

It is baffling that Prof Biya and the other learned dogs, or is it lions imagine that Cameroonian youths are so stupid, gullible and cannot do simple arithmetic. In fact, this political gamble is so dismal that even the blind can see. It reminds me of the puerile games we played, removing pebbles from one hand and placing in the other, while trying to hide what the left hand gives to the right. Many students give their money to the shitstem, and only half of the givers are called to line up and receive some of their own money and thank government in ‘motions of support’.

Honourable Ayah Paul Abime, CPDM Member of Parliament, incorruptible judge and a talkative zombie like me raised some objections on the excesses of the 2010 budget. Surprising that Mr. President’s promised assistance to ‘deserving student’ is on no budget head in the gloated annual budget. As Cameroon has always faired through improvisation, all promises and budgets are only ‘politics’. Yet the billions budgeted for members of government to misappropriate and swim in could sincerely be invested to encourage deserving students.

The government of West Cameroon and that of East Cameroon, headed then by primary school teachers with only elementary certificates, saw so much wisdom in giving scholarships to the present learned idiots ruling Cameroon to study abroad. Most came back with fabulous certificates and were integrated at the highest levels of policy. The very system that nurtured and groomed them is today being destroyed through their conspiracy.

Cameroonian youths are condemned to endure more lies as they will wait till ‘Thou kingdom come’ for a system that will promote their interests. More, political lies, gambles and platitudes will be pronounced on 20 May 2010, New Year, Youth Day and ‘Forever and ever, Amen’.
Christopher Fon Achobang