Dictators have very clear traits. Many of them have no appetite for debate or dialogue. Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, falls into this category. The man, who has ruled the central African country with an iron grip for decades, has just held his first cabinet meeting since 2015.
A brief letter calling his council of ministers to the Unity Palace did not reveal the agenda. Prime Minister Philemon Yang read out a statement afterwards on state TV, saying that President Biya had insisted that the Ministers should continue working.
There was no explanation of why he had called the session and no other officials were permitted to speak about what went on in the conclave. According to PM Yang, the president had told his cabinet that “the best way to serve the country is to do everything, to make all the sacrifices that are needed”.
The Prime Minister merely reminded the cabinet that, “There are a lot of things to do”, but he mentioned only the Africa Cup of Nations soccer tournament that Cameroon is to host next year, and the presidential election due in October this year.
It is a clear mockery of what a Cabinet meeting should be. It rarely holds, as it is scheduled once in three years. The President is the only one who talks at the meeting. Minutes are never published. It will be recalled that the one held in 2011 lasted for ten minutes. Biya entered the forum, read out a speech and left. End of meeting.
