"Who Will Replace Paul Biya?": A Very Bad Question

The title of this post is a question that is usually heard whenever the call for Biya to step down grows louder. "Who will replace Paul Biya?" it is often asked. One implication of the question is that there is no one suitable enough to replace Biya either in his own CPDM party or in the various opposition parties. As it is now claimed, Biya is the "natural candidate" for president in Cameroon. The question, however, betrays the toxic political environment which Biya has created in Cameroon. Biya usually claims that Cameroon is a democratic country; however, in a democracy, such a question is hardly asked given that a democratic environment is one which develops potential leaders rather than one which stifles the emergence of such leaders. If in fact there is no good candidate to replace Biya after he has been in power for about thirty years, that should be credited to Biya's inability to create such environment rather than to the false claim that he is some sort of a "natural candidate." In a democracy there is no natural candidate for anything. A democracy is meant to nurture diverse ideas that may come in handy when a country or institution needs it. Given the fact that Biya has stifled the development of ideas in Cameroon, people now feel that they are stuck with him. He has successfully devastated their capacity to think so much that they see no alternative to Biya. This is not how people think in a democracy; it is the way people think in a dictatorship like North Korea or Cuba.

Further, the question about who would replace Biya gives the false impression that Cameroonians have to figure out who would replace Biya before Biya can be removed. The experiences of Tunisia and Egypt show us that that assumption is not correct. We do not have to look for a replacement for Biya before he can be removed. Given that Biya has already stifled the political climate in Cameroon so much that it is difficult to think about who would replace him, we cannot look for a replacement before he is removed. He has to be removed first before we will look for his replacement. Thus, the question about who should replace Biya cannot be answered now and should not be answered. The question seeks to divert attention from the fact that Biya should be removed right away. He therefore needs to be removed first; we will make the decision about who would replace him after he is gone. The toxic political climate Biya has created in Cameroon does not give room for such decision right now.

Another implication of the question about who should replace Biya is that he seems to be better than any other candidate who could replace him. He is the devil we know, so it may seem. This implication is also not correct. No one can do worse to Cameroon than Biya has already done. The general incompetence, bald-face corruption, and the dilapidation of the economy which Biya has supervised cannot be made worse. Leaving Biya in power says that Cameroon has resigned to its fate. Removing him gives us the possibility of looking for a more patriotic leader. That possibility is generally foreclosed with Biya's continuous stay in power. There are many patriotic Cameroonians who can be president. There are many patriotic Cameroonians who can create an open political atmosphere in Cameroon where people will not be wondering whether there can ever be a replacement for their president. There are many patriotic Cameroonians who want to create an open society where different political ideas will be cherished rather than hated. There are many patriotic Cameroonians who want to create an open economy in Cameroon where economic activities will not be stifled by bad politics. I am one such Cameroonians and I can replace Biya. In fact, I can do a far better job than Biya. Cameroonians should never have the illusion that there is no one out there to replace Biya. Many of us stand ready to do so. Biya can, and must, be replaced. He should be removed first, then we will find his replacement.