"The World Is Not A Perfect Place," Says Paul Biya

After voting last Sunday in the sham presidential election he has orchestrated in Cameroon, the Paul Biya was asked about the fraud that has characterized the whole process. His response was that since "the world is not a perfect place" we should expect fraud in democratic elections. Leaving aside the fact that Biya endorses fraud, let us reflect for a moment on his claim that the world is not a perfect place. His idea that the world is not a perfect place undoubtedly comes from his years of learning from Niccolo Machiavelli. The problem with this claim is that Biya gives the impression that by decrying his fraud people are asking for the world to be a perfect place. But nothing could be farther from the truth. No one expects perfection from Biya or anyone else. To ask that Biya should stop the blatant theft of elections is not to ask that the world should be made a perfect place. We are only asking that he should make the world less evil by stepping down. There is no doubt that the man has contributed in bringing much evil in the country by facilitating pauperization and early deaths. Biya will not even make the world a perfect place if he steps down; he will make it more bearable. No one is asking perfection from him and so he should not give the impression that the world wants him to be perfect. There is corruption everywhere in the world but Biya's level of corruption is among the highest. His regime can only be compared to regimes like the ones in Burma, North Korea, Gaddafi's, Mugabe's, and the like. Asking him to step down in order that a better future can be made for the country without him is not asking for perfection.  Even without Biya Cameroon will not be perfect but it will be better. This sham election which the man has orchestrated must be rejected by all persons of goodwill. The single goal should be to remove the man from power, now, because his corruption is higher than average and has lasted for a shamefully long time. We ask for this not because we seek a perfect world but because we seek a more humane world where people like Biya do not hold others in thrall for all their lives.