1992 Presidential Election: Why Ndam Njoya And Ekindi Who Were Members Of Union for Change,LeftThe Coalition And Declared Their Candidatures

 Besides Fru Ndi, other opposition leaders like Adamou Ndam Njoya, Jean Jacques Ekindi aka Lion Hunter, Bello Bouba Maigari were also candidates in the election

 So there was no unique opposition candidate at the 1992 presidential election, which was the first multiparty presidential election in the history of Cameroon

The National Presidents of Cameroon Democratic Union, CDU, Dr Adamou Ndam Njoya, was a proud Prince of Foumban and former Minister of Education. He was reputed for his strong attachment to high quality education.   Dr Ndam Njoya was Minister of Education during the period pf the regime of President Ahmadou Ahidjo, and set a mark, especially in raising the level of the ‘Baccalaureat’ exams, which was talked about for many years. In fact, any Francophone who had his BAC, which is the equivalent of GCE A/L, during the period that Ndam Njoya was Minster of Education, is proud to say it loud anywhere, till date.    At the time of the 1992 presidential election, Ndam Njoya was still with his first wife, who was French.

As for the National President of MDP,   Samuel Eboua, he was known to have been a close collaborator and friend of former President Amadou Ahidjo. He held many top positions in the country, and last served as the Secretary General at the Presidency. In fact Eboua was the Secretary General at the Presidency at the time President Ahidjo decided to quit office in November 1992. That was why before the Government organized – Tripartite Talks in late 1991, many Francophone members of the civil society held Samuel Ebaoua in high esteemed, and even thought that he was the right person in the opposition to become President of the Republic, because of his wealth of  experience in Government, especially as Secretary General at the Presidency.

 Ndam Njoya, Samuel Eboua And Ni John Fru Ndi

Ndam Njoya and Samuel Eboua seemingly thought that their individual CVs qualified them as leaders, and thus could not imagine a situation where the National Chairman of the SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi, could become the presidential candidate of Union for Change, when they were around. And so it became a shock to them when the charismatic leader of the SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi, was designated as the presidential candidate of Union for Change, which was a new coalition of opposition parties and civil society organizations. What Dr Ndam Njoya  and Eboua apparently failed to understand, was that in practical terms,  politics, precisely an election, is more about the candidate that can pull huge amount of votes, and thus has the capacity the  win the election. CVs do not quite matter here.

Samuel Eboua And Ndam Njoya Angry That They Were Consulted

However Ndam Njoya and Eboua claimed to have been disappointed and angry with the designation of Fru Ndi as presidential candidate of Union for Change, on the ground that they were not involved in the selection of the presidential candidate of the coalition, and that they were not even consulted.  Each of them had probably hoped to be the presidential candidate of the Union for Change, and considered it inadmissible that they were excluded from the selection process. Angry that they were neither involved in the selection or even consulted. Georges Sam Mbaka, who was the Vice President of CDU from the party’s creation in 1991 up to 2020 when the Founding President, Ndam Njoya, passed away, said over STV in Douala early this year (2024),  that Ndam Njoya and Samuel Eboua shockingly learnt about the  designation of Fru Ndi as the presidential candidate of Union for Change, in newspapers. He insisted that Eboua and Ndam Njoya were neither involved, nor consulted in the selection of Fru Ndi as the presidential candidate of Union for Change.

It should be noted that the charismatic leader of the SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi, was also neither involved in the designation or selection of the presidential candidate of Union for Change, nor was   he even consulted. He was only informed after the selection exercise  that took place in Douala, that he had been chosen as the presidential candidate of Union for Change. It should be noted as well that by then, SDF was still to hold its Extraordinary National Convention to select its presidential candidate for the election.

 Why Eboua Or Ndam Njoya Could Not Have Been Selected AS Candidate Of Union For Change

Meanwhile, it did not come as a surprise to keen political observers that neither Samuel Eboua nor Ndam Njoya was designated as the presidential candidate of the Union for Change.  The forces behind the creation of Union for Change were mostly members of the former ARC – CNS (Alliance for the Reconstruction of Cameroon through the Sovereign National Conference), who were very disappointed with Samuel Eboua and Ndam Njoya, that they attended the Tripartite Talks, and worse of all, signed the resolutions or declarations. So there is no way that Eboua or Ndam Njoya could have been selected as the presidential candidate of Union for Change by those civil society leaders and activists.  The name, the Union for Change was a platform for change, that is, to change or to replace the Biya regime. The SDF leader, Ni John Fru Ndi, attended the Tripartite Talks, but then staged a walkout or abandoned it before the end, and thus did not sign the resolutions or declaration.

Meanwhile the National President of CDU, Dr Adamou Ndam Njoya, went on to declare his candidature for the October 1992 presidential election. This meant that he had left the Union for Change, to run for the presidential election on the platform of his party, the CDU.

 Jean Jacques Ekindi, Furious

The former powerful Wouri CPDM Section President, Jean Jacques Ekindi, who resigned from the CPDM and created an opposition party, ‘Mouvement Progressistes’, MP, had become a star in the opposition. Ekindi’s powerful resignation letter from the CPDM so much moved the opposition and civil society activists, who received him in the Coalition of Opposition Parties and Civil Society Organization as a hero. Unfortunately Ekindi had problems of ego, as he became too full of himself.  He seemingly saw himself as the best material to be the presidential candidate of the Union for Change. For one thing too, Ekindi totally boycotted the Tripartite Talks, unlike Fru Ndi who attended but left before the end. So Ekindi thought that he had the advantage over Fru Ndi to be the presidential candidate of Union for Change. There was also the fact that Ekiindi could express himself in the two official languages in Cameroon, French and English, while Fru Ndi could only express himself in the English language.

So Jean Jacques Ekindi was furious when he was not designated as the presidential candidate of Union for Change.  He stormed out of Union for Change, and went on to declare his candidature for the 1992 presidential election. Worth noting that the major criteria that probably influenced the designation of Ni John Fru Ndi, and not Jean Jacques Ekindi, as  the presidential candidate of the Union for Change,  was  the fact that from all observations, Fru Ndi and the SDF Party could pulls the votes. The capacity of a candidate or a party to attract votes matters much in elections.  It was indisputable that the SDF leader Ni John Fru Ndi, or Chairman as many called him, was in his personal capacity in politics, a big crowd puller, while Ekindi with his ego was an elitist type.

The Lion Hunter

Jean Jacques Ekindi adopted the nickname, ‘Le Chasseur de Lion’, meaning Lion Hunter, in the presidential election. This was a smart reaction to CPDM’s decision to use the image of the Lion (indomitable Lions) for Biya’s campaign for the 1992 presidential election. Biya was being presented on his campaign posters as a Lion, and thus the King of the forests. This was designed to mean that Biya was the most powerful of the presidential candidates, and that non of the opposition candidates could beat him or even dare him.

But then Ekindi presented himself as the daring Lion Hunter, and vowed that he would capture the Lion, that has been an obstacle to genuine change in the country. The appellation, ‘Le Chasseur de Lion’ or Lion Hunter adopted by Ekind, became very popular reference in the country. However the popularity of the nicknamed, Lion Hunter, was no guarantee that it could translate into votes at the presidential election, considering that his party, the MP, did not have a large following. Also, many people liked the nicknamed, Lion Hunter, but not Ekinidi himself as a politician. And that was seen in the presidential election results.

By Joe Dinga Pefok (Uncle Joe)

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