LAURENT ESSO, BELO BOUBA MAIGARI, JOSEPH DION NGUTE, HELE PIERRE And GREGOIRE OWONA Have been In Gov’t Since The 20th Century

Longevity In Government:
LAURENT ESSO, BELO BOUBA MAIGARI, JOSEPH DION NGUTE, HELE PIERRE And GREGOIRE OWONA Have been In Gov’t Since The 20th Century

These ministers should have celebrated, or are still planning to celebrate, their Silver Jubilee (25 years) as members of Government

In Cameroon where the President has been in power for 40 years and there are ministers that have been in Gov’t for over 25 years, the regime has over the years continued to tell the different generations of youths the fairy tale that they are the leaders of tomorrow

It was Bello Bouba’s greed that forced Hamadou Moustapha and Issa Tchiroma Bakary to leave UNDP and create their own parties, and find their own way into Gov’t

The general tendency is for Cameroonians is to talk about the longevity of President Paul Biya in power. 40 years in power and still counting. The second longest serving Head of State in the world. It is definitely not something to be proud of. Rather, it is a record of shame.
The longevity of the President in office in Cameroon, has since degenerated to a point where Cameroonians no longer know who is governing this country. Most of those that are supposed to be the President’s close collaborators, including many members of his Government, are clearly taking advantage of the President’s age that has indisputably affected his physique, to transform themselves into small presidents, and acting with impunity.
These unpatriotic citizens will like the status quo to be maintained for their selfish interests, and that is definitely why you see them organizing or funding CPDM Party meetings in their different localities, to shamefully adopt so called resolutions calling on President Biya who will be 92 years old in 2025, to again run in the next presidential election that in principle will hold that year. These are of course definitely people who do not love Paul Biya. If you love a leader, you give the person the right or good advice, and not an advice that in reality is meant to serve your selfish interests.
And the best advice to give a President of Biya’s age, and who has been in power for decades, is that it is far more than time that he is supposed to retire and leave the Presidency to a younger person for the interest of the country.

Ministers That Have Been In Gov’t For Over ¼ Of A Century

Anywhere President Biya’s longevity in power is not the main focus of this article. The main focus of THE MENTOR here is on the LONGEVITY of some Cameroonians in Government.
The situation of this country with a President that has been in power for too long has been worsen by the longevity of many ministers in Government. We have seen many cases of the same people that have been turning around in Government now for over 20 years, even as the Government has been failing to deliver. Many so called cabinet shakeups see old wine moved into new wineskins or new bottles.

The Case Of Laurent Esso

Laurent Esso has been Minister of State, Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals since the December 9, 2011, cabinet shakeup. So he has been in that ministerial post for over 11 years. Esso is a magistrate by training and so can be said to be technocrat as far as being the boss of the Ministry of Justice is concern. Talking about longevity of ministers in Government, Laurent Esso is at the top of the chart.
Esso has been minister since the 1990s. So he was one of those persons that crossed into the 21st Century while being a member of government, and is still in Government till date. Furthermore, Laurent Esso’s appointment in 2011 as Minister of Justice was not the first time for him to head the ministry. He was Minister of Justice in the late 90s. In fact he crossed into the 21st century as Minister of Justice. In the cabinet shakeup of March 18, 2000, Esso was appointed Minister of Public Health. In the December 8, 2004 cabinet shakeup when Chief Ephraim Inoni took over from Peter Mafany Musonge as Prime Minister, Laurent Esso was appointed Minister of External Relations.
Then in the cabinet reshuffle of September 22, 2006, Laurent Esso was moved to the Presidency as Minister of State, Secretary General a t the Presidency. He occupied that post until the cabinet shakeup of December 9, 2011 when Biya appointed him to again head the Ministry of Justice, though this time around as Minister of State. An individual hanging on in Government for more than 25 years! Scandalous! Chaiiii!

The Case Of Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute

Following Cameroon’s entry into the Commonwealth at the organization‘s conference of Head of States and Government that held in New Zealand, and which President Biya attended in person, the President moved on to create a post in Government, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of External Relations in charge of Relations with the Commonwealth. All these were in the 90s. The first person appointed to occupy that post of Minister Delegate was Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute. That office was to become like an annex of the Bongom Barombi Palace, as Chief Dion Ngute occupied the office for over 20 years. The name Dion Ngute almost became synonymous to the post of Minister Delegate at the Ministry of External Relations in charge of Relations with the Commonwealth, just like during the Ahidjo era the name Oumane Mey, became like synonymous to the post of Governor of the North Province (today’s Adamawa, Far North and North Regions).
Meanwhile President Biya finally took away Chief Dion Ngute from his annex palace in the cabinet reshuffle of March 2, 2018, and appointed him as one of the Ministers in charge of Mission at the Presidency or what some people call Ministers of Special Duties at the Presidency. In the structure of the Biya Government, the Minister of Special Duty is a minister without portfolio. And so some people might have rushed to the conclusion that Dion Ngute had by that appointment been demoted in Government. But political observers noted that there was an abnormal situation, with the fact that to sons of the Southwest Region, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute and Mengot VictorArrey Nkongho, were Ministers of Special Duties. This led to the speculation that President Biya had a plan for one of them.
And so it turned out that the Minister without portfolio office that Biya gave Dion Ngute in the Presidency at Etoudi, was a high ground for him to leap onto the top of the Star Building in the central town (Yaounde). Less than one year in that office at the Presidency, Dion Ngute, the charismatic looking guy from Bongong Barombi, Ekondo Titi in Ndian Division of the Southwest Region, was appointed Prime Minister. That was precisely on January 4, 2019.
So as regard longevity in Biya’s Government, Dion Ngute is at the top of the chart category with his Sawa brother, Laurent Esso. THE MENTOR does not know if the two men have already celebrated their Silver Jubilee in Government, or they are still to do so. Scandalous indeed!

The Case Of Gregoire Owona

Gregoire Owona is one of the very few grass-root politicians that the Biya regime has had in the 40 years of its existence. He is also one of the members of Government to have come from the private sector. Before entering the Government, Gregoire Owona who was based in Douala where he had lived for many years, was a CPDM MP. Before becoming MP, he was first of all councilor of the then Douala III in the 80s.
Political observers think it was not, for nothing, that President Biya appointed Gregoire Owona into Government as Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assembly, after the then fire – spiting SDF and CDU parties entered the National Assembly after the 199 Legislative Elections. Hon Gregoire Owona, who looks naturally dynamic and outspoken, was in the hot political days of the 1990s, one of the very few CPDM elite that could dare move towards the aggressive opposition parties, as well as the rather ‘hostile’ private press, challenge them to a debate, and return all the insults with smiles.
In the early 90s for example, Gregoire Owona was the only CPDM elite in Douala who could dare drive to the head office of the then dreaded Le Messager Newspaper, get into the newsroom, look for chair himself, and with his traditional smiles, challenge the editors to a debate on an article in the paper of that day which he thought was unfair to either the President of the Republic, the Government or the ruling CPDM party. In those hot political days when CPDM elites avoided opposition leaders like plagues, or were scared to be seen with opposition leaders so as not to be accused of been pro – opposition, Gregoire Owona would not bother to shake hands and even get into discussions with any opposition leader in public, if only the person was courageous enough to be seen with a CPDM elite. It should be noted that in those days many opposition leaders too were scared to be seen in public with a CPDM elite, for fear of been accused to be wining and dining with the ruling CPDM.
So many political observers thought that President Biya made the right choice when the hardcore opposition entered the National Assembly after the 1997 Legislative Elections, to appoint Gregoire Owona into Government as Minister Delegate at the Presidency in charge of Relations with the Assembly. Owona occupied that post in Government for over a decade. In the cabinet reshuffle of December 9, 2011, Gregoire Owona was appointed to the post of Minister of Labour and Social Security. He has remained in that post till date.
So Gregoire Owona has been in Government for over 25 years today. Terrible! He should have celebrated or perhaps is still planning to celebrate his silver jubilee as member of Government. These type of celebrations are done privately, because in reality it is scandal for somebody to be a minister or to be in Government for over 25 years. That is, over to and the half decades as minister. Chaiiiiiii!

Bello Bouba Maigari And Hele Pierre

The National President of UNDP, Bello Bouba Maigari, and another UNDP big shot, Hele Pierre, have been in Government since after the 1997 Presidential Election, following an alliance that the party signed with the ruling CPDM. Starting as Minister of State in charge of Industrial and Commercial Development, Bello Bouba has been to a number of ministries. He is currently the Minister of State, Minister of Tourism, where his fellow comrade, Hele Pierre, started in the 90s. For many years today, Hlele Pierre has on his part been Minister of Environment, Nature Protection and Sustainable Development.
It should be noted that the partnership between CPDM and UNDP, does not say that that the National President of UNDP must be in government. It is just a matter of the party leadership giving the names of those designated to be appointed into Government, whenever there has to be cabinet reshuffle. So the question is why Bello Bouba and Hele Pierre have hung on in Government for over 25 years, instead of stepping aside along the line, to allow other UNDP elite or militants to also become ministers.

Bello Bouba’s Greed Pushed Tchioma and Moustapha To Create Their Own Parties

So Bouba Bello’s long stay in Government is an exhibition of his character as a selfish or greedy party leader, a party leader who is self-centred. Worthy of note that it was Bello Bouba’s selfishness that caused Issa Tchiroma Bakary and Hamadou Moustapha to leave the UNDP and create their own parties.
It would be recalled that Bello Bouba Maigari was the National President of UNDP, Hamadou Moustapha was Vice President and Issa Tchiroma Bakary was Secretary General. When after the 1997 Presidential Elections UNDP signed an alliance with the CPDM, Issa Tchroma Bakary and Hamadou Moustapha , thought that they were to be among those to enter the Government, and that the National President , Bello Bouba Maigari, would stay back to focus on the party . But then when Bello Bouba submitted the list of UNDP members that were to be appointed ministers, he instead put his own name and a few others. The names of Hamadou Moustapha and Isa Tchroma were not on the list.
A highly placed personality in Yaounde who had access to the list, leaked the information to Issa Tchiroma and Hmadou Moustapha The two got red with anger. Suffice to say Tchiroma and Moustapha decided to create their own parties and look for their own ways to enter the Government. And they succeeded.

Bello Bouba Was Prime Minister Before

Worth noting that this same Bello Bouba Maigari was appointed Prime Minister when Paul Biya left the post of Prime Minister to become President the Republic on November 6, 1982. These were all arrangements by Ahmadou Ahidjo. THE MENTOR does not want to get into the politics of what led Bello Bouba to later leave Cameroon on self – exile to Nigeria and his return in the early 90s. So the Bello Bouba that has been hanging on in Government as Minister of State for over 25 years today, and would not give to another fellow comrade o b also minister, was Prime Minister before. Imagine!

The Case Of The Late Secretary of State, Alim Hayatou

Meanwhile, if the cold hands of death did not unfortunately snatched the Secretary of State in the Ministry of Public Health, Alim Hayatou, who was also the Lamido of Garoua, he would definitely have been in the group of members of Government that have been around for over 25 years today. Alim Hayatou was appointed into Government in the 90s, and he remained in Government until his death on April 5, 2021. Since then there has been no cabinet shakeup, which means that if Alim Hayatou was alive today, he would certainly has still been in Government. Well, May his soul continue to rest in peace.

New Ministers And The Zeal To Work

Observers are unanimous that when somebody in this country is appointed into Government, he or she initially exhibits that zeal to work. In fact the person does not only exhibit enthusiasm to work, but really put in his or her best in the work. But after some years in Government, the same minister slumps into laziness or laxity. The same minister now tends to work more now for his or her personal interest than that of the country and people. The same minister gets into the game of intrigues, the same minister engages in the war between some camps in Government and his energy into the fight than on serving his or her country. The same minister now tends to behave as if being a minister is his or her birth right.
We should take for example the last cabinet shakeup that was on January 4, 2019. We saw the zeal to work that was exhibited by new members of Government like Dr Manaouda Malachie who was appointed Minister of Public Health, Dodo Ndoke Gabriel who was appointed Minister of Mines, Industry and -Technological Development, Kilo Vivian Asheri who was appointed Secretary of State in the Ministry of Basic Education, and others. For example, the new Minister of Public was not only where for work, but most often the population will get out of bed in the morning and find a tweet by Dr Manaouda Malachie, to inform them about the latest situation in the public health domain in the country, and an advice on what should be done in case of need.

Garga Haman Adji Resigned From Gov’t

Normally a ministerial job is very demanding. It is exhausting. That is why in many countries where ministers really work, many do not spent up to five years in Government. Somebody is appointed to head a ministry, he moves in, put in his best to leave his own mark. When he gets exhausted after a few years, he moves up to the President , thank him for having had confidence in him and for having given him the opportunity to serve the country, and humbly tells the President that he has done his best, and it is time to go.
We see in the United States for example, where the duration of a presidential mandate is only four years. Some ministers, or Secretaries of States as they called, decide to leave after just two years. In Cameroon in the early 90s, Garga Haman Adji who was Minister of Public Service resigned, denouncing the high rate of corruption in the country. By then Garga was still CPDM, and had not yet created his own political party. Nothing happened to him. Rather President Biya later appointed Garga as member of CONAC, and he has been doing a good job for the county in that anti- graft institution.
Some ministers give the false impression that if a minister resigns President Biya will not be happy with him or her, and the person might even be victimized. If a minister has a clean record, there is nothing to fear. The thing in Cameroon is that most ministers do not do the real o serious work, and so they cannot even be exhausted even after 20 years in Government. It is no secret that many ministers are in Government not to serve the country and people, but rather to work for their selfish interests which include to embezzle public funds.

Just Come To Think of It

Just to come to think of a young man who was 25 years old in 1998. He used to hear a minister who was from his village, Division of Region come back home and tell the youths stories of how the Government is working to make Cameroon a better country, and above all how the youths are the leaders of tomorrow. The man who was 25 years in 1998 is 50 years today. If he was fortunate to have a job, he should today be counting the few years left for him to go on retirement. Yet the minister from his village, Division or region who was telling them stories to make them stay hopeful in 1998, that the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, is still there in Government. Worst still, the country continues to sink deeper and deeper in misery under the regime in place.
The minister from the man’s village, Division or region, has today shifted his fairy tales in Cameroon of how the youths are the leaders of tomorrow, to the generation of today’s youths, most of who were not yet even born by the time he entered Government in 1997.The game that this regime plays on Cameroonian youths. Unfortunate indeed!