SDF Secretary General throws In the Towel

Benjamin Ngah in Ntarikon Palace

Viewed and interpreted by many in varied sheds of opinion, but the verity remains plain, Mrs. Tamanjong Elizabeth is no longer the Secretary General of the Social democratic Front-SDF of Ni John Fru Ndi. Her resignation which circulated in the early morning of Saturday 14^th of February, 2015 like hot gossip typical of the political landscape in Cameroon was finally confirmed by the National Chair of the SDF Ni John Fru Ndi during the regular National Executive meeting (NEC) which held on that same day late that morning. Her resignation to some was a pleasant surprise and to others was overdue because of her over bossing attitude not only towards the National chair, but to other party hierarchy. Her resignation letter which the Times Journal got hold of was clandestinely and joyfully distributed by an SDF member of Parliament to some news organs before she actually tabled it to the chairman. In it she states that the SDF has continuously drifted from its initial vision of true democratic practice preached at the party’s creation in 1990. She said values and principles of the party such as social justice, equal opportunities, transparency and accountability are no longer practiced in the SDF

According to her, the three power organs of the party – the National Executive Committee, NEC, National Advisory Committee, NAC, and National Investiture Committee, NIC, should play complementary roles, and chaired by different people. This, she said, will give room for checks and balances that do not presently exist in the party.

Accepting her resignation as the Secretary General of the Party, the National Chair of the SDF, Ni John Fru Ndi thanked her for her service to the party regardless of some abnormalities in her handling of some pertinent issues that concerned the life of the party. According to Ni John Fru Ndi, many people within the party have failed to understand that at the moment when the country is undergoing serious crises including threats from Boko Haram which calls for greater unity within the party so that a way out could be sort, some people want to make capital gain of the confusion to mar the ambition of the party. In this regard, he called for vigilance, steadfastness and dedication so that the in unity the SDF could take Cameroon out of the socio, economic and political quack mire.

Probably because of what Ni John terms as Pull him Down (PhD) syndrome, the relationship between the SDF and most of her Secretary Generals have been grim and that of cats and dogs. . Many of them beginning from late Dr. Siga Asanga, Prof. Asonganyi and now Dr. Mrs. Tamanjong Elizabeth have all thrown in the towel citing one reason or the other. All of them are PhD holders and probably suffering from the syndrome cited above. Many a time their resignations have been blighted by some pecuniary mischief or mere fullness of themselves which renders them defiant to the National Chair of the party.

Her resignation from the SDF cannot be undermined also. It is a big blow to a party which for many years has been looked up to by many Cameroonians as a quintessence of change. The so many resignations from the party and the use of the famously infamous article 8.2 to stifle dissent is not doing any good for the party. Going by what many observers hold, the SDF can be better is the party put in democratic institutions which allows for discussions, disagreement and opposition within the party that could help to make internal democracy vibrant in the party. Many people even think that what separates the SDF from the CPDM is a very thin and fragile line that is already being eroded.       

The resignation of Mrs. Tamanjong therefore gives the National Chairman the latitude to appoint a new Secretary General of the party as provided by the SDF constitution.