André-Marie Mbida
Andre-Marie Mbida was a Cameroonian statesman, a nationalist, the first Cameroonian to be elected Member of Parliament at the French National Assembly, a Prime Minister of Cameroon, the second African-born Prime Minister in Sub-Saharan Africa, the first Head of State of French-speaking autonomous Cameroon from 12 May 1957 to 16 February 1958, and the first political prisoner of independent Cameroon from 29 June 1962 to 29 June 1965.
Early life and education
Andre-Marie Mbida was born on 1 January 1917 in Edinding and died 2 May 1980 in Paris. He hailed from Nyong and Sanaga region of Cameroon. He was born into the traditional aristocracy as the son of a mixed race Traditional ruler Simon Monbele Ongo Nanga chief of Ngo logou and Edinding who led a rebellion against the German invaders and Ngono Veronique. André Marie MBIDA went to the rural primary school of Efok and was a brilliant student. He then continued his secondary education at the Minor Seminary Akono from 1929 to 1935, where he became a mathematics and Latin teacher, and later on at the Major Seminary Mvolyé from 1935 to 1943. While studying in the grand Seminaire he became a friend of the future presidents Fulbert Youlou andBarthélémy Boganda. He was for a while tempted by the idea of becoming a priest, but after he left the Seminary, he became Head Teacher of the Balessing rural school in 1943. He was very intelligent so he completed his studies and at least graduated as a lawyer in 1945. After completing his training in Law, he worked at the treasury in Yaoundé for a year in 1945, and then became a business representative in Yaoundé and Ebolowa till 1954. As business representative, his monthly income varies between approximately 500,000 CFA francs and 800,000 CFA francs, or even a million.
Family life
On 14 August 1946, he married Marguerite Embolo, daughter of Assiguena Fabien, an Eton tribal chief and owner of plantations and of Mbono Marie, former midwife at Mvog-Betsi an Ewondo clan in Yaoundé Mbankolo and moreover granddaughter of the powerful ruler, Omgba Bissogo.one of the founders of the actual Capital Yaounde along with his half-brother Essono Ela. They had six children, four sons and two daughters, among them, Louis Tobie Mbida, the present Chairman of the Cameroonian Party of Democrats , Simon Pierre Omgba Mbida, Cameroonian diplomat, Alphonse Massi Mbida, Company Head in Ile de France, Paul Etoga Mbida, a mathematics and physics student who died in France in 1985.Political career
Break with Aujoulat and foundation of COCOCAM
He devoted himself to the cause of workers and peasants of Cameroon. In his region of origin, he promoted cultural values in the traditional movement named Anacsama. Known as a devout Catholic, very close ties continue to unite him with the Catholic hierarchy, nevertheless he became closer to the French Socialist Party, an active political French party in the UN Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration. He is a Cameroonian Democratic Bloc militant, a party affiliated with the SFIO. In 1952, he was elected to the Territorial Assembly and after that he is appointed Adviser to the French Union on 10 October 1953.The following year he resigned from the Cameroonian Democratic Bloc then he founded the COCOCAM . The reasons for his departure are interpreted differently, depending on whether one is in favour of André-Marie Mbida or Louis-Paul Aujoulat. According to Ateba Yene, André-Marie Mbida was just the spokesperson of COCOCAM. Its founders would be Manga Mado Ngoa Constantine Ombgwa Onésimus, Master Joseph Ateba and Ateba Yené.
According to an anonymous and unsigned note dated 17 May 1954, the break between the Bloc and Mbida would come from the fact that the chairman of Bloc, Louis-Paul Aujoulat was convinced that Mbida has been informing his political opponents. Aujoulat let him know about his thoughts and in reaction to this, Mbida decided to leave the Cameroonian Democratic Bloc and create his own movement, the Coordinating Committee of Cameroon. However, Germain Tsala Mekongo, former comrade-in-arms of Mbida, believes that this break is due to the jealousy of the other Cameroonian Democratic Bloc members who were excessively concerned about the growing influence of André-Marie Mbida within the Bloc. Abel Eyinga rather thinks that it is the opposition of Louis-Paul Aujoulat and the Steering Committee of Cameroonian Democratic Bloc to see Mbida run for the post of Adviser of the Assembly of French Union which is the true cause of the break between the main protagonists. Mbida did not agree with this directive of Louis-Paul Aujoulat and Bloc. Thus, he ran for election and gained seat, then he became Adviser of the Assembly of French Union on 16 October 1953. Moreover, one can read in the Abel Eyinga book "Elected in spite of himself, Mbida draws conclusions from the attitude of layman missionary by breaking definitively with him, with the organization Aujoulat oriented also: "the BDC".
Following the bloody events of May 1955, repressed by the colonial administrator Roland Pré then by the dissolution of Cameroonian nationalist movements and the incarceration of several nationalist militants, Mbida led an active campaign for the amnesty for political prisoners. He also built on a small, mimeographed bulletin, "NKU, Le Tam-Tam'’.
Conquest of the Palais Bourbon
André-Marie Mbida stood for election to Parliament at the French National Assembly on 2 January 1956 in the third electoral district of the UN Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration. Like socialists, he acts as an advocate of poor people, small-scale farmers, supports minorities and he includes short-term amelioratory measures and long-term structural solutions for the little people and the oppressed. Economically, he proposes the increasing the price of key export commodities, cocoa and coffee, and the elimination of intermediaries that disadvantage the small-scale farmers. He still defends the officials, the autochthonous or traditional chiefs that he proposes to remunerate. He claims an evolving institutions.He demands a purge of managerial staff in the French Union. He claims "a progressive advance from Cameroon to its autonomy, and later to its independence". In addition, he defends Catholic values. Thus, he advocates the fight "against secularism in general". He wrote: "I will defend private education and I shall always support that the territory administration covers the teaching personnel salaries of this one". He still intends to encourage monogamy and for him, divorce is not an option for religious marriages. He proposes a "formal opposition to the divorce of religious marriages".
During the campaign trail, one can read on a leaflet distributed to voters : "Voting for Matin Abega, André Fouda, Charles Awono-Onana, Benoît Bindzi, Marc Etende, Philippe Mbarga – It's giving one's vote to Aujoulat – It's giving one's vote to Roland Pré – It's voting for the Cameroonian Democratic Bloc – The incorporation of Cameroon into France, the return to the Indigenousness Code, the tax increases. Martin Abega and André Fouda are the candidates of the administration. Voters, be careful, avoid all this list. Give one's vote only for the list of André-Marie Mbida – the list of the watchful and brave cock". .
In his profession of faith to voters, Mbida wrote: "Dear voters, if you approve, if you feel that the third electoral district should be represented in the French National Assembly by a native, not by a very harmful intruders, all vote for André-Marie Mbida on January 2, 1956".
Mbida gained seat with 66,354 votes against 47,001 votes for Charles Assalé and against 20,517 votes for Louis-Paul Aujoulat. The latter held the seat since the Liberation of France and was involved in several government departments from 1949 to 1955. Mbida became the first native Cameroonian to be elected Member of Parliament at the French National Assembly by the College of personal Status.
Head of autonomous State of Cameroon
On 31 January 1956, Mbida was both appointed to the Law and Justice Commission and to the Commission of overseas territories of the French National Assembly. He also belonged to the Commission mandated to reform the Title VIII of the French Constitution, on the French Union dated 27 October 1947. In addition, he is designated to serve on the Supreme Labour Council and the Steering Committee of the Investment Fund for Economic and Social Development, that is a former government agency of colonial-area France, which was established to finance and co-ordinate the provision of facilities for the French colonial territories. His election was confirmed on 14 February 1956 and he immediately joined the SFIO Socialist Group at the French National Assembly and worked alongside Gaston Defferre, Gérard Jaquet and Pierre Messmer who draft the Loi Cadre on the autonomy of French colonial territories and the UN trust territories under French administration in Sub-Saharan Africa.NKU, le Tam-Tam in its edition of March 1956 to justify his membership to the SFIO Socialist Group by saying that he could not stand alone at the French National Assembly and that the group's policy SFIO seemed to be the lesser evil among all those existing at that moments at French Parliament. He spoke rarely to the French National Assembly. He mainly took part in two major debates: the Loi Cadre in March 1956 and the status of Cameroon in March 1957.
On 23 December 1956, the Territorial Assembly of Cameroon was replaced by the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon and parliamentary elections were scheduled. Candidates were authorized to present themselves in their own name. Mbida and his team stood for election. At ALCAM, they created the Parliamentary Group of Cameroonian Democrats composed of 21 members with Mbida as leader. Mbida set up the internal autonomy of the UN Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration. On 16 April 1957, the latter became an autonomous State. On 12 May 1957, by 56 votes against 10 votes and 4 abstentions, he was appointed first President of the Council of Ministers, first head of government and the facto Head of State of French speaking Cameroon. This designation was very symbolic because he was the second African-born Prime Minister in Sub-Saharan Africa and the first Head of State of Cameroon.
While in Paris in September 1957, he presented Cameroon as a pilot State in Africa. Moreover, he justified the UN trust to French administration until the complete independence and a seat at the UN, then he announced that this development strengthens the Franco-Cameroonian friendship.
Mbida also confronted openly and directly the French, this greatly pleased the Cameroonian people. He has accordingly decided to end racial segregation that occurred in neighbourhoods where white men used to live and in their pubs. He ordered the settlers to remove from their pubs, all offensive posters that they put and which were labelled "No dogs and no Blacks'’. Any settler accused of racism was immediately expelled by his order of Cameroonian territory, once he was notified. Thus, in a few months of power, André-Marie Mbida expelled more French than what has been done in 50 years of independence.
He also crossed swords with the Catholic clergy of Cameroon which was controlled by the French. As a former seminarian, he confronted the white priests on the Cameroonization the clergy. He therefore became the initiator of the movement promoting the designation of Cameroonian priests in parishes. This activism earned him the hatred of Bishop René Graffin, Bishop of Yaoundé. These actions greatly increased the popularity of André-Marie Mbida.
With 15 members of his caucus, the Cameroonian democrats, he effectively created the Cameroonian Party of Democrats with the election of the executive committee – the adoption of a political platform – a motto: "God – Patrie – Justice – Equality" – an emblem: "the watchful and brave cock’’ at Abong-Mbang, on 12 January 1958.
Mbida knew that Cameroon was a relatively young country with no infrastructure nor skilled political elite, and he proposed a project to train a qualified elite in a period of ten years. French officials saw that Mbida was an intelligent politician and as he also wanted to end racial segregation, then the French settlers began to criticise him.
Indeed, while the Elysée asked him to support the idea of granting, in a short term, a somewhat of independence of Cameroon, he took deeply offence by saying : " what does that mean a somewhat of independence ? either there is an independence or there is not... It can not be a semi-independence or a semblance of independence ". He was opposed to this French policy consisting of fudging commitments, he said: "for 51 years, you did train Cameroonian people, now you want to go : this is unacceptable". On 27 February 1959, André-Marie MBIDA confirmed these manoeuvrings at the United Nations Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly, he said that: "I was flatly opposed to these proposals, because I considered them illegal, and also because I saw in them as the beginnings of integration of Cameroon within the French Union".
On 24 October 1957, he introduced to the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon, a bill establishing an emblem of the State of Cameroon. On 26 October 1957, he filled the bill on the adoption of the national anthem "The Rallying Song", the motto of Cameroon "Peace – Work – Fatherland" and National Day "on May 10, date of the first session of the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon" instead of 14 July, the national day of France.
Nevertheless, the autonomous State of Cameroun under French mandate did not have right to choose an anthem, a motto or a flag that could be different from those in use in France. In addition, the status of 16 April 1957 on the autonomy of the State of Cameroon should have this right.
Furthermore, according to the Trusteeship Agreements for the Territory of the Cameroons under French administration of 13 December 1946, the French administration should have let floating the flag of the United Nations on the administration building in Cameroon. The French colonial administration did not respect this principle by floating only the French flag. This was not consistent with the trusteeship agreements which provided that in any such territory, only the administration was entrusted to the trustee State, in that case France and the UK.
Also, he was confronted to turmoils, to a crisis of confidence due to difficulties in establishing a minimum of order in the department of Nyong-et-Kellé, while France still perform the essential of the repression to the rise of the anti-imperialism.