Interview by Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon
The battle for a seat in the first ever Senate in Cameroon is on and generating a lot of excitement. Across Cameroon, things are moving fast as individuals are making public their candidatures and political parties putting in place rules guiding those to run under the banner of the party. One aspirant, who is ready and upbeat, is Prof. Pierre Sakwe, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture & Veterinary Medicine, University of Buea, UB. In this exclusive interview, he talks about his motivation for the job of a Senator and more.
Excerpts:
What brings to you to our newsroom?
The Senatorial election is on the air, which has been announced for April 14 2013. I come from Ndian Division, Southwest Region, so, I have come to announce my candidature for the Senatorial Election for Ndian Division.
Prof Pierre Sakwe
You’ve not been at the fore of political activities, now the Senatorial Election is on and your’re jumping into it. Do you know what you’re getting into?
Yes, I do understand what is happening. Carrying the uniform of a political party does not say much in this situation and one’s commitment in the party. Little is known about me in the politics of the Southwest Region because I have a better part of my university career in the University of Dschang. I started in Dschang from 1985 as an Assistant Lecturer until I left in January 2009, to take a Research Fellowship in Canada. I am a proud and committed supporter of the CPDM party. I have an enviable record of my militancy in the CPDM party in Dschang.
What is the Senate to you?
Everywhere in the world, where you have a bicameral parliament, the Senate is the Upper House of the Parliament and the National Assembly is the Lower House.
What is expected from the Senate and the Senators?
The Senate has as one of its principal duties to check the actions of the executive, which is an arm of governance. The Senate discusses and endorses draft bills that have been passed at the Lower House. The bills come to Senate for endorsement before it is sent to the President for promulgation into law. The Senate has a very important task and responsibility to carry. In the absence of the President of the country, the President of the Senate will act in the interim while organising fresh election to get the new President of the Republic.
Observers of Cameroon’s political scene say, majority of the Senate members will come from President Biya’s party, CPDM, which gives him an opportunity to perpetrate his stay in power. Are you going in to join that band wagon to entrench Biya’s stay in power?
Not exactly. Whether the Senate is dominated by one party or several parties represented in Senate, the most important is for the Senators to know what their responsibilities are. Senators are responsible to the Regions, which elect them. Individuals have to understand what they are in Senate for. They are there to safeguard and protect the interest of their electorate.
You’ve moved from Dschang to Buea, are you updated with your party dues? That’s a prerequisite for your party to accept your candidature.
Yes, I am. I have been a very committed CPDM militant. All my party records are up-to-date. I have my CPDM membership card from the time I joined the party in Dschang. I have my subscription card for contributions for the running of the party. In that area, my documents are in order.
You’ve lived a good part of your life in Dschang, now you are in Buea, you want to run for Senatorial Election for Ndian Division. Do the people of Ndian Division know you?
They know me well. The entire population of Ndian Division have over the years missed their Professor. The only Professor that Ndian Division has produced so far. They have been looking forward to when their Professor can come home and serve them; politically or in some other function. This is the time for me to listen to their problems and articulate them to some other quarters, especially in the face of government actions.
Are you seizing the opportunity of the moment or you’ve been looking forward to this?
An opportunist no! This is something that has been given serious thought and consideration for a while. I have been preparing my mind for this function. If I were still in Dschang, this action would have been difficult to embark on. Now, I am at home, in the Region, I have come closer to my people in Ndian Division. I want to take this opportunity to serve Ndian Division and the Southwest Region.
Are you ready to resign as the Dean, Faculty of Agriculture & Veterinary Medicine, University of Buea, as you embark on this new venture?
If I am elected a Senator, I will follow the rules and regulations governing that institution. The outcome of the Senatorial Election will determine what you do with your former function.
Moving from a trained varsity lecturer to politics, why are you derailing from your calling, which is the former?
Even politics is a calling. Going into politics is to serve my people. Callings come into different forms. I have been a trainer, a teacher for a good portion of my professional life, but this is another calling. Since it has come, I should answer it and serve my people in a different capacity.
Let’s assume that you’re already a Senator, what are some of the issues you will want to see discussed for the betterment of Cameroon?
Senators and work in the National Assembly have one key function – to listen to their people and their problems. Senators take the problems expressed to the executive for government action.
The Senatorial Election will be hotly contested from what we see. Are you ready for the battle?
Yes, I am ready. When you go in for a competition, the only wish you’ve is to win. I am going in, expecting to win, expecting to be elected as a Senator. I am ready for it. I am getting all the requirements spelled out by the party, fulfilling the conditions laid down for the Senatorial Election by the law. I have looked at all the ingredients needed, so I can say I am ready for the election.
The requirement that is not on the list laid down by the party and the law is money. Do you have the money to overshadow your challengers during campaigns and negotiations?
Money is one thing. There is also the person. What he or she stands for. That’s more important than the money. You’ve to be patriotic, someone who has the interest of the population at heart and if you do, you will not do anything against their interest. That’s patriotism and I can say for myself, I am patriotic.
Let’s know more about Prof. Pierre Sakwe
I come a humble background, from a small village called Bisoro Balue in Ekondo Titi Subdivision, Ndian Division. I was born 62 years ago. I attended elementary school in the village, moved to Presbyterian Secondary School, PSS, Kumba, where I had the GCE Ordinary. I will subsequently gain admission into Cameroon College of Arts, Science & Technology, CCAST, Bambili, where I did high school and passed the GCE Advanced Level. From CCAST, I taught in PSS Kumba for two years before picking up a Presbyterian Church Scholarship to go do a Bachelor Degree in the University of Ife, Nigeria. Back from Nigeria, I thought with the PCC for another four years. Done with the PCC, I got a USAID Scholarship to do a Master Degree in Plant Pathology in the USA. Back to Cameroon, with a Masters Degree, I was recruited in the University of Dschang as an Assistant Lecturer. After four years of teaching in the university, I got a Belgian Government Scholarship that took me out for my terminal degree in Plant Pathology in the University of Gent, Belgium. I stayed on the University of Dschang staff list but continued searching for the Golden Fleece. In 1999, I had a Fellowship in Montpellier, France at the Centre of Tropical Agricultural Research for five months. 2001, I had a six week scholarship for a training in Israel. 2004, I had a scholarship with the German Academic and Exchange Service for three months. 2009, I had another Research Fellowship from the government of Canada for a year. I travelled to Canada and did the work. While in Canada, I was appointed to Buea as the Vice Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture & Veterinary Medicine, University of Buea, UB and subsequently, Dean, Faculty of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, UB.
