Interviewed by Walter Wilson Nana
Buea, Cameroon.
Chief Elias Igelle Terhemen is the Second Class Chief of Bagudou village in Akwaya subdivision since October 1992 and currently the Specialised Finance Controller of the Cameroon General Certificate Examination Board in Buea. At the close of the September 30 2013 Parliamentary and Municipal Elections in Cameroon, he was elected Member of Parliament for one of the three parliamentary seats in Manyu Division, Southwest Region. As he looks forward to embrace this newfound responsibility, he granted this exclusive interview in which he talks about his priorities as an MP, his motivation for that job and his take on the just ended electoral process in Cameroon.
Excerpts:
MP Elect for Akwaya Chief Elias Igelle Terhemen
How did you receive the proclamation of the results of the September 30 twin elections in Cameroon by the Supreme Court sitting in place for the Constitutional Council?
It was an emotional moment for me. I had been expecting that my party, the CPDM will win the seats in Manyu Division but you will not say for exactitude, considering that the Supreme Court still had to officially proclaim the results. So, when this confirmation came from the Supreme Court, it was an emotional experience for me. I was all alone (Thursday, October 17 2013), following the results on radio, in my car, driving from Akwaya to Buea. I was in Akwaya at that material time to commune with the newly elected Mayor, the people I will be working with as a Member of Parliament, MP, from that part of Cameroon.
How will you describe the just ended September 30 twin elections in Cameroon?
I have taken part in elections in Cameroon for some time now. I will say the September 30 twin elections have been the best elections so far organised in Cameroon. The biometric touch is a great experience and the absence of long queues like in the past. It is a good innovation. For the first time, Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, took their responsibilities seriously. The absence of traditional rulers in the election process was visible. We came in just as any other voter. Generally, I will say the elections were successful.
How did the elections go in your constituency?
I did not supervise elections in Manyu Division. I simply voted in my polling station. It will be difficult for me to vouch for all of Manyu Division. In my village, we had 11 polling stations, which I had the opportunity to visit, since I was voting there. I found the process in my village, successfully done. All the parties represented at the polling stations signed the result sheets, indicating that nobody was contesting anything. So far, nobody has petitioned the elections in Akwaya. The parties who contested in include; the People Action Party, PAP and the CPDM. The PAP petition was centred in Eyumojock, with some irregularities noted out there. Not in Akwaya. For the irregularities noted elsewhere, I also hear them as you have heard. I do not have details about them. If we have to trust the Supreme Court that threw out the petitions from all quarters, then most of those petitions could be considered rumours, which could not be relied on.
Are you aware of the newfound responsibilities you will be facing as an MP?
I will not say with totality. It will be my first experience in that aspect of life. However, I have been a traditional ruler for sixteen years already, taking over from my father. The activities of an MP will not be too far from that of a traditional ruler; attending to people, listening to their difficulties, looking out for possible solutions and giving hope to people. These are the impressions I have for now, but as we get into the parliamentary sessions, I will see the other side of the house.
How implanted are you in the political scene of the Southwest Region and Manyu Division in particular?
I have been militating with the CPDM since 1992, as a young student in High School. I started moving around with Christopher Kobubu, deceased. He was MP for Akwaya. I stayed with him, worked together, took part in the 1997 election as a returning officer for the CPDM. In 1997, I was in charge of the reorganisation of the CPDM basic organs in Akwaya North. I have always been a member of the CPDM Central Committee delegation to Akwaya since 1992, one time chargé de mission and now Vice President for the CPDM Divisional Campaign Team for Manyu before going to contest for the position of an MP for Manyu Division. I am technical adviser for the CPDM section in Akwaya since 1992.
Despite this background of yours, some observers in Manyu Division do not see you as a politician. They hold that some political heavy weights in the Division are using you to fight their battle. What’s your take on that?
I will love to know the heavy weights. The CPDM is a party with some kind of discipline. I will refer you to the investiture that was done this year by the Central Committee. All interested persons deposited their files. I will not say some people propped me. I compiled my files like any other Cameroonian who was interested to be at the fore of the elections. I deposited my file and the Central Committee thought that I could stand on the ticket of the CPDM. Subsequently, I was invested. If some people think that I was sponsored to fight the course of some big weights, it will be interesting to see how I will do that fight. If there are big weights in Manyu, then they should fight my course and not me fighting for them.
Do you have a political godfather?
Of course yes! If you talk about political godfathers in Cameroon, you mean members of the CPDM Central Committee from you area of origin. In Manyu Division we have a few of them; Prof. Peter Agbor Tabi, Minister Victor Mengot, Dr Ebot Ebot, Prof George Nkeng Elambo, Chief Senator Tabetando and more. These are the political godfathers of Manyu that children from that area should look up to them. If you want to operate in the CPDM in that constituency, they are the people to guide you. I think so.
Some people hold that there is a political battle between Prof. Peter Agbor Tabi and Minister Victor Mengot to position themselves as the political leader of Manyu Division, do you share that view?
I would not know. It is difficult for me to say. I have never had the opportunity to meet them disagree on an issue openly. May be they do that secretly. But as public figures, I have never seen them disagree. They have always worked together to see that the CPDM wins in Manyu, to see that the Manyu committee is present when the need arises and forge ahead as one person. When people say they disagree, I will like to know the level at which they disagree. It is difficult to say that they do not disagree but they may be some personal issues on which they disagree, not on political issues.
On Tuesday, October 29 2013, your parliamentary journey begins with Cameroon’s lower house of the parliament, what are some of the pressing issues you will focus on in your constituency?
I will want to meet with the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation to present an urgent need of Akwaya. The Akwaya subdivision is too large. It has 99 villages with some settlements. If we put together the settlements, they move up to about 200. This is too much for a subdivision that shares a long frontier line with Nigeria. It will reduce the stress at which villagers get to see a Divisional Officer, DO. There are some villages and quarters in Akwaya that they have never seen a DO for the past 30 years. No matter how willing the DO may be, it is difficult to visit 99 villages and numerous settlements, within 3 years on foot and long distances in some cases. My priority, alongside other partners is to share the view that Akwaya is too large to remain a subdivision. It is still one of the subdivisions that was created in 1963. And still a subdivision that was created in that year. All the other subdivisions created alongside Akwaya by a Presidential Decree have changed status. Ndian subdivision was in that same decree, Menji was a subdivision then, now it is a Division. Kupe-Muanengouba was a subdivision then, now it is a Division. In the Northwest Region, Mbengwi was a subdivision, now it is a Division, Nkambe was a subdivision, now it is a Division. You can keep naming them. There is a need to also share Akwaya so that administration gets closer to the people. That is top on my parliamentary agenda. Focus will also be directed on getting good education and this cannot be achieved if the people do not have a good road network. We have to encourage our children to go to school. If I did not go to school, life would not have been same for me today. We will appeal to the administration to continue with the construction of the Benakuma-Baoro road to make it passable in all seasons. We will also put a word for financing to be sought to finalise the Mamfe-Akwaya road so that the 72km Mamfe-Akwaya road can be done in a short while and not take the whole day. These, will constitute my immediate concerns.
Travelling to Akwaya from some parts of Cameroon will entail going through Nigeria before getting into Akwaya. On the ground, what is the problem?
This issue has been put to rest some months ago. You can now successfully get to Akwaya from Bamenda in a four-hour drive. All the bridges between Akwaya town and Bamenda have been done. I drove from Buea to Akwaya for the campaigns without passing through Nigeria. However, a vast portion of Akwaya still needs to be accessed via Nigeria. That is why I my proposal for the subdivision to be shared is necessary so that it will be easier to access the headquarter of the Division.
A lot of Cameroonians describe MPs as contractors, looking out for themselves and not their communities. Will you do the same?
The parliamentary does not have a running credit. In principle the MP is supposed to meet ministers and ask for basic needs of his people. Like I said during the campaigns, the MP is a beggar. That is what they are supposed to do and not the work of a contractor. If the law does not forbid an MP to do any other thing, then he should do his or her extra things not at the expense of the people. We have to make Cameroon a much better place to live in. And I pray Cameroonians give us the time and collaboration to work.
