Portrait
Cameroon: Cavaye Yéguié Djibril, 32 years of lockdown of the National Assembly
At eighty-four years old, fifty-four of them as a deputy, the native of the Far North of the country, member of the very strategic “political bureau” of the Democratic Rally of the Cameroonian People (RDPC, in power), began, this March, his thirty-third year in the prestigious position of Speaker of the Lower House of Parliament. A longevity which at least testifies to the confidence placed in him by President Paul Biya, of whom he is one of the most prominent supporters.
The President of the National Assembly of Cameroon, Cavaye Yéguié Djibril, at the Unity Palace for the ceremony of presenting greetings to President Paul Biya, in 2012 (illustrative image). © Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0/Sergelowe
By: Valentin Zinga Follow
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From our correspondent in Yaoundé,
The tone is triumphant on March 22, 2024. From the top of the perch, Cavaye Yéguié Djibril taunts his detractors who, for several months, have been predicting certain disgrace for him. In the argument of the opponents of the President of the National Assembly, who today inaugurates his thirty-third consecutive year in this position: at least two indicators.
At the beginning of February, it was President
Paul Biya
himself who ordered the cancellation of the “High Level Forum” supposed to be held in Maroua in the Far North region on the 14th of the month. Conceived and planned by Mr. Cavaye, on the theme “Actions to combat famine in the northern regions”, the meeting is supposed to bring together the elites of this part of the country. Behind the scenes, according to information from RFI, senior political figures expressed to the President of the Republic their astonishment and concern about this politically risky initiative, in the middle of a pre-electoral year. In the eyes of some analysts, the presidential decision is a serious setback for the man who has always dreamed of a destiny as “political boss” of the CPDM of the entire northern part of
Cameroon
. And a.
“
Unhealthy practices
”
And two: during October 2023, an explosive report drawn up by the group of quaestors, themselves deputies, and intended for the president, conveniently leaked on social networks. He evokes “
unhealthy practices and a certain businessism which have made their way to the National Assembly
”. In detail, the parliamentarians cite, pell-mell: "
fictitious work, fictitious services, work under management which is not, indecent overcharging, the multiplication of undue advantages, numerous fictitious or disguised missions, numerous missions of convenience, carried out at the expense of the National Assembly, and the engagement of activities not included in the budget which legally and financially bind the National Assembly
.
Political snub. Bad governance. In the space of five months, we believe the cup is full and we begin to detect the warning signs of the fall. The ace ! In this month of March, in the middle of the Easter period, we are witnessing a sort of resurrection of this former Catholic, Islamized. Cavaye Yéguié Djibril, RDPC candidate imposed by Paul Biya, is jubilant at the end of an election which was only a formality. He can then boldly say to the deputies: “
I never have. I will never betray
.” A refrain.
Many people also see this proclaimed loyalty to the Cameroonian Head of State as one of the driving forces behind this long tenure as President of the National Assembly, which dates from March 31, 1992. That day, Paul Biya decided to reconfigure the geopolitical balances which govern the occupation of important positions in the state apparatus. By putting an end to the “Anglophone period” at the presidency of the National Assembly, embodied first by Salomon Tandeng Muna, then Lawrence Fonka Shang, the President of the Republic, opens the “French-speaking period”, while, since then, the post of Prime Minister has been attributed to English-speaking Cameroonians.
Ascent
On this occasion, he set his sights on Cavaye Yéguié Djibril. The latter, a native of Mada, a village of which he is the chief, in the district of Tokombéré, region of the Far North, considered the largest reservoir of voters in the country. This physical education teacher entered the National Assembly during the legislative elections of June 7, 1970, under the banner of the Cameroon National Union (UNC), a single party created four years earlier by Ahmadou Ahidjo, very first head of state of Cameroon, and who is its president. Since then, Mr. Cavaye has never lost his tricolor sash in the lower house of Parliament.
Better still: he experienced a certain rise there, occupying the functions of quaestor, then vice-president, before his consecration in 1992. Suffice it to say that he presides over the destiny of an institution that he knows well. In the opinion of observers and many deputies, this is not the least of its assets. More. From his position, according to testimonies, he ensures "
party discipline
", a euphemism which refers to the channeling of the positions of his comrades of the RDPC, who would be tempted by attitudes, if not contrary to the line of this political formation, at least embarrassing.
Some do not embrace circumlocutions to make Cavaye Yéguié Djibril, the one thanks to whom, the National Assembly is at the service of the executive power. “
The ways of politics are unfathomable. If he has remained President of the National Assembly since March 31, 1992, it is because he possesses qualities which make him deserve the renewed confidence of the President of the Republic, national president of the RDPC
", summarizes Samuel Efoua Mbozo'o, historian, former secretary general of the National Assembly, former CPDM deputy.
Second personality
However, during these thirty-two years, Mr. Cavaye has shown to what extent he could cling to the rank of second personality in the protocol order of the State, which also makes him the successor of the President of the Republic. in the event of a vacancy in power. April 2008. A modification of the Constitution shakes things up, and now grants these privileges to the President of the Senate.
Five years later, Cavaye Yéguié Djibril undertook to formally apply for the very first senatorial elections. “
The stakes of this maneuver were clear. The President of the National Assembly had made a calculation: to be elected senator, then designated president of the Senate, to retain the place of second person in the State
,” reveals a former close friend, who had fallen into disgrace for several years. His dream was shattered by a circular from Paul Biya, setting the conditions for participation of CPDM activists in the senatorial elections.
Compensation ? Loyalty bonus? After this episode, Mr. Cavaye retained the presidency of the National Assembly. He is accused of taking over the parliamentary institution. He does not recruit relatives in large numbers. It propels them to strategic positions. On another level, deputies, some of whom come from the ranks of the RDPC, accuse him of replacing the Bureau of the Assembly, among other criticisms.
“
Political battles
”
“
From 1993, the revision of the internal regulations now made the president the main authorizing officer of the budget, thus relegating the secretary general to the rank of delegated authorizing officer
,” notes Samuel Efoua. Who adds, addressing another aspect of what some consider as a “privatization” of the National Assembly by its president: “
He has left the simple arbitral role of yesterday to become today the real head of the administration. It has regulatory power in the sense that it makes binding decisions. If the appointment to positions of responsibility (Advisor, Director, Deputy Director) falls within the competence of the Bureau, we note in practice that the President appoints these positions without referring to the Bureau, which refrains from calling them into question.
".
Those close to Mr. Cavaye speak of “
political battles
” of which their mentor is the victim. Faced with the “
drifts
”, voices are being raised to call for a return to orthodoxy in parliamentary customs and practices. They are not visibly heard by President Paul Biya, who knows he can count on this apparatchik of the system, apparently without excessive political ambition, who misses no opportunity to sing praises to the President of the Republic. While working to soften the criticism of certain opposition deputies, sensitive to his generosity. An assumed figure of “political correctness”, whose life expectancy in the post of President of the National Assembly no one can swear by. Pending the next renewal of the members of the Bureau of the National Assembly, scheduled for March 2025.
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