Twenty-eight years ago, the first president of the Republic of Cameroon died in Dakar, Senegal. His remains have not returned to the fold. ...
Twenty-eight years ago, the first president of the Republic of Cameroon died in Dakar, Senegal. His remains have not returned to the fold.
What Paul Biya considers "a family problem" is more and more like a state affair.
In a recent interview with French television channel France 24, Paul Biya discusses the delicate issue of the remains of his predecessor who has remained in Dakar since his disappearance on November 30, 1989. Paul Biya says: "I understand that there was a problem with the former president (...) Yes. There were some unfortunate events that I will not come back to in 1984, and the National Assembly, on my proposal, passed an amnesty law. Those who have lived through these sad events have regained their rights, there are even some who are in government. The problem of repatriating the remains of the former president is, in my opinion, a family problem (...) ".
The head of state also adds that he has no objection to the return of the remains: "I must say that the son of my predecessor is a deputy. I have no problem with my predecessor's family. His daughters and sons come and go and no one has ever worried them. If the family of my predecessor decides to transfer the remains of the president, repatriate Ahidjo, it is a decision that depends only on them. I have no objection or observation to make, "he says.
In a recent interview with French television channel France 24, Paul Biya discusses the delicate issue of the remains of his predecessor who has remained in Dakar since his disappearance on November 30, 1989. Paul Biya says: "I understand that there was a problem with the former president (...) Yes. There were some unfortunate events that I will not come back to in 1984, and the National Assembly, on my proposal, passed an amnesty law. Those who have lived through these sad events have regained their rights, there are even some who are in government. The problem of repatriating the remains of the former president is, in my opinion, a family problem (...) ".
The head of state also adds that he has no objection to the return of the remains: "I must say that the son of my predecessor is a deputy. I have no problem with my predecessor's family. His daughters and sons come and go and no one has ever worried them. If the family of my predecessor decides to transfer the remains of the president, repatriate Ahidjo, it is a decision that depends only on them. I have no objection or observation to make, "he says.
 |
| Mysteries In Etoudi - The Ghost Of Ahmadou Ahidjo Still Disturbs |
Does this mean that the family of the late Ahmadou Ahidjo never made the wish or the request to repatriate the body of the person concerned to the competent services in the matter? Paul Biya wants to say that it is the family of Ahidjo who would not want to return the remains of the former President of the Republic? By reducing the repatriation of Ahmadou Ahidjo's remains to "a family problem", does the head of state realize that he is making his predecessor a simple ordinary citizen?
It is visibly at this level that the problem or misunderstanding appears in the perception of the case by the family of the late Ahmadou Ahidjo and the Renewal regime. Misunderstanding In a lengthy interview with Jeune Afrique Economie (No. 169, July 1993), Ahmadou Ahidjo's former first lady and widow made some clarifications that remain relevant to this question.
Germaine Habiba Ahidjo firmly stated: "I want to remind you that Ahidjo was a head of state. He does not belong only to his family. It belongs in the first place to the Cameroonian people. He is not a simple citizen. He was President of the Republic in his country, and he was buried here (ed., Dakar) by a President of the Republic (editor's note, Abdou Diouf). (...) All I can say is that we made sure that if one day he had to return to Cameroon, it would be possible, in the respect of the rites of our religion. The rest does not belong to me, "she said. She still lives in Dakar, Senegal, near the grave of her husband before which she bows regularly.
She continues to wait for a gesture of reconciliation, in silence and dignity, and confesses not to understand "all these successions of unfortunate events that took place and that should not have happened". The global misunderstanding between Ahmadou Ahidjo's family and the regime of Paul Biya is at the origin of the status quo on the file relating to the return of the remains of one of the founding fathers of the pan-African organization. Emile Derlin Zinsou, former president of Dahomey (present Benin), in his funeral oration, for the attention of his "friend and brother Ahidjo" made this pathetic testimony: "Blessed are those who die leaving traces, a furrow. The furrows you have dug will long testify to the generations that succeed you that you would not dare to challenge: the builder, the father of modern Cameroon. In truth, you had only one passion: Cameroon (...) No one can forbid you history and prevent that this one, serene and impartial, say that you were of your country and the Africa a great and worthy son ".
Called "ghost" by a former ambassador of Cameroon in Paris, himself deceased a few years later, Ahmadou Ahidjo remains and remains the first president of the Republic of Cameroon. He loved his country in his own way. It can be blamed for its role in the assassination of many Cameroonian nationalists and, above all, the decapitation of the Union of the People of Cameroon (UPc).
Everyone is reaping what he sowed. He never had a national funeral. He was scrambled before his death with Paul Biya who is slow to grant him, even posthumously, a final tribute. Family affair or state affair? History will judge.Mysteries In Etoudi - The Ghost Of Ahmadou Ahidjo Still Disturbs
It is visibly at this level that the problem or misunderstanding appears in the perception of the case by the family of the late Ahmadou Ahidjo and the Renewal regime. Misunderstanding In a lengthy interview with Jeune Afrique Economie (No. 169, July 1993), Ahmadou Ahidjo's former first lady and widow made some clarifications that remain relevant to this question.
Germaine Habiba Ahidjo firmly stated: "I want to remind you that Ahidjo was a head of state. He does not belong only to his family. It belongs in the first place to the Cameroonian people. He is not a simple citizen. He was President of the Republic in his country, and he was buried here (ed., Dakar) by a President of the Republic (editor's note, Abdou Diouf). (...) All I can say is that we made sure that if one day he had to return to Cameroon, it would be possible, in the respect of the rites of our religion. The rest does not belong to me, "she said. She still lives in Dakar, Senegal, near the grave of her husband before which she bows regularly.
She continues to wait for a gesture of reconciliation, in silence and dignity, and confesses not to understand "all these successions of unfortunate events that took place and that should not have happened". The global misunderstanding between Ahmadou Ahidjo's family and the regime of Paul Biya is at the origin of the status quo on the file relating to the return of the remains of one of the founding fathers of the pan-African organization. Emile Derlin Zinsou, former president of Dahomey (present Benin), in his funeral oration, for the attention of his "friend and brother Ahidjo" made this pathetic testimony: "Blessed are those who die leaving traces, a furrow. The furrows you have dug will long testify to the generations that succeed you that you would not dare to challenge: the builder, the father of modern Cameroon. In truth, you had only one passion: Cameroon (...) No one can forbid you history and prevent that this one, serene and impartial, say that you were of your country and the Africa a great and worthy son ".
Called "ghost" by a former ambassador of Cameroon in Paris, himself deceased a few years later, Ahmadou Ahidjo remains and remains the first president of the Republic of Cameroon. He loved his country in his own way. It can be blamed for its role in the assassination of many Cameroonian nationalists and, above all, the decapitation of the Union of the People of Cameroon (UPc).
Everyone is reaping what he sowed. He never had a national funeral. He was scrambled before his death with Paul Biya who is slow to grant him, even posthumously, a final tribute. Family affair or state affair? History will judge.Mysteries In Etoudi - The Ghost Of Ahmadou Ahidjo Still Disturbs