The anniversary calls for celebration but also for stock taking to make the Party grow and attain its goals as the first and major political force in Cameroon.
Since the creation of the CPDM on March 24, 1985 in Bamenda, chief town of the North West Region, it has faced several upheavals and uncertainties as a political party. The challenges have been daunting but the militants have stood their ground. Sailing across waves often troubled by other political outfits, the CPDM has forged such great politicians within its ranks, who have in several ways contributed to animate the political scene. While some militants fell along the way, the majority faced the heat straight on and are still holding embers that have kept the Party’s torch ablaze till date. Today, the Party can boast of having weathered several storms that did not break it, but rather fortified it for other political battles.
In 37 years, the CPDM and its leader Paul Biya have enjoyed unalloyed support from militants nationwide, who have put their hands to the wheel, determined to achieve goals set at its inception. If the Party has come this far, it is thanks to the commitment of men, women and youth who have believed in the vision of the leader for the country and are ready to do the needful to take Cameroon to its choice destination. No doubt Jean Nkuété holds that “despite the jolts of our own national history, the time of the 37th anniversary of the Party is for us a sign of hope on the path of our internal journey as the first and principal political force in Cameroon…”
As much as it is celebration time, though with reserves because of the looming threat of Covid-19, it is more than ever time for militants of the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement to “continue with the same faithfulness to the commitments that inspired its creation” Jean Nkuété notes. To the SG, the Party’s future depends on how much effort militants put in. This he says can only be possible through “hard work, and loyalty of militants, dedicated to accompanying the enlightened and tireless action of the National President”. And so on March 24, 2022, CPDM militants will not only gather to break bread and make merry but reflect and actions and projections, question their functioning while considering the stakes and challenges of the moment.
Claudette CHIN
