THE RISE AND FALL OF AUGUSTINE NGOM JUA 1965-1968 *

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zIntroduction • Circumstances leading to Jua’s rise to power • Reasons for his rise to power • The achievement of Jua -Economic achievements -Political achievements -Social achievements INTRODUCTION: Augustine Ngom Jua was born in 1924 in Kom. After his Secondary education he served as a teacher and later became interested in politics. His political career started when he joined the KNC that was founded by E.M.L Endeley in 1953. He later withdrew from the KNC together with John Ngu Foncha in 1954 and in 1955 they formed a new political party called the KNDP which stood for separation from Nigeria and reunification with French Cameroon. He was elected Vice President of the KNDP party in 1963 and in 1965 he was appointed the Prime Minister of the State of West Cameroon by President Ahidjo after receiving majority votes in the West Cameroon House of Assembly. He served as PM of West Cameroon from 1965 to 1968 when he was dismissed by Ahidjo. CIRCUMSTANCES OR LEADING TO THE APPOINTMENT OF JUA AS Prime Minister of West Cameroon Jua’s rise to power can be traced back to the early 1950s when he joined active politics in Southern Cameroons. He became a member of the KNC of Endeley which advocated Southern Cameroons separation from Nigeria but later left the party when it started preaching integration with Nigeria. He was a co-founder of the KNDP in 1955 and the first Secretary General of the party. Since then Jua remained an active member of the KNDP and greatly contributed to the success of the party in the political evolution of British Southern Cameroons in the 1950s against the KNC. For instance Jua mobilized the Kom traditional Women’s association called “Anloo” to defeat the KNC in Kom area during the 1959 elections. In this way he contributed to the victory of the KNDP over the KNC which brought the KNDP to the stage of leadership in the territory. After the independence of Southern Cameroons and its reunification with the Republic of Cameroon in 1961, Jua emerged as one of the most influential politician within the ranks of the KNDP. As a result of this he served in various capacities in the state of West Cameroon. E.g. in 1963 he was appointed Minister of Finance in Foncha’s government. Another event which prepared the way for Jua’s rise to power was his election as the Vice President of the KNDP party during the KNDP Congress in Bamenda in August 1963. In the election contested by Jua and Muna, Jua defeated Muna by 175 votes against 75. His elections as Vice President of the KNDP sailed him to power in West Cameroon because it was the Vice President of the party who automatically was to be appointed Prime Minister of the State of West Cameroon when Foncha leaves the post. Jua’s rise to power as Prime Minister of West Cameroon also stemmed from the amendment of the Federal constitution of Cameroon in 1965. Following the amendment, no single individual could hold the post of Vice President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon and Prime Minister of the Federated state as Foncha had done in West Cameroon from 1961-1965. With regard to this, Foncha had decided to surrender the post of the Prime Minister of West Cameroon and to keep the post of Vice President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon. During the 10th Convention of the party that held in Kumba in November 1964, most of the leading members of the KNDP preferred Jua the Vice President of the KNDP to succeed Foncha as Prime Minister of West Cameroon. When Ahidjo and Foncha won the presidential elections in 1965, Ahidjo visited West Cameroon and the general opinion was that, Jua should replace Foncha as Prime Minister of West Cameroon. Convinced by the popularity of Jua, Ahidjo therefore appointed Jua as the Prime Minister of West Cameroon in 1965. REASONS FOR THE RISE OF JUA TO POWER Jua’s rise to power in 1965 was influenced by his rich political background. He was an active co-founder of the KNDP in 1965 which gave him an influential and strong position within the ranks of the party, This paved the way for his rise to power as Prime Minister of West Cameroon. Inaddition, Jua had administrative and political experience. Before 1965, Jua had held various positions of responsibility in the KNDP through which he acquired much political and administrative skills. For instance Jua served as the first Secretary General of the KNDP from 1955. In1963 he was appointed Minister of Finance in Foncha’s government and he was also elected Vice President of the KNDP in 1963 following the death of Zachariah A. Abendong. Jua’s rise to power in 1965 was influenced by his rich political background. He was an active co-founder of the KNDP in 1965 which gave him an influential and strong position within the ranks of the party, This paved the way for his rise to power as Prime Minister of West Cameroon. Inaddition, Jua had administrative and political experience. Before 1965, Jua had held various positions of responsibility in the KNDP through which he acquired much political and administrative skills. For instance Jua served as the first Secretary General of the KNDP from 1955. In1963 he was appointed Minister of Finance in Foncha’s government and he was also elected Vice President of the KNDP in 1963 following the death of Zachariah A. Abendong. Foncha’s preference for the post of Vice President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon contributed to the rise of Jua to power. The appointment of Foncha as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon created a vacancy in West Cameroon which gave Jua the opportunity to become the PM of the state of West Cameroon. Jua’s strong reunification tendencies contributed to his appointment as Prime Minister of the state of West Cameroon in 1965. He was very active in the reunification struggle between Southern Cameroons and the Republic of Cameroon in 1961. He had abandoned the KNC because of Endeley’s pro-Nigerian stance. This greatly influenced Ahidjo to accept him as Prime Minister of West Cameroon. Finally the amendment of the Federal Constitution in 1965 also paved the way for Jua’s rise to power as Prime Minister of West Cameroon. This is because it made the post of Prime Minister vacant as Foncha abandoned the position in favour of that of the Vice President of the Federal Republic. Questions for revision 1. Under what circumstances and for what reasons did Augustine Ngom Jua rise to power as the Prime Minister of the State of West Cameroon in 1965? 2. Critically evaluate the administration of A.N Jua as the Prime Minister of the State of West Cameroon from 1965-1968. 3. For what reasons and with what consequences was Jua’s government shortlived? ACHIEVEMENTS OF AUGUSTINE NGOM JUA POLITICAL ACHIEVEMENTS Jua successfully resolve the rift between the KNDP and the CPNC by establishing a strong coalition government between the ruling KNDP and the opposition CPNC. To concretize the alliance Jua appointed some CPNC militants into the KNDP government which permitted the opposition politicians to take part in nation building. E.g. N.N.Mbile was appointed Secretary of State for Works and Transport, S.N. Tamfu became secretary of State for Economy and planning and Endeley became leader of the West Cameroon House of Assembly. This move reconciled and reunited the West Cameroon politicians who were divided as a result of the plebiscite of Febuary 1961 and the Foumban Constitutional Conference of July 1961. Jua strongly defended the domination of West Cameroons state by the Federal government in Yaounde. He defended the English educational and legal system against assimilation from East Cameroon. He did this by checking the activity that of the Federal inspector sent by Ahudjo to West Cameroon. Jua successfully resisted the Federal inspector Jean Claude Ngoh, who was sent to reduce the powers of the Prime Minister of West Cameroon. He made sure that he and not the Federal inspector had the final say. Jua equally resisted Ahidjo effort to interfere into the politics and fate of West Cameroon. Also he resisted Ahidjo’s attempt to transfer most of the functions of responsibilities and privileges of West Cameroon state to the Federal government in Yaounde. Jua successfully and effectively handled the Bakossi and Bamileke conflict in Tombel in 1966 and 1967 which was an attempt by the UPC to introduce terrorism and rebellion in West Cameroon. He used the Mobile Police Force to restore order and to check terrorism in the area. Jua made the West Cameroon Judicial and legal systems largely independent of Cameroon action and influence such that everybody was equal before the law and people no matter their important status in the society were dragged to court an prosecuted according to the law ECONOMIC ACHIEVEMENTS Jua promoted the economic development of West Cameroon. He created the West Cameroon Bank to encourage investment in West Cameroon. This bank gave loans to West Cameroonians to promote investment in the territory in order to bridge the gap that existed between East and West Cameroon in the level of development. Jua equally created the West Cameroon Marketing Board to stabilize the prices of cash crops and to supply farmers necessities. This board supplied farmers with farm implements such as fertilizers and pesticides through local farmers cooperative to help boast agricultural production and productivity. It equally bought farmers produce at prices generally favourable to them. Many farmers in West Cameroon benefitted from the sale of their cash crops like cocoa and coffee at standardize prices. Other agencies like the Santa development Estate were also created to promote agriculture in West Cameroon. In addition, Jua promoted electricity development through POWERCAM an electricity company that generated power from the Yoke Dam. POWERCAM provided electricity to many parts of West Cameroon. Under Jua’s administration, roads, bridges and other transport facilities were maintained by the Public Works Department(PWD). Beside, the transport sector was well organized. For instance, driving in West Cameroon soon changed from the right to the left as obtained in East Cameroon. Transport officials made sure that only vehicles that had official document and were in good condition were allowed to ply the highway. Jua’s administration equally established small scale industries and companies like the Britin Company in Moliwe and the Ombe Textile industry which provided basic customer goods and job opportunities to West Cameroonians. SOCIAL ACHIEVEMENTS Jua promoted education through the creation of many primary and secondary school. Many Teacher Training colleges as well a technical colleges were set up during his premiership or term of office. E.g. under his administration the Grammar school Mamfe and the Bilingual Grammar schoo

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