So, as a politician, why do you think the constitution of Cameroon should be revised now?

I think the sovereign people of Cameroon are saying that the present context does not permit us to accept the present constitution. It was a constitution of consensus. And a consensus is usually being made to satisfy certain conditions. And that was what was done during the tripartite talks. Now, Cameroonians are saying that it is anti democratic to limit the presidential term of office. This is because the will of the people at one given time will be hushed because the President will not be allowed to go beyond his term of office even if Cameroonians want him to continue. And that is why all Cameroonians have been calling and writing that we want the Head of State to stand as President beyond 2011. The will of the people must be accepted and respected. The President has even gone further because in his end of year address to the nation on December 31, 2007, he said that other aspects of the constitution which he thinks could be readjusted would be taken care of. We need to have confidence in our president. He is not only the president of the CPDM, but the president of all Cameroonians. I think, as Head of State, he is a very responsible person and will take into consideration all the remarks which have been made on the constitution.

Some people think the present constitutional amendment is simply to enable the President to extend his mandate. What have you to say?

The modification is for general interest. The President has always said that we have to be patriotic because people will go and the nation and its institutions will remain. The Head of State has reiterated this in most of his speeches since he came to power in 1982. We are talking here about amending a constitution which has some shortcomings which in the long run could create other problems. That is why things have to be looked into today. It is not a problem of President Biya. I expect Cameroonians to put general interest above partisan politics. And that is what the CPDM is doing and trying to explain after the seminar which was organised for section presidents. The Secretary General of the Central Committee of the party told us that the debate on the constitutional amendment is open and that we are supporting the modification of the constitution because we are defending national interest. We are expected to chart the way forward for Cameroonians and I think that is the aim of the on-going debate.

But sceptics say our attention now should rather be focused on seeking ways of improving the living conditions of Cameroonians…

We cannot talk about living standards now because those are issues which will always come up in the life of a nation. But a constitutional debate is something very important as it is above personal interest. And as for the timing, the President of the Republic, who defines the policy of the nation, knows the timing. The debate is on. The President, who incarnates our institutions, will tell us when it is convenient for him to do it. But one thing is certain; the majority of Cameroonians have accepted the idea to amend the constitution. As for us in the CPDM, the amendment should be done now.

• Gaston KOMBA: Révision constitutionnelle: «L’essentiel est de préserver les fondations»
• René SADI: «La révision de la Constitution est enjeux majeur»
• Maïgari BELLO BOUBA: Révision constitutionnelle: Le oui mais… de l`UNDP
• Marcel-Duclos EFOUDEBE: Qui arrêtera le soldat Biya ?
• Paul ATANGA NJI: «The modification is for general interest»
• Antar GASSAGAY: «La révision constitutionnelle est la bienvenue»