Après moi le Déluge

This is for the young people of the Cameroons: take a long look back into history and don't repeat the mistakes of the past, even if those mistakes were made almost 300 years ago (in the 1700s), about 3,000 miles away (in Europe).

It is common knowledge that the leadership of the Cameroons has not been very transparent from the get-go. There are unanswered questions going back to the very foundation of what is today known as the République du Cameroun. The pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial (sometimes called neo-colonial) history of the Cameroons, and its details, still seem like remote pieces of knowledge, especially to the young generation of citizens.

The older generation seems locked in a situation where retiring from public positions is treated like a curse or a death wish. The result is a preponderance of octogenarians in positions of responsibility, which frankly makes no sense. It is doubtful that a 90-year-old human in any position can contribute productively to the operations of a state (or a business) moving at the warp speed of today's global context.

So the conclusion about those who hold power and refuse to leave, unless forced, is that they simply do not care. It is a repeat of the attitude of a certain French king, to whom this statement is attributed:

"Après moi, le déluge." ("After me, the flood.")

A little French history

Louis XV (1710–1774), known as Louis le Bien-Aimé (Louis the Well-Beloved), was a monarch of the House of Bourbon. He ruled as King of France and Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death on 10 May 1774.

Louis XVI succeeded Louis XV as King of France and Navarre (later King of the French) from 1774 until 1792. It was during his reign that the French Revolution happened. The Revolution of 1789: a "déluge"? You tell me.

Marie-Antoinette. Louis XVI was married to Marie-Antoinette, an Austrian. France later declared war on Austria! Both Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette were guillotined (publicly executed), and the revolutionaries drew up a new French constitution in 1791, significantly reducing the power of the monarchy. The Jacobins (a political party) held a more radical view: no monarchy in France. Period.

History repeats itself. But the actors can make sure they express themselves, and try as hard as they can not to become the actors of the past, but to be truly themselves. Be who you really are.

If the House of Biya is thinking like Louis XV, the youth of the Cameroons should make sure his dream does NOT come true. That's the whole point.

The ancestors are watching.

~wv

— Wanaku Verdzekov