Andre-Marie Mbida (25 December 19142 May 1980) was a Cameroonian statesman, a nationalist,International Crisis Group, Cameroon: Fragile State ? Africa Report N°160 – 25 May 2010, p. 5 the first Cameroonian to be elected Member of Parliament at the French National Assembly, a Prime Minister of Cameroon, the second African-born Prime Minister in Sub-Saharan Africa, the first Head of State of French-speaking autonomous Cameroon from 12 May 1957 to 16 February 1958, and the first political prisoner of independent Cameroon from 29 June 1962 to 29 June 1965.
Early life and education Andre-Marie Mbida was born on 25 December 1914 in Edinding (Cameroon) and died 2 May 1980 in Paris (France). He hailed from Nyong and Sanaga region of Cameroon. He was born into the traditional aristocracy as the son of a mixed race Traditional ruler Simon Monbele Ongo Nanga chief of Ngo logou and Edinding who led a rebellion against the German invaders and Ngono Veronique . André Marie MBIDA went to the rural primary school of Efok (Lekié division) and was a brilliant student. He then continued his secondary education at the Minor Seminary Akono from 1929 to 1935, where he became a mathematics and Latin teacher, and later on at the Major Seminary Mvolyé from 1935 to 1943. While studying in the grand Seminaire he became a friend of the future presidents Fulbert Youlou and Barthélémy Boganda. He was for a while tempted by the idea of becoming a priest, but after he left the Seminary, he became Head Teacher of the Balessing rural school in 1943. He was very intelligent so he completed his studies and at least graduated as a lawyer in 1945. After completing his training in Law, he worked at the treasury in Yaoundé for a year in 1945, and then became a business representative in Yaoundé and Ebolowa till 1954. As business representative, his monthly income varies between approximately 500,000 CFA francs and 800,000 CFA francs, or even a million.H. Mono Ddjana," André-Marie Mbida ", op. cit., p.508
Family life On 14 August 1946, he married Marguerite Embolo, daughter of Assiguena Fabien, an Eton tribal chief and owner of plantations (one of the most prosperous cocoa farmers in the Lekié division) and of Mbono Marie, former midwife at Mvog-Betsi an Ewondo clan in Yaoundé Mbankolo and moreover granddaughter of the powerful ruler, Omgba Bissogo.one of the founders of the actual Capital Yaounde along with his half-brother Essono Ela. They had six children, four sons and two daughters, among them, Louis Tobie Mbida, the present Chairman of the Cameroonian Party of Democrats (CPD) (), Simon Pierre Omgba Mbida, Cameroonian diplomat, Alphonse Massi Mbida, Company Head in Ile de France, Paul Etoga Mbida, a mathematics and physics student who died in France in 1985.
Political career
Break with Aujoulat and foundation of COCOCAM He devoted himself to the cause of workers and peasants of Cameroon. In his region of origin, he promoted cultural values in the traditional movement named Anacsama. Known as a devout Catholic, very close ties continue to unite him with the Catholic hierarchy, nevertheless he became closer to the French Socialist Party (SFIO), an active political French party in the UN Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration. He is a Cameroonian Democratic Bloc () militant, a party affiliated with the SFIO. In 1952, he was elected to the Territorial Assembly and after that he is appointed Adviser to the French Union on 10 October 1953.
The following year he resigned from the Cameroonian Democratic Bloc then he founded the COCOCAM (Coordinating Committee of Cameroon) (). The reasons for his departure are interpreted differently, depending on whether one is in favour of André-Marie Mbida or Louis-Paul Aujoulat. According to Ateba Yene (son), André-Marie Mbida was just the spokesperson of COCOCAM. Its founders would be Manga Mado Ngoa Constantine Ombgwa Onésimus, Master Joseph Ateba and Ateba Yené (father).
According to an anonymous and unsigned note (the author of this epistle chose not to sign his name but offered his observation about Ajoulat-Mbida affair) dated 17 May 1954, the break between the Bloc and Mbida would come from the fact that the chairman of Bloc, Louis-Paul Aujoulat was convinced that Mbida has been informing his political opponents. Aujoulat let him know about his thoughts and in reaction to this, Mbida decided to leave the Cameroonian Democratic Bloc and create his own movement, the Coordinating Committee of Cameroon. However, Germain Tsala Mekongo, former comrade-in-arms of Mbida, believes that this break is due to the jealousy of the other Cameroonian Democratic Bloc members who were excessively concerned about the growing influence of André-Marie Mbida within the Bloc. Abel Eyinga rather thinks that it is the opposition of Louis-Paul Aujoulat and the Steering Committee of Cameroonian Democratic Bloc to see Mbida run for the post of Adviser of the Assembly of French Union which is the true cause of the break between the main protagonists. Mbida did not agree with this directive of Louis-Paul Aujoulat and Bloc. Thus, he ran for election and gained seat, then he became Adviser of the Assembly of French Union on 16 October 1953. Moreover, one can read in the Abel Eyinga book "Elected in spite of himself, Mbida draws conclusions from the attitude of layman missionary by breaking definitively with him, with the organization Aujoulat oriented () also: "the BDC".Abel Eyinga, Introduction a la politique camerounaise, p.96
Following the bloody events of May 1955, repressed by the colonial administrator Roland Pré then by the dissolution of Cameroonian nationalist movements and the incarceration of several nationalist militants, Mbida led an active campaign for the amnesty for political prisoners.The French National Assembly website : André-Marie Mbida He also built on a small, mimeographed bulletin, "NKU, Le Tam-Tam'’.
Conquest of the Palais Bourbon
André-Marie Mbida stood for election to Parliament at the French National Assembly on 2 January 1956 in the third electoral district of the UN Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration. Like socialists, he acts as an advocate of poor people, small-scale farmers, supports minorities and he includes short-term amelioratory measures and long-term structural solutions for the little people and the oppressed. Economically, he proposes the increasing the price of key export commodities, cocoa and coffee, and the elimination of intermediaries that disadvantage the small-scale farmers. He still defends the officials, the autochthonous or traditional chiefs that he proposes to remunerate. He claims an evolving institutions.
He demands a purge of managerial staff in the French Union. He claims "a progressive advance from Cameroon to its autonomy, and later to its independence" (). In addition, he defends Catholic values. Thus, he advocates the fight "against secularism in general" (). He wrote: "I will defend private education and I shall always support that the territory administration covers the teaching personnel salaries of this one" (). He still intends to encourage monogamy and for him, divorce is not an option for religious marriages. He proposes a "formal opposition to the divorce of religious marriages"().
During the campaign trail, one can read on a leaflet distributed to voters : "Voting for Matin Abega, André Fouda, Charles Awono-Onana, Benoît Bindzi, Marc Etende, Philippe Mbarga – It's giving one's vote to Aujoulat – It's giving one's vote to Roland Pré – It's voting for the Cameroonian Democratic Bloc – The incorporation of Cameroon into France, the return to the Indigenousness Code (The Code de l'indigénat), the tax increases. Martin Abega and André Fouda are the candidates of the [French colonial] administration. Voters, be careful, avoid all this list. Give one's vote only for the list of André-Marie Mbida – the list of the watchful and brave cock". ().Okala, " André-Marie Mbida (1917–1958) ", p.21
In his profession of faith to voters, Mbida wrote: "Dear voters, if you approve, if you feel that the third electoral district should be represented in the French National Assembly by a native, not by a very harmful intruders, all vote for André-Marie Mbida on January 2, 1956"().Daniel Abwa André-Marie Mbida, premier premier ministre camerounais (1917–1980): autopsie d'une carrière politique, p.46
Mbida gained seat with 66,354 votes against 47,001 votes for Charles Assalé and against 20,517 votes for Louis-Paul Aujoulat. The latter held the seat since the Liberation of France and was involved in several government departments from 1949 to 1955. Mbida became the first native Cameroonian to be elected Member of Parliament at the French National Assembly by the College of personal Status ().
Head of autonomous State of Cameroon
On 31 January 1956, Mbida was both appointed to the Law and Justice Commission and to the Commission of overseas territories of the French National Assembly. He also belonged to the Commission mandated to reform the Title VIII of the French Constitution, on the French Union dated 27 October 1947. In addition, he is designated to serve on the Supreme Labour Council and the Steering Committee of the Investment Fund for Economic and Social Development (), that is a former government agency of colonial-area France, which was established to finance and co-ordinate the provision of facilities for the French colonial territories. His election was confirmed on 14 February 1956 and he immediately joined the SFIO Socialist Group at the French National Assembly and worked alongside Gaston Defferre, Gérard Jaquet and Pierre Messmer who draft the Loi Cadre (1956 Overseas Reform Act) on the autonomy of French colonial territories and the UN trust territories under French administration in Sub-Saharan Africa.
NKU, le Tam-Tam in its edition of March 1956 to justify his membership to the SFIO Socialist Group by saying that he could not stand alone at the French National Assembly and that the group's policy SFIO seemed to be the lesser evil among all those existing at that moments at French Parliament. He spoke rarely to the French National Assembly. He mainly took part in two major debates: the Loi Cadre in March 1956 and the status of Cameroon in March 1957.
On 23 December 1956, the Territorial Assembly of Cameroon () was replaced by the Legislative Assembly of Cameroon () and parliamentary elections were scheduled. Candidates were authorized to present themselves in their own name. Mbida and his team (Cococam et affiliated memberships) stood for election. At ALCAM, they created the Parliamentary Group of Cameroonian Democrats composed of 21 members with Mbida as leader. Mbida set up the internal autonomy of the UN Trust Territory of the Cameroons under French administration. On 16 April 1957, the latter became an autonomous State. On 12 May 1957, by 56 votes against 10 votes and 4 abstentions, he was appointed first President of the Council of Ministers, first head of government and the facto Head of State of French speaking Cameroon. This designation was very symbolic because he was the second African-born Prime Minister in Sub-Saharan Africa and the first Head of State of Cameroon.
While in Paris in September 1957, he presented Cameroon as a pilot State in Africa. Moreover, he justified the UN trust to French administration until the complete independence and a seat (of Cameroon) at the UN, then he announced that this development strengthens the Franco-Cameroonian friendship.