Is Democracy in Africa a Blessing or a curse? The Concept of Power: The Case of Cameroon

Abstract

Democracy is a political and social system by which the people are the source of sovereignty and power. There is a problem when the people cannot participate and deliberate in aspects that concern their rights. Democracy in relation to the concept of power as the case of Cameroon may apply could be associated in the light of a conflict between the will to give and not to give the people their rights to develop themselves. Power has been centralized for over three decades since democracy was re-introduced in Cameroon. Centralization of power created a vacuum between the Centre and the local populations and has greatly affected the two Anglophone regions in conflict. This and many other setbacks of democracy have tempted many to consider the term as a curse when relating to Cameroon. The only solution as gathered through investigative research would be to fully decentralize the structures in place and the local populations empowered to ensure equal opportunities. Decentralization would grant total autonomy to the local councils to develop themselves. In a democracy, the people have the right to choose their leaders but in a case where the head of the executive controls the other arms of government like the legislature and the judiciary and appoints persons to strategic positions to pay allegiance to the head rather than ruling the people who own the power, obviously generates into conflict when the people can no longer bear the sufferings and marginalized tendencies.