OPINION : WHY BUEA MAYOR, PATRICK EKEMA MUST SIT UP, AND NOW!

Political hubris, or political sabotage? Understanding politics and privacy are two complex concepts some Cameroon politicians  find it hard to separate. The craze to funnel state funds into private pockets has become the norm. In Buea, a small but very ‘rich’ mountainous city, the Mayor, Ekema Patrick, has been running with pride from one scandal pole to the other.

MAYOR EKEMA PATRICK: SIGNING TO CHANGE?

Will his latest scandal (The Mayor on the Mirror) send him to his thinking room? While his works have been widely appreciated, his privacy keeps propping up, growing fatter and thicker than his public office successes. 

Mayor Ekema is now being haunted by the Cameroon Anti-Corruption Committee (CONAC) for alleged embezzlement of state funds.  

We revisit some of Ekema’s recent scandals and blame the exposed weakness on his flaccid failed communication and proffer interesting solutions to manage his latest scandal.

By Tapang Ivo Tanku*

Since 2011, I have watched with rapt attention how the Buea council rolls out robust development plans and growth strategies which have translated into a meteoric boom of the mountainous city’s welfare. The construction of new markets, new council hall, decentralization of business avenues, etc., is all examples to support my claim. When Mayor Ekema Patrick switched roles in 2011 from a mere UB Administrator to the Mayor of one of Cameroon’s richest councils, many casted doubts on his vision and aspirations for the council. 

BUEA COUNCIL 

There is every reason to argue that he has met up to many, if not everyone’s hopes. However, the line between public office and private lifestyle has never been clearly drawn by Mr. Ekema. He has always blended the two, and that will fail him. 

When Ekema came to office and dismissed the former Communications Officer, I quickly predicted doom for his crisis management team. Not only did he dismiss a Communications Officer who was the valedictorian of his Journalism and Mass Communications 2008 batch in the University of Buea, he did appoint another Communications Officer who fails to match up to the challenge with both qualifications and expertise.

I have always noted here on the forum that although journalism and communications are bed fellows, they require separate and integrated expertise. Proactive crisis management and crisis management all require real brains for the smooth functioning of any organization. Never pick up anyone to do the task. Communications is not writing and speaking. The role of the Communications Officer goes beyond projecting a positive image of the organization. The Communications Officer also maintains a positive image of the CEO and the public . I will be the last to discredit people’s works here, but I only give credit where it is due.

MAYOR EKEMA , PRESIDENT BIYA

Although I understand that social scientists always find it hard to predict and explain human behavior, Communications Officers must go the extra mile in understanding the behaviors of their bosses and how they can control for observable irregularities. 

When Mayor Ekema pointed a gun at a taxi driver in Buea, as reported by the media that could have been an eye opener for the Communications Unit. The unit could have quickly convened a team to observe, predict and contain irregular “bossy attitudes.” 

That was never done, and if it was, it collapsed the very minute it was constructed. In Public Relations, it is always said: “speak the truth, but not all of the truth.” When Ekema ferried buses and a delegation to pick up his wife from the Douala International Airport, it beat my imagination how such an action was filmed and posted on the social media by the Communications Unit. Remember that managing a crisis is always difficult than proactive crisis management. 

As if that was not enough, the knife was further twisted in the wound when a video of Ekema offering a brand new Mercedes jeep to his wife who had successfully delivered baby in the U.S., was posted on the social media. This is neither communications nor Public Relations for a Mayor who is currently under investigation by CONAC. 

Doesn’t he know that his political rivals live close to his nostrils and will blow in sabotage – a widely used political tactic? Why should a Communications Officer go that far? How do we keep the publics’ eyes away from our organizational secrets?Every organization has an internal strategy or policy known only to the employees. The current management team of the Buea council does not understand just that.

HAWK (EPERVIER) TOO IS WATCHING THE MAYOR!

Last week, Ekema saw his shadow collapse in front of his very eyes. Authentic photos of him posing with a nude lady circulated on the social media. I emphasize that the photo is authentic after testing rigorous theories to disprove it. If my UB Science background was right, then the “theory of reflection and refraction” did not reject the hypothesis for which it was true. 

I early stated that theory in several posts: “The incidence ray, the refractive ray, and at the point to the normal, all lie on the same plane.” I also have proven skills in photography, video, audio and photo editing. Clearly, I could not see any crop or “photoshop” done to sabotage Ekema. 

How then can someone dare to reject the authenticity of the photo? I will not delve much into explaining how the social media works in favor of social change. Neither will I will I like to belabor the point on social responsibility of the media and privacy. Normatively, the media should be socially responsible. But that does not hold in the realist world, and especially in this case.Who make up the media and who make the news? The audience make up the media and the audience make the news. It is imperative that social responsibility starts with our personal examples. Posing nude in a digital device for digital age – what Biya calls “Android generation” is a self-defeating strategy.


 We must understand that. When it leaks to the public , it bleeds. And where it leads, it bleeds. So where did the Communications Unit fail? This morning, (February 15 2016) I hear rumors that Ekema is threatening to jail social media users for circulating the photo. Not only is he promising five years for “defaulters,” but he is claiming to be the judge. Good!!! That is how lawless Cameroon has become. 

BUEA DESERVES WELL STRUCTURED MARKETS 

A man who finds himself in a pit should stop digging. The social media users should also jail him for five years for letting their eyes see nudity and indecency in a country where more than 80 percent of citizens are Christians and seek to maintain their Christian values. 

That is what the Newton’s law sates: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” If this is true, as I read on a comment on this forum today, then it goes a long way to substantiate my claim that Ekema is NOT well managed by his communications team.

I expected that the Communications Unit should have quickly touched based with media experts and journalists, to at least issue a statement that could spin around the game in his favor. Crippling rumors is the nightmare of any communications team. However,staying quiet on these only help to fan the flames. It is not too late for the communications team to work with the media. 

They should place priority on social media activists as their primary target. It will be foolhardy for them to target the traditional print media to work for their image cleansing. In an “Android generation” you cannot win a fight by threating to jail users. IMPOSSIBLE. Where are the spin doctors? Ekema get the right experts for your office and give them a listening ear.

*Media Critic and Political Analyst