UNDERSTANDING DR NICK NGWANYAM
CANDIDATE FOR SENATOR 

Contacts: St Louis Higher Institute of Health
P.O Box; 661 Bamenda
North West Region, CAMEROON
www.saintlouisgroup.org, copyobama@yahoo.co.uk, stlouisclinicbamenda@yahoo.co.uk,
Tel 237 7776 46 74

INTERVIEWED by: Eugene N. Nforngwa, Publisher, the Quail, Yaounde, Friday 13 Feb 09

Questions:
1) The decision to run?
2)How are your friends and family taking this decision?
3)Political Experience?
4)How do you plan to convince the electorate to vote you?
5)You are running on the CPDM platform. For how long have you been militating in the party?
6)Political belief?
7) Background?

Theme 1: The decision to run?

You recently announced you would be running for Senate. Tell me; what wouldcharm a medical doctor, with an admirable career, into politics?
There is an expression in Pigin English which says; ‘IF YOU NO PLAY POLITICS, POLITICS ‘goh’ PLAY YOU!” This statement means that if you do not pay attention to the policies and people that govern you, you will pay a very high price for it. Someone is going to lead you into a direction you do not want an there would be nothing you can do about it. You can complain all day and pray all night about it and nothing will change until you take your own destiny into your hands. When you come to that point in your life, you know you have to wake up and change gears.  You know what is important and what is not. The concept of opportunity cost would be very helpful for those who understand this principle.
I am going to the power house from where our lives are run. If I don’t I will be ruled by people who will give me gastritis and high blood pressure. I must defend the widow and the orphan. I must bring to the fore front, the problems and difficulties of the youth. I must stimulate development and bring GOD into our national life!
How did you reach the decision to run for Senate? Was it something you have been mulling over or it came in a snap?
I never was really thinking of becoming a SENATOR. I have been doing things in the background and trying to see how I can help especially the youths in our country. I did say many times that I will create 50,000 jobs for youths and this is NO JOKE. It shall be done. We shall have to talk about this in detail so that Cameroonians can understand what we need to do together to let it happen. It is a joint effort.
 I have been traveling to America, China, Germany and Dubai to see how we can develop our cottage industries and this has enlightened me a lot. We just have to get up from sleep and do the right things and we shall be out of poverty in five years! Look at Ghana and you will understand what I mean. It takes the right people, the right mind set and a good attitude and we shall be like DUBAI.
As I was thinking of my strategies, the ‘OBAMA” fever griped the world. We started to watch him climb from down there to the top spot. The right question any normal person and AFRICANS IN PARTICULAR would have been asking is ‘WHAT CAN I LEARN FROM SENATOR then PRESIDENT OBAMA?”
Africans have a habit of begging. We have been so used to hand outs from Europe and America to the extend, that we have not developed our own potentials to PRODUCE WEALTH. Most developing nations have in mind that PRESIDENT OBAMA will start dishing out the American tax payer’s money to pay for our own laziness, foolishness and corruption. In fact, when we are given the help, we squander it. That is why the Japanese Government builds schools and hands over the keys to us. . If they give us the money, we will not build what they want. Even looking after the schools we have been given is a problem.
No, it is not that way! Dinner is over! The manner in the desert is gone! We must wake up and solve our own problems. When you go through the desert, there is manner. When you get to Canaan; ‘The Promised Land’; manner stops flowing and you MUST TILL the earth, milk the cows and hunt for honey in bee hives. You will get stung by the bees before you eat. This is the lesson Cameroonians and other Africans need to learn very QUICKLY. The sooner we learn and apply the knowledge the better for us. However, we could borrow a page from President Obama. He has taught the whole world a big lesson and we just have to walk in his footsteps and we shall be OK.
I just knew that we had to believe in ourselves and work. Again as I said sometime before, that decision to become a SENATOR came on the 6th of December 2008. I was in Douala on my way for one of my many business trips to Chicago. I stopped by to greet H.E. Christian Cardinal Tumi. As I was leaving I just asked him a simple question. An after thought kind of a question that would change my life! The answer to that question turned my thinking around and it is going to change CAMEROON as well.
The question was: ‘What can we, as Africans, learn from President OBAMA which will help us?’
This is his answer: “HE WAS ABLE TO GET TO THE TOP BECAUSE HE WAS ON A PLAT FORM.”  I wanted to know if change could not be brought through the hard working business community and the civil society. His answer shocked me. “NO!!!!” The platform is the answer. Christians are the light and salt of the earth. They MUST join in politics and bring Christian light to those dark places. They MUST see to it that good policies are put in place and that they are implemented! This is the answer to Cameroonian and African problems! GOD MUST BE EFFECTIVELY PRESENT IN THE CENTRE OF OUR PUBLIC BUSINESS.
That day and moment, I decided that I will become a SENATOR ON THE CPDM TICKET so as to bring GOD into decision making, sow seeds of love in high places, knock out the animosity between the CPDM and SDF, cater for the needs and aspirations of the youth GOD BEING MY HELPER. There is no place under this sun that is too dark for the light of GOD!  The time was 11:30 Am. What good is it to be praying in church every day for corruption to end, for good leadership and good governance when you are not willing to help in the process? True Christians and true Muslims can change this country for the better in less than two years if they choose to.

Theme 2: How are your friends and family taking this decision?

Most people are very happy. When I took that decision, I called Mr. Ngufor Peter of Farmer’s House to tell him about it. I also told my CPDM Sub Section President Mr. Paul Bantar and a couple of friends. The idea was to speak out the word so that I will not chicken out in the face of opposition.
This decision is causing problems amongst some CPDM members who do not like competition and competence. I can understand their feelings. Each time you switch on the light in the kitchen cockroaches take off!  It is also causing a lot of head aches in the SDF camp. Some of their militants and sympathizers are thankful that I have decided to create this ‘middle of the road position’ which hopefully shall help the REGION as well as the nation to move ahead. Most people think that if you are of North West origin, you should just OPPOSE! We should be building bridges, and working as one people to bring development, create jobs and secure our future by generating wealth.

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Theme 3: Political Experience?

You are a renowned physician. But I seriously doubt you have a similar clout in politics. What makes you think that you can succeed, coming from no where?
Yes, I am a surgeon. I used to remove the diseases and cancer from the patients. I will use the same skills to cure the cancer of the community. I am part and parcel of the community. I pay taxes and I vote and can also be voted into office. It is my right and civic responsibility.
 Can you tell me from which professions and educational backgrounds politicians are chosen? Besides, you need to remember that when we go to school, we end up in a box like doctor, engineer, lawyer, teacher etc. However, we are NOT supposed to function in a box with that kind of a box mentality. God did not give us limited potentials and abilities.
You think if I were not a doctor, I would not have done something else to feed my family? I used to be a photographer while in secondary school and university and I had a lot of money. I had a transport business running buses from Yaounde to Bamenda in 1985. I sold firewood as a kid. Box mentality, is what is killing Cameroon. Let me tell you that I am a very good entrepreneur! We have problems with civil servants who fear to go on retirement because of their civil service mentality which makes them prisoners.
Do you by any chance, know a school I need to go to become an astute politician? I will be the first candidate on the list. LIFE is that school and I have been at it for 52 years. When you combine this with God’s Principles, nothing can beat you at it. You doubt my capacity and capability at politics and getting right things done? Watch me. Give me time. When you stand even alone with God on your side, you are the MAJORITY!

Theme 4: How do you plan to convince the electorate to vote you?

I do not have to convince people. I do not have to pay people. I do not have to give them drinks, rice and meat. Cameroonians have a problem that needs a solution. They have suffered for long and they are mature enough to recognize the answer when they see one. I am here to participate in solving the problem. Cameroonians need to look at my track record of achievements and what I have done with the two talents God gave me. Cameroonians will lift me up because they know I will pull them along with me.
In fact, we should stop voting people into office who try to pay us to vote with our stomachs and not our heads. Hungry people who jump into politics as a means of survival have been the cause of our headaches. They are deceitful and cannot be trusted because they lack character. I will educate the electorate on this and they will vote for a future they can count on. I have stood for human rights for a very long time. You might remember my story from Bertoua.
I have built a clinic in Bamenda, opened a HIGHER INSTITUTE of Health. I had the opportunity to go back to Britain or go to settle in the USA in 1993 and I choose to stay and work with my people and for my country Cameroon. Nothing is better than HOME. We have all the best opportunities in Cameroon. God did not make a mistake by putting you and I in this triangle. We are our own problems!
If you took every body from America and brought them to Africa, then you removed all Africans and take them to America; What do you think will happen after FIVE YEARS? Every one will start running back to Africa! Why? Look at our toilets at the airports and you will understand why! It does not matter how ‘hot’ it might be, home is home. Fix the mess. Going through the heat is what has polished me and I have been matured into leadership today.
I have given MANY SCHOLARSHIPS to students from Donga Mantung, Furu Awa, Essimbi, Akwaya, Momo , Mbetta and some muslim girls from the North. These scholarships are yearly and will run for ten years. I have created two new companies: Saint Mary Medical Equipment which shall buy and sell medical equipment and laboratory reagents AT LOW COST and even on credit to reduce the cost of health care in Cameroon. There will be a shop in Douala, Yaounde, Garoua and Bamenda.
We have another company called CIDEC ( Cameroon Industrial and Development corporation: This out fit is supposed to bring in different kinds of technologies from abroad to help us create cottage industries, jobs, wealth etc. I will start by building houses that are low cost and do not burn. We can build university residences, markets, schools hospitals and residential homes that do not BURN. That is the track record on which I will be voted. The bible says:  ‘From their fruits ye shall know them!’
In 2003/2004, I was attacked at my home by armed robbers. The gendarmerie and the police showed up and helped me out. I bought a used land rover from Mr. Longla of Mondial Hotel Bamenda and offered it to the gendarmes in UP Station Bamenda.
Two years ago, there was the BALI – BAWOCK village skirmishes in which the Bawocks were chased out of their homes and their houses were burned down. Many of them ran to Bamenda and had health problems like high blood pressure, diabetes, wounds, stress and some were pregnant. St Louis clinic treated them at no charge to the tune of 2 million frs CFA. (This offer was given under the umbrella of ST LOUIS TEMPLAR HEALTH FOUNDATION which is a charity under the St Louis Group Inc). 
Recently, we got a small donation from our friends in Belgium ( Mr. Leo Thys). He sent us money to partly cover for the unpaid bills that some patients leave at the clinic. We are using this money to build a new house for some orphan children adjacent Texaco Nkwen. We also have some concerned Christians who are helping us with this house.
You can check the records of unpaid bills at St Louis Clinic. It is huge. Then of course there are patients who are sick and cannot pay. We treat them for free under an expenditure line called CHARITY. There are also people who just show up with different problems that need financial support and many do get a token from us. We have a counseling unit which has been doing a lot of good.

I want an opportunity from Cameroonians to do more for them.

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Theme 5: You are running on the CPDM platform. For how long have you been militating in the party?

I know older men who have been militating in the CPDM for 25 years and it would be nice for them to show us their achievements. Time spent in a spot doing nothing is not in its self a measure of success. That is why, we should give people who work in government and corporations medals based on output and results not longevity of service! Most people spend a life time in a spot helping neither themselves nor the community. There is nothing as irritating as old men who tell lies, cheat and practice witchcraft for by doing so, they do not teach the younger generation moral values on which they can grow. Today, the issue is about who can deliver. Management is results oriented. Have you tried using dead wet wood? It has been around for long!
What in the way the CPDM does politics has influenced your decision to run?
We have only two big political parties in Cameroon: CPDM and the SDF. There are two or three other power brokers who tip the scales at will based on head or stomach concerns at each critical point in the life of the nation. The CPDM is currently in power and is calling the shots. I have to stick to the person who has the yam and the knife and see if I can help him share the cake better. While waiting for the SDF to take away the yam, we have to work with some wisdom. If the SDF had joined the government in 1992, they would have learned the art of good governance and probably we would have been better off now. As I see it, managing parliamentarians, mayors and counselors only in the North West Region is problematic. There is a lot of home work in both camps and it is a question of choosing between two devils. We all have problems even in our various homes. Management is an art that we all have to learn even as family heads etc. It is not just a government affair. How many men beat up their wives, use the family income to drink and party with other women? This is bad governance at home.
What kind of support do you have from within the party, at least, at the level of the North West Region?
 My fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters are very thankful that I have come to join them to help carry the torch and fight for development and jobs. I am also very happy with them for this positive response. Some of the narrow minded militants who are looking forward to a ‘job’ in politics see this as their bread taking off!

Theme 6: Political belief?

If you are voted what kind of policy changes will you make a priority?
There are many issues that have to be dealt with. We do not have BAD LAWS as such in Cameroon. We have BAD FAITH or altered mind sets which do not function as God created them. What is lacking is GOD’s light in what we think, do and say. This is the fundamental handicap in Cameroon. We have to revive the conscience of the government and the governed. We are all at fault.
Access to healthcare remains a big challenge for many Cameroonians. What kind of health policy would you recommend for Cameroon?
As a medical doctor, I have seen it all. ALL our problems are linked to our mind sets. Even if government gave medicines and health care for free, MANY CAMEROONIANS will still be dying from preventable and curable diseases because of our believe systems and mind sets. How many people still think that most diseases can only be treated by the native doctor? See them in Amour Mezam or guarantee buying native drugs and canda stick and you will understand. As long as we think that the disease is caused by our dead grand father, there still would be a very big problem. How many parents freely bring their children for vaccination even when it is free?
Excessive drinking is a health problem, bad driving on our roads and the unhealthy state of the cars and roads need to be addressed seriously and sincerely. We need to do more for those that are mentally, psychologically and physically impaired.
We have to do a lot of social engineering and education in health matters, improve on environmental hygiene, teach personal hygiene lectures, provide portable water every where. We have to teach our people that urinating on streets, putting human refuse every where is bad by also having it as an obligation to provide public toilets and keep them clean and functional. We must all have a heightened sense of respect for public property and a good sense of duty. All health personnel have to be paid better.
We have to adopt healthy life styles by reducing the DRINKING levels in the country as well as smoking. We MUST GROW enough food, keep chicken and learn to eat high quality food in sufficient amounts. We have many agric officers who can help us in this. We can convert our ARMY into a productive unit in construction works and agriculture. We can bring in agric in-puts duty free ( tractors, fertilizers, seeds, feeds, fungicides, weed killers, all chemical sprays, vaccines, heavy duty vehicles, caterpillars, industrial machines, all industrial in-puts) and sell them to farmers/entrepreneurs  on credit to increase production.
I will help to STOP the tax on the exportation of agric produce so as to push us to sell more and earn more foreign currency, By selling more, farmers will grow more and will become richer. GOOD ROADS even to the farms are a priority. This will create wealth and jobs. CAMEROON can be very rich just by selling food and other agric produce to other countries in the neighborhoods. Do you know how much we can earn as a country just by selling food to Nigeria, Gabon and Congo? We can have more money than what we get from oil and timber put together.
The incidence of HIV/AIDS is growing because of the poverty contribution and so we can only have good health if we develop a holistic approach to solving problems. A healthy people will create a healthy prosperous nation. It is true that we get some money by taxing the exports of our agric sector. We can earn a hundred fold more by stopping taxation and increasing production and taking a good bite at the foreign and local market. Look, we are importing RICE, CORN, FISH, CHICKEN. We do not have to waste our money if we can grow what we need and also sell! We should transform some of our primary produce to finished goods before exporting them. Change pineapples into pineapple juice and sell it in DUBAI.
These are some basic things that we can do which will contribute to improve on our health. I will ban the publicity of poorly tested health practices on our media and streets for they break the bridges that have been built.
I will push the government to support pharmacists in every way possible to produce our own tablets, injections and consumables in the country. They can buy the raw materials from trusted sources abroad and build up our own pharmaceutical industries. We MUST NOT buy ready made stuff if we have the capacity to produce our own. We should try to import raw materials only and sell finished products to other nations so as to get a positive balance of trade and foster our development. As long as that balance is negative, our HEALTH will be limping.
You see, health is the indicator of how well a nation is doing because it permeates all sectors of our activity. Without such a global approach, we can never have good health in Cameroon.
What is your position on recent political developments in the country: the change of constitution in 2008 and the recent naming of ELECAM members?
Time will tell. I just hope that the persons chosen will work with their heads and their consciences. I know they have been civil servants for long and have the desire to create a better Cameroon for all the youths that roam our streets. Each act of indiscipline sends scores of these youths into their early graves and locks generations of people in misery. They should act according to GOD’s Law. God’s law is the ONLY STANDARD that can be of any good to our nation. They should pray for wisdom, courage, illumination and steadfastness every day until their duty is over. Only God’s will shall be done.
The Senate is about service. What do you have to show to convince anyone that you can be trusted to represent Cameroonians?
I answered this question  very elaborately much earlier. If there are still doubting Thomas’ I will say they should wait and see.

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Theme 7: Background?

I went to primary school in Nkambe, secondary school in JMBC Ndu Tell me a bit about your educational and professional accomplishments?
and CPC BALI. I went to Medical school in CUSS Yaounde ( 1997-1983). I went for specialization to the University of Nairobi and University College London.
I have worked at Hopital Central Yaounde, Betare Oya, Fontem, Brighton General Hospital (UK) Hopital Provential Bertoua, BBH Kumbo and St Louis Clinic.
I am an entrepreneur and my greatest gift is that of CREATIVITY. I like to see things grow out of nothing. It gives me pleasure. It is part of God’s most precious gift that he has bestowed on me. I see things many people would not see and would not understand either. Sometimes it can be very painful because I see people suffering when there are a thousand solutions all around them at arms’ length. The secret is in our minds and how we think and function. God can unlock that key for you if you want to!
I have traveled a lot, gone through a lot of trials. I have learnt a lot and today I have come of age.
What in your up bring helped shape you?
Deep within me, I always was aware of that small prompting voice. I have always listened to it no matter what the odds were. It is true I have my fair share of sins but it is like some one walking on a tract and fumbling into the bush once in a while yet finding his way home all the time. Going off course into the opposite direction following the voice of the unknown shepherd has never been my way of life.
What is your philosophy of life?
All people are born equal. Some are blind so that you can be thankful to God. We are only managers in God’s garden no matter what he has called us to do.
We own nothing. Not even our own children nor ourselves. Therefore, we cannot claim to be better than any other person except in the talents God has given us (read the ‘desiderata’). We live to share these talents and to lift each other up. LOVE is the currency of exchange. With God, Faith is the only currency with which we receive from his goodness.
GIVING is the key to RECEIVING! GREED IS the number one killer.
Respecting HUMAN RIGHTS, SOCIAL JUSTICE and Standing on GOD’s WORD is what I will live and die for!