Adamou Ndam Njoya

Adamou Ndam Njoya (born 8 May 1942 [http://www.spm.gov.cm/showgouv.php?module=showindividu&lang=fr&pers=126 "Biographie de M. Adamou Ndam Njoya" 1980] ] [http://www.presidentielle2004.gov.cm/candidats.php?id_cand=13&module=bio&lang=en "Candidate's biography: Adamou Ndam Njoya" 2004] .] ) is a Cameroons lawyer, author, professor, politician, and former presidential candidate.

Education

Ndam Njoya was born at Njika, Foumban, West Province, Cameroon, on 8 May 1942, He received his early education at Foumban and Nkongsamba and his undergraduate at General Leclerc College in Yaoundé. He went to France for his advanced education, receiving a MA and a Ph.D in public international law and political science at the . Ndam Njoya studied diplomacy at the Institut International d'Administration Publique (IIAP), followed by three internships, with the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the French Embassy in London, and with International Organizations at the United Nations European office in Geneva, before returning to Cameroon in 1969.

Government service

Ndam Njoya was briefly Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1969 to 1970. He joined the law faculty at the University of Yaoundé in 1970 (a post he still retainsFact|date=November 2007). Ndam Njoya then worked for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Cameroon as director of the diplomatic training program from 1970 to 1972, during which time he helped create and was then the first director of the International Relations Institute of Cameroon (IRIC), serving from 1972 to 1975. [http://www.cameroon-info.net/cmi_show_news.php?id=15170 "L’heure de Ndam Njoya"] , "Le Messager" (Cameroon-info.net), September 16, 2004 fr icon.] He became a member of the Economic and Social Council of Cameroon in 1974, and he was then appointed Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government named on June 30 1975.

On December 7 1977, Ndam Njoya was appointed Vice-Minister of National Education; he was subsequently promoted to the position of Minister of National Education on May 2 1978. His attempts to introduce stringency and morality into the educational system met with resistance, especially from the wealthy Francophone families who were used to financial incentives determining the success of their children at primary and post-primary institutions. In July 1980, under such pressure, President Ahmadou Ahidjo removed him as Minister of National Education and assigned him the post of Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of General Inspection of State and Administrative Reforms, a relatively powerless post. ["Cabinet Reshuffle in Cameroon" "Radio Yaounde: BBC Summary of World Broadcasts" (19 July 1980) British Broadcasting Corporation.] In January 1982, Ahidjo dismissed him from the government. [Xavier Deutchoua, [http://www.cameroun21.com/fr/news.php?nid=3477 "Njoya : Un serpent pour deux."] , "Mutations" (cameroun21.com), July 28, 2003 fr icon.]

Writer

From 1982 to 1990 Ndam Njoya focused on his writing and teaching as well as donating his time to philanthropic endeavors. He has written in the fields of law, political science, history, international relations and political ideas, as well as theatrical pieces, poems, and fiction. [DeLancey, Mark W. and Mokeba, H. Mbella (1990) "Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Cameroon" (2nd ed.) Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, N.J., ISBN 0-585-07032-6 ; ] He also served as a member of the Executive Bureau of UNESCO from 1985 to 1989.

elected works

* Ndam Njoya, Adamou (1975) "Prières et chants de louanges à Dieu" Ndam et Raynier, Yaoundé, Cameroon;
* Ndam Njoya, Adamou (1976) "Le Cameroun dans les relations internationales" Librairie générale de droit et de jurisprudence, Paris, ISBN 2-275-01397-0 ;
* Ndam Njoya, Adamou (1977) "Njoya : réformateur du royaume Bamoun" N.E.A. (Nouvelles éditions africaines), Abidjan, Ivory Coast, ISBN 2-85809-101-3 ;
* Ndam Njoya, Adamou (1982) "Les Amo : recueil de poèmes" Ndam et Raynier, Yaounde;
* Ndam Njoya, Adamou (1983) "Manuel pratique de rédaction administrative et des documents diplomatiques" Editions SOPECAM, Yaoundé, Cameroon;

Politician

In December 1990, President Paul Biya again permitted opposition political parties in Cameroon, and Ndam Njoya started gathering together reformist minded politicians. In July 1991, he was briefly arrested along with other opposition politicians, but was quickly released. ["Cameroon opposition leaders reportedly detained" "Africa No. 1: BBC Summary of World Broadcasts" (9 July 1991) British Broadcasting Corporation;] In September 1991, he announced the formation of the Cameroon Democratic Union ("Union Démocratique du Cameroun", UDC) political party. In his party statements Ndam Njoya has stressed decentralisation of government and respect for the rights of minorities. ["Cameroon Democratic Union officially launched" "Radio Cameroon: BBC Summary of World Broadcasts" (13 September 1991) British Broadcasting Corporation;]

Ndam Njoya was the UDC candidate in the country's first multiparty presidential election, held in October 1992, taking fourth place with 3.6% of the vote. He was elected Mayor of Foumban in the January 1996 municipal election and was additionally elected to the National Assembly in the 1997 parliamentary election as a UDC deputy from Noun.

In the presidential election held on 11 October 2004, all of the opposition parties agreed to support a single candidate against Biya. After Ndam Njoya was chosen by the coalition caucus, John Fru Ndi pulled the Social Democratic Front out of the coalition, and ran separately. [ [http://www.cdd.org.uk/resources/elections/Briefing_cam2004_Elections.htm "CDD Election Brief: Cameroon Presidential Election Briefing" Centre for Democracy and Development 2004] ;] As a result Ndam Njoya representing a coalition of political parties, officially received only 4.48% of the vote, [http://www.presidentielle2004.gov.cm/resca.php?cand=13&lang=en 2004 results page for Njoya] .] coming in third behind the Social Democratic Front candidate John Fru Ndi at 17.4%. President Biya received 70.9 %. As has become standard in Cameroon elections "massive fraud" was alleged. ["Cameroon's Supreme Court confirms Biya's re-election" "Agence France Presse" (25 October 2004)] Njoya received his best score in West Province, where he won 16.71% of the vote.

Since 2004, Ndam Njoya has remained chairman of the Cameroon Democratic Union, speaking out against corruption in government and continuing to work for decentralisation. ["Dr. Adamou Ndam Njoya : "Cameroon Still Needs Change"" "Cameroon Tribune" (17 March 2005)] ["CDU President Speaks Out" "Cameroon Tribune" (9 March 2006)]

After serving two terms in the National Assembly, Ndam Njoya chose not to run again for a seat in the July 2007 election. He did, however, run again for his position as Mayor of Foumban, [Badjang ba Nken, [http://www.cameroon-info.net/cmi_show_news.php?id=19650 "Elections 2007: Ces ministres qui se jettent à l’eau"] , "Cameroon Tribune" (Cameroon-info.net), June 28, 2007 fr icon.] and was re-elected, defeating Njankouo Lamere, the Deputy Minister for Finance. [Jackson Njiké, [http://www.cameroon-info.net/cmi_show_news.php?id=19935 "Légitimité: Ces ministres qui se sont frottés aux urnes"] , "Repères" (Cameroon-info.net), July 25, 2007 fr icon.]

Personal life

He is currently married with five children.

References