President-elect, Paul Biya’s message to the nation on Tuesday October 25, 2011 was a logical conclusion to a process that started without many perceiving a reality that was curiously within their reach.

Moving from five volumes of “The People’s Call” that carried messages from Cameroonians of all walks of life calling on him to present his candidature for the office of President, to the campaign slogan selling him as “The People’s Choice,” it became clear that Mr Biya remained convinced that he needed the entire nation to move on. Also, his campaign web site opened with the catch phrase, “Cameroon on the Move.”

Now that the election has finally given him the victory he desired, the President-elect has not lost sight of the fact that the people must be at the centre of whatever plans that he has in mind for the nation. Consequently, his address to the nation sounded logical when he told the population that: “Together, we will translate the Major Accomplishments into Great Success Stories.” By inviting “Cameroonians from all regions, of all religious, language and social backgrounds, from all walks of life and of all generations” to join him in the huge task of nation-building that would transform the country into an emerging economy by 2035, the President-elect definitely knows that once the electoral period is over, what matters is the binding force of nationhood, no matter the differences of opinion that might have separated the people during electoral campaigns.

Effectively, the task is enormous with the country having pressing needs in infrastructure, energy, water and electricity. The mega projects which he announced as from next year would hardly take off if every Cameroonian does not feel concerned by contributing their own quota, instead of nursing selfish ambitions through corruption and mismanagement.

Luckily, the votes cast during the October 9 presidential poll indicate that the people actually want to build Cameroon with Mr Biya. Apart from his political stronghold such as the South and Northern regions of the country, the Littoral and South West that had opposition candidates who considered the regions as their stronghold instead witnessed an increase in the number of votes in favour of Mr Biya. Even the North West Region that is home to the leading opposition figure in the country, saw an increase in the President-elect’s score from 30.01 per cent in the October 11, 2004 presidential election to 42.60 per cent this time. In fact, all seven divisions in the region witnessed an improvement in their votes cast for Mr Biya; thanks to mobilisation from the local elite and projects initiated in the region by the President-elect. For instance, Ngoketunjia gave 56.87 percent as against 35.94 per cent in 2004, Menchum 51.49 per cent against 30.00 percent in 2004, Donga Mantung gave a relative majority of 49 per cent against 38.84 percent in 2004. Bui Division that also recorded the highest number of votes for President –elect, Paul Biya in the North West in the October 9 poll with 38,140 votes with 48.77 per cent, gave him 37.37 per cent in the 2004 election. The Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) candidate, Paul Biya, had 41.14 percent of the votes cast in Boyo Division against 27.07 per cent in 2004, 39.45 per cent in Momo against 27.95 per cent in 2004 and 28.427 per cent in Mezam against 21.88 per cent in the 2004 presidential poll.

Such a general acceptance of the manifesto of Mr Biya during the last Presidential election not only confirms the people’s calls and choice, but easily demonstrates that he has reason to be a rallying leader for a better Cameroon. After voting therefore, the people have no other choice than join the President-elect in building a strong and prosperous Cameroon.