Supporters of the opposition Social Democratic Front, SDF party left Bamenda the regional capital of the North West last Sunday October 14, 2012 after three days of an ordinary National Convention hopeful that the party will be much stronger than before.

Such expectations would have been guided by the reorganisation of the various organs of the party that started from the wards up to the National level with the aim of injecting fresh blood or empowering already existing officials to deliver.
In 22 years of the existence the party’s fortunes have kept dropping creating the fear that the SDF may run out of touch with its political base or may be reduced to a regional political party. Yet, no one can deny the fact that no other political formation has been capable of challenging the position of the SDF as the first opposition party in the country. Notwithstanding that strong hold on the second place within the political landscape in Cameroon, there have been clear indications that the party was never created only to remain secondary.
However, the reality is that the SDF has been unable to either understand the political stakes at certain crucial moments in the political life of the nation, or garner the required forces and resources to pose as a real challenger to the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM). Thus, instead of gaining in experience and influence as the years go by, the party has continued to witness a drop in the number of parliamentarians, municipal councils and percentage score by their candidate at the Presidential elections.
The question may not be whether the new mandate given to the national chairman of the party, Ni John Fru Ndi and the others will mean any significant change for positive outcome within the SDF party? The much heralded single ballot paper appeared to be one of the major innovations of the Convention. Chairman, Ni John Fru Ndi has said the strategies for the way forward will have to be drawn up in the days ahead. Be it for reasons of political expediency or caution, the SDF may need to come clear as to measures that would enable the party to play a more vibrant role in shaping the running of affairs in Cameroon.
The party has been wrongly or rightly accused in the past of taking stands that were in contrast with the avowed ambitions of the party. But die- heart supporters of the SDF have remained sanguine that they are on the right track. In the long run, the issue may not only be a matter of the hide-and-seek game between the CPDM and the SDF parties on who has initiated this or that political reform in the country. Cameroonians, who can, through their votes, determine the weight of any political formation must have to take into consideration all those who want to remain at the centre of decision-making in the country.
Of course, it may not be the place of this write up to doubt or question whether those who have steadfastly remained loyal to the SDF for the past 22 years know their role so well or have been doing the right thing for the party. The real issue will certainly be how far the SDF continues to serve as strong political force within the national triangle. That prominence will undoubtedly depend on the strategies that leaders of the party will put in place to keep it afloat to either win back its past glory or even go beyond.