Biya Goes Back Home ⁰

For two years, Paul Biya, the consultant who rules Cameroon remotely has been stuck in Yaoundé because of the deadly Coronavirus which has a bone to pick with old people who do not want to bow out.

Mr. Biya finally left Cameroon today accompanied by his wife who was spotting her signature flaming red hair.

Mr. Biya’s office released a statement this morning announcing that the 88-year-old monarch, who has put Cameroon on auto pilot, will be spending some time somewhere in Europe.

His exact location was not released for fear that the Cameroon Diaspora that has been making his stay in Europe miserable could disrupt his stay.

But sources close to the Cameroon Diaspora in Europe have informed the Cameroon Concord News Group office in London that the notorious Brigade Anti-Sardinard (BAS) is aware of Mr. Biya’s reckless movement and has already taken necessary measures to ensure that Mr. Biya’s trip to Europe ends in confusion.

Mr. Biya who has been living in fear of death, especially when the virus attacked him, is leaving the country at a time when great leadership is required to steer the country to safer shores.

The country is currently dealing with a tough insurgency that might result in the division of the country and only great, realistic and determined leadership can bring about peace.

The English-speaking minority is determined to walk away from a hastily stitched union and if it succeeds, it will be walking away with 60% of the country’s wealth.

For now, the country is on edge. Southern Cameroonian fighters who started off with machetes now carry very sophisticated weapons which have greatly demoralized the country’s military.

The fighters have stepped up their game and pressure on the military and this has resulted in the death of some 2,000 soldiers since the war started some four years ago.

It is normal today to see explosives in the two English-speaking regions of the country and the primary victims have been the soldiers who are not only poorly trained, but poorly paid.

The Southern Cameroons crisis has already consumed more than 10,000 Cameroonians, with thousands of soldiers disabled and maimed because they do not know the terrain.

Mr. Biya’s trip to Europe will help take his mind off another issue – corruption – that has been robbing him of a good night’s sleep.

Cameroon has become a haven for corrupt officials and this is discouraging investors. The latest scandal is how the government has misused COVID-19 funds provided by the IMF for the containment of this deadly virus that has killed millions across the globe.

Despite this real threat from the virus, Cameroon government officials still place their personal interest above national interest and they have been stealing the money like rats dropped in a bag of peanuts.

Corruption has given Cameroon a bad name for more than three decades, but for years, many people have been thinking that this cankerworm will not reach certain institutions of the country like the Presidency of the Republic.

A country’s presidency is supposed to be a well respected institution and those who work there are supposed to be seen as reincarnations of decency and discipline.

But this image associated with the country’s highest institution has been slowing crumbling, especially as the country’s president, Paul Biya, and his wife, Chantal Biya who is noted for her flaming red hair, have engaged in many acts of corruption and dishonesty on many occasions.

Embezzling money is not an act of decency. Misusing taxpayers’ money cannot be considered as an act of responsibility even among lower animals. Rigging elections will never give anybody a good name and Biya has been charged with this crime on many occasions and he is guilty as charged.

If a leader sees corruption as the only means for him to sustain himself in power, then he has simply institutionalized this cancer and it will spread like wildfire.

And financial and moral cancer can affect anybody, especially when the victim lacks a will and discipline of steel and is financially insecure.

This explains why corruption has taken over the Presidency of the Republic. Poverty, especially moral poverty, can disarm even the strongest military in the world and this explains why workers at the Unity Palace have clearly lost their moral compass.

 Sometimes, financial poverty might be to blame, but in many cases, moral recklessness and indiscipline may be the drivers.

Cameroon really needs help but there is no help on the way. When the core is rotten, the body polity will slowly crumble and this is the disease that has affected many if not all the employees of the Presidency of the Republic who are using indecent and irresponsible methods to line their pockets.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai