As 2025 approaches, Cameroonians are worried about their future. Cameroonians are going through tough times, especially as cost of living is rising at the speed of lightning while salaries have remained the same for decades.

Cameroonians would have loved to see a change in their lives but there is no such thing in the offing. Life will continue to be challenging for a long time except the government employs different policy options to trigger meaningful economic change.

But this does not seem to be possible as the ruling party (CPDM) and the government is more focused on winning the next presidential election than engineering new economic strategies which might trigger prosperity across the country.

As the government keeps maneuvering to stay in power, Cameroonians are also scheming on how to push the country’s long-serving president, Paul Biya, out of power through democratic means and this has resulted in calls for young Cameroonians to go get registered for the next presidential election.

Young Cameroonians have been heading to the various registration centers and it is clear that they want their voices to be heard. The Senegalese example where a 44-year-old man was voted into office has given young Cameroonians renewed hope.

Cameroonians are peace-loving people and they hold that genuine democratic change will help them consolidate the peace in their country. They really want change but not violent change as violent change might only make things worse.

Speaking to Yannich, a 25-year-old unemployed Douala resident, it could be seen that he was full of hope and Yannich’s feelings seem to tie in well with those of other young men, most of whom are unemployed, that Cameroon needs change, especially at the top of the government.

“We need change in our country. As you can see, our country has been ruled for over 40 years by the same people and I think after such a long period in power, it is hard to be innovative,” he said.

He added that “though we are hungry for change, I would like to urge Cameroonians to seek peaceful change through the ballot boxes. We must act responsibly in order not to destroy our country.”

“Our current president is over 90 and it is obvious that he will not be standing for reelection. We need a much younger president to take the country in an entirely new direction. The current crop of politicians has done its best. The next leaders will have to build on the foundation Mr. Biya and his collaborators have built,” he added.

“Allow me  to use this medium to urge Cameroonians to go get registered for the 2025 Presidential Election. Next year’s election may change the country’s fortune as a new leader might bring in a different perspective and he might take the country down a new path. I am looking forward to 2025. I am hopeful and I think we should vote to change the destiny of our country,” he concluded.

By Alain A. Ebot

The succession crisis at the heart of Cameroon is clearly deeper than that in the heart of the regime’s leader President Paul Biya.

Cameroon Intelligence Report has been reliably informed that Swiss doctors implanted a pacemaker in the heart of president Biya during his last trip to Geneva.

Our source added that the crisis at the heart of the Francophone dominated regime is deeper than the crisis in the heart of its head of state.

The ruling CPDM crime syndicate is 42 years old and many in both French and English speaking Cameroon think that now is the best time to evaluate the success or failure of President Biya and his acolytes in managing state affairs.

According to several indicators compiled by our London Bureau Chief Isong Asu, the situation of the 42 year old Biya government in terms of responsiveness indicates the worst scenario compared to other CEMAC states like Gabon and Congo Brazzaville.

The Biya regime has the worst record in the regulation and quality of legislation, especially for the economy. Immediately after he took office from the late Ahmadou Ahidjo economic crises became more pronounced.

For 42 years, Biya has based his policies on false therapeutic promises that are now being ridiculed by many including legendary Cameroonian musician Richard Bona.

For 42 years, people’s livelihoods have been severely affected by the crises created and exacerbated by the Biya government. Cameroonians have protested against the incompetence of the ruling government until many recently turned to prayers calling for some sought of divine intervention.

“The Biya administration is an extreme one, and needs someone from inside to take it down as quickly as possible,” said Rita Akana, our Yaoundé City Reporter.

“Our Beti, Bulu and Ewondo communities all share a responsibility to stop the deep division, polarization and rift among the Cameroonian people,” a senior CPDM official said during a televised debate on Equinox TV.

Dr Joachim Arrey of the Global Think Tank for Africa in a conversation with this reporter advocated for a judicial overhaul of the electoral code. Dr Arrey observed that only “ELECAM has the prerogative of publishing election results and only ELECAM-published results will be acceptable. It should also be pointed out that in the event of any election disputes; only the Constitutional Council has the right to address such issues. Once more, it is the President’s constitutional right to appoint the president and members of the Constitutional Council. Except Mr. Biya and his people completely lose their minds, there will never be any accident in this regard.”

“The country’s political opposition will never win an election if the current political dispensation is not reformed to reduce the ruling party’s grip on the country” Dr Arrey Furthered.

In addition to economic problems and crises, the human rights situation in Cameroon has turned into a disaster. The government’s execution machine and repression are never silent.  Biya is currently sacrificing his Beti Bulu political elites to save himself from internal crises.

The eruption of war in Southern Cameroons remains part of the destructive policies adopted by Biya and his government. Biya and his gang fantastically believed that igniting this war would bring them significant benefits. The outcome of the current war in Southern Cameroons increasingly demonstrates the strategic failure of the regime.

There are many parameters that the regime cannot overcome the numerous crises in Cameroon.  They include the government’s empty coffers and massive printing of banknotes that have severely depreciated the FCFA currency and also led to inflation and staggering price hikes.

Observing the current goings-on in the government, Biya’s deteriorating health and widespread and systematic corruption, it is evidently clear that the situation in Yaoundé is more critical for the dictator.

Biya, his family members and his CPDM criminals must now prepare themselves to deal with very challenging conditions. Can they navigate these crises with the current situation? The realities show that Biya has reached the final phase, from which it is impossible to escape this whirlpool.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman and Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord Group

Members of Cameroon’s opposition parties are encouraging citizens to learn from Senegal, where a 44-year-old politician was elected last week as the youngest leader on the African continent. They say it’s time for change in Cameroon, where President Paul Biya, now in his 90s, has ruled for more than four decades and is preparing to run for re-election.

Nothing has generated debates on the streets, in offices, within political parties and in Cameroon’s media organs so much as Senegal’s March 24 elections.

Participants in a debate program aired by Equinox Television said civilians in central African countries, especially Cameroon, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, the Central African Republic, Congo and Gabon should emulate the example from Senegal and democratically oust leaders who keep a tight grip on power and rule with an iron fist.

Njamnsi Theodore is a 35-year-old teacher who hopes Cameroonians will get inspired by what just happened in Senegal.

“The results of the presidential election in Senegal and the entire process sends a very clear message to Cameroonians especially the youths,” he said. “Register and vote. If you don’t register, you wouldn’t vote and if you don’t vote you wouldn’t have that chance of getting the leaders that you really want, so register, that is the clear message, that is the lesson we get from the Senegalese situation.”

Opposition candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye is now Senegal’s president-elect after winning a first-round victory fueled largely by young voters.

In Cameroon, opposition and civil society groups say voter apathy is high because elections are always marred by fraud.

Ninety-one-year-old President Paul Biya has won all presidential elections since the return of multiparty politics in Cameroon in 1990 and is preparing to run again next year.

The opposition says Senegal’s election shows it is possible to stop leaders from clinging to power. Senegal’s President Macky Sall attempted to postpone this year’s election but backed down after widespread protests.

Mbang Boniface is a member of Cameroon’s Renaissance Movement Party. He says youth can remove Biya from power if they register as voters, choose their candidate, vote and defend their votes if necessary after the polls.

He says Senegal’s youths massively voted for Bassirou Diomaye Faye because they believe only young people can effect changes needed on a continent where leaders are generally old and out of touch with the views and aspirations of the population.

“Of course, Senegal is sending a very strong message to Cameroon,” he said. “The Senegalese president is 44 years [old], meaning he is young and able to understand the problems of the youth. Here in Cameroon, we have a president who is 91 years. He started ruling when Faye was just born. Faye is able to understand the problems of the youths unlike here in Cameroon, where the youths will have to sort their problems by themselves.”

But Samson Websi, political analyst at Cameroon’s National Institute of Management and Technology says it will be difficult to oust Biya in an election.

He says unlike in Senegal where government institutions are independent, Biya has loyalists planted throughout the government.

“Senegal stands out as an example to what happens in Cameroon, where democracy is suffering from military involvement in politics,” he said. “Parliament in Cameroon is virtually at the beck and call of the executive. The judiciary in Cameroon is not independent. The president of the republic [Biya] is the head of the judiciary. He is the one who guarantees the independence of the judiciary, which means that democracy is in trouble.”

Cameroon’s government insists that its institutions are independent, while Biya’s Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement Party say the president has fairly won all elections.

They say Biya enables young people to participate in decision-making through bodies such as Cameroon’s National Youth Council. However, the opposition says Biya appoints only youths loyal to him to head the council.

Cameroon’s presidential elections are set for next year. President Biya will set the date.

Source: VOA