Politics

16, July 2018

President Paul Biya’s War time election is a farce ⁰

The 86 year autocratic, dictator and ruler of la République du Cameroun in his typical Machiavelli way of doing things announced a couple of weeks ago, despite the escalating war that he declared on the people of the English speaking region in Cameroon that the presidential elections would hold on the 07 of October. Prior to this announcement, two other elections (municipal and parliamentary) that were supposed to take place this year were postponed and members of parliament and mayors had their mandate extended to 2019. Political pundits and observers have been wondering aloud if it makes any sense to organize presidential elections in a country caught up in a senseless war that has produced some 200.000 internally displaced persons with over 50.000 as refugees in Nigeria? A lot of tongues have indeed been wagging on how the Biya regime intends to stage the elections in the Southern Cameroons, where citizens are gunned down indiscriminately by Francophone soldiers and where Southern Cameroonians are not allowed to communion in groups, as the military continues to kill indiscriminately.

The robust resistance of the restoration forces, who have basically taken over authority in Anglophone Cameroon, and who enjoy the support of the communities is definitely an insurmountable challenge to the infamous electoral project. The restoration forces have vowed that no such election is going to take place in Africa’s newest state-The Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The restoration forces are in total control of the communities and have reportedly intensified ghost town operations. Attempts by the Yaoundé government and the mayor of Buea to disrupt the idea of ghost town recently led to deadly clashes with state authority ending up with a bloodied nose, and the restoration forces having the last word.

This week, the minister for defense Joseph Beti Asomo on a special mission ordered by the head of state of la Republic visited the affected regions to meet and congratulate the soldiers for their bravery and courage in killing their fellow citizens. What was thought to be a robust and security tight convoy of 30 armoured vehicles ferrying the minister and several army generals including colonels came under attack. Beti Assomo and his entourage met what has been described as the most audacious attempt by the restoration forces to make an emphatic statement to the Yaoundé regime.

One of the journalists traveling with the minister got injured in the attack. He narrated the ordeal to the world and in his statement, he compared the restoration forces to Boko Haram, and pointed out that although the Nigerian Islamic sect uses sophisticated weapons; the restoration forces were in possession of locally manufactured weaponry. He further pointed out that Ambazonian forces are more organized and intelligent than Boko Haram fighters. He said if the restoration forces had modern assault weapons, the damage on the convoy would have been unimaginable as the minister would have been captured. In the midst of this insecurity and uncertainty, and the attack on the defense minister’s convoy, it is abundantly clear that elections will not take place in the former British Southern Cameroons. The restoration forces have instructed Ambazonians not to part of the upcoming counterfeit presidential elections, which they described as provocative and illegal. How the 86 year old dictator intends to make such a precarious election to take place remains a mystery, wrapped in a puzzle inside an enigma.

By Ntam Charles Ngeh

Bonn, Germany

16, July 2018

UK minister quits over lewd messages to women ⁰

A British government minister has stepped down after being exposed for sending lewd social media messages to a number of women.

After the Sunday Mirror newspaper published details of his chats with two barmaids, Small business minister Andrew Griffiths, Tory Prime Minister Theresa May’s former chief of staff, said he felt “deeply ashamed” and had already handed in his resignation letter on Friday.

“I am deeply ashamed at my behavior which has caused untold distress to my wife and family, to whom I owe everything, and deep embarrassment to the prime minister and the government,” the disgraced MP said in a statement.

“I tendered my resignation as parliamentary under secretary of state for small business on Friday,” he added.

Barmaid Imogen Treharne, 28, told the Mirror in detail how the married minister and member of parliament, whose first child was born in April, sent her over 2,000 offensive messages in just three weeks.

“I wanted him to be a nice guy, but by the end I felt dirty. I felt like I was being used for this wealthy man’s gratification,” she was quoted as saying.

The 47-year-old minister even sent the Treharne £717 in return for some explicit pictures and videos of the things she did with the other woman at his request.

“I do not seek to excuse my behavior and will be seeking professional help to ensure it never happens again,” Griffiths said. “In time I hope to earn the forgiveness of all those who put their trust in me and that I have let down so terribly.”

The MP is pending an investigation by the ruling Conservative Party and will sit in parliament as an independent.

A spokeswoman for the ministry told AFP earlier that Griffiths had stepped down “for personal reasons.”

Source: Presstv

13, July 2018

Bribery and Corruption: African Union boss Mahamat arrives in Cameroon ⁰

The chairman of the African Union Commission, Dr Moussa Faki Mahamat, arrived in Cameroon Thursday for an official visit.

Dr Mahamat was received at the Nsimalen International Airport in Yaoundé by Cameroonian Prime Minister Philemon Yang.

The AU chief’s second visit to Cameroon comes shortly after the 31st summit of the organisation in Nouakchott, Mauritania.

Show gratitude

Dr Mahamat was in Cameroon in May last year to show gratitude to the people and President Paul Biya for supporting his bid for the continental seat.

The AU boss is expected to brief President Biya on the major resolutions of the Mauritania summit when they meet at State House on Friday.

Cameroon supports the ongoing AU reforms and was among the 44 countries that signed the continental free trade area (AfCFTA) at the end of the extraordinary AU summit in Kigali, Rwanda in March.

Dr Mahamat’s visit to Cameroon comes at a time the country was facing several challenges, including the Boko Haram threats in the Far North and the tension in the English speaking Northwest and Southwest.

Strife-hit regions

The visit could offer an opportunity for the AU to witness the reality on the ground and better appreciate government efforts at finding lasting solutions to the Cameroon uprising.

The Yaoundé regime hopes that at the end of the visit, the AU chief may galvanise the international community to support a FCFA12.7 billion Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Plan for the people of the strife-hit regions.

Cameroon hosts several specialised pan-African institutions, including the African Standby Force(ASF) Continental Logistics Base, the African Union Sports Council and the African Monetary Fund.

Source: The East African

13, July 2018

Yaounde: Biya regime accuses U.S. Ambassador of election meddling ⁰

When the American ambassador took up his post in Cameroon late last year, he stepped into an increasingly troubled nation, locked in battle against Islamist militants in one part of the country and armed separatists in another.

And then there is the matter of its leader.

Cameroon has not had a new president since Michael Jackson released “Thriller” in 1982.

Under the 36-year leadership of President Paul Biya, the nation has been accused of numerous human rights abuses, including killing unarmed protesters, torturing detainees, shutting off the internet and locking up journalists.

Last month, Washington’s ambassador, Peter Henry Barlerin, met with the 85-year-old president, who has taken initial steps to seek re-election in October. He told Mr. Biya that he “should be thinking about his legacy and how he wants to be remembered in the history books,” saying that George Washington and Nelson Mandela were excellent role models.

The remarks caused an uproar among officials in Cameroon and in the local media, which accused him of trying to influence a foreign election. The minister of foreign affairs summoned the ambassador for a scolding. Mr. Barlerin even received death threats.

The ambassador, a career diplomat, noted that his comments were made following a discussion with the president about the need to stop the violence in areas where the military is battling a bloody separatist uprising. “We do not have a preferred outcome for the election,” Mr. Barlerin said in a recent interview, emphasizing that he has stressed that to government officials. “We want a strong and stable Cameroon.”

The matter seemed to quiet down, temporarily, until late last month when Mr. Barlerin’s photo was plastered across the covers of at least three local newspapers, which accused him of paying nearly $5 million to opposition candidates in the presidential race.

Peter Barlerin, the United States ambassador to Cameroon

The United States Embassy strongly disputed the claim, releasing a statement that described the story as “entirely false.” Opposition members also denied the reports and speculated they had been planted by the president’s supporters, who know that the population would be appalled at any foreign attempt to influence elections.

“All this agitation is simply that the officials are looking for the sympathy of the people,” said Hilaire Kamga, one of the candidates running against Mr. Biya.

The controversy stirred by the American ambassador is a sign of just how deeply entrenched Cameroon’s current government is. Critics say his loyalists operate with impunity, creating nothing more than a charade of a democracy.

Cameroon has been accused of abusing human rights as it fights the militant group Boko Haram and tries to stop a secession movement being fought by an estimated 1,000 armed rebels who want to create a new, English-speaking nation they call Ambazonia. That conflict, which some analysts fear could spiral into civil war, already has claimed at least 425 lives, according to Unicef, and is spilling into new territories.

Amnesty International said on Thursday it had gathered “credible evidence” that an assault depicted in a horrifying video, showing the shooting deaths of several women and infants by men in camouflaged uniforms, appears to have been carried out by Cameroonian soldiers battling Boko Haram in the country’s Far North. Cameroon’s military and government officials called it “fake news.”

The storm caused by Mr. Barlerin’s remarks about Mr. Biya’s legacy is not the first time American diplomats have become entangled in election controversy on the continent.

In Kenya during the Obama era, Johnnie Carson, then the top American official for Africa, repeatedly warned during the 2013 presidential election that “choices have consequences.” His remarks were interpreted as taking sides against one of the candidates, Uhuru Kenyatta, who had been accused of crimes against humanity. Mr. Carson’s words seemed to backfire, energizing an electorate that voted Mr. Kenyatta into office.

President Paul Biya, 85, has led Cameroon since 1982.CreditLintao Zhang/Getty Images

Cameroon’s opposition is fractured, and, like in past elections, no candidate with a mass following has emerged. Analysts fear that many voters who most likely would cast a ballot for someone other than the incumbent probably will not be able to vote because of violence that will keep polls from opening.

Some Cameroonians are so fed up with the government that they may withhold their vote in protest, said Hans De Marie Heungoup, a Central Africa senior analyst for the International Crisis Group. Some protests could turn violent, he said, and the military has a record of firing on unarmed protesters.

Past elections won by Mr. Biya have been called flawed and full of irregularities.

Even though victory for Mr. Biya seems likely if he formally joins the race, his supporters were still miffed at what they interpreted as an attempt at a foreign government to urge him to step down.

“The American ambassador is not an enemy of Cameroon,” said Saint-Eloi Bidoung, a first deputy mayor in Yaoundé, the capital, and a member of the governing party. “But he should know that the departure of President Biya from power depends solely on the will of Cameroonians, and not from a foreign power, even the United States of America.”

Emmanuel Simh, a founding member of the opposition Movement for the Renaissance of Cameroon, called the ambassador’s remarks “normal diplomacy” and said they caused a stir only because Mr. Biya’s supporters are panicked about losing power.

For most of the past few months, Mr. Biya has been present in Cameroon, a notable fact for a president who spends considerable time in a hotel in Switzerland. An investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project found that Mr. Biya has spent a total of four and a half years abroad on private trips. During 2006 and 2009 he spent a third of his time out of the country.

Mr. Biya was absent in 2016 when a train overloaded with passengers derailed, killing dozens. And last year when protests by separatists turned violent, the president was in Switzerland.

Critics call him the President of the Hotel Intercontinental, for his preferred accommodation in Geneva.

Mr. Biya has been criticized for being absent during crises, including a deadly train derailment in 2016.CreditAgence France-Presse — Getty Images

The Corruption Reporting Project estimated that Mr. Biya has spent $182 million of public money on his private travel. Nearly half of the nation’s population lives below the poverty line.

That Mr. Biya can spend so much time abroad with few implications at home demonstrates his grasp on power.

Government officials have benefited from Mr. Biya’s long tenure. Like many nations in the region, Cameroon is a place of haves and have-nots. Outside Yaoundé, golden painted homes sit atop lush hillsides while beaten-down shacks line the roads at the bottom.

“Ministers,” locals sigh and shrug when asked who lives on the hilltops.

Any plans for a post-Biya nation are murky. If he wins the presidency again, Mr. Biya would be in his 90s by the end of his seven-year term. If he were to die in office, the Senate president would take over until an election is held two months later. But analysts question whether Mr. Biya’s powerful loyalists would stand by idly.

“The institutions there are so weak,” Mr. De Marie Heungoup said.

Unlike other countries in the region that rely on oil revenues to finance most of their budgets, Cameroon has a more diverse economy that includes agriculture and manufacturing, which allowed it to weather a drop in oil prices better than neighboring Nigeria.

Cameroon is in the middle of an unstable region. Conflicts abound in nearby Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the region’s war with Boko Haram has spilled across borders. Cameroon has welcomed tens of thousands of refugees from those conflicts and has been a key partner with foreign militaries in fighting Boko Haram.

Mr. Barlerin said his office recently had emphasized, as a precaution, to the Cameroon government that the military equipment Americans have provided for the fight against Boko Haram must not be used to fight separatists.

“It’s a wonderful country and we’ve had a lot of good cooperation from the government,” Mr. Barlerin said. “I don’t want to see it go up in smoke.”

He added: “The only thing we want is for elections to be free, fair and credible and that the will of the Cameroonian people be heard.”

Culled from The New York Times

13, July 2018

Paul Biya to contest in October polls to extend reign till 2025 ⁰

President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, has confirmed his candidacy for presidential polls slated for October 7 this year.

This will be his seventh consecutive mandate which will also extend his reign till 2025. It will, however, be the fifth universal suffrage with multiple candidates.

The octogenarian who is considered one of Africa’s longest-serving leaders made the announcement vis his social media handles on early Friday morning.

Dear Compatriots in Cameroon & the Diaspora, Aware of the challenges we must take up together to ensure a more united, stable & prosperous Cameroon, I am willing to respond positively to your overwhelming calls. I will stand as Your Candidate in the upcoming presidential election, his post read.

Paul Biya of Cameroon

Full Name/Age: Paul Biya, 85 years
Profession: Technocrat/Politician
Became President: November 1982, having served as Prime Minister since June 1975
Predecessor: Ahmadou Ahidjo
Presidential reign: 36 years. 43 years (PM and presidential era)

Source: Africa News

13, July 2018

Cameroon is facing a growing danger of economic collapse and a civil war ⁰

Cameroon is facing a growing danger of economic collapse and a civil war, provoked in large part by French government support for the 85 year President Paul Biya. This week Biya tweeted his intention to run for the October presidential elections amid worsening security situation in the country. The Biya move came after the United States ambassador Peter Barlerin sounded a note of caution to the CPDM Chairman to step aside. The Biya action has failed to win wide support in the entire nation.

In announcing his decision, Biya is responding to intensifying pressure from the Western powers particularly the US. The US Senate recently held a hearing on the crisis in Southern Cameroons which will eventually commit Washington to use its influence to block all international aid and financial assistance for Cameroon. This comes on top of sanctions already implemented by the Federal Republic of Germany.

The UK, meanwhile, has decided to maintain a kind of deliberate silence on the crisis in Ambazonia but has however up the African activities of its foreign intelligence service MI6 in the Gulf of Guinea. Britain had long established a new ministerial committee, ostensibly to give advanced warning of coup attempts and threats of civil war in sub-Saharan Africa.

The ruling CPDM crime syndicate which is mainly based in the cities of Douala, Yaounde and Maroua including some towns and villages in the Center and South regions has alienated not only Southern Cameroonians but also the Bamilekes, the Bassas and the Sawas. The widening political division between Southern Cameroons and the Biya Francophone Beti Ewondo regime and the long standing grievance of the Ahmadou Ahidjo following contains the potential for civil war.

The sharp decline in living standards, 95 percent unemployment and the increasingly repressive character of Biya’s rule provoked popular opposition deep within Southern Cameroons and created conditions for violent social conflict. Aware of the extent of social and political tensions, Biya declared war against his own people-the people of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. The 85 year old dictator has never accepted measures that would undermine his rule and as I write, his kinsmen and women in the army are moving like a train with no brakes crushing anyone on Biya’s way.

The US through the voice of its ambassador Peter Barlerin has decided that it was time to move against Biya. But the world’s strongest nation is yet to cut off funds and investment to Yaoundé and have failed to encourage the formation of an alternative political leadership that is more responsive to US and EU demands.

Biya offers no progressive response to Western demands and meddling. Instead, he is seeking to hold onto power by whipping up anger of the Francophones not only against Southern Cameroonians but also against the Bamilekes. For nearly four decades, Biya did little to make Ambazonians feel Cameroonian, resulting in an erosion of popular support in Southern Cameroons for his regime. In an attempt to reverse Biya’s decline and counter calls for an Anglophone head of state, Biya declared war on Southern Cameroons.

For the last two years, the Francophone dominated army has been patrolling Southern Cameroons towns and villages, killing innocent civilians and beating up people suspected of supporting the quest for an independent state.

By Rita Akana

12, July 2018

ELECAM says Southern Cameroons to partake in presidential polls ⁰

Cameroon’s Anglophone regions will participate in presidential polls slated for October 7, 2018. This is according to the country’s electoral organizing body, Elections Cameroon (ELECAM).

The said regions – North West and South West – have been restive for months now amid armed exchanges between government forces and secessionists under the banner of the so-called Ambazonia Republic.

The elections organizer assured that elections will take place in the regions stressing that the issue of security for all stakeholders in the process was the responsibility of the government.

ELECAM’s Assistant Director, Abdoul Karimou is quoted as saying, “Elections will hold in the North West and South West regions but ensuring security is the responsibility of the State.”

The government recently announced an October 7 date for the presidential elections. Political and security watchers have expressed worry over the worsening situation in the region and averred that peaceful polls could not hold in the affected areas.

The presidential poll is the biggest contest for a busy election year. Voters have already elected other legislative representatives earlier this year.

There were security challenges in the Anglophone regions during some of the polls. These challenges were also present during a national examination – there was heavy security presence at exam centers but some centers were burnt down by suspected separatists.

Source: Africa News

12, July 2018

Municipal elections in Cameroon latest to be postponed ⁰

Local elections in Cameroon have been pushed back a year without explanation, according to a statement read out on state radio on Wednesday.

“The mandate of municipal councillors has been extended for a period of 12 months from October 15, 2018,” said the decree signed by President Paul Biya, who has been in power for 35 years.

The elections were supposed to be held before the end of the year, in parallel with presidential and legislative elections. No reason was given for the delay.

Legislative elections were also postponed earlier this month after Biya said that holding all three votes in the same period would be “difficult” due to “overlapping electoral operations”.

One of Africa’s longest serving leaders, the 85-year-old Biya could run for yet another presidential term in an election scheduled for October.

The presidential election will take place amid ongoing Boko Haram attacks in the far north of the country and unrest in its two English-speaking regions.

Source: AFP

11, July 2018

UN applauds Ethiopia-Eritrea rapprochement ⁰

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has hailed the rapprochement between ex-foes Eritrea and Ethiopia but has not offered to review the sanctions on the former country after expressions of concern by a number of council members.

A draft UNSC statement, initially prepared by Sweden, on Tuesday “reaffirmed that efforts by the Government of Eritrea to engage with the international community enable a review of measures on Eritrea.”

The US, China, the UK, France, and the Ivory Coast, however, objected to tying the betterment of ties between the two African neighbors to a review of Eritrea sanctions and ultimately dropped that reference from the statement, according to diplomats cited by Reuters.

Ethiopia, which is a current UNSC member, announced its desire on Monday for the UN to lift its own sanctions on Eritrea. Ethiopia and Eritrea had declared an end to their state of war earlier in the day and agreed on resuming diplomatic ties, developing ports, and renewing flights between the two nations after decades of conflict.

Eritrea remains under a UN arms embargo since 2009, after UN experts monitoring sanctions against Somalia accused Eritrea of providing political, financial, and logistical support to armed militants, undermining peace and reconciliation in the largely-lawless and impoverished Somalia. Eritrea, however, has rejected the accusations.

The 15-member UNSC is due to renew its arms embargo and targeted sanctions against Eritrea in November. The body may choose, however, to adopt a resolution before then to remove the sanctions.

A council resolution would need nine votes in favor and no vetoes by permanent members, namely the US, China, Russia, Britain, and France.

The resolution also said that a border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti would be a factor in any UNSC review of the measures against Eritrea.

Both the US and China maintain military bases in Djibouti.

Source: Presstv

11, July 2018

Southern Cameroons Crisis: Presidential elections won’t cut it ⁰

For close to two years, Cameroon, a poor and corrupt Central African country has been caught up in a downward spiral as the killing in the two English-speaking regions of the country take a turn for the worse.

A strike by teachers and lawyers has turned into an armed conflict between Southern Cameroonian separatists and the Yaoundé regime that has distinguished itself through its corruption and indolence.

The mismanagement of the crisis has shocked the entire world, with many in the international community calling into question, the government’s ability to run a country that has once been the envy of its neighbors.

In the month of May, things appeared to be slowing down, but over the last week, the killing demon has reared its ugly head as the government steps up its attacks that have resulted in the killing of over a thousand civilians and some two hundred separatists.

The world is horrified by these killings and several actors are using back channels to mount enormous pressure on the country’s ailing president, Paul Biya, who is considered as the architect of Cameroon’s descent into chaos.

The chaos is still playing out in several cities in Southern Cameroons. On Monday, July 9, 2018, there was intense fighting in Buea, a city Southern Cameroonians consider as their capital. The fighting resulted in the killing of six police officers by Southern Cameroonian fighters.

Residents of the city have reported that Monday was the worst day in their city. Southern Cameroonian fighters have finally decided to come to the cities so as to engage the ill-prepared army soldiers in street battles.

This is no good news for the Yaoundé regime that has been working tooth and nail to protect the city of Buea. Threats from Southern Cameroonian fighters have finally compelled the city’s mayor, Patrick Ekema, who had vowed to protect the city, to flee to Douala, East Cameroon’s major port city.

Even the South West region’s governor, Okala Bilai, has also taken up refuge in Douala as the pressure from Southern Cameroonian fighters mounts. It should be recalled that there is a “fatwa” on the heads of Mayor Ekema and Governor Bilai who have spent a greater part of the last two years insulting Southern Cameroonians.

In Limbe, Southern Cameroon’s major port city, residents were compelled to respect ghost town operations as they heard that the fighters had finally set foot in Buea. The city of Limbe has been insulated from the chaos that has been playing out in Southern Cameroons over the last one year and this has made it a safe haven for many who are fleeing other cities in search a peaceful sanctuary for themselves and their families.

But the pseudo-peace in Limbe will surely not last for a long time. Southern Cameroonian fighters who were initially lurking in forests around the region have made up their minds to come to the cities. They are sick and tired of constant attacks from mosquitoes and poisonous reptiles who consider their presence in the jungle as an unfriendly intrusion into their private space and territory.

Residents of Limbe know that they will soon be playing spectator to some violent attacks from Southern Cameroonian fighters. It is a matter of time. Other cities are already suffering as a result of the fighting. Schools and courts have remained closed in cities where there have been serious fighting. Businesses have been dealt a severe blow and poverty is gradually taking root among the suffering population. Limbe’s image as a peaceful environment is gradually being eroded.

With an influx of people coming from other cities, it is obvious that Southern Cameroonian fighters will use the opportunity to establish a foothold in the city. Residents of the city therefore have an interest to respect ghost town orders from the Southern Cameroons Interim Government that is widely considered as the legitimate authority in region.

For Southern Cameroons’ rural areas, life has become a tough interminable challenge. Schools have been closed for two years and the kids are gradually coming to terms with the fact that theirs will be a kingdom of illiteracy. Teachers have fled the villages and the make-shift infrastructure that was passing off as schools is crumbling at break-neck speed.

Today, most young men in Southern Cameroon’s rural areas have taken up residence in the jungles that offer more peace than their villages. Most of them are willingly joining the ragtag Southern Cameroonian Liberation Army that comprises many armed groups, some of which are turning their guns against their own brothers in arms.

As the fighting rages on, the Yaoundé government remains stubborn to appeals for a peaceful resolution. The government is wont to using unorthodox means to address its problems. It is therefore challenging for it to listen to even the voice of wisdom.

Ever since the crisis erupted, the country’s president, Paul Biya, also known as the owner of the country, has refused to listen to many respectable people across the world.

The Pope has had an opportunity to talk to Mr. Biya. Leaders of Western countries have advised him to pursue dialogue as a sure means out of the impasse. The African Union has offered to mediate. But all their pleas have fallen on deaf ears.

The Francophonie, for its part, is still prepared to play a great role in efforts at restoring peace to the country, but the country’s authorities are reluctant to accept all these offers of assistance and this is causing the situation to spiral out of control.

Mr. Biya and his collaborators have clearly opted to pursue a path that is causing the country to lose its youthful population. They seem to be frozen in time and their strong faith in old ways is putting the country in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Across the country, some religious authorities have also called on the government to embrace dialogue in order to spare the country the agony it is going through. But all the wise counsel does not seem to be music to the government’s ears.

Recently, it was the U.S. Ambassador who delivered his government’s bold message to the country’s ailing president. Americans have clearly indicated that it is time for Mr. Biya to exit the political arena as his presence is only fanning embers of war. They hold that Mr. Biya should be focusing on his legacy rather than on holding power.

In their view, Cameroon’s political mess cannot be cleaned up by those who have created it. It is time for the old guard to yield the floor to a new crop of politicians who will place the people’s interest at the center of their actions. Mr. Biya and his entourage belong to the past, a past that has been characterized by corruption, injustice and arrogance.

Instead of taking such wise counsel seriously, the government instead sent its surrogates to TV and radio stations where they rained insults on the U.S. ambassador who was simply delivering a friendly message. Some of the surrogates even intimidated on national TV that they would kill the U.S. ambassador.

Strangely, none of those who uttered such irresponsible statements have been arrested for threatening a foreign dignitary with diplomatic immunity in Cameroon. To the Yaoundé regime, the U.S. ambassador was interfering in its internal affairs. But the U.S. government will not be interfering in Cameroon’s affairs when it grants the impoverished Central African country weapons and financial assistance to fight Boko Haram insurgents in the country’s northern region.

Right from the beginning of the crisis, the Biya regime has not really come out with a clear plan to address the legitimate demands of Southern Cameroonians. On the contrary, it has been seeking ways and means to distract and intimidate Southern Cameroonians.

The massive arrest of innocent civilians and the kidnapping of Southern Cameroonian leaders in Nigeria are among the strategies the government has used to prove that it has the ability and capability to lay to rest a rebellion that is proving that it will stand the test of time.

This week, it has come up with a new distraction which, in its view, will help to calm down tempers. It has announced the holding of presidential election in the first week of October 2018 in the hope that Cameroonians will rush to the polls. But presidential elections will not cut it. Mr. Biya, the most hated and corrupt Cameroonian, will surely be his party’s flag-bearer despite the wise counsel given to him by Americans and this will make the whole process predictable.

But Cameroonians will not be deceived. Elections during Mr. Biya’s time have been anything but transparent and fair. The 85-year-old Biya has total mastery of the electoral process. He has appointed his cronies to the election-organizing body and, being an iron fist in a velvet glove, he will be working through his crude territorial administration minister, Atanga Nji, to intimidate Senior Divisional Officers for them to do all they can for Mr. Biya to win the election.

Indeed, the results of the election are a foregone conclusion. While the opposition is still struggling to put its house together, Mr. Biya is already rolling out his malicious plan. The opposition is divided and some of the opposition party leaders are just too hungry to the point where they just want to get to the corridors of power.

A few opposition leaders do have some political cloud and popularity, but their chances of beating the corrupt Biya are slim. The Social Democratic Front, SDF, has a presidential candidate who understands the issues and is very engaging. Joshua Osih, considered as a candidate of the future, is currently in the United States to talk with Southern Cameroonian Diaspora.

He understands the Diaspora has a lot of influence on the population. Besides, he knows it is the Diaspora’s money that is helping the pool of willing Southern Cameroonian fighters to give the Biya regime a run for its money. A native of the South West region, Joshua Osih is considered by many at home and abroad as the person who may help to keep the country united within a federal structure, after all, his party has always called for Cameroon to be federal. But will the angry Southern Cameroonians listen to him?

Southern Cameroonians want to walk away from a fake marriage that has brought them a lot of pain and suffering. To them, federalism belongs to the past. They have been arrested and killed by the Yaoundé government for calling for federalism. For now, their mind is on seceding and this will imply walking away with about 60% of the country’s wealth. Southern Cameroons is blessed with many resources, including oil, gas, diamond and timber. Its rich sub-soil has brought lots of economic benefits to the country. For almost 50 years, the Rio Del Rey estuary has been the source of more than 90% and at times 100% of all the country’s hydrocarbons, specifically oil.

Over the years, Cameroon has exported over US$5.88 billion worth of crude oil and other petroleum products per year and most of this money has never trickled down to the South-west region where the oil fields and refinery are located. The people of this region have been living in abject poverty, while the Yaoundé regime has been feasting. This is one of the many bones of contention that are threatening to tear the country apart.

Another candidate in the election is Barrister Akere Muna. A bright lawyer whose work both at home and abroad has made many people to take him seriously. He is bilingual and he understands the corrupt system that has brought death and destruction to the country. But the sins of his father are clearly working against him.

His father, Solomon Tandeng Muna, a one-time speaker of the House of Assembly and John Ngu Foncha, former vice-president, were those who spearheaded the movement for reunification of the two Cameroons. They both benefited from the system and made life easy for their children while the majority of Southern Cameroonians have been languishing in abject poverty.

Barrister Akere Muna may be a native of Southern Cameroons, but his father’s role in the disaster that has and is still visiting Southern Cameroons makes it hard for him to be that person who will deliver Southern Cameroons from its damnation.

In the South West region in particular, his name casts more doubts than hope. Reunification brought untold hardship to South West politicians such as N.N. Mbile, Chief Nyenty of Bachou Ntai, Chief Ayamba, Dr. E.M.L. Endeley and others who died in abject poverty due to the dirty politics Muna and Foncha played to the detriment of the South West region.

Muna and Foncha will never be forgiven in this part of the country, although both had openly apologized for their errors in 1993 during the All Anglophone Conference held in Buea.

Cameroon is going down the drain. This country can only be saved if there is an inclusive and sincere dialogue. Mr. Biya and his cohorts are still stuck in the past. They still hold that Cameroonians are stupid and will not remember the past. They are still getting it wrong. Cameroon is sitting on a keg of gun powder. The international community still has time to defuse this ticking time bomb before it goes off.

Presidential elections may be good, but in this context, they will not bring any meaningful change to the country. The voters’ registration process has been flawed right from the beginning. In the two English-speaking regions, there was virtually no registration. With the violence that is playing out in these two regions and the frustration in the French-speaking part of the country, it is clear that Cameroon is walking down the path of a national political disaster. The world has to stop Biya before he destroys Cameroon.

Mr. Biya should be dragged to the negotiating table. Solutions to Cameroon’s numerous problems could be found at the negotiating table. The world will forever be guilty if it allows Cameroon to implode. Mr. Biya and his collaborators have no intention of addressing the economic and political issues that are undermining the country’s development efforts. It is time to take the right decision. The world cannot continue to stand on the sidelines while Cameroonians kill each other.

By Kingsley Betek and Irene Nanyongo on assignment in Washington, D.C., United States of America