Since 2014 when Cameroon won the right to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, the Biya regime has reportedly spent FCFA 2000 billion. Today’s blight on the toga of Cameroon’s battered international image came from the African football governing body, CAF. The unanimous position of the executive committee members who met in the Ghanaian capital Accra was that Cameroon is not ready to host Africa’s greatest football carnival. This is an unbelievable national shame and brings to mind the advice that was dished-out to the 85 year old President Biya by the US ambassador calling on him to start reflecting on his legacy.

In October, CAF President Ahmad Ahmad visited Yaounde for a meeting with President Paul Biya just days after CAF deferred the final decision on the hosting of next year’s Afcon. At that time, a report by the last inspection team to Cameroon revealed “a significant delay as far as the delivery of infrastructure is concerned.” Cameroon’s hosting of African football’s showpiece event has been in jeopardy for months since the decision to increase the tournament from 16 to 24 teams. CAF will now give a one month window where countries interested in hosting the tournament will submit their official bids.

Morocco, who unsuccessfully bid for the 2026 Fifa World Cup, are likely to replace Cameroon as hosts. South Africa, hosts of the 2010 World Cup, could also be considered. CAF strips Cameroon of hosting the Africa Cup of Nations 2019, citing insecurity from the crisis in Southern Cameroons and the Boko Haram insurgency as well as delays in meeting infrastructure deadlines. We of the Cameroon Concord News Group are calling on the entire Prime Minister Philemon Yang cabinet to tender their resignation by the end of business tomorrow.

An Interim Prime Minister should be appointed and accorded a mandate to form a new government. The Interim Prime Minister and Head of Government will decide which resignations he or she will accept and which ones will be declined. The Africa Cup of Nations fiasco is also facing a corruption scandal both in the cabinet and the Cameroon Football Federation aka FECAFOOT. The ethics and culture of an organization start from the top. You set the right tone, so when you have repeated instances of corruption; it’s time to look at that culture.

By Sessekou Asu Isong