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Biya regime inaugurates first of five planned Child Rights Centers

Biya regime inaugurates first of five planned Child Rights Centers

Cameroon inaugurated its first Child Rights Center on Wednesday at the University of Yaoundé II in Soa, a significant step in a UNICEF-backed initiative to integrate child rights into academic programs.

This initiative stems from a memorandum of understanding signed on July 16, 2024, between the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and eight Cameroonian academic institutions. According to Nadine Perrault, UNICEF’s representative in Cameroon, the inauguration is “an important step in our collaboration with the academic world to advance child rights in Cameroon.” She justified the choice of this public university based on its “academic excellence” and “the reforms it has undertaken.” The initiative draws on proven models in Greece and Georgia and is based on an ambitious vision: to integrate child rights into academic programs and raise awareness among future generations of professionals and leaders about this essential cause.

The new Child Rights Center is more than a physical structure. it represents a true platform for action in promoting child rights. Its mission includes strengthening the university’s capacity to produce policy-oriented research and training teachers and administrative staff on child rights-based approaches. The goal is to integrate these rights into university curricula in collaboration with UNICEF and other stakeholders.

The center will also serve as a hub for research, teaching, and advocacy. It will offer training programs, community activities, and campaigns to engage the academic community on the importance of protecting and promoting child rights. These rights are enshrined in Cameroon’s Constitution, as well as in regional and international instruments to which Cameroon is a party, such as the African Union’s African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

“The Child Rights Center is a means of institutionalizing the defense of child rights within the academic ecosystem,” said Richard Laurent Omgba, Rector of the University of Yaoundé II.

This center, the first of its kind, is part of a broader project that plans to establish similar structures at four other universities: the University of Yaoundé I (Centre), the University of Maroua (Far North), the University of Dschang (Bafoussam), and the Catholic University of Central Africa (UCAC) in Yaoundé. These centers will aim to strengthen the role of universities in driving societal change while preparing students and researchers to become active advocates for child rights within their respective fields. The goal is to “create a university ecosystem where child rights become a lasting priority through research, teaching, and advocacy.”

Source: Sbbc

For poorest economies, next 25 years could prove decisive

For poorest economies, next 25 years could prove decisive

The next 25 years could prove decisive in determining whether the world’s 26 poorest countries progress to middle-income status, a new World Bank analysis shows. Home to more than 40 percent of people struggling on less than $2.15 a day, these countries are the central focus of global efforts to end extreme poverty. Yet their progress has stalled amid heightened conflict, frequent economic crises, and persistently feeble growth. 

Over the past 25 years, progress has mostly bypassed these countries, according to the analysis, which is featured in the World Bank’s forthcoming Global Economic Prospects report to be published Jan. 14, 2025. At the start of the 21st century, the World Bank classified 63 countries as “low-income.” Since then, 39—including India, Indonesia, and Bangladesh—have entered the ranks of middle-income countries, meaning their annual per capita incomes were above $1,145 by 2023. The remainder, which were joined by South Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic in the 2010s, have simply stagnated: on average, their inflation-adjusted GDP per capita has grown by less than 0.1 percent annually over the past 15 years. Barring a sustained improvement in growth rates, only six of today’s low-income countries are likely to achieve middle-income status by 2050, the analysis finds.

“The next 25 years are a critical window of opportunity for the poorest countries—and the rest of the world has a vital stake in helping them get out of poverty,” said Indermit Gill, the World Bank Group’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for Development Economics. “Today’s poor countries face a tougher slog than their predecessors: over the past 15 years, they’ve seen practically no growth in per capita incomes. Yet the record in East, Southeast, and South Asia shows that with a little help from abroad and better policies at home, even countries ravaged by war and instability can create the conditions for sustained economic progress.”

The World Bank analysis is the first to systematically examine the progress of today’s cohort of low-income countries in the first 25 years of this century and their prospects for attaining middle-income status over the next 25 years. It finds that today’s batch—22 of which are in Sub-Saharan Africa—faces greater constraints than their predecessors. Seventeen of them are racked by conflict or fragility, with lethality rates 20 times the level in other developing economies. Nearly all are especially vulnerable to climate change. Most are either in debt distress or at high risk of it. Half are landlocked, bordered by other poor countries, which limits their ability to boost growth through trade.

Yet these countries also possess substantial natural advantages that could propel them to a higher standard of living. With more than 60 percent and 50 percent of the world’s known reserves of cobalt and graphite respectively, today’s low-income countries boast some of the largest known deposits of metals and minerals needed to generate and store renewable energy. Their potential for solar-energy production is among the highest in the world. In addition, working-age populations—a potent force for economic growth—are rapidly expanding in these countries even as they shrink almost everywhere else.

Nepal is one example of a landlocked formerly low-income country that succeeded in overcoming conflict to rise to middle-income status, the World Bank analysis shows. At the turn of the century, Nepal was in the throes of a civil war. Its per capita income was just $220—making it one of the poorest of poor countries at the time. In 2006, it established a Comprehensive Peace Accord, supported by the United Nations and various foreign governments. Its per capita income subsequently grew more than fourfold, lifting it to middle-income status by 2019.

Rwanda is an example of a landlocked low-income country today that has overcome conflict to rise to the brink of middle-income status. It took about seven years after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi for the country to establish the conditions for stability and economic growth, but once they were in place it grew rapidly. In 2000, Rwanda’s per capita income was just $270; today it is nearly four times that amount. Its growth was the result of ambitious policy reforms to stabilize the economy, encourage private enterprise, and build a substantial tourism industry. International debt relief and assistance programs also helped, allowing Rwanda to invest more in education and healthcare. 

“The global battle to end extreme poverty will not be won until it is won in the 26 poorest countries,” said Ayhan Kose, the World Bank Group’s Deputy Chief Economist. “Today, these countries aren’t getting the attention they deserve, given the magnitude of their challenges. Many of them are coping with the triple harm of conflict, climate change, and debt distress. National policymakers and the global community should act urgently to enable these countries to make the progress necessary for them to join the ranks of middle-income countries.” 

To climb the income ladder over the next 25 years, low-income countries can take inspiration from other poor countries that managed to leap to middle-income status in earlier decades, the analysis shows. Girded by political stability and growth-supporting policies, about half of those countries achieved sustained growth accelerations—long periods of robust economic expansion—that propelled them out of low-income status. These growth spells tended to follow reforms that channeled public and private resources into investment and improved the business environment. 

Source: World Bank

Unity Palace: Goodbye Rear-Admiral Joseph Fouda

Unity Palace: Goodbye Rear-Admiral Joseph Fouda

After a heated argument with First Lady Chantal Biya, Rear-Admiral Joseph Fouda was drummed out of the Unity Palace accused of fraud.

He headed no unit of the Cameroonian armed forces, nor did he even grace its highest ranks, let alone did he earn President Paul Biya’s eternal gratitude by rescuing him from some plot or other, but Rear-Admiral Joseph Fouda was the most important military man of the last 20 years – nearly half the President’s time in power. Now, he is gone.

For more than two decades, he helped the 91-year-old President Biya to resist the intrigues and internal quarrels that undermined the presidential entourage. Through him, Biya avoided pitfalls and dodged cheap tricks.

Rear Admiral Joseph Fouda was indeed a very loyal aide-de-camp to Paul Biya and remains one of the oldest and closest collaborators of the head of state – a unique link that was forged in the corridors of power. Fouda is now a thing of the past.

Rita Akana with files from Africa Confidential

MTN Group CEO announces huge Cameroon investments

MTN Group CEO announces huge Cameroon investments

Ralph Mupita, President and CEO of MTN Group, announced multimillion-dollar investments in the telco’s Cameroon operations this week.

Mupita informed key stakeholders of MTN’s commitment to significant investments of $100 million (62.4 billion XAF) in 2025 and $300 million (187.2 billion XAF) over the next three years.

These investments will go towards improving network infrastructure, including advancements in artificial intelligence and data centres.

Mupita and his delegation, along with an MTN Cameroon team led by CEO Mitwa Kaemba Ng’ambi, met with government officials in Yaoundé.

They met with the prime minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, tminister of state, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, minister of posts and telecommunications, Minette LIBOM LI LIKENG, Philemeon P Zoo Zame, the director general of the Telecommunications Regulatory Board, and Mandla Langa, the South African High Commissioner to Cameroon.

The Johannesburg-headquartered telco said: “These high-level engagements underscore MTN’s dedication to fostering strong relationships with key stakeholders, ensuring a thriving telecom sector, and driving positive change in Cameroon. With these significant investments, MTN reaffirms its role as a leader in the digital transformation and economic development of Cameroon.”

Earlier this year, Mupita indicated that Cameroon, Ghana, and Uganda were critical to Africa’s largest telecom operator, and that it was taking steps to improve its operations in order to maintain robust growth in these countries.

Mupita had this to say: “In our markets portfolio, the priority is to sustain the strong growth in markets like Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon; while implementing the necessary initiatives to turn around the performances in Côted’Ivoire, Rwanda and Zambia.”

Source: itweb.Africa

Cameroon Concord Person of the Year 2024: Longue Longue, the musician

Cameroon Concord Person of the Year 2024: Longue Longue, the musician

In this year’s razor-thin Cameroon Concord News Group contest, singer Longue Longue received the nod over Samuel Eto’o. According to our Yaoundé Bureau Chief, Cameroon Concord readers decided that Longue Longue is the one to receive Cameroon Concord News Group’s annual distinction.

So, we of the Cameroon Concord News Group are today announcing singer Simon Longkana Agno, aka Longue Longue as our annual Person of the Year.

We were preparing to publish a headline “Men of the Year” rather than “Person of the Year” as Samuel Eto’o was reportedly neck-to-neck with Longue Longue. But Eto’o’s boycott of the veteran’s international friendly against Brazil was indeed counterproductive for the man who was one of the world’s best strikers in the 2000s, and who was elected president of the Cameroonian Football Federation on December 12, 2021.

Longue Longue narrowly defeated Samuel Eto’o for the Cameroon Concord Person of the Year title, which recognizes the person who, for better or worse, has had the most impact on the year’s events.

On fighting for human rights in Cameroon, Longue Longue remains a study in resoluteness and mastery.

Cameroon Concord People voted for Longue Longue for midwifing a new human rights order and a new quest for justice in Cameroon that has had a decidedly favorable impact on the course of events in Yaoundé and in Paris.

Longue Longue singlehandedly remade and united the Cameroonian nation by exposing the evil perpetuated on innocent citizens by the regime in Yaoundé.

Longue Longue’s amiable demeanor tapped into a desire to liberate the entire Francophone Africa with his songs earned him huge support from our readers all over the world particularly from the diaspora in Europe and North America.

Longue Longue, renowned for making hits about bad governance in Cameroon, colonialism and other social ills was seen in a video recorded in a Douala gendarmerie station, hands cuffed behind his back, sitting on the floor in his underwear as the soles of his bare feet are beaten with a flat machete.

The ruling CPDM crime syndicate said in a poorly worded statement that they have “opened an investigation into the Longue Longue incident.”

Longue Longue went through all of this for the Cameroonian people and for his freedom of thought.

Cameroonians watched Longue Longue in panic with his underpants underneath a chair!

Cameroonians watched a leg standing on Longue Longue’s knee!

Cameroonians watched the arrest of Longue Longue in 2019 after posting a video saying that the 91-year-old President Biya had rigged the 2018 election and that Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement was the rightful winner of the polls.

Longue Longue’s torture video is indeed a reminiscent of the horrific treatment Cameroonian opposition figures, journalists, Southern Cameroons activists including Roman Catholic clerics are facing under the 42-year- old Biya regime.

The renowned Barrister Akere Muna said Longue Longue’s treatment was a “stark reminder of the depths of depravity to which humanity can descend”.

More than three decades after he left Yabassi to Douala on the back of a truck for a job that eventually gave him nothing; Longue Longue won the Makossa Best Artist Award after his huge success with the album “Ayo Africa”.

He told the Cameroonian people to always wait for God’s time. “There is nothing to do but wait” he said instead of rushing to consult witch doctors to be successful in life.

He is the first Cameroonian singer to get a majority of the Cameroon Concord News vote. Only Archbishop Andrew Nkea had done that in all of our history.

We of the Concord Group are proud of his work as a singer and also as an activist, singing against injustice and fighting for human rights in Cameroon. We today congratulate Longue Longue for the richly deserved recognition accorded him by a tremendous majority of Cameroon Concord News and Cameroon Intelligence Report readers.  2025 will bring more success stories to the Cameroonian nation.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

Chairman/Editor-In-Chief

Cameroon Concord News Group

Ban on NGOs: Rebecca Enonchong weighs in on Atanga Nji’s performance

Ban on NGOs: Rebecca Enonchong weighs in on Atanga Nji’s performance

Despite Paul Atanga Nji’s  continued stay in office as Minister of Territorial Administration, his recent suspension of several NGOs is now being branded a disaster by many including renowned businesswoman Rebecca Enonchong.

Biya regime suspended the activities of several NGOs and associations for three months, and banned two other entities. The decision was defended by Paul Atanga Nji, Minister of Territorial Administration, who justified it on the grounds of suspected illicit financing, money laundering and terrorist financing.

The organisations targeted by this measure include the Charitable Socio-cultural Association of Cameroon (ACSCC), Reach Out Cameroon (ROC), the Réseau des droits humains en Afrique centrale (REDHAC) and the L.M Nanje Foundation INC. The suspensions and bans were issued without prior notice, sending shockwaves through the human rights community.

On social network X, Rebecca Enonchong denounced the measure. ‘Suspending human rights groups by an administrative measure, without due process, is pure provocation. Defending these organisations is our duty. We cannot allow our common rights to be flouted with impunity’ noted the businesswoman.

Atanga Nji, the conman par excellence had told his bosses in Yaoundé that if accorded the territorial administration portfolio, he would end the crisis in Southern Cameroons given that he knew the terrain and was an Anglophone.

The man with very limited formal education is now seeing the end of the massive scam that his government has put in place and has decided to destroy the civil society.

By Rita Akana

Police raid South Korean President’s office in martial law investigation

Police raid South Korean President’s office in martial law investigation

South Korean police said Wednesday that they raided President Yoon Sook Yeol’s office, as the investigation into his declaration of martial law gathers pace.

“The Special Investigation Team has conducted a raid on the presidential office, the National Police Agency, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, and the National Assembly Security Service,” the unit stated in a message sent to AFP.

Yoon is already under a travel ban as part of an “insurrection” probe into his inner circle after his short-lived suspension of civilian rule on December 3.

Former defence minister Kim Yong-hyun was formally arrested late Tuesday on charges of “engaging in critical duties during an insurrection” and “abuse of authority to obstruct the exercise of rights”.

On Wednesday, Yonhap reported that Kim had attempted to kill himself shortly before the arrest.

A spokesperson for the Seoul Central District Court told AFP earlier in the day that Kim had been arrested amid concerns that evidence might be destroyed.

Kim said through his lawyers that “all responsibility for this situation lies solely with me” and that subordinates were “merely following my orders and fulfilling their assigned duties”.

Kim, who was detained Sunday, has been slapped with a travel ban along with the former interior minister and the general in charge of the martial law operation.

The operation saw troops and helicopters sent to parliament in an apparent — but failed — attempt to prevent lawmakers from voting down Yoon’s martial law declaration.

Cho Ji-ho, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, and Kim Bong-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, were also arrested early Wednesday, police said.

‘Fascist dictatorship’

North Korean state media Wednesday made its first comments on what it called “chaos” in the South.

“The shocking incident of the puppet Yoon Suk Yeol, who is facing impeachment and a governance crisis, suddenly declaring a martial law decree and unhesitatingly wielding the guns and knives of its fascist dictatorship wrought chaos across South Korea,” a commentary said.

Yoon had said his declaration of martial law was intended, in part, to safeguard South Korea “from the threats posed by North Korea’s communist forces and eliminate anti-state elements plundering people’s freedom and happiness”.

Relations between the two Koreas have been at one of their lowest points in years, with the North launching a flurry of ballistic missiles in violation of UN sanctions.

Former defence minister Kim had been accused by opposition lawmakers of calling for strikes on sites from which North Korea was launching trash-carrying balloons, an order reportedly refused by his subordinates.

He also allegedly ordered drones sent to the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in an apparent attempt to provoke a conflict as a pretext for declaring martial law.

Task force

Yoon survived an impeachment motion in parliament on Saturday even as tens of thousands of South Koreans braved freezing temperatures outside to demand his ouster.

Further smaller protests have continued every evening since with polls showing record-low public support for Yoon.

A special task force within Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday proposed a plan for the president to resign in February or March, followed by fresh elections in April or May.

But the proposal has not yet been adopted by the party as a whole.

Even if it is approved, the roadmap is unlikely to head off another attempt by the opposition to impeach Yoon on Saturday.

The motion only needs eight members of Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP) to secure the necessary two-thirds majority.

Last week, two PPP lawmakers — Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Yea-ji — voted in favour, and two more said Tuesday they would support the motion this time.

Source: AFP

Douala: Archbishop Kleda says ‘democracy doesn’t exist’ in Cameroon

Douala: Archbishop Kleda says ‘democracy doesn’t exist’ in Cameroon

Against a backdrop of poverty, violence and de facto one-man rule, a Catholic archbishop in Cameroon has blasted a perceived lack of genuine democracy ahead of elections expected next year.

“Democracy in Cameroon exists in name only; in reality, it doesn’t exist,” said Archbishop Samuel Kleda of Douala in an interview on a local television channel, Equinox TV.

“Before the vote, we already know who’s going to win,” Kleda said. “That’s not democracy.”

At 91 years of age, President Paul Biya of Cameroon is both the oldest head of state in the world and the longest-serving national leader who isn’t a royal. He’s held the presidency since 1982, having previously served as Prime Minister from 1975-82.

After imposing a one-party system on the country for the first decade of his rule, Biya reluctantly accepted democratic elections in 1992, winning that and subsequence elections in 1997, 2004, 2011 and 2018, in each case amid widespread charges of fraud.

The aging Biya recently has been compelled to cancel several planned overseas engagements, including a scheduled appearance at an Oct. 4-5 summit of French-speaking nations in France, and reportedly is currently under medical supervision at the Intercontinental Hotel in Geneva, Switzerland. Nonetheless, his followers are urging him to stand for reelection once again in elections next year.

Catholicism represents around 40 percent of the population in Cameroon and has a significant social role in the country; Biya himself is the son of catechists and a former Catholic seminarian. The Church has long been a critical voice, with the late Cardinal Christian Tumi frequently challenging the Biya regime on peace, human rights and democracy.

Kleda is continuing that tradition, taking a swipe at the institution in charge of organizing elections in Cameroon-Elections Cameroon (ELECAM), arguing that what has been called an independent elections governing body is anything but: A majority of members, he noted, come from Biya’s political party.

“Who organizes elections in Cameroon? This needs to be clearly defined,” Kleda said.

“As the saying goes, people don’t organize elections to lose,” Kleda said in his interview. “That says it all.”

The cleric’s concerns have found traction among Cameroon’s political leaders.

Prince Ekosso, leader of the United Socialist Democratic Party (USDP), a leading opposition force, echoed Kleda’s sentiments, advocating for reforms such as lowering the voting age from 21 to 18, introducing a single ballot paper, and empowering local polling commissions to declare election results.

Muma Bih Yvonne, National Secretary for Political Education and Training for Cameroon’s Social Democratic Front, called for a complete overhaul of the electoral process, from registration to the proclamation of results.

“We all know that in every civilized democracy, the electoral calendar is known well in advance. That’s not the case with Cameroon,” she told Crux, referencing the fact that the Head of State decides the dates for elections.

“I think the electoral code has to be revised,” she said, insisting that citizens’ access to registration centers should be made easier because “to get registered is so cumbersome.”

“You get registered, you can’t get an electoral card immediately,” she said.

“Cameroonians don’t have the money and time to make multiple trips to the election offices to check whether they are registered or not. Why not computerize the process from registration to the declaration of results? It’s very possible,” she told Crux.

“During elections themselves, when the polls are opened, why should cards still be distributed on that day when it is said that once you are identified as a Cameroonian, you can use your ID card to vote?”

She urged that ELECAM, the elections management body, should “bring on board all stakeholders to discuss why Cameroon cannot copy best practices from other countries. Other countries hold elections, and the next day the results are ready.”

She says it’s abnormal that election results in Cameroon take over a month to be declared.

Pundits have suggested that the long wait for results provides the ruling party to tamper with the results.

Bih also complained about what she termed the “horrible issue of multiple ballot papers.”

“Let a single ballot paper be used and you’ll see how it will reduce fraud in the electoral process,” she said.  After every election, you have litigation because people are disgruntled with the process.”

Kleda emphasized that such changes are critical for the conduct of elections that are  “free, democratic, and free from fraud.”

“If these conditions are met, we’ll truly see who wins elections in our country,” he said.

Elections in Cameroon have typically ended with lawsuits, as opposition parties always claim the elections were rigged. The last presidential race in 2018 is a prime example, in which the opposition candidate, Maurice Kamto, claimed victory.

The leader of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement last April called for the resignation of ELECAM’s director-general, accusing him of being “on a mission against the Cameroonian people.”

Kleda called for “a change in the electoral code so that all candidates have an equal chance, and the best candidate wins.”

Cameroonian political scientist Immanuel Tatah Mentan accused Biya’s party, the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement, of perfecting the art of electoral fraud.

“No opposition political party or candidate can bring Biya down,” he said, predicting that if that ever were to happen, “The CPDM will implode.”

Cameroon faces a host of social challenges, including estimates that one Cameroonian in five lives in extreme poverty, and a long-running, occasionally violent insurrection in the country’s south and southwestern regions among Cameroon’s English-speaking minority, which complains of systematic bias and second-class citizenship.

Source: Crux

Minister Mbella Mbella says E-Visa system fetched XAF29Bln in revenue in 18 months

Minister Mbella Mbella says E-Visa system fetched XAF29Bln in revenue in 18 months

The e-visa system has generated an additional 29 billion CFA francs in revenue between April 2023 and October 2024, Minister of External Relations (MINREX) Lejeune Mbella Mbella told the National Assembly on December 3.

The online system, launched in 2023, has significantly accelerated visa processing times and increased the number of applications, Minister Lejeune Mbella Mbella said. He added that the system enhances national security by improving the traceability of visa requests and facilitating control over the entry and exit of individuals into the country.

Patrice Koe Jr., Director of Communication, Documentation, and Diplomatic Archives at the Ministry of External Relations, previously reported that between April 30, 2023, and March 30, 2024, 157,688 individuals registered on the e-visa platform.

The government contracted Ivorian company Impact Palmarès R&D SAS to manage the e-visa system for 10 years with the option to renew. In April, Impact Palmarès R&D SAS began construction of a dedicated data center in Yaoundé to support the system.

Source: Business in Cameroon

2025 presidential election: Who will run?

2025 presidential election: Who will run?

As 2025 approaches, many Cameroonians are concerned about the future of their country. Cameroon is at a standstill both politically and economically. The country is in dire need of an overhaul and many analysts have opined that the 2025 presidential election might reshape the country’s future.

However, though the presidential election is less than ten months away, Cameroonians are not yet aware of the candidates in the race for the Unity Palace as some political parties have not yet revealed their candidates to the public and this is indeed a cause for concern.

Despite the suspense, some candidates are already working hard to make their presidential ambitions known and their programs are out there for people to appreciate.

First to inform Cameroonians about his presidential ambition is Barrister Akere Muna, a world known Cameroonian lawyer who has made his country proud. At the international level, Akere Muna is known for his unrelenting effort to stamp out corruption from many international organizations and from his native Cameroon. It is not in error that he is known as Mr. Glencore, a name given to him after his commendable efforts to ensure that Cameroonian officials which took money from Glencore, get punished according to the law.

Though his efforts in that regard have not produced anything meaningful, Barrister Muna is not throwing in the towel and his determination to become the president of Cameroon only increases by the day as he wants to stamp out corruption in high places in Cameroon.

Barrister Muna is not a new face in the race. He understands the challenges and many Cameroonians think that he is capable of changing many things in the country. Many Cameroonians are looking up to him and this explains why his endorsement by some opposition parties as their candidate caused some excitement.

Although he has not yet openly declared that he will be in the race, many Cameroonians hold that Prof. Maurice Kamto will be a key player and could even be the favorite.

He was in the 2018 presidential race where he claimed victory and ended up in custody for eight months. Despite that setback, Prof. Kamto still has his eyes on the big prize. A law professor who brought fame and Bakassi to Cameroon, Prof. Kamto is seen by many as the man who is capable of beating the incumbent who has been in power for over four decades.

His MRC party has won hearts and minds across the country and many hold that if given an opportunity, Prof. Kamto’s party might help address some of the economic and political challenges that have bogged down the country.

Though the ruling CPDM is trying very hard to characterize MRC as a regional party,  Prof. Kamto has continued to develop and position his party as a national party which will unite the country after the Biya era which has made divide and rule its cardinal objective.

Prof. Kamto has always drawn the world’s attention to the disaster playing out in the country’s two English-speaking regions and has promised to meet with separatists leaders if he becomes the president of Cameroon. He believes in federalism and has always stated that he would not preside over the balkanisation of his beloved Cameroon.

Also expected to be in the race is the SDF chairman, Josua Osih, though he has not yet openly declared his candidacy. Mr. Osih is currently a parliamentarian. Serving as a parliamentarian has given Mr. Osih a lot of experience which will surely come in handy when and if he wins the presidential race.

The SDF is currently not the chief opposition party in Cameroon and its influence has diminished following the demise of its premier and iconic leader, John Fru Ndi, who gave the current president, Paul Biya, a run for his money in the 1992 presidential election. The SDF is capable of staging a massive comeback and many observers hold that Mr. Osih’s low-key and collaborative leadership approach might deliver a massive surprise in the 2025 polls.

The 2025 presidential polls cannot be discussed without mentioning the incumbent’s name. Mr. Biya who has been in power for 42 years has the benefit of incumbency. His total control of the country’s treasury gives him certain financial advantages which other parties may not have.

However, his long stay in power might be a huge disadvantage as many Cameroonians are of the opinion that he has overstayed his welcome. His age and failing health could also be some of the annoying inconveniences which might mar Mr. Biya’s campaign.

However, some analysts say he might not run as his age has diminished his mental and physical ability. The analysts hold that he might manage the transition to ensure that his successor comes from his party to ensure that his family and collaborators get the protection they need when he leaves power.

Mr. Biya has been a fixture on Cameroon’s political landscape having been thrust into power by the country’s first president, Amadou Ahidjo, who resigned in 1982. Ahidjo saw the young Biya as an asset to the country and thought that Mr. Biya was capable of steering the country to better shores.

Unfortunately, things have not turned out as planned. The country’s economy has been in shambles for more than three decades, with unemployment reaching alarming levels. Many young Cameroonians are frustrated and thousands have left the country to try their luck somewhere else. Cameroon has not been the eldorado Ahidjo thought it would become under Mr. Biya.

Nepotism and corruption have become the country’s hallmarks. The massive, dysfunctional and corrupt civil service is full of Biya loyalists and tribesmen and this is a tough challenge the next president will have to deal with.

Currently, the government is bleeding money and in a bid to raise more money, the government is instituting more annoying taxes. The 2024 finance bill has just been passed and it is not good news to struggling Cameroonians. The new taxes will trigger a further escalation of living cost and most Cameroonians who are already in the throes of a severe crisis will have to look for creative ways to survive if they must not be rolled into an early grave by high prices.

The 2025 polls are an opportunity for Cameroonians to reshape their political destiny. The lineup of candidates is impressive. Will they vote for continuity or will they design a new path by walking away from the ruling party which has made corruption a way of life?

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

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