Opinion: Urgent need for transitional power-sharing gov't.

After more than four decades of increasingly centralised and opaque leadership, Cameroon is not simply stagnating- it is in rapid decline. Across every major index of human development, the nation ranks abysmally: there’s crushing economic hardship, healthcare is deteriorating, education is collapsing, unemployment is soaring, crime is on the rise, infrastructure is decaying, insecurity is spreading, and lawlessness is becoming entrenched. 

Corruption, meanwhile, has become the most dependable institution of the State. The big society no longer exists- and we are yet to mention the humongous elephant in the room called the Anglophone crisis.

The country does not have the luxury of sleepwalking into yet another perfunctory electoral performance, where it is entirely plausible- barring divine intervention- that a 93-year-old incumbent could succeed himself and extend his tenure for another seven painful years. 

The retirement age for civil servants is 60. The median age of the nation is 20. This existential age mismatch between leadership and demographic reality is a crisis of national relevance. 

Why does the nation accept that a 93-year-old patriarch should run as a viable candidate at such a pivotal moment- when vitality in leadership is a fundamental requirement to steer the nation in a new direction?

Our youth, the hope of the Republic, are disillusioned and drowning in despair, while an oligarchy of geriatrics blocks their paths to self-actualisation. 

A generation left behind is perhaps the gravest indication of our failed governance, as the nation bleeds its youthful population. Their mass exodus is not just a search for greener pastures; it is a painful indictment of a failed system that has alienated an entire generation.

Yet, despite this visible national decay, we continue to inflict upon ourselves the same injurious rituals of hollow democracy. We register, campaign, vote-doing the same things and expecting transformation from a system designed to fail. It is the height of irresponsible citizenship.

The time has come for Cameroonians to be courageous and decisive: break this moribund cycle and give our failing country a chance for renewal.

The nation urgently needs a transitional, power-sharing government: a pragmatic coalition built on competence, not patronage- on conscience, not allegiance. 

Such a government transcends partisan loyalties and ethnic divisions. It draws from civil society, the opposition, the legal profession, technocracy, and even reform-minded figures within the current administration. There is no shortage of capable custodians of our national interest at home and in the diasporas- only a shortage of political will.

The mandate of such a transitional government would be clear and time-bound: to stabilise and unite the nation, reform its electoral architecture, safeguard civil liberties, guarantee transitional justice, and prepare the ground for free and credible elections. We can even go as far as calling for the scrappage of the 2025 presidential elections in order to implement this lofty idyll.

This is not a radical idea- it is a reasoned and proven response to systemic failure. South Africa’s post-apartheid settlement, Tunisia’s transitional consensus after the Arab failure, Ghana after military rule, Ivory Coast after the civil war- all achieved transformative histories. They offer instructive examples for Cameroon to replicate. 

When institutions are too compromised to reform themselves, an inclusive interim government becomes not just a political alternative, but a national necessity.

Critics may argue that such a move would violate Cameroon’s constitution. But what is the value of a constitution that sanctifies an incompetent status quo while suppressing the sovereign will of the people? 

A constitution that protects impunity rather than justice is not a covenant to be respected, but a cage. And cages, when no longer fit for purpose, must be dismantled. A document that no longer reflects the will or welfare of the people is redundant.

Cameroon stands at a decisive and perilous crossroads. We can either seize this moment and reimagine the Republic- or retreat further into the shadows of irrelevance, division, and despair. 

We cannot continue to outsource our future to a 93-year-old incumbent whose extended rule has coincided with the progressive decay of our national life. We cannot pretend that the upcoming election will yield different results when the rules, the referee, and the pitch are all skewed.

By no means exhaustive, a roll call of capable Cameroonians from across the spectrum could be called to serve in a power-sharing transitional government, in order to inject fresh ideas. 

They include the following national and international figures: Barrister Akere Muna, Prof Maurice Kamto, Barrister Christopher Tiku Tambe, Mbah Acha Rose, Aïssa Doumara, Chief Dr Joseph Dion Ngute, Asheri Kilo, Elung Paul, Grégoire Owona, Cabral Libii, Esther Omam, Maximilien Ngo Mbe, Barrister Agbor Nkongho, Hamadou Abdouraman, Babba Me Abdoulaye, Harrisou, Louis Paul Motaze, and Kinge Monono. 

From the diasporas, we have names like Prof Julius Amin and Mr Charles Mambo, etc. President Biya needs to be gently eased out of office after 43 years. 

Elections in Cameroon have borne no positive fruits, and our democracy has failed. That’s why a peaceful, caretaker, power-sharing transitional government is needed now to stabilise the country.

This is not a call to revolt, but a call to responsibility. Let us not squander another moment in our post-independence journey. Let this be the dawn of a new chapter- one authored not in determination. Our children are watching. And the world is too.

By Charles Mambo: He is a political analysts with a Master’s degree in International Relations & Politics from Keele University, UK. He is also a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist, known for his critical engagement with national issues & his commitment to making Cameroon better.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3459 of Friday May 30, 2025