2025 presidentials: When things begin falling apart!.

She questions: "How can a president's longevity, which he justifies by the stability it brings to his country, simultaneously be a factor in repeated crises?”

To answer her question, she interviewed the Cameroonian political class and concluded that the system offers "constraints and opportunities to those who remain in a political space, even when they do not approve of it, and the political indeterminacy of social practices that can quickly push them toward defection or speaking out".

In conformity with her book, "Of Loyalty in Cameroon", which could appropriately be "hypocrisy in Cameroon", two of President Paul Biya's key ministers now want change and both coming from the Grand North, which traditionally has the largest voting bloc often in CPDM's favour.

When Issa Tchiroma Bakary, coming from the opposition, was appointed Communication Minister and Government’s Spokesman, his loyalty was questioned by some CPDM party commentators. 

But he defended both the personality of President Biya and his regime to a crescendo.

At times, he punched human rights groups below the belt, which exposed violations of rights, even if he had to later cave in, like in the case in the North, where women and children were summarily executed by government forces and were later brought to justice.

At the last cabinet reshuffle, Tchiroma was, however, replaced by a refined diplomat, Emmanuel Rene Sadi, and "demoted" to the inferior Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training, where on a number of occasions, he condemned the country's educational system. 

With the October presidential election at the corner, Tchiroma has evidently been one of the insider critics of a regime he is in, advocating change.

While addressing supporters of his National Salvation Front, FSNC, party in their Fufuldé language in the North last week, Minister Tchiroma, as translated, said: "…women come to the mosque seeking marriage but are not married because men in the North don't have jobs, due to lack of access to competitive examinations".

He added that: "Anyone who urges you to vote for something already recognised as the cause of your unhappiness is your enemy. Do we understand each other? You know that a political party has caused you a problem: your young women remain unmarried because the young men are unemployed (without income), despite their many prayers to find suitable men. But as you know, in our context, a man only becomes suitable when he has an income-generating activity. How will they achieve this if they are rejected in every competitive exam they take? Moreover, there is no investment worthy of the name, made to help them; they wander in indescribable misery. And it is under these conditions that someone rises up and wants to force you to vote for a person or a political party whose sole purpose is to bring you more misery. Isn't that a real calamity?"

That is vintage Tchiroma, lead author of the Grand North Memo, which was a scathing indictment of the CPDM, before he was appeased and silenced with an appointment into the CPDM government. 

Tchiroma is not the only member of the government rattling the regime. Bello Bouba Magairi's National Union for Democracy and Progress, UNDP, which has been the CPDM government's biggest ally with some 20 years of collaboration, is also not at ease with the system.

Bello Bouba has scheduled the party's congress for June 28, in Yaounde, which, coming in the midst of the preparation for the October election, has been generating anti-regime sentiments.

The political outfit was instrumental in Paul Biya's victory in the North Region, but recently, bigwigs and supporters to whom Belo has been accountable to, have been clamouring for a "change and zero votes for Paul Biya".

It is however uncertain- whether the party will nominate Belo for a presidential candidate for the polls or join an opposition alliance. 

Some observers, however, "believe the party may be considering turning its back on the CPDM", given pressure from supporters and some bigwigs.

What is however certain is that the Biya government, in its traditional inertia, is not coherent and the Grand North is at a crossroads with key ministers no longer at ease with the Biya regime.

It is the same scenario where some CPDM ministers, in hushed voices under the table, are critical of the regime, but hypocritically singing its choir in shrilled refrain, just to defend their jobs or fear retiring to prison.

With the current trend in the Grand North, which should augur well for change, politicians worth the salt should speak out truth to the electorate, rather than imprison their consciences in pretentious "loyalty", just to fill their bloated stomachs without consideration to the electorate in abject poverty and reeling social amenities and infrastructure.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3476 of Tuesday June 17, 2025