Biya's announced reforms: On attend, on attend....

He later went on to give the government a three-day ultimatum to free all those detained in connection to the disputed election or face his wrath.

While a diplomatic and media war rages on, between his supporters and the government, he has appointed Douala-based legal practitioner and human rights advocate, Alice Kom, as his official Spokesperson.

Just like the appointment of Kom, a well-known Biya regime critic, even before the election was being scrutinised, the Minister of Territorial Administration, Paul Atanga Nji, who has distinguished himself as a firefighter of the regime, was in the East Region.

It was in continuation of a potpourri mission of appeasement, warnings, threats and indictments that have taken him to the three Northern Regions and Littoral Region, where Tchiroma officially defeated the incumbent.

In Mandjou, in the East Region, where the burned-out town hall still bears the scars of post-election tensions, Atanga Nji issued a biting warning to Issa Tchiroma Bakary, accusing him of having "sent people into the streets...”.

Atanga Nji insisted that Tchiroma “will pay dearly. No concessions. This politician will pay,” he declared, referring to acts of destruction, burned documents, and the complete ransacking of administrative buildings.

According to him, the opposition leader had “repeatedly called for disobedience on social media”. Reacting to the minister's vitriolic attack, Tchiroma’s supporters dismissed it as a “crude fabrication”.

They noted that Atanga Nji's statement was deemed “excessive and dangerous”, but applauded by supporters of the CPDM who also denounced the “calls for disobedience” attributed to the opposition leader.

As some articulate commentators have pointed out, the tension gripping the  pro-Tchiroma Regions, where the minister has visited to douse the flames, are also a mirror of an already polarised and divided political climate in the country with viral videos, contested polling station reports, and cross-accusations trending.

At his swearing-in ceremony, President Biya conceded that: "The presidential election battles are behind us. Now is the time for unity. This country is our shared heritage. It is our most precious asset. We must build it, strengthen it, modernise it, not destroy it. Enough of this hate speech that floods the public sphere, and especially social media".

He understood that to succeed, perhaps where he has not made the grade in the past 43 years, there is a need to turn the page. 

"We will also have to submit to Parliament certain reforms enabling the more efficient functioning of the State, through an adaptation of our institutions to the demands of our environment," Biya had said. 

Parliament has been in session for almost two weeks, and no bill indicating a "reform" has been submitted, especially the revision of the Electoral Code, which is believed by independent election observers as unfair and prone to trigger violence in flawed elections.

Even as hostilities flare in the country, President Biya should have addressed the nation, not just to assert his authority; though heavily criticised as existing only in "Very High lnstructions", which might be tinkered, but making Cameroonians feel their Head of State live on television.

The Guardian Post sides with him that "Cameroon does not need a post-election crisis with potentially disastrous consequences, as has been seen elsewhere". 

Unfortunately, we are living it, even worse than elsewhere!

The Guardian Post is aware of the slogan of the Biya regime that it operates "slowly but surely". 

But at a time the nation is virtually on fire, and drawing damning international media scrutiny that could scare foreign investors, spike inflation and costs of living, President Biya can no longer afford to go slowly or delay.

Stephen Richards writes in his book: “The Secret of Getting Started”, that delay gives room for procrastination that..."will readily testify to all the lost opportunities, missed deadlines, and even monetary losses incurred just because of one nasty habit of putting things off until it is often too late”.

But as Biya said in Buea at the belated celebration of the 50th anniversary of reunification, "it is better late than never". Parliament still has two more weeks to go for him to send bills on the promised reforms.

How judicious those reforms would be should silence the devils of any perceived nihilism or revolution by Tchiroma's supporters.

The reforms should lay a solid foundation of reconstruction, citizen mobilisation, and democratic rejuvenation; not for the interest of the CPDM and its self-serving sycophants, but that of the Cameroon nation.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3629 of Wednesday November 19, 2025