By Wilson Musa
This is to a year full of such turbulence that it makes us want to celebrate surviving the end of another drudgery and torment under the kleptocratic, under-performing tyrannical rule of nonagrian and absentee president, Paul Biya.
We’re left with just four weeks before the year comes to an end. For Cameroonians, there is nothing to celebrate – except of course just being alive. Many do not consider themselves to be living, they merely exist in this space and place called Cameroon. Teenagers and young adults have had their hopes dashed to pieces as old men, as ancient as time itself, hold their destinies back. These old, demented people who are long past retirement age, insist that the youth are tomorrow’s leaders even as they (the geriatric lot), cling to every office that should have been manned by tech-savvy Cameroonians who are better placed to understand contemporary Cameroon’s needs and offer tailored solutions to them.
So as this year comes to an end, there is nothing for Cameroonians to celebrate. The biggest event of the year was the sham “election”. Biya dictated yet another “election” where he was both referee and player, twisting the rules to eliminate all true opposition candidates, least expecting that his worst nightmare would emerge in the person of Issa Tchiroma Bakary – a minister who broke ranks with him just months to election day.
As we brace ourselves for yet another year under this suffocating political atmosphere, one cannot help but wonder how much longer Cameroonians must endure this cyclical deception masquerading as governance. The events of this year have reinforced what many already knew: that the country’s current leadership is neither willing nor capable of steering Cameroon toward genuine renewal. Instead, they cling desperately to power, recycling the same empty promises while the nation’s social fabric continues to deteriorate.
From collapsing institutions to the erosion of civil liberties and the weaponisation of poverty, the regime’s legacy is one of calculated stagnation. Even the so-called “election” – an embarrassing spectacle of manipulation and intimidation – served only to remind citizens of how little their voices matter in a system rigged against them. The sudden rise of Issa Tchiroma Bakary as Biya’s unexpected challenger may have injected some brief excitement into the political space, but it also exposed the regime’s deepest fear: the possibility that even insiders can become catalysts for change.
As the year draws to a close, Cameroonians’ resilience remains their strongest asset. They continue to hope – not because the system gives them reasons to, but because hope is the only thing the regime has not yet managed to steal. And perhaps, in that small but powerful spark, lies the beginning of a different future.
