Opinion: Cameroonians raise genuine concerns on absence of Paul Biya
By Nfor Hanson Nchanji
The social media space, traditional media and offline discussions in Cameroon during the past two weeks have been on the absnce of the President of the Republic, Paul Biya.
The preisidential couple left Cameroon for Beijing China, on September 2, 2024, to take part in the China-Africa summit. President Paul Biya met with other heads of state and signed important partnerships, according to state media reports.
At the time this report was penned, it was the 37th day since Paul Biya left Cameroon.
Though some persons have used the opportunity to vehiculate false information that the president had passed unto glory, prompting a reaction from the Presidency and the ministry of communication, let it be known that those Cameroonians who want to know the wherebabouts of their president, raised geneuine concerns. Far from speculations, our newsroom remained steadfast amidst false reports flying from left to right on the president’s health.
While it is common for a man of his age to get unwell, it will be grossly unethical for the media to base its reports on speculations, given the critical nature of the information. But the media also has as role to relay genuine concerns of the citizens!
The reasons for this outburst of Cameroonians on the social media is because there was a lack of communication from the civil cabinet, the general secreteriat or the communication ministry.
After the end of the China-Africa summit, other heads of state went back to their countries but the presidential couple did not return home-one month after, it was but normal for Cameroonians to ask the whereabouts of their president. A timely communication from the presidency about the next steps of the president after the summit would have saved the false narratives and also saved them from sending communique’s debunking the rumours.
This situation should be a lesson to government bodies that being proactive is the best approach to avoid such scenarios. Imagine after the summit, a release from the civil Cabinet informs Cameroonians that the President had gone to Switzerland and will be back to Cameroon soon. This would have been a good approach rather than doing damage control.
And to say that Cameroonians are asking the whereabouts of the president is wrong, is just being unreasonable. It is the rights of every citizen to know that their president is doing well and thinking about their problems. Here are a few reasons why their concerns are genuine.
- Economy: The economic sitaution in Cameroon has become chaotic with rising cost of living. Things have become hard for families to survive. Denizens are struggling to keep their loved ones together -thus they want to know that their president is aware of these and making efforts to address the issues. They want to know that their president is home, feeling the pressure from all the angles of Cameroon. They want to make sure that their president is monitoring projects and sanctioning those squandering tax payers money.
- Security: Recently, Douala in the littoral has been the epicentre of urban thieves who snatch bags and even lives in broad-day light. The Governor has promsied that things will be fine but it gets disturbing when foreign agencies start noticing such areas by marking them as red-zones on their maps. Cameroonians want to be secured and they want to know that the president is aware of this and making efforts for this to be eradicated. The far norh, north west and south west regions are at war and during this time, it is better to know that your president is around than speculate his whereabouts. As Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, it is normal to have him around than not knowing where he is. For peace and comfort starts with concerns and assurance from those at the front of leadership. I know that the government said the president is monitoring the situationa and working for Cameroon wherever he is, but this assurance came after so much outburst.
- Political future: Next year is an important political year, with potential presidential candidates emerging. Cameroonians seek clarity on the date and conduct of the presidential elections, and whether the current president will run again. These concerns require clear answers.
