By Enyichukwu Enemanna
A prominent minister and long-time ally of Cameroonian President, Paul Biya has quit the government, hoping to end four-decade grip on power of the nonagenarian in the forthcoming elections.
Issa Tchiroma Bakary’s exit comes just four months before the central African nation goes to the polls. He said Biya administration where he belonged to had “broken” public trust and he was switching to a rival party.
“A country cannot exist in the service of one man,” the former communications minister said on Wednesday.
His roles during almost two decades in government include being a spokesman for the Biya government, and, until his resignation on Tuesday, he was employment minister.
Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state is yet to announce his intention to seek election for the eighth term as President.
The government last year placed a ban on reports about the President’s health following rumours that he was dead.
Cracks in Tchiroma’s relationship with President Biya were blown open earlier this month, when he told crowds in his home city of Garoua that Biya’s time in power had not benefitted them in any way.
Tchiroma, widely reported to be 75, continued this criticism in a 24-page manifesto released a day after his resignation – promising to dismantle “the old system” so that Cameroon could move beyond “abuse, contempt, and the confiscation of power”.
One of his proposed solutions is federalism. Heis offering to hold a referendum on devolving more power to Cameroon’s 10 provinces. This has long been mooted by many as a solution to the country’s so-called Anglophone crisis.
Specifically addressing English-speaking Cameroonians, who have long complained of marginalisation and discrimination in Francophone-dominated public institutions, he said “you do not need people to speak for you – you need to be listened to” and that “centralisation has failed”.
Ahead of the October presidential election, rights groups have condemned the government’s crackdown on dissent.
Shortly after Tchiroma announced his plans to run for the presidency, the government reportedly announced a ban on all political activities by his Cameroon National Salvation Front (CNSF) party in a sub-district of the Far North region, a part of the country where he is said to be an influential power-broker.
