BY CYNTHIA BIH
President Paul Biya, 92, was sworn into office on Thursday, November 6, beginning an uninterrupted eighth mandate as Cameroon’s Head of State. He has ruled the country since November 6, 1982.
After being sworn in by National Assembly Speaker Hon. Cavaye, Biya addressed the nation and pledged “to work tirelessly for the advent of a united, stable and prosperous Cameroon.” Many Cameroonians doubt this promise. After 43 years in power, unemployment remains high and the gap between the rich and poor continues to widen. Most citizens live below the poverty line while a few live in great wealth. Despite this, Biya again promised to increase youth employment and create more opportunities for women.
Biya also stressed the need to preserve national unity, especially as separatist fighters in the Northwest and Southwest Regions have spent nine years fighting for independence. Since 2016, when Common Law lawyers and teachers protested years of marginalization, the crisis has grown into a brutal conflict. Instead of engaging in dialogue, Biya responded with military force and ordered troops to “shoot, kill and eliminate” activists calling for independence.
After nine years of failed attempts to suppress separatists, many expected Biya to announce an amnesty and seek peace. Instead, he reaffirmed his decision to continue the war, aiming to “annihilate” separatists at home and abroad. “Once again, I will like to caution the members of these armed groups who continue with their criminal activities, about the serious consequences of their activities.”
The war has killed more than 6,000 civilians. Over 750,000 people have been displaced, and more than 60,000 Anglophones have fled to countries like Nigeria, South Africa, the U.S., and across Europe.
Biya thanked foreign countries for pursuing alleged sponsors of separatist groups, saying, “I extend my gratitude to friendly countries that have begun pursuing and bringing to justice the sponsors of this criminal acts… Terrorism is a global scourge that must be combatted vigorously wherever it shows its ugly face.”
In the same way the regime has treated the anglophone conflict, Biya ignored the historical basis of the Anglophone struggle. In 1961, after a controversial UN-sponsored plebiscite, British Southern Cameroons joined French-speaking Cameroon as an equal entity. Since then, there have been leadership and structural adjustments that have sparked outrage and cries of discrimination within the minority anglophone community.
Biya’s renewed hardline stance suggests more deaths and displacement in the years ahead. His address made it clear that security will dominate his new mandate. “I am appealing to the sense of responsibility of each and everyone, especially those who seek to fuel hatred and violence in our country, particularly some of our compatriots in the diaspora,” he said. He concluded, “It is my duty to ensure that order is maintained.”