-SDF’s 35th anniversary celebration ignites “national call to end 42 years of darkness”
-From commemorating the legacy of Ni John Fru Ndi to laying out a bold national rescue plan, SDF National
President Joshua Osih electrifies thousands in Mutengene, warning that the October 2025 election is
Cameroon’s last chance for peaceful liberation from decades of stagnation and systemic injustice
By Ikome Christie-Noella Eposi in Buea
In a dramatic and emotionally charged rally that unfolded under the scorching June 13 sun at the CBS School
Field in Mutengene, Honourable Joshua Osih, National President of the Social Democratic Front (SDF),
marked the party’s 35th anniversary with what many attendees called the most powerful political speech in
recent Cameroonian history. With his sleeves rolled up, voice booming and eyes glinting with a mix of resolve
and fury, Osih called on Cameroonians to rise, register, and vote or continue enduring the chains of poverty,
fear, and failure.
The event drew thousands from across the South West Region and beyond; party loyalists, curious citizens,
and even quiet defectors from the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) all eager to hear
what the man many now dub “Cameroon’s Moses” had to say. But this was more than a celebration. It was an
awakening.
-A legacy reborn
Osih began by honouring late Ni John Fru Ndi, the SDF’s founding chairman, who launched the party on May
26, 1990, in Bamenda. “There was one man who had the courage to stand up and change the course of this
country,” Osih said, pausing to invite the audience into a minute of silence, followed by a standing ovation. “He
is watching over us. And today, we take his torch to the next level”, Osih said.
Coincidentally, or perhaps divinely ordained, the rally took place exactly two years after Fru Ndi’s passing. Osih
described the day as “spiritually aligned,” reinforcing the belief that the SDF’s continued journey is not just
political but providential.
-‘We must end the wickedness’ – Hon. Osih
The speech quickly took on a fiery tone as Osih moved from reflection to rebuke, targeting the Biya-led regime
with relentless precision.
“What the Yaoundé government is doing is no longer politics; it is wickedness,” he declared. “For over eight
years, we’ve been dying in the Anglophone regions, and the man who claims to be our president has never set
foot there. Is that normal?”
The crowd erupted in a collective “NO!”, echoing the anger of a generation denied peace, opportunity, and
dignity.
Osih lambasted the government’s failure in every sector, from inaccessible identity cards to extortion in
hospitals, from unemployment to education decay. “Even a birth certificate is now a luxury. When SDF takes
power, that ends. Birth certificates, ID cards, school; all will be free. It is your right as Cameroonians.”
-October 2025: Cameroon’s final test
But Osih’s most urgent message was this: October 2025 is the turning point. “If we miss this chance, we are
writing our own death sentence. We must register. We must vote. And we must protect our votes,” he said.
He disclosed that the party is actively recruiting 96,000 polling agents to monitor voting stations nationwide.
“Election is not Osih’s thing. It is your thing. Don’t just vote and go home, stay, watch. Ensure the truth is
counted”, he cautionec.
And then came the numbers: “Since 1992, Biya has never won with more than 2.4 million votes. That’s less
than 10% of the population controlling 100% of our pain. If we can’t beat that with our numbers, then we like
suffering”, Osih said.
-A people-driven coalition, not a political arrangement
When asked about possible alliances or coalitions with other opposition parties, Osih gave a blunt and
unapologetic response: “The coalition to defeat Biya is YOU, the people of Cameroon.”
He dismissed “Facebook parties” that exist only in the digital realm and questioned the logic of joining forces
with groups that “have nothing to lose. We need to align with Cameroonians who want real change, not with
political tourists.”
-Jobs, justice, and reforms: A blueprint for recovery
Beyond the emotional appeal, Osih laid out a solid roadmap for national recovery: Three million jobs in five
years through industrial transformation, free, quality education from nursery to high school, Healthcare
reforms to end extortion and guarantee access, Massive infrastructure projects in roads, electricity, and
transformation industries, Land ownership for all Cameroonian families, free of charge.
“Why are we exporting raw timber and importing plastic chairs?” he asked. “Our children will only get jobs
when we build factories to process what we grow, mine, or harvest”, he said.
-A 100-Day Plan to end the Anglophone crisis
In a rare moment of detailed policy engagement, Osih revealed the SDF’s plan to end violence in the crisis-hit
Anglophone regions within 100 days of assuming power. “We will start with peace, continue with
reconciliation, and crown it with a constitutional conference,” he said in his post-speech interview. The new
constitution will be voted on in a referendum and will establish a semi-presidential federal system that
decentralises power and ends tribal and regional grievances.” Osih said he is confident because “there is no
political party in Cameroon that understands the North West and South West better than the SDF.”
-Local voices speak out
The rally was enriched by speeches from other SDF leaders across the region, all echoing a singular theme:
readiness for change.
*Chief Kona Makia, Regional Chairman, declared:
Joshua Osih is the next president. The time to impregnate the new Cameroon is now. Let everyone register so
that we can vote massively for who we want. In SDF, we talk about eye-opening democracy.
*Teboh George, District Chairman of Tiko, pledged loyalty and strength:
There are no betrayers in Tiko. We say what we do and do what we say. Etoudi is your next district, Mr
President.
*Tambe Didier, District Chairman, Ekondo Titi:
Ekondo Titi is moving in the rightful direction. We want to change things by power by force. We will beat the
PM in his village. His presence there doesn’t hinder our victory in anyway.
*Barrister Hector Ndiko, Secretary General Ekondo Titi SDF District:
As a whole, we are prepared for the election. Despite some challenges that we are facing because of the
crisis, (movement is now mostly by water), but even with that, you see the registration, I think we are more
than 50 percent people who are committed for change, clamouring for change. So they have registered, and
we are still pushing that they should continue to change, to register, because when you register, that is where
you use your voters’ right to vote. You cannot talk about change without voting. So that is it, it’s not easy. What
we are trying to do is door-to-door campaigns to educate the community on their right to vote. We need
change. And that is why we are here today.
*Ekume Raymond, District Chairman of Toko Electoral District:
Some of those resignations were not properly done because there were games played at the back because
even the person who came before and brought names of some individuals, the individuals isolated
themselves from the list saying that they were not aware of what was happening. So I can assure you 100%
that at the level of Toko, with my abilities, things have taken a right shape and we recently just had a very
decisive meeting, very frank on the 25th of May 2025 and the people on ground are very ready for a change
which we have come to understand that we have been deceived for several years. This time around, the
change is sure and we are not ready for any distraction, bribery or any corruption. We are ready to take our
destiny into our hands and put the reality on ground and make the change which we deserve.
*Tambe Godfred Tawi, SDF District Chairman Kumba I Electoral District:
Kumba I is faring well. During the crisis, we worked quietly but made significant strides. In the 2024
anniversary of the CPDM, Tabot Lawson the Parliamentarian for CPDM for Kumba Central in his speech said
SDF was dead and buried in Kumba. So we decided to come out massively during the 20th May 2025
manifestation to prove our strength and after we marched, the CPDM has been holding series of meetings
because they thought SDF was dead and buried but we are prepared to take over the councils because we
have the strength and the voting power.
-A new Cameroon or another seven years of pain?
Osih reminded supporters that if they failed to act, they would essentially be granting the Biya regime another
seven-year mandate of “pain, theft, and failure. The theft in hospitals, the electricity blackouts, the death of
industries like CDC and SONARA, the fake promises of ports and airports, all of it continues if we don’t stop it.
And we stop it by voting.”
He also tackled issues often overlooked like Cameroon’s foreign dependency and monetary sovereignty. “We
cannot be independent if our economy, army, or money is controlled by another country. We must reclaim our
independence — and we will recognise Palestine like all other African nations.”
-Osih’s prayer, promise
As the event drew to a close, Osih left the people of Mutengene with both a prayer and a promise. “I learnt
politics from Ni John Fru Ndi, who always told me: ‘A politician is not known by what he says, but by what he
listens to.’ Today, I’ve listened to your cries. I’ve listened to your pain. And I’m ready to deliver you.”
He urged every attendee to knock on their neighbour’s door, guide them to ELECAM, and ensure they are
registered. “Even if you’re displaced, the law allows you to vote where you are. It takes just 30 seconds to
change your polling station. But that 30 seconds may liberate your children for the next generation.”
A country at the crossroads
The SDF’s 35th anniversary celebration was more than a political event. It was a moment of reckoning, a
revival of a legacy, a challenge to the status quo, and an invitation to a new Cameroon.
With just months to the most anticipated election in Cameroon’s democratic history, Joshua Osih has planted
the flag. His message is clear: Cameroon does not lack resources or potential. It lacks leadership. And the
time to change that is now.
As the rally closed with chants of “Osih to Etoudi!”, one could feel the silent consensus spreading through the
crowd: 35 years later, the SDF is not just alive, it is ready.