With less than a week to Cameroon’s presidential election, international affairs analyst Dr Adoyi Omale has condemned the country’s 92-year-old president, Paul Biya, describing his over four-decade rule as “a complete sham” and calling on Cameroonians to “rise up and take back their country.”
Speaking on ARISE News on Monday, Dr Omale said Biya’s continued grip on power is “a tragedy for Africa,” arguing that the Cameroonian leader has dismantled every democratic principle since assuming office in 1982.
“What is happening in Cameroon is that the man is a complete despot. He has jettisoned any tenets of democratic principle,” Dr Omale said. “The elections that are being held are just sham rituals that will perpetuate him in office. Many African countries are what we term banana republics—they conduct elections with predetermined outcomes.”
He said Biya’s 43 years in power have produced no meaningful development.
“There’s really nothing to write home about in terms of economic development, infrastructure, employment, or industrialisation,” he continued. “He just keeps on perpetuating himself in office as a lackey of the French government in Paris. It’s very unfortunate for Africa that people like Paul Biya are still in power.”
Responding to questions on whether Cameroon could still be called a democracy, Dr Omale said there was “nothing democratic” about the process, noting that Biya’s manipulation of the system and suppression of dissent have made genuine opposition impossible.
“I don’t think he is in power because Cameroonians voted for him or love him so much,” he stated. “He has crushed every voice of dissent and continued to amend the constitution to perpetuate himself in power. Cameroon has over 300 political parties—how can that even function? It’s just a way to create confusion and weaken the opposition.”
He stressed that tenure limits remain a cornerstone of modern liberal democracy, insisting that even the best-performing leaders must eventually step aside.
“No matter how good you are, tenure limit is one of the cornerstones of democracy,” Dr Omale said. “You spend your term, get re-elected if possible, and then step aside so that others can add their own value with freshness. What we are witnessing in Cameroon is not acceptable—it’s a sham.”
Reacting to the United Nations’ call for free and fair elections in Cameroon, Dr Omale expressed disbelief, saying it was “naïve” to expect fairness in a process long dominated by Biya.
“Mandela refused to seek re-election in South Africa—that was instructive. President Jonathan in Nigeria lost an election as a sitting president and stepped aside. But Paul Biya has refused to do the same,” he said. “After 43 years, it was time for him to go. He’s almost senile, and yet he insists on running again. I wonder what Cameroonians are doing tolerating such rascality.”
Dr Omale urged Cameroonians, particularly the youth, to emulate global Gen Z movements and demand change.
“The young generation has to rise up. They have to march in the streets and take power,” he said. “Cameroonians must march onto the streets and drive him out of the presidential election,”he concluded.
Boluwatife Enome
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