EncyclopediaGovernance & Civic Life

Governance & Civic Life

170 entries.

Governance & Civic Life

The Architecture of Anticipation: Ousmane Sonko and the New Phase of Senegalese Governance

PoiseSocial · 27 May 2026

A lawyer close to Ousmane Sonko reflects on his client's strategic acumen and the shift from PASTEF's campaign for power to a new institutio

Governance & Civic Life

The Laws of Power and the Senegalese Reckoning: Sonko, Faye, and the Choice to Govern Subordinate

PoiseSocial · 24 May 2026 · Social Evolution

A meditation on Ousmane Sonko's dismissal as Prime Minister of Senegal through the lens of Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power. The writer argu

Governance & Civic Life

When Speed and Silence Collide: FECAFOOT's Challenge to CAF Procedure

Poise (Editorial) · 23 January 2026 · Political Culture

Following a disciplinary sanction against its President Samuel Eto'o, Cameroon's Football Federation raised procedural objections—notably, t

Governance & Civic Life

A Mother's Account of Medical Negligence and Loss in Lagos

CNA · 11 January 2026

A Nigerian author describes the death of her young son following what she characterizes as criminal negligence by an anesthesiologist during

Governance & Civic Life

The United States Withdraws From International Institutions: Implications for African Governance and Development

Poise (Editorial) · 8 January 2026

The U.S. government has ordered immediate withdrawal from 35 non-UN organizations and 31 UN entities spanning climate, development, democrac

Governance & Civic Life

Côte d'Ivoire: From Elimination to Detention

Poise (Editorial) · 29 December 2025

In 2000, days after the Côte d'Ivoire national football team was eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations, the country's military regime de

Governance & Civic Life

The Arithmetic of Fragmentation: Cameroon's Party System and the Limits of Electoral Choice

Tino Foy · 29 July 2025 · Political Culture

With over 180 registered political parties competing for 280 parliamentary seats, Cameroon's electoral landscape has become a study in mathe

Governance & Civic Life

The Unofficial Ambassador: Reputation, Boundaries, and Ngando's Place in Cameroonian Football

Tino Foy · 19 December 2024 · Local Heroes & Figures

A critical reflection on Ngando, a long-standing supporter of Cameroon's national football team, examining the gap between his public image

Governance & Civic Life

The Courage Tax: Celebrity Influence and the Limits of Hashtag Activism in Cameroon

Tino Foy · 18 December 2024 · Political Culture

The writer reflects on a delegation meeting with Cameroon's Minister of Arts and Culture to oppose a controversial bill, witnessing firsthan

Governance & Civic Life

The Architecture of Cameroon's Judicial System

Tino Foy · 18 December 2024 · Political Culture

This post maps the formal structure of Cameroon's courts and legal personnel—from magistrates and registrars to judicial police, bailiffs, n

Governance & Civic Life

Five Cameroonian Laws Worth Understanding

Gi Yo Ndzi · 18 December 2024 · Political Culture

The writer surveys five significant but underutilized laws in Cameroon's legal framework—covering abortion, underage marriage, arrest proced

Governance & Civic Life

The Peril of Performance: Youth, Social Media, and the Erosion of Serious Political Engagement in Africa

Tino Foy · 10 April 2024 · Political Culture

The writer examines how social media's amplification of charisma and visibility threatens to corrupt genuine youth-led political movements a

Governance & Civic Life

Symbols Without Substance: The Portrait and the Slogans

Tino Foy · 26 March 2024 · Political Culture

This essay examines how Cameroon's political culture has come to rely almost entirely on symbolic gestures—a ubiquitous presidential portrai

Governance & Civic Life

The Unofficial Ambassador: Governance, Reputation, and Cameroonian Football

Tino Foy · 1 February 2024 · Political Culture

A writer examines the decades-long relationship between a devoted but increasingly problematic football supporter and Cameroon's national te

Governance & Civic Life

The Price of Change: On Sacrifice, Institutions, and Why Good People Stay Silent

Tino Foy · 10 August 2023 · Political Culture

The writer reflects on Rebecca's public refusal of a presidential candidacy, using it as a lens to examine a deeper paradox in Cameroonian c

Governance & Civic Life

The Unfinished Reckoning: Colonial Debt and African Self-Reckoning

Gi Yo Ndzi · 26 May 2023 · Political Culture

A reflection on a staged play about the Nso people's heritage held in German custody, this essay argues that restitution of colonized artifa

Governance & Civic Life

The Politics of the Picture: Celebrity, Complicity, and Cameroon's Defeated Imagination

Tino Foy · 9 May 2023 · Political Culture

The writer argues that high-profile Cameroonians—particularly those with global platforms—cannot escape political responsibility through sil

Governance & Civic Life

Six Cameroon Types: A Taxonomy of Power, Aspiration, and Survival

Tino Foy · 2 May 2023 · Social Evolution

The writer sketches six distinct social archetypes within Cameroon—from the privileged beneficiaries of state patronage to the disenfranchis

Governance & Civic Life

Airplane Mode Till 2025

Tino Foy · 25 April 2023 · Political Culture

A reflection on a two-hour internet protest against Cameroonian telecom operators, examining why such social-media-based activism often fail

Governance & Civic Life

Reality Setting In for Eto'o at FECAFOOT

PoiseSocial · 24 December 2022 · Local Heroes & Figures

A year into Samuel Eto'o's presidency of Cameroon's football federation, the initial euphoria has given way to a harder reckoning. The write

Governance & Civic Life

Africa at the Table: Reflections on the 2022 US-Africa Leaders Summit

Poise (Editorial) · 15 December 2022 · Political Culture

Poise examines the December 2022 US-Africa Leaders Summit through the lens of key African leaders' statements and commitments. The piece sur

Governance & Civic Life

The Lingering Stain: Cataloguing Corruption in Plain Sight

PoiseSocial · 13 December 2022 · Political Culture

Poise documents the seized assets of Emmanuel Ondo Ndong, former General Manager of FEICOM, convicted of embezzlement over 15 years prior. T

Governance & Civic Life

Samuel Eto'o's Violence and the Cameroon We Choose to Become

F.N.K · 7 December 2022 · Political Culture

A critical examination of public reaction to Eto'o's physical assault on an Algerian YouTuber, and the excuses Cameroonians have offered in

Governance & Civic Life

Do We Deserve a Democracy?

Wandji Wilfred · 6 December 2022 · Political Culture

The writer examines whether Cameroon's citizens possess the civic engagement required to sustain a functioning democracy, arguing that the n

Governance & Civic Life

The Movie Nobody Wants to Make: On Migration, Desperation, and Failed States

Tino Foy · 28 October 2022 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on the desperate journeys many Africans—including Cameroonians—undertake to reach the United States via Mexico and the A

Governance & Civic Life

The Crown and the Mirror: On Selective Outrage and Our Own Accountability

Wandji Wilfred · 20 September 2022 · Political Culture

In the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's death and the succession of King Charles III, the writer examines the surge of anti-colonial sentiment o

Governance & Civic Life

The Execution of Rudolf Douala Manga Bell: A King's Stand Against Expropriation

Wandji Wilfred · 8 August 2022 · Local Heroes & Figures

On August 8, 1914, Rudolf Douala Manga Bell, the Paramount King of the Duala people, was executed by German colonial authorities after leadi

Governance & Civic Life

The Manufacturing of Mass Psychosis

PoiseSocial · 22 July 2022

The writer examines how totalitarian regimes employ psychological manipulation—fear, propaganda, and what Joost Meerloo called 'menticide'—t

Governance & Civic Life

The Lions' Uniform: Pride, Protocol, and Power in Cameroon's Football Identity

PoiseSocial · 15 July 2022 · Local Heroes & Figures

This essay traces Cameroon's contentious relationship with FIFA over controversial kit designs—first a sleeveless jersey in 2002, then a one

Governance & Civic Life

Anglophones Must Think Differently About Marginalization (Part Two)

PoiseSocial · 14 July 2022 · Political Culture

The writer responds to reader commentary on language acquisition, resource constraints, and elite responsibility in addressing the Anglophon

Governance & Civic Life

The Media Question: On Ownership, Heroes, and Political Fear in Cameroon

PoiseSocial · 7 July 2022 · Political Culture

The writer examines how Cameroon's media landscape systematically marginalizes local independent creators while amplifying mediocre, politic

Governance & Civic Life

Eto'o and Power in Cameroon: Trauma, Ambition, and the Price of Change

Tino Foy · 10 June 2022 · Political Culture

This essay examines Cameroonians' fraught relationship with power—rooted in decades of authoritarian rule—and how that collective wariness s

Governance & Civic Life

The Politics of Empty Slogans

Tino Foy · 20 May 2022 · Political Culture

The writer examines Cameroon's reliance on hollow symbols and vacuous slogans—from the omnipresent presidential portrait to government catch

Governance & Civic Life

The Embiid Choice: Governance, Loyalty, and the Economics of Representation

Wandji Wilfred · 4 May 2022 · Political Culture

When NBA star Joel Embiid moved to obtain French nationality for international basketball competition, Cameroonians responded with anger roo

Governance & Civic Life

The Minister's Promise: Arts Governance and the Weight of Unresolved Conflict

Gi Yo Ndzi · 18 March 2022 · Political Culture

The Minister of Arts and Culture tells parliament that his administration is working to resolve persistent conflicts across Cameroon's arts

Governance & Civic Life

The Cycle of Violence: From Classroom to Nation

Wandji Wilfred · 25 February 2022 · Social Evolution

The writer examines a viral video of a teacher brutally beating a student, tracing it to deeper patterns of inherited violence in Cameroonia

Governance & Civic Life

Unity in Sport, Fracture in Governance: Why Cameroon Cannot Organise Itself

Wandji Wilfred · 1 February 2022 · Political Culture

The writer observes that Cameroonians demonstrated rare collective solidarity during AFCON 2022 by supporting Egypt against Côte d'Ivoire, y

Governance & Civic Life

The Lies We Tell Ourselves: Thirteen Expressions That Confine Cameroon

Wandji Wilfred · 18 December 2021 · Social Evolution

The writer catalogs thirteen colloquial expressions—drawn from French, English, and Pidgin—that Cameroonians use to rationalize passivity, i

Governance & Civic Life

The Tenor Case and the Performance of Justice

Tino Foy · 2 November 2021 · Political Culture

The writer examines the public appearance of a musician facing criminal charges related to a fatal car accident, arguing that his attendance

Governance & Civic Life

The Architecture of Cameroon's Judicial System: Roles and Responsibilities

Tino Foy · 10 October 2021 · Political Culture

A systematic breakdown of the six categories of actors in Cameroon's judicial apparatus—magistrates, registrars, judicial police, bailiffs,

Governance & Civic Life

Kum'a Mbappe and the First Act of Resistance

PoiseSocial · 17 September 2021 · Local Heroes & Figures

In 1884, Kum'a Mbappe, King of Bonabéri, refused to sign a treaty with German colonial powers even as other Duala rulers capitulated. When t

Governance & Civic Life

Patriotism as Distraction: The Mimi Fawaz Incident and Cameroon's Defensive Culture

Wandji Wilfred · 19 August 2021 · Political Culture

A writer examines the swift, vitriolic public response to a Nigerian journalist's casual tweet about a mosquito in her hotel room during AFC

Governance & Civic Life

The Law Works: What Cameroonians Don't Know About Their Own System

Tino Foy · 31 July 2021 · Political Culture

The writer reflects on three personal arrests in Cameroon and the broader cultural distrust of the legal system, arguing that ordinary citiz

Governance & Civic Life

Seventeen Expressions That Confine the Cameroon Mind

Wandji Wilfred · 19 May 2021 · Political Culture

Poise examines seventeen colloquial expressions in Cameroon—spanning French, English, and Pidgin—that encode resignation, defeatism, and acc

Governance & Civic Life

The Cost of Outlier Success

Tino Foy · 29 April 2021 · Political Culture

The writer examines Francis Ngannou's achievement as UFC heavyweight champion and his subsequent philanthropic work in Cameroon, arguing tha

Governance & Civic Life

The Untapped Power of Cameroon's Cuisine as National Brand

Wandji Wilfred · 11 March 2021 · Political Culture

The writer argues that Cameroon's exceptional and diverse cuisine represents an underutilised asset for national branding and tourism promot

Governance & Civic Life

The Republic of Facebook, and Why We Need to Lose Our Citizenship

Wandji Wilfred · 3 March 2021 · Political Culture

The writer argues that young Cameroonians, particularly urban musicians and cultural workers, have retreated into a parallel economy and adv

Governance & Civic Life

Ernest Ouandie: Fifty Years Since His Execution

PoiseSocial · 15 January 2021 · Political Culture

On 15 January 1971, Ernest Ouandie, a founding vice-president of the UPC and leader of its armed resistance against the Ahidjo government, w

Governance & Civic Life

Changing the Game in Africa: On Development, Sovereignty, and Cultural Inheritance

Tino Foy · 6 January 2021 · Political Culture

The writer challenges Africa's imitation of Western development models—from currency arrangements to architectural mimicry—and argues that t

Governance & Civic Life

One Month After Kumba: On Platforms, Pressure, and the Work of Actually Showing Up

Wandji Wilfred · 24 November 2020 · Political Culture

A month after the Kumba Massacre and the cultural industry's initial mobilization, the writer reflects on the gap between viral gestures and

Governance & Civic Life

The Anglophone Crisis: A Nation Finally Reckoning

Wandji Wilfred · 29 October 2020 · Political Culture

Written in late October 2020, following the Kumba massacre, this piece traces how social media mobilization around the Anglophone crisis shi

Governance & Civic Life

The Phone Tax: A Study in Governmental Incoherence

Wandji Wilfred · 20 October 2020 · Political Culture

In October 2020, Cameroon's government proposed a 33% import tax on mobile phones to be paid directly by consumers—a measure virtually witho

Governance & Civic Life

Colonialism, Identity, and the Question of How We Move Forward

Tino Foy · 19 October 2020 · Political Culture

The writer examines how colonialism fractured Cameroon's precolonial structures and forced a dependence that persists today, leaving African

Governance & Civic Life

When Hashtags Don't Do the Job

Tino Foy · 16 October 2020 · Political Culture

A reflection on the gap between public outcry and meaningful action in Cameroon, examining why celebrities and citizens fail to effect real

Governance & Civic Life

Know Your Police Force: Ranks and Required Qualifications in Cameroon

PoiseSocial · 9 September 2020 · Political Culture

A straightforward guide to the hierarchical structure of the Cameroonian police force, detailing four main ranks subdivided into twelve tota

Governance & Civic Life

Cameroon's Culinary Moment: The Wasted Chance at Nation Branding

Wandji Wilfred · 3 September 2020 · Social Evolution

When two Cameroonian sisters won a round on an international cooking competition show, it exposed a broader truth: Cameroonians have long kn

Governance & Civic Life

The African Union Headquarters and the Cost of Gifts

Patrick A Ndangoh · 27 August 2020 · Political Culture

The writer reflects on the African Union's headquarters—a $200 million complex built and donated by China—as a symbol of continental shame a

Governance & Civic Life

Rudolph Douala Manga Bell: A King's Last Stand

Wandji Wilfred · 8 August 2020 · Local Heroes & Figures

On August 8, 1914, Rudolph Douala Manga Bell, King of the Duala people, was executed by German colonial authorities for his legal resistance

Governance & Civic Life

Hala Your Own Matter: On African Hypocrisy and Black Lives

Ngochi Moun’Afese · 8 June 2020 · Political Culture

The writer questions the selectivity of African outrage over police violence in America while overlooking systemic violence, discrimination,

Governance & Civic Life

Wake Up: On African Complicity and the New Colonialism

PoiseSocial · 2 June 2020 · Political Culture

Writing from Kondengui Prison, the author argues that Africans are voluntarily returning to economic and political dependence on foreign pow

Governance & Civic Life

Feminising Healthcare: Four Reasons Why It Serves Universal Health Coverage

Ngwashi Christabel · 2 June 2020 · Social Evolution

A physician argues that centering women's health, leadership, economic power, and decision-making authority is not ideological but pragmatic

Governance & Civic Life

Why Feminism Matters for Universal Healthcare in Africa

Ngwashi Christabel · 1 June 2020 · Social Evolution

A Cameroonian physician argues that achieving universal health coverage across Africa requires centering women's health, leadership, economi

Governance & Civic Life

Play Your Music and Say Nothing: On Dissent, Artists, and Political Voice in Cameroon

Wandji Wilfred · 28 May 2020 · Political Culture

The writer examines the cultural pressure placed on Cameroonian artists—exemplified by Charlotte Dipanda's recent political statements—to re

Governance & Civic Life

The SDF at Thirty: A Party's Dimming Flame

Poise (Editorial) · 26 May 2020 · Political Culture

On the thirtieth anniversary of the Social Democratic Front's founding in 1990—marked by a deadly march for multi-partism in Bamenda—Poise r

Governance & Civic Life

The Gravity We Cannot Afford: COVID-19 and the Limits of Prevention in Cameroon

Indigo · 7 April 2020 · Social Evolution

Written in April 2020 as the pandemic reached Cameroon, this essay argues that standard public health measures—social distancing and confine

Governance & Civic Life

The National Orchestra That Never Was

Manu Dibango · 2 April 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer recounts being named to a government jury tasked with auditioning musicians for Cameroon's proposed national orchestra, only to w

Governance & Civic Life

Four Good Reasons Why Feminising Healthcare Can Help Achieve Universal Health Coverage

Ngwashi Christabel · 5 March 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer, a practising physician in Cameroon, argues that gender equality and women's empowerment are essential tools for achieving univer

Governance & Civic Life

Driving Change: Youth, Legitimacy, and the Work of Collective Movement

Tino Foy · 13 February 2020 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that sustained human progress typically originates with young people willing to defy convention, and that modern democracy

Governance & Civic Life

The Favoritism Problem Goes Deeper Than Age

Emmanuel Asafor · 11 February 2020 · Political Culture

The writer questions whether Cameroon's youth are truly equipped to lead the country, arguing that the systemic rot of favoritism, nepotism,

Governance & Civic Life

Still in the Rain: On Power, Proximity, and the Myth of National Unity

Chinua Achebe · 5 February 2020 · Political Culture

Drawing on Chinua Achebe's novel, the writer observes that sixty years after independence, Cameroon remains trapped in a dynamic where a sma

Governance & Civic Life

Changing the Game in Africa: On Development, Leverage, and the Right Questions

Tino Foy · 6 January 2020 · Political Culture

The writer challenges Africa's wholesale adoption of Western development models—tall glass buildings, foreign currencies, imported governanc

Governance & Civic Life

The World's Greatest Obstacle Course: Infrastructure, Negligence, and Cultural Conditioning in Cameroon

Tino Foy · 13 December 2019 · Political Culture

The writer observes that Cameroon's physical landscape—chaotic, unmapped, dangerous—mirrors a deeper cultural tendency to accept obstacles a

Governance & Civic Life

Education as a Contested Space: The Back-to-School Campaign and the Crisis of Safe Learning in Cameroon's Anglophone Regions

PoiseSocial · 21 September 2019 · Political Culture

In 2019, as armed conflict in Cameroon's Northwest and Southwest regions kept schools shuttered for years, civil society organizations inclu

Governance & Civic Life

Slay Queens and Politics: The Corruption of Access

Wandji Wilfred · 18 September 2019 · Political Culture

The writer examines the peculiar alignment between social media celebrities and political power in Cameroon, focusing on a public figure's v

Governance & Civic Life

The Butterfly Effect: One Man's Despair and the Ripple Outward

Wandji Wilfred · 17 September 2019

This piece traces a single December morning in 2010 when a young street vendor in a Tunisian town suffered a humiliating encounter with poli

Governance & Civic Life

Ruben Um Nyobe: The Cost of Refusing Compromise

Wandji Wilfred · 13 September 2019 · Local Heroes & Figures

On September 13, 1958, Ruben Um Nyobe, founder of Cameroon's UPC independence party, was killed by French forces in a forest near Boumnyebel

Governance & Civic Life

Arafat Desecrated: A Victim of Himself or of Society?

Wandji Wilfred · 2 September 2019 · Social Evolution

Following the desecration of DJ Arafat's grave in Côte d'Ivoire, this essay examines the event not as mere spectacle but as a symptom of dee

Governance & Civic Life

The Execution of Rudolf Douala Manga Bell: A Forgotten Reckoning

Wandji Wilfred · 9 August 2019 · Local Heroes & Figures

On August 8, 1914, the Paramount King of the Duala people and his collaborator were hanged by German colonial authorities for opposing the e

Governance & Civic Life

The University of Buea and the Absent Brand

Wandji Wilfred · 31 July 2019 · Social Evolution

A reflective essay questioning whether the University of Buea possesses an institutional identity or aspiration that extends beyond credenti

Governance & Civic Life

On Service and the Uniform: Rethinking Leadership in Cameroon

Wandji Wilfred · 12 July 2019 · Political Culture

The writer observes how uniformed officials—police, gendarmes, soldiers—receive deference and queue-jumping privileges in everyday transacti

Governance & Civic Life

Should the Government Legalize Abortion? A Cameroon Perspective

Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus · 29 June 2019 · Political Culture

An analytical overview of the abortion legalization debate in Cameroon, where current law permits pregnancy termination only when the mother

Governance & Civic Life

Should the Government Legalize Marijuana Consumption?

Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus · 15 June 2019 · Political Culture

This analytical piece weighs the case for marijuana legalization in Cameroon—citing potential economic gains through taxation and job creati

Governance & Civic Life

Is Plastic Food Packaging Safe? A Practical Assessment

Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus · 8 June 2019 · Political Culture

The post examines the health risks posed by chemicals like phthalates and BPA in plastic food packaging, particularly when heated, and consi

Governance & Civic Life

On National Names and National Purpose

Wandji Wilfred · 20 May 2019 · Political Culture

The writer engages with musician Blick Bassy's provocative question about whether Cameroon should rename itself, prompted by the colonial et

Governance & Civic Life

Tramadol and the Opioid Paradox in Cameroon

Dr. Ndifor Judethaddeus · 11 May 2019 · Social Evolution

A medical perspective on tramadol abuse in Cameroon, situating it within a broader landscape of substance misuse among young adults while ar

Governance & Civic Life

The Road to the Anglophone Crisis

PoiseSocial · 30 April 2019 · Political Culture

This essay traces the Anglophone crisis—which intensified in late 2016 with strikes by lawyers and teachers—to structural injustices rooted

Governance & Civic Life

Land, Livelihood, and Lessons from History: The Baka and the Weight of Precedent

Poise (Editorial) · 8 April 2019 · Social Evolution

Poise draws a sharp parallel between the historical dispossession of Native Americans through the reservation system and ongoing threats to

Governance & Civic Life

The Baka People and the Cost of Development Without Consent

Poise (Editorial) · 6 April 2019 · Social Evolution

This piece examines the displacement of the Baka indigenous forest community in southern Cameroon by industrial rubber plantations, specific

Governance & Civic Life

How Professional Are Our Professionals?

Wandji Wilfred · 1 April 2019 · Social Evolution

Following the death of a teenager in a Cameroonian hospital and its documentation and broadcast on social media, the writer reflects on the

Governance & Civic Life

The Soma Simon Case: On Scams, Service Providers, and Civic Accountability

Tino Foy · 12 March 2019 · Social Evolution

A Cameroon-based writer recounts a near-miss with a mobile money scam and uses it to indict Orange Cameroun and law enforcement for failing

Governance & Civic Life

Leadership Lessons from Dr Nkeng: Building Loyalty in the Entertainment Industry

Tino Foy · 4 March 2019 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer observes Dr Nkeng's sustained success in building and maintaining a cohesive video production team—CPE—as a rare model of organiz

Governance & Civic Life

The Eto'o Presidency and the Temptation of the Strongman

Wandji Wilfred · 28 February 2019 · Political Culture

Following Samuel Eto'o's election as FECAFOOT president in 2019, Cameroonians rallied around him as proof that fair elections and competent

Governance & Civic Life

When Global Powers Avert Their Eyes: Rawlings on the Anglophone Crisis

Poise (Editorial) · 23 February 2019 · Political Culture

Former Ghanaian president Jerry John Rawlings, speaking at an international peace summit in Seoul, calls out the silence of Western powers a

Governance & Civic Life

White Worship at the Airport Gate: On Courage and Collective Silence

Tino Foy · 19 February 2019 · Social Evolution

A traveler at Douala International Airport confronts a customs officer who places white foreign passengers ahead of waiting Cameroonians, an

Governance & Civic Life

The Architecture of Influence: Chantal Biya and Power in Cameroon's Presidential Circle

Poise (Editorial) · 18 February 2019 · Political Culture

A February 2019 post examines the shifting public profile and apparent political influence of Chantal Biya, reported on the cover of Jeune A

Governance & Civic Life

On Youth and the Persistence of Patronage

Emmanuel Asafor · 18 February 2019 · Political Culture

This piece interrogates the assumption that generational change alone will solve Cameroon's structural problems, using a personal anecdote t

Governance & Civic Life

The Absurdity of Redundant Certification in Cameroon

Tino Foy · 14 February 2019 · Political Culture

The writer describes the frustrating cycle of repeatedly certifying documents in Cameroon—birth certificates, ID cards, medical certificates

Governance & Civic Life

The Right Questions: On Innovation, Recognition, and What We Actually Celebrate

Tino Foy · 13 February 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer reflects on Cédric Simen's celebrated concept car and a childhood memory of a neighbor's homemade aircraft, arguing that both rev

Governance & Civic Life

The ABCDs of the Colonial Pact

Wandji Wilfred · 8 February 2019 · Political Culture

A 2019 essay examines the Franco-Cameroonian colonial pact signed in 1959, tracing how France secured control over Cameroon's mineral wealth

Governance & Civic Life

Cameroon and the Curse of Elitism

Wandji Wilfred · 5 February 2019 · Political Culture

The writer traces Cameroon's pervasive culture of elitism—visible in everyday assertions of rank and privilege—to a foundational inferiority

Governance & Civic Life

False Enemies and the Me First Mentality

Tino Foy · 3 February 2019 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that Cameroonians have turned on each other rather than uniting against shared obstacles—corruption, government dysfunctio

Governance & Civic Life

The Crisis Sour Fruit

Olive Abunaw · 17 January 2019 · Political Culture

A poet-activist grieves the deaths of Anglophone Cameroonians in military operations—including named individuals—and indicts state violence

Governance & Civic Life

Ernest Ouandie and the Ghosts of the UPC: A Life in Resistance

PoiseSocial · 15 January 2019 · Political Culture

The writer chronicles the life and execution of Ernest Ouandie, UPC vice-president and armed resistance leader against Ahmadou Ahidjo's gove

Governance & Civic Life

The Cabinet Reshuffle: What It Teaches Us About Ourselves

Wandji Wilfred · 5 January 2019 · Political Culture

The writer reflects on Cameroon's habit of turning political crises into memes and viral jokes—from the Bidoung Challenge to cabinet reshuff

Governance & Civic Life

The Matter of Here: On Cycle and Complicity in Crisis

OKU BORIS · 15 December 2018 · Political Culture

Written in Pidgin English during a period of acute civil unrest, this poem indicts the circularity of violence, state indifference, and publ

Governance & Civic Life

En Esprit Républicain

J.N. Nkoh · 10 December 2018 · Political Culture

A fierce, code-mixed poem that channels anger at Cameroon's political dysfunction through bitter irony and layered metaphor. The writer move

Governance & Civic Life

The Emperor of Excess: Bokassa, France, and the Machinery of Impunity

PoiseSocial · 7 December 2018 · Political Culture

This post chronicles the rise and fall of Jean-Bédel Bokassa, the self-proclaimed emperor of the Central African Empire whose fourteen-year

Governance & Civic Life

The Broken Arm and the Burying Ground: A Cry Against Collapse

Nsuh Yosembom · 7 December 2018 · Political Culture

Written in vigorous Pidgin English and Cameroon street vernacular, this poem is a raw indictment of political failure, state violence, and t

Governance & Civic Life

The 237Showbiz Competition and the Question of Fair Play

Tino Foy · 2 December 2018 · Social Evolution

This essay interrogates the 237Showbiz music competition's decision to award victory to Kowan over Nivo T, arguing that while Kowan may have

Governance & Civic Life

Goodbye to AFCON 2019: Governance, Pride, and the Cost of Readiness

Wandji Wilfred · 30 November 2018 · Political Culture

Poise reflects on Cameroon's loss of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations hosting rights to Egypt, tracing the decision back to systemic failures

Governance & Civic Life

The Eto'o Question: Celebrity, Patronage, and National Dignity

Tino Foy · 19 November 2018 · Political Culture

Samuel Eto'o's announcement of star-studded charity events ahead of Cameroon's hosting of the African Nations Cup sparked public backlash wh

Governance & Civic Life

Post-Elections: On Respect and the Cost of Public Sacrifice

Tino Foy · 13 November 2018 · Political Culture

Following the 2018 presidential election, the writer defends Cabral Libii against social-media derision over his appearance and lifestyle, a

Governance & Civic Life

What Will Happen in 2035? On Emergence Without Foundation

Tino Foy · 10 November 2018 · Political Culture

A five-year returnee reflects on Cameroon's

Governance & Civic Life

Is Stanley Enow Fit for President of Cameroon?

Mata Harri · 27 October 2018 · Local Heroes & Figures

This piece examines the prospect of Stanley Enow, a prominent Cameroonian musician, running for president—a question prompted by global cele

Governance & Civic Life

The Social Democratic Front at a Crossroads: Reckoning with Electoral Defeat and Democratic Legacy

Wandji Wilfred · 17 October 2018 · Political Culture

Following a disappointing electoral performance in 2018, the writer reflects on the SDF's historical contribution to Cameroon's democratic g

Governance & Civic Life

The Ghetto President: Youth, Repression, and Uganda's Emerging Political Challenger

Kimiko de Freytas-Tamura · 15 October 2018

This 2018 profile documents Bobi Wine's rapid ascent from ragga musician to parliamentary member and presidential aspirant in Uganda, follow

Governance & Civic Life

Slay Queens and Politics: The Unholy Matrimony

Wandji Wilfred · 12 October 2018 · Political Culture

The writer examines the tension between social media prominence and political accountability through the case of a Cameroonian influencer wh

Governance & Civic Life

Why Design Matters for the Future of Cameroon

Tino Foy · 11 October 2018 · Political Culture

Design is not a luxury but a psychological and civic necessity: the aesthetic quality of our built environment shapes who we become. Drawing

Governance & Civic Life

Etoudi 2018: Winners and Losers in Cameroon's Presidential Election

Wandji Wilfred · 10 October 2018 · Political Culture

An analysis of the 2018 Cameroonian presidential election identifies Maurice Kamto and Akere Muna as victors for forming and joining an oppo

Governance & Civic Life

The Opaque in Transparency: Election Observation and Institutional Credibility in Cameroon

Tino Foy · 10 October 2018 · Political Culture

This piece scrutinizes the conduct and credibility of international election observers present during Cameroon's October 2018 presidential e

Governance & Civic Life

The Architecture of Inherited Power

Jude Idada · 9 October 2018 · Social Evolution

A reflection on an encounter with a wealthy Nigerian mother in Frankfurt who explicitly articulates how elite families perpetuate wealth and

Governance & Civic Life

The Force of Experience vs. the Winds of Change: Reading the 2018 Election

Tino Foy · 8 October 2018 · Political Culture

The writer argues that President Biya's campaign strategy in the run-up to Cameroon's October 2018 election was carefully calibrated to expl

Governance & Civic Life

A Year in Service: One Campaign Worker's Testament to Political Integrity

PoiseSocial · 7 October 2018 · Political Culture

A young Cameroonian professional recounts his decision to leave a secure, well-paid position to work unpaid on Akere Muna's presidential cam

Governance & Civic Life

The Final Hours: Opposition Consolidation and the Cost of Disunity

PoiseSocial · 6 October 2018 · Political Culture

As the 2018 Cameroonian presidential election neared, the writer examines the last-minute strategic calculations facing candidates Osih and

Governance & Civic Life

Football and Politics: The Nations' Cup as Distraction

Wandji Wilfred · 5 October 2018 · Political Culture

The writer argues against Cameroon hosting the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, seeing it not as a sporting honor but as a political tool used by

Governance & Civic Life

Joshua Osih's Governance Programme: A Close Reading

Wandji Wilfred · 5 October 2018 · Political Culture

This piece offers a detailed examination of Joshua Osih's 84-page presidential platform, focusing on his substantive proposals across govern

Governance & Civic Life

The Coalition Question: Who Should Lead Cameroon's United Opposition?

Tino Foy · 4 October 2018 · Political Culture

As the 2018 presidential election approached, opposition candidates faced a critical strategic choice: unite behind a single leader or campa

Governance & Civic Life

Three Days Before the Vote: Opposition Unity and the Coalition Question

Tino Foy · 4 October 2018 · Political Culture

With the 2018 presidential election imminent, Poise examines whether Cameroon's fragmented opposition can coalesce around a single candidate

Governance & Civic Life

Three Days Before the Vote: Can the Opposition Unite, and Who Should Lead?

Tino Foy · 4 October 2018 · Political Culture

With Cameroon's October 7, 2018 presidential election days away, the writer examines whether opposition candidates might form a coalition to

Governance & Civic Life

The Audacity of Stupidity: When Icons Endorse the Indefensible

Wandji Wilfred · 3 October 2018 · Political Culture

A sharp critique of two celebrated Cameroonian footballers—Samuel Eto'o and Rigobert Song—for publicly endorsing the incumbent president in

Governance & Civic Life

The Architecture of Reform: Reading Akere Muna's Governance Vision

Tino Foy · 3 October 2018 · Political Culture

This analytical note examines the governance and economic platform articulated by one presidential candidate through available excerpts and

Governance & Civic Life

Reading Akere T Muna's New Republic Program: Institutions, Decentralization, and the Problem of Guarantees

Tino Foy · 3 October 2018 · Political Culture

The writer examines Akere T Muna's platform for presidential candidacy, focusing on his proposed institutional reforms—term limits, constitu

Governance & Civic Life

A Summary of Cabral's Governance Programme

Tino Foy · 2 October 2018 · Political Culture

Poise presents a detailed, neutral summary of a 2018 Cameroonian presidential candidate's 40-page governance platform, covering proposed ref

Governance & Civic Life

The Musicians' Betrayal: On Conscience, Complicity, and the Cost of Silence

Wandji Wilfred · 2 October 2018 · Political Culture

The writer condemns Cameroonian urban musicians—particularly those under 35—for performing at a presidential concert designed to bolster an

Governance & Civic Life

Reading Kamto's 2018 Electoral Program: Substance, Ambition, and Rhetoric

Poise (Editorial) · 1 October 2018 · Political Culture

On the eve of Cameroon's October 2018 elections, Poise examines Maurice Kamto's 88-page policy platform across five domains—institutional re

Governance & Civic Life

Maurice Kamto's 2018 Governance Program: A Critical Reading

Poise (Editorial) · 1 October 2018 · Political Culture

Poise examines the 88-page governance platform Maurice Kamto presented ahead of Cameroon's October 2018 presidential election, breaking down

Governance & Civic Life

The Colonial Pact: On France's Grip Over Former African Colonies

Tino Foy · 21 September 2018 · Political Culture

This post examines the economic structures binding former French colonies to France, tracing their origins to post-independence agreements a

Governance & Civic Life

Mobilisation as Civic Power: Lessons from the Orange Cameroon Crisis

Wandji Wilfred · 13 September 2018 · Political Culture

A 2018 analysis of the #OrangeIsTheNewMafia campaign, in which Orange Cameroon customers successfully pressured the telecom provider to with

Governance & Civic Life

After Colonization: The Question of Unity Over Return

Tino Foy · 2 September 2018 · Political Culture

A reflection on colonialism's lasting structural effects in Cameroon and Africa, questioning whether nostalgic appeals to precolonial identi

Governance & Civic Life

Sexual Harassment at UB: Institutional Failure and the Work Ahead

Wandji Wilfred · 20 August 2018 · Social Evolution

The writer recounts a near-rape incident involving a friend and a lecturer at the University of Buea, using it as a lens to examine how inst

Governance & Civic Life

Seven Years of Doom: Youth, Leadership, and the October 2018 Election

Tino Foy · 26 July 2018 · Political Culture

Written on the eve of Cameroon's October 2018 presidential election, this piece indicts the gerontocratic stranglehold on power, arguing tha

Governance & Civic Life

The Small Tyrant Within: Power, Pettiness, and Cameroon's Neo-Feudal Culture

Tino Foy · 20 July 2018 · Political Culture

A Cameroonian reflects on two encounters with petty officials—a petrol station attendant and a university secretary—to argue that the nation

Governance & Civic Life

Service as Subordination: On Leadership and the Deference We Grant Power

Wandji Wilfred · 18 July 2018 · Political Culture

The writer observes how Cameroonians grant exemptions and deference to uniformed officials—particularly police—in everyday spaces like utili

Governance & Civic Life

Should Our Celebrities Speak Up or Remain Silent?

Tino Foy · 16 July 2018 · Social Evolution

A sharp critique of Cameroonian celebrity silence on national crises, particularly the Anglophone conflict. The writer argues that most cele

Governance & Civic Life

The Generational Impasse: When Young Populations Meet Long-Tenure Leaders

PoiseSocial · 20 June 2018 · Political Culture

This piece examines the disconnect between Africa's youth-majority demographics and the continent's aging political leadership. Using Camero

Governance & Civic Life

African Cowardice: On Choice, Complicity, and the Structures That Bind Us

Tino Foy · 7 May 2018 · Social Evolution

The writer argues that African passivity in the face of historical and contemporary exploitation—from the slave trade through NATO intervent

Governance & Civic Life

The Butterfly Effect: One Man's Humiliation and History's Turn

Wandji Wilfred · 13 February 2018 · Political Culture

A reflective retelling of a single December morning in 2010 Tunisia, when a street vendor named Basboosa was harassed and assaulted by polic

Governance & Civic Life

Elections in Cameroon: The Question of Meaningful Participation

Emmanuel Asafor · 12 February 2018 · Political Culture

As Cameroon approached its 2018 presidential elections, the writer examines whether calls for voter registration and participation signal ge

Governance & Civic Life

ENAM and the Illusion of Change

Emmanuel Asafor · 21 January 2018 · Political Culture

The writer examines how Cameroon's elite civil service institution, ENAM, perpetuates a cycle of careerism and self-interest rather than pub

Governance & Civic Life

ENAM and the Machinery of Complicity

Emmanuel Asafor · 20 January 2018 · Political Culture

A writer examines how Cameroon's elite civil service school perpetuates a self-serving administrative culture that prioritizes personal secu

Governance & Civic Life

Champagne Woes: On Leadership and the Weight of Small Things

Tino Foy · 19 January 2018 · Political Culture

A critical reflection on Akere Muna's announcement of a unified opposition coalition ahead of Cameroon's 2018 presidential election, prompte

Governance & Civic Life

The 'O' in .cm: A Sign of Carelessness

Tino Foy · 14 January 2018 · Political Culture

A photograph of a misspelled URL on the Prime Minister's office signage—where .gov.com was hastily corrected to .gov.cm with white paint rat

Governance & Civic Life

The 'O' in '.cm': A Parable of Institutional Negligence

PoiseSocial · 12 January 2018 · Political Culture

The writer observes a crude correction on the Prime Minister's office signage—an erased 'o' in a misspelled URL—and reads it as a symptom of

Governance & Civic Life

The 2018 Election and Akere Muna's Vision: A First Look at Governance

Tino Foy · 11 January 2018 · Political Culture

Writing during the 2018 Cameroonian presidential campaign, the author—unusually engaged in domestic politics for the first time—examines opp

Governance & Civic Life

The Imperative Moment: Youth and the 2018 Cameroon Presidential Election

Tino Foy · 11 January 2018 · Political Culture

Writing on the eve of Cameroon's 2018 presidential election, Poise reflects on a newfound urgency to engage with politics and calls on the y

Governance & Civic Life

Cameroon and the Curse of Elitism

Wandji Wilfred · 7 January 2018 · Political Culture

A minor traffic accident becomes a window into a deeper pathology: the hierarchical stratification of Cameroonian society, in which those wi

Governance & Civic Life

The Laptop Project: Specifications, Cost, and the Problem of Tied Aid

Tino Foy · 4 January 2018 · Political Culture

A technical and financial examination of the government's laptop distribution initiative, assessing the devices themselves against their sta

Governance & Civic Life

Last Words for 2017: A Year of Hard Lessons

PoiseSocial · 31 December 2017 · Political Culture

The writer reflects on 2017's major events—the Anglophone crisis, infrastructure projects, and government inaction—as teachings about collec

Governance & Civic Life

Personalities of the Struggle: Social Taxonomies of a Moment in Crisis

PoiseSocial · 7 November 2017 · Political Culture

Poise examines the variety of voices that emerged online during an acute phase of the Anglophone crisis, categorizing them by their logic an

Governance & Civic Life

Self-Aggrandizement and the Bonteh Digital Media Awards: A Reckoning with Ambition in Cameroon's Cultural Space

PoiseSocial · 26 October 2017 · Local Heroes & Figures

The writer examines the choice of musician Wax Dey as brand ambassador for the Bonteh Digital Media Awards, using this decision to open a br

Governance & Civic Life

Cameroon's Obstacle Course: Infrastructure, Complacency, and the Cost of Accepting Mediocrity

PoiseSocial · 23 October 2017 · Social Evolution

The writer observes that Cameroon's built environment—chaotic, poorly planned, dangerous—reflects and reinforces a cultural conditioning tow

Governance & Civic Life

The Backfire Effect and the Anglophone Question in Cameroon

Tino Foy · 15 October 2017 · Political Culture

This analytical essay diagnoses the reluctance of francophone Cameroonians to acknowledge systemic discrimination against anglophones throug

Governance & Civic Life

45 Minutes in Police Custody: The Anglophone Crisis and Extrajudicial Practice

PoiseSocial · 9 October 2017 · Political Culture

The writer recounts an arbitrary arrest in Buea during the Anglophone crisis, detained without stated cause and coerced toward bribery. The

Governance & Civic Life

A Call for the New Republic: Barrister Akere Muna's Presidential Candidacy Announcement

PoiseSocial · 8 October 2017 · Political Culture

In October 2017, amid the escalating Anglophone crisis, a civil society leader announces his candidacy for the Cameroonian presidency, frami

Governance & Civic Life

The Excuse of 'C'est le Cameroun': On Hopelessness and Complicity

PoiseSocial · 6 September 2017 · Political Culture

The writer challenges the defeatist refrain 'c'est le Cameroun' (that's just how Cameroon is) as a mask for inaction rather than an honest r

Governance & Civic Life

The Bwana and the Mtu: A Reckoning at 35,000 Feet

PoiseSocial · 4 September 2017 · Social Evolution

A Zambian writer recounts a confrontational conversation with an American former IMF official on a flight to Boston, in which the American a

Governance & Civic Life

Nkrumah at Addis Ababa: The Political Kingdom and Continental Union

PoiseSocial · 31 August 2017 · Political Culture

In this 1963 speech from the historic founding of the Organization of African Unity, Ghana's Kwame Nkrumah argues that African political uni

Governance & Civic Life

The Empty Stadiums of Africa

PoiseSocial · 9 August 2017 · Political Culture

The writer argues against Cameroon's bid to host the 2019 African Cup of Nations, contending that the tournament infrastructure perpetuates

Governance & Civic Life

Why I Will Never Fly Camair-Co

PoiseSocial · 21 July 2017 · Political Culture

The writer argues against trusting Cameroon's national airline, citing a pattern of corner-cutting and negligence observed in both personal

Governance & Civic Life

The Mentality That Keeps Africa Behind: On Peter Okoye, Policy, and Personal Interest

Tino Foy · 19 July 2017 · Social Evolution

When a Nigerian entertainer publicly condemned his government's proposed policy to localize entertainment production—a policy that had once