Governance
Politics & Government
The Architecture of Anticipation: Ousmane Sonko and the New Phase of Senegalese Governance
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 institutional phase in which Sonko, now National Assembly president, and President Diomaye must navigate their distinct visions for Senegal's future. The interview suggests that divergence of strategy, rather than conflict, characterizes their emerging relationship.
The Laws of Power and the Senegalese Reckoning: Sonko, Faye, and the Choice to Govern Subordinate
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 argues that Sonko violated the classical law against outshining one's master—not because he threatened Faye, but because he pursued radical reform across all fronts simultaneously, making himself the singular face of every threatened interest. Yet the piece pivots to consider whether his swift return to Keur Gorgui, his base outside power, might signal a deeper understanding of power itself: the choice to govern from movement rather than from office.
Côte d'Ivoire: From Elimination to Detention
In 2000, days after the Côte d'Ivoire national football team was eliminated from the Africa Cup of Nations, the country's military regime detained the players and staff at a training camp for what officials called a "civic lesson." The episode revealed how a fragile government weaponized national sport to project strength and discipline during a period of acute political instability.
The Arithmetic of Fragmentation: Cameroon's Party System and the Limits of Electoral Choice
With over 180 registered political parties competing for 280 parliamentary seats, Cameroon's electoral landscape has become a study in mathematical impossibility and institutional dysfunction. The post documents how administrative barriers, factional splits, and an oversized party roster have turned recent elections into a cautionary tale about the gap between formal democratic structures and meaningful political participation.
Symbols Without Substance: The Portrait and the Slogans
This essay examines how Cameroon's political culture has come to rely almost entirely on symbolic gestures—a ubiquitous presidential portrait, cycling national slogans, monuments, and rebranded success stories—while the material conditions they purport to represent continue to deteriorate.
The Unofficial Ambassador: Governance, Reputation, and Cameroonian Football
A writer examines the decades-long relationship between a devoted but increasingly problematic football supporter and Cameroon's national team, tracing how an unofficial ambassador whose image became inseparable from the Lions evolved from hero to liability—raising questions about institutional responsibility and national reputation.
The Lingering Stain: Cataloguing Corruption in Plain Sight
Poise documents the seized assets of Emmanuel Ondo Ndong, former General Manager of FEICOM, convicted of embezzlement over 15 years prior. The inventory—spanning properties across Yaoundé and the South Region, vehicles, and liquid accounts—totals nearly 4.4 billion FCFA, a stark material record of how public office becomes private wealth.
Do We Deserve a Democracy?
The writer examines whether Cameroon's citizens possess the civic engagement required to sustain a functioning democracy, arguing that the nation's stagnation stems not from the system itself but from widespread citizen apathy, vote-selling, and disinterest in governance. The piece contests the gap between democracy's promise—power to the people—and the reality of a disengaged, manipulable majority holding decision-making authority.
The Government Doesn't Love Us, and Neither Do We
A reflection on structural indifference in Cameroon, tracing a pattern of casual disregard for human dignity—from child bus attendants in Yaoundé to young workers clinging to overloaded vehicles on long-distance routes. The writer asks why economic pressure justifies risking lives when small sacrifices could prevent it.
Eto'o and Power in Cameroon: Trauma, Ambition, and the Price of Change
This essay examines Cameroonians' fraught relationship with power—rooted in decades of authoritarian rule—and how that collective wariness shapes reactions to Samuel Eto'o's leadership at FECAFOOT. The writer argues that scrutiny of Eto'o's methods, while understandable, may be blinding observers to his effectiveness and his potential role in a broader renewal of Cameroonian leadership.
The Politics of Empty Slogans
The writer examines Cameroon's reliance on hollow symbols and vacuous slogans—from the omnipresent presidential portrait to government catchphrases like 'Emergence 2035' and 'Rigour Integrity & Moralisation'—as a substitute for tangible governance and meaningful policy. These symbols, meant to inspire unity and progress, instead mask systemic corruption, poor service delivery, and a government indifferent to citizen welfare.
The Embiid Choice: Governance, Loyalty, and the Economics of Representation
When NBA star Joel Embiid moved to obtain French nationality for international basketball competition, Cameroonians responded with anger rooted in historical grievance and wounded pride. The writer examines both the rational constraints—financial and institutional—that may have guided his decision, and the legitimate frustration of a nation whose young talents consistently leave for more resourced systems.
The Minister's Promise: Arts Governance and the Weight of Unresolved Conflict
The Minister of Arts and Culture tells parliament that his administration is working to resolve persistent conflicts across Cameroon's arts sector, citing measures to 'clean up the industry.' Yet the same period sees fresh disputes in actors' guilds and ongoing turmoil at SONACAM, the music copyright body, leaving the minister's pledge untested.
Unity in Sport, Fracture in Governance: Why Cameroon Cannot Organise Itself
The writer observes that Cameroonians demonstrated rare collective solidarity during AFCON 2022 by supporting Egypt against Côte d'Ivoire, yet argues this unity is impossible to replicate for the country's internal crises. The piece traces this paradox to a system built on protecting institutional façades rather than addressing systemic corruption, tribalism, and the absence of genuine checks and balances.
The African Union Headquarters and the Cost of Gifts
The writer reflects on the African Union's headquarters—a $200 million complex built and donated by China—as a symbol of continental shame and self-diminishment. The essay argues that such
The SDF at Thirty: A Party's Dimming Flame
On the thirtieth anniversary of the Social Democratic Front's founding in 1990—marked by a deadly march for multi-partism in Bamenda—Poise reflects on the party's arc from revolutionary hope to diminished present. The piece traces how John Fru Ndi, once embodying Cameroon's democratic aspirations and appearing to win the 1992 presidential election, has become a contested figure, accused of betrayal and clinging to power rather than nurturing renewal.
The Favoritism Problem Goes Deeper Than Age
The writer questions whether Cameroon's youth are truly equipped to lead the country, arguing that the systemic rot of favoritism, nepotism, and tribalism is not an older generation's failing but has thoroughly infected young people too. A personal anecdote about an ambitious peer revealing his intention to staff government positions exclusively with former schoolmates becomes the lens through which to examine whether structural change is possible.
Still in the Rain: On Power, Proximity, and the Myth of National Unity
Drawing on Chinua Achebe's novel, the writer observes that sixty years after independence, Cameroon remains trapped in a dynamic where a small elite occupies the shelter of state power while the majority remain excluded, yet internalize the rhetoric of necessary unity and sacrifice.
The World's Greatest Obstacle Course: Infrastructure, Negligence, and Cultural Conditioning in Cameroon
The writer observes that Cameroon's physical landscape—chaotic, unmapped, dangerous—mirrors a deeper cultural tendency to accept obstacles as inevitable rather than solve them. From roads without pavements to infrastructure repeatedly dismantled for ceremonial convenience, the nation has learned to navigate disorder, then celebrates minor accomplishments as progress while real decay accumulates.
On Service and the Uniform: Rethinking Leadership in Cameroon
The writer observes how uniformed officials—police, gendarmes, soldiers—receive deference and queue-jumping privileges in everyday transactions like paying utility bills, and questions whether this reflects a genuine understanding of service. Through personal anecdote and reflection on Desmond Tutu's definition of leadership as serving, suffering, and sacrifice, the piece argues that Cameroon has inverted the relationship between those in authority and those they are meant to serve.
On National Names and National Purpose
The writer engages with musician Blick Bassy's provocative question about whether Cameroon should rename itself, prompted by the colonial etymology of its name. Rather than advocating for renaming, the piece argues that national identity flows from governance and shared ideology, not nomenclature.
The Eto'o Presidency and the Temptation of the Strongman
Following Samuel Eto'o's election as FECAFOOT president in 2019, Cameroonians rallied around him as proof that fair elections and competent leadership were possible. But within eighteen months, allegations of misconduct emerged, and the writer observes that public support for Eto'o—despite the accusations—reveals a deeper problem: the nation's willingness to tolerate autocratic governance and personality cults so long as results appear.
The Architecture of Influence: Chantal Biya and Power in Cameroon's Presidential Circle
A February 2019 post examines the shifting public profile and apparent political influence of Chantal Biya, reported on the cover of Jeune Afrique at age 48. Drawing on analysis of cabinet reshuffles and institutional positioning, the piece traces how she has moved from ceremonial presence to a figure whose preferences appear to shape personnel decisions and governance culture.
False Enemies and the Me First Mentality
The writer argues that Cameroonians have turned on each other rather than uniting against shared obstacles—corruption, government dysfunction, educational collapse, economic stagnation, and cultural decay. Drawing on the historical example of Samuel Langley's refusal to collaborate after losing the aviation race to the Wright brothers, the piece diagnoses a corrosive zero-sum competitiveness that prioritizes individual credit over collective progress.
The Cabinet Reshuffle: What It Teaches Us About Ourselves
The writer reflects on Cameroon's habit of turning political crises into memes and viral jokes—from the Bidoung Challenge to cabinet reshuffles—and argues that this laughter, while a coping mechanism, masks deep frustration and may be masking a dangerous pressure cooker of collective disillusion.
The Matter of Here: On Cycle and Complicity in Crisis
Written in Pidgin English during a period of acute civil unrest, this poem indicts the circularity of violence, state indifference, and public resignation in Cameroon. The writer moves from observing peaceful protest to witnessing militarization, religious co-option, and the normalization of fear, before calling for collective reflection rather than perpetual cycle.
Goodbye to AFCON 2019: Governance, Pride, and the Cost of Readiness
Poise reflects on Cameroon's loss of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations hosting rights to Egypt, tracing the decision back to systemic failures in governance, infrastructure planning, and political culture. The piece argues that the withdrawal—precipitated by CAF President Ahmad's assessment—was neither surprising nor avoidable, and that it reveals deeper patterns of incompetence and misplaced patriotism that will persist.
The Opaque in Transparency: Election Observation and Institutional Credibility in Cameroon
This piece scrutinizes the conduct and credibility of international election observers present during Cameroon's October 2018 presidential election, specifically examining a Transparency International observer's public statements and the role of Agence Cameroun Presse in their selection and deployment.
A Year in Service: One Campaign Worker's Testament to Political Integrity
A young Cameroonian professional recounts his decision to leave a secure, well-paid position to work unpaid on Akere Muna's presidential campaign, framing it as a redemptive turn from political apathy toward civic engagement rooted in historical conscience.
Joshua Osih's Governance Programme: A Close Reading
This piece offers a detailed examination of Joshua Osih's 84-page presidential platform, focusing on his substantive proposals across governance, health, education, economic policy, and social reform. The writer presents the programme as notably comprehensive and structured compared to other candidates' offerings, though acknowledges its density and point-form presentation.
Reading Akere T Muna's New Republic Program: Institutions, Decentralization, and the Problem of Guarantees
The writer examines Akere T Muna's platform for presidential candidacy, focusing on his proposed institutional reforms—term limits, constitutional amendments, federalism via referendum, and decentralization of power from the presidency. The analysis also considers his economic plans around anti-corruption, resource management, and SME support, while flagging tensions between ambitious social guarantees and implementability.
The Architecture of Reform: Reading Akere Muna's Governance Vision
This analytical note examines the governance and economic platform articulated by one presidential candidate through available excerpts and documents, focusing on institutional reform, decentralization, anti-corruption mechanisms, and social development commitments. The writer finds the institutional proposals substantive but notes the social guarantees are ambitiously framed and the full program remains partially inaccessible.
A Summary of Cabral's Governance Programme
Poise presents a detailed, neutral summary of a 2018 Cameroonian presidential candidate's 40-page governance platform, covering proposed reforms to the state structure, public infrastructure, health, civil service, and agriculture. The writer deliberately offers outline rather than critical analysis, inviting readers to form their own assessments of the programme's vision and feasibility.
Maurice Kamto's 2018 Governance Program: A Critical Reading
Poise examines the 88-page governance platform Maurice Kamto presented ahead of Cameroon's October 2018 presidential election, breaking down five strategic projects and assessing what appears concrete, ambitious, or rhetorical. The review interrogates promises on institutional independence, the anglophone crisis, language policy, youth education, and digital governance.
Sexual Harassment at UB: Institutional Failure and the Work Ahead
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 institutional power, gendered vulnerability, and victim-blaming enable sexual violence in Cameroonian universities. The piece argues that while feminist activism has brought necessary scrutiny to patriarchy and sexual assault, the systemic failures that allow predators to operate with impunity remain largely unaddressed.
The Small Tyrant Within: Power, Pettiness, and Cameroon's Neo-Feudal Culture
A Cameroonian reflects on two encounters with petty officials—a petrol station attendant and a university secretary—to argue that the nation's dysfunction runs deeper than leadership, rooted in how ordinary citizens weaponize small doses of authority. The piece names a cultural pattern: those granted the slightest power often become arbitrary, mood-driven overlords.
Service as Subordination: On Leadership and the Deference We Grant Power
The writer observes how Cameroonians grant exemptions and deference to uniformed officials—particularly police—in everyday spaces like utility offices, and argues this reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of what service and leadership mean. Drawing on Desmond Tutu's definition of leadership as sacrifice and suffering for others, the piece critiques a culture where those in authority are treated as above rather than as servants of the public good.
The Generational Impasse: When Young Populations Meet Long-Tenure Leaders
This piece examines the disconnect between Africa's youth-majority demographics and the continent's aging political leadership. Using Cameroon as a case study, it documents how citizens born under single-leader regimes experience political alienation and see little incentive to engage in public service.
The University of Buea and the Erosion of Institutional Purpose
The writer reflects on a visit to the University of Buea and asks whether the institution has cultivated a coherent identity or aspirational purpose. Through comparison with an American university's compelling brand promise, the piece exposes a deeper crisis in Cameroon's education system: one oriented toward credential-extraction rather than character formation and lasting institutional belonging.
ENAM and the Illusion of Change
The writer examines how Cameroon's elite civil service institution, ENAM, perpetuates a cycle of careerism and self-interest rather than public service. Through a personal debate with a friend who entered ENAM, the piece argues that the institution embodies a deeper cultural problem: the pursuit of stability and status over genuine nation-building.
ENAM and the Machinery of Complicity
A writer examines how Cameroon's elite civil service school perpetuates a self-serving administrative culture that prioritizes personal security and enrichment over public service. The piece traces how even newly appointed officials adopt the same mindset as their predecessors, ensuring the status quo survives generational turnover.
The 'O' in .cm: A Sign of Carelessness
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 rather than properly repaired—becomes an emblem of institutional indifference. The writer reads in this small negligence a larger truth about the quality of governance and work culture in Cameroon.
Shithole Recycling à la Camerounaise
A sardonic inventory of how ordinary Cameroonians repurpose waste materials out of necessity and ingenuity, even as the state fails to enforce its climate commitments. The piece catalogs everything from plastic bottles becoming oil decanters to exercise books wrapping street food, suggesting that grassroots resourcefulness has become de facto environmental policy.
The 'O' in '.cm': A Parable of Institutional Negligence
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 systemic carelessness in governance. The piece uses this small detail to interrogate a broader culture of indifference to quality and accountability within the Cameroonian state apparatus.
The 2018 Election and Akere Muna's Vision: A First Look at Governance
Writing during the 2018 Cameroonian presidential campaign, the author—unusually engaged in domestic politics for the first time—examines opposition candidate Akere Muna's platform as presented on Canal2, focusing on his proposals for anti-corruption, healthcare, diaspora engagement, and constitutional reform.
The Laptop Project: Specifications, Cost, and the Problem of Tied Aid
A technical and financial examination of the government's laptop distribution initiative, assessing the devices themselves against their stated purpose and exposing the structural costs of the tied-loan arrangement that funded them.
Cameroon's Obstacle Course: Infrastructure, Complacency, and the Cost of Accepting Mediocrity
The writer observes that Cameroon's built environment—chaotic, poorly planned, dangerous—reflects and reinforces a cultural conditioning toward obstacle-thinking rather than solution-finding. New infrastructure is celebrated as transformative despite being poorly executed, while basic safety measures are abandoned or ignored, normalizing preventable harm.
A Call for the New Republic: Barrister Akere Muna's Presidential Candidacy Announcement
In October 2017, amid the escalating Anglophone crisis, a civil society leader announces his candidacy for the Cameroonian presidency, framing the election as an opportunity to rebuild institutions around governance, rule of law, and the voices of youth and women.
Rethinking Capitalism: The Case for Social Markets in Cameroon
The writer questions whether unfettered capitalism, as commonly sold to African societies, truly serves the broad population, and proposes instead a model of social capitalism where government ensures equal access to basic goods and services—from infrastructure to education.
The Excuse of 'C'est le Cameroun': On Hopelessness and Complicity
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 reckoning with circumstance. Drawing on historical examples of ordinary people reshaping reality, the piece argues that Cameroonians have chosen learned helplessness as cover for the very practices that perpetuate dysfunction.