If you live outside Cameroon, you maybe surprised to hear Cameroonians say the peace and stability of their country will be better guaranteed by a man who has ruled the country for 43 years and is now 93 years old. You may even think Cameroonians are naïve, but they are speaking from the experience of living under a unique Paul Biya leadership that has given them a safe space to express their full potential.
This leadership is incarnated by President Paul Biya. Just take all the neighbors of Cameroon and compare. Nigeria’s Niger Delta crisis and Boko Haram insurgency were largely kept out of Cameroon because Paul Biya astutely maneuvered the military, diplomatic and political levers that were necessary to keep peace in the entire national territory. The Central African Republic’s age-old rebellions failed to spread to Cameroon because there was a steady hand on the helm. Chad’s many civil wars and numerous violent regime changes never destabilized Cameroon because Paul Biya took the necessary measures. The Republic of Congo’s political crisis, Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and various other external threats failed to impact Cameroon’s peace largely because of Paul Biya.
Even the Bakassi/frontier dispute with Nigeria was resolved in the International Criminal Court (ICJ) and direct negotiations between the two countries instead of going to war. Paul Biya engaged all the Nigerian presidents and today, both countries have resolved an issue that would have led to untold bloodshed in the heart of Africa.
Today, Cameroon’s armed forces are working in the same Multi-National Joint Task Force military bases with their Nigerian colleagues to combat Boko Haram and ISWAP. Today, we see Nigerian soldiers marching in Yaoundé to celebrate Cameroon’s National Day. Today, we see many Cameroon soldiers attending the Nigerian Defense Academy and today, Nigeria is Cameroon’s biggest trade partner along a frontier of over 1000 kilometers long.
The Central African Republic and Chad both landlocked countries are seeing significant progress today because they count on a peaceful and stable Cameroon for the transit of their exports and imports. Paul Biya has made the security of the Douala-Bangui and the Douala-Ndjamena corridors a national security priority to the advantage of these two brotherly countries.
Whenever disputes broke-out between or within communities or tribes or regions, we have seen President Paul Biya personally involved to resolve the matter peacefully. On his knees begging for peace.
To many Cameroonians today, the peace and stability of Cameroon is what will motivate their continuous support for President Paul Biya beyond 2025 despite his age and longevity in power.
Today, he is even called “THE BEGGER OF PEACE”. Cameroonians want Paul Biya to continue begging for peace beyond 2025.
