The issue of who will succeed Biya is always on many Cameroonian lips but the answer is slowly emerging.

While Cameroonians are focused on alcohol and football, the ruling elite is gradually grooming Franck Biya for him to take over once his father quits.

Franck Biya has never held any official government position, but has been making slow inroads into the political arena.

He is sometimes sent on secret missions where he serves as the president’s emissary.

Recently, he has been taking the lead on many ruling party activities and this is designed to gradually introduce him to the public.

Though many ruling party members clap for the inexperienced Franck Biya in public, behind the scenes, there is a lot of grumbling.

Contacted by the Cameroon Concord News Group’s editor-in-chief, a ruling party stalwart could not hide his disappointment and frustration of what he has been noticing.

“We all know what Biya and his men are selling, but not many of us are buying it. Cameroon is not a monarchy and there will be a lot of infighting once Biya dies. There is no part of our constitution which allows for Franck Biya to become the next president,” our source which elected anonymity said.

“Cameroonians must show their teeth. Biya and his men are taking the population for granted. I am a ruling party official, but I disagree with so many things which are happening in our country,” our source said.

“I know there will be bloodshed when Biya dies. Many of our party members cannot accept Franck Biya as the country’s next president. He knows very little about management and administration and being a president’s son is no criterion for being the country’s president,” he added.

While Paul Biya is discussing with Chinese government officials on how the Asian giant can help Cameroon, Frank Biya, for his part, is seeking business deals from established Chinese businesspeople.

Many doubt if he will be able to get any as Chinese businesspeople know that there are serious governance issues in Cameroon and that the country’s legal framework leaves much to be desired.

By Alain Agbor Ebot

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with President Paul Biya, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

The two leaders announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Biya’s attendance at all previous editions of the summit demonstrated the great importance he attached to China-Africa friendship and cooperation, as well as his profound amity with China, Xi said.

China is ready to work with Cameroon to foster a more substantive and significant partnership and advance the bilateral ties to a higher level, Xi said.

He noted that China has always supported Cameroon in safeguarding national unity and ethnic solidarity, fighting terrorism, as well as achieving peace and development. ■

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Cameroonian President Paul Biya, who is in Beijing for the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, Sept. 4, 2024. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei)

Source: Xinhuanet

After taking a huge dose of steroids and sedatives, Cameroon’s President, Paul Biya, finally made it to Beijing, the Chinese capital which is a huge contrast to Yaoundé, Cameroon’s dirty capital and the dirtiest and most chaotic capital in the world.

Mr. Biya is in Beijing for the China-Africa Summit which is designed to enhance cooperation between African countries and China.

China and Africa have, over the last three decades, been involved in so-called a win-win cooperation but in many cases, Africans have been complaining about China’s exploitative tendencies as the new Asian superpower devours African natural resources with impunity.

Many African leaders like Paul Biya are simply oblivious of the riches their countries possess, but even when they are aware, they collaborate with foreigners to rob their people blind.

Mr. Biya, a 91-year-old dictator, has been a suspect in many corruption scandals in his country with the Glencore scandal being the latest, but his absolute powers and high-handed approach to governance make it hard for Cameroonians to challenge a man who has nothing to show for his long stay in power.

Government officials loyal to the ailing and dying dictator argue that Mr. Biya is in China to negotiate for Chinese businesspeople to come and set up shops in the corrupt Central African country whose economy is on the verge of collapse.

But opponents of the Biya regime argue that a 91-year-old man whose body is today a conference centre for diseases has no business being in China where no reasonable Chinese businessperson will trust a dying man whose history of leadership is replete with disheartening stories of corruption and power abuse.

Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News Group correspondent in China, an angry Cameroonian who left his fatherland in anger and disappointment said that only foolish Chinese businesspeople will trust a man who is at death’s door and there are very few foolish Chinese.

“Mr. Biya thinks people around the world still take him seriously. Who will put his riches in the hands of a dying person? Cameroon’s economy is crawling like Mr. Biya himself and putting your money in a country which is more of a ticking time bomb than a good business environment is like asking for a full body massage from a hungry and an angry crocodile,” the Cameroonian said.

“Mr. Biya and his team are simply wasting the country’s money. Mr. Biya clearly belongs to the past and people who are forward-looking will not want to have anything to do with a man who has run his own country aground,” the disappointed Cameroonian added.

“If Mr. Biya wants to demonstrate that he loves Cameroon, then he should resign and return to his village. After 42 years in power, there is clear evidence that the man who once inspired hope has disappointed his people. He is stuck to power like a leech and the only thing that matters to him is power. He does not care if his own people are dying of his own mismanagement. He is the type of person who will burn his own nation to the ground and preside over its ashes,” the very bitter Cameroonian who is not a happy camper in China said.

“In Beijing, many Chinese are making a mockery of Africa because of Mr. Biya who is even incapable of walking. Many Chinese cannot wrap their minds around the fact that a dying man is leading the living in Africa. I feel humiliated. This man should leave Cameroon alone. He has humiliated us for too long. He does not need to die with the country for him to know that he is a spurn of Satan,” our fellow Cameroonian in China said.

“I even told my Chinese friends that Mr. Biya would still run in the 2025 presidential election and they asked me if he wanted to lead all Cameroonians to an early grave. I felt disgraced and humiliated. But what can I do? Cameroonians seem to be happy with Mr. Biya’s torture and it seems most Cameroonians are suffering from the famous Stockholm syndrome, a disease which makes the victim to sympathize and even admire his oppressor,” the Sawa native said.

Mr. Biya thinks that he can still obtain great deals from Chinese businesspeople but he clearly belongs to the past. Creditors only trust credit-worthy debtors and Biya does not look like a credit-worthy debtor. There is very low appetite for Cameroon’s risk and debt in China because of Mr. Biya’s mismanagement of his country’s economy.

When bad governance and corruption are the hallmarks of a dying regime, not many people would like to take their money to such an environment. It is very likely that Mr. Biya will be flogging a dead horse in China, as many Chinese businesspeople have already made up their minds. Who will put his money in unstable hands and a badly frozen face?

South Africa, Rwanda, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Ethiopia and Botswana are more attractive investment destinations and hot money will surely move to such countries given that they have impressive governance records.

Biya has run Cameroon aground. He has succeeded to give Cameroon a very bad name. No African president has worked as hard as Mr. Biya to give his country the horrible distinction of being a chaotic and dirty environment.

What is more baffling is the fact that Mr. Biya and his wife, Chantal Biya, noted for her flaming red hair, are always taking pictures while abroad. How come they cannot see the stark contrast existing between their country and the foreign countries they visit?

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai with files from Staff man Alain Agbor Ebot

In a statement released, Tuesday, the U.S. Embassy in Yaoundé expressed deep “concerns” about the “recent incidents and threats in the Northwest and Southwest regions of Cameroon.” These areas have been plagued by violence since the crisis began in 2017, and recent days have seen an uptick in violent acts.

On the night of Sunday, September 1, to Monday, September 2, armed men shot and killed two people and wounded another in Mbatu, a suburb of Bamenda, according to local sources. Over the weekend, armed men suspected to be separatist fighters also killed a motorcycle taxi driver in Buea before setting his vehicle on fire.

These incidents occur just days before the scheduled start of the school year (September 9), as separatists have once again threatened to disrupt classes. “Schools are sanctuaries for learning, and children should not be prevented from attending classes,” the U.S. Embassy reminded. The diplomatic mission emphasized that the U.S. government has consistently condemned “all forms of violence against civilians” and reiterated “the need for peaceful approaches to resolving complex political and security issues.”

Source: Sbbc

At least four civilians were killed early Monday by Ambazonia Restoration Forces in the Northwest and Southwest, local and security sources said.

In Mbatu, a locality in the Northwest Region, the Amba fighters opened fire at close range, killing three people, including a woman who was onboard a motorcycle.

In Lyongo village in the Southwest Region, Amba shot dead a commercial motorcyclist and torched his motorcycle, several security sources and local media reported.

“There were thunderous gunshots. It was like serious fighting was ongoing. It was scary,” a resident in Bamenda, the chief city of the Northwest Region where Mbatu is located said.

“Amba fighters have now resorted to attacking civilians. We have deployed additional troops to the regions,” a senior military official in the Southwest Region said but opted for anonymity.

Southern Cameroons leaders said on social media platforms that they have intensified the “ghost town” operation every Monday, during which all sorts of activities in the two Anglophone regions would come to a halt.

The Monday “ghost town” has been effective since 2017 when the Ambazonia Interim Government began clashing with the Francophone dominated government forces to create an independent nation in the Anglophone regions.

By Rita Akana with files

A convoy of three vehicles carrying soldiers from the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR) was ambushed by suspected Boko Haram fighters on Wednesday in Cameroon’s Far North region, local sources said. The soldiers were en route to Zamga to relieve their comrades, according to the sources.

The monitoring network Humanity Purpose, which tracks attacks in the region, reports that around ten soldiers were injured in the attack, with four in critical condition. Three soldiers are also reported missing. Images circulating on social media show three pickup trucks completely burned. A security source contacted by SBBC confirmed the attack but did not provide any casualty figures.

Other sources indicate that another ambush occurred on the Bame-Sandawaridji road, where a BIR soldier and the motorcycle driver he was with were killed.

Cameroon officially went to war against Boko Haram in 2014, aiming to stop incursions by Boko Haram fighters from Nigeria who seek to establish a transnational caliphate extending to Chad. The conflict has resulted in thousands of deaths and massive population displacements. The Cameroonian army, deployed along the border with Nigeria, has managed to curb Boko Haram’s incursions. However, despite being significantly weakened, Boko Haram continues to carry out deadly sporadic attacks on Cameroonian soil.

Source: Sbbc

The president of the Ambazonia Interim Government Sisiku Ayuk Tabe is now the only sitting Southern Cameroons leader to celebrate his birthday in a French Cameroun jail breaking the record previously held by Albert Mukong.

President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe, who is still being held at the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaoundé, received a swell of birthday wishes from thousands of exiled Southern Cameroonians and supporters of the Ambazonia Interim Government in the diaspora across social media.

On Twitter, the Ambazonia leader reacted and said “I am deeply touched by the outpouring of warm wishes on my birthday from some dedicated Ambazonian comrades. Your thoughtful messages are not just words but a reminder of our collective resolve for our cause. I am grateful for your unwavering support. Together, we forge ahead!”

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

There is news coming out of the Unity Palace in Yaoundé and it is not good for Mr. Biya’s family, though it could be good news to most Cameroonians who hold that Mr. Biya has overstayed his welcome at the Unity Palace.

President Paul Biya, is in bad shape and his family and close associates are very concerned. A dying Biya is not good news to his collaborators who are taking advantage of the chaos which has become the country’s hallmark to line their pockets.

The 91-year-old Biya has not been enjoying life as his numerous diseases are rearing their ugly head to rob him of his happiness.

Mr. Biya was expected to leave for China over the weekend to attend the China-Africa Summit but could not make it due to health issues.

Though the procedures for his departure had been rolled out with security forces deployed in the paths he uses when traveling out of the country, Mr. Biya started feeling really bad a few hours to his trip, causing the entire protocol mechanism to scrap.

Speaking to Cameroon Concord News on Sunday, a source at the Unity Palace said Mr. Biya’s health was declining on a daily basis, adding that his current situation was a major concern to his family.

“Mr. Biya’s family is concerned about his health. Despite all the health precautions being taken, the strongman’s health is failing him and it seems to have taken a turn for the worse,” the source said.

“He was supposed to have travelled to China for the 2024 China-Africa Summit, but the trip was cancelled at the last minute when the 91-year-old Biya could not even stand. All the security and protocol arrangements that were in place in Yaoundé were cancelled, prompting many to question if the country’s president was indeed in good health,” the source added.

“We are all concerned. The country is in a very bad shape and there is no clear succession plan and Mr. Biya himself is still very excited to run again in 2025. Power is a real drug. It has gotten into Mr. Biya’s head and he sees himself as the only person who can rule the country,” the source added.

“I wish he could disabuse his mind of such falsehood. Cemeteries around the world are full of people who once thought that they were indispensable. At almost 92, Mr. Biya should have understood that he is hurting himself and the country by sticking to power,” the source pointed out.

“Many people around the head of state are taking advantage of his poor health and age to feather their nests. They know their days in power are numbered. They understand that without a clear succession plan in Cameroon, the country could be plunged into chaos once Biya dies,” the source regretted.

“Many of our ministers and directors do not have their children in Cameroon. Their families are in Canada and the United States, while they are robbing Cameroon blind. They are aware of the impending chaos and they do not want their families to be caught up in any mess they have helped to create,” our source concluded.

Our source is keeping a close eye on the situation and he has his ears to the ground.

Cameroon Concord News will continue to update you as more news comes in.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai