Cameroon: Issa Tchiroma’s veiled call for revolt, a dangerous threat to national stability
In an already sensitive post-electoral context, the recent speech by opposition leader Issa Tchiroma appears to be a thinly veiled attempt at destabilization. Behind words intended to be unifying lies an implicit call for popular revolt. The objective is clear: to transform political contestation into a street movement, risking ushering the country into a new era of uncertainty and internal division.
Under the guise of a self-proclaimed victory speech, Issa Tchiroma challenges the authority of republican institutions, notably the Constitutional Council, and positions himself as the sole custodian of popular legitimacy.
This dangerous blurring of the lines between political ambition and disguised insurrection reveals a strategy of rupture, seeking to pressure the state through street protests rather than democratic debate.
Such a posture, which plays on popular emotions and patriotic sentiment, could lead to a spiral of confrontation and instability that Cameroon, on a path to recovery, can ill afford.
The choice of words is not accidental: “march,” “protest,” “take our destiny into our own hands”; all phrases that, beneath an apparent rhetoric of peace, convey a call for insurrectional mobilization.
By arrogating the right to proclaim results and declare himself the winner, the opposition leader tramples republican rules and the legal framework established by the electoral code.
This irresponsible attitude aims to sow doubt, divide citizens, and weaken national cohesion.
In the face of this drift, the state, as the guarantor of stability and public order, must continue to demonstrate firmness while prioritizing the path of dialogue and legality. The Cameroonian people, known for their political maturity, will not be led into a perilous adventure dictated by emotion.
Cameroon, strong in its institutions and tradition of peace, must remain focused on the real priorities: security, development, and national rebuilding around the values of discipline, work, and unity. For it is in stability, and not in disorder, that the future of a sovereign and respected nation is written.
Olivier TOE
