Veteran journalist and political analyst Alex Gustave Azebaze has openly questioned the legitimacy of former minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary’s bid for the 2025 presidential election, accusing him of bearing responsibility for long-standing failures within Cameroon’s political system.
In a pointed commentary shared online, Azebaze took aim at Tchiroma’s past tenure as Minister of Transport, particularly his controversial implementation of road tolls in 1994 — a policy introduced, Azebaze notes, “without highways.”
The journalist sharply criticized the rationale provided at the time, which claimed that toll revenues would be used to revolutionize the country’s national road infrastructure. “Who still remembers that? Perhaps not even him, 31 years later,” Azebaze remarked.
“And now he wants us to believe he’ll do better as president?”
Tchiroma, who served in multiple ministerial roles under President Paul Biya’s decades-long rule, recently announced his candidacy for the presidency.
But Azebaze argues that any such aspiration must be measured against a political track record that, in his view, contributed to the systemic dysfunction now facing the country.
“Cameroonians do not have amnesia,” Azebaze stated, emphasizing that the public remains deeply aware of past leadership failures.
“Should we continue like this, as everyone who holds a position in the government or in the senior administration suggests?”
He further critiqued the broader political culture, noting that Cameroon — led by President Biya for over four decades — has endured many policies and practices “that have never been seen anywhere else.”
For Azebaze, the issue is not just about individual candidacies but the broader question of political accountability and memory. “How can we ensure that politicians never again think that Cameroonians have amnesia?” he asked.
The remarks have sparked renewed debate about continuity, reform, and whether figures from Cameroon’s entrenched political establishment can credibly claim to offer meaningful change.
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