Bekolo: authority collapses without Biya

In a recent op-ed, filmmaker Jean Pierre Bekolo paints a stark picture of Cameroon’s future without President Paul Biya. He warns that the nation is already experiencing permanent contestation—a struggle playing out across media, social platforms, and behind-the-scenes power plays. “The clans now battling in the shadows will soon abandon their covert maneuvers for open confrontation,” he asserts.

Bekolo argues that even in his advanced age and declining health, Biya’s symbolic authority has held the system together. “Every day that passes reveals another example of how those who wield power today lack the legitimacy or respect once commanded by Biya,” he writes. “Ministers make reckless statements about state resources. Constitutional bodies issue rulings that erode public trust. Institutions grow weaker while their leaders cling to privileges.“

Institutions crumble as power vacuum grows

The filmmaker highlights troubling trends: officials publicly contradicting each other on national wealth, constitutional bodies perceived as political tools, and ministries failing to address citizens’ daily struggles. “When even the presidency delegates decisions through permanent proxies, the line between state authority and private influence blurs dangerously,” he notes.

Bekolo warns that without Biya, Cameroon’s carefully managed rivalries could erupt into violent clashes. “Those who believe they can inherit power through backroom deals will discover too late that this Cameroon without Biya is a ticking time bomb,” he cautions. “The chaos we fear isn’t imported—it’s the inevitable collapse of a system that cannot function without him.”

A call for responsibility and transition

Rather than clinging to power, Bekolo urges Cameroon’s leaders to make a historic choice: step aside and facilitate a transition. “Their final service to this nation isn’t preserving power—it’s organizing the handover,” he states. He proposes a limited-term provisional government tasked with rebuilding trust, restoring institutions, and creating fair electoral rules.

“Every secret meeting, every shadow maneuver to delay the inevitable only deepens the crisis we all seek to avoid,” he concludes. “The path forward must be transparent, democratic, and accountable—or Cameroon will face the chaos we’re already glimpsing.”