Why Paul Biya May Win Cameroonian Presidency For The 8th Term – Ikubese
Former presidential aspirant and convener of the #YesWeFit revolutionary movement, Dr. Thomas-wilson Ikubese has said President Paul Biya of Cameroon may win for his 8th term in the country’s presidential election scheduled for this year, if the Cameroonian opposition parties remain weak without showing to be different with selflessness and ideological clarity.
Ikubese said this while speaking on TVC New’s world news on Friday, he said ;
“It’s quite unfortunate that we are seeing Paul Biya wanting to have another shot at the Cameroonian Presidency for the 8th term. And between you and I, you know that he is going to win because the election will certainly not be free and fair. But I can tell you for free that the reason Paul Biya is running for the 8th term is because he fears that if someone else comes to the office of the president, he is going to be probed. So he wants to remain in the office until his last day on earth. And I think the ‘seat tight’ syndrome is more of an African thing, and it’s quite unfortunate. What we intend to see in Africa are leaders who will govern selflessly and purposefully, and will hand over to the younger generation. And I think it’s not just about age. It’s also about sincerity, selflessness and vision. But for Paul Biya running the 8th term, it’s unfortunate and he is actually pulling the country back, and until he leaves, I don’t see Cameroon making progress.”
Asked if he thinks Cameroonian should trust him with their votes again, said
“it’s not a matter of trust. He has been able to pocket the democratic structure of that country. And that’s why I’m proud of what Ghana did in their last presidential election when we saw a party in opposition win the ballot. And that’s because the independent electoral body there stood independent and is not under the caprises of the political machinery of the players in the country.”
Speaking about Biya’s health condition in relation to his 8th term presidential bid. He said:
“there’s a different between age and health, as medical practitioner I can tell you that someone can be old in age and still be very healthy and strong, and someone can be younger and not healthy. On the base of poor health, I think the Cameroonian opposition needs to rise and take their country back, but the concern here is that the opposition is very weak.”
Asked about how to strengthen opposition and stop the trend of leaders holding on tightly to power, he said those in opposition will need to have the mind of selflessness, purposeful leadership, ideological clarity and vision. According to him, what we have in Africa is that there are more people in the opposition, waiting for their turn to embezzle public funds than those who are in power.
