The people of Tiko woke up this week to the visit of Cameroun’s colonial Prime Minister, Joseph Dion Ngute, a man who has become nothing less than a slave messenger of Yaoundé’s ruling clique. His mission was clear: to deceive the people of Tiko and the wider Ambazonian territory into believing that Paul Biya, a 92-year-old dictator who has clung to power for over four decades, still has something to offer.
Ngute stood at the ruins of the Tiko Wharf, a once-thriving economic hub destroyed under the neglect of La République du Cameroun. He promised rehabilitation of the wharf and even dared to speak of reviving the long-abandoned Tiko Airport. But these words are not new. For 43 years, Biya has remained in power, overseeing the complete collapse of every development project in Ambazonia. Schools, hospitals, roads, industries, seaports, and airports, all abandoned while resources from Ambazonia enrich Yaoundé and its cronies.
Biya: Frail, Old, and Desperate to Hold on to Power
Paul Biya, at 92, can barely stand without support. The man has long lost touch with the realities of the people. Yet he insists on manipulating the system to remain in office. His entire regime survives on lies, force, and the exploitation of Ambazonian resources. Instead of stepping aside to allow a new generation of leadership, Biya is once again forcing Ambazonians to legitimise their oppression through fraudulent elections.
Dion Ngute’s Role: Fooling the People
Dion Ngute, an Ambazonian by birth, has shamelessly accepted the role of deceiving his own people. Rather than standing with the oppressed masses, he dances to the tune of Yaoundé, begging Ambazonians to vote for Biya — the very man responsible for their suffering. His promises are empty. For decades, similar promises have been made about the Tiko Port, Limbe Deep Sea Port, Victoria Airport, and countless roads, yet nothing has ever been delivered.
Forty-Three Years of Decline
Under Biya’s regime, Ambazonia has been systematically kept backwards. From the destruction of the West Cameroon state institutions after the forced union to the militarisation of our towns and villages, every act of La République has been designed to reduce Ambazonia to ashes. Children study under gunfire, farmers are displaced from their lands, businesses are suffocated, and entire communities live in fear of the colonial army.
Why Ambazonia Must Reject the October 13 Elections
The upcoming presidential election is nothing more than a colonial charade. Ambazonians have no reason to participate in a process that only legitimises their slavery. Voting in that election will not change the reality of occupation, killings, and underdevelopment. On the contrary, it will give Biya and his cronies a false claim of legitimacy.
Ambazonia must boycott these elections entirely. Our struggle is not about choosing who oppresses us, it is about ending oppression once and for all. No amount of promises about “rehabilitating” airports or wharves can erase the decades of destruction wrought by Biya’s regime.
Ambazonia’s only hope lies in rejecting the manipulation of colonial puppets like Dion Ngute and refusing to be used as pawns in Biya’s dying regime. The people must continue to resist, to demand self-determination, and to expose the lies of Yaoundé at every turn.
The time is long overdue. Ambazonia has nothing to gain from another five, ten, or twenty years under Paul Biya. The old man should leave power and allow our people to build their future free from colonial chains. Until then, the people of Tiko and all of Ambazonia must stand firm: No elections in Ambazonia. No more manipulation. Freedom only.
By Lucas Muma
