2024-07-15 01:00:53
A media storm is shaking Cameroon. The results of the recent entrance exams to the major national schools have sparked an unprecedented outcry. Accusations of shameless tribalism and blatant favoritism are undermining the myth of national unity and threatening to ignite a country already weakened by separatist tensions.
Police academy at the heart of scandal
The case of the National Higher Police School (ENSP) crystallizes all the tensions. Out of 526 inspectors admitted in 2023, more than 450 would belong to the same ethnic group as President Paul Biya. A figure which, if confirmed, would represent a staggering over-representation of 85% of those admitted from a single region.
A system corrupted by cronyism?
This case sheds a harsh light on recruitment practices in the Cameroonian civil service. The regional balance, which is supposed to guarantee fair representation of all components of the nation, seems to have given way to unabashed nepotism. How can such a disparity be justified in a country that wants to be united and supportive?
The risks of a social powder keg
In a context already tense due to the Anglophone crisis, these revelations have the effect of a time bomb. The feeling of exclusion, already palpable in certain regions, risks being exacerbated in the face of what appears to be institutionalized marginalization. The specter of an increased fragmentation of Cameroonian society looms dangerously.
This affair of rigged competitions is much more than a simple administrative scandal. It reveals the deep flaws of a system that, under the cover of national unity, seems to perpetuate discriminatory practices. Will Cameroon be able to reform itself to offer true equality of opportunity to all its children? Or are we witnessing the beginnings of a major social crisis?