2024-04-22 22:44:24
Professor SOSSO Maurice Aurélien, outgoing rector of the University of Yaoundé I, allegedly tried everything to sabotage the installation ceremony of his successor, Professor ETOUA Rémy Magloire Dieudonné. 237online.com reveals the underside of a transfer of power under high tension.
SOSSO, a rector who did not want to let go
Appointed rector of the University of Yaoundé I in 2015, Professor SOSSO Maurice Aurélien did not see his retirement coming. According to our sources, he would have done everything to delay the deadline, going so far as to threaten an “irredentist movement” if a decree were to remove him from office. An attitude that contrasts with the serenity expected of an academic of his rank.
A fake installer and bribed students
According to our information, SOSSO would have circulated a false program of the installation ceremony, claiming the limelight to the detriment of his successor. Worse, he would have mobilized traditional leaders and marabouts to disrupt the event. The day before, he even distributed 10,000 FCFA to more than 300 students via his “sniper teams”, so that they organize a protest movement demanding its maintenance. A set-up narrowly foiled by the security services.
A choir used to challenge the new rector
Another low blow orchestrated by SOSSO: the interpretation by the university choir « The Glorious Voice » of a song in the Duala language with meaningful words: “Power comes from God. You took Rector from me by force, but know that I will come back stronger… » A barely veiled message of defiance, which betrays the resentment of the fallen rector, visibly reluctant to hand over.
OWONO OWONO, SOSSO’s father-in-law who dreams of succeeding him
In this attempt at an academic putsch, SOSSO can count on a strong ally: his father-in-law, Professor OWONO OWONO Luc Calvin, current Vice-Rector of the University of Yaoundé I. The latter, to whom SOSSO allegedly promised the position as rector, would not have hesitated to threaten reprisals to all those who were delighted with the appointment of Professor ETOUA. An uninhibited nepotism which is a stain in the academic environment.
A rector obsessed with a ministerial morocco
But SOSSO’s ambitions don’t stop there. According to indiscretions, he already sees himself as Minister of Higher Education and would have spent hundreds of millions of FCFA on lobbying to get the position. His marabouts even guaranteed him that his appointment was confirmed. Enough to understand his determination to want to influence, even from afar, the governance of the University of Yaoundé I. Behavior unworthy of an academic supposed to embody merit and probity.
This sad affair sheds harsh light on the abuses which plague the Cameroonian academic environment. Far from the values of excellence and integrity, some managers seem more concerned with their personal ambitions than with the interests of students and the university community. It is time for the academic world to renovate to restore its image and credibility. 237online.com will continue to tirelessly investigate these abuses which undermine higher education in Cameroon.