In a nation where a government reshuffle has been anticipated for months without action, public discourse should not be consumed by sport.
Citizens of Cameroon,
Our national team, the Indomitable Lions, will not be participating in the upcoming World Cup. Despite this absence from the global stage, we find ourselves trapped in endless disputes over football, federation politics, and matches that do not even involve us. Meanwhile, the country continues to endure deep and painful wounds.
A vital question: are our priorities in order?
It is deeply concerning that football, once a unifying force and a distraction from national struggles, is now a source of crisis itself. The very tool used for diversion is broken. The sport in Cameroon, which once stood as a beacon of pride for the continent, has become a mere shadow of its former glory. Marred by administrative conflicts, personal vendettas, constant scandals, and decaying infrastructure, the failure to qualify for the World Cup is simply a symptom of a much larger rot.
Even as the national team stays home, the public is urged to remain obsessed with a sport in decline. This is not to disparage the game itself; football is a legitimate passion and a universal language that bridges social and ethnic divides. Figures like Samuel Eto’o are rightly celebrated for their historic achievements. However, the game must not become a veil that hides the critical issues defining the future of Cameroon.
The real issues we must address
In a landscape where African politics should be the primary focus, several institutional failures demand our attention. We live in a country where a government reshuffle has been stagnant for months. We have seen constitutional reforms create a Vice-President position that remains unoccupied. The absence of a Council of Ministers or a Higher Judicial Council for several years signals a breakdown in institutional normalcy.
Furthermore, the state of our legal system is alarming. When a magistrate issues a warrant only for police to be told to ignore it, the rule of law is under threat. When a court’s release order is dismissed as a forgery, the very credibility of our justice system vanishes. These are the matters that should stir the public conscience far more than any FIFA ranking.
The African economy today reflects our local struggles: crumbling roads, abandoned public projects, and the lack of basic utilities like water and electricity. With high unemployment among graduates and a rising cost of living, football cannot reasonably remain our primary topic of conversation.
Who benefits from this distraction?
Every time a football controversy takes center stage, social, economic, and institutional crises are pushed into the shadows. Intellectuals, journalists, and leaders have a duty to resist this trend. Prioritizing sports gossip over national stability risks trading deep analysis for shallow spectacle.
We do not need to abandon football, but we must rank our priorities. We can talk about the pitch once our institutions function, our roads are safe, and our youth have jobs. To do otherwise is to ignore the double reality of a declining sport and a struggling nation. Cameroon deserves a public debate that matches the scale of its challenges—a discourse rooted in accountability rather than diversion.
History will remember those who dared to ask the difficult questions about our governance, rather than those who chose to debate a tournament we aren’t even playing in.
