2018 Election: Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo Tackle Paul Biya

This is indeed the main message conveyed by two former presidents, Thabo Mbeki of South Africa (1999-2008) and Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria (1999-2007),

 in a co-signed letter addressed to the Cameroon President Paul Biya who has been in power since 1982 and is seeking a seventh consecutive term after 35 years of rule.

These two former heads of state who have ceded power in their respective countries urge Paul Biya to make the decision that honors Cameroon, even Africa as a whole and that will make him a great statesman, cancel the presidential election on 7 October and to hold a new election with national and international observers to make it more credible and acceptable to all parties.

"The democratic election in a clear process is one of the most beautiful legacies you will leave to your beloved country, because like Mandela, you will go down in history as the one who has brought democracy to your kind country, and which has also imposed clear election results as a golden rule and inviolable for a peaceful change or even for re-election." It was possible to read in this letter, as a source in the Civil Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic of Cameroon told us.

Olusegun Obasanjo

He goes on to say that it also reads "It would be a disaster if Cameroon too should switch to violence that could compromise the living together that your country is an example in Africa," he wrote.

We know that today, whether in Nigeria or South Africa, elections are calmed and there is a regular alternation that creates dynamism and avoids conflicts. In Nigeria as in Ghana, the former presidents, for the services they have rendered to the nation, are respected and occupy their rightful place in society.
To conclude, our source would like to believe that President Paul Biya will understand that it is now that the conclusion of his story will be written. He can emerge as a great man and enter positively into history if he cancels and reorganizes a new presidential election, as the law provides. This time more credible as suggested by Thabo Mbeki and Olusegun Obasanjo or he follows his entourage goes to war and accepts the results of a highly contested election to stay in power and spend the most nightmarish 7 years of his reign and who knows, will be able to finish like Mobutu of the ex-Zaire, who thought himself immortal or like Jamal of Gambia who saw himself invincible.

To Paul Biya destiny is in his hands - to enter history as a tyrant or as a democrat?