The National Chairman of the Social Democratic Front (SDF) party, Hon. Joshua Osih, has launched a platform he says aims to encourage frank and uncensored speech from Cameroonians as the country prepares for elections in October.
Osih, who is yet to secure his party’s nomination for the election, named the free-speech space, “Osih for the People”.
He announced it in a video shared on his newly-created WhatsApp channel on Wednesday, January 29.
The platform, he explained, will enable direct conversations with Cameroonians to understand their challenges and political aspirations.
He said “Osih for the People” comes to help people break silence on issues touching them.
“I have traveled several times through all 10 Regions of our beautiful country and I saw your struggles, our struggles. I listened to your aspirations and above all I understood that we can no longer afford the luxury of silence,” the SDF Chair said.
The SDF National Chair toured the 10 regions of the country last year during which he held question-and-answer sessions with young people to understand their challenges and expectations from him.
He believes Cameroonians do not have a voice as politicians usually focus on making noisy speeches and vain promises, usually neglect feedback from the population.
No Guarantee for Free Speech in Cameroon
Although the Cameroon Constitution empowers citizens and the media to freely express themselves on issues, there is no guarantee for free speech in practice.
The government has repeatedly sanctioned media organs and arbitrarily arrested activists for their views about the leadership of long-serving President Paul Biya.
Last October, the government banned media debates on the President’s health after he spent nearly 50 days abroad.
Joshua Osih believes such actions have silenced Cameroonians’ voices for too long and they need an open space to air out their struggles.
He said “Osih for the People” platform will enable Cameroonians to exchange with him “directly without intermediaries”.
He also assured that there will be “no filters, no censorship” on what people can say.
“This is why I’m launching ‘Osih for the People,’ a different space where we stop entertainment and focus on what truly matters… Together, we will expose the realities that others prefer to hide, give a voice to those who are never heard and above all, build concrete solutions for our country. Because real change won’t come from speeches or promises during election periods, it will come from us, the Cameronian people, United in our diversity and determined in our action,” the opposition leader said.
