A group of self-styled Sages of the Grand North have issued an open letter to Issa Tchiroma Bakary, national president of the FSNC, urging him to step aside and support Bello Bouba Maigari in Cameroon’s 2025 presidential race.
The elders argue that Bello Bouba, a former Prime Minister and long-time political leader, has the experience and legitimacy to better represent the northern bloc in the national contest.
“Bello Bouba has an anchorage, political weight, and plurality more important than yours; he is a sage, a moderate man,” the letter states.
They caution that Tchiroma’s insistence on running separately could split the northern vote and inadvertently secure another victory for incumbent Paul Biya.
“The dynamic of unity or consensus is built among opposition candidates… If you join Bello Bouba, you will enter history through the great door, remembered for humility and sacrifice for the nation,” the elders told Tchiroma.
Warning of dire consequences if he refuses, the group added:
“The fragmentation of opposition voices will mean Paul Biya’s re-election for another seven years. Cameroon will lose the chance for peaceful change so many citizens long for.”
The letter, dated September 18, 2025, was signed by prominent northern figures including François Hélé, Mahamat Adoum, Hanz Boukar, and others.
The elders closed with a proverb to drive their message home:
“What an old man sees while sitting, a young man cannot see even when standing,” the elders who called themselves ‘wisemen’ said to Tchiroma.