Africa’s Shameful Silence: How Tchiroma Claimed Victory and Ended Up in Exile

By Sam Agogo

The political earthquake that followed Cameroon’s 2025 presidential election continues to send shockwaves across West and Central Africa.

At the centre of the storm is Issa Tchiroma Bakary, the fiery opposition leader who insists—firmly and without apology—that he won the election cleanly and convincingly, defeating Paul Biya, the 92-year-old Western-backed incumbent who has ruled Cameroon for more than four decades. According to Tchiroma and several independent observers, the people of Cameroon voted for change with overwhelming clarity. Civil society groups, diaspora monitors, and parallel vote counts reportedly showed the opposition ahead across key regions, including the Far North, Centre, and Littoral. Yet, in a familiar pattern that has plagued many African democracies, the official results contradicted the will of the people. Biya’s government swiftly declared itself the winner.

The aftermath was immediate and brutal. Protesters poured into the streets, security forces moved with ruthless precision, opposition offices were sealed, and lists of individuals marked for arrest allegedly began circulating. Overnight, the man who believed he had just been entrusted with the mandate to lead his country was forced into hiding. Fearing for his life, Issa Tchiroma Bakary fled Cameroon through the northern corridors and crossed into Nigeria. His arrival was not a secret to intelligence networks or diplomatic watchers. Many expected Nigeria, the self-proclaimed giant of Africa, to provide him with protection, political cover, or at least a dignified asylum process. Instead, Tchiroma was met with a cold and calculated instruction: he must not make any political statements while on Nigerian soil. More painfully, he was not granted political asylum.

Diplomatic insiders revealed that Abuja feared that offering him protection would be interpreted by Yaoundé—and more importantly, by France, Cameroon’s historical patron—as a hostile act. Nigeria, already dealing with internal security challenges, was unwilling to invite a fresh diplomatic crisis or complicate its delicate relationship with its eastern neighbour. There were also concerns that granting Tchiroma political space in Nigeria could escalate tensions along the Cameroon–Nigeria border, where both countries continue to confront Boko Haram’s cross-border operations. Asylum under international law is often misunderstood; while countries are prohibited from sending a person back into danger, they are not obligated to grant political asylum, particularly when doing so could trigger geopolitical instability. Nigeria chose caution, silence, and distance.

Facing restrictions and sensing the discomfort from Abuja, Tchiroma quietly left Nigeria and travelled to The Gambia, where the government accepted him and placed him under state supervision. Unlike Nigeria, The Gambia had little to lose diplomatically. After emerging from its own authoritarian past under Yahya Jammeh, the small West African nation has positioned itself as a defender of human rights and democratic freedoms. Accepting Tchiroma boosted its global moral standing without significantly threatening its relations with Cameroon or France. The Gambia’s gesture stood in stark contrast to Nigeria’s hesitant neutrality.

The deeper question troubling many Africans is why Nigeria, which boldly sent troops into Benin Republic claiming to protect democracy, maintained a deafening silence in Cameroon’s darkest political hour. The answer lies in a complex mix of regional politics, military realities, and long-standing diplomatic caution. Benin Republic is part of ECOWAS, where Nigeria is the dominant power and intervention is backed by regional legal frameworks. Cameroon, however, belongs to CEMAC, a bloc heavily influenced by France. Any Nigerian interference there would not only lack institutional backing but also directly challenge French strategic interests—something Nigeria has historically avoided. Furthermore, Cameroon’s military strength, its deep ties to Paris, and its strategic position in Central Africa make it far riskier to confront than Benin.

In the end, the saga of Issa Tchiroma Bakary is not just the story of a man who claimed electoral victory and ended up in exile. It is a mirror held up to Africa’s political contradictions. It highlights a continent where elections are too often decided by power rather than ballots, where regional giants selectively defend democracy based on convenience, and where leaders protect one another more fiercely than they protect the will of their citizens. Nigeria’s swift action in Benin and its silence in Cameroon expose an uncomfortable truth: Africa’s commitment to democracy is still inconsistent, fragile, and painfully selective. Until African nations defend democratic principles everywhere—not only where it is easy or politically safe—the continent will continue to watch leaders cling to power, voices silenced, and the people’s will trampled. And the tragedy will keep repeating itself.

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