In a searing critique, high school educator Armand Noutack II argues that Cameroon’s dysfunction stems not just from its leadership but from the complicity of its citizens.

Writing in a recent opinion piece, Noutack II, a secondary school teacher and political commentator, delivers a stinging indictment of what he sees as Cameroonians’ deep-seated resistance to meaningful change. He contends that while citizens loudly demand transformation, many secretly cling to corrupt practices that undermine the very progress they claim to seek.

«Cameroon, who truly wants change?»

This question haunts Noutack II as he dissects the paradox of a nation that simultaneously yearns for renewal and sabotages it at every turn. He points to the recent government initiative to audit state payrolls as a case in point, suggesting it exposes the fragility of public demand for genuine reform.

The educator argues that Cameroonians have grown comfortable with a system of systemic corruption, one that many believe was either deliberately crafted or at least tacitly accepted by President Paul Biya to maintain his grip on power. But Noutack II reserves his harshest criticism for ordinary citizens who, while decrying corruption in public, perpetuate it in private through networks of patronage and favoritism.

He cites conversations overheard in informal settings where individuals dismiss attempts to regulate state spending, insisting such efforts threaten to «upset the apple cart» by targeting small-scale graft rather than the powerful. «How can one demand change,» he asks, «while also tampering with market scales to sell one kilogram of meat as two?»

Noutack II reserves particular scorn for public servants who, while advocating for change abroad, continue to draw salaries for work never performed at home. He paints a vivid picture of Cameroonians in the diaspora—especially those in countries like Canada—who take to social media to rail against the status quo while their families back home collect paychecks in their absence. «Paul Biya must go!» they proclaim, «We demand change!» But what change, Noutack II asks, do these individuals truly seek? Is it not the return of the very salaries they have abandoned?

The educator also targets opposition figures who, in his view, are equally complicit. By day, they decry government failures on television; by night, they negotiate lucrative public contracts or secure elite educational placements for relatives. «Some present themselves as fierce opponents by day,» he writes, «but by midnight, they’re in ministers’ offices haggling over public tenders they’ll execute poorly for massive profits.»

Noutack II extends his critique to the business community, where merchants loudly advocate for change abroad while evading taxes, trafficking expired goods, and exploiting consumers. «You want change?» he challenges, «Then pay your taxes, stop poisoning your neighbors with spoiled food, and abandon the hypocrisy of cheering for Senegal while sabotaging your own nation.»

He saves his sharpest barbs for the daily realities of Cameroonian life: the teachers who sell grades, the police who extort drivers, the university promoters running diploma mills, the journalists who shape narratives for a price. The list extends to civil servants who withhold services unless bribed, doctors who abandon public hospitals for private clinics, and even priests who preach revolution while living comfortably off state resources.

According to Noutack II, the rot runs deeper than the presidency. It is embedded in the national psyche, a corruption of values that has normalized fraud in all its forms. «We are corrupt,» he declares bluntly, «not superficially, but in our very minds. That is what hurts most.»

The educator concludes with a call to action that is as uncompromising as his critique. He urges citizens to first examine their own conduct before demanding change from others. «If you cannot be the change you wish to see,» he writes, «then be silent.» He advises state auditors to infiltrate every profession to root out corrupt practices, warning that rebuilding Cameroon after President Biya’s departure will require dismantling the mental framework of corruption that has ensnared all Cameroonians—leaders and citizens alike—for over four decades.

Noutack II signs off with a simple plea: «Stop the hypocrisy.»

Armand Noutack II, High School Teacher