In a recent opinion piece, Alex Nguepi argues that Cameroon’s economic struggles are being obscured by tribal rhetoric.

“Those who have invested their money in building homes, factories, businesses, and enterprises owe no explanations to those who chose to remain on the sidelines,” Nguepi asserts.

“The Bamileke people should not have to justify owning property or businesses in Douala, Yaoundé, or anywhere else in Cameroon. Cameroon belongs to all its citizens, not to a single tribe, community, or group.”

Nguepi emphasizes that Cameroon’s major cities were not built by one ethnic group alone. They were constructed through the taxes, sacrifices, and hard work of millions of Cameroonians from all regions. No one can claim exclusive ownership of Cameroonian citizenship.

The uncomfortable truth many refuse to acknowledge is clear: the Bamileke have cultivated a culture of saving, entrepreneurship, and wealth-building. While some spend, others invest. While some seek excuses for stagnation, others work tirelessly to secure a better future for their children.

Many young people from the West region dream not of inheriting ancestral homes, but of building their own houses, establishing businesses, and creating legacies. This drive explains why they purchase land, construct buildings, open shops, and generate jobs wherever opportunities arise.

It is therefore absurd to politicize the economic success of a community. Those who have invested their resources in constructing homes, factories, and businesses owe no explanations to those who prefer to watch from the sidelines.

The real scandal is not that Cameroonians are building across their country. The real scandal is that after decades in power, some leaders still resort to pitting Cameroonians against one another to distract from their economic and social failures.

When the economy falters, unemployment rises, poverty spreads, and opportunities dwindle, purveyors of hatred always fall back on the same divisive tactics: ethnicity, autochthony, and division. This is the strategy of regimes in their final cycles, lacking solutions to offer their people.

Cameroon does not need tribalists. Cameroon needs builders. It needs citizens who invest, create businesses, pay taxes, generate jobs, and contribute to national wealth.

A nation thrives through its entrepreneurs, farmers, industrialists, traders, and workers—not through hate speech, envy, or attempts at stigmatization.

Let each person build. Let each person invest. Let each person create wealth. And Cameroon will progress.

The future belongs to builders. Those who sow division will end up in the dustbin of history.

Alex Nguepi