The Cameroon crisis: why are we talking about football while the nation suffers?

According to the perspective shared by Jean Rodrigue Atemengue, in a nation where a government reshuffle has been anticipated for months without action, the public discourse should not be consumed by football.

Cameroon failed to secure a spot in the upcoming World Cup. Our Indomitable Lions will not be participating in this global tournament. Despite this, we find ourselves once again trapped in endless arguments over football, controversies surrounding the federation, and debates about matches we won’t even play. Meanwhile, the country continues to endure deep, tangible wounds.

A vital question: are our priorities in order?

There is something even more unsettling at play. Football, which has long served as a unifying force and occasionally a tool to overshadow national issues, is no longer the stable pillar it once was. Even the medium of this distraction is in a state of emergency.

Cameroon’s football, once the pride of the continent and a symbol of a nation capable of challenging the world’s elite, is now a mere shadow of its former glory. Marred by disputed management, personal vendettas, recurring scandals, and a federation perpetually mired in conflict, the sport is failing. With inadequate infrastructure and young talents left to fend for themselves, our failure to qualify for the World Cup is simply the logical conclusion of this internal decay.

We are not going to the World Cup. Yet, there are those who still attempt to place this failing sport at the center of our national conversation as if nothing has changed. It is a striking paradox: the public is expected to remain obsessed with a sport that many now view as being in a state of terminal decline.

The sport itself is not the enemy. Football remains a legitimate passion and a source of national identity that connects millions of citizens regardless of their background. Figures like Samuel Eto’o are rightly respected for their legendary careers. However, football cannot be allowed to become a screen that hides the critical issues determining our national future, especially when our team is absent from the world stage.

What should we actually be discussing?

In a country where the public has waited months for a government reshuffle that never comes, the national dialogue should not be monopolized by a ball. When the Parliament is called into an extraordinary session to amend the Constitution and establish a Vice President position, only for that seat to remain empty for months, we must question the very functionality of our institutions.

In a nation where the Council of Ministers and the Higher Judicial Council have not met in years, the lack of institutional normalcy should be our primary concern. When ministers resign and are replaced by temporary officials for extended periods, or when high-ranking officials pass away without being replaced, our focus is clearly misplaced.

Furthermore, the state of our legal system is alarming. When a magistrate issues an arrest warrant only for police instructions to circulate demanding it be ignored, the rule of law is at stake. This should concern the public far more than any FIFA ranking. When a judge’s release order is publicly dismissed as a forgery, the very credibility of our justice system is under fire.

Beyond the halls of power, the daily reality for citizens is grim. Roads are crumbling, public contracts are awarded for projects that are never finished, and access to basic necessities like clean water and electricity remains a luxury in many areas. With graduates facing chronic unemployment and the rising cost of living crushing households, football cannot reasonably be the primary topic of conversation.

Who benefits from this distraction?

Every time the public focus is funneled into a football controversy, essential questions regarding our economy, society, and institutions are pushed into the background. These problems do not disappear; they simply lose visibility.

Intellectuals, journalists, and community leaders hold a heavy responsibility here. To dedicate the majority of public space to sporting drama while the nation faces profound institutional crises is to choose noise over thought and spectacle over substance.

This is not a call to give up on football, but rather a call to organize our priorities. Once our institutions are fully operational, once justice is trustworthy, once our roads are paved, and once our youth have jobs and basic services, we can talk about football as much as we like.

But today, making football the main event is a way of turning a blind eye to our most pressing challenges. To continue debating a sport that is itself in crisis as if it were our greatest achievement is to ignore the double reality of a declining athletic program and a struggling nation.

The need for a higher standard of debate

Citizens of Cameroon deserve a public discourse that matches the scale of the challenges we face. We deserve institutions that command respect, a justice system with integrity, and leadership that is accountable. We need a public sphere that informs rather than distracts.

History will remember those who had the bravery to ask the difficult questions, not those who chose to argue over a tournament we aren’t even attending or a sport that has lost its way.