Dr Samuel Ikome Sako is: selected through a constitutional restoration process head of a functioning Government-in-Exile supported by Ambazonia’s global diaspora, grounded in the United Nations decolonization framework, actively strengthening diplomatic, humanitarian, and security pillars, Tchiroma seeks relevance. Sako exercises authority. Tchiroma reacts to a collapsing state. Sako builds a rising nation.
A Knockdown–Crashout Editorial
By Ali Dan Ismael, Editor-in-Chief The Independentist
The political earthquake shaking French Cameroun has reached a point no one can deny: the era of duelling exile presidents has begun. Issa Tchiroma Bakary — once Biya’s loudest defender and the regime’s emergency spokesman — has reportedly been sworn in as “President of French Cameroun” in The Gambia, far away from the crumbling foundations of Yaoundé.
The symbolism is devastating
A man who once lectured Ambazonians about “national unity” now takes an oath outside his own country, under the watchful eyes of foreign diplomats and regional power brokers. Meanwhile, Paul Biya — the fading monarch of the crumbling union — remains a ghost, drifting between European safe havens and the fortified shadows of the Unity Palace.
But while French Cameroun now has a president in exile born from collapse, Ambazonia has a president in exile born from legitimacy and constitutional order: Dr Samuel Ikome Sako, President of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia. This moment changes the entire equation.
Two Exile Presidencies: Collapse Versus Liberation
When a Francophone political heavyweight takes his oath outside Cameroun, it signals a truth even their elites can no longer bury: the Camerounian state is dying. Tchiroma’s oath reveals: the shrinking authority of Yaoundé, vicious succession battles among Francophone elites, weakening influence from France, new regional calculations from Nigeria and The Gambia
The Gambia’s earlier claim that Tchiroma was only present for “humanitarian reasons” has been shattered. He is not hiding. He is not silent. He is preparing for a post-Biya transition. Across the border, diplomatic whispers suggest that leaders in Northern Nigeria are quietly repositioning themselves for the inevitable collapse of the Yaoundé order.
Ambazonia Already Has a Government-in-Exile — Built on Law, Not Panic
Here lies the contrast that destroys any attempt to equate the two exiles: Ambazonia created a president in exile through lawful succession, not desperation. Ambazonia created a government in exile because Cameroun illegally annexed a UN trust territory.
Dr Samuel Ikome Sako is: selected through a constitutional restoration process head of a functioning Government-in-Exile supported by Ambazonia’s global diaspora, grounded in the United Nations decolonization framework, actively strengthening diplomatic, humanitarian, and security pillars, Tchiroma seeks relevance. Sako exercises authority. Tchiroma reacts to a collapsing state. Sako builds a rising nation.
Tchiroma vs Sako: Two Exiles, One Future
Tchiroma represents: the decay of an old colonial empire, a regime choking on corruption, a political class fighting over the corpse of a failed system, a public suffocated by poverty, repression, and fear.
Dr Sako represents: a liberation movement anchored in sacrifice, a people who never agreed to Cameroun’s so-called union, a constitutional framework rooted in international legitimacy, a disciplined Ambazonian State Army committed to national defense, a national project with vision, direction, and momentum. Two presidents in exile. Only one has a sovereign people behind him.
What Tchiroma’s Oath Means for Ambazonia
It is confirmation. Confirmation that the ground under Yaoundé has finally cracked beyond repair. Confirmation that the Camerounian union was a lie held together by force, fear, and France. Confirmation that Ambazonia’s insistence on sovereignty is not only just — but prophetic.
When Cameroun begins to produce multiple presidents abroad, the world finally sees the truth: Cameroun is not a union; it is an expired colonial arrangement. And when a colonial arrangement collapses, the colonized do not negotiate. They walk to freedom. Ambazonia’s Government-in-Exile now stands as the most coherent, stable, and credible political authority between the Atlantic coast and the Lake Chad basin. This is no longer a liberation claim. This is geopolitical reality.
The Uncomfortable Question No One Wants to Ask
If Cameroun has: a silent ruler abroad, a self-sworn successor abroad, a fractured elite fighting internally, neighbours preparing for the aftermath, France losing its grip…..…then who exactly governs the territory called Cameroun?
If no authority can answer that question, why should Ambazonia pretend there is anything resembling a union? Here is where Dr Sako’s position becomes the only legitimate anchor: Ambazonia never entered a lawful union with Cameroun. Ambazonia remains an unfinished decolonization case. Ambazonia is exercising the right to restore its statehood. While Cameroun collapses into elite infighting, Ambazonia builds governance, strengthens institutions, and prepares for sovereignty.
Two Presidents in Exile — Only One Belongs to History
Tchiroma’s oath marks the disintegration of La République du Cameroun. Dr Sako’s presidency marks the re-emergence of Ambazonia. One clings to survival. One embodies restoration. One rises from chaos. One rises from legitimacy. History already knows who belongs to the future.
And as Yaoundé sinks deeper into fragmentation, Ambazonia must press forward with clarity, strategy, and unshakeable unity. This is our moment. We must not blink.
Ali Dan Ismael Editor-in-Chief
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