Cameroon: Richard Bona song triggers controversy with artist Belka Tobis

Richard Bona at RFI. © RFI / Joe Farmer

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It is a title of the famous musician Richard Bona in which he calls Paul Biya to leave power. A song that has not gone unnoticed as the crisis in the English-speaking area continues.

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Avalanche of reactions in Cameroon after the song of the famous musician Richard Bona who calls Paul Biya to leave. A song called " Hello Fokou " , "Go to fokou" meaning "go buy the rope to hang yourself". In this title, Richard Bona renames the Cameroonian head of state "Pol Pillard".

From Miami where he lives, Richard Bona explains why he is speaking now: "  Given what is happening in the southwest and northwest, in the English-speaking region in Cameroon and also in northeast Cameroon, having initiated this war in North and South West. We could have done everything not to go to war. And There you go. It is all these outbursts of brutality that make that, I think it was a very bad decision. The result is there, it is just overwhelming. Here. And in Cameroon it is a very, very old dictatorship. It is a dictatorship that has not said its name for almost four decades and that must change. We are not going to find solutions with people who created the problem. So there you go, Paul Biya, must go!  In French, "  Paul Biya must leave  ".

And a few days after the broadcast of his controversial song, another artist answered him, also in music. It is Belka Tobis, Cameroonian singer living in France. We don't want hatred here,  " he says in his song.

According to him, the message sent by Richard Bona is a message of hatred which advocates war: "  I have nothing against Richard Bona, who is also a very great musician whom I appreciate. But the only downside is that he advocates for war, but I advocate for peace. He is not playing his role as an artist. The artist is there for peace and not for war. If Richard Bona wants to participate in the development of his country Cameroon, I would really like him to speak out and try to appease all Cameroonians. I want to go through the dialogue that the President of the Cameroonian Republic gave, Mr. Paul Biya: my only political party is peace. After sixty years of independence, I would not like there to be war in my country. I want to move on. I would like our children to move forward in peace.  "

It is not the first time that the two artists have responded with interposed music. Last February, they questioned themselves about songs about the lion and the rooster, evoking the situation in Cameroon in a roundabout way .

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  • Cameroon
  • Music
  • Paul Biya

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