The Illustrious “Legacy” of Governor Okalia Bilai: A Masterclass in Failure.
If one were to write a handbook on how not to govern, Bernard Okalia Bilai’s tenure in the South West Region of Cameroon would be the only case study needed.
Since his appointment in 2012, he has curated a truly impressive portfolio of incompetence. Let’s take a tour of the four specific ways he has managed to turn the region into a masterclass of dysfunction.
The “Security” Strategy: All Bark, No Bite.
Governor Bilai has spent over a decade promising to squash the Anglophone Crisis, yet his threats carry about as much weight as a wet paper towel. Under his “watchful” eye, kidnappings have become a local pastime. He swore to crush the Amba crisis, yet the only thing being crushed is the region’s sense of safety.
Every year, like a broken record, he promises a “return to normalcy.” Meanwhile, the Amba Boys continue to dictate when the region opens for business. The Governor acts shocked—shocked, that the lockdowns persist, as if his sternly worded press releases were supposed to act as forcefields. You could call it the Ghost Town Charade.
The War on Traditional Rulers (and Reality).
Okalia Bilai seems to think leadership involves bullying old men. In 2019, he gave the chiefs an ultimatum. He threatened to dethrone traditional rulers if they did not return to their villages. That threat aged beautifully. It was pure “chihuahua barking”—loud, annoying, and ultimately ignored. He tried again this year using the Senior Divisional Officer (another professional noise-maker), and to absolutely no one’s surprise, that failed too.
A Heart of Stone: Blaming the Victim.
The Governor’s relationship with the population is simple: whatever goes wrong, it’s their fault. In the 2023 Buea Floods, when the city was underwater, he did not apologize for the lack of drainage. Of course not. He lacked even a shred of empathy, blaming the victims for “deviant behaviour” and poor construction. Apparently, the citizens are responsible for the total collapse of the infrastructure, not the man in charge.
His “korkors” are the civil servants with his Civil Servant Trap. He loves forcing civil servants to defy “Ghost Towns,” conveniently forgetting that they are sandwiched between the government and the Amba fighters. It is easy to be brave when you are surrounded by tanks and the BIR; it is a bit harder when you are an unarmed clerk with nothing but a prayer.
The Infrastructure of Nothingness (and the Great Garbage Crisis).
After ruling the province for more than 14 years and absorbing over 300 billion in Public Investment Budgets (PIPs) yearly, what does he have to show for it? Under Okalia Bilai, the South West time machine has successfully travelled 50 years into the past. No roads, no electricity, no water, no schools, and no markets. When the media dared to point this out, he simply banned The Post newspaper in 2023. Nothing says “competent leader” quite like silencing the people documenting your failures.
The Grand Finale: The 2025/2026 Garbage Festival.
As of February 2026, the region is experiencing its latest triumph: The Garbage Crisis. Buea and Limbe are currently locked in a fierce competition to see which city can smell worse.
The waste management company has collapsed because Bilai cannot secure the region enough for them to work safely. HYSACAM is a Ghost. Instead of securing the routes, the Governor does what he does best: deflection. He threatens contractors and blames the population for “bad habits.” Meanwhile, citizens are forced to burn trash or dump it on the roads, creating a public health nightmare. Okalia Bilai is Deflector in Chief
