Of Tchiroma Versions and Nothing about the Truth

Communique published by Cameroon Tribune

Truth, it is widely acknowledged is a concept in philosophy that treats both the meaning of the word true and the criteria by which we judge the truth or falsity in spoken and written statements. Philosophers have attempted to answer the question “What is truth?” for thousands of years. Yet, it they have proposed to answer this question by allying truth to correspondence, pragmatic, coherence and deflationary.

Denying the existence of absolute truth affirms the existence of another truth, and so confirms the possibility of truth.

The recent outings of Issa Tchiroma commenting on the same issue with too many versions leave no one seeking for the desired truth about every sentence he makes. It is therefore affirmative that all along, Issa Tchiroma has always mangle the truth either by misunderstanding events or through deliberate lies. Tchiroma speaks as an idealist; he is shown to be deeply desirous of being a good teacher and expresses passion in addressing burning issues yet Cameroonians see in him a liar. In spite of these qualities, he is, and has finally buried in CPDM regime as he eventually finds himself defending what is said about him and no more playing the role of government spokesman. Yet political analysts see him as political joker who thinks everyone should like him because of his frosty behavior. His flippant remarks quickly wear thin, and although first he seems to fool Cameroonian, he has been caught in his own web as he is referred to as “the next catch of the Sparrow Hawk”. Ever since Marafa fired his fourth letter that exposed the SAA financial deal Issa Tchiroma tells the stories in a different ways as he talks every time he is accosted to talk on the FCFA 32 Billion scandal; we can hear him brag about himself in some passages, and we can hear the reality of his personality as he tells bitter, cruel lies

Tchiroma’s behavior ever since Marafa revealed nothing but the Truth about the Boeing 737 crash in Douala, he (Tchiroma) could easily be likened to the related events that destroy a dedicated political teacher’s career and resulted in a national scandal to raze a regime. The very serious matters of a minister’s rights to express his patriotism and of the destructive power of lying are treated thoughtfully, with no easy answers. Issa Tchiroma was in the Northern Region recently where he exploded that all the write-ups about him were a fabrication of the Press. With this timely theme of how the media is sometimes responsible for distorting the truth, Tchiroma also explored how individuals believe they are justified in perpetrating false claims in order to achieve their own social agenda. The most interesting thing is that he (Tchiroma) refused that MINCOM gave no support to some public media organs from Europe, notably BBC, France Television and others. In doing so, he blatantly defy a communiqué he signed and published in Cameroon Tribune telling “the whole truth, nothing but the truth. It is therefore very clear that his willingness to work at what interests him could develop into a broader understanding of his responsibilities and help him collapse with the Biya regime. Whether he received 32 billion FCFA from South African Airways and deposited the money in the state treasury remains another truth in his own versions.

Instead of growing more mature, Issa Tchiroma has caught himself in a web of deceit. Of late, he has degenerated from a happy, self-confident politician into a defensive, unhappy Minister. Observers have opined that for the past two months or so, Tchiroma has had choices to make, choices between hard roads and easy ones, and he has chosen the easy one each time. Instead of telling Cameroonians about the South African Airway connections, deals and where the money went to, he has chosen to be playing some sort of rap music. Play the ostrich with the Cameroonians people has been the only easy way for him.  His answers have shown that he alone is at fault and would certainly ignite dashed hopes as Biya has shown he has no friend. However, he needs to assert himself much more powerfully than he does in order to correct what has happened; having chosen the weak, easy way out of taking responsibility for his own actions, he is effortlessly squashed by the regime that want to use him for its own purposes. As Pierre Corneille puts it: “a good memory is needed after one has lied”, so Issa Tchiroma should resign.

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