On February 22, 2025, Issa Tchiroma Bakary addressed a large crowd, a human tide gathered to hear their political leader. On stage, the president of the Front for the National Salvation (FNSC) was flanked by Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly and Salmana Amadou Ali. These three men formed the foundation on which the FSNC relied to maintain its presence on the national political map. However, that was before the departure of Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly.
Also known as Yérima Dewa, Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly has since taken the helm of the All Cameroonian Congress (ACC), a new political party. According to consistent analyses, his departure will strongly weaken FSNC, Issa Tchiroma’s party, in the North.
Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly began his political career within the National Union for Democracy and Progress (UNDP), a party firmly rooted in northern Cameroon. In 2007, he led his party's winning slate in the municipal elections in his stronghold of Pitoa, a town about fifteen kilometers from Garoua, the capital of the North Region. He was subsequently elected mayor, a position he has held since.
He later joined Issa Tchiroma Bakary’s party. Despite this political move, Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly managed to retain his mayoral seat in Pitoa during the February 2020 municipal elections. "He is very popular in Pitoa," said an observer of political life in the Grand North. The same source revealed that Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly also played a key role in the FSNC's victories in Lagdo and Mayo-Oulo, two other communes in the North.
When internal strife threatened to divide Lagdo’s municipal council in March 2022, Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly worked behind the scenes to restore order among his colleagues. Consistent accounts suggest that his mediation ultimately led to the ousting of Luc Kaga, a schoolteacher who was elected mayor of Lagdo in 2020 and reportedly one of his close associates with whom relationships had significantly deteriorated.
According to Adam Baba, a communications expert who closely monitors political developments in the country's northern regions, Ousmanou Aman Sa’aly was unquestionably the one who helped the FSNC win mayoral races in the North Region. Meanwhile, Salmana Amadou Ali, a member of parliament since 2020, has achieved similar success in Maroua, in the Far North Region, where the philanthropist enjoys strong popularity. The public is closely watching for his first move under his new banner. Will he aim to take over the town halls of Lagdo, Mayo-Oulo, and other areas to undermine the FSNC’s influence? That is the question on everyone’s lips.
Michel Ange Nga