Between institutional assurance and public denunciation, the selection for the first year of PhD at the University of Maroua is sparking a heated controversy.
In a firm statement signed on February 20, 2026, the rector of the University of Maroua ensures that “the process suffers from no irregularity.” According to him, the list published online constitutes only a “mechanical” step, validating the upload and physical submission of files. Scientific admissibility, age, gender promotion, academic background, research project, and proof of funding then fall under the Doctoral Training Units. As for the authentication of diplomas, it remains, he insists, the exclusive responsibility of the issuing institutions. The rector says he “persists and signs” in the name of transparency and integrity.
On the other hand, Baba Bikkoy, known as Mota, denounces a “bureaucratic dodge.” In a letter with an incisive tone, he believes that “semantics is not a shield against the obvious” and cites the “Salamana” case, which he presents as the symbol of a privilege. For him, seeing this name appear on the list questions the credibility of the academic filter and the commitment of a supervisor. To qualify the indignation as “delirium,” he writes, would amount to despising candidates who respect the rules and establishing opacity as a defense system.
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Two interpretations thus clash: that of a technical procedure in accordance with the texts, and that of an alarm signal regarding merit and probity. Beyond words, it is the trust in the institution that is at stake.
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