By Enyichukwu Enemanna
92-year-old Paul Biya did not shock many when he recently announced his decision to run for the presidency of Cameroon for the eighth time, aiming to extend his grip on power more than 40 years since the beginning of his presidency in the Central African country in 1982, when he succeeded Ahmadou Ahidjo. What baffled political watchers in Cameroon and across the world however was the prioritisation of power over his frail health, having been in and out of hospitals in Europe and other parts of the world in recent months.
Rumour had emerged that Biya was in critical condition after his 49-day absence in the public domain, even for events he was scheduled to officiate. Many were even of strong belief that he may have passed away. Authorities were forced to break silence on his whereabouts when government spokesperson Rene Sadi in October 2024 claimed that Biya had paid a private visit to Europe after an engagement in Beijing.
This was followed by an order from office of the Minister of Interior, Paul Atanga Nji prohibiting any form of discussion on the President’s health, declaring it a matter of “national security”. That was not all. Regional governors were written while committee was put in place to track compliance by monitoring online content. The aim was to ensure that anyone violating the order which activists denounced as draconian would “face the full force of the law”.
“Urgency of the Challenges We Face”
Announcing his interest to be on the ballot in the October 12 election, Biya in an X post, formerly known as Twitter, said his decision resonates with the “urgency of the challenges we face,” ostensibly implying that he is coming on board with fresh ideas to tackle his country’s socio-economic challenges. On the contrary however, there is nothing on ground to suggest that at 92, Biya has any unused strategy anywhere to revive his country’s fragile economy, opposition figures claim. They say after 40 years in office, nothing points to any innovative arsenal to reverse growing poverty, inequality and corruption he has presided over in the last 43 years.
The surge in the number of aspirants—over 80, the highest in the country’s political history hoping to succeed Biya as the next President is a clear indication of widespread disapproval of his leadership within a large spectrum of Cameroonians who have endured economic stagnation, insecurity, deficiency in infrastructure and youth unemployment. Despite its vast mineral deposits, including oil and gas, mineral ores, and high-value species of timber and agricultural products, such as coffee, cotton, cocoa, maize, and cassava, poverty reduction in Cameroon, according to World Bank data has stagnated over the past 20 years, with approximately 4 in 10 Cameroonians living below the national poverty line.
The household survey data from 2021-2022 suggests that 23.0% of the population lives below the extreme international poverty line with only $2.15 per person per day, adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP). Inflation is reported to have risen to 5.3% in January 2025, the highest rate in the past years.
Cameroon under Biya has also been accused of failure to demonstrate the needed cooperation with neighbouring countries to deal with Boko Haram insurgents, who use Cameroonian territory as a safe haven from the Far North as well as a secessionist insurgency in the Anglophone (English-speaking) regions, implying that insecurity is still deep-seated in the country.
Misappropriation of resources and abuse of power have also been an issue in Cameroon under Biya. Ranked 140th out of 180 countries in the 2024 Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, the country suffers from weak governance, which has largely affected its development and ability to attract investors.
Also, the country like its neighbours has witnessed mass exodus of professionals, including teachers, doctors and a resourceful proportion of its youth population in search of better opportunities in Europe, America and other parts of the world. These challenges remained hydra-headed under Biya when the country in the mid-1980s experienced economic mismanagement, exacerbated by drop in price of important export commodities, particularly cocoa, coffee, and oil, forcing it into a lengthy recession. Cameroon was later compelled to rely heavily on external borrowings to fund its budget. The feelers among Cameroonians is, it should rather have been the “urgency of challenges I have created”, since most of the country’s socio-economic downturns took place in the full glare of Biya as the leader.
From Staunch Ally to Bitter Opposition?
Even individuals who have for decades been with Biya are gradually aligning with the long-sought regime change through a democratic process that will see fresh and energetic nationalist take over Cameroon’s leadership. They can’t agree less with the masses that the time has come for Biya to take the exit door and allow the 28 million Cameroonians own their nation. First to quit the “broken” government was the Employment Minister Issa Tchiroma Bakary, who stepped down June 26 and announced that he was gunning for the presidency on the platform of Cameroon National Salvation Front. “A country cannot exist in the service of one man,” he said while announcing his exit.
Cracks in Tchiroma’s relationship with President Biya came to fore recently when he told crowds in his home city of Garoua that Biya’s time in power had not benefitted them in any way. In a 24-page manifesto he made public a day after his resignation, he vowed to dismantle “the old system” so that Cameroon could move beyond “abuse, contempt, and the confiscation of power”. He further remarked in his manifesto that Cameroon “has been ruled for decades by the same vision, the same system. This model, long presented as a safeguard of stability, has gradually stifled progress, paralysed our institutions, and broken the bond of trust between the state and its citizens”.
Two days after his resignation, the Minister of State Bello Bouba Maigari, a former Prime Minister, also resigned, announcing his readiness to test his popularity with his former principal at the polls. Maigari, who led the government-allied National Union for Democracy and Progress has been close to Biya for nearly three decades.
Remarkably, Tchiroma and Maigari have challenged Biya before at the polls. Both ran against him in the 1992 election. Tchiroma had just been released from prison, and Maigari was just returning from exile at the time. Both personalities considered as powerful figures from the country’s politically important, traditionally pro-government north, soon fell in line with Biya and worked with his government.
This could also be why they are not trusted in the ranks of the opposition. They have been accused of being Biya’s puppets to divert votes from more hard-line opponents such as Maurice Kamto of the Cameroon Renaissance Movement (CRM), who by the way has been disqualified by the electoral commission. “Bello and Tchiroma have been with the CPDM a long time. They could be looking to fracture and weaken the opposition to contain the surge of Maurice Kamto and the CRM,” Severin Tchokonte, a professor at the region’s University of Garoua, said. “Supporting the regime all this time amounts to betraying those people, who have no water, no electricity, no infrastructure to ensure their minimal well-being,” Tchokonte said in reference to Biya’s administration.
Clampdown on Opposition
Like most of his African counterparts, Paul Biya has deployed various tactics to have a roller-coaster re-election into his country’s presidency. He orchestrated the disqualification of his main challenger, Maurice Kamto, through the electoral body, ELECAM which rejected Kamto’s candidacy on Saturday with no reason given. Only 13 aspirants were eventually cleared from among 83 who had indicated interest to run. Kamto who came second in the 2018 presidential election was among the 70 whose hope of being on the ballot hangs in the balance.
Earlier in the year, the government also placed a ban on opposition groups, the Political Alliance for Change and the Political Alliance for Transition in Cameroon, denouncing them as “illegal,” and “clandestine movements”. The government has also faced a clap back, especially from the human rights community over attempts to stifle the civil space and resist opposing voices.
“The government’s move against these coalitions shows how the Cameroonian authorities are moving to close down space for the opposition and for public debate ahead of the 2025 presidential elections,” deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch, Carine Kaneza Nantulya said. “The authorities should immediately lift the ban and allow opposition parties to continue working without harassment.”
The government has also been accused of undemocratic media censorship and arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists. Organisations fighting for press freedom say Cameroon is experiencing its most restrictive pre-election media environment in years. Biya has also moved to firm up the military apparatus, in what analysts say is geared towards giving him another round of victory. Just two days after announcing his decision to run, he released series of presidential decrees, announcing the appointment of new chiefs of staff for the army, air force and navy as well as the promotion of eight brigadier generals to the rank of major general. One of those promoted is the coordinator of the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), a special forces unit often deployed in counter-terrorism operations and seen as influential to Biya’s security cycle.
