Cameroon: The Unraveling Of The Old Order

As Cameroon marked another National Day this year, the familiar rituals of state power were once again on full display.

Military formations marched through city streets. Government officials delivered speeches celebrating national unity. State television broadcast carefully curated images of discipline, continuity and stability. The official theme for the celebrations—”National Unity: Backbone of our Defence System, Bedrock of Cameroon’s Development”—reinforced a message that has remained central to the state’s narrative for decades: that Cameroon remains united, stable and firmly in control of its destiny.

Yet beyond the parades, the patriotic songs and the ceremonial displays of authority, another conversation is unfolding across the country.

It is a conversation about succession, governance, accountability and renewal. It is a conversation about whether the institutions that have sustained Cameroon for more than four decades are still capable of adapting to a rapidly changing world. Above all, it is a conversation about the future of a nation that increasingly finds itself caught between continuity and change.

For years, President Paul Biya’s greatest political achievement was convincing many Cameroonians that continuity itself was stability. Since assuming power in 1982, he has survived economic downturns, political unrest, constitutional reforms, regional instability and repeated predictions of his political demise.

Few African leaders have demonstrated comparable longevity. Yet time has a way of posing questions that even the most resilient political systems cannot avoid forever.

At 93 years old, Biya remains the world’s oldest serving head of state. While his authority remains intact, his public appearances have become increasingly rare, fueling speculation about succession and the long-term sustainability of a political system that has become deeply intertwined with his personal leadership.

The issue confronting Cameroon today is no longer simply whether Biya can continue to govern. It is whether the institutions around him are prepared for what comes after him. What is unfolding across the country is not merely a debate about one presidency. It is the gradual unraveling of an entire political order.

Perhaps nowhere is this more evident than in the steady disappearance of the generation that dominated Cameroonian politics for decades.

The departure and subsequent death of former Senate President Marcel Niat Njifenji, the passing of longtime National Assembly Speaker Cavaye Yeguie Djibril, and the deaths of prominent figures such as General Philip Mpay and former Supreme Court Justice Dipanda Mouelle have reinforced a growing sense that an era is drawing to a close.

For years, these figures embodied permanence within the Cameroonian state. They represented continuity, experience and political influence accumulated over decades. Their departures have exposed a difficult reality. While individuals have aged, institutions have often struggled to renew themselves. Cameroon delayed generational transition for so long that many now wonder whether the country adequately prepared a new generation of leaders capable of managing increasingly complex national challenges.

The concern is not merely about age. It is about preparedness, succession and institutional resilience. Across ministries, public corporations and government agencies, leadership renewal remains painfully slow. Important appointments are delayed. Critical reforms move at a glacial pace. Administrative bottlenecks have become a recurring feature of public life.

Even the ongoing national population census has become an unexpected symbol of these wider governance challenges. Originally expected to proceed within established timelines, the exercise has encountered sufficient delays to require an extension by Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute. While officials insist the extension is necessary to ensure accuracy and broad participation, many citizens see it as another example of a state apparatus struggling to efficiently execute even routine national undertakings.

The census is particularly important because it will help shape future planning, development priorities and electoral preparations. Its prolonged implementation has therefore raised broader questions about institutional capacity at a time when effective governance is more important than ever.

The concerns do not end there. Recent controversy surrounding gold exploitation in Cameroon’s East Region has reignited longstanding debates about transparency, accountability and the management of the country’s vast natural resources.

Reports highlighting discrepancies between officially declared production figures and values reportedly associated with gold exports and sales in international markets, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, have fueled suspicions that significant quantities of mineral wealth may be escaping effective oversight.

For many Cameroonians, the issue extends beyond mining. It speaks to a larger paradox that has long defined the country. How can a nation blessed with abundant natural resources—including oil, gas, gold, timber and fertile agricultural land—continue to struggle with inadequate infrastructure, youth unemployment, underfunded public services and persistent development gaps?

The question has become increasingly difficult to answer. Across the country, unfinished projects stand as visible reminders of unfulfilled promises. Roads remain incomplete years after groundbreaking ceremonies. Hospitals await completion long after funds have been allocated. Public infrastructure projects frequently become trapped in cycles of delay, redesign and abandonment. This culture of incompletion has become one of the most persistent sources of public frustration.

It is precisely why the recent inauguration of the new headquarters of the Cameroon Football Federation, FECAFOOT, generated attention far beyond the world of sport.The ceremony attracted an impressive display of state authority. Prime Minister Joseph Dion Ngute joined CAF President Patrice Motsepe, FECAFOOT President Samuel Eto’o and other senior officials to celebrate the opening of the modern facility in Yaoundé.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino described the project as “a new chapter in the great history of Cameroonian football. “The significance of the building, however, extended beyond football administration.

 What made the occasion noteworthy was the simple fact that the project had actually been completed. In a country where major infrastructure initiatives frequently become synonymous with delays and unfinished construction sites, the FECAFOOT headquarters emerged as a rare symbol of delivery. For once, there was a ribbon to cut at the end of a project rather than another promise of future completion. Many Cameroonians viewed the headquarters not simply as a football facility but as proof that execution remains possible.

Yet the celebration also highlighted a deeper contradiction. If such efficiency can be demonstrated in delivering a football headquarters, why does it remain so difficult to replicate in sectors that directly affect the daily lives of millions of citizens? That question lingers because the country’s most pressing challenges remain unresolved.

The Anglophone conflict continues to cast a long shadow over national life. Years after violence first erupted in the North West and South West regions, communities continue to grapple with insecurity, displacement and economic disruption.

Thousands of children have experienced interrupted education. Businesses have suffered. Entire communities remain caught between competing forces in a conflict that has proven far more difficult to resolve than many initially anticipated.

While military operations have prevented a complete collapse of state authority in affected regions, many observers believe lasting peace will require a more ambitious political approach capable of rebuilding trust and addressing longstanding grievances. The longer the conflict persists, the greater the challenge of national reconciliation.

Hovering above all these issues is the question that increasingly dominates Cameroon’s political discourse: succession. The recent constitutional amendment creating the office of Vice President was widely interpreted as an effort to address growing uncertainty about the future. Instead, it intensified debate.

Opposition leader Maurice Kamto dismissed the reform as “a constitutional and political shipwreck,” arguing that it raised more questions than answers about democratic legitimacy and political accountability.

Supporters, meanwhile, argue that the measure provides an additional layer of institutional continuity and helps prepare the state for future transitions. Yet, weeks after the amendment’s adoption, no vice president has been appointed, allowing speculation to flourish.

In many respects, Cameroon today appears suspended between two competing realities. One is represented by the official narrative of stability, continuity and national unity that has defined the Biya era for more than four decades.

The other is represented by a younger population increasingly impatient for reform, opportunity, accountability and a clearer vision of the future.

The tension between those realities is becoming harder to ignore. Cameroon has reached one of the most consequential moments in its post-independence history.

The generation that built and sustained the current political order is gradually leaving the stage. The institutions they leave behind are being tested by economic pressures, demographic change, technological transformation and growing public expectations.

For decades, continuity was the defining feature of Cameroonian politics. Today, continuity alone may no longer be enough. The challenge facing the country is no longer whether change will come. Change is already underway.

The real question is whether Cameroon can manage that change deliberately, peacefully and inclusively before events begin to dictate the terms of transition themselves. The answer to that question may ultimately define not only the legacy of the Biya era, but the future direction of Cameroon itself.

*Culled from June Edition of PAV Magazine