Cameroon’s 93-year-old President Paul Biya Continues Rule Amidst Extended European Trip | Ratopati

Yaounde, Cameroon. In the Central African country of Cameroon, 93-year-old Paul Biya has been continuously in power since 1982. Last year, he won the election for the eighth time and became president again, as if winning elections is his regular job and the presidency is his permanent appointment. But the current scene is even more interesting—Biya, who went to Europe on June 7 for a ‘short private visit,’ has not returned home even after two months.

The government says he is in Geneva, Switzerland, and has not been admitted to a hospital. But a question is arising among the citizens of a country with a population of about 30 million: How is the country being run when the president is not in the country, or is the country being run by the president’s absence?

For many Cameroonians born during Biya’s four-decade-long rule, Biya has become synonymous with the presidency and vice versa. So, what and how is Biya turning the presidency into his ‘permanent appointment’?

Over Four Decades in Power

Biya has been in power in Cameroon since 1982. That year, after the then-President Ahmadou Ahidjo resigned, Biya, who was the Prime Minister, took over the responsibility of the presidency.

He won the presidential election for the first time in 1984. Since then, even after the multi-party system was implemented, he has continuously won elections. After being elected for his eighth term in last year’s controversial presidential election, he is in a position to remain in power until he is nearly 100 years old.

Before the election, Biya had given the message that ‘the best is yet to come.’ But the opposition had accused the election of rigging, and people died in clashes between protesters and police.

Due to Biya’s long rule, he is the only president known to a large population of Cameroon. For 65-year-old former teacher Nforrmi Bime, when Biya first won the presidential election, he was a 23-year-old student. Now, his eldest child is 32 years old and his youngest is 18 years old.

For Abit Riyasai Acha, a 26-year-old PhD student at the University of Yaounde II and a youth community leader, Biya’s rule has become a permanent part of life in Cameroon.

Acha voted for the first time last year and supported the 38-year-old young opposition candidate Samuel Hiram Iyodi. According to him, Biya’s long absence is not new to the citizens of Cameroon.

However, he said that even if people have become accustomed to long absences, they should not stop questioning how the country is being run.

Questions About Health Have Been Arising for Years

Biya’s health and his whereabouts have long been a topic of discussion in Cameroon. He is rarely seen in public events, and his office has previously refuted rumors of him being seriously ill or dead.

In 2024, the Cameroonian government even banned discussions about Biya’s health in the media. The government termed issues related to the president’s health as matters of national security.

This time too, after his long stay abroad, questions about his health are being raised on social media and in public spheres. However, government spokesperson Sadi has stated that President Biya is alive and ‘will return soon’.

Important Decisions Made While Abroad

Even from thousands of kilometers away from his home country, Biya is making important government decisions. Earlier this month, he even made a major military restructuring decision.

Critics of Biya say that his long absence raises questions about how the country’s executive power is actually being exercised.

Opposition leader Iyodi has urged the parliament to consider with the constitutional council whether the president’s absence is equivalent to a vacancy in the presidency. However, it is analyzed that such an initiative is unlikely to succeed due to the strong influence of Biya’s ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement in parliament.

‘Biya Was Hope for Change’

For Bime, Biya’s story was different from the current despair. He first heard of Biya in the 1970s. At that time, Biya was the Secretary-General of the Presidential Office under Ahmadou Ahidjo, the first president after independence.

After Ahidjo resigned in 1982, Biya came to power. When he appeared on the electoral field two years later, Bime saw him as a ‘representative of hope’.

He says that at that time, Biya was seen as a young, dynamic, and attractive leader. But at that time, few imagined that the leader who appeared as a new beginning would remain in power for decades.

The dissatisfaction of Biya’s critics is not limited to his long tenure. They accuse the government of failing to improve the living standards of ordinary citizens.

Unemployment, Corruption, and Weak Infrastructure

Collins Molua Ecome, a Cameroonian political analyst based in Germany, said he witnessed the country’s long-standing problems firsthand during a visit to Cameroon last April. According to him, Cameroon’s roads are extremely bad, electricity supply is frequently interrupted, corruption is rampant, and there is a lack of employment for youth.

According to Wilson Tamfuh, a professor of Public and International Law at Dischang University, the Prime Minister, Secretary-General of the Presidential Office, and ministers can manage the daily affairs of the government if the president delegates responsibility.

However, he says the main question is not whether the government is running, but whether the country’s long-term problems are being solved.

Tamfuh said that Cameroonian citizens want an end to the separatist conflict that has been ongoing for years in the English-speaking regions, improvement in living standards, good roads, and opportunities for educated youth.

A Mountain of Challenges Even After Biya Leaves

When Biya eventually leaves power, his successor will face serious challenges. Attacks by the Boko Haram group in the northern region, the ongoing conflict in the English-speaking regions, and growing economic frustration among youth are major challenges.

Healthcare is another big problem. According to political analyst Ecome, quality healthcare is still out of reach for many Cameroonian citizens.

In Cameroon, with a population of about 30 million, the average life expectancy is less than 70 years. In such a situation, he argues that the 93-year-old Biya has lived a long life due to access to healthcare available abroad. According to him, while the political and economic elite of the country can seek treatment abroad, poor citizens do not have such facilities.

For Bime, this question has become more personal: Will he be able to see another president in Cameroon in his lifetime? He worries that Biya might live longer than him, having waited for change for decades.

He complains that the powerful people of the country can go abroad for treatment even for minor health problems, but ordinary Cameroonian citizens are losing their lives due to lack of adequate healthcare.

CNN