Cameroon youth await further promises TODAY, February 10th.
That question is very much alive in Cameroon right now—and the honest answer is: the Biya regime looks politically exhausted, but not yet finished.
Paul Biya has ruled since 1982. That’s over four decades. Longevity alone isn’t fatal—but when it’s combined with: rare public appearances, opaque decision-making, governance by decrees and intermediaries, power tightly centralized around the presidency, Elite factions preparing quietly for “after Biya”
Cameroon is juggling multiple unresolved crises: the Anglophone conflict, Boko Haram in the Far North, Economic pressure and unemployment, and rising cost of living
What’s striking is not the crises themselves but the absence of bold political responses. The state manages symptoms, not causes, because the ruling elite largely benefits from the status quo and has little incentive to reform.
Meanwhile, opposition energy, though fragmented, draws strength from popular frustration, especially among young people and the diaspora
The Biya regime still firmly controls: the military and security services, the administration, electoral institutions, and key economic levers
That gives it enormous inertia and dead ends in African politics often last longer than expected. Despite widespread dissatisfaction, opposition parties remain fragmented, and no single figure commands national consensus; ethnic, regional, and strategic divisions persist
The question many Cameroonians are now asking is whether there is a possibility of a peaceful transition from Biya to a third president?
Fear has gripped even doubting ‘Thomases’ after clashes over the autonomous port of Douala between the Presidency and the Government over the scanning contract, the near-invisibility of President Paul Biya since taking office, and delays in forming a new government, raising questions about who is in command.
Can the president assure Cameroonians who ‘voted’ for him that he is still in command of the administration of Cameroon? The youth await further promises on February 10th. And the docile youth will continue to applaud as they feed on one unfulfilled promise after another, fighting for sardines and bread.
