At 92, Biya Clings to Power While the Ambazonian Question Festers Unresolved

The aging president’s refusal to chart a succession plan or tackle the Ambazonian issue politically has left the country dangerously exposed. With a governing class well into its eighties, a discredited electoral system, and fragmented opposition, Cameroon faces mounting internal fragility.

By The Independentist Political Desk

At 92, Paul Biya stands as one of the world’s oldest and longest-serving rulers—an increasingly frail figure presiding over a crumbling political edifice. As Cameroon heads into another predetermined electoral ritual, the regime is once again preparing to renew the mandate of a president who has been in power since 1982, and who will be 99 by the end of the next seven-year term. His refusal to step aside, designate a successor, or initiate genuine political reforms has turned the country into a ticking time bomb.

Nowhere is this paralysis more visible—and more consequential—than in his inability to resolve the Ambazonian Question.

A Regime That Could Neither Win Nor Reconcile

For nearly eight years, Biya has oscillated between military repression and cosmetic political gestures in dealing with the Anglophone crisis that erupted into full-blown conflict in 2017. The government’s heavy-handed counterinsurgency, marred by mass atrocities, scorched-earth tactics, and systematic rights abuses, has failed to crush Ambazonian resistance. Meanwhile, the so-called “Major National Dialogue” of 2019, heavily stage-managed from Yaoundé, delivered no meaningful concessions and was rejected by major Ambazonian stakeholders and the population at large.

The result: a political stalemate that neither side has decisively broken, but which has sapped the legitimacy of Biya’s rule. His administration has proved unable to propose any credible constitutional, legal, or diplomatic framework to address the historical grievances of Southern Cameroons—grievances rooted in unimplemented UN resolutions, the absence of a genuine federation, and decades of assimilationist policies.

Political Stasis Meets Secessionist Resilience

While Biya spends extended periods in Geneva, rival factions in Yaoundé compete for influence, and governance languishes. In the meantime, Ambazonian self-defense forces continue to operate in the Northwest and Southwest, sustaining a de facto territorial fragmentation. The state’s inability to impose lasting control has led to protracted insecurity in peripheral regions.

The regime’s default strategy—military containment without political engagement—has neither brought peace nor stability. It has merely entrenched a low-intensity war that bleeds the economy, destabilizes communities, and undermines Cameroon’s international standing.

An Aging Autocrat, A Fractured State

The aging president’s refusal to chart a succession plan or tackle the Ambazonian issue politically has left the country dangerously exposed. With a governing class well into its eighties, a discredited electoral system, and fragmented opposition, Cameroon faces mounting internal fragility.

As Biya clings to power, the Ambazonian question remains the unresolved core of Cameroon’s instability—a political wound left to fester for over six decades. Neither military force nor electoral theatre can mask the reality: the inability, or unwillingness, of the Biya regime to address the question of sovereignty and self-determination for Ambazonia is eroding the foundations of the state itself.

When Biya finally exits the scene, the real contest may not be over electoral arithmetic but over the future territorial configuration of Cameroon. By refusing to resolve this historic dispute, the regime has set the stage for a potentially explosive post-Biya transition.

The De Gaulle Presidency Behind the Throne

As this twilight presidency drags on, the outlines of a De Gaulle-style presidential monarchy are unmistakable. The regime has long operated through secret accords signed with France, allowing governance without accountability and shielding the presidency from scrutiny. Core decisions on security, finance, energy, and foreign policy are often shaped not in Yaoundé but in the Élysée Palace, where French officials maintain a shadow cabinet that directs key state functions behind the scenes.

This fusion of personal autocracy and neocolonial oversight has left Cameroon trapped: ruled by an aging monarch at home and steered by foreign hands abroad. It is a system that thrives on inertia, secrecy, and the deliberate deferral of political solutions—including, above all, the Ambazonian Question. And it is this system that now faces the ultimate test as the Biya era approaches its end.

The Independentist Political Desk