Manufactured Praise, Manufactured Power: The Fiction Behind “Biya’s Best Choice”

The tragedy is not that such headlines are printed. The tragedy is that they are expected. Expected in a system where power has become insulated from consequence, and where narratives are crafted to preserve an illusion of order while reality continues to fracture.

By Ali Dan Ismael
Editor-in-Chief, The Independentistnews. 3 April 2026

The front page of The Pilot is not journalism. It is theatre—state-aligned messaging dressed up as public information. And at the centre of this carefully staged production is a headline that deserves not applause, but exposure:

“Why P. Yang Is Paul Biya’s Best Choice.”

Best choice for whom? Certainly not for the people of Southern Cameroons. Certainly not for a population that has endured years of systemic neglect, militarisation, displacement, and silence from the very regime this headline seeks to glorify.

Let us be clear: this is not about an individual. It is about a system—a decaying political architecture sustained not by legitimacy, but by loyalty, patronage, and narrative control.

1. The Illusion of Merit

The suggestion that any appointment under Paul Biya’s regime is based on “best choice” is itself a fiction. Appointments in Yaoundé have long ceased to reflect competence or national interest. They are instruments of control—used to reward compliance, silence dissent, and maintain a fragile elite consensus. What is presented as merit is, in reality, managed succession within a closed circle of power.

2. The Silence on Crisis

Notice what the front page does not say. No mention of: – Burned villages in the North West and South West. – Displaced populations living without protection.- Extrajudicial killings and militarisation. – The complete breakdown of trust between state and citizens

Instead, we are offered ceremonial headlines, awards, anniversaries, and staged achievements. This is not accidental. It is deliberate. When a regime cannot solve reality, it manufactures headlines.

3. The Normalisation of Dysfunction

The most dangerous aspect of this narrative is not the praise itself—it is the attempt to normalise dysfunction. By presenting routine political reshuffling as progress, and symbolic gestures as governance, the regime seeks to condition the public into accepting: Low expectations, Perpetual stagnation, Leadership without accountability. It is a psychological strategy: reduce the standard, then celebrate mediocrity.

4. The Role of State-Aligned Media

Publications like this do not merely report—they participate. They: Amplify state narratives. Distract from structural failure. Reframe crisis as stability This is not journalism in the classical sense. It is information management in service of power. And in a conflict context, this becomes more than bias—it becomes complicity.

5. The Fundamental Question

The real issue is not whether P. Yang is Biya’s “best choice.” The real question is: Why should the future of millions be determined by one man’s choice at all? Where is: Democratic legitimacy? Popular mandate? Accountability to the people?

A system that revolves around the preferences of a single leader is not governance. It is personal rule disguised as statecraft.

Final Word

The tragedy is not that such headlines are printed. The tragedy is that they are expected. Expected in a system where power has become insulated from consequence, and where narratives are crafted to preserve an illusion of order while reality continues to fracture.

But illusions have limits. And no headline—no matter how bold—can permanently conceal the truth on the ground. History is not written by headlines. It is written by outcomes. And on that measure, the verdict on Biya’s regime is already unfolding.

Ali Dan Ismael
Editor-in-Chief, The Independentistnews.