Paul Biya: 92-year-old president is struggling to pursue young Cameroonians on social media

Even before the oldest president of the world confirmed that he would be in power in an eighth term, his social media accounts left experts without a doubt.

By the time the 92-year-old Paul Biya officially confirmed that he would seek re -election as the President of Cameroon Last week he had performed his online presence for several months.

Daily messages on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) mark a striking departure of his earlier, incidental presence.

But the attempts of Biya to convince young people can fall flat prior to the October elections, analysts tell the BBC.

“Cameroon has more than 5.4 million users of social media, but 95% of young people relate to WhatsApp – a platform where presidential communication hardly exists,” says Rostant Tane, the director of Media Intelligence SARL and author of the Cameroon 2024 Multimedia public study.

“There is no regional segmentation, no interactivity and very little effort to speak the digital language of young people,” he adds.

Another stumbling block is authenticity.

“Many know that it is not Paul Biya himself who writes – which creates distance and limits trust,” says Hervé Tiwa, a teacher in communication sciences.

“Their communication remains very top -down without any real interaction – comments ignored or deleted, a lack of personalized answers … This gives the impression of a strategy that is more cosmetic than participatory.”

Why does this matter?

The population of Cameroon is overwhelming young. More than 60% of the population is younger than 25, with more than half of the electorate younger than 30, which means that they could possibly determine the outcome of the elections.

“Political communication should serve democracy and transparency, and not only be used as a marketing tool,” says the 27-year-old communication specialist Ulrich Donfack.

Young people want to see concrete action about issues that influence them is agreed Falone NGU, which is also 27.

“The youth of Cameroon is not only looking for flashy graphic images or slogans on the media! They want opportunities, change and hope,” says the founder of the Social Enterprise, who has reserved some praise for the President’s social media team for realizing that “leadership and digitization go hand in hand”.

Unemployment is high in Cameroon, with even the most qualified young people in possession of several university degrees that have difficulty finding work. Corruption And security are also important concerns.

But instead of concentrating on those issues, many reports about the social media accounts of Biya emphasize his track record for 43 years – a time before much of the population was even born.

According to communication strategist Aristide Mabatto, the Biya team is now publishing fragments in French and English from more than 300 speeches that the president has held in recent decades.

A recent, pointed example made a speech of a speech from 2000 that people who give others, but not preaching by the example. That was posted only two days later One of Biya’s longest -standing allies criticized his rule and left him.

This somewhat fixed approach does not seem to have inflamed much enthusiasm, but is still an improvement compared to what happened earlier.

“In the past, his communication was limited to official decisions and state addresses. The shift to frequent digital messages shows a deliberate attempt to recover the story and seem more present,” Tiwa argues.

Biya’s absence in the public for more than six weeks last year had led to speculation About his well -being and unfounded rumors that he had died.

Proponents have praised these latest efforts, with state media such as Cameroon Tribune emphasizing the Digital Outreach of Biya as a sign of vitality and leadership.

But skepticism and sarcasm are online in greater evidence. Comments below recent posts about the X and Facebook accounts from Paul Biya include:

“It seems that he is discovering the internet in 2025, but it is primarily an election market test,” says a user named Cynthia.

“Finally he talks to young people!” Jean-Pierre notes.

“Cameroonians want to weigh, no hashtags,” writes a user named Mireille.

“Personally, I am not convinced at all,” says 32-year-old entrepreneur Che Arnold the BBC of the Biya Camp strategy to address young voters.

“It must go beyond tweets, Facebook reports and a simple online presence to promote political reforms, but also to solve real social problems.”

Biya will have to wait until the elections in October to see if these efforts will translate into more young people who vote for him.

Edit and additional reporting by Natasha Booty