2025 Presidential Election: What are Cameroonians expecting from the new president?

By Hans Ngala

Most Cameroonian youth were not born when Paul Biya took office as Cameroon’s second president in 1982. Biya was in his 50s at the time, Michael Jackson had just released “Thriller” and there was great anticipation that Biya would usher in an era of a “New Deal” as he termed his government. Beyond his physical charm, his policies were seen as softer and a more democratic break from Ahidjo – his predecessor’s tyrannical approach to governance.

But 40 years down the line, those hopes have waned to an all-time low. Biya is accused by critics of spending more time abroad in Swiss hotels, than he does in Cameroon. His image at home is managed by state broadcaster CRTV which has exclusive rights to cover Biya’s public appearances. Biya has become sort of the owner of Cameroon. He is Cameroon and Cameroon is him, but how much longer will he continue to use an iron-fisted approach to leadership, shunning discussions about his cognitive and physical health and terming them issues of “national security” – even though he is clearly supposed to be accountable to the Cameroonian people?
Biya’s four-decade rule over Cameroon has left the 92-year-old’s image dangling by a thread as it were. While some younger Cameroonians are often used to voice support for him, it is clear that majority of Cameroonians of all strata, are tired of the man’s “leadership”. He is seen as a pariah whose time has passed.
While Cameroonians yearn for visionary, astute and selfless leadership, the larger question remains “Who is fit to fill in Biya’s shoes?”.
With an opposition that seems so fragmented and rudderless, this question is ever more pressing and it is clear that whoever takes the reins or if Biya holds on to power – as many suspect he would – what would he deliver?
By far the biggest challenge to his decades-long rule has been the Anglophone Conflict which on June was named the world’s most neglected crisis by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). This is the third time the NRC has named Cameroon the world’s most neglected crisis. The organization named Cameroon as the world’s most neglected crisis in 2018 and 2019.
Amid the gunfire, Biya’s administration has already embarked on a “reconstruction plan”. This approach has observers biting their nails as this is being done in the middle of the conflict with some separatist leaders still in jail, including Sisiku Ayuk Tabe of the self-declared “Republic of Ambazonia”.
Also, Cameroon’s economy is suffering and Biya has gone borrowing from the Bretton Woods Institutions, pleading for 200 Million US Dollars (or about 120 Billion CFA) from the World Bank to salvage the country’s ailing economy which has collapsed under his watch. While attempts have been made to address the systemic corruption that permeates his government, that has resulted in little action that actually stops corruption. Funds worth millions of CFA that were meant for COVID-19 vanished into private pockets in 2020 and Cameroon remains susceptible to another public health emergency, should one erupt again. No mechanisms have been put in place to plan for a future outbreak of that magnitude.
Unemployment in Cameroon currently stands at 3.7 % according to the African Development Bank, citing statistics from the World Bank. With over 1.3 million Cameroonians out of jobs this is a worrying statistic that needs to be urgently reversed by whoever becomes Cameroon’s new leader.
And the Boko Haram insurgency in the North of the country remains as pressing as it was in 2014.
The new leader, whoever he or she may turn out to be, will inherit a country that is greatly fractured and in dire need of both physical and mental renovation.
For 32-year-old Bomdzele Eric, Jr, he says “My expectations stem from deep-seated challenges and long-standing ambitions for change including national unity, peace, and security” he said. “I also want to see inclusive and transparent governance, improved health Services, quality education and skills Development, youth employment and economic opportunities as well as digital transformation and innovation, infrastructure and regional development. As someone who works on environmental issues, climate action and environmental protection should also be priorities for the new president as well as freedom of expression, civic engagement and Cameroon’s role in Africa and the world should be strengthened”.
Ngala Desmond, a civil society leader who works with grassroots communities was of the opinion that the new president must “Tackle youth unemployment by promoting entrepreneurship, vocational training, and investment in key sectors like tech, agriculture, and manufacturing”. He added that the president must also “Support startups with funding, tax incentives, and reduced bureaucracy and improve access to affordable and modern education, especially in STEM and digital fields. You know we live in a globalized world now so he must strengthen partnerships between schools and industries to ensure skills match job market demands while ensuring transparency in government spending and public contracts and strengthening anti-corruption institutions to restore trust in leadership” he said.
Ngala added that there is a need to “improve roads, electricity, and internet access to boost business and connectivity” and a need to “end police brutality and ensure fair treatment of all citizens…”