Even before the oldest president in the world confirmed that he would rule for an eighth term in power, his social media account has undoubtedly left experts.
By the time Paul Biya officially confirmed that he would seek re -election as the President of Cameroon last week, he has been increasing his presence on the Internet for months.
Daily records on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) denotes a pronounced withdrawal from the previous, accidental stay.
But Biya attempts to win against young people before October. The elections can be reduced, analysts say the BBC.
“Cameroon has more than 5.4 million social media users, but 95% of young people rely on WhatsApp, a platform that is almost absent,” says Rostant Tane, Director of Media Intelligence Sarl and Cameroon 2024.
“There is no regional segmentation, 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 writes – it creates distance and limits confidence,” says Hervé Tiwa, a lecturer in communication science.
“Their communication remains very from top to bottom without any real interaction – comments are ignored or deleted. The lack of personalized answers … This creates a more impressive strategy that is more cosmetic than participating.”
Why is it important?
The inhabitants of Cameroon are extremely young. More than 60% of the population is under 25 and more than half of the voters are under 30 years of age, which means they can decide the election result.
“Political communication must serve democracy and transparency, not just to use it as a marketing tool,” says Ulrich Donack, 27, a 27-year-old communications specialist.
Young people want to see specific actions on issues that influence them, agree with Falone NGU, who also 27.
“Cameroon’s youth not only are looking for chic graphics or slogans in the media! They want opportunities, changes and hope,” says the founder of Social Enterprise, who has a little praised by the President’s social media team for realizing that “leadership and digitization goes together.”
Young people need more than chic graphics and slogans, says Falone NGU [Courtesy of Falone Ngu]
Unemployment is high in Cameroon, even for the most skilled young people with a few degrees of university, trying to find a job. Corruption and security are also the main concerns.
However, instead of focusing on those questions, many Biya’s social media accounts are emphasized by his experience in 43 years – at a time when the majority of the population was even born.
Based on the communication strategist Aristide Mabatto, the Biya team now announces excerpts from French and English from more than 300 languages that the President has married over decades.
One of the recent examples of 2000 drew attention. The language “chared People” that reads others but fails to publish an example. It was declared just two days after one of the longest allies criticized his rule and refused.
It seems that this slightly determined attitude caught a lot of enthusiasm, but it still improved what happened before.
“His communication was limited to official resolutions and state addresses. The transition to frequent digital messages shows conscious efforts to recover the narrative and to appear more existing,” says Tiwa.
The absence of Biya in society for more than six weeks last year led to speculation due to his well -being and unreasonable rumors that he died.
Supporters praised these latest efforts because state media, such as the Cameroon Tribune, emphasizes Biya’s digital information as a sign of vitality and leadership.
However, skepticism and sarcasm have more evidence on the Internet. Paul Biya X and Facebook account records in the comments below include:
“It looks like he is discovering the Internet in 2025, but this is primarily an election market test,” says the consumer called Cynthia.
“Finally, he talks to young people!”, Comments Jean-Pierre.
“Cameroon wants roads, not a mark,” writes the user called Mireille.
“Personally, I’m not at all convinced,” the 32-year-old businessman Che Arnold tells the BBC about the Biya camp strategy to contact young voters.
“It has to go beyond Tweets, Facebook messages and simple presence on the Internet to promote political reforms, but also solve true social problems.”
Biya will have to wait until October. The election will be an election to find out if these efforts will make more young people voting for it.
Editing and additional reports provided by Natasha Booty
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[Getty Images/BBC]
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