{"id":118464,"date":"2025-07-20T08:03:19","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T08:03:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/07\/20\/social-media-revamp-by-92-year-old-president-struggles-to-woo-young-cameroonians\/"},"modified":"2025-07-20T08:03:19","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T08:03:19","slug":"social-media-revamp-by-92-year-old-president-struggles-to-woo-young-cameroonians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/social-media-revamp-by-92-year-old-president-struggles-to-woo-young-cameroonians\/","title":{"rendered":"Social media revamp by 92-year-old president struggles to woo young Cameroonians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even before the world\u2019s oldest president confirmed that he would run for an eighth term in power, his social media accounts left experts in no doubt.<\/p>\n

By the time 92-year-old Paul Biya officially confirmed he would seek re-election as Cameroon\u2019s president last week, he had already been ramping up his online presence for several months.<\/p>\n

Daily posts on Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) mark a striking departure from his previous, occasional presence.<\/p>\n

But Biya\u2019s attempts to win over young people ahead of October\u2019s election may be falling flat, analysts tell the BBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cCameroon has over 5.4 million social media users, but 95% of young people rely on WhatsApp \u2013 a platform where presidential communication is nearly non-existent,\u201d says Rostant Tane, the director of Media Intelligence Sarl and author of the Cameroon 2024 Multimedia Audience Study.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no regional segmentation, no interactivity, and very little effort to speak the digital language of young people,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Another stumbling block is authenticity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany know that it is not Paul Biya himself who is writing \u2013 which creates distance and limits trust,\u201d says Herv\u00e9 Tiwa, a lecturer in communication sciences.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir communication remains very top-down without any real interaction \u2013 comments ignored or deleted, a lack of personalised responses\u2026 This gives the impression of a strategy that is more cosmetic than participatory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why does this matter?<\/p>\n

Cameroon\u2019s population is overwhelmingly young. Over 60% of the population is under 25, with more than half the electorate being under the age of 30, meaning they could potentially decide the outcome of the election.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitical communication must serve democracy and transparency, and not just be used as a marketing tool,\u201d says 27-year-old communications specialist Ulrich Donfack.<\/p>\n

Young people want to see concrete action on issues that affect them, agrees Falone Ngu, who is also 27.<\/p>\n

\u201cCameroon\u2019s youth are not just looking for flashy graphics or slogans on the media! They want opportunities, change and hope,\u201d says the social enterprise founder, who did reserve some praise for the president\u2019s social media team for realising that \u201cleadership and digitalisation go hand in hand\u201d.<\/p>\n

Unemployment is high in Cameroon, with even the most qualified young people in possession of multiple university degrees struggling to find work. Corruption<\/a> and security are also key concerns.<\/p>\n

But instead of focusing on those issues, many posts on Biya\u2019s social media accounts emphasise his track record during 43 years in power \u2013 a time before much of the population was even born.<\/p>\n

According to communication strategist Aristide Mabatto, Biya\u2019s team is now publishing excerpts in French and English from more than 300 speeches the president has delivered over the decades.<\/p>\n

One recent, pointed example drew on a speech from 2000, chiding people who lecture others but fail to preach by example. That was posted just two days after one of Biya\u2019s longest-standing allies criticised his rule and abandoned him.<\/p>\n

Allow X content?<\/h4>\n

This article contains content provided by X. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read\u00a0<\/p>\n

This somewhat staid approach does not appear to have ignited much enthusiasm, but is still an improvement on what went before.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis communication used to be limited to official decrees and state addresses. The shift to frequent digital messaging shows a deliberate effort to reclaim the narrative and appear more present,\u201d argues Tiwa.<\/p>\n

Biya\u2019s absence from the public for more than six weeks last year had led to speculation about his wellbeing and unfounded rumours that he had died.<\/p>\n

Supporters have praised these latest efforts, with state media like Cameroon Tribune highlighting Biya\u2019s digital outreach as a sign of vitality and leadership.<\/p>\n

But scepticism and sarcasm are in greater evidence online. Comments below recent posts on Paul Biya\u2019s X and Facebook accounts include:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looks like he\u2019s discovering the internet in 2025, but it\u2019s primarily an electoral market test,\u201d says a user called Cynthia.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally he\u2019s talking to young people!\u201d, comments Jean-Pierre.<\/p>\n

\u201cCameroonians want roads, not hashtags,\u201d writes a user called Mireille.<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonally, I\u2019m not at all convinced,\u201d 32-year-old entrepreneur Che Arnold tells the BBC of the Biya camp\u2019s strategy to appeal to young voters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs to go beyond tweets, Facebook messages and a simple online presence to promote political reforms but also solve real social problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biya will have to wait until the election in October to see if these efforts will translate into more young people voting for him.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even before the world\u2019s oldest president confirmed that he would run for an eighth term in power, his social media accounts left experts in no doubt. By the time 92-year-old Paul Biya officially confirmed he would seek re-election as Cameroon\u2019s president last week, he had already been ramping up his online presence for several months. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-118464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=118464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/118464\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=118464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=118464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}