At 91, Paul Biya is now the oldest sitting president on the planet. After seven terms at the head of Cameroon, the head of state, known for his long and frequent medical stays in Switzerland, does not rule out running again in 2025, which would bring him closer to 100 years old. However, in Africa, there is a certain generational change. If Robert Mugabe, one of the last figures of the national liberation struggles, finally left power in Zimbabwe in 2017, at the age of 93, Bassirou Diomaye Faye made history by winning the presidential elections in Senegal in March, at the age of 44.
The fact is that Africa is still ruled by older people: the average age of presidents there is around 63, according to the Wilson Center think tank. A surprising contrast “, the organization stresses, if we compare it with the population: 19 years. The continent is home to the youngest population in the world: around 70% of residents are under 30 years old, according to the UN.
In Cameroon, where this ratio applies globally, this means that most citizens have not known any other leader than Mr. Biya. “ We are in a very patriarchal system, where young people are seen as troublemakers and not wise enough.”“Achaleke Christian Leke of the NGO Local Youth Corner Cameroon told the BBC in early September, highlighting the tensions created by this situation. Young people today are angry with their elders for making life difficult in this country.. »
Unprecedented events
A major area of mistrust, in Cameroon as in the rest of the continent, is the lack of employability, especially in skilled positions for which these young people, or their parents, have invested heavily. In the major capitals, it is common to find accountants or logisticians who, due to a lack of professional opportunities in their sector and without any unemployment benefits, earn their living as drivers or trading cryptocurrencies online (including the huge success in Africa that barely appears on the radar of their leaders). The phenomenon is not about to disappear: around 10 million young people enter the labour market each year, for 3 million available positions, the African Development Bank repeats again and again.
Another sticking point is the cost of essential goods, which has been subject to high inflation in recent years. In Kenya, in June, youth anger against the new financial law, which created or increased several taxes – including those on individual cars – led to unprecedented demonstrations and a spectacular intrusion into Parliament. Generation Z (born after 1997), which was said to be far removed from politics, obtained, to the surprise of their elders, the withdrawal of the controversial law and a reshuffle of the government.
