Cameroon's Paul Biya, 92, extends 43-year rule with 8th term win

Paul Biya on Monday extended his ironclad 43-year grip on power, winning an eighth term as Cameroon’s president despite making few appearances on the campaign trail. The country’s Constitutional Council said the 92-year-old incumbent secured 53.7%...

The immortals: Africa’s drift from democracy to gerontocracy

Paul Biya has done it again. At 92 years old, he has secured yet another term in Cameroon’s elections. He has been in power for 43 years, and if he completes this new mandate, he will still be president at 99. He only appeared before the people...

Today in Africa — October 29, 2025: Election Day Curfew Imposed in Tanzania, Former Sudanese MP Who Fed the Hungry Executed in El Fasher, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka’s U.S. Visa Revoked Over President Donald Trump Criticism

NEWS OkayAfrica has scoured the internet for today’s major news stories, so you don't have to. Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says his U.S. visa has been revoked due to his criticism of U. S. President Donald Trump. by Adekunle Ajayi/Getty...

Why do some African leaders fancy dying in office?

At 92, it is evident that an African leader like the current President of Cameroon, Paul Biya, is too old to effectively preside over that country. His continued hold on to power, despite his failing health condition, represents both the...

Ending Dependency: Rethinking Africa’s Path to Prosperity

By Abubakar Bukola Saraki It is an honour and a responsibility to join you for this timely conversation—not simply as a former public servant or as someone who has worked across banking, healthcare, entrepreneurship and governance—but as one who...

Paul Biya’s state capture of Cameroon: a case of collective responsibility

In July 1994, Yahya Jammeh stormed into power in The Gambia with a soldier’s swagger and the usual promises of salvation. He vowed to restore democracy; instead, he converted the country into a private chamber of fear. His opponents were jailed,...

Ndubuisi Nwokolo: Democracy In Africa Hollow Without Constitutional Integrity

Global Affairs Analyst and Managing Partner at Nextier, Dr. Ndubuisi Nwokolo, has warned that democracy in Africa is steadily receding because regional and continental institutions have failed to uphold constitutional integrity and check “civilian...

Editorial: Democracy Or Dynasty: African Nations Must Emulate Ghana’s Political Maturity

When Ghana gained independence in 1957 under the visionary leadership of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, it did not merely liberate itself—it ignited the flame of African emancipation. Nkrumah’s famous declaration that “the independence of Ghana is...

Saraki: Why Africa has Sit-Tight Leaders like Paul Biya

Former Senate President Bukola Saraki has attributed dominance of long-serving African leaders to institutional weaknesses and a lack of democratic accountability. His remarks come amid recent developments in Cameroon and Ivory Coast, where aging...

If threatened and ignored Congo Basin rainforests vanish, ‘Africa is not viable’

The rainforests of the Congo Basin are Africa’s beating heart and if they vanish in the face of relentless slash-and-burn farming, the continent will no longer be “viable” because of lack of the critical moisture they deliver to the Blue Nile and...

Minister hails Tinubu over Nigerians’ election into gas exporting countries forum

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Nigeria’s historic diplomatic achievement at the 27th Ministerial Meeting of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) held in Doha,...

Paul Biya: Tension mounts in parts of Cameroon 

Cameroon’s long-time leader, Paul Biya, has been declared winner of the country’s October 12 presidential election, extending his rule into a fifth decade, according to official results. Biya’s announcement came amid widespread allegations of...

Africa Is The World's 'Youngest' Region, Asia The 'Oldest'

The world’s population is aging, but not evenly. While some regions are growing older at an alarming pace, others remain remarkably young. In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu maps the median age in every country, showing where...

ECCAS And AU Have Lost Their Voices In Paul Biya’s Undeserve...

When history finally chronicles the decay of democracy in Central Africa, one name will stand out as both a symbol and a symptom of the continent’s unfinished political liberation: Paul Biya. And as his most recent and predictably “successful”...

List Of Africa’s Longest-Serving Presidents

These five leaders, Teodoro Obiang, Paul Biya, Sassou Nguesso, Yoweri Museveni, and Isaias Afwerki, have spent decades in the presidential seat, leaving a mark on their nations that few can rival. These leaders have witnessed entire generations...

Eccas And Au Have Lost Their Voices In Paul Biya’s Undeserved Victory

When history finally chronicles the decay of democracy in Central Africa, one name will stand out as both a symbol and a symptom of the continent’s unfinished political liberation: Paul Biya. And as his most recent and predictably “successful”...

Ivory Coast President Ouattara Wins Fourth Term Amid Low Turnout

Durmaz noted that many in the country and wider region are likely to view the fourth term as reinforcing constitutional engineering and deepening democratic decline in West Africa. The reelection continues a pattern of aging leaders holding power...

‘Best is yet to come,’ says Cameroon’s president, 92

As he campaigned for an eighth term in office, Cameroon’s 92-year-old president confidently declared: “The best is yet to come.” Paul Biya, the world’s oldest head of state, now has seven more years to fulfil that promise after victory extended...

Ekpo, Mshelbila Emerge President, Secretary-General Of Gas Exporting Countries

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, and Managing Director of Nigeria LNG Ltd, Dr. Philip Mshelbila, have been elected as the President and Secretary General of the 2026 Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)...

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara reelected to fourth term

Source: AP News Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara was reelected to a fourth term in an election marked by low turnout and empty streets in the economic capital of Abidjan, provisional results showed Monday. Ouattara, 83, who first came to...