Have We Now a 93-Year-Old Child at the Helm of the State? A Lament on Fragility, Denial, and an Unprofessional First Lady. May 22, 2026
By Nchumbonga George Lekelefac, B.Phil. (Mexico); S.T.B. (Rome); J.C.L./M.C.L. (Ottawa); Doctorandus, University of Münster, Germany; International Advocate for the Oppressed, Voice of the Voiceless, Defender of Fundamental Human Rights, Canon Lawyer/Jurist, Friend to the Vulnerable, and Lover of No Oppressor/Tyrant
Motto: “Not merely to recount what has been, but to share in moulding what should be.” — Prof. Dr. Bernard Nsokika Fonlon, Editor of Cameroon Cultural Review, Abbia (1960–1980)
1. The biology of aging is sometimes cruel. Very cruel.
For decades, the Cameroonian regime sold us the image of an eternal man: strong, strategic, master of time, master of silence, master of institutions — almost above the laws of nature. But science has come knocking, and it does not respect decrees from Etoudi.
Today, it is not the opposition, not diaspora activists, nor social media that speaks loudest. It is biology itself, the psychology of aging, gerontology, and even Shakespeare, who centuries ago described this phase as “second childishness.” The man begins life as a child, and often ends as one. Erik Erikson, Carl Jung, and biologist Leonard Hayflick all remind us that old age brings a return to dependence: loss of mobility, balance, memory, and autonomy.
The painful question Cameroonians whisper in taxis, markets, and online forums can no longer be avoided:
Have we now a 93-year-old child at the head of the State?
Look honestly at the reality. When a leader must be assisted to walk, constantly monitored, shielded from any unforeseen event, surrounded by a massive medical and protocol apparatus, limited to brief public appearances before being quickly evacuated — we are no longer in the realm of a functioning presidency. We have entered the era of political pediatrics. And our Catholic Bishops led by Archbishop Nkea, President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon remain mute to the detriment of the country. When moral leaders remain mute over serious issues like this, the country crumbles and is laughed at. Where are the Catholic bishops of Cameroon? Please, speak out. It is unfair for one man to hijack a nation for 43 years while the people suffer. Most projects are hardly completed because the head can no longer supervise these projects. Something must be done dear bishops. Speak out.
2. Governance by an elderly child
A nation of nearly 30 million people — overwhelmingly young, with universities full of talent, intellectuals, engineers, doctors, and jurists — finds its entire stability suspended on the frailty of one man. The whole system now operates like a giant institutional nursery. Ministers speak softly and pray harder. Journalists focus on the color of suits. Collaborators watch every step for applause. Cameras avoid unflattering angles. Parades are shortened to a few cautious steps. And the people watch, analyze, and meme.
The most humiliating part is how the propaganda itself has become unintentionally tragic. When state television seriously claims that “sky blue symbolizes the youth of the Head of State,” while the nation watches a 93-year-old man struggle to complete even a few steps before the Republican Guard, the disconnect becomes grotesque. The lie itself begins to limp.
Yet the official Cameroon — the Cameroon of those who eat without working — continues to insist that everything is normal. As if biology could be suspended by presidential decree, aging canceled by ministerial order, and time itself banned from Etoudi.
And here, a special rebuke must be addressed to the First Lady, Chantal Biya.
Madame Chantal, your public handling of the President has become deeply unprofessional and undignified. You are seen holding and guiding him like a fragile child in front of the world — propping him up, steering his movements, managing his every appearance as if he were an infant rather than the leader of a sovereign nation. This is not the role of a First Lady of the Republic. It is the behavior of a caretaker in a private nursing home, not the partner of a Head of State on the international stage.
By turning these moments into public spectacles of dependence, you diminish not only your husband’s legacy but the prestige of the entire nation. A First Lady should project strength, grace, and support with discretion.
Instead, you have contributed to the infantilization of the presidency. Cameroon deserves better than to have its highest office reduced to such visible frailty managed in full view. Your actions, however well-intentioned they may appear, expose the country to ridicule and confirm the very narrative of decline that the regime desperately tries to deny.
The tragedy is not that a man has grown old — that is the natural fate of every human being. The real tragedy is that an entire system refuses to admit that no country can be governed indefinitely as a presidential nursery or retirement home. True leadership would prepare for succession with dignity. True patriotism would prioritize the nation over one man’s prolonged hold on power.
The wider world may value authentic translations and international openness, but here at home, we cannot even be honest about the most basic biological truth. Cameroon’s youth and future are being held hostage by denial.
Conclusion
It is time to face reality before the “second childishness” consumes not just one man, but the future of an entire nation.
