When old age becomes a scandal.

President Paul Biya dedicated his next seven years in office to empowering youth and women. But more than a month after his swearing-in ceremony, signs of gerontocracy, criticised for decades, continue to raise eyebrows and even scandals as observed during the presentation of New Year wishes to the president of the Senate, Niat Njifenji, 91, who constitutionally should sit at the helm of State, in the event of a vacancy by death, incapacitation or resignation.

As The Guardian Post reported yesterday, the Senate President, against all expectations, performed the solemn State ceremony at his private residence in Yaounde!

Pictures in the media showed him sitting, a sign of incapacity to stand up, as has been the tradition since 2013, when he became Senate President.

In the case of his counterpart at the National Assembly, Hon Cavaye Yegue Djibril, he invited guests, as in the past, but did not as much as turn up at the ceremony!

He was represented by the Senior Vice President of the National Assembly, Hon Hilarion Etong, 66.

The two ceremonies, described by critics as "comedy" as they were deviations from conventional practices due to old age, followed that of President Paul Biya, 92.

Although the Head of State's ceremony was impressive as in the past, the difference this year was that smartphones were prohibited to avoid filming any contours of embarrassing eventuality. 

The three State ceremonies, with tax payers picking the bills, traditionally serve as a formal display of respect, recognition, goodwill, and offering a platform to solidify relationships.

The events by the second and third politicians on the rung of power once again reignited the national debate of a regime that is congested with personalities on the evening of age at an android generation of innovation.

Can such a regime deliver, especially in a country bedeviled by challenges such as deep-seated corruption, separatist conflicts, and reeling infrastructure?

For over five years, the Higher Judiciary Council that appoints, sanctions, promotes and transfers magistrates, which legally should meet every year, has not sat. The judiciary is in suspense.

It has been interpreted as a sign of a regime fatigue, caused by old age in a country where according to the World Population Project, "Cameroon's population is young and rapidly growing, with a low median age (around 18-19), and a high proportion of youth over 40% under 15". 

Last year's estimates indicated that only three percent of Cameroonians are aged 65 and over.

Why then should an insignificant number of people who should be on retirement at 60, continue to dominate in governance?

Science has proven that a country "typically not representative of the population, should be of concern".

A key focus is mental fitness. It's paramount to discussions of leadership capacities because it involves areas like problem-solving, goal-setting and impulse control.

Research indicates that while ageing presents some cognitive challenges in general, it may present extra issues for political leaders. 

"Cognitive flexibility in thinking and problem solving is an essential form of cognition for political leaders to excel at in order to make good-quality decisions under uncertainty and risk," notes Barbara Sahakian, a professor of clinical neuropsychology at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.

"These types of decisions are also often time limited. However, cognitive flexibility usually dwindles over time," she adds.

Some mental changes associated with age could be particularly alarming. 

For one thing, it appears that brain ageing can affect political attitudes.

According to research, executive dysfunction can show up in reduced impulse control and increased repetition of thoughts and behaviours which have been observed in some Cameroonian office holders.

Politicians in Cameroon will say there is no age limit for appointed and elective offices and even use "experience" as an advantage for unproductive old people to continue occupying public offices.

Djibouti and Uganda had the maximum age for a President at 75 but following the questionable example from Cameroon, their constitutions were tinkered to remove age limits.

Neuroscience and psychology, however, suggest that "cognitive performance varies widely as people grow older, making it tricky to determine whether someone can be too old to lead”.

"And while some skills tend to decline with age, others improve. Some 'super agers' even possess the mental acuity of people many decades younger than themselves," it adds. 

That, however, is in few cases which should explain why President Biya could stand for long to receive New Year wishes while his juniors in age like Cavaye and Niat could not emulate him.

The bottom line, nonetheless, is that a regime bloated with old people and staying on the job for too long runs out of ideas, focus, innovation and creativity, which have been the Achilles heels of the CPDM government in urgent need of new blood to reinvigorate it towards the touted emergence.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3672 of Tuesday January 13, 2026