By Abiola Olawale
Reports emerging on Tuesday suggesting that the President of Cameroon, Paul Biya is reportedly dead, have elicited mixed reactions across the media landscape.
According to reports, Biya was said to have died in France where he was receiving medical attention for an undisclosed illness.
The report comes at a time when Biya has been noticeably absent from public events for a prolonged period.
It would be recalled that Biya recently cancelled his attendance at the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) summit, held in France on 4 and 5 October, respectively.
Before then, the Cameroonian President had also cancelled his scheduled diplomatic engagements with France in July and China in August.
He was also expected to travel to New York, the United States for the UN General Assembly in late September but he also cancelled that trip.
It would be recalled that Biya recently indicated interest in seeking re-election as the President of the Central African country.
Biya, 91 years old, who is currently the longest-serving President of the country, had started a campaign for his eighth term.
The New Diplomat reports that Biya has been serving as the President of Cameroon for 42 years since 1982. He also served as the Prime Minister for 7 years from 1975 to 1982 before then.
Paul Biya was born on February 13, 1933, to Etienne Mvondo Assam and Anastasie Eyenga Elle in Cameroon. After he completed his primary education, he attended seminary schools until 1954. He then attended Lycée Général Leclerc in Yaoundé, graduating in 1956.
Biya pursued his higher education in France in the fields of political science and law and returned to Cameroon, which had gained independence in 1960. Biya married Jeanne-Irène Atyam in the early 1960s; she died in 1992. He remarried in 1994 to Chantal Vigouroux. He has three children.
Throughout the 1960s, Biya held a variety of government posts in Cameroon. In June 1975 Biya became prime minister under Pres. Ahmadou Ahidjo. When Ahidjo resigned unexpectedly in November 1982, Biya, as prime minister, was his natural constitutional successor. He was sworn in as president on November 6, 1982. Ahidjo, however, remained head of the Cameroon National Union (Union Nationale Camerounaise; UNC), the country’s only political party, to which both men belonged.
The transition was initially amicable, but friction between Biya and Ahidjo soon increased as the latter tried to maintain a level of influence over the government. He was not able to do so. And consequently, he was forced to resign as party chairman in August 1983. The next month, at an extraordinary party congress, Biya was elected to head the UNC.
