They are well-known in cricket circles as the nervous 90s, the scores at which batsmen make uncharacteristic mistakes that prevent them from reaching a century.
If he is unsettled at reaching the age of 92, Paul Biya is showing no signs of it, because he plans to run in Cameroon's presidential election on 12 October.
The world’s oldest head of state, he has ruled the poor central African nation of 30 million people for almost 43 years and, if returned for an eighth term, he could remain in power until he turns 100.
“I am a candidate in the presidential election on October 12, 2025,” Biya announced in a post on social media site X.
“Rest assured that my determination to serve you is commensurate with the seriousness of the challenges we face.
“Together, there is no challenge we cannot overcome.”
Queen Elizabeth II’s passing in 2022 at the age of 96 leaves Biya as the oldest-serving head of state, leading a nation that was never a British colony, but joined the Commonwealth of Nations in 1995 because some of its regions had been administered by Britain.
Biya’s chances of carrying his chronological bat to 100 were questioned only months ago, as rumours of his demise swirled for a long time out of the public eye and amid reports of poor health.
But just as American writer Mark Twain wryly told a reporter in 1897 that "the report of my death was an exaggeration”, these media reports were challenged by the President’s office which promptly banned such stories.
Biya stands a good chance of winning another term as the opposition of more than 300 parties is too fragmented to dislodge his ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (CPDM) unless they join together, according to political analysts.
“They (the opposition) don’t stand a chance as individual candidates. If they form a transitional coalition then maybe they might,” political analyst Collins Molua Ikome was quoted in a CNN story as saying.
Sylvia Tipa, a consultant in the national capital of Yaoundé, told the BBC that although she believed in change and the democratic principle of "relaying" power to the next comer, maybe "there's no-one better than [Biya]".
"So far he has done a lot for the nation - we see his role played in conflict management and many other aspects," she said.
