There's so many misperceptions about exhausts, it's an even bigger can of worms than cam design. It's not easy to capture some of the physics in a sentence or two, which is partially why so much bad information keeps getting repeated.
A 2-1 or 2-1-2 system (where the two cylinders merge in a collector) is generally a more efficient system than a true dual system at lower rpms because it scavenges better, not because there's more backpressure. The true dual systems generally gains an advantage at high rpms because they are able to move greater volumes. (these are broad generalities, not a hard and fast rule)
Back pressure doesn't make power. Back pressure is the resistance to airflow due to downstream restrictions, and it hinders power production. Delta pressure, on the other hand, is the drop in pressure that occurs when a gas (or fluid) travels across a piping component. The larger the Delta P value, the higher the pressure drop is, and the faster the exhaust gas will travel through the system.
Make your exhaust tubing too small, and the air flow becomes restricted, slowing the gasses, and increasing reversion at the cylinder, which hurts power production. That's backpressure. However, if the exhaust tubing is too large, the gasses will not accelerate to the maximum possible, which reduces the Delta P value. What we want is the tubing to be just the right size to effect maximum velocity through the exhaust, in order to increase the pressure drop behind the exiting gasses.
So why do we sometimes intentionally try to slow down exhaust gasses? Probably because the exhaust wasn't designed properly, and we're getting wave reversion at the cylinder. Energy waves occur with our exhaust pulses due to the rapidly expanding gasses. They travel down the pipe at a very high rate of speed, and when they reach the end part of it makes a 180 (due to the low pressure of the ambient air) and travels back up the exhaust pipe. The reversion wave passes through the exiting exhaust gasses (which are traveling about 5 times slower), and tries to re-enter the combustion chamber. If the exhaust valve is open, the reversion wave pushes against the incoming fuel/air charge, harming power production. If the exhaust valve is closed, the reversion wave turns around again and heads back out. That is what we want to happen, and eventually the wave will dissipate all it's energy going back and forth.
If our exhaust system isn't properly matched to our motor, the reversion wave can make the bike very sluggish at low rpms. If we install torque cones or lollipops, sometimes we can slow down the exhaust gasses enough to match cam timing. However, a better idea is to have a properly designed exhaust without restrictions, and a properly tuned bike.