In his address to the nation, Paul Biya intimated that he has “instructed the Prime Minister to launch, this year, a special recruitment into the Public Service, of twenty-five thousand [25000] young graduates”. While this move may be aimed at appeasing the angry and distressed youths of Cameroon within the current tensed political atmosphere on the African continent, it also clearly portray Mr. Biya as a leader that has completely lost touch with the realities of his country. Cameroon’s population is currently estimated at 18 million. Of these, youths constitute about 10 million. Independent sources put Cameroon’s unemployment rate at 30% and this does not take into account underemployment, and also the fact that the unemployment rate is disproportionately higher among youths.

Even by the most conservative standards, there is about 4-6 million, mostly educated, able and ready to work young people who are currently jobless in Cameroon. If Mr. Biya were to provide employment to 25000 young Cameroonians every year from now onward, it would still take 100 years to bring the unemployment rate among youths to around 15%. In effect, Mr. Biya’s promise of 25000 jobs this year for the youths is not just a mockery of Cameroonian youths, but also a scheme to stimulate corruption widely associated with public service recruitment in Cameroon, as well as provide his regime an opportunity to sell physical stamps to raise enough money for his next lavish vacation in Europe.

President Paul Biya also informed Cameroonians about various development schemes his government is undertaking or plans to undertake, including the Lom Pangar, Memve'ele and Mekin hydroelectric dams, the Kribi natural gas plant, construction and upgrading of road networks, the launching of extensive housing schemes, new health facilities, and building of school, university and sports facilities. Ironically, Mr. Biya has made the same promises each year for 29 years, and his failure to deliver on them is the past gives Cameroonians little hope that he has the will to do well for the country and his people. More so, his insinuation that these projects and other employment opportunities may be contingent on the revival of the country’s expected economic growth is an affront to common sense, considering the huge amount of money embezzled by members of the Biya regime each year.

CCDHR holds that Cameroon does not lack the resources to build state of the art schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and other infrastructures. The resources exist, but have been illegally relocated from state coffers to private bank accounts, spent on lavish vacations, and swindled to acquire properties abroad, at the expense of ordinary Cameroonians who continue to suffer from the absence of basic services. Remarkably, Paul Biya conveniently failed to allude to corruption in his speech, a hallmark of his regime, let alone indicate a resolved towards its elimination. It is no surprise therefore that many young and intelligent Cameroonians today find themselves with few options for the future, a situation which is not good for the collective future of Cameroon, as the fate of every nation lies with its youths.

Cameroon is ruled by a gang of geriatric aristocrats with astonishing access to the country’s treasury, incredible looting of the country’s resources, unimaginable cruelty towards ordinary Cameroonians, and with dynastical power ambitions for their families. Cameroonian youths understand that they cannot function under the current status quo in perpetuity. The continued mismanagement of the country’s resources, lack of public accountability, and the deprivation of access to power for the majority of Cameroonians are unacceptable. In his address to the nation, Mr. Biya attempted to reassure the country’s youths that he understands their plight. He stated that “I am aware, believe me, of your worries about your future”. This is clearly unflattering to the millions of youths who continue to struggle for survival on a daily basis, while Mr. Biya and his associates swell their bank accounts with public funds. The youths’ despair with the Biya regime is no secret, and despite being ruthlessly crushed in the past, Cameroonian youths clearly remain displeased with Paul Biya, and appear poised to again express their despair with the despotic system of government under which they have been trapped for the past three decades.