Youth Day 50th Anniversary worries

This national holiday in Cameroon celebrates the country's young people.

Kids, pupils and youth groups for the past 49 years participate in parades, often accompanied by university students in public marching at various administrative levels in the country.

Top Government functionaries sit for hours to watch the processions, along with many other onlookers.

Businesses sell food and merchandise around the event grounds. Many schools and youth groups also participate in art and sports activities often organized by the ministry of youth affairs and civic education and other related ministries.

Annually a theme is chosen for the Youth Day with the prime objective being to encourage Cameroon's young people to renounce violence and other irresponsible behaviors and to embrace education, sports, and artistic activities.

Finally, for the past 49years as part of activities to observe the day the president of the republic traditionally makes a nationally broadcast speech on Youth Day, commenting on the achievements of the country's young people and outlining the government's plans to improve education and youth employment opportunities.

In a landmark address to the youths on the eve of the 2013 Youth Day, the Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA called on them to forge ahead in their various walks of life so as to earn an honest living from their endeavours.

The President of the Republic appealed to Churches, Temples, and Mosques to be the torch-bearers of moral rectitude, as it is of capital importance for the youths of Cameroon to be morally upright.

In 2013, the theme was "Youth: Civic Responsibility and Participation in the Development Process". According to president Paul Biya, this speech formed the basis of the message of hope for the youth, especially those who were in doubt, disillusioned and perhaps lost faith in their future.

Since 2013 things have almost gone worst as concerns youth and civic responsibility. This is evident in government actions taken to that effect.

While many were expecting more efforts to be invested here to achieve a more responsible Cameroon particularly when the feast is 50years old, the government has chosen to lay out innovations which some people have described as meaningless.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with making a 50th-anniversary celebration exceptional particularly for the majority age group of the country’s population. The worry, will be the activities chosen to make the event truly exceptional particularly in a morally decayed society like ours?

First is the Youth anthem which will be chanted alongside the national anthem. How many Cameroonian youths can actually sing-talk less of understanding the national anthem.

While they are still managing to understand and act by the dictates of the number one song of the land, we come with another deceiving ourselves that they will accept. A few days to the youth day proper, many youths have not seen the lyrics worst off all heard the melody. Well, let’s see of what impact that will be. I will be observant of the 11 to see the value of such a concept event if it were to last for just a day.

The Monument, this sounds great. But in a country like ours where youthful heroism goes unnoticed every day the question who will be represented by the monument.

Looking at the etymology of the word monument, it originates from the Latin moneo, monere, which means 'to remind', 'to advise' or 'to warn’ suggesting a monument allows us to see the past thus helping us visualize what is to come in the future.

In English, the word "monumental" is often used in reference to something of extraordinary size and power, but also to mean simply anything made to commemorate the dead, or other example of funerary art. Whatever the monuments in all the Administrative head quarters of the ten Regions will represent, hope it will be able to tell a story that can transform the lives of the Cameroonian youth.

The decentralization; well it will be important that every area within the triangle feels the Youth Day celebration at 50. But with the limping decentralization in Cameroon hope the Youth Day at 50 does not suffer the same fate.

Like women celebrate their international day with their fabric, so too will youths from the nursery to the university use a fabric designated for them. It was the same thing during the arm forces 50th anniversary celebration in Bamenda and I guess it was the same during the reunification celebration in Buea.

But what I do not get is why that of the youth is for sell since I did not hear anywhere that the other ones were for sell. The prizes range at 6900frs for school supervisors, 3450frs for universities and higher institutes and 2300frs for nursery and primary pupils. Why sell that for the youths, where will the money go to?

The ingenuity of the current minister of youth affairs and civic education Bedung Mpkwat and his smartness on youth matters cannot be underestimated. He might have genuinely wanted to give the young people some attention on their 50th anniversary before the business people and contractors came in because as the countdown to the feast narrows we continue to question How will these innovations impact the lives of the Cameroonian youth and many other questions can be asked over and over?