Friday’s National Youth Day saw a huge turnout with hundreds of CPDM youth, schoolchildren and parents at the municipal grand stand of Misaje in Donga Mantung division, North West region.
The massive turnout brought back memories of the National Youth Day before the Anglophone crisis during which armed groups have targeted schools. Misaje seems to be reeling off well from this nightmare of the last four years.
The 56th edition of the National Youth Day in Misaje was a showpiece of pomp and style.
The massive turnout radiated peace, patriotism and national unity – values under attack since the conflict in the two English-speaking sparked off in 2017. Celebrated under the theme “Youth and
Voluntary Participation in Major Changes in Cameroon,” the event in Misaje had several activities on the menu – listening to the Head of State’s message to the youth, march past, choral singing and others.
Though taking place when the COVID-19 is still very much around and armed groups are still operating in the North West and South West regions, the crowd in Misaje, last Friday, many have said confirms the ubdivision’s loyalty to President Biya and firm believe in a one and indivisible Cameroon. No doubt Misaje Subdivision has had few bad news since the crisis in the North West and South West regions creeped in since 2016. Schools and busineses have reopened and National Day has been commemorated in the read hitch free though with threats from soi-disant armed separatist groups.
Through mass sensitisation led by Prof. Fuh Calistus Gentry, and elite and Secretary of State, Misaje, know the dream of putative Ambazonia independence is stupid. Misaje prefers to stand with Yaounde that has done so much for the Subdivision. Locals also see a vote for secessionist ideas as betrayal to their illustrious son,
Minister Prof Fuh Calistus Gentry.
The Secretary of State in the Ministry of Mines, Industries and Technological Development hunts development projects for his people, and a philanthropist par excellence to them. The minister runs the Donga Mantung Scholarship Fund through which he is a benefactor to several schoolchildren in the area. He has also started giving out seed capital to startups from the area without asking for a stake.
This explains the massive turnout. A local ‘L’Action’ spoke to by phone said he counted 120 minutes of march past. Reports say there was a huge turnout in decentralised Youth Day Centres in Dumbu, Kamane and Akweto, all in Misaje Subdivision. Misaje seems to have come first as far as turnout during the National Youth Day was concerned in the two English-speaking regions.
Jude VIBAN
