52nd Youth Day:

Successful March Pasts in Buea, Tombel, Mamfe

By Boris Esono in Buea

YCPDM stole the show in Tombel

Youths of major towns in the South West defied intimidation and death threats by Ambazonia Vipers and participated in march past in commemoration of youth day on 11 February, the day the people of former Southern Cameroons voted in a UN organized Plebiscite to join their brothers of La Republique Du Cameroon.

                In Buea, primary school pupils and students from secondary and tertiary institutions converged on the historic Bongo Square for the celebration.

                Here the enthusiastic youths marched past in front of the grandstand that was occupied by administrative, political, religious, traditional and other dignitaries.

                Presiding over the colorful march past was the governor of the SW region, Bernard Okalia Bilai, sitting alongside the SG of the region, DO of Buea, Mayor of Buea, MPs, Senators, the clergy, chiefs and private sector operators.

                An innovation this time was the presence of a group of youths numbering about 50, called community mediators, who led the march past. They told us after the march past that their role was to counsel and sensitize their peers on matters of patriotism, civicism, peace and unity.

              

YCPDM Tombel doing their thing 

  Youths with special needs including the deaf, the blind and the physically handicapped also took part in the colorful march past that lasted for about an hour and thirty minutes.

                YCPDM militants virtually stole the show in Buea, demonstrating their mobilization capacity and numerical strength.

                Speaking to reporters after the march past governor Okalia Bilia could not conceal his joy for a successful march past.

                “The youths of Buea have once more demonstrated their civic and patriotic spirit by showing up massively to participate in the march past on Youth Day. The youths of this part of the country have understood that the easiest route to a bright future is education. That is why they came out in their numbers to celebrate and commune with their peers of other parts of the country,” noted the governor.

                In Tombel in the Kupe Muanenguba Division, pupils, students, youth associations and YCPDM militants braved the threats and calls for boycott and converged on the Government School GS Tombel field, where they marched past in front of the municipal grandstand.

                Presiding over the festivities was the DO of Tombel subdivision, Koum Leonard, who used the occasion to call on parents and students to shun intimidation by separatists and for parents to send their children to school. Koum Leonard urged the youths to take their destiny into their hands.

                Tombel youths also showcased cultural and traditional displays and staged a football match as part of the celebrations.

                They used the occasion to renounce violence and threats as a way of life in their community.

                A spokesman for the youths told the press that the youths of Tombel are tired of staying at home; that they cannot continue living in fear. He called on the head of state to do every thing possible to restore peace and security in Tombel and in the entire NW and SW regions.

                The march past in Buea, Tombel, Mamfe and other towns of the SW was only possible thanks to the heavy deployment of armed security operatives that manned strategic positions in the towns to guarantee the security of the youths as well as that of the dignitaries who mustered the courage to make it to the ceremonial grounds.

                Reports said in Tombel just like in Mamfe, entry into town was seriously controlled, as gendarmes and police stationed at several checkpoints stopped and searched vehicles and pedestrians.

                The situation was idem for Buea, where unconfirmed reports said one man was shot dead as he tried to speed off after his car was stopped by gendarmes at the entrance of the town at Mile 17.