Youth Day Beyond Speeches: Why the Voice of Cameroonian Youths Must Shape Our Future

On this Youth Day, I extend warm wishes to all Cameroonian youths. This day should not be reduced to ceremony and parade alone.

It should be a moment of honest reflection about our place in society, our responsibility to one another, and our collective power to shape the future of our communities and our country.

Youth Day should remind us that progress is not handed to the youth. It is claimed through participation, discipline, courage, and sustained engagement in public life.

Celebration without reform is empty. Pride without opportunity is cruel. We have a voice, and our population is our strength in active politics. Youths are not a minority to be managed or spectators to be entertained during elections.

We are the majority of the population, the workforce of today, and the leaders of today for a better tomorrow. When our voices are ignored, democracy becomes hollow. When we speak, organize, and participate, governance gains legitimacy.

A system that treats young people as tools for mobilization but excludes them from decision making weakens its own credibility and deepens political apathy. Active politics goes beyond voting once every few years.

It means engaging in community issues, organizing around shared interests, questioning leaders, demanding accountability, and contributing ideas that reflect the real struggles of young people unemployment, access to education, fair opportunities, housing, security, digital access, and inclusion in decision making.

A silent youth population allows a few voices to dominate public affairs. An active and organized youth population reshapes the political agenda and forces institutions to confront real social needs rather than recycle slogans.

Youth participation is not a threat to stability. It is the foundation of credible leadership and sustainable development. Societies that exclude their youths from leadership renewal stagnate.

Systems that block renewal protect comfort, not competence. When young people organize, participate, and insist on being heard, politics becomes more representative, more responsive, and more honest.

Our numbers give us power. Our voice gives that power direction. Without direction, numbers become noise. With direction, they become leverage.

Looking back, every Youth Day is memorable not because of official speeches or ceremonies, but because of the resilience of Cameroonian youths themselves.

In a difficult environment where laws and state institutions often fail to support youth advancement and, in some cases, actively limit opportunities, self-reliant young people continue to push forward on their own.

They build livelihoods, create small businesses, learn skills, and survive through personal effort rather than meaningful institutional support. This is not evidence that the system works. It is evidence that youths are forced to succeed in spite of the system.

What we celebrate each Youth Day, therefore, is not official rhetoric, but the quiet determination of youths who keep paddling their own canoes in rough waters, despite a system that does little to clear their path.

This resilience deserves recognition, but it should not be used to excuse institutional failure. The goal is not to produce tougher youths. The goal is to build fairer institutions.

Young people should not be trained to endure broken systems. They should be empowered to fix them and to thrive within systems that work.

Barrister Lyonga Walterson LyiangePresident, Cameroon National Youth Council, Buea

By Barrister Lyonga Walterson Lyiange

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