One of Cameroon's youngest MP Hon. Agho Oliver questions whereabout of President Biya's Promised FCFA 50 Billion Youth Package

As Drug Consumption Surges Among Young Cameroonians, Hon. Agho Oliver Seeks Accountability for President Biya's Promised FCFA 50 Billion Youth Package

Colbert Gwain | The Muteff Factor

Growing up in Muteff village, nestled on the Ijim hills of Boyo Division in Cameroon's North West Region, we had an irresistible urge to play football after school. Since our compound had a large, open courtyard, young people from around the community would gather there every evening for a game—but only on one condition: my father, Bobe Bafia Fulai Bain, had to be nowhere in sight. While we played, some of the boys took turns keeping watch for his footsteps. The moment his arrival was signalled, everyone scattered in different directions. If he caught you idling—what he considered playing football instead of working—he would tie you to a coffee tree and give you a thorough beating using a "sang-nyam" or horse whip.

It may sound harsh by today's standards, but the lesson every child learned early in Muteff was the value of hard work. There was no room for idleness. During school holidays, parents ensured that every young person had something useful to do—working on the family farm, tending livestock or learning a trade from village craftsmen. Elders constantly reminded us that "an idle mind is the devil's workshop." They believed that purposeful engagement was the surest way to keep young people away from destructive influences.

That age-old wisdom is becoming increasingly relevant across Cameroon.

As reports of drug consumption among young people continue to rise at alarming levels, families and communities are witnessing growing cases of addiction, school dropouts, violence, petty crime and deteriorating mental health. What was once seen as an isolated social problem is rapidly evolving into a national development challenge.

It is against this backdrop that Hon. Agho Oliver, MP for the Bafut/Tubah Constituency, has challenged the Minister of Youth Affairs and Civic Education to explain what has become of President Paul Biya's repeatedly announced FCFA 50 billion youth empowerment package.

His concerns appear more than justified.

As one of the younger members of the National Assembly, Hon. Agho Oliver interacts closely with the very generation the initiative was designed to uplift. In his constituency, like in many parts of Cameroon, he has watched increasing numbers of young people become ensnared by drug abuse, often against a backdrop of unemployment, poverty and diminishing hope. For a legislator witnessing these realities firsthand, raising the matter in Parliament was not merely a political exercise but a reflection of the anxieties of countless families desperate to see meaningful action.

The President did not announce the initiative only once. He first unveiled the FCFA 50 billion youth package during the October 2025 presidential election campaign. He renewed the commitment during his oath-taking ceremony on November 6, 2025, repeated it in his New Year's address to the nation on December 31, 2025, and again on the eve of the February 11, 2026 Youth Day celebrations.

On one of those occasions, President Biya went even further, indicating that he had instructed the Minister of Finance to make the funds immediately available so that implementation could begin without delay. Those repeated assurances naturally raised expectations among millions of young Cameroonians who hoped the programme would soon translate into jobs, business opportunities and renewed optimism.

Yet, as July 2026 unfolds, nearly nine months after the promise was first made, there is little publicly visible evidence that the initiative has moved beyond presidential declarations. No widely publicised implementation timetable, beneficiary selection process or disbursement mechanism has emerged. It is therefore understandable that Hon. Agho Oliver is asking the same question many unemployed young people are asking: Where is the FCFA 50 billion?

The question is particularly significant because unemployment and drug abuse often reinforce one another. While unemployment does not automatically lead to addiction, prolonged idleness, frustration and economic uncertainty create conditions in which substance abuse can flourish. Young graduates who cannot find work, skilled artisans unable to access start-up capital, and school leavers with few economic prospects may become vulnerable to drugs as an escape from despair. Others are drawn into the illicit drug trade simply to survive.

This is why tackling drug abuse requires more than police crackdowns. It also demands sustained investment in opportunity. Every decent job created, every young entrepreneur supported, and every vocational trainee empowered represents another life potentially diverted from addiction. That's why Dr Hedwick Chia of the Living Vine Healing Center in Foncha Street Bamenda (who is overwhelmed by the share number of able-bodied youths brought to his center as drug addicts) is categorical that rehabilitation alone is not enough. Making sure the teaming graduate are employed meaningfully is the one way out.

The promised FCFA 50 billion package could become a powerful instrument in that effort if implemented transparently and equitably. Beyond financing youth enterprises, it could restore confidence among a generation eager to contribute to national development.

Government should therefore provide a clear update on the programme's status, including timelines, funding arrangements, eligibility criteria and accountability mechanisms. At the same time, investments in vocational education, agriculture, digital innovation and small business development should be accelerated, while rehabilitation centres, mental health services and community awareness campaigns are expanded to support those already struggling with addiction.

The wisdom of Muteff's elders still rings true. Young people thrive when they have purpose, opportunity and hope. When those are absent, destructive alternatives often fill the vacuum.

Hon. Agho Oliver's intervention should therefore be seen not simply as a parliamentary question but as a timely call for accountability and urgency. In the fight against rising drug abuse, empowering young people is not merely a campaign promise to be remembered; it is a national imperative whose time for implementation is now.