Justified Priority To Youth, Women

Political campaign periods enable leadership aspirants to define their vision for society.  It is even more pertinent for an election to a top job, like that of President of the Republic. In a country where much is still to be done with the youth and the female folk who constitute the largest population size, there is no better way to woo voters than addressing their needs. That is definitely what President Paul Biya set out to do when he visited Maroua, capital of the Far North Region from 7-8 October, 2025 during his maiden outing for the campaign trail. His campaign team and supporters have been on the field since 27 September, 2025 when the campaigns officially kicked-off for candidates retained for the 12 October Presidential race. But, many had wanted to hear from the horse’ mouth.     
Understandably, all the 12 candidates vying to govern Cameroon within the next seven years have not ignored the concerns raised by different segments of society, as the case may be. While each of them fight to capture the attention of voters, there is the level of realism and weight that their political messages carry.    Putting all that on the balance, the incumbent sought to take the centre stage. By visiting Maroua that he carved out into a region during his early years in office, which has since then demonstrated unconditional support for his policies, Mr Biya had to drive home the key messages in his 11-point manifesto for the 2025 presidential election. It is therefore not surprising that he paid particular attention to the present predicaments of the youth and women in the country.     
While the youth face the chronic problem of unemployment, women have increasingly become targets of all sort of violence. Worse still, some cases of gender-based assaults were perpetrated in homes where they are expected to find protection. Faced with such a growing dilemma, President Paul Biya could not be indifferent at this crucial moment when Cameroonians are being called upon to take a major decision concerning their future leadership.  With regards to the preoccupation of women, he pointed out that: “You know how much I value improving the status of women. We have made great strides in this area in recent years. We are determined to continue these efforts.” This is not just about promises, but a clear reminder of past achievements and a pointer to the tasks to come.     
A similar desire to improve on the living conditions of the youth was evident in the message that Mr Biya had for youth in the Far North and the rest of the country. He has over the years applied different programmes to facilitate youth integration to existing public and para-public establishments, create jobs that co...