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Youth and Nation-Building in Cameroon xiii Preface ‘‘Remember also your creator in the days of your Youth, before the evil days come, and the years draw nigh, when you will say ‘I have no pleasure in them’ (Eccl.12:1)’’. Churchill Ewumbue-Monono has done a brilliant job in his captivating piece ‘‘The Youth and Nation-Building in Cameroon’’. He uses Cameroon’s Youth Day (11th February)asacasestudy.Buthisanalysisof thedifferentyouthdaythemesinCameroon is of great significance not only to Cameroon but also to the entire African continent, where over 60% are below the ages of 20. His idea to launch on this important work was conceived and refined while he was serving as a Senior Diplomat in Addis Ababa. This is the centre and hub of African Unity. His painstaking research which led him to delve into original resources is laudable. The centre piece of Ewumbue-Monono’s argument is that the Youth Days in Africa serve no purpose if they are utilized only for festivity and beautiful parades. These days, should provide a great opportunity for reflection by the youth, their participation in nation building and their future role as leaders. Considering the mess we are in now, how can the youth make a difference? Cameroon is a good example to treat this important issue of the place and role of the African Youth because of the bi-cultural nature of the Cameroon nation. Following the UN sponsored Plebiscite of 11th February 1961, in which the overwhelming majority of Anglophone Cameroonians voluntarily voted to become independent by joining their kith and kin of the French-speaking Republic of Cameroon, some very serious questions are now being asked. And they are the same questions facing all of Africa today; issues of governance, justice, equitable distribution of national resources, ethnicity, marginalization of minority groups etc. How we deal with these issues today, will to a large extent determine what kind of Africa we will have tomorrow. Like Edmund Burke, the distinguished Member of the Parliament of Massachusetts of the 19th Century said ‘‘Tell me the sentiments that prevail in the minds of your youth, and I will tell you what character the next generation will take’’. Now looking at the Cameroon situation, the youth, especially those of English extraction seem to be wondering whether they have not been served with a raw deal. And this stretches through the whole continent, where people of the world are concerned that Africans are not regarded as pawn on the chess board of private prejudices and jaundiced politics and tribal jingoism. Manyyearsago,HisExcellency AhmadouAhidjo, whomsomeholdasthefounding father of modern Cameroon said ‘‘We shall build with enthusiasm a nation of which our youth will be proud’’. Ewumbue-Monono’s work seeks to investigate whether this dream is being pursued and what are its consequences for the rest of the continent. Rt. Rev. Dr. Nyansako-ni-Nku President of the All African Council of Churches (AACC) Buea – February 2009 ...

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