The Eye Newspaper: Youth Day Celebration at Border Village in Ako ( Ceremony in Pics-Prt Two)

By Haruna Mohammadou

There was fanfare at the newly created Abafum Youth Day Centre in Ako Sub Division in the North West Region of Cameroon. It was Hon. Abe Michael, MP for the Ako/Misaje Special Constituency who added colour to the event. It was a moment of consolidating the good neighborliness between the border villages given the presence of some dignitaries from across Nigeria. The personal representative of the Chairman of the Kurmi Local Council who was flanked by the Chief of Bissola and the Queen Mother were received by the Fon of Abafum into the grandstand. It should be recalled that the neigbouring villages speak the dialect (language). As a matter of fact, the economy of the six villages that make up the Abafum Zone (Youth Day Centre) is in the hand of Nigeria. This is so because the population of these villages hardly use the Francs CFA, they are more verse with the Nigerian Naira. The main problem is the lack of road linking the villages to Ako town. Most of the youths attended secondary school in Nigeria until recently when GSS Buku was created. However, it is very difficult for a stranger to differentiate who is Cameroonian and who is not. Abafum is rich in timber, cocoa and non-timber products Bush onion, bush pepper, Njangsa etc. Unfortunately all these produce are sold in Nigeria due to bad road. Hon. Abe Michael traveled to Abafum on a bike due to the state of nature of the road. He was also opportune to visit GS Ekepio, primary school that has no classrooms not to talk of benches. Hon. Abe Michael upon visiting this school said the construction of classrooms will be top on his agenda. He promised to do his best to see to it that youths who are leaders of tomorrow should feel and enjoy their youthfulness by studying in a conducive environment. "I will make sure that these future leaders should study in good buildings, write on good benches etc", he told this reporter.