By amande anabong atabong and zohra bensemra
Douala, Cameroon (Reuters) – Zakiyaou Mohamed Aphanta from another night of sleepless nights on his economic motorcycle in Cameroon’s Douala and stretched his legs under a gas station that offered shelter from the rain.
The 33-year-old native of Northern Cameroon, who spends his night at the station because he can’t afford a room, is one of the thousands of motorcycle taxi, or “Bennskin”, drivers in the port who make a living starting at 100 CFA francs, or about 18 US cents.
The word Bnskin has two meanings: It means how drivers bend their bodies to continue and drive their bicycles, and how they bend and how they bend when passing draffic traffic.
Although he is sometimes dismissed by government officials who blame him for petty crimes and disruptions, Bannskin drivers say their profit includes a big problem, lack under President Paul BIYA for four decades.
Biya, 92, is seeking an eighth term which was voted on Sunday. The results are to be announced.
“I make motorcycles because I have no choice
“Everyone is tired. We want change but people are afraid to speak.”
Biya vows to fix the ‘beater’ of unemployment
Cameroon’s unemployment rate stands at 3.5%, although this youth figure is very high. The International Organization for Migration says unemployment among 15-35 year olds is 39.3%.
Running on the Slogan “greatness and hope,” said Biya help is on the way.
During his main campaign rally on October 7 in Maroua, the capital of the Northern region where Mohamed is from, Biya acknowledged the concerns of the youth about the youth unemployment rate and promised to address it.
“I will not rest until significant progress has been made,” he said.
These promises are crying out for ouana, the benskin driver said he wants to be voted by biya.
“I hope to change, and I will vote for change,” he said, without specifying where the challenge was to return.
Ngouana, 36, once worked as a nurse in the central city of Monatele, but gave up the job and its minimum monthly salary of 10,000 CFA francs (about $18).
The single mother of three does a lot these days shuttling passengers through Douala and running a small elevator assembly.
He dreams of making a garage – a hole in the wall full of hubcaps and oil containers – modern, but because now he doesn’t have the means to do that.
“I work every day,” he said with a fond smile.
“In hell, there is no rest.”
Parents fear for the children’s future
The driver of another man from Bennskin, Carine Alphonsine Kegne, 39, also described life in Cameroon as Hellish, her life has been marked by difficulties since she was a teenager.
He dropped out of high school after his mother’s death to care for his siblings, which thwarted his dreams of becoming a professional football scout.
Although he eventually managed to dabble in some domestic sports, and has the awards and accolades to prove it, he had no way of turning this into a stable career.
One day, his friend lent him his motorcycle to take home, and someone mistreated the benskin driver and asked for a ride. He was reluctant but accepted, and when he received the money he saw that he had found a new way of survival.
Now in her late thirties she is a mother of two, she rides every day to earn money, and to show herself how her children will support her if conditions do not improve.
“I want to save enough to leave Cameroon and get a new start.”
Noubissi Maturin Albert, was made to live in Cameroon, but he meets with the thought of how his conditions and the owners of Benskin will improve soon.
The 30-year-old once dreamed of becoming an engineer, but he had to abandon his studies due to lack of money and now he is afraid to run to his classmates who have managed to get degrees and get jobs.
Albert voted against the opposition in the 2018 election and was “very disappointed” when Biya was declared the winner.
Allegations of voter intimidation, violence and vote – stuffing – further fueled doubts about the outcome, but the government dismissed them and Biya remained in power.
This year, Albert did not intend to vote at all.
“I have lost faith in the religion of elections and government,” he said.
(Reporting by Amindeh Blaise Atabong and Zohra Bensemraeding Robbie Corey-Boulet, Alexandra Hudson)
