Amindeh Blaise Atabong and Zohra Bensemra
DOUALA, Cameroon (Reuters) – Zakiyaou Mohamed awoke from another night of rough sleeping on his motorcycle in Cameroon’s economic capital Douala, stretching his limbs under the canopy of a gas station that provided shelter from the rain.
The 33-year-old from northern Cameroon, who spends the night at the station because he can’t afford a room, is one of thousands of motorcycle taxis, or “benskines,” drivers in the port city who make a living from fares that start at 100 CFA francs, or about 18 US cents.
The term “benskin” has two meanings: it refers to the way riders bend their bodies to get on and steer the bike, and the way they bend and twist through Douala’s massive traffic jams.
Although they are sometimes demonized by government officials who blame them for petty crime and disorder, desperate drivers say their plight encompasses a larger, more structural problem: a lack of opportunities under President Paul Biya, who has ruled the central African nation for more than four decades.
Biya, 92, is seeking an eighth term in Sunday’s vote. The results are not yet published.
“I ride a motorcycle because I have no choice. I have nothing to do except because there is no work,” Mohamed told Reuters as he prepared for a long day of ferrying customers through potholed and muddy streets.
“Everyone is tired. We want change, but people are afraid to speak up.”
BIYA promises to remedy the scourge of unemployment
The official unemployment rate in Cameroon is 3.5 percent, although the figure is much higher among young people. The International Organization for Migration states that unemployment among Cameroonians aged 15-35 is 39.3%.
Appearing under the slogan “Greatness and Hope”, Biya insisted that help was on the way.
At his only campaign rally on October 7. In Maroua, the capital of the northern region where Mohamed hails from, Biya acknowledged widespread frustration at the “scourge” of youth unemployment and vowed to address it if he is given another term.
“I will not rest until there is significant progress,” he said.
Those promises ring hollow for Acceline Ngouana, a beskin driver who said she wants Biya voted out.
“I expect change and I will vote for change,” she said, without specifying which challenger she would back.
Ngouana, 36, once worked as a nurse in the central city of Monatele but gave up the job and its meager monthly salary of 10,000 CFA francs (about $18).
The single mother of three earns extra these days by ferrying passengers through Douala and running a small mechanic workshop.
She dreams of making the garage, a hole in the wall crammed with hubcaps and oil pans, more modern, but for now she lacks the means to do so.
“I work every day,” she smiled.
“There is no rest in hell.”
PARENTS ARE AFRAID FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S FUTURE
A 39-year-old female driver, Carine Alphonsine Kegne, also described life in Cameroon as hellish, as her life has been marked by hardships since she was a teenager.
She dropped out of high school after her mother’s death to care for her siblings, which derailed her own dreams of becoming a professional soccer referee.
Although she eventually managed to referee some local matches and has the medals and trophies to prove it, she was unable to turn this passion into a sustainable career.
One day, a friend lent her his motorcycle to take her home, and someone mistook her for a Benskin driver and asked her for a ride. She hesitated, but agreed, and when she received the ticket, she realized that she had found a new way to survive.
Now in her thirties and a single mother of two, she commutes daily to earn a living and wonders how her children will survive if conditions don’t improve.
“I just want to save enough to leave Cameroon and find a new start.
For his part, Noubissi Mathurin Albert is determined to stay in Cameroon, but it is difficult for him to imagine how quickly conditions will improve for him and his fellow drivers.
The 30-year-old once dreamed of becoming an engineer, but had to drop out due to lack of funds, and now fears facing former classmates who managed to graduate and find work.
Albert voted for the opposition candidate in 2018. in the election and was “very disappointed” when Biya was declared the winner.
Allegations of voter intimidation, violence and ballot tampering cast doubt on the credibility of the result, but the government dismissed them and Biya remained in power.
Albert had no intention of voting this year.
“I have lost faith in the electoral process and the government,” he said.
(Reporting by Amindeh Blaise Atabong and Zohra Bensemra Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet, Alexandra Hudson)