A Forest of Silence: Surviving the Anglophone War
In 2019, in the early hours of the morning, on my way to school, I was kidnapped by some unknown armed men. With nothing but my books, dream and hope for a better future, my face was covered with a dress, thrown onto a motorbike and taken to a forest. The roar of the engine of the motorbike drowned my fear, and every second felt like eternity. When the bike stopped, I found myself in the deep in a forest surrounded by an army of unknown armed men. While in the forest, my pleas meant nothing to them; I was seriously beaten with bats and chains and threatened with death. The only thing that kept me alive was the ransom my family was forced to pay for my release. My only crime was simple: I was going to school. A young boy chasing education in a world that tried to deny him the right to.
Since 2014, Cameroon has been suffering from violent fratricidal and internecine wars: the Anglophone Crisis in the English-speaking region of Cameroon, the Boko Haram insurgency in the Far North regions of Cameroon and the refugee crisis in the Eastern region of Cameroon. All of which continue to witness an escalated, protracted armed conflict recording widespread human rights violations, destruction of schools, health facilities, public infrastructure, and severe humanitarian consequences (International Crisis Group, 2022).
My experience as a victim of violent extremism was shaped by the Anglophone crisis. Due to persistent grievances over linguistic, cultural, and political marginalisation between French and English Cameroon, the Anglophone conflict erupted. The crisis, which started as a peaceful protest of lawyers and teachers demanding the restoration of the Anglo-Saxon legal and educational systems, quickly became violent due to the harsh military reactions from the government. By late 2017, a group of non-state actors who called themselves the Ambazonia Defence Force took up arms and declared the independence of English Cameroon. Since then, the government has continuously relied on military interventions rather than an inclusive dialogue to solve the crisis. In 2018, separatist leadership and fighters banned school in the two English-speaking regions and declared Monday as “ghost town”: a day of rest to destabilise the economy and to draw attention to their cause.
From Victim to Voice: Reclaiming Youth Power in the YPS Agenda
My kidnap experience on Thursday, 14 of November 2019, changed me forever. It reminded me that in some parts of the world courage can be as simple as walking to class and freedom can be taken in a heartbeat. While traumatised after the experience, it also taught me resilience and that no matter how dark the night could be, the will to rise again and be a change can never be kidnapped. My experience wasn’t just marked by brutality but also by the wasted potential of young people who might have been leaders, engineers, or teachers, but conflict had stolen their life choices. My experience, therefore, is shaped by dedication to peacebuilding and social progress. I was called for a greater cause: from a survivor of violent extremism to an advocate for peace.
In 2020, desiring to make a modest contribution to the peace process in Cameroon, especially in the English-speaking regions of Cameroon, I founded and co-lead a student-led peacebuilding initiative called the University Lecture on Peace in Africa. Aimed at building peaceful communities, fighting hate speech, and advancing social cohesion, the lecture shakes youth leaders, student leaders, and women peacebuilders, imparts skills, and challenges them into active citizenship and responsible leadership toward building a peaceful Cameroon. The lecture combines two things: traditional, commemorative, theoretical lectures by high-level or otherwise distinguished persons and a programme of innovative, practical exercises based on the Cameroon National Youth Policy, UN Security Council Resolution 2250, on Youth, Peace and Security, UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security and the AU Continental Framework on Youth, Peace and Security.
The lecture is not simply another conference where young people sit and are spoken to by experts from a world different from theirs. In the lecture they imagine scenarios, assume roles, take up positions and learn by doing. They go away changed and empowered to contribute meaningfully to their communities and their world. Since 2020, we have hosted the event in several universities and institutes of higher learning in the Southwest and Northwest regions of Cameroon and have reached out to over 18,000 students, youth leaders, young politicians, development experts and practitioners by engaging them in active participation in peacebuilding.
The Personal Is Political
In the past years, I have worked across the world. I have worked with the Fund For Peace, a US-based organisation that works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security. The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Office of Cameroon and Central Africa, where I led programmes on women and peacebuilding, democracy, political parties and youth participation, trade unions and media. I am currently a member of the European Feminist Foreign Policy Progressive Voices Collective (FFPPVC), where I actively contribute to shaping a feminist approach to foreign policy by engaging in research, policy analysis, advocacy, and coalition-building to promote gender equality, human rights, and social justice on a global scale.
At the national level, through the University Lecture on Peace in Africa, I developed a comprehensive youth action plan policy paper. This paper, distributed to state ministries, the Prime Minister, and international organisations in Cameroon, advocates for the Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) agenda, emphasising the vital role of young people in conflict resolution and peacebuilding efforts. My commitment to understanding conflict first-hand led me to travel extensively across Cameroon, Central Africa, the Lake Chad Basin and Africa at large. I have visited a lot of conflict-affected regions within the continent, collecting vital data and conducting interviews, delving into the complexities faced by communities impacted by violence. These experiences expanded my knowledge and reinforced my determination to contribute meaningfully to conflict resolution initiatives.
My professional experience has been enriched by my engagement with youth and women in peacebuilding governance. Every community I have encountered tells a unique story: youths are caught between a system that ignores them and conflict that exploits them. However, the youths remain the greatest hope for peace globally. Across Africa, youth make up more than 60% of the entire population, with them mostly leading innovative grassroots initiatives, mediating local disputes, countering extremist narratives and rebuilding social cohesion. However, the works of youths are mostly invisible to policymakers and often underfunded by institutions who keep seeing youths as beneficiaries rather than partners.
What the YPS Agenda Promised and Where We Stand
Before its adoption in 2015, the Youth, Peace and Security Agenda was aimed at changing the view about it. Resolution 2250, which was adopted by the United Nations Security Council, recognised that young people were not just victims or perpetrators in conflicts but active agents of peace. At the continental level, the African Union later reinforced its commitment to the YPS agenda by adopting a Continental Framework on Youth Peace and Security with the aim of integrating youth voices into peace processes at every level.
On paper, these frameworks and policies seem very transformative, but in practice, their implementation is very slow. At the national level, youth consultation is often symbolic, and participation is tightly controlled. Many state governments have limited interest in integrating these plans with their national agenda; limited funding also poses a significant challenge. Youth peacebuilders often feel discouraged and frustrated, as they are often celebrated in speeches and sidelined in decision-making.
In my work as a youth peacebuilder under the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), I have witnessed how bureaucracy and tokenism continuously stifle innovation. More often youth are invited to share their perspectives with little encouragement for the work they do, and in most cases, they are rarely invited to co-design strategies or allocate budgets. The YPS agenda risks becoming an intention framework that fails to deliver lasting change.
A New Kind of Peace Leadership
To ensure the YPS agenda meets its aspiration, there is a need to revisit and rethink what youth leadership looks like in peace building. There is a need to ensure that the voices of youth peacebuilders are heard, loud and clear, and they are involved in each and every process. During my field research at the Lake Chad Basin, I have seen youth groups take up responsibilities and initiatives that international actors could learn from to ensure sustainability. These youth groups have taken up community-led early warning systems, digital storytelling projects, etc., all of which have proven more effective in rebuilding trust in the community and a sense of ownership. One outstanding piece of feedback I learnt was that these youth groups recognise that peace, to them, is not imported but cultivated from within.
From Tokenism to Partnership
There is also a need for a shift from tokenism to partnership for youth programmes. Most youth programmes are often performative and offer limited room for the transfer of resources and authority. Youth programmes and youth-led initiatives should go beyond ages to intersect other aspects such as disability and sex. Provision of funding opportunities, holding government accountable and making youth agendas public would advance YPS. True peacebuilding requires recognising and amplifying diverse voices, especially those not opportune to sit in decision-making rooms or speak on microphones.
Peace is personal
The difference between fear and freedom, silence and self-determination is my keen reminder of my journey to personhood. Not from an abstract standpoint but from a personal drive, my journey started in fear, but it now continues in hope. When I look at young people who have survived gender-based violence, displacement, radicalisation and abduction, I see resilience, courage and hope that can’t be measured. Without being empowered, they are leading, innovating and rebuilding. Such youths need recognition, resources and respect.
Conclusion: From Policy to Possibility
Ten years ago, the YPS agenda spoke to a bold idea: peace is more sustainable when youth are its architects. Yet, to date, the agenda remains undermined but extremely important and urgent. There is therefore a need to move from promise to practice, from consultation to co-creation. Investing in youth programmes should not be charity but strategy. The future of YPS does not rest in conference halls but in classrooms, community centres and digital spaces where young people are actively changing the paradigm.
About the Author
Epah Mfortaw Nyukechen is a dynamic development practitioner and policy analyst with extensive experience in strategic planning, policy dialogue, and the design and implementation of governance and development programmes. Guided by a deep commitment to justice, inclusion, and peace, Epah exemplifies resilience and visionary leadership in advancing good governance and social transformation across Cameroon, Central Africa, and Africa.
Epah is currently a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of Birmingham -UK, where he is completing a master’s in international development with a concentration on conflict, security, and development. He recently concluded with distinction the German DAAD fully funded Master’s in Development and Governance at the University of Duisburg-Essen – Germany, following his earlier fully funded studies in Global Leadership, War, and Diplomacy at King’s College London-UK. He holds a BSc in International Relations from the University of Buea-Cameroon.
Epah, who is looking for new challenges, opportunities, networks, and partners, is driven by passion, purpose, and a profound belief in youth leadership. Epah continues to shape discourses on governance, security, and sustainable peace across Africa and beyond. His resilience and disciplined leadership continue to inspire a generation of young Africans working toward sustainable peace and inclusive governance.
Find more about his work here.