Motorcycle taxi drivers of Cameroon’s Douala long for jobs and escape

By Amindeh Blaise Atabong and Zohra Bensemra

DOUALA, Cameroon (Reuters) -Zakiyaou Mohamed woke up from another night of sleep on his motorcycle in Douala, Cameroon’s economic capital, and stretched his legs under the awning of a gas station to shelter from the rain.

The 33-year-old northern Cameroonian, who spends his nights at the station because he can’t afford a room, is one of thousands of motorcycle taxi or “benskin” drivers in the port city who make ends meet on fares starting from 100 CFA francs, or about 18 US cents.

The term benskin has two meanings: it refers to how riders contort their bodies to get on and off their bikes, and how they bend and twist their way through Douala’s difficult traffic jams.

Although drivers are sometimes demonized by government officials, accused of petty crimes and disorder, Benskin says their plight epitomizes a larger, more structural problem: a lack of opportunity under President Paul Biya, who has ruled the Central African country for more than four decades.

92-year-old Biya appears to be a candidate for an eighth term in the voting held on Sunday. The results have not been announced yet.

“I ride a motorcycle because I have no choice. I have nothing to do but this because there is no work,” Mohamed told Reuters as he prepared for a long day ferrying customers through potholed and muddy streets.

“Everyone is tired. We want change, but people are afraid to speak out.”

BIYA SAYS THE ‘DISCLAUSE OF UNEMPLOYMENT WILL BE FIXED’

Cameroon’s official unemployment rate stands at 3.5%, but the youth figure is much higher. The International Organization for Migration says unemployment among Cameroonians between the ages of 15 and 35 is 39.3 percent.

Biya, who set out with the slogan “Greatness and Hope”, insisted that help was on the way.

At his only campaign rally on October 7 in Maroua, the capital of the northern region where Mohammed is from, Biya acknowledged widespread frustration with the “scourge” of youth unemployment and promised to address it if confirmed for another term.

“I will not rest until significant progress is achieved,” he said.

These words ring hollow for Benskin driver Acceline Ngouana, who says she wants Biya to vote.

“I hope for change and I will vote for change,” he said, without specifying which opponent he would support.

Ngouana, 36, once worked as a nurse in the central town of Monatele, but gave up the job and her meager monthly salary of 10,000 CFA francs (about $18).

The single mother of three earns more money these days by ferrying passengers and running a small repair shop in Douala.

He dreams of making the garage, a hole in the wall full of hubcaps and oil containers, more modern, but for now he lacks the means to do so.

“I work every day,” he said with a wry smile.

“There is no rest in hell.”

PARENTS ARE AFRAID OF THEIR CHILDREN’S FUTURE

Female benskin driver Carine Alphonsine Kegne, 39, also described life in Cameroon as hell; his life had been full of difficulties since his mid-teens.

After his mother’s death, he dropped out of secondary school to look after his siblings, which led him to move away from his dreams of becoming a professional football referee.

Although he eventually managed to referee some domestic matches and had the medals and trophies to prove it, there was no way to turn this passion into a sustainable career.

One day, a friend lent him his motorbike to take home and someone mistook him for a benskin driver and wanted to ride him. He hesitated but agreed, and when he received the fee he realized he had found a new way to survive.

Now in her late thirties and a single mother of two children, she cycles every day to make ends meet and wonders how her children will support themselves if conditions do not improve.

“I want to save enough money to leave Cameroon and start fresh.”

Noubissi Mathurin Albert, on the other hand, is determined to stay in Cameroon, but has difficulty imagining how his and his fellow Benskin pilots’ conditions will improve soon.

The 30-year-old once dreamed of becoming an engineer, but had to abandon his studies due to lack of finances, and now he is afraid of meeting his former classmates who managed to graduate and find a job.

Albert voted for the opposition candidate in the 2018 election and was “very disappointed” when Biya was declared the winner.

Allegations of voter intimidation, violence and ballot box stuffing cast doubt on the credibility of the result, but the government rejected them and Biya remained in power.

This year Albert had no intention of voting.

“I 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)