Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been prominently promoting youth organizations during his rule, and observers differ on whether he is motivated by altruism or personal gain — though most are betting on the latter.

“Long Live Egypt … Thanks to the Strength of Its Youth” is the name of a program he launched Sept. 13 with the stated purpose of grooming young people for political leadership and preparing them to assume political and administrative state responsibilities. The goal is to form the “nucleus” of a young society that thinks, learns and innovates in accordance with the program.

Conversely, though, some people believe the tacit aim is to exploit the youth and form a political support system for the president, particularly considering that Sisi is not affiliated with any political parties and depends on the military’s popular support base.

On Jan. 9, Sisi launched the “2016, Year of the Youth” campaign, claiming that he is seeing strong interest among young people in the political arena. It didn’t go unnoticed, however, that the campaign launch came at the same time that police forces began an unprecedented detention movement to suppress opposition against the president. The crackdown particularly seemed to target those who rejected the protest law and objected to the surrender of Tiran and Sanafir islands to Saudi Arabia. The detainees were jailed on charges of seeking to overthrow the government and spreading disorder.