Five Divisions in NW cut off from Regional capital!.

Accessing the regional headquarters, Bamenda by road from five divisions including Boyo, Momo, Ngoketunjia, Bui and Donga Mantung, has become mini- hell for those who dare using the roads that have been barricaded by Amba fighters.

While some of the roads have been blocked for years, others have gone for months with security forces looking away as residents groan in frustration.

Presently, commuters from the divisions without road access to Bamenda are painstakingly covering longer distances through alternative roads and spending huge sums of money and longer hours to get to their destinations.

Asides high-level insecurity punctuated by kidnappings for ransom, highway robbery and mindless killings, travelling across parts of the North West Region has become nightmarish for many.

The situation has continued to impact negatively on lives and businesses in the region. 

Nightmare for Boyo residents, others 

The Fundong-Njinikom-Belo-Bamenda stretch of road has remained blocked for over a month now. 

Since June 16, vehicles plying the stretch of road have remained grounded, following a move to block the road by armed gunmen operating in the division. The move was provoked by a decision by security forces and some businesspersons to clean up the Belo commercial centre for the resumption of business activities.

The Belo commercial centre had been abandoned by businesspersons since the armed conflict escalated in 2017. 

It was not until last month that some courageous members of the community joined the military for a cleanup so businesses, which had been relocated to the hinterlands, could return to the urban centre.

The said move reportedly angered the fighters. The situation was further compounded by the recent extrajudicial killings of some youth in Big Babanki, a neigbouring village to Belo Subdivision.

Separatist fighters, we gathered, had vowed that until the military withdraws from the area, the road will remain blocked.

As late as last week, some vehicles attempted transporting passengers to Bamenda, but ran into Amba fighters in Baingo, a locality in Belo Subdivision.

The gunmen are said to have opened fire on one of the vehicles, wounding one of the passengers, who later died of the bullet wounds at the Mbingo Baptist Hospital.

We also gathered that a members of a family, who had travelled from Kumba to Fundong, with the corpse of one of theirs on Saturday July 15, were bundled into a gendarmerie cell. 

According to sources on the ground, security forces had accused the family of having links with Amba fighters, questioning how they succeeded to travel along the Bamenda-Fundong stretch without hitches. 

We learnt at press time that some of them have been released. The road blockage has caused enormous pain to the community members who now grapple with price hikes of basic commodities.

While the Fundong-Bamenda stretch of road remains blocked, businesspersons, especially in Fundong, get their supplies from Wum in neigbouring Menchum Division, while the military, with the use of armoured cars, also transport goods from Bamenda, which they deliver to some economic operators. 

The grounding of vehicles has brought untold sufferings to the population, especially sick persons who have to travel long distances to seek medical care. 

Days back, a video footage on social media showed a sick man being transported to hospital in Mbingo in a wheelbarrow!

Ngoketunjia, Bui, Donga Mantung bearing brunt

Ngoketunjia, Bui and Donga Mantung Divisions are also amongst the hardest hit areas affected by Amba fighters’-imposed road blockages.

For several years, travelers struggling to reach Bui Division have been unable to access the area from Bamenda through Ndop. 

It is same scenario for those travelling to and from Donga Mantung Division. 

Commuters have been accessing the three divisions of Ngoketunjia, Bui and Donga Mantung only via the West Region, especially via the Noun and Bamboutos Divisions. 

Besides being costly, the journey, according to road users, is also torturous due to the long distances passengers cover. 

The blocking of the Bamessing road in Ngokejunjia Division, has adversely affected movements to other parts of the North West Region.

For months, the stretch of the Bamenda-Ndop road has remained permanently blocked. It was blocked by Amba fighters in Bamessing, under self-styled ‘Major General’ Sagon. 

Fighters had blocked the road in protest of the creation of a military base in Bamessing. They have since conditioned the reopening of the road on the withdrawal of security forces from the said area.

The situation has since brought unbearable sufferings on denizens of Ngoketunjia, who have now opted for bumpy and inaccessible roads to reach Bamenda. 

Patients in desperate need of medical care heading to Shisong Cardiac Hospital and the Banso Baptist Hospital in Kumbo, have also not been able to undertake such lifesaving journeys due to the blockage of the Bamenda-Ndop-Kumbo road. 

Bamenda-Mbengwi road also blocked

Movements into and out of Momo Division, have also been petrifying for travelers for months now. 

Movements along the Bamenda-Mbengwi road hasn’t been possible since March this year, when separatist fighters imposed a ban on the stretch in the wake of Senatorial Elections. Road users heading to Momo Division now reach the area only through Bali. 

Movements to the division, along the Bamenda-Mbengwi road became impossible when Amba fighters made public an order prohibiting, till further notice, circulation on the stretch.

A message circulated then, purportedly from Ambazonia activist, Capo Daniel, read "Mbengwi road is suspended for…operations…till further notice".

The roadblock is said to have badly affected the economy of Mbengwi, with locals paying the heavy price. 

Businesspersons are also said to be running out of stock with health facilities equally witnessing scarcity in medication due to the difficulties in accessing the division. Access to healthcare has been negatively impacted with many lives lost.

Brisk business for soldiers, others

While civilian businesspersons are said to be gnashing their teeth and counting their losses, defence and security forces appear to be making a fortune out of the situation.

Following the blockages of major roads in the North West Region, security forces, who frequently make rounds to the said areas in armoured vehicles, are said to be making brisk business from the situation. Security forces are, for the most parts, now in charge of supplying goods of basic necessity to areas affected by the roadblocks. 

Locals say security forces, apparently taking advantage of the insecurity situation, now charge businesspersons higher sums to get their goods transported. The business persons are now turning the burden on buyers.

Glimmer of hope for affected areas

In what has been interpreted as giving a ray of hope to the trapped residents in divisions affected by roadblocks, government has announced special security measures to restore movements on the stretches.

Speaking on state media Monday, North West Governor, Adolphe Lele L’Afrique, said security forces were working to ensure the return of movements along roads blocked by separatist fighters.

He assured that “…the main focus of our security forces now is to reopen the main roads from the control of those terrorists who are organising illegal patrols on these roads”.

He then recalled that: “The Minister of Public Works visited the North West Region recently and reassured the population that the Ring Road project is going to start…the tarring of the road passing through Bamenda to Mamfe is also going to be done…meaning that in the coming months, the poor state of roads in the North West Region will be improved upon to allow economic activities to resume”.