North West: Journalist, Jato Richard, weeps as crisis draining Region.

He said the education, health, tourism and agricultural harvests that used to pool thousands to the administrative unit are now in a sorry state.

Jato who holds the title of Taa-Shey Ndeerlah in the Wimbum land said the worst is the sorry state of roads across the regional capital city of Bamenda that has robbed it of its beauty and attractiveness.

Coupled with the insecurity that has bedeviled the city and the Region in general, Jato said businesses are operating at a loss while others have remained shut.

The North West Region and Bamenda, he said, have lost its opportunity to make huge gains from road corridors such as the Bamenda-Mamfe-Enugu corridor would have boost wealth creation and opportunities for growth.

Jato recalled that years ago, thousands of persons who either come to buy foodstuffs across the North West Region or in transit to do business in Nigeria used to spend nights in Bamenda thereby boosting the local economy.

Today, Jato stated that it is painful to see that all those things that use to make the North West Region thick are now history. He said food crops produced in the North West Region that used to be exported to neighouring countries such as Central African Republic, CAR, are no longer available because of insecurity affecting farming.

He wept that some businesses have also been relocated to the neighbouring West Region especially to Bafoussam.

“We no longer have such opportunities here in Bamenda,” Jato lamented, recalling that the North West Region in the past used to top the chart of employment thanks to its once vibrant sector.

The tourism, leisure, cultural and entertainment industries in the Region that used to support employment, he said, have collapsed.

He also mentioned that health facilities such as the St Elizabeth Catholic Hospital Shishong in Nso that used to attract patients from across the Central Africa Subregion has been put out of business due to insecurity.

The hospital, he stated, was among the very drivers of the economy of Bui Division as patients and caregivers use to make use of social and economic facilities in Kumbo, thereby boosting the local economy of the area. 

Today, he said, these things are no longer possible. Jato nonetheless, expressed hope that with increased awareness and concerted efforts, the North West can bounce back.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3539 of Wednesday August 20, 2025