Ngoketunjia, Donga Mantung, Bui: Population in agony as Amba fiat renders road impassable for two months.

Thousands of persons living in the three divisions have been going through thick and thin to travel in and out of their divisions since the separatist fighters caused the road to be impassable. The injunction order was passed November 2022 by the separatist fighters on the main road from Bamenda to Ngoketunjia.

In a voice message that circulated on social media, separatist fighters warned that no vehicle should use the road from Bamenda to Ngoketunjia until when the Rapid Intervention Battalion, BIR, soldiers will be withdrawn from Bamesssing village in the Ndop central subdivision.

According to information from some individuals who were frequent users of the road, they are now forced to pay huge sums of money to go through Mbouda or Bafoussam in the West region, before reaching their home towns.

Businessmen bear brunt

Speaking to The Guardian Post, Shu Elvis, a popular businessman in Bamunka, Ndop recounts that before he reaches Ndop with his goods, he has to pay triple the amount he used to pay from Bamenda.

"It has really been a difficult time for us business people because right now I only buy from Bafoussam. I use the road from Mbouda through Balikumbat, Bambalang before I get to Bamunka. Before I used to spend 15,000 FCFA for my goods to reach Ndop, but right now I spend close to 50,000 FCFA," Shu Elvis said.

The businessman, who deals in building materials, added that he does not make profit anymore, because of the huge amount of money he spends on transportation.

"I can tell you that all what I am doing now is just to sustain my family and to keep the business alive and not to fail my customers. The moment you add just 50 FCFA on the price you discover that people start running away," Shu added.

Meanwhile, in Donga Mantung and Bui divisions, the situation is worse because most of the inhabitants pass through Bafoussam to reach their destinations. Many say it is the easiest route as of now.

A student, who gave her name simply as Ernestine, said: "Imagine that I left Bamenda on Friday morning and paid 18,000 FCFA. We arrived Nkambe at about 7pm, after going through Bafoussam and faced several encounters with some of the 'boys' on the road".

The student, who went for a death celebration in Nkambe, said she may end up not going to the village anymore if the condition of the roads remains the same.

We also gathered that other roads through Small Babanki, which were being used by the population, have also been banned by the same separatist fighters.

Even those who are sick and need evacuation out of the divisions are forced to go through the long distance and earthly roads before reaching their destinations.

In an interview granted to The Guardian Post on December 10, 2022, Handerson Quetong Kongeh, Senior Divisional Officer, SDO, of Ngoketunjia, had made it clear to the public that he is not in charge of deployment and redeployment of security forces in Cameroon and that he can never decide where forces should be stationed.

"If they want the BIR to leave they should go to Yaounde and see President Paul Biya. BIR can be there for more than five years, and if that be the case, is this how old mothers and the population will be suffering?" Handerson Quetong said.

While frowning at the separatist fighters who have warned that no individual should even trek on the road, the SDO said there will never be anything like independence. He added that the earlier they stop extorting and suffering their parents, the better.

"There's nothing like independence and there will be nothing like independence; their children's children will come and live in this same Cameroon," the SDO added.

SDO on solutions to rescue the situation

The Senior Divisional Officer added that measures are being put in place to make sure that circulation resumes on the highway. He said they have held meetings with syndicates of driver's unions and the security forces.

"Together with the security forces, we have held a meeting with syndicates of drivers who are plying the road to make sure that we destroy fear in them so they can resume their activities on the road. The forces are there and there is enough security on the highway, but these drivers are still frightened," the SDO added. 

Quetong Kongeh added that they are also planning to take travellers by military escorts to and from Bamenda to Ndop, Kumbo and Nkambe, if the situation does not change.

"We are reaching a stage where we will call travelers to come and we take them on a chartered escort because the road that is not passing affects all the national road number 11, even Kumbo and Nkambe. So, we hope that when the escort will come, passengers will keep fear away and follow," he noted.

This is, however, not the first time that separatist fighters have rendered the road impassable. In May 2020, they announced another lockdown on the highway, which lasted for about a month.