Bamenda is also known as Abakwa Town . It is a city in northwestern Cameroon and capital of the North West Region. The city is said to have a population of about 500,000 people. Bamenda is known for its cool climate and scenic hilly location. Bamenda is the founding place and seat of the main opposition political party in the Cameroons, the Social Democratic Front (SDF), and the home of its leader, John Fru Ndi. There is a large military presence throughout the city.

Bamenda is also the birthplace of the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC), a group asking for the restoration of the former British Southern Cameroons, a territory that covers the English-speaking regions of North West and South West. The SCNC was born in Bamenda in 1994, after the All Anglophone Conference (AAC2) issued the Bamenda Declaration in which it had asked the government of President Paul Biya to respond to all anglophone grievances stated in the Buea Declaration of 1993, or face the wrath of the people of the Southern Cameroons. The Cameroon government failed to respond to the Bamenda Declaration and since then, the SCNC has categorically maintained that it now considers the restoration of the independence of the Southern Cameroons to be final and irrevocable.

Citizens from the North West region have been collectively wrongfully referred to as “Bamenda”. The Francophones negatively refers to every Anglophone as “Le Bamenda “. Citizens of Bamenda as well as other parts of the North West Region are determined, hard work and always goes for what they want despite the odds. They respect the culture, hierarchy, but if you mess up with them, they will get back to you. They are united in what they want to do and most importantly they love where they come from. They love their region and can do everything to die for it. This was seen a few weeks ago when traders in Bamenda protested the increase of stall prices and the governor of the NWR was forced to cancel the decision of the government delegate. It is common knowledge that the North West is the political heartbeat of the Cameroons. in fact they are are a no nonsense people.

However, the region, as well as the Bamenda city because of its steadfastness to the opposition ideals, has been punished by the regime of Paul Biya. There are no state infrastructure or investments in the region, money hardly circulates in the region. The roads are terrible and seem to be one of the worst road networks in the country. The ring road which President Paul Biya personally promised to tar more than ten years ago still languishes in bad shapes. Yet, the CPDM selfish and greedy elites from the region and city have been one of those to be the first to rally a call of Paul Biya to change the constitution in 2008, run in 2011 and are still calling on him to run in 2018.

Attached are pictures of small Mankon road. These pictures are representative of most of the roads in the North West Region. The coalition for Civil Society, NWR is accusing the appointed Government Delegate of the City of misusing public tax money without fixing the roads.

However, the problem is bigger than that of the city delegate. It is a leadership problem in the country. It is the problem of a very bad system of government. It is the problem of corrupt means of offering contracts to companies who take care of these roads. It is a problem which reflects every sector in the Cameroons under the administration of Paul Biya

The system of appointing a government delegate to lord over the elected representative of the people is very wrong and just represent the continued subjugation of the people. The Bamenda people must as usual rise up and take action. They deserved good roads too.

How long will the people be subjugated and humiliated? Yaoundé sits and appoints people to lord over the regions. Decentralization is a mess and we see how dysfunctional the system could be. People from the North West region, as well as Cameroonians from other parts of the country, deserved better social amenities.

#EnoughOfBiya

God is still saying something.