We Cannot Risk Our Lives and Businesses to Please an Academic Fraudster – Buea Business Owners Speak.

For a week, life in Buea, capital of Ambazonia has been very timid following the sealing of more than 600 businesses premises by colonial mayor of Buea as punishment for respecting ghost towns declared by the Interim Government of Ambazonia. Mayor Ekema Patrick had gone ahead to respect his promise of sealing business premises that respected the ghost towns.

Apart from banks that were reopened on Wednesday last week, the other sealed businesses were only to be opened upon the payment of the sum of 50000 francs each. The business owners were also expected to sign an undertaking committing themselves not to yield to the call for ghost towns or they have their businesses forever.

Majority of the business owners therefore decided not to pay or sign any undertaking thereby staying away from their shops until Wednesday August 1^st. After his failed march for peace, colonial mayor Ekema Patrick was forced to succumb to the determination of the business owners not to pay or sign any undertaking, by declaring a so-called clemency for all those whose businesses were sealed. He however promised to seal them again next Monday if the people still go ahead to respect the ghost towns.

BaretaNews therefore caught up with some of the business owners in Buea on Wednesday August 1^st to get their views on the closure of their shops.

“Giving him that money and signing that undertaking would have been an act of self-incrimination. I have the right to close my shop anytime and any day. I have paid his (Ekema’s) taxes and he doesn’t have the right to tell me when to lock and not to lock my shop. It is my shop and my money, it is not council money” said a Molyko based shop owner whose business was also sealed.

“My brother, when Ambas and La Republic fight, the masses suffer. But we the people must be wise. Ekema and his military cannot protect us but we see Amba boys in the quarters every day. So, we better the respect the instructions of the leaders of the struggle because at least they are all fighting for us all. So, it is our own sacrifice for the revolution. Ekema can seal this shop for three years, but so long as the goods inside will not get rotten, I cannot respect his foolish order” another shop owner noted.

The third person interviewed was very blunt and hard on the colonial mayor.

“Young man (referring to BaretaNews reporter), I cannot afford to risk my life and business because I want to please or respect the ego of an academic fraudster. This struggle is more than Paul Biya, so Ekema cannot be the one to stop it. I respect the ghost town not because I am afraid of Amba boys but because I also want to make my own sacrifice for our freedom. In fact we the population are afraid of the military and not Amba boys … don’t mind that his (Ekema’s) noise, I ‘ll see how he will keep on sealing shops until the struggle is over. I’ll advise him to just seal-off the whole town for respecting ghost town.”

From the views of the three business owners contacted, it is clear that the Mayors instructions shall be again defiled next Monday which is another ghost town day. It is therefore going to be a long fight for Mayor Ekema Patrick.

With a bounty of 3 million francs now set by the interim government for anyone who will arrest or provide lead information to Mayor Ekema’s arrests, it is only left to be seen if he will continue with his colonial rampaging in the town next week.

James Agbor