By DANIELA ITOE NGUM
The President of the Buea Road Motor Park in Kumba, Noah Kwo has disclosed that over 700 persons have left the town of Kumba with their luggage and family through the park to other towns they consider safe. Kwo disclosed the information last Thursday, August 22, 2019 in an interview with reporters at the Buea Road Motor Park.
“When you come to the park early in the morning, most passengers you meet will tell you they are going to Douala, Limbe and Buea. We don’t know why they are leaving the town. We have tried to ask them what is the problem but no one is talking”, Kwo said.
Kwo called on the government to do everything possible to solve the ongoing crisis for the sake of the population and the economy of the town.
Meantime, the town has witnessed a great population reduction following the insecurity and persistent lockdown/ghost town syndromes that has caused many to relocate to safer areas.
It should be recalled that same time last year, most towns in the North West and South West Regions of the country witnessed mass movement of its denizens to other towns for fear of the unknown.
Some of the fleeing population only returned in December last year when the situation was somehow normalized following the festivities.
Talking to one Fred Tabot, a father of three who has decided to relocate to another town, he said the fate of school resumption in Kumba is still very bleak. Mr. Tabot said last year he stayed back hoping things will return to normalcy and his children can go to school, but to no avail. “I can’t continue to wait, my children will soon be of age in the same class for more than three years. More to that nothing is moving well, everywhere is grounded.”
Another traveller said “The 16-day ghost town is my problem. I cannot stay indoors for 16 days without doing anything, how will my family feed?” he questioned.
Most fleeing population have confirmed that the mass exodus is as a result of the 16 days lockdown announced by the separatists in their ongoing struggle for independence.