By Moma Sandrine
It is almost 3years since the Anglophone crisis erupted in the North West and South West regions of the country and not much has been put in place to bring a lasting solution.
Recently in Bamenda, several people have been subject to harassment by unidentified individuals who refer to themselves as ‘ambazonian soldiers’. This has created panic amongst denizens of the town who do not know who or what to believe.
Some people have complained of receiving calls from strange numbers, with the callers threatening to kill them should they not send money to them. While some fearing the unknown comply to this, others just tell them that they have nothing to offer.
In other cases, they just ignore the threats. “We know that amba guys sometimes ask for money but with the recent phone call threats, one is tempted to believe that thieves have taken advantage of the situation and are feeding fat from it. I remember receiving a call from a young man who said he is an ambazonian soldier and immediately I sounded like I knew him, he dropped the call and never rang my phone again”, a driver narrated to The SUN.
Some business persons have also complained about receiving several calls from different people saying they are ambazonian soldiers and that they needed their own contribution to the struggle. “I have received so many calls from people who say they are ambazonian soldiers and that should I fail to give my own support, they will burn my shop. In fact I am almost used to such calls so much that it doesn’t scare me anymore”, a business man recounted.
It has been almost a normal thing for one to wake up and find someone standing at his/her door saying he is an amba fighter and needs support from them. Inhabitants of the travelers neighborhood in Bamenda have experienced this severally as The Sun gathered from residuals of the quarter. Recently, an incident occurred when some two young boys were moving around demanding money from people and threatening to deal with them. After succeeding for some days, they were reported to have been captured by an abazonian ‘general’ and their fingers chopped off.
People who had fallen victims of these boys were happy such a punishment was meted on the imposters. “I wish all these thieves claiming to be ambazonian fighters are given similar treatment”, an angry residual said.
As the anglophone crisis heightens, more thieves are getting into the system, making life difficult for residuals of the two affected regions. Some are even very happy with the ongoing situation as they are living fat from it while the poor masses continue to languish in poverty. In the midst of this uncertainty, denizens of Bamenda have continued to hope and pray for a lasting solution to be brought to the crisis so that life can return to normal.