By Moma Sandrine
Starting Monday July 16 to Wednesday July 18, the town of Bamenda and it’s neigbouring towns in the North West Region experienced prolonged “ghost town” with people staying indoors in respect of a call from pro-independence fighters.
It has almost become a routine in the North West Region for Mondays to be respected as a ghost town day. However the situation of the just ended week seemed a bit different as denizens of the town experienced three straight days of ghost town from Monday to Wednesday. Usually on these days, a few transporters are spotted plying the road while businesses remain shut including some public enterprises.
On Tuesday July 17, residuals of the town observed how the day unfolded with some of them traveling from one end of the town to another. These movements however lasted only the morning hours, as suspected Ambazonia fighters invaded the town at about 10am that day. While some people spotted these fighters around Travellers Park, others say they saw the Ambazonia fighters at Ntarikon and other quarters around town. At this time, this reporter was taking a walk in town and was only driven home by the exchange of gunshots between the military and the separatist fighters. It was a horrifying experience.
As this reporter rushed home, she observed that the town was in a state of ‘tupsi tuvi’ with men and women alike running to safety at different intervals. The few bikes that were plying the streets flew at break neck speed for safety. Some even dropped their passengers before they got to their destination. Fear gripped the town as no one knew what was going to happen next. This act left the streets of Bamenda completely dry as not a single soul could be spotted walking pass.
While many thought Wednesday July 18 could be a bit different, the same situation prevailed as the town of Bamenda remained dead silent void of any economic activity. As this reporter took a walk through a cross section of the town at about 2pm, she saw some few people walking pass. On a distance of 100 meters, she could bypass only one person or maximum two people.
After experiencing three days of a halt in economic activities, Thursday painted a different picture as life went back to normal with businesses blossoming after three days of dormancy. People went about their daily routines without interruptions of any kind. Although many traders complained of a setback in business following the three days of ghost town, what can they do?…is a question that seems to have no answer forthcoming.