By Moma Sandrine
Bochong El-Hadj Lawan Bako, National Chairman of the United Democratic Party, UDP, has expressed dissatisfaction with acts carried out by the military in Boyo Division. He was speaking recently in an interview with The SUN.
Lawan Bako, elite of Njinikom and holder of the venerated “Bochong” title, says the heavy presence of the military in the North West Region is causing more harm than good.
“Unfortunately our forces of law and order who are supposed to protect lives and property are instead destroying them. They first went to Anyajua; instead of them to look for those they went out to look for, they came and destroyed houses along the road… I call on the forces of law and order to take the public as their friends whom they have the duty to protect but unfortunately it is the upside down. They went to Shou, a nearby village in Njinikom and burnt down some houses including that of the CPDM President of that area, Godfrey Ambe and my cousin’s house too. I don’t know why they are going about doing all these,“ the political leader said.
El-Hadj Lawan Bako furthered by giving an explanation to the fetish objects placed on the roads in Njinikom (the coffin with bees, medicine pots and others).
“Traditionally if you burn down somebody’s house or property, they’ll put what we call “chi” for you. That is to say, all what you’ve done to them should go back to you… a similar situation happened in 1992 when about 219 houses were burnt down in Boyo Division. Boyo people are very sensitive, they are good people and don’t like acts of injustice. When you carry out an act of injustice against a Boyo person, you just got that person on your neck.”
The leader of the presidential majority referred to those carrying out destructions as agitators. He accused the Minister of Territorial Administration, Atanga Nji Paul for creating a problem that has led to much destruction. “Cameroon soldiers are very educated and hardworking people. If they are sent to go do wrong things, the person who has sent them should be the one to be blamed, and who has sent them is Atanga Nji Paul. By his utterances, his statements, his deeds and so on and so forth…he’s the creator of this problem and we know”
Lawan Bako concluded by saying that, that illness that is wrongly diagnosed can never be cured. To this he called on the Head of State to find a lasting solution to the Anglophone problem so that peace and normalcy can return in the North West Region.