They Came in Armored Cars to Assure Security of Students & Schools

They Came in Armored Cars to Assure Security of Students & Schools

The North West regional governor, Adolphe Lele L'Afrique has been touring the various divisions within his region to mobilise for the effective resumption of schools for the 2019/2020 academic year. Last Wednesday July 31st 2019 was the turn of Momo division to welcome the governor and his entourage after Donga Mantung, Bui and Ngoketunjia. He was accompanied by the Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of the Supreme State Audit, Her Excellency Mbah Acha née Fomundam Rose. 

It was at exactly 1pm in the Mbengwi Council Hall that the officials were received by the administration of Momo and Mbengwi. In  a quickie welcome address, the mayor of the Mbengwi Council, Madam Tebe Beatrice told her distinguished august guests "This ceremony is a signal to the expectations in the days ahead." While stating the purpose of his visit, governor Adolphe Lele L'Afrique told attendees "We have come here today with the aim and mission to remobilize the school community, stakeholders and the entire population of Momo to organise themselves in such a way that come September, classes with resume in this division."

This was followed by an intervention from the S.D.O of Momo Division, Absalom Monono Woloa during which he unraveled a balance sheet of his area of jurisdiction.  "It's a pity that the academic year 2018/2019 was very devastatingly negative in Momo Division" Monono told his superiors.  "We effectively started with some schools but due to threats and arts of arson perpetrated by armed individuals, all the schools shutdown" he continued. 

Monono also confirmed that as a result of  insecurity, the few primary and secondary plus high schools together with teacher training colleges and vocational training institutes in Momo that had few students at the beginning of the year later closed down and some students and schools were compelled to relocate to Bamenda and other regions to finish the academic year. Not only were schools shutdown within the division, some suffered arson and theft like the Government Technical Teacher Training College (GTTTC/ENIET) Mbengwi where equipment worth tens of millions were carted away by hoodlums that have decided to pick up arms against the state.

 "We have carried out searches and discovered some of these materials stolen from schools in some houses" the S.D.O assured his guests and then proceeded to notify them on the numerous sensitization campaigns his administration has been carrying out to educate the population on the need for schools to resume. Hear him; "It's a challenge we've been giving to our parents in Momo Division that they should know that there's not going to be an official examination where Momo will be declared first in honouring ghost towns, in destroying school property and school boycott. When others are giving orders on social media that no schools but their children are going to school, we shouldn't be foolish to allow a situation where our children will be the losers when competitive exams and jobs will be launched and the educated children of these activists come to occupy all the positions."

Before rewarming his seat, the seasoned administrator also condemned the hypocrisy of educational stakeholders like inspectors, delegates, teachers and all other civil servants that have completely abandoned work on basis of insecurity but are seen attending church services, funerals, meetings, markets and doing private jobs. He quoted the example of the Mbengwi District hospital which he said is the most secured as it is just near a gendarmerie post but yet is not functional as all the doctors and nurses have abandoned work. "There are health centres inside the quarters, some of which are even illegal that when we take wounded civilians and soldiers there, we meet nurses on government pay roll working there" Monono regretted.

H.E Mbah Acha née Fomundam Rose, Cameroon's Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of Supreme State Audit

He then ended by giving statistics of the distribution of the Head of State's instituted Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Package to internally displaced and affected persons in Momo division. From his statistics, the government through the Ministry of Territorial Administration has on about three occasions given goods to be distributed to the concerned in the two pool centres of Mbengwi and Widikum. So far, 264 IDPs in Mbengwi and 507 in Widikum have been assisted, giving a total of 771 meanwhile 158 and 105 new IDPs have been registered in Mbengwi and Widikum respectively pending assistance.

The governor and delegation was assured by the traditional rulers present that schools will effectively resume in Momo Division come September 2019. This, after room was given to the floor for reactions or questions. First was Pastor Abanda Edwin of a pentecostal denomination in Mbengwi who stood up and lambasted the hypocrisy of the state in seeking lasting solutions to the crisis. He told them "For our children to go to school, we need peace and for there to be peace, we need dialogue." He also added that government knows those to talk with for there to be effective school resumption but keeps pretending.

Among the governor's entourage were the regional delegates of basic and secondary education, employment and vocational training, the regional coordinators of the distribution of the emergency humanitarian package and the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration commission. The officials each took turns to present statistical analysis of the situation in their respective domains with regards to the crisis. First was the regional delegate of Employment and Vocational Training, Madam Foo Ngang née Injoh Prodencia Awa who disclosed that out of the six public vocational training institutes within Momo where courses like fashion designing, decoration, building construction, wood works, carpentry and joinery, plumbing and sanitary  installation were being offered, that is SAR/SM Mbengwi, Menka, Ngie, Widikum and Azeh, three were touched by the crisis. The regional delegate of basic education on his part revealed that around the end of the 2017 academic year, Momo division had 39.980 pupils but as at now, the number is zero. He added that 16 primary schools were vandalised and 4 are currently being occupied by separatist fighters.

Armored Cars Securing the State Authorities

As concerns secondary education, its regional delegate, Mr. Ngwang Roland Yuven unveiled startling statistics from which it was gathered that out of the 63 secondary schools in Momo division, only 3 managed to at least receive a student at the start of the 2018/2019 academic year but later shutdown as one, Saint Benedict's Comprehensive College, Widikum had to relocate to Bamenda. "Out of an expected enrolment of 5.511 students in Momo, we had just 154 that showed up at the beginning of the school year mostly in teacher training colleges" said the delegate. These later transfered to Bamenda. He added that out of 93 teachers that were directly affected by the crisis in the region, 4 are from Momo and that still in the same division, out of the 63 secondary schools, 22 have been partially or wholely destroyed. Fortunately, out of the 7 secondary school teachers in the region that died directly as a result of the war, non was killed in Momo division. 

Apart from schools and classes, Mr. Ngwang Roland also presented statistics about results which indicated that in the recently published end of year examination results, Momo had no single candidate for BEPC, CAP, Probatoire and BAC. For CAPIET, Momo sent in 92 candidates (the GTTTC Mbengwi students that relocated to Bamenda) out of which 89 passed giving a percentage of 98.87%. Lastly, for G.C.E, St Benedict's Comprehensive College, Widikum that transfered to Bamenda scored 100% in the Advance level and 88.89% at the Ordinary level.

Taken aback by the poor performance of her division as concerns the functioning of schools, Minister Mbah Acha née Fomundam Rose, Cameroon's Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of Supreme State Control, coming in as an elite of the division while addressing the stakeholders made it clear to them that whether Momo children go to school or not, they will continue to do their job. Talking to the press at the end of the meeting, she said "When the schools will start, I promise the children of Momo that I am going to assist them in one way or the other because it bleeds our hearts to see that the children are not going to school." She went ahead to make it clear that educating children is for the benefit of families and communities not state officials. "Competitive entrance exams have been launched and their qualifications are certificates not staying in the bush. If I didn't go to school, I wouldn't have been minister. So I will want to see many more high civil servants, ministers, governors, S.D.Os come from Momo Division. It will be our pride" she ended

Combat Ready Government Troops

On the day of the visit of the state officials to the Momo Divisional Headquarters, Mbengwi inhabitants were compelled to stay indoors as a ghost town operation was forced on them by separatist fighters. This prompted Minister Mbah Acha to express dismay. She said "I am surprised that when the governor and S.D.O invite people to come seat and talk about the school year, a ghost town is declared as if what the governor and prefect are coming to say here is for their interest" She attested to the fact that they've been holding a series of meetings in  Yaoundé but can't seat there as ministers and decide what will happen on the ground, reason why she decided to come and talk to her people as an elite not as a minister because she has nothing in Mbengwi to control. 

During the various presentations in the council hall, the Momo S.D.O and regional coordinator of the disarmament commission talked of how some fighters have laid down arms and are currently undergoing reformation at the regional centre. Not long had the delegation departed from the hall to the S.D.Os office in G.R.A for a security meeting that the separatist fighters announced their presence with sequential gunshots just near by. A tensed atmosphere of confusion and panic then ensued as people ran into buildings for safety. The gendarmes and police officers that were at their duty posts in Mile 18 Mbengwi stood in front of their offices on high alert. The BIRs and war artillery that came in from Bamenda responded to the approaching enemy with thunderous gunshots of various magnitudes. The fire exchange exercise lasted for over a minute before subsiding and a calm atmosphere returned.

The back to school campaign was a repetition of a similar exercise carried out last year by same officials with no positive results. It is expected that this year, there will be a great improvement in the functioning of schools in the N.W region in general and Momo division in particular. This because many persons including  national and international bodies have been intensifying calls for school resumption because the anglophones are the ones losing in the school boycott. The governor shall in the days ahead be visiting other remaining divisions within the region to preach the same message.