"Amba" Indefinite Blocking of Alabukam Road, the Stakes

Fishpond Hill, Ngyen-Mbo 

It's getting to a month now that no public transport or civilian vehicle has plied the Mbengwi Bamenda road through Alabukam but for military vehicles known as armoured cars. It's getting to a month now since the spokesperson of the Ambazonia Defence Council, Capo Daniel circulated a social media announcement suspending civilian movement on the Alabukam road indefinitely "for an imminent  military action against the Cameroon occupational forces" that were recently stationed at Alabukam. It's getting to a month now and no news about the announced exchange is still being awaited.

All this while, three subdivisions; Njikwa, Andek and Mbengwi have been cuff from the regional headquarters, Bamenda. Stores have run out of stock same as pharmacies and health institutions. Those on special treatment from advanced hospitals in Bamenda have remained at the mercy of God. Families are finding it difficult to transport their loved ones from town to the villages for burial. Some corpses that were due burial long ago are still in the mortuary incurring more cost while others are being buried where they shouldn't have been. 

Over 80 drivers that were solely relying on the transportation business along the Bamenda-Mbengwi road have been left stranded for close to a month now. Many have no secondary source of income. Nearly all are family heads and obviously these are over 80 families that have had their sufferings increased. They can't feed, cloth, treat themselves again. They can't play their "njangis" or pay their rents and other bills.

The first month of the road block is soon ending and there are no signs the road will be opened. CPDM councillors and party big wigs of Momo were driven in for the senatorial election that went on hitch free and driven back out safely in armoured cars. Even Minister Atanga Nji confirmed on state media all went on smoothly across the national triangle. It has remained the common man that's been paying the ultimate price. 

This is not the first time the Alabukam road is blocked. Last year when government and Amba jointly blocked Bali-Bamenda road, for three months after some uniform officers were killed in Bali Nyonga, the only option was for the Balians and others to access Bamenda through Ngyen-Mbo in Mbengwi. Later, the Alabukam stretch was blocked,  Bali reopened and like one good turn deserves another, this time around, the people of Mbengwi and beyond started going to and from Bamenda through Bali. 

With the recent indefinite blocking of the Alabukam road, the stakes were high that Bali road and maybe Old road through Mankon palace could be the only way out. Unfortunately, few cars that tried using these other options after the just ended senatorial elections from information we got were warned not to dare again. The only option now is by bike at the cost of 3.000F per passenger from Mbengwi to Bamenda through Bali only. Any business person in any of these three subdivisions having anything like cement, rods, animal feed, crates of drinks, bags of rice, basic food stuffs etc to transport now can only do so by bike. Even if its a patient patient or corpse, transportation can only be done on a bike.

Unfortunately the population of Alabukam depends highly on drivers plying the Bamenda - Mbengwi road for transportation. Many farmers access their farms located along the Alabukam road with their cars.. Should this decision of cut of blocking the road not be quickly reviewed, then Alabukam inhabitants will themselves not also have it easy transporting their goods and themselves to town and back.  Considering that even those who took the decision are themselves greatly affected by it, like shooting one's self in the leg, it's high time the decision is reversed. 

Ordering that the road will remain blocked till government removes the BIRs stationed at Alabukam is counter productive in a fight said to be for the population because such is not a condition government will ever contemplate yielding too. With their heavy military might and equipment and funding, they do what they want, when they want, where they want. When a road is blocked, the population suffers while government soldiers continue to use the supposed blocked road as they wish.

And so for the sake of the commoners caught in between and in betwixt the struggle, Alabukam road should be reopened for people to go about their normal lives. Just living on what's now called "Ground Zero" is already enough punishment. Some people even say they're already in hell based on the agonies they face daily. Till the day it ends with independence or federalism or decentralisation or whatever, let people at least fend for themselves now that every one is almost gasping for the last breadth