Nigerian community, UBA finance Bakassi Toilet Project

The Nigerian community in Cameroon and the United Bank for Africa, UBA, has jointly financed a project to construct toilets in Bakassi.

The venture was launched recently, under the auspices of the Nigeria High Commission’s Annual Charity Project, to provide toilet facilities for the Bakassi population to solve the problem of public defecation in the area and ensure good public sanitary conditions.

The project that is aimed at making life better for the Bakassi population was supported by UBA with FCFA 15 million. The Nigerian High Commission and the Nigerian community put together over FCFA 50 million to realize five projects.

The Nigerian High Commissioner to Cameroon, Hadiza Mustapha, said the first project was the relief material airlifted to the Nigerian refugees in Cameroon. The second project was renovating a primary school in the Centre Region after it was damaged by rain. Five classrooms were built at the school followed by provision of water by a donor who was impressed with the magnificent work.

The third project, according to Hadiza Mustapha, was the construction of public toilets in Bakassi in three different areas accompanied by sewing machines. The toilet facilities will constitute a booth for the caretaker, a bridge, and three rooms. The reason behind the Bakassi project is that the Cameroon government cannot be expected to do everything alone for the entire population in Bakassi.

The Managing Director of UBA, Isong Udom, stated that it was the needs of the Bakassi community that prompted their gesture.

Isong said the move is aimed at impacting the communities in which they operate. According to Isong, thousands of textbooks were donated to students in Cameroon to promote the reading culture.

Donations were also made to orphanages alongside UBA’s sister company UBA Foundation that is involved in humanitarian projects and encouraging entrepreneurship.

He encouraged Cameroonian youths to take part in the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur Scheme from which some 12 Cameroonians benefited from last year as capital was provided for their business start-ups.

The portal, Isong said, is still open to young Cameroonians with good entrepreneurial projects. He said the project was started in 2014 with the aim of strengthening and promoting friendship between Nigeria and Cameroon.

In the days ahead, the initiative will be headed to Adamawa Region to renovate a secondary school and make life better for the students there.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria High Commissioner challenged UBA not to stop but always fulfill its cooperate social responsibility to the community by providing to the needy.

The event was attended by among others the representative of the Southwest Governor, Senator Ankie Affiong Rebecca of Isangele, Nigerian Consul General to the Southwest and Northwest Regions, Dan Wari Nwazim.