Chief of Bova II puts recalcitrant sub-chiefs to check

The Chief of Bova II, Isume Nyoki, has stated that the people of Bova II will treat anybody or group of persons who will attempt to carry out consultative talks in one of the neighbourhoods in his village as elements of the terrorist Islamic sect, Boko Haram.

“I am warning the population and even the administration that, if anyone comes to my village for any such thing like consultative talks, we will not only term them as Boko Haram, but will treat them like Boko Haram militants” Chief Isume stated.

According to the Chief, he and his subjects are resolute in upholding what he referred to as the ancestral sanctity of Bova II and will not entertain the presence of intruders who are scheming to divide the village into two for their selfish purposes.

Chief Isume Nyoki who breezed into our Buea newsroom on Wednesday, February 18, said he was informed that the Divisional Officer, DO, of Buea, Paul Wokam Kouam, has programmed consultative talks in Wonjuku, one of the quarters in Bova II, that has since last year, been clamoring to cede from the village.

“I learned from a reliable source that they are coming on February, 22 or 28, 2015 to carry out the consultative talks. I am not ready to entertain them for any consultative talks because that particular area is a quarter in my village and I would not tolerate such secession”, the Chief said.

He claimed that, the Mayor of Buea, Patrick Ekema Esunge was eager to seize part of his village and install himself as Chief whereas, he is not even a native of Wonjoku or Bova II, but that of Soppo.

As Chief Isume puts it, after 48 years as Chief of the village, Wonjoku has always been a quarter in Bova II until recently when the Government started ceding some CDC land to the villagers that, the problem of chieftaincy surfaced in the area. “Patrick Ekema has modeled himself with others in that his small quarter. They have claimed 35 hectares of land, claiming to be a village which is not true” Isume continued.

In an attempt to seek solutions to the problem, Chief Isume said, he has written to the administration, viz; Governor, SDO, DO and the Security, but that since October 2014, none of them has responded. “Not even the DO whom one month after the letter, I personally, with some of my subjects went to see him and he promised to summon us for a discussion, but hasn’t till today”, Chief Isume said, adding that, he raised the issue with the Buea Chiefs Conference but they said it was not within their competence to handle such matters.

But to Chief Isume, he understands that most of them are agents of Ekema. That they are Councilors in his regime and so cannot oppose their Mayor. “The people of Bova II have lost confidence in the administration at the moment.

We cannot do anything because the Government is concerned and I will seek even the population in Buea and Chiefs in other areas to come to my aid, because this has never happened.

It shouldn’t be because the Bakweri people are in the minority and often stay quiet, that’s why they are being treated in this manner”, he averred.