Tension mounts as Bonjoku threatens secession from Bova II

The Chief of Bova II in Buea Subdivision, Southwest Region, HRH Chief Emmanuel Eseye Isume Nyoki, his Council of elders and some villagers, on Monday, November 17, stormed the office of the Divisional Officer, DO, of Buea, Paul Wokam Kouam, seeking the protection of Government against a dissident group that has emerged in the village.

According to the Chief, he and his elders in Council were having a Traditional Council meeting to deliberate on the need to enhance peace and unity, peaceful coexistence and foster the development of their village, when the Vice President of his Traditional Council, Paul Bwembe Ndima, who doubles as the quarter head of Bonjoku, one of the quarters in the village, in the company of the Mayor of Buea, Patrick Ekema Esunge and other strangers, stormed the village and organised what the Chief termed an “Illegal rally ,” disturbing the deliberations of his Council meeting.

The Chief said before coming to Bova II, the group had apparently bought drinks from Buea which they brought to the village.

“As they were drinking, they were raining insults and provocation on me and my Council of elders, promising us that they will get their autonomy at all cost.”

Chief Isume Nyoki said, infuriated by the insults and provocation directed at him and his Council of elders, some youths in the village decided to confront the group. “But I told them not to do anything of that sort because Government was already looking into the matter.”

Nyoki continued: “It is because of yesterday’s incident that I have come this morning with some members of my Traditional Council to see the DO and inform him that if the administration does not look into this problem with urgency, it might give rise to a situation that may undermine the peace we are enjoying in this country,” the Chief stated.

One of the members of the Bova II Traditional Council who accompanied the Chief to the DO’s Office, Emmanuel Ndive, said when they met the DO, he advised them to go and put down their complaint in writing.

However, in the complaint tilted: “Reminder of Our Complaint,” addressed to the DO of Buea and dated November 19, the people of Bova II write: “It is with profound regrets that we write to inform you that due to the silence of our letter dated October 15, 2014, informing you of the provocation and malicious intention to transform Bonjoku quarter of Bova II into a village, and following our meeting with you on the November 11 to find out whether our complaint got to you and seek a way forward, but which ended prematurely due to the visit of the Minister of Culture to the Southwest; we once again write to inform you that tremendous tension, threats to lives, intense provocation, intimidation and blackmail is the order of the day in Bova II.”

The complaint recount how a group of 50 individuals stormed the village on November 16 and organised an illegal rally that lasted for close to five hours.

“The key person who organised the meeting was Mr Patrick Ekema Esunge (Mayor of Buea) who is misleading the people of Bonjoku and is claiming to be the Chief of Bonjoku quarter. Sir, we call on your authority to do something fast to check this situation before it escalates into a very unpleasant situation,” the complaint further read.

In the complaint, the people of Bova II told the DO that the people of Bonjoku quarter no longer participate in the activities of the village like communal work and Council sessions and called on the DO to organise a meeting where both the people of Bova II and Bonjoku will sit and resolve the matter.

Meanwhile, for the purpose of balance and fairness, The Post went to Wonjoku on Monday, November 17, and met the Vice President of Bova II Traditional Council, who doubles as the quarter head of Bonjoku, Paul Bwembe Ndima, for his comment on the incident of November 16.

I also wanted to find out if Bonjoku is a village or a quarter under Bova II and why they no longer attend Council sessions or participate in communal work as purported by the Chief of Bova II. After a warm reception, Ndima categorically told this reporter that he was not going to make any comment to The Post.

According to him, three reporters, one from The Post, another from The Recorder and one from Eden Newspapers, once approached him on the same subject, and after entertaining them and granting them an interview, they went and misquoted him. Ndima vowed never to grant an interview to reporters of the above mentioned papers.

One of his kinsmen who was with him at home, when this reporter visited, said; “If you were one of those who came here the other time, we would have pushed you out of this house.”

It would be recalled that, in an earlier complaint written by the Bova II Traditional Council dated October 15, 2014 and addressed to the DO of Buea, the Council stated that Paul Bwembe Ndima, Wotani Molua, Njoh Ndima and Maurice Mwanje all from Bonjoku have been attending Council sessions in Bova II, until in July 2014, after land was ceded to the quarter through a racket masterminded by a few individuals. The Bova Traditional Council fears that the above persons may have been intimidated and indoctrinated to fight for the autonomy of the quarter.

Meantime, it is alleged that land that was surrendered to Wonjoku Village near Bulu towards Small Soppo, by the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, has been misappropriated by some individuals from Bonjoku in Bova II, some 20km away and on the opposite end of Buea Town.

However, our investigations continue. And as we went to press on Wednesday, November 19, Wonjoku villagers were holding consultative talks to designate the Chief of the village.