My Journey to Bamenda, Cameroon


This is the tale of my journey to Bamenda, one of the English-speaking regions of Cameroon from Nigeria. I could never forget my encounters on the way as a Nigerian.

PREPARATION FOR THE JOURNEY
I moved to Port Harcourt where I got my yellow fever card from the immigration and updated my covid card, but the latter was not needed for the journey.
I had a Cameroonian I was chatting with over the phone who gave me instructions. But he did not tell me what I would encounter as a Nigerian on the way.
I left on November-ending, this year, to Cross River, from Port Harcourt to Akwa Ibom and then to Calabar. This was because I couldn't get a transpo to Calabar, as it was late when I got to the bus station. I arrived Calabar very late at night and lodged in a hotel. The next morning, I set off for the main Journey.

THE MAIN JOURNEY
I boarded a vehicle to Ikom, a border town with Cameroon. The road was bad. The journey took like 4 hours or so.
On getting to Ikom, I decided to change our naira to cfa, Cameroonian franc. I was surprised to know that the two were now coming close in value at the black market. 930 naira to 1000 cfa, and they had even bigger denominations as one paper bill. For instance, they have a 10000 cfa as a paper bill and they also have coins for, like 100cfa.


CROSSING THE BORDER
I paid a driver 10000 naira to cross me through the Nigerian border to Ekok, Cameroon. The driver knew his onions, as he was conversant with the route.
At the border, I paid 1k to the immigration as a tip because of my new driver friend. Otherwise, they could have collected more. I was driven through the border to Ekok, Cameroon, past the Cameroonian immigration.
That's when my surprises started.

CAMEROON
It was surprising to see a new country that did almost every communication in English and much more in Cameroonian pidgin. They can easily know you are a Nigerian if you speak
That became a huge problem for me as I paid through the nose to evade arrest, extortion and other issues on the way







More to come. Indicate interest for me to continue




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OP....dont make my Christmas bored the more



Continue

Let me follow this thread as I devour my Chicken with Hollandia.

PlayMaker14:
Let me follow this thread as I devour my Chicken with Hollandia.

Lol make dem still find me chicken too o

Following

My Tale continues

Cameroon is made up of two main parts, the French-speaking Francophone and the English speaking, Anglo phone. The France colonialists married the two into a country, but the marriage has not worked out. The Anglohone are fighting to seceed to form a new country, Ambazonia, saying they are being marginalized, though being the source of the nation's resources.

Ergo, this disagreement ensued into a full-blown crisis in the country between he francophone and the the Anglohone. Many have been killed on the two fronts.
Hence, the President, from the French side, Paul Biya, who is the second president since Cameroon got independence in the 60's or so. He has been in power for up to 30 years.
He keeps sending soldiers and military strengths to wage war with the Amba boys.
I met a lot of them on the way. Who gave me chills on noticing I was a Nigerian.


.....

Those Ambazanian boys no one take eyes see Nigerians. The worse na if u go there shout Biafra...aaa..e go dem to blow off ur head

THE NEW SHOCK IN CAMEROON

As we were moving, I was told by the driver not to speak, otherwise, I show tell them I was a Nigerian. The road was filled with checkpoints and, in their words, 'controls'. The crisis, which started in 2016 or thereabouts, has turned men like, pardon the word, slaves in their own land.
At each check point or control, the passengers would come down and all would show their ID cards.
My issue continued as I was with a Nigerian passport. I would have to pay them.
And I had to. You can't beg them. The men had no mercy with them. Either you pay or they cease your passport and have you arrested or killed because of the issues in the country.
By payment, I mean, paying like 5000 cfa. Or something like that.
I didn't know what I would expect on the way, so I didn't budget for that. I was with my mouth open, wondering what to do.
The driver was even saying I was lucky, that Nigerians pay more. On one occasion, a Nigerian had to pay 250k at a spot. They are just ripping Nigerian off.
At another spot, four Nigerians paid 20k each to the Amba boys, apart from the soldiers, jamdam or immigrations. It was hell.


We got to one checkpoint, the driver, who was God-sent, dropped me off and flagged down a bike man. I was taken through another route with another Nigerian passenger, in order to bypass the control.



MAMFE

I didn't know MAMFE was a town in Cameroon, until we got there and decided to sleep over for the night. But first, I was served grilled fish with boboro made with cassava, that smelled like fufu.
The Anglohone has been influenced by Nigerian music and culture.
The air was a bit Nigerian. They import many things from Nigeria, like fuel, sachet water, phones and many others. Those imported things were very expensive

ELECTRICITY AND FOOD STUFF

I must say, Nigeria is more developed than Cameroon, but Cameroon has almost consistent electricity. Even though, we supply electricity to them and every house has good water supply, even in the toilets and food stuff is cheap. But other things that are imported are expensive, like drug


CORRUPTION

We say Nigeria is corrupt, yes we are, but in Cameroon? No. They are 'corrupter', if there is a word like that. Everything could be bought with a little money.. They said it is because of the current crisis.
I was learning a lot.
But Cameroonians like the way, culture, music, films and mentality of Nigerians

Zenithh:
Those Ambazanian boys no one take eyes see Nigerians. The worse na if u go there shout Biafra...aaa..e go dem to blow off ur head

It's serious

Please continue, very interesting

Zenithh:
Those Ambazanian boys no one take eyes see Nigerians. The worse na if u go there shout Biafra...aaa..e go dem to blow off ur head

they don't have issues with Biafra bro stop spreading fake news but you see you as a Nigeria the believe you have money the will like to reap you off your money those drivers are they friend the understand each other so the put fear into you in other to pay more.

The following Day

We continued our journey to Bamenda from MAMFE. The new Nigerian Passenger we picked up spoke their pidgin very well and French. At first, I did not know he was a Nigerian, from my State. He spoke words with their accent, like.... Nou, whosi... And others. Some words may be hard for a Nigerian to understand, but I kept looking in expectations.i had spent a lot and was going to spend more. The Nigerian told me that If I wanted to go back, I should budget like 100k for the road. He also told me not to present my international passport, but rather to tell them I lost my ID card. That would reduce the amount I would pay. But that alone led me to another big issue that would have caused me to take a gunshot

heniford2:
they don't have issues with Biafra bro stop spreading fake news but you see you as a Nigeria the believe you have money the will like to reap you off your money those drivers are they friend the understand each other so the put fear into you in other to pay more.

It is true but not always. The driver even helped me. Besides, it's not just the soldiers that collect money, the Amba boys, immigration, police and the ones they call jamdam

Prosper123:



It is true but not always. The driver even helped me. Besides, it's not just the soldiers that collect money, the Amba boys, immigration, police and the ones they call jamdam

the drive knows all this people is a deal they strike with the drive if Amba wan deal with you na to hold you and demand ramsom the driver also noticed you do not have enough cash the would have reaped you off more anyway continue ur gist no dull moment

GOD HELPED ME.

As we moved, I encountered more things on the way I nearly got arrested. I nearly got my phone seized, but God used to driver to help me.. On one occasion, the passengers all alighted to show their IDs. The citizens and foreigners. I was musing over what to tell them and the amount to pay, but I was praying in my heart. As they were checking others, I followed one and entered their base. The number of people there were a little many. Immediately I entered, as they were attending to the Nigerian there and other people, I turned and started coming out, as though I had been checked by the ones inside. The ones outside didn't know I was not checked. I evaded that control.

Another control



I was now tired of the entire issues. But I could do nothing. After a long while, we arrived at the army check point at Bali. We all had to put on our face mask and alight for the routine. I was caught up in a catch 22 situation, whether to show my international passport or to tell them I had lost my ID. But with what accent? I queried my mind. I didn't want to betray or show them that I was a Nigerian from my accent. Here I was stammering with a broken Pidgin trying to hide my identity as I cooked up a lie. But it wasn't really a lie. I told them with a little mutter that I was not with my ID.
By then, they had checked my vehicle and they had crossed and were waiting for me. They would wait for some time.
They asked me again and I told them I was not with my ID.
They told me to sit down at a spot there and continued to attend to others.
I sat and was wondering on what to do. My vehicle was waiting for. I continued to pray in my heart. After what seemed like a moment or two fleeted away, I stood up, because attention was not on me again, but it took courage to muster such a decision and effrontery. For what it's worth, these were uniform men who were blood-lust because of the attacks they have received from the Amba boys. They could kill you and term you, Amba boy. Nothing could be said about it.

After waiting, my driver came to meet them in order to save me. As he was about to initiate words with them, I slowly moved close to their packed bags of sand where they were attending to people. The driver turned to me and told me to walk away. Scram! I hurriedly walked away without looking back.
As I approached our waiting vehicle, Sunday, the Nigerian passenger friend signaled me to keep moving down the road to a great distance. So I did.

But as I was going down the bend away from our parked vehicle, I immediately met police checkpoint very close to the army check point. My heart palpated. I had to cross to the other side of the road where shops and people were. It was as though one of the police signaled me to come. I did as though I was pressed and took away my face and went to force myself to urinate at the back of the shops. After that I took off my shirt and left my white polo T shirt on, holding my shirt on the hand. I stayed at the back of the shop for a while and later called a bike man coming from another junction beside the police checkpoint, from another street. I paid him 100cfa and told him to move fast. He carried me and crossed the point. I stayed and waited for my vehicle to come.




......

heniford2:
the drive knows all this people is a deal they strike with the drive if Amba wan deal with you na to hold you and demand ramsom the driver also noticed you do not have enough cash the would have reaped you off more anyway continue ur gist no dull moment

Anyway, it's true, I kept crying to the driver, that I didn't have enough money, that I was a student. It was all God, seriously. I really noticed the hand of God in the journey. If not, I would have paid more than what I did

Zenithh:
Those Ambazanian boys no one take eyes see Nigerians. The worse na if u go there shout Biafra...aaa..e go dem to blow off ur head

shut up ur gutter mouth there. Ambazonians and biafrans are close allies

I really think the Ambazonians are not against biafrans, but when it comes to money, they most take.. But the soldiers, police and jamdam from the francophone are against Biafra, I suppose

Prosper123:
GOD HELPED ME.

As we moved, I encountered more things on the way I nearly got arrested. I nearly got my phone seized, but God used to driver to help me.. On one occasion, the passengers all alighted to show their IDs. The citizens and foreigners. I was musing over what to tell them and the amount to pay, but I was praying in my heart. As they were checking others, I followed one and entered their base. The number of people there were a little many. Immediately I entered, as they were attending to the Nigerian there and other people, I turned and started coming out, as though I had been checked by the ones inside. The ones outside didn't know I was not checked. I evaded that control.

are the armies Ambazonian armies or Cameroon army?

BAMENDA, HERE IT WAS


After the issue, the driver was not happy with me because he expected me to have gone farther down away from where the vehicle wash was packed. He said I was very dull. The dullest passenger he had met. Taking insults was a small deal. I was the one wearing the shoes and I knew what I felt. I explained that I did not know I would see another police check point very close to the army check, so had to see a way to by pass meeting them up front.
He said the soldiers started looking for me after I left and were very angry. That they saw hell in the hands of the police because of me.

Anyway, that was the last control I met before getting to bamenda.

Bamenda was situated on a hill. Very cold. Just like Jos. I was always covered.

After some days, I moved around and started about what I went there for.
Electricity can go on without cut for like 2 days. If they cease it, rest assured, it will be restored within few minutes.
I cried in my heart for Nigeria.
But they hold Nigeria in high esteem for both good and bad

How about going there through Nasarawa state, could it be more stressful?

Prosper123:
I really think the Ambazonians are not against biafrans, but when it comes to money, they most take.. But the soldiers, police and jamdam from the francophone are against Biafra, I suppose

yes Cameroonian soldiers would be against biafrans no doubt because biafrans are close allies with the Ambazonians. Ambazonians will surely get their independence

The War for Secession in Bamenda


After a few days, I heard what sounded like gun shots in Bamenda. I cared less, because it was almost the first first week of December. It must be fire works, I thought. I was foolish. The next day, I was told the rounds were gun shots. I laughed at my innocent ignorance. It was a normal thing. I head more and more as I stayed. People always ran from the gunshots. I was told corpses were also see on the roads.



MONDAY SIT-AT-HOME

I thought it was only Igbos fighting for secession observe sit at home, I was wrong. I think Igbos copied it from the ones of Ambazonia. They started the sit-at-home years ago. And it has been more serious. I even think they can easily separate faster than Igbos because of many factors like their distinctiveness from the francophone

Emmajn1:
[s]shut up ur gutter mouth there. Ambazonians and biafrans are close allies[/s]

shut ur stinking mouth. I said go there and shout Biafra and see ur intestines in ur hands. They said biafrans are traitors. They sold them out. If u don’t know what to say or haven’t left that ur red sand village in d East u shut uppp

Emmajn1:
are the armies Ambazonian armies or Cameroon army?

The army are Cameroonian. Ambazonia only have boys that fight the army, police or any French presence. They also stay on the road. They collect money and also shot the French military men on the road

PLANNING TO COME : TOOK THE SEA TO COME BACK TO NIGERIA.

After staying there for like weeks, I decided to come back to Nigeria. But I decided to take another route to avoid what happened while going.
I heard I should take Limbe and take the sea. That is why I did.

I boarded night luxury bus at city chemist Bamenda heading to Limbe


......

..... Continue to see how I moved through the Atlantic Ocean at Limbe, Cameroon to Akwa Ibom

Later

Prosper123:
I really think the Ambazonians are not against biafrans, but when it comes to money, they most take.. But the soldiers, police and jamdam from the francophone are against Biafra, I suppose

E be like say you no know wetin dey.

- Paul Biya has been in power for 40 years. 2022 will make it 41 years.
- The gendarmes used to raid Igbo traders doing business in Bakassi in the 1990s and mock them calling them Biafrans.
- The Nigerian government handed over the Ambazonian leader to Cameroon. I think the guy is now serving a life sentence. In the same vein, the Ambazonian group said they will not support IPOB as they do not want the refugees in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and other states to be expelled by the Nigerian government back to Cameroon where they will meet an uncertain fate.

So if you are a Nigerian travelling by road to Anglophone Cameroon, you are taking a gamble with your life. For sure! That area is a conflict zone. Don't forget the Cameroonian government shut down telecoms and internet services there for 1 year.

staga:


E be like say you no know wetin dey.

- Paul Biya has been in power for 40 years. 2022 will make it 41 years.
- The gendarmes used to raid Igbo traders doing business in Bakassi in the 1990s and mock them calling them Biafrans.
- The Nigerian government handed over the Ambazonian leader to Cameroon. I think the guy is now serving a life sentence. In the same vein, the Ambazonian group said they will not support IPOB as they do not want the refugees in Cross River, Akwa Ibom and other states to be expelled by the Nigerian government back to Cameroon where they will meet an uncertain fate.

So if you are a Nigerian travelling by road to Anglophone Cameroon, you are taking a gamble with your life. For sure! That area is a conflict zone. Don't forget the Cameroonian government shut down telecoms and internet services there for 1 year.

I heard the Ambazonian head separationist is in prison. I didn't know Nigeria played a part in that. Good to know.

Continue reading


MY BUS TO LIMBE

I boarded a bus to Limbe. But I had to tell the driver that I didn't have my ID, for him to know how to help me. He said I should pay extra 5000 cfa to him. I did without asking questions. But the issue now was what I would do when we got to an army control, where passengers would all get down. I asked the motor boy, he spoke with the driver and came up with a solution.
He told me that when we got to the control that I should come to the front seat and sit as the motor boy, and he would go down and present his own ID as one of the passengers.

My heart was beating, as I didn't know how to become the conductor. I was agitated and was asking the passenger next to me. He explained, but I was still jumpy. God helped us, we passed the first check point without going down, prolly because it was already night.

When we got to the main army check point, I was called to fill in as the conductor. I was not to speak, otherwise, I would betray my nationality and the rest would be history. I obeyed, but I was still doubting my self. But I just knew God would help. We took time at the control because of the number of people and vehicles to check. People showed their ID cards. One of the soldiers also checked the vehicle, with me serving as the 'Motor Boy'. I heaved in respite, when we drove away to Douala. We all caught some z'ss, as we arrived Limbe from Douala by 4am. I alighted.


I asked for direction to the sea, a passenger, whose husband was a driver helped me. When I got to the place to meet her husband, I was told that flying boat to Nigeria was 30,000 cfa excluding other logistics and settlements. The only money I had was 25k. I was stranded.
I had spent more than one hundred and something thousand already in the country. I went home to the driver's house as he told me to wait till a boat would leave by 8 am.

By 8am, the driver, who I pleaded with to see a way to help get me through with the 25k I had, decided to help me. We headed to the sea. There, he spoke with the sea Boys and gave them the money. He also paid for my tube, my improvised life jacket.

We sailed off.

Watch out for My sea journey back to Nigeria

My encounters