A video has surfaced on the Internet showing the Chief of Wokulu village in Buea and some men destroying the foundation of a house under construction, which reportedly belongs to someone from North West Region.
Chief Ekema Martin and his team did not only destroy the foundation but also spewed out hate words against people from the North West Region.
The action amplifies similar actions by some Buea denizens, including the Chief Moja Moja, suggesting that North West indigenes are not welcome in Buea.
“You people should go back to Bamenda and find land,” one of Chief Ekema Martin’s men could be heard saying.
MMI was able to identify him as Manga Ferdinand Ewoma.
He is the chairman of the Wokulu traditional council.
Cameroon News Agency reported that the Chief participated in selling the said land, which they are now trying to forcefully reclaim.
However, we do not know what transpired behind that warranted the Chief to start reclaiming the land.
But it appears the Chief’s major concern is not the land itself, but the fact that someone from the North West Region owns it.
“You people should find land in your villages. You people shouldn’t come to other villages and be claiming land,” Ewoma added.
He constantly repeated that they should go and find land in Bamenda, headquarters of the North West Region.
The impression he gave was that the people from the North West were seizing the land that belongs to the Bakweris, who are the indigenes of Buea.
The video depicted them pulling iron rods used to plant foundation pillars for a house.
They equally destroyed bags of cement meant for the construction.
While all the destruction was ongoing, Chief Martin Ekema stood by, supervising. The video showed him giving directives.
Underlying Hatred for Northwesteners
This is not the first time a chief in Bakweri land is outrightly asking people from the North West Region to return to their land.
On several occasions, chiefs and elites of Buea have called out people from the North West.
They believe Northwesterners are taking over their lands.
In May 2023 during the South West Peace and Development Conference in Buea, a politician from the South West used the statement “people we don’t like” to describe those from the North West Region.
Decades back, there was a polar slogan of “Come no go,” referring to the people from the North West who have come to stay in the South West.
However, discussions in forums has indicated that local Bakwery people do not have issues living with people from wherever in Cameroon.
But politicians and chiefs seem to trump the divide for their own benefits.
This has caused many to question the effectiveness of the social cohesion doctrine that government officials frequently preach.
Hate speech and xenophobia are common phenomena in Cameroon. The intensity of hate speech in the country caused the government to create the National Commission for the Promotion of Bilingualism and Multiculturalism in 2017 to fight hate speech and build cohesion among communities.
However, the commission’s effectiveness in dealing with these issues remains to be seen.
