Bamenda varsity students sidelined from Biya’s free laptops threaten strike

By Soulemanu Buba

Some students of the University of Bamenda, UBa who said they have not benefitted from President Paul Biya’s offer of free laptops are said to be threatening to stage a strike action.

MMI gathered that, some of the disgruntled students are also threatening targeted attacks “on all those they believe put them out of the list of beneficiaries of the presidential largesse.”

Some of the students who spoke to MMI said they “are angry because many of their mates were prevented from writing the first semester exams because they had not completed their tuition fee of 5O,OOOFCFA.”

They said the school authorities have failed to understand that they owe them laptops offered by President Paul Biya since 2017.

“If we are to treat them the way they treat us, UBa will never be a place to be because it will be from one trouble to the other. Let them respect us and we will respect them. How can people confiscate laptops meant for students?,” a student whose only name we got as Neba questioned.

Talking to MMI, another student of the Faculty of Arts whose names we are withholding for security reasons said each time they raise the issue, they will be asked to undergo a biometric registration process. “That is a strategy they use to deceive us,” he told MMI.

“I have done the biometric registration countless times, yet no laptop. They are good at preventing students from sitting in for exams because of fees but cannot give them what is truly theirs. They have taken our silence for stupidity, let’s see how it goes,” the student added.

Another student of the faculty of Law said: “maybe they think those gendarmes can stop us when we start with the protest. We have mastered their movements and we can take them out.We need our laptops, period.”

Our reporters contacted some lecturers who advised that the students be calmed for a while and wait for the authorities when the second semester starts.

One of such lecturers said, “I understand they are fighting for their rights. However, they should be responsible in what they are planning. If you ask me, I will say the authorities should look in to this matter. If the machines are there, why keep them, send them out, If there are not there, tell the students and stop behaving as if you don’t know the kind of Cameroonians we are bringing up”.

The lecturer (identify witheld) said, “we would have intervened to prevent something bad from happening in future. The unfortunate thing is that we will be termed Amba supporters as those lecturers especially the Francophones are quick to address us. Hope you know what is happening with lecturers of the two Anglo-Saxon universities.”

Many are of the opinion that the laptops are not even available. Some say they have been sold while a source close to the school administration told us that a worker with the institution is currently behind bars for selling hundreds of the laptops.

For fear of reprisals, many of those we interviewed refused to disclose their identities.

Mimi Mefo Info