Manyu: Tinto Chiefs under pressure to return to their villages

Chiefs from Tinto, headquarters of the Upper Bayang Subdivision in the embattled Manyu Division, South West, have received a call to return to their villages and work for peace.

The call came from the Senior Divisional Officer (SDO) for Manyu, Viang Mekala, who wants the Chiefs to return to their respective villages and join forces with government to promote peace.

He made the call during a recent budgetary session convened at the Tinto Council.

“The time now is for action, the time now is for collaboration,” Mr Mekala asserted.

Manyu, like other Divisions in the Anglophone Regions, has been grappling with heightened insecurity, with separatist fighters creating chaos and besieging villages.

Amid the conflict, traditional rulers have deserted their palaces due to threats from separatist fighters.

Most of them have been living in safer zones and administering their villages through traditional councils.

Government officials in the South West have recently intensified calls for Chiefs to resume residence at their palaces, although security remains dire in many villages in the region.

The Manyu SDO believes that mobilizing traditional rulers to work hand-in-hand with government forces will contribute significantly to restoring peace to the affected communities.

However, the SDO’s plea faced resistance from some Councilors present during the Tinto budgetary session.

Expressing their apprehensions, a Councilor said, “We cannot go home. I’m sorry if it is not in this domain. It’s just a cry that the administration should not forget…”

This resistance highlights the complex challenges and concerns faced by local leaders in balancing personal safety and civic duty.

During the session, the Councilors allocated a budget of 82 million Francs CFA for the year 2024.

The Mayor of Tinto, Etchu Joseph Eyong, told the press that a good part of the budget will be allocated for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of roads in the municipality.

“When this money comes in, we are going to execute most of these projects that have to do with toad rehabilitation,” he said.

Despite their reservations about returning to their villages, the Tinto councillors acknowledged the pressing need for concerted efforts to address the security issues faced by the community and the South West Region as a whole.

Mimi Mefo Info