The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has urged Nigerians to support, protect and care for the over 77,000 Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria.

Tesfaye Bekele, the head of the Ogoja sub-office of (UNHCR) in Cross River, appealed on Monday in Ogoja local government to commemorate the 2022 World Refugee Day.

“This year, UNHCR calls for greater support and protection of people forced to flee their homes, whoever they are, wherever they come from, and whenever they are forced to flee,” stated Mr Bekele. “People forced to flee should be welcomed and not discriminated against. To get out of harm’s way, they might take a plane, a boat, or travel on foot. What remains universal is the right to seek safety.”

Speaking on the 2022 theme of World Refugee Day, ‘Whoever, Wherever, Whenever, everyone has the right to seek safety’, Mr Bekele explained that the day should serve as a reminder to the government to do more to prevent and resolve conflict and crises.

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River, represented by Princewill Ayim, the director-general of Cross River Emergency Management Agency, commended UNHCR for supporting the refugees.

Mr Ayade noted that there was a need for government at all levels to show concerted efforts towards resolving all conflicts that lead to crises.

“We have done everything necessary to ensure that the refugees live in peace with the host communities in all the settlements that are in Ogoja local government area with adequate security,” he noted.

Andy Ubon, a representative of the National Commission for Refugees office, assured Cameroonian refugees of their safety, protection and care in the county.

The UN estimated that 77,000 Cameroonian refugee men, women, and children are registered in Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Cross River, Enugu, and Taraba.

Source: NAN

A senior Manyu lady has written to the Cameroon Concord News Editor-in-Chief, Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai, to acknowledge the positive role the online news platform is playing to help bring attention to the destroyed hospital in Mamfe.

The senior lady, who elected anonymity, acknowledged that there were issues within MOHWA as an organization, adding that she would mobilize other influential Manyu women so that appropriate actions could be taken to ensure that MOHWA continued to play an important role in the Division’s development.

“Rest assured that things will be rectified in the days ahead. I can’t stand by any longer and see MOHWA destroyed,” the respected Manyu lady said, urging the editor-in-chief to “please keep advising.”

Rather than be angered by the articles published by the popular Cameroon online news platform, the senior lady demonstrated maturity and agreed that criticism was the shock therapy that would enable all Manyu women across the globe to wake up and participate in the Division’s development.

Other calls regarding the article also acknowledged that MOHWA had been slow at reacting and that the constant partying by MOHWA groups in North America and Europe was giving the organization a very bad name. A caller from Norway who also elected anonymity said that though the criticisms were biting, they were also helping to bring some sanity to an organization which was unfortunately losing its way. 

“We have been slow at reacting, but we are brainstorming. We understand the anger and frustration of those who are criticizing us, but we are organizing ourselves to play the role many expect of us. The destroyed Mamfe hospital will have far reaching consequences and the first victims will be women and we owe it to those women who have been left without a place to obtain the care they need to act promptly and properly,” the soft-spoken lady said.

“I know there are many Manyu people around the world who are angry that your platform is very critical of Manyu people, but we must understand that in any developed society, the media must play its role. It will bite when things are falling apart, but it will also appreciate when things work out well. We should be thanking those who have already taken the initiative to raise funds. They are driven by a passion to see things done. It takes honesty and love of humanity to raise funds. People with compromised characters cannot publicly declare that they want to raise funds for their people,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, other Manyu organizations have informed the Cameroon Concord News that their organizations will also be active in the days ahead. A source close to MECA UK has said the organization will be meeting in Coventry in the UK, adding that the focus will be on the unfortunate event that has left many in Cameroon terribly shocked.

“We will be doing our best to raise some money. This is the only way we will demonstrate that we feel the pain of our people back home. We are not in the business of winning the argument of who burnt the hospital. We are more interested in how our people can have proper health care,” the source said.

“We are also urging more honest people to come out and work for our people in Mamfe. When people trust those who are leading the effort, the initiative succeeds. We are aware that Minister Mengot has launched his own fundraising initiative and many people are already lining up to contribute. This is what we like to see. This is the spirit that will help Manyu grow,” he stressed. 

By Chi Prudence Asong in London

At least eight people have been kidnapped in Cameroon’s North region, according to local and security sources.

They were kidnapped overnight into Sunday in Baoudi, a locality in Mayo-Rey division of the region, a security official who opted for anonymity told Xinhua.

“Among those kidnapped were women. Gunmen raided the locality and rounded them up. The villagers were helpless and could not resist them,” the official said.

Mayo-Rey division has been plagued by rampant abductions in the last two months.

At least 30 people including women and children have been kidnapped in the locality since May, according to security reports.

Source: Xinhuanet

United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) has donated four motorcycles and one ambulance to the Taraba State Government in Nigeria.

This is to assist the state in meeting the needs of over 19,000 Cameroonian refugees within its borders.

The separatist war taking place in the Republic of Cameroon has led to an influx of Refugees and is are taking its toll on Taraba state in Nigeria.

The state now plays host to over 19,000 refugees who fled the warring zones and have found safety in six local governments in the state which shares borders with Cameroon.

A delegation of United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) were in Taraba over the weekend to determine how the international body can to assist the state in meeting up with the needs of the Refugees.

The delegation, led by Rahmatu Abdallah presented an ambulance and four motorcycles to the state government.

Governor Darius Ishaku thanked the commission for the gesture, promising that his administration would not abandon the refugees and IDPs but would rather improve their life.

He informed the delegation that his administration had built schools and health facilities to cater for the needs of refugees in the state.

The commission’s visit is expected to result in more positive programs that will improve the lives of the state’s over 19,000 refugees.

Source: TVCNews

For more than four decades, Chief Emmanuel Tabi Egbe, a true Manyu giant in every sense of the word, instilled upon the Manyus consciousness that the role of Manyu community associations was to bring development and delight to Manyu.

For decades, MECA, MOHWA and other Manyu associations around the world have supplied financial and human resources to schools, hospitals, and other community initiatives across the nation.

But over the last few years, legitimate questions have been asked if some of these Manyu associations in the Diaspora are still fit for purpose.

The torching of the Mamfe General hospital by sadists and arsonists on the 8th of June 2022 has brought new questions about two leading Manyu associations – MOHWA and MECA.

While renowned Manyu sons, Dr. Joachim Arrey of the Global Think Thank for Africa and Prince Julian Ebai of Manyu Solidarity Group UK are galvanizing global resources to support the poor and needy people of Manyu, MOHWA and MECA groups around the world have been loudly silent. And this is really disturbing.

MOHWA, in particular, is a gloomy, dismal and shameful case of a Manyu association.  The group was conceived and sold to Manyu sons and daughters on the grounds that it would support the Manyu woman and child.

The burning of the Mamfe General Hospital should have, for once, brought  MOHWA to the fore, leading a charge to raise funds for a good cause.

Strangely, MOHWA is gravely and deeply involved on both sides of the Atlantic in messy and avoidable disputes about patent rights on their wrapper which adds no real value to human life.

MOHWA in Europe is now profoundly entangled in social media mudslinging and has become the gossip hub and a marriage wrecking institution at a time when it should be leading a charge to help dying, desperate and impoverished people in Manyu.

MECAs in Europe and the USA have more cases of matrimonial impropriety among their members to resolve than the family law courts in Brazil.

MOHWA USA, Europe and MECA groups are now led by people who do not have Manyu at heart.

What MOHWA and MECA now have in common is a disdain for good causes, and they now pose a grave threat to the Manyu Diaspora, and we must say so.

This is the time for these   organizations to come out and put smiles on many faces in Manyu Division. Time is of the essence! Manyu sons and daughters must start thinking differently.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai

The Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government (IG) says Ambazonia undercover operations on French Cameroun have multiplied, but the IG cannot reveal the details. 

“Beti Assomo and Paul Atanga Nji and their military generals know better what blows they have received from Amba fighters” Dabney Yerima told Cameroon Concord News on Friday.

“I have directed our fighters to hit the enemy where it pains most and these blows will continue until we get to Buea,” Yerima said, adding “These are the attacks that the Federal Republic of Ambazonia has inflicted deep inside French Cameroun and in Ground Zero”.

Vice President Yerima was commenting on a statement by Cameroon government military about some recent incident in Missong in the North West region, for which Yaoundé have tried to imply responsibility.

“When their Francophone army kills innocent Southern Cameroonians, they now openly declare it, like when their troops cowardly opened fire, killing four women, four men and an 18-month-old girl and slightly wounding a 12-month-old baby in Missong. It is similar to the blind murders in Ngarbuh,” he said.

Vice President Dabney Yerima said contrary to other restoration groups, the Interim Government cannot disclose many of the deadly blows it deals to the occupying Cameroon government forces. “The Ambazonia Interim Government mostly observes the lights-off and confidentiality principles in these attacks.”

“Southern Cameroons Self Defense Forces and other Ambazonia resistance groups have conducted far greater operations against Cameroon government troops, but we cannot disclose the details,” Yerima furthered, adding “Southern Cameroonians understand and comprehend this well“.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader stated that, “If Biya regime carries out an operation in Southern Cameroons, it knows that it will receive a response several times.”

By Chi Prudence Asong

A gunman has attacked three villages in Cameroon’s mountainous region of Adamawa, killing seven people, an official said on Thursday.

Abbo Aboubakar, mayor of Belel municipality said, the man who is yet to be identified opened fire on villagers in Lesse Woka, Didjawa and Ngaoundamdji localities of the municipality.

“Four people died on Tuesday when the incident happened and three others died Wednesday in the hospital, three others are still in hospital,” Aboubakar said by phone.

Some of the villagers have fled the localities, afraid that the gunman, who villagers said was well armed, will return again, according to the official.

Cameroon shares a porous border in the region with Central African Republic (CAR) and rebels from CAR regularly crossed the boundary to attack Cameroonians, according to security reports.

In 2018, Cameroonian president Paul Biya deployed Special Forces to the region after abductions became rampant.

Source: Xinhuanet

The Manyu Community in Canada is fired up. Since the burning down of the Mamfe General Hospital, many have been looking for ways to help. They are overwhelmed. They are aware of the disaster that is facing their people back home. The people of Mamfe do not have water; they don’t have lights and now, no hospital. This is, indeed, a great recipe for a perfect natural disaster. They know that in the event of a cholera or typhoid outbreak, the news will be bad. They want to help in any way they can. 

News that the Minister of Special Duties at the Presidency of the Republic, Victor Mengot Arrey-Nkongho, had launched a fundraising effort in Yaoundé brought some hope. Many people of Manyu descent are emptying their pockets to make sure they are counted among those who brought hope to their people. The fundraiser in Yaounde is a great event. The people of Manyu are proving that they can put their money where their mouths are. 

But those in Canada are not waiting for others to do things for them. Since the announcement that a Bank account has been set up at the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) for the mobilization of resources to help with the rebuilding of the destroyed hospital, Manyu people have been calling to find out how they can pay in their contribution.

Speaking to the Cameroon Concord News Group’s correspondent in Toronto, Canada, a Manyu businessman said that “We cannot leave this to other people. This is our responsibility. We have learned from others. When things go wrong, we must step in to help. Our people in Mamfe are suffering. We cannot forget where we come from. We are going to let the world know that we too can act. Our people are desperate, and we must do something to reduce or mitigate that desperation.” 

He added that “we trust those who are leading the effort. I hear that Dr. Joachim Arrey is leading the effort. He is a man of his words. He is much respected here in Canada. He has been in Canada for about 25 years if I am not mistaken. He does not joke, and he loves humanitarian work. He is one of those big brothers who can mobilize the community. I read the other day that he had already pledged a huge sum. We must support this effort so that our people can be proud of us. Dr. Arrey says this not the time for long speeches and titles. We are prepared to follow his lead and I know we will all be happy with the outcome.”

Speaking over the phone with the Cameroon Concord News Group’s editor-in-chief, Dr. Joachim Arrey said that this is the time for all Manyu sons and daughters around the world to step up to the plate and be counted among those who have left home but still think of home.

“I am away from Mamfe, but Mamfe is stuck in my mind. I grew up in New Layout Mamfe town and it was thanks to that hospital that my siblings and I are alive. The doctors and nurses were very caring and those who took care of us in those days in that hospital are all gone. However, we must express our gratitude to them by helping to rebuild a hospital they took care of during their days. About three of my siblings were born in that hospital and it is just normal for me to lead an effort that will go a long way in making things better for other people,” he said.

“As a young student, I was hospitalized in that hospital. One Mrs. Besong Cecilia of blessed memory was a nurse, and she was very selfless. She used to receive everybody from Ossing as if the entire village was one family. She was from Ossing and she loved her people. She died last year, and I think for those of us who knew her, we must do something to keep this hospital alive so that other people can also have access to quality healthcare. We all can make our world a better place than we met it by just being kind to everybody,” he stressed.

“We are not into politics here. We are not going to trade accusations about who burned down the hospital. We are going to raise money to restore the hospital to its pristine state. Manyu has the numbers and we are many in Canada. There are many friends of Manyu who are also joining the endeavor.  Something positive will come out of this tragedy. It is up to us to make the most of this unfortunate situation. Instead of fighting, we should be closing ranks to achieve something big for our people. A disease does not know if you are a federalist, separatist, CPDM militant or a visitor. When it strikes, we all head to a hospital, so we should keep politics out of this and do the right thing,” he stressed.  

Based on preliminary information obtained from the committee that is responsible for the collection of funds, things are looking up, as many people have already begun sending in their contributions. The people of Manyu are already demonstrating that they can do things the big way. With the example set in Cameroon, things will certainly be moving in the right direction and other Manyu communities in other countries will soon jump onto the fundraising wagon to make the dream of the people of Manyu a reality.

By Enowtaku Ebanghatabi Christelle

Two members of the Cameroon government Francophone dominated military have been killed in an armed attack by Ambazonia Restoration Forces in Njinikom, Boyo constituency.

According to government cables, the incident took place on Tuesday, when the pro Yaoundé army soldiers were on a patrol in Njinikom.

Yaoundé is yet to identify the soldiers but a video made public by Southern Cameroon Self Defense Forces in Boyo detailed the attack and the military equipments gained by the Amba fighters.

Cameroon Concord News gathered that four bullets hit both of the soldiers in the head and six bullets hit their hands.

The Southern Cameroons Interim Government has not commented on the happenings in Boya. However, an aide to Vice President Dabney Yerima has been quoted as saying the Francophone soldiers were in Njinikom to commit inhuman crimes.

Southern Cameroons has been a victim of French Cameroun military attacks for over five years now.

After decades of chafing at perceived discrimination and marginalization, the people of Southern Cameroons led by their leader President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe declared the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia in 2017, triggering a crackdown by the French backed Francophone authorities in Yaoundé.

The spiral of fighting has claimed more than 10,000 lives and prompted more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group (ICG) think tank.

Amba fighters are now targeting police, soldiers, officials and schools, which they deem to be symbols of the French Cameroun state.

The Francophone armed forces have also been accused of abuses — charges that the Cameroonian authorities have in the past been quick to dismiss.

By Rita Akana with files

In a rare disclosure, the Vice President of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government says French Cameroun regime officials attempted to persuade him to denounce the Ambazonian struggle and also condemn President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe for declaring the independence of the Federal Republic of Ambazonia.

Speaking exclusively to Cameroon Concord News on Monday, Vice President Dabney Yerima said Cameroon embassy officials in some EU countries including the US infiltrated the Interim Government and encouraged unhealthy rivalry and divisions among Southern Cameroons front line figures.

The exiled Southern Cameroons leader also revealed that he got anonymous telephone calls asking him to denounce the Southern Cameroons uprising and criticize President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe and that a handsome reward await him if he accepted the proposal.

Comrade Dabney Yerima, however, said he had rejected the nasty and provocative advance from the corrupt Biya Francophone regime in French Cameroun.

Yerima added that Paul Atanga Nji has been reportedly calling upon Southern Cameroons traditional rulers and prominent elites to betray their people, “I have no words to describe my rejection of such criminal moves,” the Ambazonia Vice President asserted.

He also hinted that some senior Southern Cameroons personalities were recently invited to communicate with elements of the Francophone dominated secret service in Yaoundé.

By Toto Roland Motuba