By Joe Dinga Pefok
Cameroonian Police Killed Nigerian
A Nigerian fisherman, Jackson Aniefiok, was shot dead by Cameroonian police in the night of October 12, 2004, in Bonaberi, Douala. But five months later, the corpse is still lying in the mortuary of the Bonassama Subdivisional Hospital in Bonaberi.
The Littoral Provincial Delegate for National Security, Jean Joel Ondo, and the Littoral Governor, Gounokou Haounaye, admitted to the visiting Nigerian High Commissioner to Cameroon, H.E. Chief Edwin Edobor, March 16, in Douala, that Aniefiok was killed by police bullets.
However, the Cameroon authorities insisted that it was an accident, and tendered an apology to the Nigerian authorities. The police said they were hunting down some armed robbers when they erroneously fired at Aniefiok.
During separate courtesy calls on March 16, the Nigerian High Commissioner brought up the issue.
Disagreement Over Corpse
Though Edobor accepted the apology of the Cameroonian authorities, the Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities, however, disagreed over responsibility to bury the corpse. That is why the corpse is still lying in the mortuary.
On March 14 the Littoral Police boss told the visiting Nigerian High Commissioner that it was for the family of the late Aniefiok to remove the corpse from the mortuary and bury it. But the High Commissioner rejected this view outright, and insisted that since members of the Cameroon police killed Aniefiok, it is the Cameroon government that is supposed to take responsibility to bury the decease.
While the wrangling is on, the Cameroonian authorities are accusing a prominent Anglophone medical doctor in Douala for allegedly advising Nigerians in Douala to leave the responsibility of burying the corpse to the government. Whatever the case, observers are unanimous that the sooner the Cameroonian and Nigerian authorities sort out this issue the better, especially for the family of the deceased.
Patriotic Nigerians
Being able to sing the National Anthem of one's country well is an indication that one has some amount of patriotism flowing in their blood. That was exactly what the large Nigerian community in Douala and environs manifested, during the maiden official visit of their new High Commissioner to Cameroon, Chief Edobor, from March 14-18.
Be they men, women or boys trading at the Central, Congo or Mboppi markets, be they the motor spare parts dealers of Camp Yabassi; even the fishermen and women of Youpwe, they all sang their country's National Anthem loudly, clearly, respectfully and proudly. It was the same thing with the recitation of their official pledge to their fatherland.
Cameroonians who were present were amazed to discover that Nigerian market women and fishermen could sing their National Anthem so well. This was due to the fact that many Cameroonians, including some top personalities, cannot sing clearly the first stanza of the National Anthem.
At a grand reception organised on the premises of the Nigerian Consul in Douala on March 17, a Nigerian choral group that was programmed to sing the national anthems of both Cameroon and Nigeria, opted to sing the French version of the Cameroon anthem.
But time and again, Cameroonians present at the occasion could neither identify their anthem nor the language as being French. The Nigerian group would have done better if they had learnt to sing the English version of the Cameroon anthem.
Increase In Taxi Fare As Headache
The recent increase in taxi fare from FCFA 150 to FCFA 175 during the day is causing a headache to township taxi drivers in Douala. Most drivers complain of the lack of FCFA 25 coins to give back to passengers who offer FCFA 200.
A number of cases of physical confrontation, two of them bloody, have been reported in Douala reportedly caused by arguments between some drivers and passengers over the lack of FCFA 25.
In a bid to avoid conflict, some taxi drivers, when given FCFA 200 by passengers who board their taxicabs, for the normal rate, prefer to give back FCFA 50, which is easily available.
Meanwhile, the scarcity of FCFA 25 coins has, for a number of years, been a persistent problem in Douala. In early 2003 when the fare for a ride in a SOCATUR, urban transport bus company, bus was FCFA 125, the Director General, Jean Ernest Ngalle Bibehe, told a press conference in Douala that the company was suffering from the scarcity of FCFA 25.
He said at times the company was forced to send agents to the Southwest and West Provinces, to "buy" FCFA 25. A person who, for example, could give FCFA 25 to the tune of FCFA 1000, received FCFA 110 in exchange.
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