|
|
Cameroon: FG to Ensure Return of Peace to Cameroon
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
Vanguard (Lagos)
23 March 2008
Posted to the web 24 March 2008
Abayomi Adeshida
THE Federal Government has promised to mediate between the warring communities of Uliti and Oyive in Cameroon, just as Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross River State has been urged to avert an impending humanitarian situation at the Government Primary School, Amana 1, where over three thousand refugees from the two warring communities in neighbouring Cameroon Republic are currently taking respite from ravaging hostilities.
Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Governor after an assessment tour of the refugee camp, the Special Duties Minister, Elder Godsday Orubebe, implored the State Government to act as soon as possible to prevent a humanitarian situation that could arise from the camp due to poor health, sanitation and security situations.
According to the Minister who said his visit to the camp was occasioned by a Presidential directive, "the Federal Government will explore diplomatic channels to ensure that peace returns to the warring Communities in Cameroon to prevent the growing number of refugees who currently are more than three thousand at the make-shift camp in Amana.
"We got to the camp where the refugees are currently being held and we were faced with a very sad situation which could explode before us soon if we fail to take urgent steps to assist the Cameroonians in the camp.
"The situation at the camp is very alarming. I spoke to the refugees through an interpreter together with the Chairman of Obalinku Local Government, I think we have to do some things urgently; otherwise, we have a disaster looming.
"Anytime from now, we are going to experience an epidemic that might result to a humanitarian situation that may portray us as a bad host."
"In the camp, there are very old men and women who one wonders how they crossed the mountains to make it to the Primary School from Cameroon.
"The Primary School where the refugees are being kept has been sacked because of the disaster; something urgent is needed to be done so that we do not deprive the innocent school children the opportunity of having the education that is required to better their lives.
"We would like to seize the opportunity of this courtesy visit to plead with you to please urgently provide health facility for the people.
"We want to plead with you to deploy the State Health team, because from what I saw there, where one inexperienced old woman is attending to the health needs of the over three thousand people in the camp.
"We want to plead that you deploy your qualified Doctors to attend to the medical needs of the refugees to prevent an outbreak of an epidemic that might endanger the host community.
"We also want to plead with you to urgently deploy some food items and beddings to the place because the people were living in open classrooms that do not have any table, benches, windows and doors," he pleaded.
The Minister who described his visit to Calabar as an homecoming having been deployed to the State during his Youth Corps Service Year, further pleaded with the Governor to provide an office accommodation to staff of the Ministry of Special Duties, "to be able to monitor the refugees until the situation in Cameroon improves and the people return to their country.
"The other request we would wish to present before you is that the people should be relocated from their present camp which looks porous and bereft of any form of security.
"The camp as it is presently looks too open, such that if humanitarian activities are being carried out there, both care givers and the refugees are exposed to possible attack by the warlords.
"We need to transfer those people from that place so that our security officer can take control of the camp and prevent any possible attack", the Minister noted.
|
In his response, Governor Liel Imokeh of Cross River State thanked the Federal Government for the attention paid the situation in the refugee camp.
"We have been holding meetings on the matter and just this morning, the State Executive Council Meeting was convened to discuss the situation and some far fetched decisions have been reached to assist the refugees.
"We have approved a budget of twelve million naira for the provision of relief materials for the refugees and I assure you Honourable Minister that help will reach the camp and everything you told us would be given urgent attention."
nigeria have allways been making the samr mistakes. by treating BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS AS CAMEROUNIANS SINCE 1961, WHAT WOULD NIGERIA CALL, THE FRENCH CAMEROUNESE, FARAWAY ACROSS THE THE INTERNATIONAL BOUBDARIES AT RIVER MUNGO? THEY ARE CAMEROONIANS, SOO, THESE PEOPLE ARE SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS AND NOT CAMEROONIANS. PLEASE THERE IS A DIFFERENCE,
SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS, ARE ENGLISH SPEAKING, CULTURED BORDERED WITH NIGERIATO THE WEST, WHILE CAMEROONINANS ARE FRENCH SPEAKING CULTURED ... [Read Full Text]
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
