Ahmad Salkida
17 July 2008
analysis
Maiduguri — Banki is a community in Borno state, where the Cameroonian presence is quite strong, since it is a border town. Nigerians prefer to go to the Gendarmes to resolve disputes, and electricity and water supply is largely from Cameroon.
According to Baba Shettima, a 112-year-old man in Fama Local government area in Borno state , one Malam Modu who was exiled from Yerwa Bartama village in the area, established Banki, which emerged as a vibrant hunting and farming destination for many people in the region. It is said to have derived its name from 'baitulbal' (Baitulmani), which literally means, bank or treasury, because, trade by barter and later, money, exchanged hands in the area, Baba Shettima, a resident of Banki implied.
After Banki was set up over a century ago, Mallam Modu and some of his kinsmen set out for pilgrimage to Mecca on foot, but never returned till date. Interestingly, Yerwa Bartama and Banki, two rival communities then, have now merged into one town posthumously reconciling the two former rival founders of what has become one of Nigeria's most popular exit and entry points to Chad and Cameroon, and also a major terminal for cattle trading.
However, walking along the narrow untarred streets of Banki town, the sight of the poor state of infrastructures and the near absence of social amenities are condescendingly embarrassing, vis-à-vis the huge revenue generated from the town, both to the state and federal governments' treasuries. "When Banki was set up, the tax from farming and other trading activities went to the village's 'baitulmani' , but today, the Customs, the Immigrations and other agencies take the revenues of the trans-border trade and movements to as far as Maiduguri or Abuja, at the expense of the people here" said one elderly man who joined a small meeting, organized by Daily Trust with some elderly persons in Banki recently.
Although it is difficult for a visitor to Banki to spot the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, which is right at the centre of the town, without being told. It is also very difficult to make a distinction between a Cameroonian and a Nigerian, because of the physical and linguistic similarities of the people that have co-existed in the area for long. But a careful observer will notice that in the Cameroonian part of the town, plastic electric meters are conspicuous in the streets while long black wires connect them to the south, which falls in Nigeria. This is because the electricity in the whole community comes from Cameroon ,and because the Cameroonian power company SONEL, has no operating rights in Nigeria yet, the demand for constant power which SONEL provides, "made us in Banki to leave our electric meters in Cameroon, and buy long wires depending on the location of our house, to connect our homes in Nigeria'.
Daily Trust Investigations revealed that despite the strategic location of Banki to the socio-economic well-being of Nigeria, there are little or no Local, State and Federal governments intervention in the area. Daily Trust learnt that the town has not witnessed light from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) for nearly five years ,and Banki, which has over 60 percent Nigerians and about 40 percent Cameroonians that make up the town, depends on SONEL, rather than PHCN for electricity supply.
The same with water supply. Although the Borno State Water Board have provided a handful of water points, most of them are either obsolete or depend on SONEL to power them. Fatima, Zara, and Fati, three young girls between the age of 8 - 12, were seen very early in the morning from the north going back to their homes down south of Banki, "We prefer to fetch the water from the boreholes provided by Cameroon because theirs' are cleaner and well maintained", said Zara. "Theirs are more modern, so you don't have to queue up for long" Fati concluded.
Daily Trust investigations revealed that many residents in Banki prefer to enroll their children and wards into Cameroonian based schools in the area, because, according to them, "The schools have quality teachers, adequate instructional manuals and minimal malpractice. The only problem is they teach in French" said malam Adamu in Banki south. "That is not a problem to me because even with French they get quality education, then later I take them to secondary schools to learn English since it is our official language in Nigeria and they do very well" ,said a security guard at the university of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital Comprehensive Health Centre at Banki.
According to Goni Abatcha, a Councillor representing Kolofata ward in the ruling RDPC ruling political party in Cameroon, where Banki north falls under, said, for many years they have co-existed with Nigerians in the area peacefully. But according to him the single biggest complaint against Nigerians by his people as a political leader ,is, "the dishonesty of Nigerians. Your people are fond of lying, cheating and getting involved in more crimes than ours" said the Councilor, who sited two practical examples for Daily Trust to buttress his points:
At Hospital De Destrict De Kolofata, which is about 23 kilometers from Banki inwards into Cameroon, Daily Trust could not take photographs because of lack of authorization to do so by the Gendarmes. However, a Toyota Corolla and three motorcycles parked in the premises of the hospital were said to all belong to Nigerians. "Many Nigerians come as far as Abuja and other parts of the country, but most of them from Maiduguri all make the trip to Kolofata for their eye surgery ,while those at Banki come into the hospital to treat all manner of health problems because of the state of art medical equipment and more effective drugs", said the RDPC Councilor, adding that treatment in Kolofata is relatively cheaper when compared to the UMTH Comprehensive Health Centre and other 'Chemists' in Banki.
Nigerians that cannot afford to pay their medical bills are asked to leave their cars or motorcycles as collaterals ,before members of their families can be treated. But this does not apply to Cameroonians because they are easily traceable, Honourable Abatcha of the RDPC implied.
From Kolofata back to Banki Daily Trust found out that one common problem faced by Cameroonians and Nigerians alike are bad roads. But "The commuters in Cameroon only worry about the state of roads, which affects their cars and cause accidents. In Nigeria, it goes beyond all these, armed banditry is the number one cause of deaths than road accidents here" said malam Adamu.
At Banki "some Nigerians have abandoned their personal houses which they built to rent houses at the Cameroonian side of Banki due to the high prevalence of either burglars, armed robbers or assassins", which was confirmed by Daily Trust, said honourable Abatcha. Investigations by Daily Trust revealed that crime rate at Wajare which falls mostly in Nigeria is high, and very low in Amkide, Cameroon, all in Banki. Unconfirmed reports have it that some residents even prefer to take their disputes to the gendarmes duty post than to the Nigerian Police post, because the gendarmes are said to be incorruptible, strict and can take decisions even at lower levels. " Ours, you have to wait for the DPO who will tell you how much you will pay" said a resident.
"But as you said, these are unconfirmed reports, and it will remain unconfirmed, because the police are not only patriotic at the border but very effective" ,as the recent arrests of several armed bandits and seizures of livestock and other properties worth millions of naira. Some of which have been handed to the rightful owners, while some are waiting for collection, are all indicative of effective policing, said ASP Isa Azare the Public Relations Officer of the Borno State Police Command, who urged the general public to report malpractice in the police rather than make speculations.
The failure of the political leaders in the Nigerian wing of Banki ,apparently may explain why many traditional rulers and officials in Banki declined to make any comments to this Correspondent. But Bulama Kamselem of Amkide, spoke freely about the situation in his area, and urged the Nigerian Police Force to always treat their crime suspects thoroughly, and prosecute them without indiscriminate bails. "I think this is one area where the gendarmes are more successful in combating crimes in the other side of the border" said Bulama Kamselem.
In spite of all the apparent shortcomings by the Nigerian government, many Nigerian youths in Banki are so proud of their identity as Nigerians. "We prefer to be Nigerians than Cameroonians even when we benefit more from their schools, hospitals and electricity". This sentiment expressed by many people in the area underlies the fact that in Nigeria people have a lot of freedom of movement and association without the strict and overbearing laws in Cameroon, " How I wish you were here during a football match between our two countries that is when you will see our differences even between husbands and wives that come from the two countries" said a young football fan.
While it is obvious that the Nigerian state has abandoned most of its constitutional responsibilities to provide basic necessities for its people, and the less democratic Cameroon has apparently taken up most of these responsibilities for Nigerian political leaders in the area. This is seen by many observers "as a systematic colonization of the area by Cameroon", However, Nigeria stands tall in certain services like telecommunications which Nigerian companies are said to offer better services and Tariffs compared to that of Cameroon and most importantly, freedom to exercise a persons whims and caprices.
According to many trans-border truck drivers the ECOWAS declaration of free trade zones is yet to take effect many years after it was introduced. Even the pronouncement by President Umaru Musa Yar'adua on tax waiver on rice importation is only on paper. " Most of the rice you see in the north come from Cameroon and we pay N36,000.00 custom duty on each trailer, and N26,000.00 on each ten (10) tyre truck" said Baba Goni a truck driver.
Responding to the apparent neglect of the area, the Borno State Commissioner for Information and Home Affairs Dr. Bukar Usman said the state government has done a lot in respect to health, education and adequate water supply in the state. "Security, basic infrastructural development at both Urban and Rural areas, are some of the 10 points agenda of the incumbent governor Ali Modu Sheriff, and very soon we shall not only meet the needs of those in the border communities, but our administration will cover the length and breadth of the state with democracy dividends" said Dr. Bukar. He urged the federal government to improve the poor state of federal roads in the state.
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