By Innocent Kum in Yaounde
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| President Biya: Would it not be most politically expedient should he engage dialogue now? |
The United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, has bemoaned
the deplorable conditions under which Cameroonians fleeing the Anglophone
crisis are living in Nigeria.
Antonio
Canhandula, a Programme and Operation Manager and UNHCR representative in
Nigeria made his reservations via his twitter handle after visiting some of the
refugees in Nigeria’s Cross River and Benue States earlier last week.
In
tweet, the UN official disclosed how some women said they had so little food to
feed their families that they had to carry bricks to earn money to supplement
what relief agencies provided.
Accompanying
a photo of young children lined up in a school he wrote: “Beautiful Cameroon
refugee students. Children do not deserve the unfortunate situation of a
refugee. This is freedom and human growth arrested. Robbing children of a
future. An urgent solution is called for.”
Then
there was the story of how an expectant mother who fled the crisis back home had
delivered a day before the UNHCR visited, he also added.
Ernestine Etoe, 23, gave birth at a
clinic located in Cross River State, the UNHCR official recounted in his social
media outing.
The UNHCR’s records indicate that 20,000 plus
Cameroonians have fled the North West and South West regions due to what has
become known as the Anglophone crisis.
Canhandula’s
reservations are the same as those of the agency he represents. The UNHCR aside
pushing that a political solution be found to the crisis holds that it does not
have enough funds to cater for the growing number of refugees.
Earlier
during speaking at a press conference last Monday in Makurdi, Benue state, the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Nigeria, had urged the
government of Cameroon to respect human rights of all citizens especially those
in the two English-speaking regions of the country amid the ongoing
socio-political tension in the regions.
The UN
official said during the exchange with pressmen that instability in Anglophone
Cameroon has forced thousands of citizens to seek asylum in Nigeria.
He said
Cameroonian Government should explore alternative ways of engaging with those
who feel aggrieved for the sake of peace and that both parties should respect
human rights.
“UNHCR
urges the Government of Cameroon to explore ways of engaging with those who
feel aggrieved, for the sake of peace” Canhandula said adding “...We also
reiterate the need for respect of human rights by all parties involved.”
He
disclosed that the Anglophone refugees currently in Nigeria have been advancing
complaints including exclusion from the national life by the Cameroonian
Government, political processes and important positions in the government.
“Longstanding grievances against the central government
in Cameroon took a new turn in 2016 when a group of Anglophone Cameroonians
triggered civil society-led demonstrations” he said.
“This
was based on allegations of marginalisation by the authorities, particularly in
the education and justice system” he added.
He
continued that: “Initially, the protesters called for the return to a federal
system of government and greater autonomy.However, on Oct. 1, 2017, the
separatist movement, Ambazonia Governing Council, declared unilaterally the
independence of Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest Regions.”
“Critics accused
government forces of killing dozens of civilians while the administration is
also alleging that suspected separatists have killed more than 10 security
personnel since the crisis intensified in October’’ he told reporters.
Canhandula
further said that the UNHCR had registered 20,485 Cameroonian refugees seeking
asylum in Benue, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.
He
explained that the commission also opened a permanent office for the coordination
of their activities in Calabar, Cross River, field offices in Adikpo, Benue and
Ikom in Cross River.
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