Kumba-Mamfe road kills “B’da by night” travelling

By Johnson Batuo

One of the salient, conspicuous and striking joy of the tarring of the Kumba-Mamfe road to Anglophones is the putting to an end travelling by night, especially to passengers who travel from some remote parts of the Southwest to the Northwest Region.

                The phrase “Bamenda by night” was coined to remind passengers from the Southwest, that vehicles from this region, for Bamenda would naturally leave in the evening period

                This was partly due to the scarcity of vehicles passing through or leaving Kumba to Bamenda but also to the risk involved due to the bad states of the road, especially during the rainy season.

                This risk also included the exorbitant transport fare, attacks by highway robbers and worst of all passengers bound for Bamenda and even Mamfe in Manyu from the southwest division were obliged to pass through two francophone regions, Littoral and Western region.

                The near completion of the tarring of the Kumba-Mamfe road, has not totally eliminated but has diminished Bamenda by night journeys.  Passengers can now choose when to travel at their own convenience.

                Before now, passengers for the Northwest and Manyu booked in advance.  This booking most often was not an assurance for travel.

                Due to scarcity of buses and other corrupt practices some passengers from the suburbs were compelled to spend nights in one of the travelling agencies in Kumba before leaving for their final destination, in the process, luggage and goods, were either stolen, missing, misplaced etc.  All that now is almost becoming a thing of the past.