Insecurity: SYNES UBa threatens Strike Action

Partial view of the University of Bamenda

Lecturers of The University of Bamenda under the UBa chapter of the National Union of Teachers of Higher Education have announced a ten-day notification for a strike action to be carried out as a result of the insecurity they face to and from the university campus especially the Bambili-Bambui stretch of road.

The announced notification to strike came as a result of the kidnap of three lecturers by unidentified gunmen on October 12, 2021.

Strike notice from SYNES UBa

In a release dated October 18 and signed by the SYNES UBa chapter President, Professor Michael Kpughe Lang, the strike action will begin after a ten-day notification period from Monday, October 18th to Friday, October 29th, 2021. So after the ten days, if nothing concrete is done, the strike action will begin.

While resolving to share ideas on how to tackle the security concerns, the strike action will go on from October 30th if solutions are not initiated to minimize the security challenge the university lecturers are currently facing on the Bambili-Bambui road.

Degrading nature of the road

The Bambili-Bambui axis is now a nightmare for road users. Construction works launched to rehabilitate the road have been abandoned for months now as potholes as deep as a hundred centimeters are found everywhere.

The degrading nature of this stretch of the road according to the teachers has made it easy for their cars to be intercepted by the unidentified armed men.

The current state of the road

To them, if construction works on the road are completed and made fluid, it will reduce the possibility of the gunmen skipping onto the road to intercept their cars.

Kidnappings of both lecturers, staff, and students for ransom is now a normal phenomenon happening in the university milieu.

The Mayor of Tubah, Tanjong Martin on October 17, 2020, hinted that the university committee will soon benefit from a double carriageway. Something which is proving to be a far-fetched dream.

The poor state of the road from Bamenda to Bambili has also been affecting taxi drivers who ply the road.

A distance from the City chemist roundabout in Bamenda to Bambili that usually takes 20 minutes now goes for more than 45 minutes with an increase in the transport fare from 500FCFA to 700FCFA.

Construction works on this stretch by Edge Construction Company began in October 2020 and had since stopped.

By Nji Nelson Chefor