“A Community grossly deprived of basic
amenities or infrastructure;
yet the food basket of its surrounding
cities.”
“Sir, its only in Koto you can
get a good wood for your roofing work – the ‘small leaf’ specie. It will be
faster and cheaper. There are many small local dealers”; Ngom Kome a local wood
job man in Limbe told me.
My trip to Koto was triggered by
a need. I was neither on an adventure trip nor a tourist visit. I needed specie
of wood for roofing work at our construction site. My contact person Ngom Kome
proposed Koto to me, for quality and quantity. Hearing about Koto was basically
the second time I have heard the name as a village or community. I know it is
in Cameroon
but do not know its exact location. Ngom Kome gave me a better understanding to
this. From more inquiries, I realized also that Koto is more of a farming
community than a timber enclave where wood is commercially exploited. This
actually aroused my curiosity. Otherwise there is no real excitement in making
a trip to a rural area in Cameroon.
We set out from mile 4 motor park
Limbe. Obviously my contact person Ngom Kome was with me. Getting him to embark
on this trip cost me a compensation for his daily earnings. I don’t know how
much he earns but he requested for a certain amount which I obliged him. I
think for a job man living at subsistence level with his family, compensation
for his daily ‘bread’ is very important to him.
Journeying through the Tiko – Douala highway, I fixed
my gaze at the expansive CDC banana and rubber plantations along both sides of
the highway. The Cameroon Development Cooperation (CDC) and its banana partners
– Demonte occupies about 75% of lands in this. The place of the native
landowners and what happen to their own farming activities is a story for
another day.
My thoughts on CDC and also the
need for Government to expand the highway was interrupted by security checks on
the way – near the toll gate, at the
popular Miselele market and at Miondo bar. Checks were mounted by
elements of Routier (highway police), the Police and Gendarmerie. At these
check points, it seems every driver – especially the commercial vehicle drivers
know what to do as soon as they are whistled to stop and clear off the road.
They approached the security personnel with their vehicle documents, which are
received and again released in exchange for 500 FRS or 100 FRS cfa as the case
may be. For the few minutes we spent at each of the check points, many
commercial and private vehicles were stopped but none were checked; not even
the passengers or vehicle occupants. I really wondered about the essence of security
checks when nothing and nobody is checked. It was more of a cash contribution
to security elements. Amazingly, many drivers perform this “road ritual” of
cash donation with excitement. “If you
refuse to give money, they will apply all measures to scrutinize and delay you.
It’s a waste of time. If your documents are complete, they will take money, if
they are not, they will still collect money”, our bus driver said in
lamentation as he drove off the last checkpoint. “This is indeed extortion and
smiling”, I muttered. May be that explains why many drivers that ply this
highway hardly have proper vehicle documents. Afterall, it is cash that is
checked and not documents.
After the last check, we got to
Bekoko junction – main entrance into Douala
commercial city and gateway out of Douala
to other parts of Littoral, West, Northwest and even Southwest Regions. At
Bekoko the first lap of our trip ended. We boarded another vehicle at the mini
motor park and headed towards the Bekoko-Nkonsamba highway. It was same “road
rituals” for drivers at security checkpoints. However, here is a better road –
smoothly tarred but not expanded enough for a highway of its magnitude. ‘Narrow’
may be a common feature of road networks in Cameroon, and that is why road
accident is also a common occurrence. On the side ways, the Socapalm and other
private palm plantations stretched out; including the CDC rubber plantation at
Kompina. Smokes from micro oil palm press located at different spots rock the
atmosphere. Medium size lorry oil tankers were loading processed palm oil from
small plastic containers placed at the road sides by their owners. People were
really very busy here.
Thirty-five minutes drive from
Bekoko got us to Kombe Market or better still Pendaboko Junction. This is a popular
stopover along the highway. It is also one of the famous food crop markets in
the Littoral Region and Mbanga rural Council in particular. It is equally the
gateway into and out of Koto community and Pendaboko. I followed my contact
Ngom Kome towards the direction he was going and my senses soaked in the
scenery before me. The details registered. The environment I found myself was
typical of a motor park in Cameroon.
Confusion and measure of insanity reigns – noisy drinking bars with echoes of
loud music, petit traders and hawkers jostling around for their daily bread.
Drivers, vehicle loaders and other motor park touts shout and run
helter-skelter at the sight of persons asking for their destination. Places
like this are obvious safe haven for petit thieves.
“Pa, una di go
wusai”(meaning-where are you going), a voice shouted in pidgin English. “Koto
UP, Koto Eshimbi, Pendaboko camp, Corner wata”, other voices echoed as Ngom
Kome and I approached what seemed to me like a motorbike park at a corner of this
junction. Several of them were here, of
different make and model – Sanili, Nanfang, Benco, etc. I saw the Chinese
technology in display which I believe tells much on the cordial Chino-Cameroon
trade and economic relation. Who benefits more from this trade relation is an
issue for economist and economic analyst to deliberate on. Some experts have
said that the proliferation of this brand of Chinese technology in Cameroon has
been a blessing. It has provided alternative means of transportation especially
in the rural areas. Generally, it has been a source of livelihood to many –
direct and indirect employment to youths who forms the bulk of riders and
repairers; business to spare part dealers, importers, etc. However, as these
blessings abound, so do curses or tragedies even more. The high rate of urban
and rural tragic deaths and sudden physical deformation especially among the
youths has been linked to ghastly motor bike accidents.
I realized that many of the motor
bike riders here were youths – of under 20’s and 30’s. It struck me why these
boys preferred commercial bike riding to going to school. While engulfed in my
thoughts, my contact Ngom Kome negotiated a motorbike to carry both of us. I
objected to this and on my insistence, he got another bike for me. I did not
object out of indignation but I really considered the risk involved in riding
‘double’ on a bike, in a dusty-bumpy earth road moreso with no covering helmet.
For this reason also, I warned the bike rider brought to me to go easy and slow
which he obliged me. The bike rider gave me his name as Nelson – 22 years old
from Northwest Region. He lives with his parents who relocated to Koto for
farming. “I dropped out of school at form three due to financial constraint.
But I have been able to finish apprenticeship in furniture making. I am doing
this bike work on lease for now, to support my parents buy my working tools and
get a workshop”; Nelson told me as we discussed on our way.
Riding into the wide dusty earth
road ahead of us; we got to the first village in Koto community few minutes
later. This is called ‘KOTO-UP’. Between the Motor Park
and Koto-Up is what I called a “vacuum”. It is a vacuum of sprawling expanse of
land on both sides of the earth road that seems endless in sight. It is cultivated
mainly with cassava food crops and rubber plantations which is larger in size; belonging
to some influential individuals and CDC. This should be one of the wonders of
this community. From Koto-Up, we got to another village called Koto-Eshimbi,
our final destination. It was a big relief, after a less than 6 km ride on
motor bike.
My contact Ngom Kome left me at a
thatched village drinking spot to get the local wood dealers. We had a good
discussion with them and I engaged them to do the job. My discussion with them
however gave me more insight about this community. I saw a village or community
of hardworking young men and women, even the old; going about their activities
as early as possible. Many of them have one destination – their farms. I also saw
a community that is deprived of basic amenities or infrastructure. This
actually made me decide to make a return trip to KOTO.
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