Education is limping in Manyu, SDO laments
By Shanta Sih
One month after the administrative block of Government Bilingual High School, Eyumojock subdivision was set on fire on November 18, 2022, the SDO of Manyu Division, Viang Mekala, and the Mayor of the Municipality, Ayamba Jacques Ita, visited some schools that suffered arson attacks.
During the visit on Sunday, December 18, 2022, it was revealed that dozens of communities have been left without schools due to the ongoing armed conflict. The SDO urged the mayor and his councilors to prioritize the reconstruction of these schools.
Both men pleaded with members of the local vigilante committee to remain alert by stopping any act of violence, especially the burning down of schools “Our children are left without schools and are forced to stay home with parents because we have decided to bring ourselves pain by destroying structures put in place for our own good,“ Mayor Ita lamented.
The Senior Divisional Officer said that peace can only return if the population collaborates with members of the Cameroon and Security forces “the people of Manyu have gone through too much already and I am pleading on my people to please collaborate with government authorities so we can all have a better 2023 for our children. Even if we keep rebuilding these schools, we do not have the assurance that the same burnings will not occur.”
The SDO asked the population to rise and challenge whom he described as “unknown gunmen”, adding that if they remain mute, they will continue to be intimidated.
He intimated that some villagers support the fighters “We complain of the crisis and the casualties but most of us support what these our children do. There is no way violence can solve any problem.”
