Irate Students Launch Second Strike in Three Months
The
University of Buea Students’ Union (UBSU), May 15, 2013, launched a dreadful
on-campus strike, after their February 2013 strike was suppressed and some
students charged to court.
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| UB Students spoil for action |
The reasons haven’t changed much from the last, as they keep clamoring for an opportunity to have more courses on re-sit, an increase in march past remuneration to 3000FCFA amongst others.
This time, the
Vice-Chancellor was not on seat, and the student mob stormed the administrative
building for the Deputy, Prof. Victor Julius Ngoh. Alerted on their approaching
the Central Administrative Unit, Prof. Ngoh was smuggled out of the campus.
Frustrated by this
escape, the mob shattered his service car which was at the parking in front of
the Central Administrative building. They turned the vehicle up-side-down and attacked
to the faculties of Social and Management Sciences (FSMS) and Education (FED)
in search of Dr. Kingsley Ngange and Molongo, who were said to have stood as witness
against the students in court.
Failing to suppress the
revolt in their small numbers, the Campus guards fled for safety and six were
caught and brutalized by the student mob. They were later rushed to the
hospital for treatment. The mob had their guard uniforms seized; furniture
damaged and use to barricade the second gate. After which they set them ablaze.
A group of riot policemen
with battens, who had been sent to protect the central administrative building,
were marched out of the campus, of which a resistance should have meant war as
the mob was already parking stones up for that purpose.
The marching out of the
police was celebrated by the mob as a major achievement in the revolt and the
mob returned to the already damaged car of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge
of Research, Co-operation and Relations with the Business World and set it
ablaze. The flag in front of the Central Administrative building was flown down
at half-mast, indicating a State of Emergency.
The next place on
target was the students’ restaurant, where the rioters went to refresh
themselves at no cost at all.
Not long after, four
trucks filled with armed policemen drove in, firing tear gas cylinders in the
air. The observing crowd dispersed in different directions as they were chased
by the police. Some fell, and again got up on their heels.
The strike leaders,
found escape routes out of the campus before the police could get to them,
while others who were unfortunate to fall into police dragnets were detained. Lohshie
Eugene and Ashu Dickson, all student journalists on coverage were equally
picked up and brutalized, The DETECTIVE has learnt.
Prior to this act, an
anonymous communiqué was put up on campus, saying that Prof. Ngoh is a
potential threat to the University of Buea’s peace and that they wanted him out
of the university. They claimed that he has been behind previous on-campus
strike and has cultic dealings.
According to a track
circulated by UBSU during the upheaval, a copy of which The DETECTIVE procured,
the students are calling on the Vice Chancellor to withdraw court charges on
student leaders who were arrested for taking Dr. Nalova Lyonga hostage for five
hours during the previous strike. UBSU equally wants the UB administration to
allow students conduct elections into the central executive of the union among
others.
In the midst of the
commotion, no UB official will readily talk to press men while all attempts to
talk to student representatives were futile.
By the time of filling
this report, a water canon belonging to the Mobile Intervention Unit (GMI) had
just arrived Buea alongside other anti-riot equipment.
It should be noted that
when the new Divisional Officer for Buea, Mr. Koum Woukam Paul was being
installed recently, the SDO for Fako implored him to join forces with UB
administration to check the excesses of UBSU.
With the current
strikes, it is hoped that the administration will fall under the pressure to
meet these demands, and most especially set a date for the Student Union
elections into the executive wing, which is almost being faced out.
By
Oben Carl Ayuk Cole and Amindeh Blaise Atabong
