50 years after independence, former Southern Cameroon yet to have international airports

Cameroon, situated politically in Central Africa and geographically in West Africa is reputed for its uneven distribution of development projects.

If the architects of the reunification of Cameroon were still alive, then they would not only be regarded as traitors but they would have to explain why the 1961 plebiscite wherein they encouraged Southern Cameroonians to sign for a 50/50 economic development and political power sharing is yet to yield any fruits.

50 years after the reunification of the former British and French Cameroons, the former is not just deserted and abandoned to itself in the socio-economic and political aspects of life but equally, none of the clauses of the reunification is being respected.
French speaking regions developing very fast

In French-speaking regions of #Cameroon which constitute 80 percent of the national territory and population, the development of air, land and water transport systems is evolving at the speed of light. Talking about #air transport, the French-speaking part of Cameroon can as of now boast of at least three international airports namely, the Douala, Yaounde and Garoua airports not forgetting the newly created national travel routes to Bafoussam. These are  now all operational.
With the plethora of air routes already established in Francophone Cameroon, one will expect at least more from a nation which reunified on a 50/50 basis. Anglophones  compose the minority, occupying barely 20% of the national territory with two regions, the North West and South West.
English speaking infrastructure a ghost of the old days

Air transport which originally started in the English Speaking part of Cameroon is today a ghost of its former self. The Tiko airport constructed by the Germans during the pre-colonial period around the 1940s is today a mirror of what it used to be.

As the Female African Cup of Nations to be hosted by the South West and Center regions was announced, Anglophones in the South West Region breathed a sigh of relief as it was proclaimed that the Tiko airport was to be renovated and used to transport teams before, during and after the competition in Limbe.

As expected, the project died a natural death and recently the main road leading to the airport that was linked by an age-old bridge constructed during the pre-colonial period collapsed, handicapping the residents of the area and putting the road users in a difficult situation.

In the North West Region, the story is a similar one. A demarcated piece of land in Bali -Nyonga that at first was set aside for the construction of the Bamenda International airport has been turned into a hunting ground where idle youths go for hunting.
The Bafut military airstrip

A tiny one found in Bafut and used by the military has in recent years received a lot of criticism due to its soft nature of the ground which does not permit heavy aircraft above a certain number of tons to land on it.

Anglophone pressure groups, trade unions, lawyers and teachers among others have continued to decry the unjust treatment and uneven distribution of development projects even though they say their regions (North West and south West) are the breadbasket of Cameroon, having all the mineral deposits.
Calls for separation

While a group of individuals have classified themselves under the banner of the Ambazonia republic and are calling for the separation of the former British Southern Cameroons, the majority of the population remains indifferent with some focusing their minds on having just their daily bread.  

It has been announced that air routes will be extended to Bamenda. #reunification of Cameroon