“There Is Peaceful Cohabitation Among The People Of Idabato”

Idabato has had a very precarious security history. What is the situation now?
In terms of security, this place is very safe. Gone are those day when we used to have pirate incursions and attacks here and there. With the implantation of the Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), we have not had any major incidents since 2014 within the peninsular.

What is the level of cohabitation among the various communities here in Idabato?
Although the majority of people here are Nigerians, there is peaceful cohabitation. ‘Living together’ has been our watchword. We have emphasized the need for the people to live in peace and harmony with one another. We don’t have any conflict between one community and the other. The people have been made to understand that there is the need to live in peace, and to settle their differences in an amicable manner.

People living here certainly have some worries. Which are some of them?
There are a number of problems we face here. One major problem is the lack of potable water. When I go to mainland Cameroon and tell people that my people lack drinking water, some of them ask me why Idabato doesn’t have water whereas the place is inside water. I tell them the water we have here is salty and that it is not good for drinking and for other domestic uses. Things are a bit better during the rainy season as people depend on rain water. In the dry season, it’s hell. It is my hope that sooner or letter, the government will do something to respond to this problem. If this problem is solved, Idabato will be a wonderful place to live in. The other problem we have here is that of lodging. This is one of the reasons why many people don’t like coming here because it will be very difficult for them to find a house to stay. If the government can do something in this regard in terms of low-cost housing, it will be a wonderful thing. We plead with the government to construct many of such houses here. My service heads don’t have where to stay. We don’t have offices. I work ...