THE NEW LINES AT THE BAMENDA MAIN MARKET

THE NEW LINES AT THE BAMENDA MAIN MARKET

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

Recently, I was at the Bamenda Commercial Avenue market and noticed something. It was that market lines (alleyways, if you like) now carry names. 

I noticed that whoever initiated the idea deserves congratulations. Firstly, this new order marks a sharp break from the past when there was no such identification and shoppers could therefore easily miss their way. That is now likely to be a thing of the past. The innovation also brings in some aesthetic improvement on the outlook of both sellers and buyers. The inscriptions are eye-catching and user friendly.

Furthermore, beyond the form, there is substance because when it comes to seeing, calling and recalling the given names, the visitor has flashes of memory and connotations of all kinds, appropriate to the names attributed. Some Line names I jotted down were `Peaceful Line`, `Blessed Line`, Victory Line`, `Universal Line`, `Fashion Line`, `Wisdom Line`, and believe it or not, `Obama Line`.

What attracted me most was Obama`s name for obvious reasons. I asked some of the traders whether since they have a Line named after a foreign president, they also had one for their own President, Paul Biya. They told me that the choice was not arbitrary but at the ballot box. For that particular line, they said, three candidates were short listed: Mandela, Obama and Biya. 

“And what were the results?” I enquired eagerly.

I was told that out of the 50 who voted, Obama topped the chart with 36 votes, followed by Mandela with 12 and Paul Biya with 2 (two). This particular line`s voters came from one of the two trade unions at the market, the Progressive Traders` Union. The other is the Bamenda Traders` Economic Organization.

Obama`s election here took place last year, at a time when world attention was very galvanized on Mandela. Although the Former South African President was already ill at the time, he did not get any sympathy vote from the traders. If he did, they would have voted him. But they chose Obama. 

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