My Story

It’s been two years since I graduated from high school in 2014. I am excited to start school again and pursue my university studies. My cousin generously gives me 300k for my tuition fees, which I pay immediately. Two weeks later, on a Wednesday, we are in class waiting for our lecture. However, the lecturer informs us that the teachers are on strike, so we can’t have any classes that day. Thinking the strike would only last a day or perhaps a week, I head home without much concern.

However, as the months go by, schools remain closed. I find myself wondering, “How did the teachers’ and lawyers’ strike become everyone’s strike?” Meanwhile, my more fortunate friends transfer to non-striking areas and continue their studies. I stay behind, hoping that the situation will improve or that at least part of my tuition will be refunded. Unfortunately, my hopes are in vain. The strike escalates into a full-blown conflict, and schools become targets. I end up losing not just the 300k, but also a year of education—and more years to come.

Fast forward to 2018. Early one morning in our community, I am still asleep when a dozen state-armed groups break into every house, beating boys and demanding guns. Although some boys manage to escape, not because they have guns but out of fear for their lives, I am not so lucky. Despite having no weapons, I am treated like a criminal. They break down our doors, drag me across the floor, douse me with water, and beat me with a gun. With serious injuries on my body, sores on my feet, and a swollen hand, they force me to run on gravel. The pain is unbearable, but I cannot tell if it’s from the physical torture or from the fact that I am innocent.

My message to the various stakeholders is clear: It is time for this armed conflict to end. The Bible says that a house divided against itself cannot stand. You cannot expect your citizens to be patriotic and love their nation if they are deeply hurt by those who are supposed to protect them. It is possible to bring your people together without causing them to hate you. End the Anglophone crisis now and prevent further police brutality.

I am Mathias Akoa, a young advocate for an end to the Anglophone crisis.