Opposition leader's call for shutdown already observed in northern city

The city of Maroua, capital of the Far North region in northern Cameroon, has been at a standstill since Friday morning.

News of a call by opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, for a nationwide “ghost town” protest spread like wildfire.

His appeal for a three-day shutdown from Monday is already being observed here. Out of fear, many merchants refused to open their shops and businesses.

"It’s very hard for us merchants. We were threatened that the market would be burned, which is why we closed today," says merchant, Hayatou.

His view is echoed by fellow tradesperson, Mouhamadou Blama.

"It’s causing us many problems, and it’s because of the dead cities. There are no clients or buyers who come to do their shopping," he says.

With the fruit and vegetable market closed, merchants are helpless as they watch their products rot.

Fruit seller Mahamout says he has not been able to sell anything because the market closed in the morning.

"Our goods are starting to rot. We don’t know what to do. All these things are our products, what should we do with them," he asks.

Although Bakary called for “ghost cities” between 3 and 5 November, Maroua is one of several towns that began the shutdown on Friday.

Merchants like Adboul Aziz say they are fearful because of the absence of security.

"There are more than 2,000 shops in the market, but we have no security, no police, no gendarmerie. We also have goods at the market."

The shutdown is also being felt in other sectors, including education, with many young people saying they are not going to school because of threats.

"We were supposed to be 50 students in my class, but there were only 20 of us this morning, and this is because of the dead city. Going out is complicated, and others are afraid," says student Gringa Dieudonné.

With his call for a shutdown, Issa Tchiroma Bakary has launched Phase 3 of his protest plan, signalling the start of a prolonged standoff against the authorities in Yaoundé.