Chuku Emecheta: From Refugee to Bourgeoisie
A 76 year old Nigerian tells a tale of success; as he fled the Biafran war of 1967.
It’s officially recorded that more than 100,000 people have left their countries, family members, friends and relatives behind to settle in Cameroon; and that most of the migrants have either voluntarily streamed into the country for cross border white-collar jobs or have simply been scared from home by wars, hunger and other denigrating economic conditions that threaten their lives and dignity. And, the nightmare of the migrant populations, mostly from Nigeria, Liberia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic Congo, has not been at the level of crossing the borders or obtaining a certificate of residence. Rather, it has been the challenge of embracing new cultures and legislations, negotiating a comfortable and secured space in an alien land, as well as upholding an ancestral cultural identity among different people who think and act entirely differently. The Emecheta’s family, which has lived at the New Bell neighbourhood in Douala as far back as 1967, has a catalogue of joyful and sorrowful narratives recorded from various spheres of Cameroon life: bloodshed
“I fled Nigeria, with my wife and two kids, on November 8th, 1967 when the Biafran war intensified,” Chuku Emecheta, now a prosperous automobile spare parts dealer, recounted. “We reached the Coast of Victoria, now called Limbe, the next day. It was an adventure full of excitement, fear and confusion. We had neither friend nor relative to cling on for accommodation,” he said adding that the question of job and security was even farfetched because they did not have any documentation. “We slept on public verandas and market sheds for some weeks before finding a host,” Emecheta recalled.
To Chuku Emecheta, the greatest challenge was not food and security, but how to integrate his family into the newfound society, while preserving his Ibo cultural identity in a country where more than 200 tribes hail from different ancestral backgrounds, speak different languages and adore dissimilar cultural practices. “From the very beginning my accent betrayed me,” Emecheta said, wearing an unquenchable smile. “I could hardly glide through the police checkpoint unnoticed. I tried in vain to readapt my accent and also sought to avoid speaking the Ibo language to my children in public places. But it was difficult to part with my mother tongue,” the businessman said, rubbing his glittery grey hairs.
Tough times however did not last. In 1968, Emecheta quit Limbe for Douala where he joined the“Ibo family meeting” from which he secured an average business loan. “Then, the images of war and death gave way; and the dream of business and prosperity materialized,” the Nigerian said, with an air of fulfilment. “Since then, my entire family found home in Cameroon; I have successfully traded spare parts for over 30 years. My sons are great businessmen, too. We love Cameroon,” he professed.
Martin NKEMATABONG
