It is barely 8 a.m. at City Chemist Roundabout. Same at Mobile Nkwen
Taxi after taxi pulls up, each conductor calling out destinations in quick succession.
"Bambili! One seat!"
"Bambui! Bambui!"
"Santa! Santa!"
A group of students with backpacks squeeze into a taxi bound for Bambili, home to the main campus of the University of Bamenda. Nearby, others wait for transport to Bambui.
Across the road, women carrying baskets of vegetables negotiate fares for Santa and Akum. A pickup truck loaded with produce from Bafut and Widikum inches through the morning traffic. Traders prepare for another day in the markets while workers rush to offices before the city reaches its busiest hour.
By late afternoon, the movement begins again, this time in the opposite direction.
it is simply another day.
For urban planners, it tells a story.
Bamenda is no longer just a city serving its own population. It has become the educational, commercial, administrative and healthcare centre of a much wider urban region.
The roads are busy not because people are travelling within Bamenda alone, but because the city has become the heartbeat of surrounding communities.
Every lecture at the University of Bamenda, every hospital appointment, every business transaction and every market day strengthens those connections.
Yet while lives have expanded beyond municipal boundaries, planning often has not.
Transport, housing, waste management, drainage and economic development are still largely approached from the perspective of individual councils.
The reality on the ground is different.
Traffic does not stop at municipal boundaries.
Neither do business, education, pollution or economic opportunity.
A traffic jam on one approach to Bamenda affects traders from Bafut and Santa. Poor drainage upstream can create flooding downstream. A shortage of student accommodation in Bambili influences housing demand in Bambui and Bamenda. Decisions taken in one municipality increasingly affect the others.
This is what makes the idea of a Future Fit Bamenda so important.
The conversation is not about redrawing administrative boundaries.
It is about recognising that development is becoming increasingly interconnected.
As the city grows, transport systems must become more efficient.
Roads should be supported by safe taxi parks, organised bus stops, pedestrian walkways and traffic management that serves commuters rather than simply moving vehicles.
Economic planning should also reflect the changing geography of Bamenda.
If thousands of people travel into the city every day, where are the modern markets that support regional trade?
How can improved roads attract investors, create industries and generate employment for young people?
Can neighbouring councils work together to promote tourism, agriculture and commerce instead of planning in isolation?
These are not questions for tomorrow.
They are questions created by the realities of today.
The urban crossing project has opened a new chapter in the development of Bamenda.
The challenge now is ensuring that infrastructure is matched by vision.
Cities around the world become successful not simply because they build roads, but because they understand how people live, move and do business.
Every morning at City Chemist Roundabout or Mobile Nkwen, Bamenda quietly reveals that story.
Perhaps it is time the city's future planning listened.
Editorial Questions
1. Should Bamenda and neighbouring councils cooperate more closely on transport, waste management and economic planning?
2. Which daily journey best illustrates the growing regional influence of Bamenda?
3. Does public transport adequately serve the thousands of students, traders and workers who commute every day?
4. How can improved roads be used to attract investment and create jobs rather than simply moving traffic more efficiently?
5. If Bamenda is becoming the centre of a wider metropolitan region, what should be the next major investment after road construction?
Next in Future Fit Bamenda
When the rains fall, Bamenda's weaknesses are exposed. Part Three examines drainage, flooding and why every modern city must learn to manage water as carefully as it builds roads.
By Bakah Derick
Bakah Derick is an award-winning Cameroonian journalist and mediapreneur, serving as Vice President in charge of International Relations at the Cameroon Journalists’ Trade Union and leading Hilltopvoices Communications Group Ltd to amplify community voices and governance issues. With nearly 20 years in the field, his impactful reporting spanning human rights, environmental protection, inclusive development, and sports has earned him prestigious honors such as the 2024 VIIMMA Humanitarian Reporter of the Year and more. Email: debakah2004@gmail.com Tel: +237 675 460 750
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