New Year 2016: Serenity reigns in Douala

Great is the calm with which New Year Eve 2016 and New Year Day was celebrated in the economic capital, Douala. A visit of some major junctions and neighbourhoods known for hectic celebrations during such occasions, revealed that all went well, unlike in the past.

Previously, hooligans would throw bottles of beer on tarred roads. Sometimes, it was fireworks that were used in churches that tended to frighten worshippers. The hectic but heavy drinking that used to characterise bars  and makeshift drinking spots set up around homes and on busy streets, were completely absent, confirming a different attitude of Douala residents to the season. In six neighbourhoods visited, there were no makeshift structures erected for drinking or dancing.

Rather, drinking, eating and dancing were restricted to their usual venues, with very few people roaming the streets the night of December 31, 2015; except for the multitude of worshippers going to or returning from churches for cross-over night services.

A Douala resident, Ngie Jacques, said it was most likely that city dwellers shunned fireworks that used to be commonplace in order to avoid any incidents. “There has been a wave of spontaneous security raids carried out on neighbourhoods in the recent past due to the insecurity in the nation. It might have been due to this that most people remained indoors,” explained another resident, Marilyn Samba.