Fon George Ndikum II of
Akum was enthroned on the 7th of January 1958 the same year his late
father passed away. Since then he has been on the throne for almost sixty
years. Among other things, Fon Ndikum George II of Akum emphasizes that despite
the upsurge of modernism, Akum people are doing everything to maintain the
originality of their rich culture. In the following revealing interview, he was
talked to by Francis Ekongang Nzante of Cameroon People Magazine and Manasse Vushigo
of Sky Sports Radio, Bamenda.
Who
is Fon George Ndikum II at a much more personal level?
I was born in 1935 and
grew up in Akum and went to primary school at the age of ten. I started my A B
C in the then Native Authority School Santa. I went up to Standard III and I
came back to Akum here and continued my
education to Standard IV but by then there was no Standard V in Akum so we were
bound to move down to Saint Joseph’s School Mankon where I attended Standard V
and VI. That’s where I ended my formal education. This was in 1956. In Bamenda
at the time, you had John Hold and UAC so I wrote an application to work for
John Hold and I was employed as a Clerical Clerk. I served them only for one
year and within this time, I was sent to victoria for some internal
refurbishing. We went to Victoria and completed our training because this
company was buying Kennel and coffee and selling so I became an agent for them
in this part of the country.
How
has your society evolved over the last sixty years as far as bringing people
together and developing them is concerned?
Immediately I took
over, I brought my people together though very young at that time. We sat down
with the notables and a few elites and decided on how Akum could be developed. We started by digging roads in the village to
connect the quarters. We did this and then the missionary who was in Akum at
that time came to me and wanted a plot for a hospital. I invited a couple of
people who had some large plots and we agreed and gave out the land to the
Church. Since then we have been very busy with roads linking all the quarters.
I have also made sure that we have drinking water. That was the second project
we took and the cooperative donated some money. A levy was equally given to
everybody and they paid. We contacted
the community development people at the time. We had to build a community Hall
which was very important for the village. The Community Hall was realised and
now people do their marriages and any other occasions that they may have. I
told them to build good houses back in the village. That’s why today when you
pass through Akum you see a lot of good houses.
How
have you been blending aspects of your culture with modernism and maintaining
that cultural originality?
Akum people have a very
rich culture and they are doing everything to maintain this rich culture. In
all the quarters, we have traditional dances for both the men and the women. As
concerns marriages, we inter marry. We have a day called Contry Sunday during which we do not go to the farm.
Such days are usually filled with cultural activities such as dances among
other things. Akum people are farmers and when I took over the throne, things
automatically changed. Formerly there were Nchindas
in the Palace and their work was just to go round the village and if they met
any goat, chicken and a matured bunch of plantain they brought it to the Palace
but now all of that has changed.
Cognizant
of the fact that the people of the Northwest Region are not originally from
this Region can His Highness tell us something about the origins of the people
of Akum?
I was enthroned on the
7th of January 1958 the same year my late father passed away. Since
then, I have been on the throne for almost sixty years.
When I took over, I met
some old traditional elders who really told me how the Akum people got to this
place. First of all, they told me that
Akum people came from Tikari. When they
left, they rested at Widikum with other villages, not only Akum people. When
they eventually left Widikum, their first settlement was in Mundum. They rested there for a number of years and
what caused them to leave the place was the infertility of the soil. From
Mundum, they came up to this present site. When they got here, their leader who
brought them from Widikum to Mundum and to this present site was called Fon
Fumingom. When they got here, their first settlement was at Kapcho. Due to
Tribal Wars at that time, they left Kapcho and went to Babadjou from where they
came back to this present site. They had to move the Palace from Kapcho to
Tinala. When they moved there the tribal wars were still going on and they
fought with Bali Kumbat and then left and went to Bambili. They settled there
and planted some of the raffia bushes that you find there today. They
eventually left Bambili and came back here. They then moved the Palace from
Tinala to Njinbawo near the forest. The reason was that if there was any attack
again from other villages they could run and hide in the forest. It was
until 1934 that they moved the palace to this present site.
Is
there any relationship between the people of Akum and those of Mankon?
The relationship
between the two is just that they understand each other and nothing more
because all along, the Akum people have been on their own and Mankon people
have been on their own as well.
How
many quarters make up the Akum Fondom?
We have almost 25 quarters
in the Akum Fondom. Each of these
quarters has at its head a quarter head that assists me in my duties. They hear
minor cases in the quarters and if there is any difficulty they consult me. I
have some people who assist me to settle such matters and when they don’t agree
then they can move to the administration.
Who
are your neighbours and what type of relationship do you have with them?
Formerly, Akum was
bordered by Bali, Pinyin, Babadjou, Baligham, Awing, Bambili, Nkwen and Mankon.
Now with the coming of the other villages, the colonial masters who were here took
Akum land and gave to Mbatu, Chomba, Nsongwa, Alateneng, Mbei, Njong, and
Mendangnkwe. These are the villages that were given land to settle. Now with
the present administration I also have boundaries with Mendangnkwe, Mankon, Mbatu,
Nsongwa, Alateneng, Mbei, Njong.
Why
is Akum referred to sometimes as Small London?
It is a nick name which
came about when the Colonial Masters were still here. Most of the Akum people
worked under them as cooks and Stewards. When the Europeans were going on
leave, they would say they were going to London. Some of them stayed in London for a month or
two. Akum people who worked for them during these periods equally said that
they were going on leave to Small London. That’s exactly how that name came
about.
The
Bamenda metropolis seems to be expanding much more towards Bambili and Mankon,
Bali and Bafut than it is doing towards Akum. What do you think accounts for
this?
I think that Akum is also expanding because
the Bamenda City Council has expanded to one of my quarters Azaane. That’s my
boundary with Mankon where you have the old CENAJES. This is an indication that the city is
expanding into Akum as well.
Can
titles be bought in Akum?
There are two types of
titles. There is the title of Nkum or
King Maker. They have their number and this number increases only when a Fon is lost. When this happens, the
first son joins the group. This title cannot be bought. The second title which
somebody can come up for it is the Cho.
It is not anybody who comes up for it.
When somebody comes up for it, we have to be sure that the person in
question is of good morals meriting such a title. The third title is that of
the red feather. Formerly, when a young man in the village killed a Tiger he was
entitled to a red feather.
Can
His Highness use this medium to send out a message to his subjects?
I call on my subjects both
in Cameroon and the Diaspora to always remember home no matter what they become
and where they are. Each time I travel abroad, I always advice them. We have a shrine here in Akum called Minjiilem and we go there every year to
pray to our ancestors to bless the yields so that we have plenty of food.
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