HRM Fon Ndofoa Zofoa III of Babungo

Babungo since the 12^th Century is seen in its 3000 carvings and artifacts. 

His Majesty has declared that most rulers of this Kingdom have always stayed for long on the throne. The Babungo Kingdom he said was founded around the 12^th Century. 

Fon Ndofoa Zofoa with the Turkish Ambassador recently during the Nikai Cultural Festival in Babungo

The name Ndop is a Babungo name and the people always called those who came to Babungo Ndo meaning stranger and it is from there that the whites called it Ndop adding a letter P to the original name the Fon explained adding that Babungo has maintained its culture for centuries and that if you look round the palace you will see over 3000 carvings or artifacts reasons being that all the rulers who came to the throne left their inspirations through craft work or woodwork. The history of Babungo since the 12^th Century he explained is seen in its 3000 carvings or artifacts.

 

Is the Babungo person a much more settled person or a nomad like the Tikars?

 The Babungo people were nomads and migrated from the Tikars and came here to a place in Babungo called Fogai their god that was there gave them a sheep and they were supposed to settle where ever this sheep died. This sheep came and died here in this plain in Babungo where the first palace was located and that’s where it was buried. The day the sheep was buried has always been considered as the Contry Sunday; a traditional day kept aside for the worship of the gods and respect for tradition which corresponds to the Christian Sunday. Since then we have not been moving from place to place and Babungo has been a blessed land. The shrine of the sheep is still here and Babungo remains a blessed land because since the departure of the Germans we don’t go on inter tribal wars.

 

You just rounded up one of the most colourful Cultural Festivals this year.  What were the peak moments of this festival?  

 

The Cultural Festival takes about one week and a half during which they beat the drum of the cultural festival. The first week fell this year on the 11^th of March the day on which the Fon comes out in a masquerade and the last day on which the Fon comes out normally and dances with the people and sharing seeds to farmers. The raison d’être of the Nikai Cultural Festival is abundant harvest and the blessings of the blessings of the gods.   In some villages when it’s time to prepare for planting winds and other natural forces like winds disturb. . That’s why we always consult our gods for abundant harvest. We all know that Babungo is a chain of mountains and we are in the valley and those mountains are occupied by grazers so their cattle deposit dung which comes down the hill making the valleys very fertile.  Through the cultural festival we don’t only ask for abundant harvest but also for peace in the Fondom and in the whole nation. That’s why you find visitors coming in like the Turkish Ambassador coming in. He stayed in the Palace though I rented a place for him in the hotel he preferred to pass the night at the Palace refusing the best suites in hotels so as to receive the blessings of the Palace.

 

What is this special thing about the Babungo Kingdom?

It is the peaceful nature of the people and its leadership. Unlike other Kingdoms in the area with constant problems and continuous change of leadership and in violent manners, Babungo is peaceful and has its method of going about with its own things. Everybody is fallible and if the Fon goes wrong the Ngumba meets and places a fine on him, looks for a lasting solution and the village moves on.

Can His Majesty throw light on how far Babungo has gone developmentally?

 

Since I came to this throne in 1999, I can hit my chest that many things have gone positive in this land. I don’t want to name bridges and when I came to the throne there was no college and most of the students were going to nearby villages like Bamunka, Bamenda and elsewhere to go and school since there was only one private college that was not up to standard. I have been able to have a Government Secondary School and a Government Technical School and about 9 Government primary schools. When I came we had just a Government Health Center but now we have a Catholic and a Baptist Health Center a Mental Health Care Center. The village is now linked with many bridges and we even proud of street lights being paid by the council. We have many things that are going positive, even the look of the Palace. We now have a museum that was partially sponsored by the US Embassy and the Italian Government. There is the Ambassador of the Netherlands and the Government that equally invested here. Now there is a Babungo Community Radio by UNESCO and a Modern Palace now, a huge edifice under construction right in front of you. We equally have our elites that are excelling in the various ministerial posts and in other areas of life. We equally have a catalogue putting together the Babungo History so I think many things have been going positively.

 

What message do you have for the Government?

 

When His Excellency Philemon Yang came to the helm of the Government, he was talking of inertia and it is still the same inertia that is plunging us into serious mess in this country.  Because when people are complaining about something they will not react but will wait until things get to the worse before they start looking for solutions.  So if I have a word for the government I will say they should always listen to the people and anticipate before the situation degenerates into the uncontrollable.  

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