Professor Peter Fonche:

 The seasoned lecturer and Educationist.

Professor Peter Fonche emerged with a Doctorate Degree in Education after a rich educational itinerary that took him through the Universities of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Lagos in Nigeria. He began his teaching career as an Assistant Lecturer at   the Higher Teacher Training College ENS Yaounde from 1974 to 1975.

He later returned to the familiar environment at the University of Kinshasa where he had earlier studied and worked as an Assistant Lecturer from 1975 to 1978. After this, he returned to Higher ENS Yaounde where he worked from 1978 to 1983. His next stop was at ENS Ecole Normale Superieur Bambili Campus from 1983 to 2003. From 2000 to 2012 he worked as Head of Department of Education and functioned as Associate professor from 2003.

During the period from 2003 to 2013, he worked as the Lay Private Education Secretary for the Northwest Region and contributed enormously towards improving upon the organisation of the sector in the Region. It should be recalled that the Northwest Region has one of the greatest number of lay private institutions that are found in any Region in the country and contributes about 50% of the number of candidates who succeed at the Cameroon General Certificate of Education annually.

The next important thing he did to enrich humanity was the creation of FONAB Polytechnic and Colleges in 1997. The FONAB Educational Foundation which he founded is made up of FONAB Polytechnic, FONAB High School Bamenda, FONAB High School Kedjom Keku and FONAB Mechanical Engineering Workshop.

This nation builder in the domain of education has received National Honours thus acknowledging the fact that the Government of the Republic of Cameroon through the award of these awards recognised what he had been doing. He has received the Cameroon Knight of the Order of Merit as well as the Press Innovation Award to Sustainable Development in 2016.

Professor Peter is still a very active person participating in the running of his establishments and still imparting knowledge to Cameroonians and Africans at large. This widely traveled Cameroonian professor who is settled in Bamenda in the Northwest Region of Cameroon remains an educational gem to be sourced from.

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Nkwenti Ngwei Sylvia:

Seasoned arts and culture promoter now set to preserve and promote culture in Ngoketunjia.

Nkwenty Ngwei Sylvia seen here with Professor Narcisse Mouelle Kombi: Cameroon Minister of Arts and Cultur, Governor Adolfe Lele L'Afrique of the Northwest Region as well as the Senior Divisional Officer for Ngoketunjia Division

Madame Nkwenti Ngwei Sylvia; a seasoned arts and culture promoter has disclosed that she is now set to preserve and promote culture in Ngoketunjia Division. She made this declaration recently in her first contact with the media following her installation as the first ever Divisional Delegate of Arts and Culture in this Division. Sylvia is holder of a Masters Degree In Human Rights from the University of Dschang. She has equally had an opportunity to have a scholarship from the World Intellectual Property Organisation where she studied Authors Rights in France. She also had a scholarship with the Chinese Government to study the Economy and Culture of the Chinese People at the University of Nangchang.

Nkwenty Ngwei Sylvia

Back in Cameroon she made her debut with the Ministry of Arts and Culyure in 2009 as the Chargee d’etudes No. 2 of the follow up unit at the ministry in 2013 and later in 2014 she was appointed the Chargee D’etudes No. 1 of the Follow up unit.

Besides this Nkwenty Sylvia has been the Raporteur of CPMC a National Permanent Commission that takes care of the control of authors rights in Cameroon. She also occupied this position as raporteur for the Standardisation Commission to revive the Law on authors rights.

She eventually became the Representative of the Ministry of Arts and Culture in the Board of Directors of Heritage and Arts Foundation.

“Being the first Divisional Delegate of Arts and Culture in Ngoketunjia Division and the only Female Divisional Delegate in the Northwest Region, I really wish to do things differently with all the experience I have gathered. Ngoketunjia has a very rich culture and I don’t just want to get into work without getting to the people so my first plan of action is trying to meet the Fon of each village and talk to them about the importance of preserving and selling our culture. I equally intend to show them the need to collaborate with the Ministry in their efforts to preserve their Identity.”

Commenting on her first impressions on arrival in the Division which is found in the Upper Noun Valley, Nkwenty Ngwei Sylvia said the place was full of talented artists. When she made her first call for artists in the Division a good number of talented ones turned up she explained. “They came in their numbers for registration and in the different categories of authors rights. That aside, the people of Ngoketunjia are very welcoming and are ready to listen and collaborate and help me in any way that they can to realise my ambitions. My first impressions are very positive.”

The maiden Divisional Delegate said she was very optimistic because she has all the tools that she needed to realise her dreams in Ngoketunjia. She already had an a fore taste of the culture of the Division during her participation at the Bambalang Cultural Festival and the Nikai Cultural Festival of the Babungo Fondom during which she did not fail to notice the rich culture of the Division. “I saw how the people are so attached to their culture and as an opportunity to collaborate with them in the preservation of that culture and promoting it for international consumption and as a tool for social and National Integration.”

“I call on all the artists in the Division and all stakeholders to know that we now have an office in Ndop and that we are now open to work with them. They should come on board so that we create a united force to forge ahead in our quest to preserve and promote arts and culture in Ngoketunjia in particular and Cameroon in general.”  

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The King is a pivot and not the highest authority in the land. -King of Mbatu

The King of Mbatu His Royal Majesty King Muma III was born as Teku Simon but when he was crowned, he was given his Royal name. Born some 46 years ago and enthroned on the 8^th of March 1989 the King is about 29 years on the throne at the moment. He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante of EDEV News and Nchong Chrisantus of The Horizon Newspaper.

Excerpts

Ethnically,who are the people of Mbattu?

Without going into the details, we are the Widikums. We settled somewhere in Widikum before the coming of Zingtgraff. However because we needed to be economically more empowered, we moved out of Widikum and found ourselves in so many parts of the country before settling here. At a certain point we were at Mile 89 on Bali Road. We went to Babadjou, then left and went to Awing and came back. We eventually went to Akum and came back and settled where we are presently. The real base of Mbatu has been Mankon because we actually settled at Laambetu before leaving to settle here.

How has His Highness been maintaining the originality of Mbatu culture despite the persistent encroachment of western culture?

I can remember those excerpts of our beautiful culture when I took over the throne in 1989. Unfortunately, the whole thing seems to erode away as time moves on. Everything has been westernised. When we send our children out there, they don’t come back and some don’t even remember their roots. It is not only about Westernization but it is also about Religion. The Church is continuously draining away our culture. We have been trying to keep it alive through our cultural manifestations so that the bit that we have remaining should be preserved. Firstly, the structure of the Palace and Fondom. Those who are still attached to their culture and the way they behave. Do they still make use of their dialect to show that they come from a particular area? What kind of food do we eat? Do we still pound our Achu the way our old mothers used to do it? Do we still prepare Nangtare the way our people in Momo would do it? Are we attached to these things? These are the key questions. Culturally is the Fon supposed to drive himself and is he supposed to move out of his Palace?

What are those peak moments in your calender of activities that permit culture to be showcased?

Today is the Contry Sunday of Mbatu and it is a very important day in this community and it is a Wednesday. On this day, people who have problems have the opportunity to come to the Palace, exchange ideas and expose their problems. It is also on this day that most of the Kings of the Widikums disappeared and they were maybe laid to rest on this day. On this day nobody goes to the farm and you don’t go to hunt. Everybody sits with the family in meeting circles and some who need to come to the Palace do that but you don’t move out of your environment. Another very important day in the life of this Community is the day a King disappears. This is when the culture of the Mbatu people is manifested. The dances in the Palace and jujus all come out. They come out while some are mourning and after the mourning there is celebration. There are also Cry Dies (funerals) which are considered as events that visit every household and so you must be there. This is a forum where you always meet the people. They come out with their traditional cups and calabashes and the language is different. There is Palmwine and Achu to be eaten as well as a lot of dancing. There are also occasions like Births locally referred to as Born House when a new born baby joins the family. There are also activities like end of year dances in some Kingdoms though not in all. This is a moment when the King celebrates success with his population. I always call for a dance when there is something to talk about. We have just had electricity, for example, we’ve had a good road and similar things give reason for us to celebrate.

How is the Fondom structured?

The King is a pivot and not the highest authority in the land. The Parliament is the highest authority in Cameroon and not the Head of State. The Fon is the coordinator of institutions around the palace. The institutions here are the Royal Family, the Traditional Council, the Ndaala (Sacred house) where contry fashion(traditional practices) are carried out for things to move in the village are all natural institutions. There are other institutions that are created out of necessity like the quarter heads union, because we have decentralized the community. These quarter heads are responsible to the Fon. Only title holders work with the Fon and even members of the Royal family who are not titled can hardly work directly with the Fon. If there is a problem in the Royal Family, the people I will meet are titled members of the family. The Royal family is just consultative but the Traditional Council is the base and its members are notables and nobles who are natural from their families through inheritance but the highest authority is the Kwifor which is like the Parliament that I talked of earlier. It controls even the Fon.

Is there anything like the Mbatu Development Association?

The genesis of it all is that the name we should always remember is G.A. Nangah in the fifties. MBACUDA was created in the fifties before independence at a time when the people of Bamenda had a spirit of community work. Pah Nangah was very influential financially and he used this to rally people. It is one of the oldest associations in the Northwest. As to whether they have been able to live up to their expectations, I will say yes and no. Nangah in his days had the means to defend his Fondom. When I took over I noticed that the people had not understood the spirit of sacrifice that Pah Nangah had. My Father had a great Palace but all we needed was somebody to do renovation and restructure the Palace. In 2010 I came out with my vision because we could not be talking of the Nangahs, the professor Chumbos, the Doctors when on coming here people would see just a kitchen of a palace. My intention was to put something better than we met. I started and when they saw that I was going somewhere they rallied through MBACUDA and we went on. Now the project of lights came and we keep moving on. MBACUDA has been working but the main problem they have now is that of leadership.

You certainly have a strong message for your elite and subjects who will be reading you around the world.

There is a gap between the elite and the youth. They are not preparing the younger ones well enough for transition. Let them pull the youth towards them so that they can hand over appropriately. You don’t just hand over to somebody you have not prepared appropriately. The youth should be initiated to enhance transition. A meeting point between elders and youth is needed for society to move forward.  

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“We have to remain united, positive and development oriented” Senator John Wanlo

Senator Wanlo C. John from the North West Region of Cameroon has spent a spell working with Cameroons Customs. When he eventually joined politics he started off as Mayor of Fonfuka Council in Boyo Division. He stayed in that position for about 6 years and in 2013 he was elected into the Senate.

He kick started as the National President of Bum Development Union and he was determined to work towards opening up the area which was locked up and needed to be disenclaved. Along the line he knew that the herculean task that lay ahead of him needed some help from other development stakeholders from Bum specifically and Cameroon in general. In this interview which was carried out by Francis Ekongang Nzante, the Senator takes us into development initiatives he and his collaborators have carried out in the Fonfuka Council, Bum and Boyo Division in general.

After years in the doldrums how can you evaluate development in Bum at the moment?

Firstly I will like to situate Bum. It is found in Boyo Division in the Northwest Region. Bum culturally is of the grass field. Boyo Division has four Sub Divisions. We have Bello, Njinikom, Fundong and Bum. There are two main tribes in Boyo Division and that’s Kom and Bum. There we live peacefully and we are neighbors with Mesaje and Lasn- Noni in Bui Division. When you talk about evolving, development or changes, we think about schools, roads etc. When I took over as Mayor of Fonfuka Sub Division the area was really enclaved. Many schools were eventually created. As concerns roads, it is often said that where a road passes, development follows. Now you can leave Fundong and come down to Konene easily. At the moment that we are talking, there are Caterpillars with Joe Corner Water digging from Konene to Fonfuka. He has equally started the road from Fonfuka to Kimbi near Noni. I have improved on portable water in Bum and at the moment there is also the Solar system geared towards electricity. As a Senator I intervene in all the Sub Divisions in Boyo. There have been a lot of changes but these remain unnoticed because the ring road is still uncompleted. We want just development and pray that the country should remain stable to create an enabling environment for development.

What was your vision when you got into politics?

My vision is to see how people can change. We therefore intend to leave a better place than the one we met. The future lies in being people oriented and this is only achievable when you work with the people and for the people. That is my prayer and that is what I am preaching day and night. Division doesn’t pay. We didn’t choose ourselves to be in the Northwest and we have to do everything to be united. In a similar manner, we did not also choose ourselves to be Cameroonians. I am doing my best to see that we put on one thinking cap. I know it is difficult for people to think in the same manner but for the sake of the common good, it is necessary to give it a try. With this spirit we can do many things. Irrespective of where you come from in Cameroon, you have to be positive, united and development oriented. When you start thinking positively, everything becomes possible. The Bible says seek first the Kingdom of God and the rest shall come to thee. Think positively and work for the common good and the rest shall come to pass positively. Do everything and be on the positive side and God will bless you.

Tell us about the Bum Development Union.  

It has served as a wonderful tool for development. We touch all the corners of Bum developmentally. When you are from Bum you must be part of the Bum development Union. When you want to think about water, schools and anything, you must come together. Now we have Daniel Wango, a very strong personality and President General of Bum Development Union. When I became Mayor, I handed over to him since he was my deputy. I did the same when I came to the Senate. 

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“There should be an eye to eye encounter with Anglophones and not a confrontation”

Fon Forbuzie Martin Asanji II of Chomba

The King of Chomba

How long have you been on the throne in Chomba?

I have been on the throne in Chomba for for 53 years having been enstooled at the age of 15. So I have been here for a very long time. I had my primary, Secondary and University Education as a Fon then I got into the public service where I served for 36 years. In the course of my public service life I served in various capacities. I am a teacher by profession and I went through all the rungs of that profession. From classroom teacher, to Vice Principal and to principal. I reached the ceiling when I got up to Provincial Delegate of Secondary Education for the Northwest for seven years. There after I started my backward journey and became a Principal again of CCAST Bambili, then Divisional Delegate from where I retired. As a Traditional ruler, as a student, as a civil servant I have had to put on several caps at the same time. 

Can you throw light on the history of the people of Chomba?

Chomba belongs to the Widikum tribe. The Widikums have a long history with a very long journey. We have it that they migrated from Sudan and moved down and went to Nkambe. From Nkambe they moved to Ngoketunjia then to Babadjou, Dschang, parts of Lebialem precisely Bamumbu and crossed to Widikum and settled in a place called Tarkun Widikum. From there they moved up and found these plains of Bamenda and settled here. They were moving in waves like a family and Mankon was the leader. From the name Mankon which means a mighty tail, the movement pattern was that of an animal with a mighty tail. That’s how we find ourselves here and in the course of our settlement the Balis came later to join us and settled in our midst. Zingtgraff came and created havoc. We will always say we came from Tarkun Widikum but that is not our origin.

How do you package your cultural year?

As for the calendar in fact we have activities all year round but we have specific activities that we hold at heart. For example we have the Fons Annual Dance which only comes up when we think we are prepared for it. Apart from that there are other smaller ceremonies such as marriages, births, deaths amongst others. These are ceremonies that come up when there is need. At a certain point in time I created the Chomba Cultural and Development Association. This was intended to rally all my sons and daughters so that they put in their effort and all their resources towards the development of the village. Since we instituted that close to 30 years ago, we have gone places. That organisation has spurred our development endeavor so we meet every year  for that one preferably during the Easter Weekend which is March April. This period is usually the end and the beginning of our fiscal year. It is equally a transitional period between the dry season and the rainy season. It is also at that time that we conduct the Abengefu and the Lere. There is one cultural event that we carry out which is the Lere. In between March and April there are many other events that we carry out such as visiting the shrine and pouring libations and initiating people into various cultural domains of our society.

There is this bridge relating to the way we relate to our creator and the Eurocentric approach to religion. How do you blend Christianity and Traditional practice?

God as we always say is omnipotent, omniscient…summarily meaning that he is everywhere at all times and in all manners. That is God and He can be seen from different perspectives. The Christians see God through their own perspective and they would want to go to God through Christ. The Muslims see God through their own perspective through the prophet Mohammed. The Buddhists or we Africans also see God from our own perspective. We go to God through our ancestors. The simple reason is that our ancestors came before us and if we are moving towards God then they are certainly nearer him than we who are alive. So we use them to go to God. The bottom line of it all is that we worship God from different angles. There is no religion that is superior to the other so there shouldn’t be that holier than thou attitude and nobody should say I am closer to God than you are. We are all equal before God.

Could his Majesty run through the evolution of Chomba landscape over the years?

Like every other village, Chomba has transformed. I inherited the leadership of this village from my father and with the help of all my collaborators and with the blessings of our ancestors and God we have gone so far. We have developed to a certain point depending on our resources. All of this has happened because we work like a team and we think we should make life better in this place. Chomba has evolved a lot and if my father were to come back to see this village that he left 53 years ago, he would not believe it. We’ve equally had problems that have retarded our growth. Due to the fact that we are within the periphery of Bamenda City Council, much attention may not be directed to us and the fact that we are also a small village makes it difficult for us to achieve to a certain extent. If we had resources coming from a large population you can imagine the development feats that we would achieve. So we have used the little that we have to make the place what it is. Without boasting I will say that the leadership of this village has been guided, directed and championed by my humble self. For any organisation to work the leadership must be forward bound and dynamic. May be it has been that but it is the Chomba people who should say that. Every Kingdom depends on the leadership and I think I have made my meager contribution in that direction.

What gave you this special touch that you have used to push Chomba forward?

I think the fact that I have been blessed with good education contributed to it. We have been talking about Religion and I think I am profiting from a blend of it. I am a Christian and at the same time an African who practices African Religion.

How are traditional titles given in Chomba and what is the highest title that you confer on an individual?

We have awarded a handful of titles to our subjects. A handful because titles should not just be dished out to people who are lobbying for them because nowadays people just go hunting for titles. I have given a few titles to meritorious subjects of Chomba and when this is done, it is not a one-man-show. We have all types of factors that are taken into consideration. Many agents are involved and we do this in order to let the titles be encouragements or a mover or a catalyst for subjects who obtain titles to work better and also for titles to encourage those who were perhaps still dragging their feet not wanting to toe the line to come up and work to deserve titles. I hesitate to talk about highest titles because it will mean that some people are more equal than others. We give titles to people and they use these titles and do great things. If for example we give the title of Ntumfor to somebody and he doesn’t use it well then that title is like a feather that is carrying no meaning. The title of Akamantso which means somebody who can lead the rest of the people towards a war if not well used will have no meaning. Mesangmefu is a title which means the Fon’s eyes and Machinefu means the Fon’s Machine. A title is a mark of recognition and not a mark of classification of people. I would say the highest title in my Kingdom is that of the prince. When you are born a prince it qualifies you to be the next King.

There are some titles that are awarded. If for example you are the member of a sacred society you automatically have a title. You can also inherit a title from your father. There are some other titles that come by dint of nature. If you were to have twins today we will start calling you Taanyi adding two read feathers on your cap. Titles are a whole subject of research for so much can be said about it.

As an elite we would want to hear you say something on what has come to be called the Anglophone Crises.

The common denominator is that we are all Cameroonians. It is the Colonial Master that came and divided us. Prior to that we were Cameroonians and we will continue to be proud Cameroonians. That period of separation from our brothers is a sad page in our history because we were now brought up in two cultural types and when we decided to reunite it was a wonderful turn in our history. Having come back together, there have been problems. There is no family without a problem. If the problems are surfacing now and taking horrible dimensions, they are only pushing us to learn our lessons in order to forge ahead. Now there are many schools of thought. Some are talking secession, some are talking federalism and some even say there is no Anglophone problem. I think like some us feel, we need to sit on a round table and discuss our problems. Once this is done we will arrive at answers and solutions. The unfortunate thing is that the situation has been hijacked by people who want us to do specific things. I wonder what is really behind their modus operandi. We are forced to ask in the final analyses where we are headed to from now on. My heart really bleeds that here in the Palace my children are not going to school, that our markets and our schools are being burnt down and we are now living in fear of what we don’t even know. The right thinking Cameroonians; the elite should begin to question where we are drifting to. We are now in a boat that has lost paddles and is being toast in the mighty Ocean left and right and if we are not careful that boat will sink and all of us may sink with it. In other words, in the final analyses there may be no survivors.  The appeal is that the Head of State should assume his responsibility. The Head of state took an oath to channel the affairs if Cameroon forward. We should take responsibility and call Anglophones and listen to them. There should be an eye to eye encounter with Anglophones and not a confrontation. I am your father, what is your problem should be the approach of the President. We should make the problem to be the solution. If there is an Anglophone problem let Anglophones be the solution. They should be at the forefront of looking for the answers. Right now a lot of self interest seekers are taking advantage of the situation and calling the shots from behind the scenes.

How have you managed your life over the years as a Civil Servant and as a Traditional ruler?

I think I have been blessed that over the years since I was put on the throne I decided to go back to school. I shelved Royalty and chose the way to education. I was going incognito playing a double image game; one time student and the next minute I am a Fon or traditional ruler or one time a civil servant and at another time, a traditional ruler. I only give thanks to God for helping me to organise all these things. While playing, studying, joking and fighting with my friends in school, the cloak of royalty was here in the Palace waiting for me. In the Public Service I got through very difficult times. My seven years of stewardship to the nation as Provincial Delegate of Secondary Education to the Northwest Region I got entangled with a whole lot of issues ranging from the civil servant strike calling for no school to being at the helm of the Province on a wide range of educational issues ranging from Basic to Secondary Education and much more. I equally got entangled with political issues since the opposition had just surfaced and things were going tumultuous in Cameroon and I was at the heart of education in those difficult times. Then came the GCE saga when there was the fight for the creation of the GCE and the creation of the management board. I was in it and I went through difficult times. My life as a civil servant was rough and very challenging and there were time I saw death looming. I was described as a traitor at one time because I fought for children to go to school when they said children should not go to school. At the time Bamenda was the hotspot being the birth place of boththe leading opposition party, the SDF and the ruling CPDM. Now again both Bamenda and Buea are hot spots.

Interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante  

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