Royal Fathers: Fon Kevin Shomitang II of Bambalang

 

His Royal Highness, Fon Kevin Shomitang II of Bambalang comes from a Dynasty that has produced a series of High profiled Fons (Kings) but the most recent before him and very popular was his father Fon  Yakum-Ntaw, erstwhile Governor, Administrator and Fon of Bambalang. Bambalang is located in Ngoketunjia Division in the Northwest Region of Cameroon.

His Royal Highness was born on September 27, 1986 as a young prince and given the name Yakum Kevin. He lived part of his life in Garoua where his father was governor and when his dad went on retirement, he lived in the village where the young prince attended primary and secondary school and eventually high school in Bamenda. He attended Government Primary School and Government Secondary School in Bambalang. In Bamenda the prince attended Government Bilingual High School Ntamulung where he obtained the GCE A Levels in the A4 series in 2008. The future King went to the University of Buea and started a Bsc in Economics in that same year. After a year his father disappeared and he had to ascend the throne. He was presented to the people of Mbaw Yakum on the 18^th of September, 2009 as the new Fon of Bambalang. There after he returned to the University where he continued with studies and eventually had a Bsc in Economics in 2011. In an interview with His Royal Highness he disclosed that he had always loved to govern and little did he know that he was going to be given this huge task to govern a Kingdom. Within the palace as a young prince he used to gather his brothers and sisters always, to clean the palace and take care of the farms for their mother. At that young age he didn’t know what awaited him ahead.

Encounter with Fon Kevin Shomitang II of Bambalang….. 

Can His Highness throw some light on the history of the kingdom he rules? Just like other kingdoms with lengthy narratives on the history of its people, we would want to believe the people of Bambalang have a history that can be shared with other Cameroonians.

The people of Mbaw Yakum which is Bambalang originated from a thick forest which is three kilometers long and situated in the heart of the village. This forest is called Pa’ah Nuongh and it is believed the Mbaw Yakum people originated from there. In the middle of this forest is a mystical water body. If you go there purposefully to find it you will never see it. It is believed that it is from this water body that Mbaw Yakum people came. They were nine in number that’s why the Council of elders in Mbaw Yakum are referred to as the Big Nine. When they originated from this lake one of them had the peace plant on the forehead and a woman was among them and immediately the people recognised the one with the peace plant as the Fon and that was the first Fon in the history of Mbaw Yakum. In those days there were a lot of wars. The people were referred to as Mbaw Yakum but it was with the coming of the white man that you had the people of Mbalang referred to as Bambalang. As the clan grew, after sometime, about five other tribes joined them and Fon Yah Kum-Ntaw I was the one who succeeded to bring all these tribes under his rule.

As an auxiliary of the Administration, can you say there is a cordial relationship between the kingdom and the administrative authorities? What are those challenges that you have had in carrying out this important role of an auxiliary of the government?

As an auxiliary to the administration, there is a cordial relationship between the Kingdom and local administrators of Ngoketunja Division. I myself being an administrator, I understand my colleagues and work with them easily. My late father Fon Yakum-Ntaw was also a Governor and a seasoned administrator and laid the foundation at that time. It is impossible for us not to be working in harmony especially given the fact that my late father was a seasoned administrator at that time. In fact his father HRH Fon Mingo Ghogomu laid a very strong foundation with the administration. You may like to know that during the days of the Bafut-Ndop Council, Fon Mingo Ghogomu used to be the Paramount ruler of Ndop and even had a stipend which the Bafut-Ndop Council used to give him as the Paramount ruler. He laid that good foundation and my father Fon Yakum-Ntaw continued in the same vein. I have also continued to work in the same manner creating that cordial relationship with the Administration. It has however not all been a bed of roses. There are the inevitable misunderstandings but when they come up, we are always able to handle them. We may have problems like the Land Consultative Board. You have administrators who will come and will like to go to the field to plant pillars without the consent of the Fon. Also some administrators feel that they are supposed to be worshipped. It’s unfortunate because in school we are thought sociology and anthropology which gives us a background of all the sector components of the state. There is the Northern Region, the West Region, Centre Region etc. In other areas traditional rulers are controlled and insulted but in the Northwest it cannot work. If rulers are disrespected in the Northwest, it will be practically impossible to rule or control the people.

Bambalang is culturally very rich. What measures have been taken to make sure this culture is preserved? What are the high points in Bambalang’s annual cultural calendar?

About 86 years back HRH Fon Mingo Ghogomu, succeeded to organise a cultural manifestation to be done within one week. At the time it was spontaneous and could take place even ten times in a year. When they discovered that this cultural festival to appease the gods, the ancestors and some late monarchs was impacting upon the socio-economic activities of the Kingdom, they concerted with the secret societies to organise the event for 11 days. This measure put in place long ago was meant to preserve our rich culture and transfer it to the younger generations. It has been moving gradually beginning only with the village and then my late father Fon Yakum-Ntaw started bringing visitors from all over. He brought in traditional rulers from other regions. Lamidos came in to enjoy the festival with him when he was in the North. I came within the context of the cultural festival with modernization. Because of the presence of the Bambalang Lake I now created a manifestation on the shore like canoe race, swimming competitions, diving competitions and within the Palace Plaza you have a mini agric show to expose the agricultural produce of the village. Within the present dispensation with sociopolitical crises raging on I call on my subjects and Cameroonians to do everything possible to get and maintain peace. Peace is invaluable.

Interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante Lenjo

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