Compiled By Christ Mbunwe, Kini Nsom, Elvis Tah & Francis Tim Mbom
We Were Warned Not To Talk!
In our last NOWEFU executive meeting, we were warned not to talk to the press, except authorised by the President General, I am sorry, I cannot talk to you because I have not bee mandated by the President General.
Fon Teche, First Vice President General, NOWEFU
Woman In The "Ngumba" House!
The worst thing NOWEFU has done
is to designate a woman as Ntumfor! This means they want a woman to come into the "ngumba" house which is very unfortunate. Things are already off-hand.
If I were there, I would have stormed out in protest. Unfortunately, I was not part of that meeting. You will recall that I was once the Financial Secretary of NOWEFU. I was booted out and one of the reasons was that I stood against the proliferation or prostitution of the Ntumfor title. I still stand for Ntumfor Nico Halle as the original Ntumfor.
Bahmbi III Fon of Aghem Wum
The Fons Are Pro-CPDM
The Ntumfor thing has been watered down.
Before, we had one Ntumfor who was Barrister Nico Halle and he played a wonderful role, running up and down doing great things. Then, out of a sudden, one is created out of every Division. I think the appointment of Ntumfors in all the Divisions would instead play negatively on NOWEFU because they will have to deal with too many people at once and again, there is a glaring imbalance in the fact that, the Fons have co-opted CPDM lackeys.
And if you go by statistics, the Northwest is supposed to lean heavily on the side of the opposition and I think most people won't take it kindly. From their choices, it is clear that the Fons, to a large extent, are pro-CPDM and of course, this does not augur well with the general public.
Meh Zang, Northwest Elite, Yaounde
Fons Are Dangerously Partisan
I think traditional authorities are not supposed to
be partisan. The Northwest Fons are the custodians of local authority who are highly respected. I think they should cater for the greatest majority of the people they were chosen to administer without discrimination. In that light, they have a right to appoint whosoever they think can speak for them.
But, the idea is, are these people going to speak for the entire communities they represent or are they going to speak for the people whose interest they represent along political lines? Regrettably, the greatest majority of these people who were appointed belong to one political party.
And I want to equally think that some of these rulers, too, campaign openly for one political party. I say that with a heavy heart because if one Fon of a given entity has to clash with members of other political parties, what remains of the respect for our traditional authorities? It means that, that traditional ruler would not be respected by militants of other political parties. It is regrettable that traditional rulers are beginning to be openly partisan.
Dr. Willibroad Dze-Ngwa, Lecturer, Y’de University I
Female Ntumfor Is Abomination
I think the whole thing is a farce. We don't even
know the criteria that were used, and a woman inclusive; that sounds very strange. The politicisation of our cultural institutions is a big threat to our collective existence and even survival. Why did they appoint only members of the CPDM party?
If they wanted to be objective, they could have appointed those who can deliver the goods. It seems as if all our palaces in the Northwest Region now belong to the CPDM. I think that something has to be done and if they want our traditional institutions to have some credibility and authenticity, they will have to go back and revisit this kind of decision. Our palaces and cultural institutions are losing some of their values.
They should have even brought in people from the palace and not politicians. Our Fons are not supposed to be party militants. The Fon is crowned in the "kwifon house" and if he commits a crime, the "kwifon" disciplines him. But a woman becoming a Ntumfor is an aberration. Don't be surprised that one day a woman will contest for Fondom as long as she belongs to the CPDM.
This is just a dangerous sign because it therefore means that the woman could actually sit in the "kwifon house" with the Fon because; as Ntumfor, they have the right to see the Fon anywhere and at anytime. They also have the right to meet him in the "kwifon house". But then, women are not supposed to enter into the "kwifon house".
Andrew Tata Ngeh, Sub-Chief Ndu, UB Lecturer
Ridiculous!
What we want to know is what are
the levels of the powers of these Divisional Ntumfors? Are they representing the Senior Ntumfor Nico Halle or are they representing themselves? We risk having so many Ntumfors such that if there is an occasion, we would not know who is talking for the Fons.
Sooner or later, we might have hundreds of them and each Fon will have his own Ntumfor to talk for the whole Northwest, which is not possible. If what they have named contradicts with the original Ntumfor, then the issue is ridiculous and funny. If they are only representing the Big Ntumfor, Nico Halle, then where Ntumfor makes his presence, they should disappear to where their limits are.
So, let's keep watching.
Lumumba Mukong, CEO Anembom Consultant, Bamenda
We Stand By Nico Halle
I am embarrassed at what I read in the newspapers that we designated Ntumfors. I was at that meeting and nothing of the sort took place. How could I have been part of such a decision when not long ago we were in Santa-Awing to honour and fortify our Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, whom we still stand by today.
Fon Sehm Mbinglo of Nso, Ex-NOWEFU President
What Mockery!
I don't understand what the Northwest Fons
Union is up to, because if they really wanted to designate Ntumfors, they would pick other titles; not Ntumfor that has long been the preserve of Ntumfor Nico Halle. What surprises me in this whole business is that a woman has been designated a Ntumfor and we know very well that in the Northwest tradition there are certain places in the palace that a woman cannot enter.
So, if this woman has been named a Ntumfor, does it mean that she is going to put on a cap and she will enter such restricted places in the palace? It is mockery of the whole idea of the Ntumfor title. When they say "special envoy", are the new Ntumfors going to be special envoys from one palace to the other palaces?
Lucas Teneng, Publisher, Reporter Newspaper
New Ntumfors Are Not Independent
I think that the Ntumfor post is one that does not go with the mandates of the executive. It is not an elected post but a title conferred to one son who goes round as a messenger for all the Fons. So I don't see the unity in the new co-opted option. Secondly, a Ntumfor is required to be readily available at anytime to answer to the call of the Fons.
But when they conscript government big shoots; parliamentarians, ministers, business magnets who have very little time to sacrifice, it is worrisome. They are not independent; they are answerable to the state and they follow their own time tables; so I don't know how much time they will dedicate to the Fons.
Thirdly, I know that women are fighting for their place in the society. Even in our tradition we give women titles with different grades. But women as far as the Northwest tradition is concerned have a limitation. This is because they cannot enter certain sacred places in the palace; they cannot rub shoulders with the Fons when they have serious issues to deal with. So naming a woman as a Ntumfor I don't know if the woman will be able to go along with all the challenges that go with the post.
Joseph Mbah Mbole, President of NW Cultural & Development Association, Fako
I have one question for one particular Fon from my area, Fon Dr. Akam, Former Lecturer of the University of Buea.
Fon Dr. Akam, were you part of this decission to appoint a CPDM orientated Ntumfors?
Were you also part of naming a woman to the post of Ntumfor?
Please, the post should help me convey this questions to Fon Dr. Akam for answers.
I think he is one of the secretary.
Thanks
Posted by: Ahadji | Saturday, 14 February 2009 at 10:06 PM