Ngoketunja Festival of Arts and Culture

Maiden Edition sets pace for an annual event

Dr. Asheri Kilo, the Mayor of Ndop and a cross section of personalities.

The one week long Ngoketunja Festival of Arts and Culture rounded up in Ndop on Saturday November 4 with a befitting ceremony that attracted participants from all over the National territory. Throughout the colourful series of events and message packed speeches that were read, one request kept resurfacing; that of the sustainability of this initiative organised by the National Youth Council and Stone FM Radio Ndop. The reassuring fact is that all the Ngoketunja elite and cultural stakeholders agreed to throw in their support and make the event an annual cultural rendezvous. 

Doctor Asheri Kilo, First Technical Adviser at the Ministry of Arts and Culture and representative of the Minister, Professor Narcisse Mouelle Koumbi described Ngoketunja as a melting pot of culture. She said the distance so far covered was good and the effect far reaching. Peace she said was a necessary factor for Social Harmony, accelerated economic growth and emergence.

She said His Excellency Prime Minister and Head of Government Philemon Yang had made several useful trips to the North West Region to restore peace preaching that a solid Cameroon could only be built in an environment of peace and unity.

Divisional Delegate Nkwenty Ngwei Sylvia(Lady in glasses)

 Dr. Asheri Kilo harped on the importance of upholding Tourist Sites since they contribute to economic growth adding that media institutions could play an important role in promoting culture. She advised that the people should not rely on their micro identity reminding that all cultures were related. “You can be receptive to other cultures and at the same time maintain originality. We are bound to promote such an important initiative and that’s why the Minister has supported it with a million FCFA.”

HRH Fon Shumetang of Bambalang

Honourable Njingum Moussa, an elite from Ngoketunja also supported the initiative with FCFA 600.000. Another highlight of the occasion was the award of prizes in the domains of Fashion, Gastronomy, Music, Language Interpretation, Traditional Dances amongst others.

Worthy of note is the important role that was played by the North West Regional Delegate for Arts and Culture Mr. Olinga Parfait and the host Divisional 

 Delegate for Ngoketunja Nkwenty Ngwei Sylvia. The appointment and subsequent installment of Nkwenti Ngwei Sylvia has heralded a new era for culture in Ngoketunja and has transformed the place into one of the cultural hubs in the Region. Now apart from rendezvous like the Ngonso Cultural Festival in Kumbo and the Leila Festival in Bali Nyonga among other cultural events, Ngoketunja will now enter the list of annual cultural events.

Reactions       

Ngangjoh Mama, President of the Ngoketunja Cultural and Development Association. 

Ngangjoh Mama

“My impressions here today are very positive. You see one of the main objectives of our association is to promote culture and as you see here today the culture of Ngoketunja was in full display. It’s not only Ngoketunja culture that we saw here today but also the cultures of all other Cameroonian communities that are settled here.

My message to students with regards to the reopening of schools is that you can neither contribute to development nor become developed yourself if you do not go to school to get yourself educated. Let they not permit themselves to be used.

Students should go to school and learn because if they don’t Ngoketunja will not move ahead in terms of development. If I didn’t go to school I wouldn’t be where I am today. I call on our children to go to school and prepare for their future.” 

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