CPDM 32^nd Anniversary

 Wabane presents need for a special constituency.

The need for a special constituency to enhance development in Wabane in the Lebialem Division was one of the many issues that was addressed during the 32^nd Anniversary of the ruling Cameroon Peoples Democratic Movement CPDM. This need was voiced by His Royal Highness Fon Lekunze N III of Bamumbu during the heavily attended CPDM 32^nd Anniversary at Wabane.

Speaking at the ceremony where most of the speeches concentrated on development, he said the day was a great one and that his impressions were positive. “The people have come out in thousands to give the day the importance it deserves” he said adding that the CPDM Lebialem III Section remains the engine of the party in Lebialem Division and the Southwest Region. “I think the gods of Mundani and the elites here present and the population are testimony to the Head of State and National President of our party President Paul Biya of our complete support.” He promised the Head of State a 100% vote in the upcoming elections.

Drawing attention to the royal setting he said much still needed to be done in the domain of human resources. He harped on the need for elites to be empowered so that they could in turn empower the people. If this were done development would be brought closer to the people he said.

Nembo Ketu Israel: Mayor of Wabane

Nembo Ketu Israel, the Mayor of Wabane Council and Section President for Lebialem III Wabane said he was very happy with the turn out which he said was among the best  in the Southwest and Northwest given the present political situation in the country. This he said proved that something was being done in Wabane. “If we were not meeting up with aspirations of the people and with implementation of the programme of the government, this crowd would not be here today.” He said anyone coming into Wabane today would not understand that the place had gone a long way to be where it was today. Formerly he said, the place had no motor-able roads and could not be reached by vehicle. Now he said the place could easily be reached by car. All that was needed was for the people to continue working with the Government for things to get better. He said electricity was now present thanks to what he referred to as Micro-hydro electricity. He however complained that with the meager finances, the meeting of road construction needs could not be met with. Wabane he conceded still needed much in terms of roads and electricity.

The popularity of the party in Wabane was demonstrated by thousands who thronged the event grounds to grace the occasion with their presence. Elites and youth came from all over the country in a show of solidarity to take part in the anniversary celebrations. The occasion was rendered colourful by traditional dances and multiple cultural displays. 

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Scores of Cameroons Cultural Icons raised to Knighthood.

Scores of Cameroons Cultural Icons have been raised to Knighthood by the Head of State. The decoration of these illustrious Cameroonians took place at the Yaounde Hilton Hotel on Tuesday April 5, 2017.

They were raised to the status of Knights of the National Order of Valour for their contribution towards the preservation and promotion of the Cameroonian Culture.

Ministers Narcisse Mwelle Kombi and Jaques Famme Ndongo with Professor Paul Kwi at the extreme right with red and black traditional wear.

These prestigious medals were placed by the hands of the Cameroonian Minister of Arts and Culture, Professor Narcisse Mwelle Kombi accompanied by the Minister of Higher Education Professor Jaques Famme Ndongo.

Fon Lekunze AN III with Minister of Arts and Culture 

Considering the cultural nature of the event, the minister, Professor Narcisse Mwelle Kombi congratulated the recipients and all cultural stakeholders present. With an intention of making the participants to better understand the cultural colour of Yaounde, the town which was hosting the event, the minister traced the origin of the metropolis to some Agricultural Villages around Nsam Efoulan, Mvolea among others. From these villages he said, Yaounde and the culture had grown and evolved to be what it was today. He further said the putting in place of a Commission for Bilingualism and Multi-culturalism was timely at this time when emphases was being put on the richness of Cameroons cultural heritage adding that there was a strong need to preserve what had been modeled by our imaginations and creativity over time. The Minister grouped Cameroon into four cultural zones namely the Beti-Fang, the Grass field, the Sawa, and the Sahelo-Sudan.

Among the many recipients was His Royal Highness Fon Lekunze Andreas N. III of the First Class Chiefdom of Bamumbu in Wabane Sub Division. He expressed his feelings in the following manner; “to me it was a very great honour. Just the fact that I was recognised by  the powers that be especially the Head of State for working well in the field of culture. It is a great motivation. I think the Head of States policy as far as culture is concerned is very clear and as a local stakeholder he has told me what to do and the road map is clear. I know what I have done already to merit this medal and I am going to triple it. Qualities that can push you to do what we are doing include love because you must love your country first since you can’t love your country without loving your locality. I love my people, Bamumbu, Wabane, Lebialem, I love southwest and I love Cameroon. That is why to realise some of my projects, I dig my hands into my pockets while waiting on elites to come in and while waiting on government to come in.”

Fon Lekunze AN III further talked of a master plan for the new palace that has already been drawn that will renovate the old palace. The palace he said is very large and an antiquity that equally needed to be preserved for the culture of Cameroon. “That is the next major project we have which is that of renovating the ancient and mythical palace of Bamumbu.”

Professor Lisa Aubrey of the Arizona State University in the United States of America and the University of Yaounde I was also another illustrious recipient of the award of the Knight of the National Order of Valour. A recognition from the Head of State and received in the form of a medal at the hands of Professor Narcise Mouelle Kombi, the Minister of Arts and Culture.

“It’s absolutely amazing and it just reoccurred to me that I cannot leave Cameroon. There are so many people doing such incredible work and the Minister is absolutely fantastic in the way that he has conceptualized and also implemented the valorization of not only one Cameroonian Culture but many cultures that make one beautiful whole.

Minister of Higher Education; Professor Jaques Famme Ndongo placing Medal on Professor Lisa Aubrey

Such an event constitutes a huge opening for matters that we did not  know… we did not know how much Cameroon was victimized by Trans-Atlantic Slavery and how people who were free were enslaved by Europeans and taken to over 30 countries that we know of now. They were taken out of Cameroon and Africa to be used by other countries to enrich themselves. Coming to Bimbia and seeing it all was painful but I think it is a blessing to be doing this work. I am so thankful to the Cameroonian government and so many people who have helped and supported me and I ask them to continue because right now we have just touched the tip of the iceberg and there is yet so much to be done. I am looking forward to staying here and working with so many good people.”

The third recipient this reporter caught up with was Professor Paul Kwi a learned personality heavily involved in the cultural issues of his country Cameroon. Commenting on a paper he presented on the cultural inventory of Cameroon he said “what I did in my 15 minutes presentation was the value given to those objects and the need to protect those objects.  And who should be protecting those objects. I think the first people are the owners, the people who created them. The second protector is the Government since they must design a policy that assists those who have them to preserve them and be able to create a market for those cultural objects. For example if you visit museums in…Leipzig, New York Metropolitan Museum where I happen to have visited I saw many artistic particles from Cameroon which were collected many years ago maybe at a time that we did not have the capacity, the skill and the resources to be able to keep them for posterity..I however think that these artifacts should not be brought back into the country if they cannot be taken care of. Take for example the Afoakom which returned to this country afterhuge sums of money had been paid to recover to recover but now the conditions of preservation are not appropriate. Only the Ministry has the capacity to help the owners preserve them.” In such a situation the professor explained, objects should be left where they are since they can be well preserved provided they are labeled to indicate that they are Cameroonian objects.

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2016, Bamumbu Cultural Festival pulls mammoth crowd to Wabane

     

The tenth edition of the Bamumbu Cultural Festival that ended on Saturday February 20 saw participants not only from the Southwest Region but from across Cameroon and out of the country. 

According to the organizers, this tenth edition attracted an unprecedented turn out and marks the beginning of a new era in the socio-cultural life of the Bamumbu people under the leadership of His Royal Majesty Fon Lekunze A. N. III, Paramount Fon of Bamumbu. 

A major highlight of the event was the organisation of a mini-agric show which demonstrated the fertile nature of the soils of Bamumbu. This part of the program was coordinated by the Sub Divisional Delegate of Agriculture for Wabane.

 In a colourful inspection tour, His Royal Majesty and entourage visited the demonstration grounds and was shown the farm produce of the hard working people of Bamumbu.

  The apotheoses of the annual rendezvous which was on Saturday February 20 began with a Cross country Marathon from the Palace at Nchingang to Banteng and back to the Palace. 

This animated event set the lively pace of the day which turned out to be a real demonstration of the beauty of Bamumbu Culture. A moving stream of beautifully dressed royalty lead by HRM Fon Lekunze .A.N III , accompanied by the necessary decorum that such a royal exit demands started the cultural festivities in a march of cultural demonstration that succeeded to show the beauty of Bamumbu people.

Mr Francis Leku, the National President of Bamumbu Development and Cultural Association BADECA said they come together in this annual festival which is known as Lemuh to meet and share and also be able to promote the culture. Hear him; “The aim is to conserve our culture and promote it among the younger generation.

 This will permit them to copy and do as our parents did. If we have a generation that comes up that masters our culture, it will help a lot in the development of the area and in self reliant development initiatives.

  There is no cultural development without a socio-economic development of the area. If somebody had visited this place 20 years ago and seen it today, it will be a completely different story. Some said only tunnels could be used here but today the roads are there. Our main Challenge is to make these roads permanent throughout the year. That’s why we are trying to build bridges in the area ourselves without waiting for the Government though we are expecting them to come in to support us. That’s what we have been doing for the past ten years.”

Francis Leku further explained that each year a specific project is earmarked to be carried out. He said this year there is the bridge and that they had also launched a special cooperative for the area to take care of the economic part of it.

He appealed to development partners stating that they were trying to do things at their own level but that their hands were not long enough to do everything that had to be done. “We think if they come to our aid, we will be able to move it forward. This needed support is not only in the form of building infrastructure but also the moral development of the society.” Francis Leku further expressed their joy in appreciation of what the American Embassy had done by providing some support for the bridge. He on behalf of BADECA thanked the Korean Agency for International Development for preparing a library of 20.000 books in the area. Some of these books he said, had been shared to schools in the area. “Madame Sok Kun Kyung who initiated the project some three years ago is here with us and came all the way from Korea to be part of this programme and to see those initiatives that she started. The Access Benefit Sharing Project ABS Project is equally contributing its own bit and I think things are moving forward.

 Ketu Israel, Lord Mayor of Wabane stated that his impressions were very positive explaining that they had been getting back to their roots so that the youths should copy what is left of the culture. Commenting on the red feather that was added on his cap by the Fon, he said he felt it was a result of hard work. The people of Wabane he said were appreciating his development strides. His Highness said I have been doing a lot and that it was good that I am encouraged so that I keep on improving. It is difficult for me to say everything but there are a couple of projects that we have realised with the Bamumbu Development and Cultural Association BADECA. The construction of three classrooms in GSS Fonenge in the North of Wabane and presently the Wabane Council has to chip in something for the construction of the bridge on the way to the Fon’s Palace. We have opened roads sometimes in partnership with BADECA. In Wabane Council you have what we call the Participatory Budgetary Approach where we realise projects in conjunction with the community.”  

HRM Nfor Robinson Tanyi of Tinto Mbuh in Manyu Division and Vice Secretary General of the Southwest Chief’s Conference described the occasion in glowing terms and said Fon Lekunze A.N. III  is reviving the culture of his people and that culture was what distinguishes one community from another or an individual from another. He further described the event as colourful and well organised adding that he was going home with a positive impression. Nfor Robinson Tanyi it should be recalled is also a Member of the National Association of the Traditional Rulers of Cameroon and the Secretary General of the Pan African Council of Traditional and Native Authorities with Head Quarters in Benin. Other Chiefs present who described the event in glowing terms were His Majesty Dr. Foze Adolf, Fon Nkemta Jerry of Bechati Village, Fon Folla Njuh, Fon Akum Ferdinand among many others.

Following the exceptional participation of Lebialem in general and Wabane Sub Division in particular at the maiden edition of the Southwest Cultural Festival in Kumba and prizes of best traditional dances that were won, the representative of the Southwest Regional Delegate of Arts and Culture awarded His Royal Majesty Fon Lekunze A.N. III a Certificate in recognition of his participation and contribution to the success of the event in Kumba.

Meantime, classmates of HRM Fon Lekunze at the Cameroon Institute of International Relations where he is a student also came in to support him during this year’s festival. Moussi Cabrel, one of these students expressed her impressions in the following manner; “We are really surprised because most of us have never participated at a festival like this one. It is true that we have some classmates who are from this region and as such know to an extent how these things are done but most of us have never seen anything like this. We are very happy to be here. As a Cameroonian I can identify with what I see here and this confirms the cultural richness of Cameroon. I am impressed by the landscape of Wabane. We are proud to be Cameroonians.” 

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