“ Traditional leaders in SW are reminding government to stick to conditions of Fumban Conference” -Chief Tanyi Robinson of Tinto Mbuh

HRH Chief Tanyi Robinson is the Traditional Ruler, authority and King of Tinto Mbuh in Manyu Division in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. He doubles as the De facto Secretary General of the Southwest Chiefs. He is equally the Secretary General of the Council of African Traditional and Native Authorities including Kings and Monarchs from Africa with Head Office in Benin. On the 27^th of June this year he was awarded by the State Department of the United States of America the 2015 Prize Award for Community Leadership. Professionally, he is a Lawyer,a forester and an erstwhile Banker. He was interviewed recently by Francis Ekongang of EDEV Web News.

Excerpts

HRH Tanyi Robinson Chief of Tinto Mbu- Manyu Division, SW, Cameroon

Let’s look at you as Royalty. That is as the Chief of Tinto Mbuh.

I got on the Royal stool in the year 2000 and I have been on it for 15 years and I have held other portfolios linked to this stool at the Sub Divisional, Divisional and Regional levels. I am as such the custodian of the Tinto Mbuh culture. At the Regional level, for the past four years I have been the Assistant Secretary General of the Southwest Chief’s Conference and I am presently on my second mandate. In this regard I work with Fitzgerald Nasako as Secretary General and then our President is Honourable Senator Nfon V.E. Mukete. Nfon Mukete is aged while Fitzgerald Nasako’s responsibilities in government keep him too busy so most of what is done by the Southwest Chief’s Conference is in my hands. 

What has been the stance of the chiefs of the Southwest with regards to the political trends in the country firstly with regards to the position of Anglophone lawyers and the way the government has been handling the Boko Haram crises in Cameroon?

I will want to talk about Boko Haram because that is strategic. When you are on a war front like Cameroon there are things that you don’t say or comment on for strategic reasons. We of the Southwest Traditional Authorities are unanimous in reminding the government of its leadership role on the Fumban Constitution that brought the two Nations together. We all know West Cameroon was a State of its own with its own legal, judicial, administrative and financial institutions. It had its own House of Assembly and had the House of Chiefs. Before the marriage with the East Cameroon at the time was introduced there were written documents so we in our position as Traditional leaders in the Southwest are simply reminding Government of the engagement that was taken that the Anglophones should not be marginalized. We took a stand on the recent quarrel that broke out between the Advocates or the Barristers and we said that we are not sending any dissenting voice like refusing as some people would say that we are for separation no. We are simply saying that there was a union and there were documents that were signed and engagements taken as gentlemen that we have always been, we just wanted to remind those who signed the documents that it is a contract and should be maintained. That’s what we are out for. We stand strongly on this issue of Bilingualism because the people feel cheated. The people in the village for example don’t know French and if you find sign posts at important points in French then it’s not meaningful. You have certain projects in parts of the Southwest and when we go there we find sign posts “interdit de traversez”. If you don’t tell the people that trucks are coming in the language that they know then you are exposing them to risks. These are the things that we as community leaders do not accept. We want to remind government that certain things may be misinterpreted and that it should be taken care of before it degenerates into something that can bring conflict let us pre-empt it. That’s why we keep harping on it. That’s our role to keep reminding them.

At the Pan African Level you also have a huge responsibility as the Secretary General of the Pan African Council of African Traditional and Native Authorities including Kings and Monarchs.

This body has its Head Quarters in Cotonou in the Republic of Benin and I think I am lucky to have been picked by my peers to be the Executive Secretary. The President is from Benin. There are two Vice Presidents; one from the West Africa, Cote D’Ivoire and one from Cameroon in the Central African Zone. We thought that there should be a council regrouping leaders from the whole continent. We realized that a lot was happening on the backyard of African leaders. There was a need for them to take the front role. They realized that what was done by the colonialists was to keep the traditional leaders in the cold and away from their people. That’s why their first actions when they came to Africa were to hunt down the leaders or the Kings at the time. He was either sent to exile if he refused to follow them or he was even killed if he put up a fight. We know of the case in Douala and other parts of the continent. The so called missionaries had as their first mission to eliminate the African leadership. This has continued with the Neo Colonialist governments that came which were put in place by them in what they considered independence in the sixties. Slowly these Governments themselves are coming to face problems within themselves and because of Democracy and with the realization that they can’t just govern without the traditional rulers. So they keep taking us forward and backwards. We thought that it’s time we bring our self to the fore-front of leading our people. This is how that sentiment came to put up an association of traditional rulers that should promote inter-cultural dialogue because once a decision is taken say in the villages, there is no room for appeal. Most of the time, it just suits the people. It doesn’t go with the hurting that comes when we take our own brother to the court. In my Kingdom when a problem is solved between two brothers, it is bearing. These are the kind of things we are bringing up encouraged by some African leaders themselves. The Late Muammar Gaddafi was very interested in bringing the traditional leaders in the fore front of leadership within communities which is a step towards African Unity. After him Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea also showed some interest and then we now thought we should sustain and push the idea all through. Formerly it died because the two of them came in with money and it was not from the stake holders themselves. So we are taking responsibility in our hands.  

The success story so far your Highness…

The success story so far is Psychological that it is overwhelmingly accepted by whoever considers himself a community leader, traditional leader or crowned authority. We are just at the starting blog and our aim is to gather as many leaders as possible. 

As Secretary General of this lofty institution, what is expected of you in terms of responsibilities?

I was Secretary General of the Committee that was set in Yaounde to give birth to this structure, since the 30^th of September 2014. In Cotonou, Benin it got transformed into the post of an executive secretary. So as an Executive Secretary, I am in charge of all the co-ordination work of the council so it goes beyond administration since I do conception, policy implementation, follow ups and we also get into partnerships. Now we already have Harvard University as a partner interested in the Department of African Studies. We have already signed a pact with the Institute for African Patrimony based in Cotonou. They have been there since 1963. We recently got something to do with the Center for African Traditional Languages and Customs and we are moving forward towards getting a seat in the United Nations next September as a Civil Society Organisation as well as with the AU, African Union and the UNESCO. Added to this is the need to introduce this vision to African leaders in the Southern and the Eastern parts of the Continent. We know the strong traditional role in South Africa with the Zulus, as well as in East Africa in Kenya among the Kikuyus and the Tanzanians and Ugandans. This, we intend to capture into the main stream of what we are doing to promote inter African Cultural dialogue. They should work hand in hand with formal authority to impact positively

“We will be training Bio-medical maintenance Technicians in 2015-2016 academic year” - CEO EJED Medical Foundation, Kumba

Dr Nzume Gilbert Nkwelle

 

Dr Nzume Gilbert Nkwelle you are a General Practitioner and have been running EJED Medical Foundation for the past 17 years. Give us a brief history of your outfit. 

The Foundation was started in 1978 by my late Dad Dr Nzume of blessed memory. He started it purely as a clinic. When I came in 1996 after my studies in Italy, I had worked in PAMOL from 1991 to 1996 when I came to join my father. I tried to see that I put something new. What I brought in was the training of auxiliary nurses. I prepared those who would go in for training in the Government schools so I was giving them hands on experience and medical knowledge that would give them an advantage in writing the competitive exams to become nurses. In 2001-2002, the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training started encouraging me to convert it into a training school. They came in to tell me that I should make it an official school. 

What kind of staff makes your activities possible considering the quasi absence of specialized health personnel in the country?

First of all the EJED Medical Foundation is a General Practice Clinic where we employ nurses of different categories. We have midwives, surgical nurses, and in the domain of facilities we have a laboratory, and a theatre where we offer major and minor operations. My experience has shown me that the nursing field still needs people who are specialized in certain different aspects.  I find that in Cameroon for instance when a person tells me that they need somebody to take care of their relative at home I know they need a nurse who will know about geriatrics that is taking care of the old. We also need nurses who are capable of administering treatment under the supervision of senior nurses. Here we provide facilities in the School of Training of Vocational Nurses, Nursing Assistants and Laboratory Technicians because we know that there is need to continue training those who are grounded in good knowledge in diagnostic facilities in our laboratories. Here we have very qualified teachers most of them who have had Bsc and some Msc degrees because I want to be sure about those who train my students. There are also those who have had years of experience in the profession who are also helping to train. They have been inspired and produced a wonderful plan modified from that provided by the government. The Ministry of Employment had advised us to form an Examination Board. 

What are the kinds of examinations that students who leave your institution take part in?

Here in Kumba, we have a Board called the Meme Board for Health Personnel. In this Board, all the schools which are training Health Personnel have come together to form this board which tests the students at the end. So we have examinations which are done internally in every department and we have a final exam. We also have a general exam organised by the board. As such you get an attestation from the department in the school and another from the Board for having passed their examination. This is how we do to make sure that those who leave here are well armed to face the professional challenges. 

Who are those whom we expect to come to EJED Foundation?

First there are the vocational nurses who have replaced what we used to call the nurse aids. We are giving opportunities for those with First School Leaving Certificates FSLC to also find a place to learn what they like. Those with the GCE ordinary level enter to train as Nursing Assistants and Laboratory Assistants. This gives an opportunity for those with the GCE Ordinary Level be it in Science or Arts to study. If you are of the science you find it easier but for the arts, we don’t limit you because you are put on a programme that permits you to have a background in everything. We are also giving opportunities for those with the Advanced level if they chose to do Nursing Assistance however, with the Advanced Levels we advise that you do but the Higher National Diploma HND programme.

What special things do have up your sleeve for the 2015-2016 Academic year that is just around the corner?

It is going to be a very special year because of the new programmes we have launched. We will be training Bio-medical maintenance Technicians as approved by the Ministry of Vocational Training. These are Technicians who will be trained to know how to repair hospital equipment. They will work in hospital environments like Laboratories, medical resource departments and the sales companies since they will install and maintain the equipments. The launching of the new Academic year will be very busy with students from the various departments. Those for HND, Bio-medical Technicians pioneer badge, Nursing assistants and the vocational nurses. We want to launch the Academic year making sure that the students are given adequate knowledge of what is meant to be in a professional school. Experts will be brought in on the different professions they want to study to tell them the importance of the professions and what the job market stands to offer in the various professions. Like in every other year we are reviewing our programmes with an intention of making them better. So together with my staff we have already put in new things that we are bringing in. These among other things include spiritual drilling.  

Any message to stake holders in the health sector?

We simply want stake holders to know that we will sending out well trained personnel who will prove invaluable in the quality of the services they will provide. Our programmes are being revolutionized according to the needs of the community. We are tailoring them here to meet the responsibilities that they have to carry out when they leave here.

Reaction:

Ngome Richard: Director of EJED Medical Foundation School for Health Personnel.

“We know that the training we do here impact positively on society. We are training health personnel that take care of Human beings so we know the degree of the importance of what we are doing. Here we have a school and a hospital in the same place. So what we do is that we concentrate on their studies blending the theory and the practical since the hospital is there and the school is there. After the first two months of stay in school doing just theory we push you into the practical in the first week of the third month. We make sure that you go to the hospital to see what you have been taught in class so that you can better practice it. When you hear you forget but when you see you remember but when you participate you know. So we make sure that we send out qualified products.” 

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Chief Justice Benjamin Itoe in the heart of Palace tussles in Kombone Town, Kumba?

His Royal Highness Chief Esue Kingsley Njaweli, the Chief of Kombone Town, in the wake of a tumultuous period marked by what he has described as friction, infighting, back stabbing and political intrigues has come out clearly to accuse some Bakundu elites including Justice Benjamin Itoe, Board Chairman of the Cameroon Development Corporation CDC for being responsible for the palace haggles and public embarrassments that the throne has recently been subjected to. 

His Royal Highness Chief Esue Kingsley Njaweli, the Chief of Kombone Town

Speaking recently to this reporter in Kumba, he justified his accusations by going through the story of his elective exercise which lead to his being chosen as chief of Kombone Town in Kumba. He said he was made Chief on April 30, 2014 during consultations that were supervised by the Divisional Officer for Mbonge Sombe Simon. He said though there were other contenders for the throne, the King makers selected him as the chief. The DO for Mbonge he explained forwarded his report to the SDOs office where a Prefectural Order No. 3012 of 14^th July 2014 was signed. “ I received it on July 18, 2014 and from then on, some power mongers started making things difficult for me. There was a lot of political interference that caused chaos in my village. They refused to accept me as a Chief notwithstanding the fact that I was chosen by King Makers of the village.” Even though the other person who was fighting for the throne, Sakwe Eric Busa, was the son of the late Chief he explained that he was equally legitimate and from the Royal Family as well and that the King Makers looked into the nature of his character before deciding to bestow their confidence upon him as Chief.

“The legal documents in addition to the prefectural order that I have in hand have been forwarded to several quarters like the Governor of the Southwest Region, the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation and the Ministry of Finance.  Despite all the petitions that are going all over, my documents which are authentic have not been challenged. My being the chief of Kombone Town is supported by authentic documents.”

Controversies he said came in through politicians. “Justice Benjamin Itoe is one of those who want to put in place a chief who will be answerable to him. He was the one who put his hand in Kombone to derail some of the King makers to have a choice that will be answerable to him. The consultation talks took place in closed doors within the King makers alone on the 24^th of April 2014 in order to select who was to become Chief of Kombone Town. I had 14 votes as against eight for the other contendant. From there they went on with the traditional part of it and had to give me blessings in my absence.”

He said that it was at this stage that the politicians came in since they understood that the selected one was not of their choice. “From the 30^th of April, things changed and people started writing petition letters against me. Allegations were forwarded to the SDOs Office.

I was even called at the level of the SDOs Office in relation to some of the allegations that were put against me.”

His background he explained shows that he has always served and loved the public. He said as a servant of the public he among other things is a Municipal Councilor of the Mbonge Council under the CPDM, has served as the President of the Southern Bakundu Students’ Association for five years, was the Youth president in Kombone, was also the President of the Constitutional Council of the Oroko Students Union and an elder of his congregation in the Presbyterian Church in Kombone amongst many others.

His detractors he said talked about his having forged documents and he as a result submitted his documents; The FSLC, the GCE Ordinary Level and Advanced Level carrying the same names and age. “The SDO homologated it and saw that I was okay.”

“Justice Benjamin Itoe had instructed some of the chiefs in his own camp to be making sure that I am not admitted into meetings. This is what happened during the Southwest Chiefs Conference in Kumba. A certain note was forwarded on that particular day in that conference that certain chiefdoms including Kombone and Nake had problems and should not be admitted into the hall. I behaved as a gentleman and left the place after all it was just a meeting. This tendency to prevent me from meetings creates the impression that I am not chief among my subjects.”

 This he explained had caused a lot of problems and at one time his house was burnt. He explained that certain two youths had had a fight during which one stabbed the other in the eye and in retaliation the victim butchered the other with a machete. “Because of transferred aggression, some came to my house and burnt my residence. That was as a result of the politics of the Bakundu people caused by Justice Benjamin Itoe.”

Since these problems started he said, Justice Benjamin Itoe who is the President of BACDU the Bakundu Cultural and Development Union has not made an appearance to even see that the people’s attention is called to see that we need to live in harmony and unity. “I call on my subjects to collaborate with the official chief for the development of our community.”  

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President Buhari calls on Nigerians in Cameroon to be resolute and persevering.

By Francis Ekongang Nzante Lenjo
The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria H.E. Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians resident in Cameroon to be persevering and and resolute in every thing they do. He was speaking recently in Yaounde during his two day visit to the Republic of Cameroon. During this visit, he took out time to commune with the cream of the Nigerian Community in Cameroon.
His brush with representatives of the Nigerian Community was characterised by a question answer session which permitted the president to have a general picture of the state of Nigerians living in Cameroon and equally permitted these Nigerians to understand the views of the newly elected head of state on issues that directly affect the smooth functioning of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Among the movers and shakers of the Nigerian Community who were privileged to meet the President was Eze Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas Gburu Gburu 1 of the All World Igbo Assembly in Cameroon referred to as "Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Cameroon" among many other very important personalities. Attention was however drawn to Eze Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas as a result of the pertinent question that he put to the Nigerian Head of State which ran thus; " In your trip to the United States , you admonished Nigerians to remain resolute and be dedicated, using yourself as an example or a testament of perseverance and determination before you finally won the 2015 election. My question is, why did you persevere so much and what exactly do you want to change ?
It is in answering this question that the Head of state prescribed the virtues of resoluteness and perseverance as the main tools of success in every thing they do. Referring to the  life of the one who asked the question the President said if Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas was not full of perseverance, he wouldn't be the head of the Cameroon Chapter of the All World Igbo Community referred to in the Igbo Language as Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Cameroon. Turning to his own political life, H.E. President Muhammadu Buhari said his success came as a result of perseverance after loosing out in presidential elections three times. It is perseverance that made him stand for the fourth time. This same spirit he said should be applied in Nigeria as a nation.This principle is the best approach to face all the challenges that Nigeria is passing through the President said.The change that Nigeria needs the President said is that of attitude in the way they face the challenges ahead of them.

The state visit to Cameroon was marked by high level discussions on cooperation issues and common resolutions to combat the terrorist sect Boko Haram which has been disturbing the peace of both countries.

Muhammadu Buhari and President Paul Biya of Cameroon also agreed on the putting in place of a multinational standby force to fight Boko Haram and to reinforce cooperation between the two neighbouring countries that share some 1700 km of land and maritime boundaries.

Both leaders also discussed on issues related to maritime security and resolved to foster cooperation in the areas of intelligence sharing, economic and cultural cooperation in order to enhance the development of both peoples. In the area of trade, the Cameroon – Nigeria business forum was revived with a new session scheduled for Abuja in Nigeria.

The excellent state of relations between Cameroon and Nigeria was further illustrated in the exchange of gifts, warm hand shakes and hugs between the two leaders from the moment of arrival up to the time of departure.

The Nigerian President during the occasion invited his Cameroonian counterpart to a friendly and working visit to Nigeria. The invitation was accepted pending details that will be worked out through diplomatic channels.

 

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One of the major outcome of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vist to Yaoundé on 29 and 30 July 2015,  was a pledge for the speedy completion of the Bamenda-Enugu road within the shortest time possible and the construction of the Gamburu-Ngala-Kousseri road to link both countries in the North

Launched on June 21, 2010, the Bamenda –Enugu road, part of the Trans-African Highway is still to be completed.Both Presidents called for the completion of the “corridor” within the shortest time possible according to a join communiqué signed on July 30. The same communiqué also  reads “Muhammadu Buhari and Paul Biya have also decided to accelerate the feasibility studies for the construction of a bridge over the Mayo Tiel, on one hand, and Gamburu-Ngala-Kousseri road, on the other”

The two heads of state agreed to hold in Abuja, Nigeria, by October 2015, the first session of the consular Committee on Cameroon-Nigeria Immigration, to conduct the review of the Memorandum of Understanding on the free movement of people and goods, signed in 1963.

Onyengubo Jonathan Thomas Eze Gburu Gburu 1 During meeting with President Buhari at Yaounde Hilton Hoteel

Also, they decided to strengthen the excellent economic and trade relations between Cameroon and Nigeria, by promoting investment on both countries by convening a business forum between Cameroon and Nigeria, in Abuja on a date to be agreed by mutual agreement.

The Cameroonian and Nigerian presidents also welcomed the agreement on cross border cooperation in hydrocarbon already signed and agreed to accelerate the signing process for its full implementation.
Concerning the Bakassi Peninsula, the two presidents noted the satisfaction expressed by the Secretary General of the UN, in its latest report on the activities of the UN Office for West Africa from January to June 2015, on the progress of the demarcation of the land boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria.
They agreed to give favorable consideration to the recommendation of the UN Secretary-General on the finalization by the end of 2015, the land demarcation work.
Muhammadu Buhari has invited his counterpart Paul Biya, to paid a friendly and working visit to Nigeria. This invitation was accepted and the date will be fixed later through diplomatic channels

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