- Lele Lafrique Avoids Mentioning SCNC In His Speech
By Shey Wirba
Donatus Njong Fonyuy, the Mayor
of the SDF controlled Kumbo council did not directly voice out the underground
moves underway for Bui division to be split into two. Njong however exploited
the presence of Adolphe Lele Lafrique Deben Tchoffo, Governor of the North Wet
region in Kumbo to make startling denouncements. Without being afraid of the
fact that Oku is the birthplace of Prime Minister Philemon Yang, Njong
denounced the fact that the population figures of Oku had grossly been inflated/manipulated
for sensitive undisclosed reasons. Yet, while Njong painted Kumbo as a
paradise, Governor Lele Lafrique had a contrary view. He avoided qualifying
Kumbo as an SCNC bastion but simply said it was the hub of marijuana (mbanga)
production in Cameroon
and a major exporter. The Governor also harped on President Biya’s corruption
fight, yet warned Bui people in innuendo not to pay attention on Marafa’s
letters to tilt their attention.
It was a
Thursday morning last June 21, 2012 when Lele Lafrique met the Bui population
for his first time, in Kumbo, the divisional headquarters. This was the second
lap of his meet-the-people tour. A tour, he began in Nkambe, headquarters of
Donga/Mantung division. This week, Lele Lafrique would be in Ndop (Ngoketunjia)
on Monday June 25; and Wum (Menchum) on Wednesday and Thursday June 27 and 28
respectively. He finalized his tour next week in Mbengwi (Momo division) on
Monday July 2; Fundong (Boyo) on Wednesday July 4 and Bamenda (Mezam) on
Thursday July 5, 2012.
If there has
been any speech that raised curiosity ever since Lele Lafrique took command as
North West Governor, it was that of Mayor Njong Donatus last Thursday June 21,
2012. Njong challenged existing statistics about who-is-who in Bui. He said Oku
is projected as the most populated sub division in Bui with 87.720 people. He
said Kumbo only seconds with 83.479 inhabitants.
To buttress his
case to denounce the figures, Njong drew afflatus to statistics of students who
enrolled for the 2012 General Certificate of Education, GCE examinations in
Bui. He said Bui alone registered 8258 candidate subsumed as follows: Kumbo
council area- 4821; Jakiri- 1396; Oku- 916; Nkum- 651; Nkor- 369 and Mbiame-
105. To Njong, this cannot be commensurate with the population figures of these
areas, which he said stands as follows: Kumbo- 83.479; Oku- 87.720; Jakiri-
47.022; Nkum- 44.059; Mbiame- 20.289 and Nkor- 34.400 inhabitants. Njong
thereon alerted that so much money was thus pumped into the Elak-Oku council,
than his (Kumbo) which he felt is more densely populated. After qualifying it
as unfair, Njong urged Governor Lele to immediately regularize what he termed
as ‘injustice’.
Mayor Njong
also exploited Governor Lele Lafrique’s maiden tour to make varied requests. He
urged the new North West Governor to ensure that Kumbo the second largest town
in the North West
region, should have its streets tarred. Njong saw SATCOM, presently working on
the Babungo-Kumbo stretch of the ring road as a blessing for Kumbo. He said
this is the only opportunity for SATCOM to engage in the tarring of streets in
Kumbo. Then Njong averred “If there is
one thing Mr. Governor, that you have to do for Kumbo, it is to champion this
course of the tarring of the streets of this town (Kumbo), when satcom with the
roads arrive here (in Kumbo)”.
Another of
Mayor Njong’s request was for some faculties of the University of Bamenda
to go functional in Bui. Njong saw the Veterinary school at Jakiri as adequate
infrastructure to accommodate the faculty of Veterinary and Animal Husbandry.
Njong also
exploited the Governor’s visit to chastise his detractors. He qualified Kumbo
(Bui) as the hub of petition writing in Cameroon. Njong jolted the Governor
over this and assured him how this would be a regular phenomenon: that the same
petition writers would change names just to make their points.
Mayor Njong’s
speech received thunderous ovation from the Kumbo population, moreso because he
egocentrically addressed only issues of Kumbo. Concerns of Mbiame, Nkor,
Jakiri, Oku and Nkum were gnawed by him. Njong even exploited the Governor’s
presence to drum panegyric on himself.
“For those of us who seek a more prosperous,
developed and better community for our children, who have been making sure that
good things happen, who are determined to leave our society better than we
found it, let us send a clear message to all, that we shall work with out new
Governor without fear or favour, with pace and pageantry, leaving no stone
unturned in order to build a legacy that posterity will acknowledge with
satisfaction, that once upon a time, peace, development and prosperity reigned
in Kumbo, in Bui division, when Lele Lafrique Deben Tchoffo a son of the
neighbouring Mbouda town was the Regional Governor, and a certain Njong Fonyuy
Donatus, a peasant son of Sarntoh in Kumbo was the Mayor of the town. For this
is our time. Our time to make history. Our time to write a new verse in the
sweet songs of our people. Our time to leave our children with a society that
is far more developed and prosperous than the place we grew up and met”.
Enter Governor Lele Lafrique
He is a simple but firm and
straight forward gentleman. From his looks many things can be deduced. He even
resembles his predecessor, Abakar Ahamat in size, who was no-nonsense in his
dealing. Lele Lafrique told Bui people that they need to eschew the negative
image of being seen as ‘the breadbasket for the production of Indian hemps
(marijuana). The Governor voted that ‘mbanga’ produced in Bui was not only for
local consumption, but also for export to other regions.
Though Lele
Lafrique challenged Bui elite and the traditional authorities to take their
responsibility to help their people to live in peace and harmony, he failed to
indicate that they should shun the Southern Cameroons National Council, SCNC.
It is on record that Kumbo and Oku are identified as the hub in Bui for
harbouring SCNC diehards.
Whether in
Nkambe, Kumbo, Ndop, Wum, Mbengwi, Fundong or Bamenda, Governor Lele Lafrique’s
message on peace would be same. He carries with him, a three-fold message of
peace, development, hard work and the love for our fatherland, from President
Paul Biya wherever he goes.
Governor Lele
Lafrique’s tour frowns at negative aspects as embezzlement of public funds,
abetting crime, disrespect of state institutions and an abridgement of national
unity. He however propagates President Biya’s grand realization program.
While in Kumbo
last week, Governor Lele Lafrique urged Mayors and elite of Bui to assist and
support sporting activities, especially in the domain of athletics and
football. He urged that the flame which the division had floated must be
revived and maintained.
Lele Lafrique
also exploited his Kumbo lap, to caution Bui son/daughters to encourage
President Biya in his fight against corruption and the embezzlement of state
funds. Without mentioning Marafa’s name, the new NW Governor denounced Marafa’s
letters and urged Bui people to beware: “Do
not pay any attention to detractors of this fight against corruption” he
said, noting how, “they spend their time
on speculation and vain imagination, in a bid to misdirect or jeopardize our
attention towards our most cherished dream of development”, the Governor
landed.
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