CRIME SUSPECTS AND THE LEGALITY OF MEDIA PARADE

"The media has the responsibility to hold the government accountable for the people. “It is the constitutional power given to the media to hold the government responsible and accountable to the people, ensuring the police, the courts and other agencies of government do their jobs.”

By Judge Divine Metiege 

In Cameroon, media parades of crime suspects, where individuals are presented to the public or media before trial have been a subject of controversy regarding its legality and ethical implications. The Cameroonian legal system, like many other countries, upholds the principle of "innocent until proven guilty" and aims to protect the rights of individuals accused of crimes. This is adumbrated in section 8 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

 

Section 8:

(1) Any person suspected of having committed an offense shall be presumed innocent until his guilt has been legally established in the course of a trial where he shall be given all necessary guarantees for his defense.

(2) The presumption of innocence shall apply to every suspect, defendant and accused

According to the preamble of the Constitution of Cameroon, individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty by a competent court.

- The law shall ensure the right of every person to a fair hearing before the courts. 

- Every accused person is presumed innocent until found guilty during a hearing conducted in strict compliance with the rights of defense.  

- Every person has a right to life, to physical and moral integrity and to humane treatment in all circumstances. Under no circumstances shall any person be subjected to torture, to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment.

 This suggests that media parades could potentially violate the presumption of innocence by subjecting suspects to public scrutiny before their guilt has been established through due process.

Furthermore, media parades can also infringe upon an individual's right to privacy and may have negative consequences for their reputation, regardless of whether they are ultimately found guilty or innocent. The forces of law and order are bound to protect citizen’s lives and property and manage the security architecture of the country.  In an attempt to justify the discharge of the entrusted responsibility, suspects of crime and criminality suffer character assassination while being paraded before the media even before they are found guilty by the court. The name changes to the accused person or a defendant. When trial starts, he may plead guilty or not guilty after the charges are read to the fellow. If he pleads guilty, the court may convict him, depending on the nature of the offense. That is called a summary trial.

“After conviction, following summary or normal trial where witnesses and other evidence are taken, the court will deliver judgment by either convict the fellow or discharge and acquaint the accused. If the accused person is convicted, the name changes from the accused to convict. At this stage, the media can pronounce to the whole world that the person is a criminal. To parade somebody not based on fact, may constitute infringement of his right, and the implication is that the suspect can sue the police. The CPC in its section 154 and 155 frowns at such judicial police officers, Examining Magistrate or courts that puts prejudicial proceedings to the public, documents, suspects, defendants or accused statements or pictures when full judgment hasn’t been rendered.

Section 154: of the CPC states inter alia that

(1) Preliminary inquiries shall be secret.

(2) Anyone participating in the proceedings shall be bound by professional secrecy subject to the penalties provided for in section 310 of the Penal Code; provided that the secrecy of preliminary inquiries shall neither apply to the Legal Department nor to the defense.

(3) Notwithstanding the provision sub-section (1), the Examining Magistrate may, if he considers it necessary for the discovery of the truth, hold some of the proceedings in public or cause the State Counsel to publish some of the facts which have been brought to his knowledge.

(4) Any press release made by an Examining Magistrate, by virtue of sub-section 3 above shall, under pain of the penalties provided for under section 169 of the Penal Code, be published by media without comments, be they written, spoken or televised.

“Section 155:

(1) Publication by any whatsoever of news, photographs, and opinions concerning any pending preliminary inquiry shall, subject to the penalties provided for in section 169 of the Penal Code, is forbidden until the proceedings are closed by a no-case order or until the accused appears before the trial court upon a committal order by the Examining Magistrate.

(2) The same shall apply to any public expression of an opinion on the guilt of the accused.

Section 156:

(1) any publication adversely affecting the honour or private life of a person by any of the means provided under section 152 of the Penal Code, shall be punishable under section 169 of same.

(2) Any person convicted under this section shall be subject to the forfeitures provided under the 30 of the Penal Code.” wherein the media house, the judicial police officers, examining magistrates, or the courts may be implemented forfeitures of section 30 of the penal code

Section 169 – Prejudicial Comment

 Whoever refers publicly to any judicial proceedings not yet terminated by final judgement in a manner liable to influence, whether intentionally or not, the opinion of any person for or against any party, shall be punished with imprisonment for from fifteen days to three months and with fine of from ten thousand to one hundred thousand francs.

 Nothing in this section shall apply to an account in good faith of proceedings in open court.

 Where the offense is committed through the print media, radio or television, the imprisonment shall be from three months to two years and the fine from one hundred thousand to five million francs.

Section 170 – Forfeitures

(3) Upon conviction under any of the last five

(4) forgoing sections, the court may impose the

(5) forfeitures described by section 30 of this

(6) Code.

Section 310 of the penal code – Professional Confidence

(1) Whoever without permission from the person interested in secrecy reveals any confidential fact which has come to his knowledge, or which has been confided to him solely by reason of his profession or duties shall be punished with imprisonment for from three months to three years and with fine of from twenty thousand to one hundred thousand francs.

(2) Subsection (1) shall apply neither to statements to the prosecution or police concerning facts which may amount to a felony or misdemeanor, nor to answers in court to any question whatever.

(3) Nothing in subsection (2) shall release from the duty of professional confidence:

(a) A physician or surgeon, save within the scope of a commission from the prosecution or of his reference as an expert referee.

(b) A public servant under orders in writing from the Government.

(c) A minister of religion or counsel.

(4) Upon conviction the court may order the forfeitures described by section 30 of this Code.

Sections 30 through 35 of the penal code is legally known as ACCESSORY PENALTIES

Section 30—Definition

The forfeitures applicable under this code shall be the following:

(1) Removal and exclusion from any public service, employment or office.

(2) Incapacity to be a juror, assessor, expert referee, or sworn expert.

(3) Incapacity to be guardian, curator, deputy guardian or committee, save of the offender's own children, or member of a family council

(4) Prohibition on wearing any decoration.

(5) Prohibition on serving in the armed forces.

(6) Prohibition on keeping a school, on teaching in any educational establishment, and in general on holding any post connected with the education or care of children.

Section 31—Where Applicable

(1) A life sentence shall carry with it for life the forfeitures prescribed by the last preceding section.

(2) Any other sentence for felony shall carry with it the same forfeitures for the duration of the sentence and for the ten years following its expiry or released on license unrevoked.

(3) The court may in any case covered by the last preceding subsection, for reasons to be recorded in the judgement, relieve from one or more of the said forfeitures, or reduce their duration to no less than two years.

(4) To a sentence for misdemeanor, and where so authorized by law the court may, for reasons to be recorded in the judgement, add, for not more than five years, one or more of the forfeitures prescribed by the last preceding section.

Section 32—Forfeitures in Absence

Where sentence for felony is passed in the absence of the accused, any forfeiture shall take effect from the date of the publication of the notice prescribed by the Criminal Procedure Code.

B—Other Accessory Penalties

Section 33—Publication of Judgement

(1) Where the court may order publication of its judgement, it shall be posted in a manner to be prescribed by decree for up to two months in the case of felony or misdemeanor or fifteen days for simple offence.

(2) In such case the court may order publication of its decision in such newspaper as it may appoint, on radio or television.

(3) Any such publication shall be at the expense of the offender.

(4) Nothing in this section shall restrict publication by press, or radio or television or any fair comment.

Section 34—Closure of Establishment

Where the court may order closure of a business or industrial establishment, or of any other premises devoted to gainful activity, which was used for the commission of an offence, such closure shall imply a ban on the exercise of the same business or industry or activity in the same premises, whether by the offender or by any other to whom he may sell, transfer or let the establishment or premises.

Section 35—Confiscation

(1) On conviction for any felony or misdemeanor, the court may order confiscation of any property, moveable or immoveable, belonging to the offender and attached, which was used as an instrument of its commission, or is the proceed of the offence.

(2) Such confiscation may not be ordered on conviction for a simple offence unless specially authorized by law.

 Secondly, the media must be conscious of reporting crime and avoid tagging suspects in criminal identity. The proper way to handle cases of that nature is to allow the suspect to voice his side of the story and not to allow the Police to dominate the show. If, at the end of trial, court discharge and acquaint the accused, the person can sue for defamation of character,” the media that publish such parades are equally guilty. Any Media, judicial police officer, Examining Magistrate or court the exposes judicial proceedings is liable to pay damages.

“Section 169 of the penal code – Prejudicial Comment

(1) Whoever refers publicly to any judicial proceedings not yet terminated by final judgment in a manner liable to influence, whether intentionally or not, the opinion of any person for or against any party, shall be punished with imprisonment for from fifteen days to three months and with fine of from ten thousand to one hundred thousand francs.

(2) Nothing in this section shall apply to an account in good faith of proceedings in open court.

(3) Where the offence is committed through the print media, radio or television, the imprisonment shall be from three months to two years and the fine from one hundred thousand to five million francs.

Section 170 of the penal code – Forfeitures

Upon conviction under any of the last five forgoing sections, the court may impose the forfeitures described by section 30 of this Code.”

It is worth noting that while there may not be explicit legislation regarding media parades in Cameroon, international legal frameworks and human rights standards, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, emphasize the presumption of innocence and fair trial rights.

Ultimately, it is essential for the legal system and law enforcement authorities in Cameroon to ensure that the rights of crime suspects are upheld, including respecting their presumption of innocence and protecting their right to privacy.

The media has the responsibility to hold the government accountable for the people. “It is the constitutional power given to the media to hold the government responsible and accountable to the people, ensuring the police, the courts and other agencies of government do their jobs”.

METIEGE DIVINE NJIKANG IS A JUDGE OF THE HIGH COURT IN DONGA MANTUNG-NKAMBE IN THE NORTHWEST REGION OF THE REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON

                  Mofako Balue Chieftaincy Debacle: We all know how this chapter will end.

A story has never ruptured the moral fabric of the Balue tribe than that which’s brewing in Mofako Balue. What’s at

ByJackson W. Nanje

stake—which the Balue chiefs and the Mofako community must address and preserve —is the tumultuous nature of the selection of their chief. The preservation of the customs and traditions of the Balue people in general and the Mofako Balue people in particular must be reflected in the selection process, and this is what the Balue chiefs must preserved.

           What is at issue in Mofako Balue? 

Throughout the twenty-seven (27) Balue villages chiefs are selected by the Kingmakers through a rigorous process and approved by the people in an open setting. Chieftaincy has never been carried out through an election process. This is the system dynamics the rogue Dikome Balue Subdivisional Officer, George Tonye, who is absolutely not in touch with the realities (customs and traditions) of the Subdivision (because he does not live there for obvious reasons) he is trying to adopt in our beloved Mofako Balue. Outrageous!

There was first a chosen one, Tata Henry Ibue Momoh Sakwe, who was unanimously selected by the Kingmakers and embraced by the community gathered in the village square (ETANA). There are videos to substantiate this exercise in the village. Then, a document twist was introduced by the other contestant, Tata Kingsley Elangwe Nanje, justifying that some of the Kingmakers wanted but him as chief. For those not versed with the traditional rites like District Officer, George Tonye, the chieftaincy is hardly conferred to a man who is married to a foreign wife for fear that the village may be sold to that foreign wife. Such esteemed position is given to people with moral rectitude not individuals with questionable character. Unlike in some known tribes in the Southwest Region, where titles are auctioned, it is not the case with the Balue tribe. if someone attempts to circumvent the process with malice afore-thought, heads will roll.

                 Balue Chiefs address the Mofako Balue quagmire. 

The Balue chiefs sitting at the former president’s (Chief Dr. John Ahmadou Mokube) house in Limbe unanimously issued a scathing proclamation in support of Tata Henry Ibue Momoh Sakwe claiming that his process passed the smell test. The Balue Chiefs Proclamation on November 25, 2023 in support of the crowned Tata Henry Ibue Momoh Sakwe, was quite timely enough to preserve our customary practice.

Normally after the village crowning process the crowned individual submits his documents to the District Officer who then transmit them to the Senior Divisional Officer for onward transmission to the Ministry of Territorial Administration for formalization and final approval. This is usually the process The rogue District Officer has comprised a legitimate process by entertaining another candidate who has not been vetted by the Kingmakers and embraced by the community.

The District Officer shamelessly organized two meetings in November to begin the process anew to the chagrin and consternation of the Mofako Balue and the Balue communities. Why circumvent an already vetted process?! This is why the Prime Minister, Head of Government, and a traditional ruler himself who understands the process, has asked to meet with the Balue Chiefs and the supervising District Officer, to come explain why the whole village was summoned to Kumba twice to address the Chieftaincy selection by him, which is in the purview of the Kingmakers in each village. The District Officer or the Senior Divisional Officer must not interfere in the selection process of chief. Their work begins when the selection process is over and the crowned chief's documents are submitted for onward transmission.to Yaoundé.

The Kingmakers had already done the right thing; the villagers acknowledged their choice; the Balue Chiefs equally did the absolute correct thing upholding the customs and traditions of the Balue tribe; and, Prime Minister has done the needful to resolve the grudging parties.

The verdict is anxiously awaited!!! I know the customs and traditions of the Balue tribe shall prevail.

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                                                         𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐧: 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 

  
  

  The lead panelist in this video (below) touched on many of the problems that are crippling Cameroon. The country is crushed by a tawdry rot at the heart of its existence.

  
  

  

  BySamira N Edi-Mesumbe

  
  The first problem is 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.  A relatively young nation of mostly youths, where the average citizen is between 25 and 30 years, being governed by a crop of geriatrics, at the helm of which is a leader in his 90s is absolutely outrageous. It is an alarming tragedy of immeasurable damage that the lives of a generation of youths are being atrophied by old men. 

  
  

  To gauge how deleterious this state of affairs is, think about the house of an old man who has dementia, is blind, and crippled by all ailments borne of  old age. That is how Cameroon is. A country captured by leadership that does not understand the value of something as fundamental as having a simple postal home-address system for its citizens and businesses, is a backward country. This is because it is controlled by people who either do not care, or don’t understand how modern life works. That’s why garbage heaps, public latrines or taps and isolated trees serve as the landmarks that indicate the nearest vicinity to people’s houses 

  
  

  Exponentially, the rest of the government  is in the same bad shape. It is in the ironclad grip of museum-ready  living fossils, who seem to have died on the jobs. Our institutions are headed by very old men who've been perching on the same posts, as if it was a family inheritance. Even at the provincial level, heads of parastatals are mostly people who I'll be sending for rehabilitation and re-education, if I was in a position of power.

  
  

  All the old governors appointed; now well past their retirement ages are still occupying their gubernatorial posts, like monarchs on a throne. Same with ministers. 

  
  

  I'm shocked that 81 years old Laurent Esso, the minister of justice, who has been deeply implicated in the corruption scandals over the MTN/Chococam versus Baba Danpullo's Bestinver case, in collusion with the governor of Littoral, is still in his post as a minister. Does Biya even know anything about what is going on around him—especially over that case? Laurent Esso was a minister when I was in secondary school—some 30 odd years ago. His involvement with the 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐮𝐩𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐨 who is trying to strangle the funds of Cameroonian MTN Momo users is a huge problem which Should've earned any public employee a sacking, in a nation that's not a banana republic.

  
  

  Then you examine the few 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 who're trying to unseat the status quo. Not only are they themselves deeply corrupt and incompetent, but by their actions, one is not inspired or hopeful to imagine that even a popular defenestration of our national sphinx at Etoudi, will usher in a better bunch of benevolent leadership. It has been a big disappointment to watch.

  
  

  Not only is "our home" an overcrowded smelly mess of neglect, it is overrun by dirt and old things which are no longer useful, just like the bric-a-brac in an old man’s house. In Cameroon, right from the nation's capital in Yaoundé, down to the remotest villages in Babessing, the country is heaving under the weight of humongous heaps of garbage. Dilapidated cars have been abandoned by the roadside for years. They add to the traffic jams as well as the gratuitous levels of  environmental pollution—and even the accidents in which many were involved. Huge piles of dirt by the roadside make up the mountains of maternities for mosquitoes, and other breeding vermin, where many of the diseases afflicting Cameroonians are incubating. 

  
  

  Many local councils are also headed  by mayors who’re profoundly corrupt kakistocrats. Not only are they just jobsworths who do not see their duties as the first citizens of their towns, responsible for their upkeep, but they're parasites who see their posts as their 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒇𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔, on which they can enrich themselves. Maybe it is because many of them are useless and ill-qualified to do any other jobs outside of their roles as the 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐠𝐨𝐞𝐫𝐬 of the nation, whose only role is to attend ceremonies. They sit grand and stately on the high tables, like mausoleums, waiting to be decorated.

  
  

  Meanwhile, the people are dealing with crumbling infrastructure, muddy pigsties or  pothole ridden roads, garbage heaps everywhere, houses built willy-nilly on stolen land, as if they had been carelessly thrown together without any consideration for town planning, clogged-up gutters, poor drainage systems which facilitate landslides in some towns each time there's a tropical storm, their markets look like Augean Stables--- You have to wonder how on earth a person can claim to be the proud mayor of his town, when it is in such a state of utter disaster!

  
  

  They cannot even control something as basic as the level of the noise-pollution in their towns. No wonder Cameroonians are losing their hearing early. They allow loud speakers to blast loud noises in every corner. Whether it is those criminal churches where speakers boom, or by the roadside, where snake oil salesmen deceive passers-by with their fake panacea for all ails—as if they're the pharmacists and doctors of the nation, there is noise noise noise everywhere. You can't carry out a conversation even with a shopkeeper, while inside their premises where you're trying to buy. Let alone, stand on the street Al fresco to make a call.

  
  

  The infrastructure of the country are all creaking from poor quality and neglect. The roads and buildings remind us of life in the poorest times of Victorian era, where life was still in its primitive state. Hospitals are just  buildings - you may go into a hospital and come out sicker than you went in. Some of our university graduate doctors are just happy to be employed by the government. They're no more knowledgeable or useful to patients than their receptionists who sit behind desks eating groundnuts, and watching Tiktok videos on their phones. 

  
  

  As for the educational institutions, cry me a river for the state of our schools. It used to be that after every few houses in Cameroon, there was an off-license. Now, it is either a dilapidated Pentecostal church, run by a criminal prosperity gospel preacher, or some sinkhole calling itself a university. 

  
  

  The banners, advertising these so-called “universities” and church revivals are in steep competition with banners of funerals. It has been said that the proof of the presence of profound poverty, ignorance and superstitious beliefs in a country, lies in the number of churches that are erected, principally to deceive the impoverished population. Now, these Pentecostal pulpiteers are competing with the semi-literate businessmen, who are either renting crummy little buildings they call “universities” or constructing tasteless looking edifices on the outskirts of towns for their mushroom schools of miseducation and widespread idiocy. 

  
  

  The depth of the illiteracy that has set in the country and the tragic ignorance besetting the nation are  largely owed to these substandard mushroom institutions, which advertise themselves as universities offering MBAs, HNDs, etc. These are  criminal enterprises without any accreditation. They charge huge fees for certificates that will not be recognised outside, and many are owned by opportunists based out of the country who leave a few computers inside a classroom, and stick a robot to collect fees, while deceiving students that they’re there to study Project Management, MBA, get an HND, a B.Sc, and an M.A etc. The teaching in those places is done by persons who are themselves ill-qualified and neglectful of their duties. These teachers overreach themselves by taking up posts in different towns and institutions, and they can never give quality or satisfaction to any one teaching post. Whoever is in charge of issuing permits for some of these institutions is doing the nation a gross disservice. 

  
  

  Even the traditional schools are no better. Education is supposed to teach students how to think critically. I weep for the quality of the textbooks that our students are using in the classrooms. Gone are the days when students studied classic literature; well-written stories that improved the minds and expanded the reasoning faculties of the students. Nowadays, bad authors cobble poorly written doggerel—of the Onitsha Market  variety, and someone in charge of pedagogy in Yaoundé gets bribed, and allows the nonsense to be taught to students. Some of the teachers cannot even communicate in a language that instructs students about their subjects. 

  
  

  As for the proliferation of churches, if I were the president, I'll ensure that all those  tithes-imposing thieves and charlatans, responsible for spreading both ignorance and STDs through their noisy and tattered churches, get banned. 

  End of rant.

  
  

 Mon, Aug 28 at 9:15 PM

The often-forgotten collective role in enabling our society—-for notables and intellectuals to uplift our People.

ByJackson W. Nanje

Our society is that which apportions blame to the few successful ones or to those that the good fortune has embraced. They may not be wrong blaming them; however, no one should play victim at the expense of hard work and taking one’s studies seriously could be the solution to achieving success.

We have all witnessed how the Prime Minister, Nkak Chief Dr. Joseph Dion Ngute has been accused albeit falsely, for not bringing development to Ndian division and South West Region
(division and region of his origin) fast enough for, he's the executioner of the President of the Republic’s agenda, not his. The Prime Minister has the responsibility of appointing natives of Ndian division into positions of responsibility throughout Cameroon, and these individuals must serve as role-models to aspiring and the down-trodden members in our society. How?

Growing up as a student at Government Secondary School Mundemba, in 1980, the school administration scheduled a presentation to be given by a certain physician called Dr. Luma, who came to speak on the effect of having standing water in our society. Forty-three (43) years later, the impact of that lecture still remains indelible and pricey in my memory till date. I understand that these are trying times, and it will be risky and foolhardy for anyone to venture into those red zones for fear of being abducted or killed. Equally, Ndian children with the necessary academic excellence, especially in science-oriented subjects should organize and make presentations on the direction or pathways students should embark on. These symposiums inspire students to pursue the necessary academic courses required for generational wealth. When an army colonel for instance, who graduated from my aforementioned alma mater goes to the school and gives a presentation on what it takes to become an officer in the army and the salary involved for welfare-free lifestyle, such will influence the number of students that will be attracted to joining the army for want of a better life.  

The problem with our society is that these impressionable individuals are unaware of the significant role their professional talk may play in the rehabilitation of the mental preparedness of students. We do not do this often, we should.

 

The New Trend of Selecting Educated & Exposed Chiefs in Ndian Division could give Relevance to Development.

By Jackson W. Nanje

It was Dr. Monica Njajokuma, a native of the Batanga tribe who authored the phrase, "the Oroko people are blessed with an eloquence which does not translate into development." We are of the hope that this frightening statement should not be the product of the Oroko people of Ndian division because the Ndian people are experiencing a seismic shift in ideology in the way they select their chiefs nowadays. They are selecting mostly educated and exposed individuals as their chiefs moving away from the old order yielding things anew. The new Ndian chiefs intend on reversing this chronic reputation of the Oroko man in the Ndian oroko. While it may be up for a debate that our former, older, mostly tired and uneducated chiefs in Ndian division offered dynamic leadership and respectability factor sometimes not seen in the educated chiefs of today, what cannot be up for contestation is the fact that the newly selected educated and exposed chiefs of Ndian division today offer political knowhow, exposure, and built-in confidence that, they could hardly be subjected to manipulation or could not be assumed for novices on the political space or marketplace where ideas are farmed. There are over one hundred and sixty (160) villages (not hamlets) in Ndian division with the equivalent number of chiefs. I will be the first to admit that though there’s a growing trend in Ndian division to replace the old uneducated chiefs with educated and exposed ones, there’s still a good number of hold-over chiefs still stubbornly clinging to power with their educated successors (lying in wait) to replace them. It is also true that some old chiefs performed astute leadership, which may still serve as blueprint for the educated and exposed chiefs to emulate but those numbers are far and few in between. For example, the then Chief Jonas Bokwe Etinge, who was chief of Dikome Balue in '60's and '70's, and who doubled as His Royal Highness of the Balue Tribe used to travel to all the Balue villages under his hegemony to imbibe to his chiefs and parents the intrinsic value of education and parents who neglected sending their children to school were dragged in front of the ETANA in Dikome to explain why their child was not in school. The value of that policy made the Balue tribe the citadel of learning in Ndian division. Similar schemes could be implemented by our learned and esteemed chiefs to help advance the educational prospect of the division.

There are nine (9) tribes in Ndian division and that includes the newly inculcated Bakassi Peninsula villages which are today lumped under the Isangele tribe. We shall examine the seismic shift of villages drifting towards hiring educated chiefs in each of these villages nowadays. The Balue tribe with twenty-seven (27) chiefs; Ekombe tribe which's the only Oroko tribe with villages in Ndian and Meme divisions has three (3) chiefs; Barombi tribe with eleven (11) chiefs; Bima tribe with nineteen (19) chiefs; Batanga tribe with twenty-six (26) chiefs; Balondo ba Diko tribe with three (3) chiefs; Balondo ba Nanga with fifteen (15) chiefs; Isangele (the Creek area) tribe with about ten (10) chiefs; and the Ngolo tribe with thirty-six (36) chiefs. We are going to examine some of the new selections of Ndian chiefs to show the shift to this new trend. Granted that, not all of these villages have to follow the norm in ensuring that their village chiefs are of the educated class. In the case where the chieftaincy was/is hereditary, like Bisoro Balue, Ijowe Batanga, Manja and Mundemba Bima the sons of the late chiefs succeeded their fathers coincidentally, they were of the educated class. They did not have to be educated because hereditary chieftaincy defies the education norm. However, the case is not the same in some other Balue villages like Dikome, Betenge, Bafaka, Kumbe, Difenda and Mofaka and Balondo ba Nanga villages of Lobe Town, Ekondo Nene and Ekondo Titi and the Barombi village of Bongongo II, that witnessed several selections at the head of their villages, recently. They are not only educated men but movers and shakers of the system.

The goal of this article is not only to announce to the reading audience the educational accoutrement of the new Ndian chiefs but also, to see how they will use the acquired education to weep up development in their respective villages, and to jointly provide the much-needed development especially in the divisional headquarters of Mundemba and to the eight(8) other Sub divisions of the division as well. It is no longer enough to select and install inconsequential chiefs or stooges of the government; we need activism chiefs who shall be Ambassadors of Development. The importance of selecting or electing these educated and exposed chiefs is because, if history informs us well, Europe was ruled before by unenlightened and uneducated despots in the 18^th Century. The kings before them were unkinglike kings who had no interest in reforming their respective Kingdoms. But when these unenlightened despots were replaced by reform-minded kings, it marked the beginning of a new era of reform movement in Europe called the Age of Enlightenment. "Frederick the Great of Prussia was one of such leaders who believed that his primary preoccupation was to combat ignorance and prejudice---to enlighten minds, cultivate morality, and to make people as happy as it suits human nature, and as the means at his disposal permitted." Enlightened absolutists held that royal power emanated not from divine right (God) but from a social contract (drawn between them and their subjects) whereby a despot was entrusted with the power to govern through a social contract in lieu of any other governments. The monarchs of enlightened absolutism strengthened their authority by improving the lives of their subjects. The monarch’s taking responsibility for his subjects precluded their political participation. Frederick the Great got his inspirations from one of the leading French philosophers at the time, Voltaire. I advocate that the new chiefs of Ndian, as educated as they come, should emulate the tidings of the European Enlightened Despots if they need to be successful. I could speak for a couple who are already adapting to a new format of growth in their respective villages and more and more are trending towards development of their people.

 The Ndian people should entrust the modern chiefs with the responsibility of introducing reforms throughout the division that will bring relief even at the expense of taxing the masses for the purpose of alleviating poverty. The masses should be willing to support their leaders if the goal is to confront the numerous problems of our division. We are therefore challenging our new chiefs who are akin to those enlightened kings of Europe, to use their much-vaunted enlightened pedigree to transform Ndian division into paradise.

I will not overburden readers with the qualifications of the more than one hundred and sixty (160) chiefs in Ndian division here; however, I will cite some of the recently selected chiefs to oversee their respective villages to support my assessment of the hypothesis of the growing trend in the selection of educated and exposed chiefs. Suffice it to mention that the least qualification of the new chiefs is Advance Level Certificate.

In the Balondo and Barombi areas, we have the following enlightened Chiefs:

1.     Magistrate Atia Nawango Manfred Ekondo Titi.

2.     Chief Nasako Gerald of Lobe Town.

3.     NKAK  Chief Dr. Dion Ngute of Bongongo Barombi I

4.      Magistrate Lonje Martin of Bongongo Barombi II.

5.      Chief Eboka Alexander of Illoani.

6.      Chief Oro Peter Oro of Ekondo Nene.

Map of Ndian division

7.     Chief Sukpa George Kuru of Bekora Barombi

8.     Chief Masango Solomon of Mbwengwi Barombi

9.     Chief Mapopah Ferdinand of Mokono Barombi

10.  Chief Ngute Rudolf Itah of Dora Barombi

11.  Chief Ngeti Divine of Ngoss Barombi

12.  Chief Ekonya Mpah ofNgatame Barombi

In the Ekombe, Bima, Ngolo and Batanga areas we have the following educated and exposed chiefs:

1.     Chief Nambili Namongo of Ekombe Liongo.

2.     Chief Orume John Awoh of Ituka

3.     Chief Esemoto Rapheal Ndoh of Beoko

4.     Chief Moleke Obie of Ijowe

5.     Chief Hon. Osih Joshua Nambangi of Madie

6.     Chief Ekabe Edward of Toko

7.     Chief Muango Joseph Moto of Meka

8.     Chief Ambalo Jerald of Mosongisere

9.     Chief Elambo Pius of Dikoma

10.  Chief Ebune Emmanuel of Meangwe I

11.  Chief Ebune John of Ikoti I

12.  Chief Eni Cletus Njaforeke of Besingi

13.  Chief Nekambi Jonas Mesembe of Ikoi

 In the Balue tribe we have several educated chiefs that have replaced some of the uneducated ones.

1.      HRH Chief Sakwe Cyril Asuh of Dikome.

2.      Chief Dr. Mokube John Ahmadou of Bafaka.

3.      Chief Magellan Mukete of Bisoro.

4.      Chief Sakwe Momoh Henry Ibue of Mofaka.

5.      Chief Mukete Joseph Nebale of Betenge.

6.      Chief Itoe Innocent Masango of Difenda.

7.      Chief Dr. Mokwelle Francis Kumbe of Weme.

8.      Chief Sako Emmanuel of Ekue.

9.      Chief Ngoe Timothy Tua of Diboki.

10.   Chief Okolle Henry of Ebobe.

11.   Chief Mukete Lucas Andumu of Kita.

12.   Chief Milla Bernard Bokako of Narende.

13.   Chief Amos Namboh of Ngolo Metoko.

 These are all highly educated and exposed chiefs who cannot be intimidated by their counterparts in other divisions when at a table to discuss ideas. We know a good education is a prerequisite for an excellent leader to have. The next step is listening to the WANTS of the people and then formulate concrete policies that will enrich their lives. This is why many villages are drifting towards the selection of educated and exposed leaders, to deliver the goods for them. And since the people have completely lost faith in the ability of the government to do anything significant to better their lives, their last hope is on their traditional leaders to deliver the goods for them through community engendered projects. However, leaders cannot do it by themselves; the community must join hands and support them for change to be effective. A good chief is one that the people want him to be not what he wants to be.

Since our hopes are to see these newly hired chiefs to succeed, our expectation is to see them have series of meaningful Ndian Chiefs’ Conferences, to develop a five (5) or ten (10) years Strategic Development Plan or Master Plan for the division to which, both short-term and long-term goals shall be clearly in print. The following are some of key projects that can change the fortunes of the division if perfectly executed by our honorable Ndian chiefs. We have to begin somewhere. Nanje School of Creative Thinking understands that some of the suggested projects have been discussed in the past without any meaningful solutions. The reason for the lack of success is over-reliance on the government to bank-roll these projects. As the former United States President, John F. Kennedy, opined, “You should ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.” Gradually, through baby steps, we, as the sons and daughters of Ndian division, can perform miracles through annual paltry contributions to finance all of our projects. We just need for our chiefs to exhibit courageous leadership, transparency and trust in galvanizing the mindset of our people towards development.

Below are some of the projects that can seriously impact the lives of the community if the chiefs think through strategies for implementation and guard rails against corrupt practices which will transform our division:

• A.    Communication—For any project to succeed, there must be clear channels of communication to explain the intentions of the chiefs or the goal they want to achieve with the implementation of any project. To win the TRUST of the people they MUST explain how much the project will cost, how much needs to be or has been raised, how much has been spent and how much is left of the money raised. They must also inform the people when the project shall begin and end time. At no point should there be an obstacle in communication. If it happens, you will definitely wane the trust of the stakeholders. Therefore, anytime the media ask for information about any segment of the project the chiefs are embarking on, that information must be readily available dissemination.
• B.    Education—Since education is key to success in any community that strives to achieve sustainable development, the Ndian chiefs must support key projects in education such as the following:

(i)               Provide scholarships for smart and disadvantage pupils and students

(ii)             Encourage a girl child education by providing scholarships to deserving ones at all cost.

(iii)            Provide scholarship for science-lining students throughout the division.

(iv)            Create partnership with the government in which ex-students of Ndian schools become administrators of those schools.

(v)              Create libraries throughout the division or citadels of learning.

(vi)            Provide funds for the development of Parents Teachers Association.

(vii)          Engage the diaspora associations to provide scholarships to finance these projects.

(viii)         Build dormitories to house students since there are no boarding facilities for students in any of our schools in the division. This should be serious examined.

• C.    Make plans to build a good hospital in the divisional capital of Mundemba or help equip the existing one. The health of any community begins with the implementation of a good health care program. We cannot keep on going to Kumba, Limbe and Buea for our healthcare needs when we are capable of providing same facilities, we seek for elsewhere for ourselves. The chiefs must also look for ways to strengthen subdivisional hospitals and clinics. The children of Ndian in the diaspora can be of help to equip the hospital and the Sub divisional or district hospitals. It should be a collect effort coordinated by our chiefs.
• D.    Road infrastructure—As the government embarks on building the major connecting roads in the division, the chiefs must hold regional council mayors responsible in expanding farms-to-market roads in their respective jurisdictions.
• E.     The chiefs must be agents of development so, they should encourage only those political candidates running for office who are capable of delivering the goods to their constituents.
• F.     An enabling environment for development is one that peace thrives. Our division has been the playground for the unrest that has plagued Cameroon for the last seven (7) years. Extend the hand of peace to warring faction and equally encourage the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) to return back to base with promises of a better living standards.
• G.    Encourage a yearly All Ndian Cultural and Music Festival whereby our heritage is fully showcased and displayed in the different areas of the division.
• H.   Royalties from oil and timber should be made known to the citizens and should be ploughed back by way of investments in impactful ways.
• I.      Create a partnership with Ndian diaspora to have a voice in this lofty initiative never before attempted in Ndian political development.
• J.     A Ndian non-governmental organization (N.G.O) should be created in Cameroon and abroad in order to assist the chiefs to facilitate a request for funding for projects in the division.

We must trust that the educated and exposed chiefs in Ndian division can move away from the role of settling disputes to being champions of local development. With their education and exposure, it should be enough to grant them the utility to innovative ideas. The population of Ndian division is waiting to see when the chiefs will get their boats sailing.