An Introspection of the Manyu People of Cameroon

Why the educated Manyu elite has not evolved a national political representative since (independence) E.T. Egbe and A.D Mengot

By Jackson W. Nanje

There are things about which many of us are reluctant to write or say. This reluctance stems from a variety of sources, which include: fear of potential reprisals, desire to maintain friendships and other affiliations, and our natural wont not to offend. But good intentions do not necessarily produce good results. Consequently, when we hold back progressive ideas because of our desire to be nice and inoffensive, social progress never takes place and our people will continue to do the same things over and over. Our lack of courage to help steer the course of social progress is at the root of our societal stagnation and in some cases, retrogression. Such is the case about the Manyu people of Cameroon, of whom I am about to write. Now, whether my thrust is courage or folly, I will defer such judgment to my readers. All I ask is that people should read this with an open mind, understand and think seriously about it, and perhaps, if they think it fit and proper, join in this discourse and improve on my shortcomings. I believe the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) is correct when it says “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” I also believe that the Manyu mind of Cameroon is wasting in internecine struggles, which is the focus of this piece that proposes to do two things: (1) discuss the educational attainments of the Manyu people and how they have misused them; and, (2) demonstrate how unity of purpose among the Manyu people can alter their fortunes in Cameroon and better the lives of their fellow countrymen.

Manyu people misuse and abuse of their education attainment

The Manyu people of Cameroon are one of the most educated groups in the country; that is, in terms of the acquisition of formal Western-type education as evidenced by certificates, diplomas, and degrees. Undeniably the largest and most educated group in the Southwest region, one would think that the Manyu native would use their education to enhance their people and native society which, to me, seems to be the main purpose of education. Unfortunately, this has not been the case.
A cursory glance upward to the Northwest brings us to another Anglophone group similarly as large and well-educated as the Manyu people: the Bali. Unlike the Manyu people, however, the educated Bali elite of the Northwest region are using their educational accouterments to continuously enhance their native society. Obviously, there exists chasm, a disjuncture, in how these two groups employ acquired knowledge. Perhaps a possible explanation can be found in the systems of social organization among the Manyu people and Bali, which no doubt influences the individual proclivity to “destructive individualism” (Manyu) or “productive collectivism” (Bali).
As a point of fact, the average educated Manyu person uses his or her wealth of knowledge not as a tool for social advancement but as a lethal implement of self and societal destruction. It is not uncommon to observe this destructive tendency at work during their tribal meetings where they usually come well-armed to parade their academic acquisitions with an air of arrogance so grotesque that the acute observer is forced to decry it in silence and despair. Although not all educated Manyu people participate in this orgy of self-pumping egos, the spectacle described here seems to me a unique Manyu character trait.

 A brief history of the “enlightenment” of the Manyu people through education

It was not by accident that the people of Manyu became educated earlier than most other Anglophone groups especially those of the Southwest region. Their early education resulted from a combination of factors, the most important of these being their proximity to Nigeria, which in colonial times had the only post-secondary institutions of higher learning that attracted British Southern Cameroonians.
Also, Mamfe, the main town in Manyu Division, was used as a transit zone by the British, Nigerian, and leading Cameroonian politicians who spoke good grammar during the period of British colonial rule. These politicians, who frequently made stopovers in Mamfe, became role models to many aspiring young Manyu people. Consequently, access to Nigerian higher educational facilities that were conspicuously absent in Cameroon, combined with the convergence of the finest minds in the Mamfe corridor, must have contributed considerably to providing the Manyu native the required ethos that increasingly spurred their interest in acquiring Western-type education.
Another significant contributing factor to the educational development of the Manyu people was the work of two of their enlightened sons—Mr. Emmanuel Tabi Egbe, former Minister of Post and Telecommunications and Chief Dr. Ako Defang Mengot, who served as Director of Education in the government of West Cameroon, who were determined to advance their tribes' people to unimaginable heights in Cameroon. It seemed as though Egbe and Mengot met and designed a plan of action that each executed with near-supernatural devotion.
Where E.T. Egbe consciously undertook to “Manyunize” the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications by extending employment to his tribes people from top to bottom, Mengot likewise opened the gates to education by offering all forms of scholarships and opportunities to every young Manyu person with the slightest potential for learning. Egbe and Mengot were hewn from a different stock, the likes of which are rare and possibly cannot be found among contemporary Manyu native nowadays. The mindset of today’s Manyu elite is radically different from that of Egbe and Mengot. The contemporary Manyu elite has the mindset of “me first” and a destructive individualistic mentality, which has succeeded in dividing rather than uniting the Manyu people.
The one and only raison d’être of a contemporary Manyu elite, is to use the Upper Banyang and Mamfe central designations--a system carved out by the pedigree to enable better governance—is today a tool for fierce battle of brother against brother and sister against sister, with no common ground in sight. In recent years, the Upper Banyang people who considered themselves as elites of the division have seen their position being challenged by the minorities (Mamfe Central and the Ejagham natives). This is what has brought about much of the in-fighting in the division. And as the Manyu natives of Ejagham, Upper Banyang and Mamfe Central exhibit irrational contempt against each other, non-Manyu observers watch the in-fighting in utter horror.
But the question remains afloat---what went wrong that has caused the Manyu native to ignore the trail of their predecessors--- in ensuring that the Manyu native continues to function under the covert plan of oneness? Or, has acquired knowledge served to the detriment of a Manyu native and also of the region? Can there be a resurrected Manyu native who can come out amidst this clout of divisive my village only-thinking politicians to actually get their people to work towards patriotic initiatives like their forebears did? These are the disturbing questions this writer is throwing out there with the hope that a progressive-thinking Manyu man can unit his people to make them abandon these antiquated ways, which they hardly see exists in them.
Now, let us examine some factors that could be responsible for the plight of the Manyu people:
a) The over-fragmentation of the tribal meetings within the division that has led to resentment in the Manyu hegemony;
b) The power struggle between the peoples of Ejagham and Banyangs and that which exists between the Upper Banyang and Mamfe Central in Cameroon and abroad;
c) We are also going to examine how other societies with educated people, have used acquired knowledge to advance their society unlike the Manyu people, who seek to destroy one another and in effect destroy their region;
d) We shall look at prominent Manyu politicians and see if they were influential agents of development or mere spectators who promoted politics of division, and;
E) Finally, we are going to examine how the Manyu people can use acquired knowledge to overcome internal divisions?

Over -fragmentation of villages into tribal meetings

 Long before now, there used to be just one traditional meeting that was responsible for the examination of the progress of the Manyu people and its region. But today, there are several meeting groups that only look after the welfare of each specific area much to the chagrin of the entire Manyu region. If you ask my candid opinion if having fragmented meetings in a region is a good thing, my response is a simple yes. But where fragmentation no longer serves a useful purpose in a region is when there is a total neglect and abandonment of the general good, obligations and cause of the region. The general meeting as in the past should still serve as a report card that examines the monthly or annual progress of the region vis-à-vis the other regions in the hegemony (country). So, if the Manyu people decide to only attend their fragmented village meetings, they may lose sight of how well their region is progressing vis-à-vis other regions. A case in point is Mamfe town, which was recently bituminized but the other towns in the Manyu hegemony remain uncared for. Progress in the region comes at a snail pace because it has fed fervently on the divisive practices of the politicians in the area. Similarly, leaders who are appointed in positions of responsibility in the government from the area tend to bring the share of the national pie only to their village of origin to the detriment of the entire region. Therefore, I implore the Manyu people, even though the problem is not unique to them alone, to start embracing patriotic values aimed at regional development.
Divisiveness of the Manyu natives in Cameroon and in the Diaspora
This fragmented politics happens both in the Diaspora and in Cameroon but tends to be exacerbated more in the Diaspora than in Cameroon. In Atlanta, Georgia for instance, this fragmentation has reached undesirable heights, resulting in the Manyu meeting in Georgia to detach from the Manyu General meeting in the United States. Why the unnecessary squabbles and scruples?
Apart from the Bali and Batibo people, whose dislike for each other spans over land disputes, no other region in Cameroon exhibits so much hatred towards each other like the Ejaghams against the Upper Banyang; the Upper Banyang against Mamfe Central people of the Manyu division. The hatred they have towards each other can spur speculations that their union was coerced. Not so. Because of administrative facilitation, the leaders before now thought that the area could progress faster if they created such an administrative demarcation. Instead, their good intentions or designations are being used today as a weapon of destruction and sabotage by each of these tribes. For example, the two recent parliamentary elections that pitted Honorable Rose Abunaw Makia and Mr. Bate Epey both from Mamfe Central and Upper Banyang respectively, in which the incumbent parliamentarian emerged the victor, it has led to intense hatred of the Mamfe Central people by the Upper Banyang natives. Even in their second parliamentary bout, and recognizing thereafter the powerful position that Mrs. Makia occupies as Vice Speaker of the National Assembly, - a position that benefits the two Anglophone regions, and that which should be revered, and which no South Westerner has ever occupied since independence, - the Upper Banyang people were resolved to get her out because of tribal arrangements. This is where I believe that education is not serving its useful purpose or that the priorities of the Manyu natives are misplaced. The Upper Banyang people would rather prefer to give up a powerful Vice Speaker position in honor of traditional arrangements to someone, in this case Bate Epey, who, being a newcomer in parliament would have no voice of his own, rather than propel Vice Speaker Rose Abunaw Makia to potentially become Speaker of the National Assembly.
Cameroonians should examine what I am about to write and evaluate for themselves what is wrong with this picture. The Speaker of the House of Assembly is retiring in a few months and Honorable Rose Abunaw Makia (from Mamfe Central) is contending for this position, with a good chance of becoming Speaker. Also, there is another ministerial hopeful (from Upper Banyang) fancying his chances of being appointed by the president. In Cameroon politics, two of such powerful positions could not be given to people of the same region. So therefore, it is either the speakership or ministerial position. The ministerial hopeful actually believes that the only means for him to be appointed minister by the President of the Republic is by ensuring that she looses the speakership race. I leave the rest to the Manyu people to deduce. But whatever decision they’ll make, they should understand that regional politics here at play in choosing someone with a slight propensity of being considered for a ministerial position over someone with a good chance of winning the speakership of the legislative branch of the government may come back to hunt them.

The behavior of a cohesive tribe: a lesson for the Manyu People.

A division as large as the Manyu, with so many educated people should have been boasting of paved roads in the area, good drinking water, a university, electricity, and many other social amenities. Sad to say, none of these things can earn a Manyu native a boost in public. So, what have all these degrees amounted to? Should a Banyang native, who was probably the first to be educated in the Southwest region, be proud of anything other than his certificates when amongst other tribal groups? Let us look at the Bamileke and the Bali tribal groups or region in paradox. These two, which are amongst the largest single tribal groups in Cameroon, are examples for any tribal group to emulate. They are united in almost every aspect of development imaginable and, have mastered the art of constructive criticism, that which advances the plight of their people and of their region. In addition, the number of educated individuals in these tribes is comparable to that of the Manyu tribes. But why is it that they have acquired knowledge to better their people and the Manyu natives are yet to? If you happen to travel anywhere within the Western and Northwest regions, their educated sons and daughters have transformed their academic and industrious achievements into the development of their native areas. These two regions are highly connected and have a lot of basic services like good roads, water, electricity etc, lacking in the Manyu area. Usually, it takes an educated and an enlightened mind to facilitate development in an area. Yes, the Manyu man is educated but is yet to be enlightened; because enlightened people put the general good before individual good.

Stagnation of development and divisive politics by prominent Manyu politicians

The people of Manyu division have benefited in having a majority of the high profile political appointments from the government of Cameroon more than any other division in the Southwest regions, but it is quite unfortunate that these individuals, other than Agbor Tabi, E. T. Egbe and A. D. Mengot, have much to be desired of them. In the history of Ndian division for instance, which is in the same hegemony, there has been only two ministerial appointments: Michael Namaya (Vice Minister of Commerce and Industry) and Dion Ngute (Minister Delegate in charge of Commonwealth). Note that Benjamin Itoe (Transport and later Justice minister was an appointee from Meme division). Manyu division has had the following high profile individuals as ministers: Emmanuel Tabi Egbe (P & T—Upper Banyang), Chief A. D. Mengot (Director of Education for former W. Cameroon—Upper Banyang), Agbor Tabi (Higher Educ. & Scientific Res.---Ejagham), Jerome Etah (Public Works--Ejagham), Ayuk Takem (Higher Educ. & Scientific Res—Mamfe Central), Chief Tabong Kima (Mines & Power—Upper Banyang), Tanyi Mbianyor (Forestry—Mamfe Central), Enow Ntui Ogork (Special duties at the Presidency--Ejagham), Egbe Hilman (Forestry—Upper Banyang) and Orock Ndep Effiong (Grand Chancellery of National Order--Ejagham). In addition to these high profile appointments, Manyu division has also boasted of many governors notably; Enow Tanjong (Upper Banyang), Tanyi Tiku Arrey (Upper Banyang), Enow Abrams (Upper Banyang) and Oben Peter Ashu (Ejagham). All these individuals have more than seventy five (75) years in service as ministers and/or governors combined. There is no other division in the Southwest province with more ministerial opportunities than the Manyu division.
If one should examine the reason why Manyu as a whole has not gained much from these high profile appointments, it stems down to the in-fighting between these three regions in the division Ejagham, Upper Banyang and Mamfe Central. With each appointment, the appointees, for the most part, seek to protect their position and practice nepotism, in total disregard to what they should do for the entire Manyu region. Upon all the ministerial positions Manyu division has had, for example, minister of works but nowhere in the division could you find a paved road; they had a Minister of Mines and Power but could not boast of electricity; they had a Minister of Post and Telecommunication but could not boast of a single telephone pole etc. On the contrary, when you take their counterparts of the Northwest region who had similar high profile positions, they brought development to their area. I sincerely think that this is the best time to reflect on how the Manyu elites could do things differently.
In many modern societies, enlightened people look back at what their predecessors did and then improve on identifiable shortcomings with developments of their own. That is one of the many ways that a society develops. But if those who preceded us did not achieve anything like the case of most Manyu politicians, the present politicians therefore have no record to perfect from. A Manyu native, despite being well educated, can hardly boast of any substantial contribution to community development but, they know well how to flaunt their degrees in public-- and degrees, not backed with achievement, does not earn one bragging rights.

How can the Manyu people overcome internal division?

Any group of people with tunnel vision can hardly achieve anything of major significance. Envy, inability to grasp concepts of constructive criticism, inability to appreciate others and learn from them, often putting themselves to be appreciated by myrmidons (blind followers) rather than those who can advance a cause, inability to recognize the ambit of one’s own abilities are some of the characteristics frequently exhibited by a Manyu man (specifically of an Upper Banyang man). So, what can they do differently to advance their region?
My first suggestion, which could be a model for many other lagging regions, is for the influential leaders of the division to hold quarterly meeting sessions to look into ways that each can contribute effectively through their various offices to the development of the Manyu division, no matter how small the contribution is. Secondly, the love of country, which a Cameroonian should be proud of, should resonate to love of region. The Manyu native should imbue or instill a positive spirit in every of their sons and daughters to carry economic development to their region and make it a paradise. Investment should not only be made in the big cities of the country; after all, Rome was not built in a day. Thirdly, they should embrace a friendly spirit towards Manyu natives all over and those from other regions because all answers to development cannot be gotten solely from one’s own civilization. If civilization is simply defined as the ability to live harmoniously with other groups of people, towns, cities and other governments, then the Manyu people must seek peace with their neighbors. Finally, I did explain how the very first patriotic natives saw all of Manyu as one in their attempt to either provide employment or scholarships to their kindred, a practice since abandoned by the new-breed politicians, who seek self-grandiosity and self-gratification. In conclusion, in order for the Manyu hegemony to be united as before, it must return to the ideals of the Emmanuel Egbe Tabi and Ako Defang Mengot---of a one Manyu with her people united for a common purpose---development.