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| By Randolph Nkwelle |
Some historians have it
that the Bakossi crisis of 1966 had as its immediate cause the murder of
Emmanuel Ebong ‘Etane Kode who was mistaken for Chief Mambo Ntoko in Nken
village by individuals who
were terrorizing the Bakossi clan at the time. In his book titled Tombel
Sub-Division and Council: Administrative and Municipal Evolution,
S.N.Ejedepang-Koge wrote, “following the incessant attacks of terrorism, the
assassination of four prominent Bakossi at the village of Nken was the
immediate cause of the explosion, particularly because of one of those murdered,
a retired Custom and Excise Officer Mr. Emmanuel Ebong ‘Etane Kode, was
erroneously reported to be Nhon’ Mbwog Chief Richard Mambo Ntoko.
The story is told about terrorists,
commonly known as maquisards, who believed that by
getting hold of Chief Ntoko they would have easily gotten into the stronghold
of the Bakossi community. This was simply because they saw in him a leader who
could easily mobilize his people to fight back. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t
the case. Due to the incredible services that Chief Ntoko rendered to the
Bakossi community during the Bakossi-Bamileke crisis, the Bakossi Chiefs
together with the Behons (members of
the highest traditional council) decided to confer the title of Paramount Chief
of the Bakossi on him in 1968. Chief Ntoko used his meritorious title to settle
disputes and other delicate matters which he thought hindered the progress and development
in his community. Despite his many interventions in the lives of the Bakossi
people, Ntoko still did not go without having detractors. But he however always
made sure that he used his iron fist to hit hard on those who wanted to undermine
his leadership. His greatest challengers were mostly other Second-Class Chiefs
especially those from Bangem Sub-division, who would often question the
legitimacy of his Paramount Chieftaincy. As a result of these distractions,
Chief Ntoko until his death in 2001 was never promoted to a First-Class Chief
as it had always been his wish to match-up with his other contemporaries in the
South West Region. The simple reason was that those Bakossi elites who willed
power at the time, despite being in positions where they could influence by
lobbying his case, decided to be nonchalant.
As a true genuine custodian
of the Bakossi culture and one who understood the benefits of coming together
for a common good, the no-nonsense chief was quick to notice the aggressive
atmosphere that existed when Prof Ngole Ngolle Elvis was appointed as
Minister in charge of Special duties at the Presidency of the Republic in
December of 1997. Most Bakossi elites, especially those who were vying for
ministerial positions, argued that Prof Elvis Ngole Ngolle, a political
scientist, was too young and was not knowledgeable in the Bakossi
sociocultural realities to have earned him the ministerial appointment. Looking forward, they were right because the young minister was quite inconsistent in the way he applied himself on the day to day running of the ministry.
As a result
of these hostilities, fear had been embedded in him to the point where he
refused to be ushered into the ceremonial grounds by the Behons as it has often
been the tradition with such visits during his
homecoming in Bangem in 1998. His fears were not only imaginary, but they were
real and S.N. Ejedepang-Koge had summed it in his book titled, “Myth or Reality? The Life of the
late Hon Thomas Ebongalame: 1934-1989” where it was alleged that the
Honorable Ebongalame was poisoned in Bangem in the course of a traditional
libation during the Bangem Cultural Development Association’s (BACUDA) tenth
anniversary. When Chief Ntoko noticed this, he decided to step in to revamp the
situation. As Livinus Esambe equally puts it in his book titled The
Biography of S.N. Ejedepang-Koge: Teacher, Writer, Man of Culture, he wrote, “concerned by the
persistence that friction provoked at various instances by the Minister’s
actions, Nhon Mbwog Richard Mambo stepped in to calm the situation. He used the
Kupe-Mwanenguba Chiefs’ Conference as a pretext, to organize a grand meeting of
Chiefs and Elites in his Tombel Palace.” That was indeed the fixer and the
leader. He never waited to be told what to do because he knew exactly what
needed to be done at the appropriate time. This is exactly what is lacking in
the current Bakossi leadership. Nowadays, situations are left to deteriorate
with no one showing any concern to fix them. Worse still, some of our chiefs
actively take part in things that only help to debase their chiefdom. Examples
of such are their mad quest for money and the selling of land that belongs to
the community. These are things that would never had happen during the reign of
Chief Ntoko.
Additionally, a lot of
stories have been told concerning Chief Ntoko with some being true or
imaginary. It's alleged that when he spoke to administration officials sent to
work in the Bakossiland, he wouldn't mind pouring out his venom on them when he
noticed that his authority was being challenged or minimized. This was all due
to his charismatic nature and his desire to get things right for his people.
His presence alone created fear and he could care less if
you were a super elite or not. One terrible nuisance about him was the fact that,
he always slept during ceremonies especially at the ground stand and that he
would often use the shoulder of anyone sitting next to him as his pillow. He was passively aggressive and nasty to
anyone who attempted to get him up. If luck weren’t on your side that day, you
would be welcomed with a slap or he would simply scold at you. Due to his
actions, people always found it very uncomfortable each time they sat next to
him in any given occasion. He was a very hardworking but tired leader. During
political campaign rallies, Ntoko would opt to go to those very hot zones like
Bouba, Etam and Ebonji, which were opposition strongholds inhabited mostly by settlers.
He would wheel the people to respect the rights of the minority by voting for
the party in which he militated else, they would face the political consequences.
Chief Ntoko was a man of strong convictions, whose edicts went hardly
unopposed.
The reign of Nhon Mbwog
Ntoko marked the end of an era particularly when we draw comparison with present day occurrences in the Bakossi community. Political
appointees and elected officials today who have taken over the leadership have
been reckless vis-à-vis the respect for traditional institutions, which have
been relegated to the background. It’s not uncommon today to find some of these
leaders pouring down insults on our chiefs with some being nicknamed or worn
with the garment of “langa chief” --- a symbolism for a hunger-stricken chief.
This is simply because chiefs are seen these days moving around begging,
something which the self-sufficient Chief Ntoko would never do. He would prefer
to stay and entertain the gifts in his Palace rather than panhandle on the
streets as it is presently the case. Even when young visionaries like Herbert
Ediage Apande who is the current National President of the Tombel Cultural
Development Association (TACUDA) endeavor to come up with plans on how to solve
some of the burning issues affecting the Tombel populace, he is always often
considered as an intruder hence, killing his good intentions.
The ongoing sociopolitical
upheaval plaguing Cameroon today has not left the Bakossi people indifferent. And
what is dramatically more surprising is the fact that Nyasoso (precisely GHS
Nyasoso), which happens to be the home town of Chief Ntoko, has shamefully
become the headquarters of those bringing terror in Bakossiland. These are
things that wouldn’t have happened in the days of Chief Ntoko. The situation
seemed to have deteriorated resulting in the burning down of houses and the
killing of innocent citizen and recently, the raping of a young boy. All
because there’s no one who can stand up and make his voice heard. For those who
are well versed with the history of Nyasoso and the throne, they can bear
testimony. Tradition holds that when a chief dies the throne can never remain
vacant. However, it is the opposite here because Chief Ntoko is gone, and even
though there is a successor, the throne is vacant. It has been a difficult
ordeal for anyone to fit in the shoes of Nhon Mbwog Richard Mambo Ntoko. We are
yet to see a leader in Bakossi and Tombel like Chief Ntoko.
