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.