Ta Nformi Yinkfu Hon. Dr. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian
The Great Man! Mu Mba
A history too heavy with achievements
That touched millions of lives.
A trillion facts book of this century with
The level of details deepenin' in hearts.
Because there’s always something.
Something great of a hero
To always remember.
Oh! the great man is
Oh! Nfuh sings The Great.
With strong messages too hard to decipher
The Baobab and Pathbreaker
Your name is writt' in gold
From Mbouh to Ngong
Forever! Forever in the hearts.
Oh! Seed of truth Mu Mba
By God's will, there is
On a last flight to Nsimalen
As cars glider' in long lines
Welcome home, to come home
My epistle 𝗡𝗼 2 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗚𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻
TA NFORMI HON. DR. AWUDU MBAYA CYPRIAN
(‘Mu Mba’)
THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND
AWUDU MBAYA: THE LIFE OF A PATHBREAKER
POLITICAL PROFILE: INDEFATIGABLE AND VERSATILE CONSENSUS BUILDER
Ta Nformi Hon. Dr. Awudu Mbaya Cyprian was born on 18 May 1952 to Pa Elijah Nyam Awudu and Makfύ Miriam Labu Awudu. Pa Elijah Nyam Awudu being one of the several children of Pa Njong – (Hon. Awudu's grandfather) and a native of Njap, got married to Miriam Labu Chinda from Ntfumbe in Kungi village. After marriage, Pa Elijah and Makfύ Miriam Labu settled in Njap village against the wishes of Makfύ Mariam Labu's parents who were against the marriage. As years went by, Makfύ Miriam Labu kept on losing her children to death on several occasions. Pa Elijah Awudu suspected witchcraft or ill fate in Njap and when his wife Miriam was again pregnant, he decided to leave Njap village for Wat village, believing that a change of environment could lead to a successful childbirth and survival of the child or children. With this conviction, Pa Elijah Awudu set out with his pregnant wife on a long journey on foot to Wat village; where his sister had gotten married and where an elderly man from Njap, Ta Samba had also resettled and was faring well. On the way to Wat, Makfύ Miriam Labu Awudu went into labour in the Bambe neighbourhood in Nwangri village. She was taken to the Palace of Nwangri. Upon arrival, all the women had left the Palace following the men and youth to the village square where a prominent man was providing/hosting Mbaya cultural dance group in the community on that same day.
The Fon of Nwangri sent for the women to come back and help deliver Makfύ Labu of her child. Upon their arrival at the palace of Nwangri, the baby Cyprian Mbaya Awudu was born. The date of 18 May 1952 was confirmed by the season during which this Mbaya event was hosted and by a Reverend Father who was in that village on an evangelization mission. This explains why baby Cyprian Awudu was named Mbaya in remembrance of the fact that he was born on a day when the whole village of Nwangri was feasting the Mbaya Dance.
After some time at the Nwangri Palace, Pa Elijah and wife Miriam continued their journey to their initially intended destination of Wanti in Wat village and then eventually moved to Mbaa village where Cyprian Mbaya Awudu lived and grew up as a boy, helping his father in petty trading in cash crops & palm oil. Cyprian Mbaya Awudu struggled to juggle school with trading as he was the lone (and later the eldest) child who was supposed to help his father in petty trade. Together, they trekked to Mbembe land in Ako and Nigeria and bought palm oil and palm kernel which he carried on his head and sold in Nigeria or brought back to Wanti, Wat for sale. He managed to force himself into Cameroon Baptist Mission (CBM) School, Wanti, Wat village. Later on, after Grade 1, he could not continue formal education as he gave priority to his younger siblings to go to school while he assisted his father in trade for the survival of the family.
After several years in Wat and Mbaa, Pa Elijah Awudu took his wife Miriam Labu and children back to their village of Njap where they lived happily and were blessed with many other children. Their surviving children included Awudu Mbaya Cyprian, Francis Njong, Awudu Ndicho Julius and Awudu Mbuli Therese.
Awudu Mbaya Cyprian eventually left Njap and went to settle in Ndu in the late 1960s. This marked the beginning of Awudu Mbaya Cyprian's Long Walk to Greatness on the national and international stages. The biggest day of his life was March 5, 1974, when Awudu Mbaya Cyprian exchanged vows with and married his beautiful charming and lovely wife Mary Bichunda Ngayi, daughter of Pa Emmanuel Ngayi and Mami Matana Njuh Ngayi of Tabenken village. Together they have been blessed with eight children and served as foster parents to numerous children. Their first child, Oliver Dimgba Awudu, born on 29th September 1975, was named after Awudu's business mentor, Chief Dimson Dimgba.
Facts Sheet - Life story
- Hon. Dr. Ta Nformi Yinkfu Awudu Mbaya Cyprian was born in Nwangri, Nkambe Central sub-division to Makfu Miriam Labu and Pa Elijah Awudu.
- Attended Primary School at Cameroon Baptist Mission School Wanti, Wat, Nkambe Central sub-division in Donga-Mantung division of North West Region
- As the first surviving child of his parents, he did not continue school immediately after primary education, sacrificing his chances in order to assist his father in earning income to take care of the family and send his siblings to school instead.
- Accompanied his father Pa Elijah Awudu as a boy; carrying palm oil on his head and travelling for long distances from Ndu-Nkambe-Ako to markets in neighbouring Nigeria.
- Settlement in Ndu as an apprentice salesboy to an Igbo businessman and then after the Nigeria- Biafra war was over; his Nigerian mentor returned to Nigeria. That is when Awudu Mbaya Cyprian moved into the household of business tycoon Ba Njeshu Robert whom he served diligently and from whom he learned practical business trade.
- Baptized at First Baptist Church, Ndu, in 1969 by late Rev. Nfonya at the age of seventeen years.
- Instrumental in First Baptist Church Ndu's Salem Choir, where he composed several gospel songs with Pa Ngwa of Ndu.
- Moved to Bamenda to work briefly with the Highways & Surveys as a census clerk.
- Moved to Douala as a salesman for his lead mentor in business, Chief Dimson Dimgba, a Nigerian businessman who owned the company Espoir International based in Douala, Cameroon. Rendered loyal service to his mentor until the creation of his own company called Cameroon International Textile (CAMITEX) on 14 September 1974 with headquarters in Douala.
- Marriage to beautiful and charming « Njuh » dancer, Mary Bichunda Ngayi; a student of St. Augustine's College Nso in Kumbo, Bui division, North West Region.
- Welcomed first child with his wife Mary on 29 September 1975 and named him Oliver Dimgba Awudu in honour of his Nigerian mentor Chief Dimson Dimgba.
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