US Ambassador Visits Col. Weriwoh Godfred, the Unsung Development Luminary

Retired Colonel Weriwoh with stick in hand flanked by development partner

Good leadership experts say requires a clear vision. A good leader starts from his community and many have made their way to fame starts by fostering development initiatives. Development therefore, is not and has never been the result of accident, but constant planning. Retired Col. Weriwoh Tembeng Godfred hails from Ewoh village in Batibo Sub Division of the North West Region of Cameroon. In fact, there is no way you can talk about people who have done marvelous things in their communities without mentioning the name of Col. Weriwoh. The peak of retired military officer is that he has done great things to humanity but since society is so compressed and stratified in a way that some movers and shakers in our society are not always known and appreciated, he finds himself among the unsung heroes of our contemporary society. However, what this retired military officer has done in Batibo Sub Division has not only caught the admiration of his people but that of the US Ambassador to Cameroon. Some few weeks ago, US Ambassador to Cameroon, Robert Jackson and wife paid a courtesy visit to retired Col. Weriwoh in Yaounde as a mark of recognition for his development prowess.  The man who impressionists say is purely a product of the American Peace Corps, without hesitation is the flag bearer of development in the North West Region. It is thanks to his development prowess that he caught the admiration of the US diplomats past and present because of the sacrifices he makes for the development of many villages. And with them he is always part of every good idea that effects a positive change in a village setup. As a matter of fact, some people would have been asking how and why the US Ambassador responded to an invitation from an individual, the truth is that as far back as 2009, Col. Weriwoh had invited the US Diplomats to his village where he showed prove of his attached to change lives positively for his people. What the American diplomat discovered were the achievements of the great unsung hero who in his little corner believes humanity lives in the wilderness. What makes retired Col. Weriwoh different from others is that when two or more are gathered to talk about development, he is always there.

But what are his achievements?

To start with, not everyone is aware that the solar lighting system at the entrance to the Chantal Biya Foundation in Yaounde is of his efforts.

Back in his Batibo Sub Division, he is celebrated for doing extraordinary things in a very common manner. To his development efforts could be identified in the domain of health, education, road, electricity, provision of potable water and others. We can cite the rehabilitation and construction of some public offices such as the Batibo Treasury, the Divisional officer’s Residence, the construction of the Agric post at Ewoh, construction of health centers and purchase of a motorbike for the chief of health post.

Under education, at least 85% of the primary and secondary schools in the sub division have benefited from his largess. We can cite here schools such as GTHS Batibo, GSS Anong, GSS Guzang, GSS Agim, GSS Kwonyi, GBHS Enyoh and others. These secondary schools have benefited from the construction of classrooms while some were even created thanks to his lobbying skills. In the primary education sector, he has constructed classrooms at GS Angyie, GS Newtown-Ashong, GS Ewoh and Gov’t Nursery and Primary school Bejang.  

In the area of developing access roads, he is accredited for the Nneng-Ewoh-Kolabe-Kuruku and had built the bridge linking Ewoh-Angyie, the bridge Awom-Wu Musi as well as water and electricity in Ewoh and Gujong. If Angyie could dream of having electricity, it is thanks to his efforts. Besides, he is on record in Ewoh for the creation and construction of the village health post, construction of the residence for the chief of health post, construction of the Tele-center and above all, for bringing CTY Phone closer the people of Batibo. Knowing fully well that a healthy population is more productive, he also brought the Israeli Ambassador who was accompanied by medics to his community who carried out consultations. If we consider development as continuing where God stopped at creation, it is therefore very clear that this statement could never be more appropriate than in its present context. Col. Weriwoh is a developer in a class of his own. No Cameroonian has better applied the Augustan concept that an urban center is a place captured from the state of wild nature than Col. Weriwoh who is making life in villages to have meaning.

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