Senatorial Election: Wanlo John Chiamua, The Man You're Hearing of

 By FC Junior

Wanlo Chiamua John

Wanlo John Chiamua is the pragmatic mayor of Fonfuka Council in Boyo Division of the North West Region. He is a household name in the North West Region, and the history of the CPDM in North West Region can never be completed if his name is not written in gold. He is young and as such represents the youth in the CPDM list for senate. This retired custom officer is as hinted a workaholic, a political dynamo and has succeeded in making politics and development bedmates. 

Since 1996, Bum Sub Division became very steadfast and consistent in the ideals of the CPDM thanks to the new impetus brought in by Wanlo John. This impetus resulted to the brilliant victory which the CPDM scored in the 1996 Municipal and Legislative Elections. Wanlo John by that success made the Fonfuka Council one of the four councils ruled by the CPDM in the fief of the SDF in the North West Region. Again Bum Sub Division distinguished itself in the October 2004 Presidential elections in which Bum CPDM also scored an overwhelming 74.3% for President Paul Biya. In the 2007 Municipal and legislative elections, Wanlo John came home more determine and his presence ignited hope in the populace. The outcome was that the Bum CPDM emerged victorious scoring 80% to win the lone CPDM council in Boyo.  His devotion for development and the politics of inclusion he introduced caught the admiration of everyone, he was voted mayor. If Wanlo John has become a celebrity in politics, it is because he worked his way up the ladder from a grassroot militant to mayor before aspiring for the senate. This is so because he has established a track record as elite, mayor and now a career politician. With all these he has been able to obtain the support of the CPDM, known as the "party machine" which proof of the fact that he has the potentials of becoming a senator.

Wanlo: The Award Winning Senatorial Candidate

Wanlo John is man who will represent Boyo Division in the upcoming senatorial elections. His alternate is no other person than the all powerful Mandim Prudencia, the woman who missed entering into the Belo Council in 2007 by an inch. This team has been described as the most efficient and is likely to spring up surprises. Mandim Prudencia hails from Bessa in Belo Sub Division, she is a tired educationist. She retired as the principle of GBHS Down Town in Bamenda where she left an indelible mark of greatness. At wasn’t cheer luck that the two were selected by the CPDM party machine for the April 14, 2013 elections. 

However, it should be recalled that in 2012, Wanlo John was voted by readers of The Eye Newspaper, Watchdog Tribune Newspaper and Cameroon Post International as the Best Mayor of the Year. 

However, as hinted above, the name Wanlo John is a household and ignites hope in every young man. Here below are some of the trappings of the man, Wanlo John. 

His Trappings as Mayor

When Wanlo John was elected mayor of Fonfuka Council, the first challenge he made on the table was that Bum Sub Division was an Island on land in Boyo. The collapsed of the bridge over river Kimbi was one of those great challenges he had to surmount. Fonfuka, the headquarters was caught off from the rest of the Sub Division. Since the council could not the hundreds of millions needed for the construction of the bridge, he used his leadership and mobilization skill whereby the population moved out with him to open a temporary road through Misaje. When Wanlo Chiamua was elected mayor of Fonfuka Council on July 31^st 2007, the municipality was so enclaved. The entire area was described as an island on land. Travelling from Fonfuka to the divisional headquarters in Fundong was not only a nightmare but needed a lot of prayers and fasting. By thenm one needed to pass through 12 other sub divisional headquarters before getting to Fundong.

In the domain of education, Bum was almost the last in the region. Under-scholarisation was the highest in Boyo. There was only one secondary school. Access to health facilities was naught. Like the Biblical Moses, Wanlo John used the ruling CPDM to change lives. Not because he joined the ruling party but simple because he sacrificed even his hard earned currency. And in fact being a senator is just getting to the summit of his sacrifices. He would not only serve the people of Bum but the entire Boyo Division, North West Region and Cameroon. However, he has done much for the disenclavement of Fonfuka council areas and here below are some of his achievements

Achievements:

His trappings as the mayor of Fonfuka are numerous. The mayor achievement is that of promoting participatory development approach. This could be found in the domain of education, health, Road infrastructure, provision of socio-economic infrastructures and providing scholarship to promote excellence.

Education

Secondary Education:

As mentioned above, when Wanlo John became mayor in 2007, Bum sub Division had only one secondary school. Within five years he lobbied for the creation of G S S Buabua, G S S Konene, GTC Fonfuka, GTC Kimbi and the uplifting of G S S Fonfuka to a Government High School. Through the mayor’s award program, he constructed a science laboratory worth 20 million FCFA at GHS Fonfuka. The council also donated four bundles of zinc for the roofing of GSS Buabua. In promoting information technology and communication in schools, the council also assisted the Parent Teacher Association-PTA of GHS Fonfuka for the acquisition of computers, printers and a generator. Besides, one cannot forget the construction of two classrooms at GTC Fonfuka and the supply of computers to the same school.

Basic Education:

To succeed in building the weak human resources of the municipality to an excellent standard the Fonfuka council worked in close collaboration with the government, and other government development programs like GP DERUDEP, PNDP and FEICOM. Yet the numbers of primary schools in the municipality were not sufficient enough the meet the growing population. As such Wanlo John lobbied for the creation of the following schools.

• G S Buabua
• G S Kichako
• G S Beng
• G S Kituma
• GNS Kimbi
• G S Chonkang-Buabua

In fact, under Wanlo John, the council launched the school without classroom project which resulted to the construction of classrooms in the following schools.

·         02 classrooms at G S Ngoklow

·         02 classrooms at G S Ngonavisi

·         02 classrooms at G S Kichowi

·         02 classrooms at Yunghacum

·         02 classrooms at G S Kituma

·         And the rehabilitation of the classrooms at G S Saff.

Through FEICOM, the Fonfuka council was able to acquire funds for the construction of 10 classrooms with modern toilets. The beneficiary schools of the support were:

• G S Ngen-02 classrooms and a toilet
• G S Kichimi-02 classrooms and a toilet
• G S Njinijou-02 classrooms and a toilet
• G S Mungong-02 classrooms and a toilet
• GBPS Fonfuka-02 classrooms and a toilet

However, many more other contracts for the construction of classrooms have been awarded. In the past, pupils use to study under tree sheds and some schools were located in borrowed premises, five years after Wanlo John was voted mayor, it is now history. He made sure that he lobbied for government to take over all the community schools. And in that domain, he ended up with an excellent mark of greatness.

Stimulating excellence in schools:

In the domain of education, the Fonfuka council also initiated a scholarship scheme aimed at stimulating hard work and promoting excellence. This scheme which started in 2010 was coroneted by the fact that the council disbursed a total sum of 1.6 million FCFA to all the primary schools in the municipality. In 2011, the council while stimulating excellence in primary schools also adopted in a session to provide holiday jobs to 150 students in Bum. At the end, a total sum of 3 million FCFA was paid to them to enable them acquire their school needs. Since then, it has become a tradition.

Health

Providing access to health facilities to the populace of Bum sub Division was one of the major axes of intervention of the Fonfuka council under Wanlo John.  To achieve this objective, the Fonfuka council lobbied for the realization of the following projects.

·         Creation of the Buabua Health Centre ad assistance in its construction by the council

·         Construction Konene Health Centre

·         Rehabilitation of the Fonfuka Medicalized Health Centre

Road Infrastructure

Since it is widely acknowledged that where the road passes development follows, Bum needed an access road as well as more farms to market road in order to be disenclaved. And under Wanlo John, the road Buabua-Su-Bum and Kimbi-Fonfuka was rehabilitated to the tone of 100 million FCFA. GP DERUDEP also funded the road Ngwah-Buabua through the council. The opening of the road Misaje-Kichimi-Misaje was one of the major realizations of the Fonfuka mayor. This was when the bridge at river Kimbi collapsed. And the re-construction of the bridge over river Mungong through local revenue placed him above others in the region. In order to improve the movement of people in the municipality, the council also lobbied for funds for the construction of the bridge over river Mbuk and Nguma. It is now easy for somebody to leave Fonfuka through Konene to Fundong as well as Fonfuka-Nyos-Wum to Bamenda.

Provision of socio-economic amenities

According to Wanlo John, development is not only about building classrooms, health centres and opening roads; it is also about providing the rural population with facilities to generate income. The Fonfuka council has succeeded in implementing the following project:

• Construction of a befitting Council Chamber worth 110 million FCFA
• The extension of the Konene water scheme
• The construction of market sheds at Fofuka market
• Construction of the market master’s office at Fonfuka market
• The rehabilitation of the Fonfuka water scheme
• Construction of the meat sales slab at Fonfuka market
• The construction of market sheds at Su-Bum
• The construction of a public toilet at Buabua market and a cattle crutch.

Organized the farmers feast every year for crop and livestock farmers to show-case their production, share ideas and knowledge.

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