Meet Julius Mbunkur: The Exemplary Young Contractor

 By FC Junior

"Shey" Julius Mbunkur

In life there are three categories of people, those who make things happen, those who observe things happen and those who comment on the way things are happening. However, a right person falls within the rank of those who make things happen. They are people with independent minds, workaholics and those who like what they do. They have self-esteem and would do extra-ordinary things in a very common way.

 Dignity, wise men opine, does not consist in possessing honours but in deserving them. This is to say that if you are by any stroke of historical accident, bestowed with honours that are undeserved; it makes no sense for it is tantamount to putting a golden ring on the nose of a pig.

In a nutshell, Councilor Julius Mbunkur is an exemplary young politician cum contractor par excellence not because he is a politician but because he genuinely deserves such dignity and honour and has merited them through his own might and right.

GS Binju constructed by Julius Mbunkur

He is an able Abbot fit to represent whosoever on this planet called earth without any complex due to his high sense of duty and commitment both in politics and business.  This is so because this young man has been able to combine politics and business to make the them bedmates. At the level of politics, Julius Mbukur is a militant of the Social Democratic Front-SDF. It is rare to see a young dynamic politician entering politics on the opposition platform, yet he did it and he is succeeding. Political analysts have often described him as a pragmatic politician.  He has not entered politics to reap where he did not sow, but rather where he thinks he can make a sound contribution to the development of the country.  This explains why he spends from his own pocket and being a visionary that he is, he chooses the Social Democratic Front (SDF), a phenomenon which has sent shock waves to the spines of the Donga Mantung CPDM political iguanas.

Being elite of Binju in Nkambe, Julius Mbukur knows without being told that the ruling CPDM party can only manage to get few votes through dirty gimmicks.

As a councilor, Julius Mbukur represents the interest of Binju people in Nkambe. During council sessions, all hopes are usually in him as he would make sure that he scrutinizes every little thing. As a great lobbyist, he has succeeded where many failed woefully, given that makes sure that development projects are allocated for his area. However that is not our interest for now. Our interest is that he is not a young man to pigeon-hole with when it comes to executing contracts.

The Young Role Model

Private residence he constructed

Julius Mbukur is a multi-talented young business man. He is the proprietor of the famous Divisional Hotel in Nkambe and like Farfre in The Mayor of Casterbrigde, every little thing he touches prosper. This apparently explains why many youths admire him and calls him, “The Role Model” because he advises his peers and even elders on business edeavours.

Because of his judiciousness, unassuming nature, God fearing and straight forwardness, Julius Mbukur is often described as somebody who loves his profession to an extent that he drinks business, eats business and dreams business.

Above all, Julius Mbunkur has honoured himself and the rest of young men of Donga Mantung by clearly demonstrating by his acts that what an old man can do, a young man can also do it better. 

Julius Mbukur can tell you it was no piece of chocolate when he launched Ets BUDISON, a construction company in 2011.

Given that he had experience that he had worked with his father since 1993 in supervising his jobs in the field, he decided to register, ETS BUDISON.

But being a workaholic by nature Julius knocked on doors and established relationships with young man and women in the Diaspora who were willing to build back home as well as other local vote-holders. Soon he was able to be awarded a contract by the Nkambe Cultural and Development Association-NKACUDA. The construction of two classrooms at Government School Moh and an additional two classrooms at Government School Binju placed him on the pedestals of successes.  “I got the courage to bid as a general contractor” he says.  Although I didn't win some of the jobs, I was happy to know the process of what it takes to be able to bid on your own.” However, the Nkambe Council discovered the knack in the young man and he was awarded the contract to rehabilitate the administrative block of the council. He was again trusted and awarded another contract to rehabilitate the Nkambe Council Rest House and the construction of the slaughter house in Nkambe town. “I think that prudence and scrutiny are the watch-words in the execution of contracts”. The manner and the level of work that he did for NKACUDA caught the admiration of the Fon of Nkambe, HRH Jafbu Ibrahim Nfor that he crowned him “Shey Ngiri” for hard work, a traditional honour that is bestowed on trusted people in Mbum land.

Of late, he was awarded a contract by the National Community Driven Program-PNDP to construct two classrooms, a store, an office and modern toilets at GS Binju. Besides, Julius Mbukur has been the first contractor to win the admiration of Mbum young men and women in the Diasporas. He has constructed over six homes for them. Some of these houses are located in Nkambe and the neigbouring Binshua village.

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