Minister Rejects Royal Gift from NW Fons

 By FC Junior

The manner at which some traditional rulers seek for notice in public ceremonies is alarming. In fact the state of nature and the manner at which they dish out royal gifts has finally confirmed the long established notion of Fokum Kehbila’s “Royal Beggars”. The population was again taken aback on July 21, 2013 at the official handing of the Bamenda Parcour Vita to the Bamenda City Council.

After official speeches, the Master of Ceremony-MC announced that the Minister was to receive a gift from North West Fons Union-NOWEFU. Senator Fon Teche Njie, NOWEFU President moved to the microphone and ushered other fons to join him. Yet HRH Fon Angwafo III of Mankon was unperturbed. An indication that he is not and would never be part of the distribution of royal gifts in public ceremonies.

Senator Teche Njei in a bid to show gratitude to Alain Mebe Ngo’o, Minister Delegate at the Presidency in Charge of Defence for job well done coupled with the expertise with which he managed the celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the military in Bamenda in 2010 presented a royal stool. In handing over the royal stool, Fon Senator Teche Njie told the minister that  “each time you are faced with a problem in your daunting task, just sit on this royal chair and the gods of the North West would provide solutions to the problems.” It must have dawned on Minister Mebe Ngo’o that Catherine Abena, Louis Paul Motaze, Atangana Mebara, Forjindam Zacheus and a host of other top government officials picked up ill luck from royal titles and gifts from the NOWEFU. Since it was in public, if Mebe Ngo’o was aware ahead of time he won’t have accepted. This is so because even Prime Minister Yang Philemon did reject a royal decoration at Bamenda congress hall on his first visit to the North West Region as Prime Minister, Head of Government.

 As envoy of Biya who is Fon of Fons, Alain Mebe Ngo’o outsmarted NOWEFU Fons saying that “I would convey the royal stool to your colleague Fon of Fons and if the Head of State thinks that I am worthy to keep it, only then I would do.” By so saying, he rejected the offer from the fons to sit on the royal stool.

Last July 19^th incident has left North westerners wondering whether NOWEFU has not learned after the appointment of “Special Envoys” that they are been reduced to beggars every time such an incident happens.

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