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| Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle |
The venerated international legal consultant, Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle has been elected as the new President of the General Assembly of the Cameroon Bar Council Association. Reports say he was elected at the elective general assembly in Yaounde which kick-started last January 31, 2015. Accordingly, Ntumfor candidature was greeted by all and sundry. It is hoped that with his being there, the issue of the creation of a law school and construction of the secretariat will become realities given his knack in development issues and lobbying skills.
The Man Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle
If there is one Cameroonian who
does ordinary things in an extraordinary manner, it is Ntumfor Barrister Nico
Halle, international legal consultant, human rights defender and
nationally-acclaimed peace crusader. Only few years ago Cameroonians were taken
aback when news went round that he succeeded in uniting rival journalists
factions in Bamenda by using the Bible. Many who thought he was calling the
journalists to start quoting journalism principles or law were surprised when
in his characteristic manner, Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle quoted a few Bible
verses, offered a brief prayer and distributed copies of the revised version of
the New Testament Bible and the deal was done.
Whither the Bar Council
When Eta Bisong Jr. took over the
Bar Council some years ago, Cameroonians and especially Anglophones thought
that the reputation of the Bar as a strong, united, and independent association
would soon be restored. What immediately came to mind was the hey days of
Barrister Bernard Muna and Barrister Akere. As Eta Bisong Jr. worked day and
night to build a strong and united Bar Council, he easily forgot that
government was less interested in such a strong force, especially with an
Anglophone at the helm. The fragilization process bar started with various
interpretations of the same law. The Bar council President was made to be
always at logger heads with the President of the General Assembly. The
President of the General Assembly who in previous administrations had always
been a figure-head emerged as a force to reckon with during Eta Bisong Jr’s
tenure. As usual decisions from Eta Jr’s office were systematically
disrespected by a faction of the bar. In response, the Bar council President
decided to rule by the law. His team vowed never to allow the General Assembly
President mis(read) the law. He made it difficult for elections to take place
after his mandate ended in 2010.
The bone of
contention became the list of admission of some 60 new members into the Bar
council. While the President of the General Assembly held that by law, he had
the right to scan the list and disqualify some candidates, Eta Bisong Jr.
President of the Bar council held that he had no right to do that given that by
law, only the General Assembly had such powers. He raised as another objection
the fact that in convening a recent General Assembly meeting the President
inserted more than one item on the agenda when the law allows only for
elections.
As the
misunderstanding persisted, lawyers across the country decided to ground tools
and boycott all court sessions thereby causing enormous loses to the government
treasury, the plaintiffs and other categories of litigants. Even the
government’s Minister for Justice, Laurent Esso found difficulties resolving
the conflict.
Ntumfor and the Bible
Faithful to the saviour’s command
that if you cannot preach like Paul, you
can at least bring the little children to the saviour’s waiting hands, Ntumfor
Barrister Nico Halle took upon himself the responsibility to bring the love of
Jesus to the rival factions. As he brought the two men together, he told them
he was not interested on who was right and who was wrong. To Ntumfor, the real
issue was the interest of the Bar, not the interest of individuals. He went
further to remind them that though they were men of law the overriding law was
the law of the Bible as presented by Jesus Christ and this law was love and
forgiveness. In using the Bible as the final authority in all matters, Ntumfor
Nico Halle successfully brought both Eta Bisong Jr. and Barrister Meli Hypolite
to reason. The Douala-Ntumfor-initiated reconciliation was total and both
parties who could not see eyeball-to-eyeball only a few weeks ago, resolved in
a joint communiqué to hold an elective assembly come August 11 and 12, 2012.
Ntumfor, Unassuming
Although reconciling the two
Barristers was a huge task and a feat, Ntumfor immediately refused to take any
credit for the event. He repeatedly said the honour and glory was God’s as he
was only an instrument in God’s hands. He wondered whether on his own he could
have succeeded and thanked the Holy Spirit for using him to bring back sanity
into the Bar.
Ntumfor the Peace Crusader
This new development comes to add
to the long line of achievements recorded by Ntumfor Nico Halle in the domain
of conflict transformation. In the North
West in particular, noted for its conflictual nature,
Ntumfor successfully reconciled traditional rulers, journalists, tribes, elites
and even local council authorities. As peace crusader, he preached peace in and
out of season in the North West and in Cameroon. He
repeated told Fons and elites in the North
West that peace and reconciliation was the weapon of
the strong while force was the weapon of the weak. He preached love among
brethren and this reduced the number of inter-tribal conflicts in the region to
the barest minimum.
Ntumfor the Developer
He championed the fundraising for the construction of NOWEFU secretariat in Bamenda. Ntumfor is one of those who
really believe that charity begins at home. As President of the Ndong Awing
Development Association, NACDA, Ntumfor did not only work hard to see that
electricity comes to Awing but went further to make sure the Fon’s palace was
an architectural journal in the village. When he extended to the rest of the North West region, he
developed the philosophy that the best house in every Fondom must be the Fon’s
palace. He went ahead to mobilize North
West elite in and out of the region to contribute to
the transformation of their palaces. He did not end there. He contributed to
every village development association that knocked at his door and he had the
resources.
Knowing fully
well that development is not just about the building of good houses, the provision
of electricity and pipe borne water, but more importantly, how man has learnt
to treat his fellow man, Ntumfor went beyond to recognize the value in every
human being that approaches him. That is why he spends more time assisting individuals
and families in the individual needs. Many poor and disadvantaged children
would confirm to you that they only went to school or pay their hospital bills
thanks to Ntumfor’s prompt intervention. Ntumfor remains a veritable peace
crusader and development agent that the North West,
Cameroon
and the world find difficulties replacing.
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)
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