Esu Land Crisis: Late Fon of Esu’s Letter Backs Alhadji Baba Danpoullo

Fon Buh II Joseph Meh, late fon of Esu wrote to the Governor of the North West Region explaining how Elhadj Baba Danpoullo, the proprietor of Eba Ranch won and has kept the confidence of Esi people. The letter which justifies the presence of Elba Ranch in Esu is dated December 1, 1997. Here below is the letter

Fon’s Palace Wimeh-Esu

Fungom Sub Division

Menchum Division

Northwest Province

1^st December 1997

The Governor

Northwest Province

Sir,

A Declaration in Favour of Alhadji Baba Ahmadou by me, Fon Buh II Joseph Meh, Traditional Ruler of Esu, Concerning a Protest Letter dated 24^th November 1997 signed by Kum Chu Bie Chrysantus, SDF Divisional Chairman of Menchum Division of the Northwest Province

Your Excellency,

Alhadji Baba

I have acknowledged receipt of a copy of a letter relating to the above captioned matter addressed to you and copied me amongst others, and have the honour to furnish you with the following facts in order to prevent the good name of Alhadji Baba from being soiled by a person with little or no sound rectitude who has no farm, no house and no children in the many schools in Esu.

By this I mean that the writer is an experienced and uncontrollable politician who is attempting to ruin the Esu clan by misleading the peace loving Esu people whom I have peacefully ruled for over forty-three years without bloodshed. He is always talking about war in Esu without knowing that if war comes, according to him it will first take away his personal head before anybody else’s. This fellow is an empty vessel which makes the loudest noise in Esu and causing bitterness and uneasy peace in Esu.

To the best of my knowledge, Alhadji Baba Ahmadou is making no arrangements to plant pillars in his ranch under my fondom. But whether he plants pillars or not, the area where he is working belongs to him as a hard working Cameroonian who is ambitious and is interested in the development of Esu clan. According to decree No 76.166 of 27^th April on the administration of National land, Alhadji Baba Ahmadou has all the right to develop his land in whatever way he intends to do it.

Further still, according to the new constitution of the Republic of Cameroon, Law No 96-06 of 18^th January 1996, Special Official Gazette  of 30^th January 1996, page 5, I quote: ‘every  person shall have to move about freely. Subject to no statutory provisions concerning public law and order, security and tranquility” unquote. Therefore, the quack politician, namely Kum Chu Bie Chrysantus, is making fruitless and baseless protest against the personality and Cameroonian who is blameless to all what he is making mentioned in his protest letter.

Special note should be taken that the grant of land to Elba Ranch of Alhadji Baba was not a secret matter, but was done by the venerated traditional council of Esu including my personal self in our letter dated 17-07-1987 according to an application for agriculture and grazing land in my Fondom by Alhadji Baba dated 02/07/1986. Alhadji Baba since then had built permanent structures in Esu which remain Esu property and will never be possibly carried away from Esu. The broken bridge of Yemenong which disconnected Esu with other side of Esu was single-handedly built by Alhadji Baba Ahmadou. Those who took part in building the bridge were Esu people who were paid arge sums of money by Alhadji Baba. How then does the SDF Spokesperson in Menchum come out with the idea that Alhadji Baba doesn’t employ Esu people? One of Alhadji Baba’s house in Esu was built by Mr. Wung Samson Kum, a registered contractor who also employed Esu technicians for the construction of the project. This is to dismiss what the SDF leader in Menchum claims namely that Alhadji Baba does not employ Esu people to work for him. Mr, Kum Samson is an Esu man.

The SDF Divisional chairman seems to have forgotten that his party, the SDF advocates for non payment of taxes, economic blockades and “Ghost Towns” just to ruin the economy of the state. The SDF is also aginst foreign aid entering Cameroon. But the SDF Chairman in Menchum wants Alhadji Baba Ahmadou to pay taxes in Menchum all alone.

I do not support his unpopular ideas for the interest of justice, peace and foreplay of all my subjects. As regards the question of planting pillars in the raffia bushes belonging to Esu people and seizing land of farming land by Alhadji Baba raised by the SDF Chairman in Menchum, he does not know that this matter was thrashed out in a meeting chaired by the DO of Wum sub Division in 1987. Mr. Azeufak Gaston, some arms of the administration, all the quarter heads of Esu, traditional councilors and myself. Elba Ranch has come to stay while all raffia bushes along the Ranch remain the property of the natives of Esu. (see minutes of the said meeting which took place on 10^th February 1988). Therefore, the matter should be regarded as ended because there exist no problem between the Elba Ranch and the owners of these raffia bushes. On the 23^rd of August 1987, all the Esu people including their notables collectively received Alhadji Baba together with all his colleagues the graziers of Esu at the fon’s palace. They all feasted as Alhadji Baba gave them two fattened cows, food and several crates of assorted beer. Hot drinks and large sums of money were given as gifts to the traditional dances of Esu. Since then and over 10 years today, Alhadji Baba has been an Esu man and sometimes in 1989 he was decorated with a traditional robe by the Quarter Heads of Esu including a population of Esu dancers. During this time, Alhadji Baba was given a traditional title “Ngeduwungondele” meaning Quarter Head of Wango Ndele.

The allegation of appointing Ardos by Alhadji Baba and the Senior Divisional Officer of Menchum Division is a blatant lie. Allow me, Your Excellency, to inform you that the creation of Aku ardorate in my fondom was the general wish of the Fulani population, including myself, for the easy settlement of framer/grazier problems in our clan which we have succeeded together with our new Ardo Alhadji Jaja Nasamu who was recently installed by the Prefect for Menchum Division and was assisted by the DO for Fungom Sub Division in the presence of all Fulani people who came from all the four corners of Menchum Division. This means that it was a peaceful ceremony. The SDF chairman for Menchum Division should be held responsible for attempting to subvert Esu people and inciting them to cause (dangerous) problems with Alhadji Baba whom they do not only treat as my chum, but also as a son of Esu who intends to aid them financially for the many development projects in Esu, especially the GSS Esu, and the Esu Gayama farm-to-market road project.

During Alhadji Baba’s last visit to Esu, he hinted me of the arrangement at hand to provide electricity in Esu and the grading of Weh-Esu road. The SDF party is a national party and is not property of Mr. Kum Chu Bie Chrysantus’ father. He is doing everything to blackmail the national chairman of the SDF Mr. John Fru Ndi. The Menchum SDF Chairman is one of the uncivilized politician who promotes disunity between the quarters heads of Esu and should be brought before the law to be punished for the threats of war in Esu, and for making false allegations about the planting of pillars by Alhadji Baba. Investigations should also be ordered by the Governor of the Northwest Province through the Senior Divisional Officer for Menchum to find out if there exist a Prefectoral Order relating to the planting of pillars by the land commission in Fungom Sub Division of Menchum Division.

Lastly, Your Excellency, do everything possible, I pray you to open an investigation regarding all the false points raised according to decree No 78/263 of 4^th April 1978 concerning the methods of regulating and settling farmer/graziers in the Republic of Cameroon. Since my enthronement as fon of Esu in 1954, I have never allowed myself to be used as a tool by anybody as contained in one of the paragraphs of the protest document by SDF Chairman of Menchum Division. I am speaking with all the pride as a shrewd ruker. His Excellency the President of the Republic admired my loyalty to the people of Esu and the state as a whole and decorated me with four national honours.

Thanks, while I pray Your Excellency the Governor of the Northwest Province to act promptly and help Esu people not to run into dangerous problems and conflicts as contained in the protest letter by SDF Chairman for Menchum Division.

I, remain

Yours faithfully

Fon Buh II Joseph Meh

Traditional Ruler of Esu

Cc

-          MINAT Yaounde

-          The Senior Divisional Officer for Menchum

-          The Divisional Officer Fungom Sub Division

-          The SDF National Chairman

-          The SDF Chairman Menchum Division

-          Alhadji Baba Ahmadou

-          The Company Commander National Gendarmerie

The Commissioner of Special Branch Wum


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