DIGHAMBONG ANTHONY MVO Opens Can of Worms at Installation of Menchum SDO-Must Read Speech

AN ADDRESS PRESENTED BY COUNCILLOR DIGHAMBONG ANTHONY MVO, LORD MAYOR OF THE WUM COUNCIL, ON THE OCCASION OF THE HANDING OVER CEREMONY BETWEEN MR. EMVOUTOU BITA BENOIT WILLIAM AND MR.KAMGA CHARLES AS THE OUT GOING AND INCOMING SENIOR DIVISIONAL OFFICERS RESPECTIVELY FOR MENCHUM DIVISION BY HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF THE NORTH WEST REGION AT THE WUM GRANDSTAND THIS 21ST DAY OF JULY 2017.

Ø YOUR EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR OF THE N. W.R,

Ø THE SENIOR DIVISIONAL OFFICER FOR MENCHUM DIVISION,

Ø THE DIVISIONAL OFFICERS OF WUM, FURA-AWA, ZHOA AND BENAKUMA

Ø THE LORD MAYORS OF BENAKUMA, FURA-AWA, AND ZHOA

Ø MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT OF THE UPPER AND LOWER HOUSES,

Ø THE PRESIDENT OF THE HIGH COURT AND LEARNED STATE COUNSEL,

Ø DIVISIONAL DELEGATES AND SERVICE HEADS,

Ø LEADERS OF LEGALISED POLITICAL PARTIES,

Ø FONS AND ARDOS,

Ø RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES,

Ø INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ELITE,

Ø DISTINGUISHED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN;

It gives me immense pleasure for rare occasions like this have hardly come my way in which I have had the opportunity and privilege to welcome all of you to this land of great hospitality. On behalf of the four Municipalities that make up this Division of plenty, I heartily welcome not only with these words but with my heart especially our ever dynamic Governor H. E. Lele L’Afrique Tchofo Deben Adolphe.

            Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen;

We are gathered like one family to witness the passing over of the 32^nd Command baton of one of the oldest Division in this Nation. Menchum Division was created in 1948 founded by the Germans and later colonized by the British after the First World War. This Division and her hospitable and legendry people covers a total surface area of 4489Km² with population 251,998 inhabitants.

The Division is made up of four Sub Divisions, namely; Furu- Awa, Fungom, Menchum Valley and Wum that doubles as the Divisional Head quarters. It is a border Division sharing a very long border with the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Division is endowed with  rich volcanic and luminous soils, encompassed with a favourable climate, forestry and many tourists sites, such as our famous Menchum falls, undulating Hills, many lakes like that of Nyos, the exceptional hot springs of Itiaku. The Division is rich in flora and fauna. We have the famous Bu rice you would not afford to miss the taste. We are blessed with huge untapped natural needed human resources. A Menchum man is good by nature, hospitable, peace loving, law abiding and very sociable, but may easily change from good to bad if pushed to the wall. In short, we are blessed with huge economic potentials that if well harnessed could make Menchum an Eldorado in Cameroon.

            Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen;

We sincerely thank you for the  countless visits to this Division which has paid off in many ways amongst which are, Menchum having the first ever Regional Delegate, and of course the Historic first ever General for the Division, General Agha Robinson Ndong, who would be installed tomorrow in Bamenda. We can’t enumerate all here today because by God’s Grace, we keep trusting in your very sharp pen that, our elephant is in the pipeline, hopefully in the weeks ahead we shall again be blessed to know for the first time ever in the history of the present Menchum, how to organise the reception of a Cabinet Minister, God so willing.

            Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen;

Today we are sending off Mr. Emvoutou Bita Benoit William after spending four (4) years, eight (8) months and sixteen (16) days with us. I want to thank you Mr. S.D.O. for the good moments we shared together, especially those of exercising your supervisory rule over Councils of this Division as well as the drop in the persistent farmer-grazier conflicts. You will at least be fondly remembered by your usual expressing of “Heeh, vous croyez que”. We however, would hardly forget, as it always sharply brings to our minds the ugly incident of the burning down of the Military Camp in Wum in January 2016 by some angry youths, a thing total collaboration would have avoided. Michael Jordan wrote “Talent wins games but team work and intelligence wins championship”. It is still therefore our prayer and wish of God’s richest guidance in your new administrative command unit.

Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is with great joy, hope and enthusiasm that I welcome Mr. Kamga Charles as our 32^ND Senior Divisional Officer, of course just one less than the age of Jesus Christ. We are certain therefore, that we are receiving someone today so closed to Christ. Menchum Division has been fondly and rightfully described as a nursery for administrators wishing to move to higher heights in their administrative career. In order to achieve this, President Paul Biya in an interview on Cameroon Television on February 19, 1987 said “It is not enough to be a graduate from the Advance School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM), but to cultivate the intellect, to be abreast with development, which is the only way in which we can have an administration that meets the needs and expectations of the people”. Mr. Senior Divisional Officer for you to therefore achieve all of these, the panacea shall be:

·       Create a cordial relationship with the local population.

·       Live with your people, by your and for your people.

·       Organise skills and help people live together.

·       Engage in the fight against the serious Security threats and curb the rampant cases of robbery, consumption of marijuana, child trafficking, rape, trading in contraband goods etc. so common within us.

·       Give a lasting solution to the long outstanding farmer – grazer conflict.

·        Let your supervisory rule over Councils not be seen as an arm or domination over the later but rather as a way of accompanying the Mayors to accomplish the drive for decentralisation and  development.

·       Most importantly, work very closely with all and sundry to better manage the socio – political crisis currently prevailing in the two Anglophone regions.

I am so confident you would achieve all of these because in the land of the Bamilikes, I know well of, la tradition de grenier which states “ceux qui avaient avant la colonnisation avaient déjà une grande idée de l’épargne et san épargne pas d’investissement et san investissement pas de progress”. I would go further by sharing with you this wonderful prayer that also inspired me from Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, a former Nigerian Nationalist and leader. Observing the happenings around him, he cried to God “O God! inspire me with the spirit that I may not be selfish in seeking for academic honors and thereby forget that my main objective in life is to make lighter the burden for my fellow man”.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen;

I would not bother you again with a litany of our problems you already know, but permit me appeal for your usual way of intervention on our behalf, for effective construction works for the hydroelectric power project of a dam over river Menchum to begin soonest. This of course amongst other goodies would enable the nightmare on the Bamenda – Wum road to be a thing of the past. It is equally our wish that some urgent solution be put in place to savage the floods that have of recent characterized three of our four Sub Divisions.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen;

 It is over eight months today that our national unity is seriously threatened, caused by the concerns raised by Teachers and the Lawyers trade unions. While appreciating the Bishops, the Moderator of the P.C.C, the Baptist etc for already seeing the need for our children to go back to school, I would   applaud the numerous solutions already provided by Government and like in the book of Mathew 7, 9-10, it says “would any of you who are fathers  give your son a stone when he ask for bread or would you give a snake when he ask for a fish?”, certainly not our great peace crusader President Paul Biya. We are confident that the Government will continue to provide lasting solutions to all these problems. It is therefore, in this note of optimism that I want to on behalf of this population pledge to you your Excellency, our total commitment to school resumption in this Division come September 2017.

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen;

Permit me once more thank our distinguished guests who have travelled from far and near to dignify and magnify this ceremony. Your presence here is a mark of love for the entire Menchum Division. President J.F. Kennedy once said “Geography has given us neighbours, History has given us friends, Economics has given us brothers, what God has put together, let no man put asunder” let us therefore be more committed to each other in love and action through prayers, for  after all, all that we have or whom we are today, we didn’t create nor necessarily deserve, but for sure  the joy of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom.

      Long live the Wum Municipality,

      Long live Menchum Division,

Long live the Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization

Long live Cameroon.

Ndu Council to Construct Market at Ndu West

"The construction of Ndu West Market offers a unique opportunity to foster the growth of local farmers and entrepreneurs, and create 100% affordable sheds and warehouse," said the Mayor of Ndu Council Bunyui Emmanuel Nyugap "We are thrilled that the villages of Ntundip, Ngarum and Taku will allow us to move forward with our plan to rejuvenate a market that will continue to be a critical community and economic anchor for this neighborhood." According to information gathered the Ndu West market which is expected to serve the villages of Luh, Taku, Talla, Ndu, Ngarum, Ntundip and others will be constructed along the boundary of the three villages. The structure upon completion is expected to have 32 sheds and a warehouse. Prospects are high at that the Fon of Ntundip and notables will plant the symbolic tree which traditionally implants a market this week. At weekend, the Mayor of Ndu and his 1^st Deputy, Martin Fon Yembe visited the site to identify the central point where the fon and his notables will perform the rituals.

It is expected that the market could be second to Ndu and or third to Sabongari market in terms of food items. Some of the food items include irish potatoes, beans, yams, cocoyam, corn etc as well as livestock such as goats, sheep, local fowls etc. Public opinion holds that this initiative by the council is a necessary tool for development.

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