The story of Nkor-Noni Council

“Development Initiatives Shouldn’t Have the Colours Of Any Political Party”

-Dr. Ndi Germanus Nchanji- Mayor Nkor-Noni Council

Dr. Ndi Germanus Nchanji, Mayor of the Nkor Noni Council has declared that development initiatives should be inclusive in nature and shouldn’t be tagged with the names or colours of Political Parties. What he is prescribing for Noni is an all inclusive development approach with every member of the community chipping into a bank of development ideas.  This approach he States will not only enhance balanced development but will bring together factions of the community that have been at daggers drawn for too long. Development in Unity are his key words.

Dr. Ndi Germanus Nchanji

He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante

Excerpts

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When exactly was the Nkor-Noni Council created and what were it’s immediate challenges?

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The Nkor Council was created on the 25^th of November 1993 by Presidential Decree No. 93/322 of 25^th November 1993. This was one year after the creation of the Administrative Unit. It was named the Nkor Council because the Head Quarters of the Noni Administrative Unit was Nkor. Since then we've had a lot of challenges. In Noni, we have two Political Parties. There’s the Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement CPDM and the Social Democratic Front SDF. At that time when the SDF was just launched, it was very popular in the North West Region and specifically in Bui Division and our people championed the course. They did not see any other thing to be right except if that thing came from the SDF. When the Council was created, we had to go in for elections to get the party that would run the Council. Those of us of the CPDM who went back home for elections didn’t have it easy. All the villages in Noni were SDF strong holds. Every where we went to, we were jeered at. They didn’t allow us to pass any message. The population had lost confidence in the Government and at the end of the day the SDF party won.  The first mayor was Pah Thadeus Taba from Din. He was assisted by a lady from Tfuh (Mbinon), Martha Wanyu.  We had to pack our things back to our respective places where we were working because at the time we were civil servants. The situation was so terrible that we could not stay behind to see the installation of the new Mayors.  The political problems continued. After his term of office, Pah Thadeus Taba  was replaced by Mr. Omer Nfi.  Despite the dominance of the SDF, there still existed some pockets of CPDM sympathizers. With our efforts, some people still dropped from the SDF and joined us! If the CPDM exists in Noni today, it is thanks to the Djottin population. Most of the CPDM votes in Noni came first from Djottin and secondly from my small village up the hill at Tfuh (Mbinon).  We made efforts to collaborate with Mayor Omer Nfi in development issues but they constantly distanced themselves from us. Despite all these setbacks, we kept on working and when Mayor Omer Nfi's term of office came to an end we won. The first CPDM Mayor in Noni was Mr. Michael Kume. The Noni person believed in the SDF to the extent that if a good idea came from a CPDM militant, it was considered wrong just because of where it came from. We thought that after Michael Kume we were going to take it for the second mandate but things didn’t turn out that way. After Michael Kume's term of office, SDF took over the Nkor Council again. Late Francis Wache took over as the new Mayor on the ticket of the SDF party.

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So how did you change the Noni people's view of development and the polarised nature of their politics?

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We did everything to let the Noni people see that development had the colour of no political party. However, I became very interested in Francis Wache for I felt I could better collaborate with him as far as development issues were concerned. He was not only a relation but a school mate back in Bishop Rogan's College, Small Soppo, Buea where we all went to Secondary School.  We could understand each other better as far as development ideas for Noni were concerned. Wache was my senior in college. He was the classmate of the Bishop of the Kumbo Diocese, Bishop George Nkuoh. I was very used to Francis Wache and this caused problems between me and some of my militants who felt that I was crossing over to the SDF. Some actually confronted me and accused me of being an SDF militant. This is because Francis Wache had a dance group and I was an important dancer in this group. My former Section President of the CPDM in Noni, late Nformi Alfred Forgwei couldn’t understand why I was part of a Dance group that belonged to an SDF Mayor. Nformi Alfred Forgwei did a lot both for the CPDM and for Noni. I simply explained to him that it was my own way of practicing politics and uniting people. If you want to win over somebody, you must get closer to that person so that he would learn to accept what you are saying as the truth. I used to work with Wache and stayed with him at home while he was Mayor.

His militants of the SDF also had problems with him because they believed he was becoming a CPDM militant. I remember once when the Prime Minister Emeritus Philemon Yang visited, we prepared a speech that was to be read by Nformi Alfred Forgwei since he was the Section President. I suggested that we should consult Francis Wache since he was a journalist and had a great mastery of the English Language. So when we came out with a speech, I took it to Wache. He edited it and we eventually came out with a far better speech which he read. Some people began to see the power of collaboration among Noni irrespective of their Political Parties.

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Why did you choose to militate for the CPDM despite it’s lack of popularity in Bui Division?

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Sincerely speaking, if I have stayed close to the CPDM, then it’s simply because I want development for Noni. I worked with the Public Service for 32 years and during that time I worked with very important and influential personalities. I worked with somebody like late Pah Simon Achidi Achu. I worked with John Tata and with Late Fonka Shang who was speaker of the House of Assembly.

My collaboration with Wache was to bring Development through collaboration.

What prompted me to run for the post of Mayor was development. The trick is that while in government I worked with a group of people and these people eventually occupied important positions in government. These people could help me and actually told me that if I became Mayor they would help me bring development to Noni. For example, a man like Pah Simon Achidi Achu played an important role in the creation of our Subdivision. In Santa, Pah Achidi Achu welcomed everybody to his house irrespective of their Political inclination and he was also very generous reaching out to many people.

Ni John Fru Ndi was a very close friend of mine. During the Congress of 1985, he was still in the CPDM party and we worked together. I saw that the only way to do things was to get everybody on board. I dwelt on this political tradition because it had been the main reason for the absence of development in Noni. None of them saw anything good coming from the CPDM. If they had seen it, things would have changed long ago.

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What has been the influence of the Church on Noni?

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Noni has also struggled to free itself from the clutches of the church. I remember Noni was split into two. There was what is referred to as Upper Noni made up of Djottin and Din. Djottin was Catholic and was administered from Nkar. Thanks to Pah Wameh the teacher, a Parish was created in Djottin.

Meantime, Lower Noni, which was made up of Tfuh, Nkor and Laan were administered from Tabeken. We had to struggle to come out of Tabeken. Thanks to Reverend Father Aki, a curate who was sent to Tabeken from Kumbo. He used to come to Nkor to say Holy Mass. There came a time when he decided to work with the people and successfully built the Reverend Father's House in Nkor. After this achievement, he settled there and said to hell with Tabeken. We worked with him and the Nkor Parish was created. From the onset, the Noni people have always been struggling politically. This was further complicated by the existence of more than a single Nfon in the villages who hardly ever agreed on key issues.

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Faced with all these setbacks what strong steps did you take?

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I decided to brave the odds to bring this stalemate to an end. I decided to gun for the helm of the Council. The intention was to work differently from my predecessors. That’s exactly what I have been doing since I became Mayor. It’s rather unfortunate that the crisis in the North West and South West Regions have made it difficult for my vision to be fully implemented back home. Despite the tricky political situation, I still go back to the village for my Council Sessions.

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Tell us about your Council Projects and the road so far covered.

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If we have succeeded, then we have done so as a people and not a single person. Alone, I couldn’t have done anything. It’s true that I am the one who goes out to source for project funding but alone, I can’t do a thing! A mother might help me with food on the way just like another person can chip in an idea as I move on. It is a collective thing. That’s how we successfully constructed the befitting Market in Laan through GP-DERUDEP. When I look at the whole of Noni I see that the markets from which we can generate income are the Laan and Bamti Markets. That’s why I decided to build these Markets so that we could generate some revenues. Those Tax Evaders cannot stay away from these Markets. It is thanks to Mr. Gregory Mulluh of GP-DERUDEP with whom I worked in Santa that the Laan Market as well as the Bawe Market in Din were constructed. It is in this manner that a Cattle Dip was constructed in Laan. That has been the most expensive of all the projects and I tell you that’s the only one in the North West Region.  That’s were cattle are treated. They have a swimming pool in which they are immersed in order to be treated. Cattle raring coupled with the Cattle Market in Laan makes this project a very lucrative one.

There’s also the project of a Modern Slaughter Slab in Nkor. If I were to decide where that slab was to be constructed, I would have chosen Laan. I am not biased against Nkor but I am looking at it from the perspective of economic benefits. The slaughter figures that we have in Laan are the highest followed by Bambti in the whole of Noni. I could not have asked this type of structure to be built in Tfuh, Nkor or Djottin. They slaughter in all these villages but not as much as they do in Laan and Bamti.

After this, I embarked on building Bridges and culverts. I built a bridge and four culverts in Tfuh, a bridge each in Djottin and Din. I built culverts and Primary Schools. Presently we are building primary schools. One of them is at Enteh in Tfuh and the other is in Djottin  towards Bandiv.  We've built another one at Ngai towards Asha in Nkor.

The Inspectorate of Basic Education has been built and completed during the crisis. We've built so many culverts and we are still continuing with the construction. We have finished the first phase of the construction of the Bamti Market.

Presently the electricity project is on going. Electricity came and remained somewhere in Din but now we have picked up from there. Thanks to the fact that the coordinator of the project is somebody from Din, the electricity has been brought down to Bamti. I have struggled and we have now had a contract to connect electricity from Bamti to Dom and from Dom to Nkor. I have also written a project for electricity to be connected from Ngeptang to Djottin as well as from Nkor to Tfuh and from Nkor to Laan. I am carrying out feasibility studies to see if it is cheaper to get electricity from Lum in Oku down to Djottin. If it is cheaper than getting electricity for Djottin from Ngeptang, then the Lum option will be used.

Before the year 2023 gets to an end, the Djottin Market will be constructed at the present site. I have fought so hard and I've had a project from MINADER to construct the Djottin Market and a hall in Mii and Dom respectively. I am linking a road from Nchine to Nkor through Nkochi Palace up to Dom. I want to dis-enclave that area because it is a farming area. I've already had funds for these projects. Actually there are two Bridges along this stretch. The road from Bamti to Nkor is not good. It is being affected by landslides. I tried to divert the road but there is one culvert there that I am still to construct. If the crisis didn’t erupt, we would not be talking about this road because the Prime Minister Emeritus Philemon Yang fought so hard to make sure that the road from Babungo, through Ibal and Tolon in Oku down to Noni through Din, Bamti, Nkor, Laan to Misaje is constructed. We are still struggling to see that it comes to fruition. My dream now is putting a befitting Grand Stand in Nkor. This is what we have achieved so far. The Councillors, the workers at the Council and the community as a whole have been working so hard.

I have also worked so hard to get a World Bank Project called “Safety Net”. In this project, money is pumped into an area like the Noni Subdivision and a group of very poor people are selected. There are of course criteria to determine who a poor person is. One thousand of such people are selected and placed on a monthly salary! We’ve already selected some Noni guys who will undergo training in order to work with these people.

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How have you been bridging the Gap between CPDM and the SDF?

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As a politician, I am trying to bridge the gap between CPDM and SDF. If I see what Francis Wache left unfinished, I simply finish it and give credit to him for starting it. I have purchased a modern band with drums, trumpets and other sophisticated instruments. During public events like the National Youth Day celebrations on the 11^th of February. When children see this band playing during March Pass, they will be attracted to go to school. Some Council workers have been trained by an instructor on how to play this band. PNDP gave us a Radio Station but this was unfortunately damaged by the wind disaster. I thought of another way of getting a Radio Station like using the Mobile Box Radio. This is what I have been doing. I contact people of all mind shades; from the SDF, CPDM and non-political people from the community. The Community Radio presently airs on Frequency Modulation FM 88.5 in Noni. People were trained for the task.

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Let’s talk about the creation of a Noni Administrative Unit.

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It was created in 1992 a year before the creation of the Council. The Administrative Unit came with its own problems. First of all, they created the Noni Customary Court. This Customary Court included parts of Tatum in Kumbo Center. We were with Oku when the Subdivision was not yet created and by the time they created it Oku just like Noni was given its Customary Court. Buh, Mbiim and Banten villages were included into the Noni Customary Court and we had Customary Court Clerks that were going down to Mii because that’s where the Head Quarters was located. For one reason or the other, Mbiim, Buh and Banten were removed from the Noni Customary Court Area. Before the Administrative Unit came, Oku that was together with Noni was administered from Jakiri while Noni was administered by Kumbo Centre. So Noni was under Kumbo Center Subdivision and Oku under the Jakiri Subdivision. That’s why when you see the decree creating Oku Subdivision, it is stated that it was created from the Jakiri Subdivision. In the same manner, the decree creating the Noni Subdivision also indicates that it was created from the Kumbo Subdivision. This is how our Administrative Challenges started. It was political. People did a lot of maneuvers and had their way through. I am very thankful that we succeeded to have this Administrative Unit. Our first Divisional Officer was called Njingwa Mulluh.

Another challenge was that people kept questioning why the Capital was in Nkor. The decree creating it said Noni Subdivision with Head Quarters in Nkor. However to be frank with you, at that time Djottin was more open and had ample space to host the Head Quarters. Djottin was already using Electricity from Solar Energy and was well ahead in terms of infrastructure.

But we should know that Government has its own way of looking at things. Government chose a more centrally located place for the Head Quarters. Another reason might have been to decentralise development.

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What were the Major challenges in the buildup to the creation of the Subdivision?

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It was an extremely difficult affair fraught with lots of hurdles. I remember myself, Pah Cosmas Fondzeka, Shey Thomas Ndinayi, Dr. Nfi of blessed memory and the rest of the Noni people. Everybody was fighting at the time for a Subdivision. Lots of petitions and letters were written. I cannot end this interview without thanking Pah Cosmas Fondzeka, Shey Thomas Ndinayi who offered their office somewhere at “Finance Junction” in Bamenda. We were working there day and night using their telephones. At the time, there were no mobile phones like today. We also worked with the Late Nfon Ngam of Kinengti in Djottin and all the other Nfons of Noni. We wrote a letter when the Subdivision was created because it was “Oku Noni” Subdivision that was created and after one or two weeks it was changed to Noni Subdivision and Oku Subdivision. We wrote lots of letters. At that time I was President of the Noni elites in Bamenda.

When it first came out as “Oku Noni”  Subdivision, I went down to Yaounde and saw Dr. Cyprian Firsiy. Pah Simon Achidi Achu had just been appointed Prime Minister and he had not yet moved to the Lakeside Residence. When I urged Dr. Cyprian that we should go and see the PM, he just laughed and said when a decree comes out like that, it took at least five years for another one to come out. So I moved to Hilton Hotel Yaounde where he was temporarily lodged and saw Pah Achidi Achu. He used to call me Prince. When he saw me looking shabby, tired and unhappy he asked “Prince, what’s wrong?” I explained to him that we were looking for a Subdivision and didn’t expect to be joined to Oku. I explained to him that the situation in the village was too tensed and uncomfortable. He told me what to do and I did it. I selected four Nfons and Bofaa Ndituba from Lafeli in Djottin. He had a car so he took the petition that we had written and carried the Nfons to Yaounde. It is that petition that broke the Camel’s back.

There are however some other little things that almost spoiled us. Once when we had a meeting and I read the agenda of the meeting, an important Noni elite who’s name I will not mention stood up and said there was something lacking from the agenda. He said discussions on the Noni Subdivision should be included in the Agenda. I didn’t see the necessity for this but I was forced to accept. In discussions about the Subdivision, the same elite said the name “Noni Subdivision” should be changed to “Nkor Subdivision”. This suggestion ended the Noni Elite meeting at that time. The Nfons of Noni had gone to Yaounde as one person and Noni as a people had worked very hard for this Subdivision to be achieved.

I think that the Subdivision has come and the Head Quarters is in Nkor. I am equally aware that the distance from Djottin to Nkor is not easy but what we should be looking for now is to make the Subdivision to grow so that another Subdivision may split out from it. It will be good for Noni and for us. I really thank all son’s and daughters of Noni who contributed in one way or another to make us have this Subdivision. When this Subdivision was given, they said it was the independence of Noni given by Prime Minister Achidi Achu. Hatred is now dying down. In those days, if I went to Djottin, I might only end in the church and leave afterwards without visiting anyone. Visits among Noni people were very limited. Now it has completely changed and Nonians can visit and stay anywhere within Noni. I thank all those who are carrying out initiatives like the creation of a Newspaper on Noni which is going to go a long way in uniting the people. I encourage all those who have been Organising Football Tournaments because of the unifying effect that it has.

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