Bui Girds its loins for 2023 Senatorials

"Bui Should Avoid Manipulators and Focus On Development”

-Senator Kinyang George

Senator Barrister Kinyang George has called on people in Bui Division to focus on development and to avoid being distracted by manipulative politics. He has also called on them to act as people of Bui in love and truth. He has unequivocally stated that each Subdivision in Bui deserves the status of a constituency which should each come with a Seat in Parliament. He seized the opportunity to recount strides so far covered since he became Senator. He was interviewed by Francis Ekongang Nzante.

Senator Barrister Kinyang George

He begins by explaining how he became Senator for Bui Division.

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“As Senator from the North West and specifically from Bui Division, my mandate is facing off. It is time for me to give an account as Senator for Bui. I thank God for giving me this opportunity to become a Senator. It is a position for which I never lobbied. The proposal came to me when the people of Bui Division decided that I should represent them in the Senate. When I told them that I wasn’t ready for it they gave me 48 hours to think it over. It was during that period that I made consultations and every body in my family refused. The only one who encouraged me was my Pastor, of the Mabanda Baptist Church at Bonaberi in Douala who enquired if I had lobbied for the position. When I told him that I hadn’t, he told me to accept the proposal and promised to pray for me. I have been Senator since 2017. I have been in the field irrespective of the problems that we have because of the Anglophone crisis.  The first regret is that I have not been able to go back to my people to thank them because of the insecurity brought about by the Crisis.  

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What efforts have so far been made to rebuild peace in Bui Division?

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Bui is the epicenter of the crisis. I have tried to get in contact with some of these fighters in the bushes. I have tried to tell them that it is not by killing and destruction that a point is made. Killing is bad and it doesn’t really matter who perpetrates it.  Since I couldn’t go to Bui to thank my people, I decided to work from my Chambers in Douala where I work as a Lawyer. I have been getting medical assistance back to people in Bui.

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Given the difficulties imposed by the crisis, how did you go about this?

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I have been doing this through my own nephew who is of the CPDM Nfinyoh Mabu who runs an NGO. When it comes to issues of development in our communities we should keep political affiliations aside. You should go to wherever you can go in order to get some thing good for the people. My cousin's NGO provided me with 40 cartons of medical equipment. These equipments were sent to the Nkor Health Center and the Nkum Health Center.

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What have been the major challenges in Bui?

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What I have noticed that is very disturbing is that Noni Subdivision remains the only administrative unit without electricity in the North West Region. I took the challenge and presented this problem at the Senate. I also presented the problem to the Minister of Water and Energy.  They told me to do a feasibility study for the electrification of Noni. I did this in collaboration with the Divisional Delegate for Water and Energy in  Bui Division. The report of the feasibility study was given to the Minister. He said the amount was close to 1  billion which was too much for them to handle. The Minister said there was the first phase of the project which was being carried out by a contractor who could not take it to the end. He asked if I  could help the contractor in question and I accepted. The contractor is a Noni son from Din called Nformi Godlove. When I met him, he told me that they needed 27 millions FCFA to complete the first phase of the project between Din and Bamte. I went to the Ntarikon Cooperative Credit Union and obtained a loan of 29 million FCFA.  The project has been executed to about 90%. It should be fully executed by the end of March and Din and Bamte will be fully electrified. After that we will be going in for the second phase which has to cover Djottin. I will be revisiting the Minister for the second phase. From Djottin we will move to Dom. Next, we will go to Nkor, Laan(Lassin) and Mbinon (Tfuh).  I have already presented the project to the Senate and in our Annual Budgetary Planery, it is in the records that Noni is the only Subdivision in the North West Region that’s not yet electrified. This is a Human Rights Abuse that we are fighting against and I thank God we are succeeding.

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When you became Senator, you were also President of NODECA. How did your reign as NODECA National President push Noni forward?

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 I worked in collaboration with the erstwhile Mayor of Nkor-Noni late Francis Wache.  Amongst other things, I convened a Noni Solidarity Scheme Meeting in Yaounde for two days. I financed it as a Senator. The Noni people sat and brainstormed on how to develope Noni. We came out with resolutions and one of them was to convene a meeting of all the Noni Nfons. This meeting took place in Bamenda and all the Nfons were present. We came out with strong resolutions. One of the resolutions was to tell our brothers and sisters in the bushes that fighting was the wrong approach towards solving the problems plaguing the country. We jointly called on them to come out of the bushes so that we could build Noni together. We are succeeding in this direction as they are increasingly coming out of the bushes. After this meeting with the Nfons, the amba boys opened the Din - Bamte road which had been blocked for two years to the rest of Noni.

They keep calling me and expressing their worries about what they will be doing when they leave the bushes. I have presented the situation to the Prime Minister. I am also ready to help them  get employment. I thank the Prime Minister for having given me a listening ear. He is with the Noni people and he will do something to get them out their problems.

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We understand you eventually relinquished your powers as President of NODECA

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Before I became Senator in 2017 I was already the President of NODECA until I decided not to accumulate powers and organised elections in 2020. As NODECA National President I gave the Noni People a plot at Bonaberi in Douala for the construction of the Noni Cultural Hall. I have supported the project for the construction of the NODECA hall in Yaounde as Senator for Bui. As President of NODECA I went to the village many times to concert with Administrative authority in the Noni Subdivision and with all the landlords. I believe that Noni has very fertile soils that we can use to develop ourselves agriculturally. I came out with a NODECA Investment Scheme and  drafted a memorandum and articles of association. The intention is to create what we have in CDC or SOCAPALM in Noni. We already earmarked land to accommodate this agricultural investment.

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We understand you have carried out many outreach initiatives to solve crisis related problems

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I have been sponsoring Internally Displaced Persons(IDPs)from Bui for the past three years in Hotel Management and Catering totaling today up to 20 girls. I thought it's some times better to teach people how to catch fish than to always only give them fish. It  is based on this principle that I thought it wise to take up this scholarship program for the IDPs and will continue with this empowerment program.

At the level of the Fondoms in Bui Division, I have been extending a helping hand. I intervened financially in the enthronement of the new Nfon of Din. Same with the Fon of Oku where I intervened financially and sent a delegation. Same was the case with the enthronement of the Nfon of Laan (Lassin) where I intervened financially and in collaboration with seven elites from Lassin we bought a generator to provide electricity in the Fondom. I have given Financial assistance to all the village development associations in Noni.

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Considering the effectiveness of Sports in Peace Building initiatives, how have you intervened in this domain?

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In the domain of sports , I am one of the   sponsors of Noni Youth For change . I sponsored the participation  of the Noni Youth for Change Football Team that  represented  Bui Division during the 2022 edition of the North West tournament. We are again planning for the 2023 tournament. Dr. Kwi Ngong Isaiah and Mr. Tume Thaddieus have also done a lot to sustain the Noni Youth for change in Douala. I take this opportunity to thank them. I can't wrap up without mentioning Barrister Tamfu Dimla and  Mr Lawsamba Roger who have been very instrumental in the coordination of sports in Bamenda and Yaounde.

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As Senator for Bui how widely spread have your activities been?

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As Senator for Bui, my activities are not limited to a particular area. I have given Financial assistance to NSODA and other associations in Bui Division and I constantly receive letters of appreciation thanking me for financial assistance given to them. As a lawyer I've been also busy. As a result of the Anglophone Crisis, people have suffered a lot. Some were in captivity while others were illegally detained. As a Senator and as a Lawyer,I intervened in many instances to get them released.

I have sponsored children in school up to the university. Some of them are doing their Masters and PhD degrees as we speak. I value education since that’s what builds a nation. I have helped Institutions like the Banso Women Association and much more. I am thankful to God for giving me this opportunity.

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What message do you have for Bui?

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We should just be united. We need to be each other’s keeper irrespective of whether you are from Nso, Oku or Noni. My message is that of love. Let us stop back stabbing and mud slinging. We should act as people from Bui Division and focus on development. Our focus should be on development and good ideas can come from anybody irrespective of his political party. If we can focus on development and love for each other coupled with the resources that we have, Bui will develop rapidly. The truth will lead us to success and manipulation will lead to our down fall. The truth is that Bui has three tribes and that when there’ssomething to share, all the tribes should benefit from it. Any attempt at manipulation from a tribe that thinks it’s in the majority will only bring us all down. It will cause us to be fighting unnecessarilly. For me, every Subdivision in Bui Division deserves a Parliamentary Seat. The issue of Oku-Noni as a constituency should be fought by us. Oku like Noni are supposed to be two separate constituencies. All the Subdivisions in Bui Division deserve to be constituencies with each deserving a Parliamentary Seat. This should be the fight of all of us from Bui Division. Let’s not fall prey to the political manipulation that is going on leaving us only with four seats in Bui.

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Any message to Noni where you come from?

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To Noni people, God made me Senator and not NODECA. My party is the Social Democratic Front SDF and I became a militant in 1990. Since then I have been working very hard for the party. God loves hard workers and that’s why He rewarded my hardwork by making me Senator. Rather than fight me, I call on who ever wants to do so to resort to hard work in whatever activity he or she is involved. There are many opportunities for grabs. This issue of NODECA and ANODA should stop. Nso has a larger Community than us and they have just one development association NSODA. We should copy from them. Creating other development associations because NODECA has failed will take us no where. We should rather ask ourselves why NODECA has failed and what we have Contributed as individuals to the success of NODECA. What are we as individuals contributing to the growth of Noni?  I want to thank the Noni and Bui people in general for everything. With God’s help, the future holds greater things for me and Bui.

 

 

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