Chief S. E. Ekum: Between perception and reality

Public Relations experts often talk about the huge gap that sometimes exists between perception and reality. They point that where there is inadequate information, deliberate distortion and or misrepresentation of facts, the unsuspecting public may indeed accept as true fallacies that have been consistently fed into their psyche. The process is often referred to as classical conditioning by psychologists.

Going by the intensity of contemptuous publications sustained by malicious revisionists in a lurid campaign of distortion of Fako tradition, there is no doubt that a section of the media is being utilised in an effort to diminish the meteoric rise of the ex-President of Fako Chiefs Conference, Chief Samuel Epupa Ekum.

A perceptive observer would have noticed some curious sequence in this serial demonisation crusade. The tissues of lies dished out to negatively label the Bimbia persona oscillate from the obscene to the fantastic. There have also been personal attacks on innocent members of his social circles with disproportionate hypes of events willfully slanted to portray former Fako Chiefs Exco in bad light.

Then the questions are; who and who is responsible for this media war against the out gone Fako Chiefs’ President and what should be the real motives behind such deliberate mischief?

First, we take a look at the events that are currently rocking the boat of Fako Chiefs confab as this will enable those outside our shores to appreciate the context and reason behind the ongoing vicious onslaught.

By July 2010, Fako Division was extremely polarised into two bitter irreconcilable factions. One group consisted of David Nanyowe, siblings, and lackeys, whereas the other group included prominent politicians and elite like Chief David Ikome Molinge, Chief Samuel Epupa Ekum and the bulk of traditional rulers belonging to Fako Chiefs Conference.

As the debate over the Mile IV (Bonadikombo) chieftaincy raged, Fako chiefs reacted against the unadvised orders of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, MINATD, with regard to chieftaincy matters within Fako. They condemned the uncompromising stance of Government to impose certain personalities as chiefs unto some villages.

In their four-page petition to the Minister of MINATD and Vice Prime Minister, the Chiefs denounced Sub Prefectural Order No 54/2014 of 26/06/2010 under instruction No 00993/MINATD/DOT/SDOH/SCT of 12/02/2010 for the MINATD which suspended Mr. Samuel Njie Ekwalla from his functions as the Chief of Bonadikombo Village.

The Chiefs through designated officials, HRH David Molinge (President of Fako Chiefs Conference) and HRH Samuel Epupa Ekum (President of Limbe Chiefs Conference) frowned at the misdirection of the nation’s administration by some personalities in Government and specifically cited Simon Forzie Nkem for being at the origin of disorder in Fako.

“We wish to reiterate that chieftaincy in Bakweri tribe is hereditary within the ruling family and that there is a Chief in Bonadikombo in the person of Chief Ekwalla Samuel Njie. Any marginalisation of the verdict of king-makers and royal family by asking for the forth public consultative talks only from the Nanyowe family who are NOT a ruling family in Bonadikombo, and who in all occasions have failed to prove their legitimacy to the Bonadikombo chiefdom, will lead to untold anarchy and breach of peace in Bonadikombo and a mockery of MINATD in particular and Cameroon Government in general.”

From records, there had been three well instituted chieftaincy consultative talks between the Wonya Njie and Nanyowe families under three Fako Civil Administrations: Jean Robert Mengue Meka, Robert Dikoume Ngambi and Bernard B. Okalia respectively.

At none of these established consultative talks had the Nanyowes shown proof of their rightful claim to the throne of Bonadikombo chiefdom. And at no occasion had the Nanyowes openly denied the verdict of these consultative talks. The chiefs therefore wondered why the Bonadikombo chieftaincy issue kept resurfacing whenever a change of administration took place in Fako Division.

The Chiefs strongly asserted that the unending consultative talks revealed someone’s macabre plan to unseat the rightful claimant of Bonadikombo chiefdom to enthrone some illegitimate, ambitious aspirant. They questioned administration’s refusal to peruse the file comprising relevant documents and minutes pertaining to chieftaincy consultative talks of 1972, 2002 and 2005. Fear of suspected foul-play compelled Fako Chiefs to determine to get to the root of the matter by assisting Government into putting an end to the Bonadikombo chieftaincy saga. As such, they promised to impact on the said commission which necessarily included both families and whose representatives were armed with relevant documents to buttress their case before all and sundry.

Chief Ekum and peers alleged that they were not unaware of the negative impact made by a certain Simon Nkem Forzie on the Ministry’s relations with their local communities. They claimed that the latter’s quest for land at Bonadikombo had been the root-cause of this despicable chieftaincy dispute.

In their opinion, the former Secretary General in MINATD had hatched this insidious plot to oust Chief Samuel Njie Ekwalla for refusing to recognise his illegal acquisition of 3,500 square metres of the land which CDC had ceded to the Bonadikombo community. Forzie had since sued the Chief, claiming FCFA 25 million compensation in case No Lm 399c 2008, but he would rather he took advantage of his position in Government to punish young Ekwalla.

Fako Chiefs did not mince words in condemning the dignitary’s past deeds in Batoke and Upper Muea, where this same sinister plot had sparked disorder. They condemned the unfortunate attitude of instigating public disorder for personal enrichment and equally frowned at the nonchalance of Government to face chieftaincy disputes in a bid to find lasting solutions to them.

To conclude their petition, the Chiefs also expressed consternation in the Bonadikombo chieftaincy dispute whereby the supposedly main contender in the challenging family, David Nanyowe, had never come close to the throne. How come his two sons: David Esombe Nanyowe and Emmanuel Mokande Nanyowe, then claim the rights of chieftaincy at Bonadikombo?

The events of September 24, 2010 offered quite another kettle of fish. On this day, Chief David Nanyowe was designated after 4th consultative talks presided over by the Sub Divisional Officer for Limbe 1, Jean Paul Tsanga Foe.

In his consultative speech at the Maternity premises at Mile IV, D.O. Tsanga said he had come to execute a Ministerial Order. He averred that the administration has the right to dismiss any Chief who does not collaborate effectively with it and who does not carry out his functions appropriately.

About the history of Bonadikombo chieftaincy, Tsanga Foe said that past records have proven that Mile IV chieftaincy has always been in the Nanyowe family. He opined that if the chieftaincy went to the Njie family, it was because some past administrators in Limbe Sub Division misled the Minister in charge of Territorial Administration. He therefore urged the population of Bonadikombo, to accept the Ministerial decision for the sake of peace, stating as well that it could be reversed if other findings prove that what has been done is wrong.

After the speech of the D.O., Chief Ekum and Chief Molinge raised their hands and asked the D.O to allow them tell him what he does not know, but the D.O refused, saying that he did not know what they had to say. At this juncture, all the members of the Fako Chiefs Conference led by Chief Molinge boycotted the talks.

Thus, the highly sponsored, unrelenting depictions of Chief Ekum that frequently come by way of sarcastic commentaries, half truths and coloured hearsay are not based on verifiable performance but on the prejudices, fears and desperations of crooked opponents.

They forget that the evolution of leaders has both physical and spiritual dimensions. Whereas they aim to subsume the sterling efforts of the unassuming Ekum, they are actually making the man more popular by each passing day.

This is because observers who have taken the pains to interact with Samuel Ekum end up very angry with these lying bigots. Those aware of the difference between the fabrications they read and the very good intentions of the man resisting administration’s tinkered designs; have second thoughts about the man Ekum and everything he stands for.

The foundation for a new Fako, where liberty, unity and prosperity will reign has been laid by Chief Samuel Ekum. He is now restoring the years that the cankerworm has eaten. Even though the damage to the psyche, economy and politics of Fako by unscrupulous administrators, cannot be addressed in a jiffy, Chief Ekum has taken the necessary steps to set the ball rolling.

He is out to leave visible legacies and write his name in gold while today’s Fako land crisis lasts. All that is needed is for everyone to give him the needed support and encouragement while taking the blackmail orchestrated by fifth columnists, media friends and sympathisers of crooked administrators with a pinch of salt. This is because the worth of a man is never seen through the prism of his vengeance-seeking detractors.