NW Fons enraged over the transfer of historical artifacts to Yaounde

North West Fons are very angry with Ama Tutu Muna, Arts and Culture Minister, over the removal of North West historic artifacts to Yaounde on the minister’s instructions.

Smarting from what has been perceived as an affront or desecration of the region’s tradition, the Fons who are considered custodians of the region’s culture, acting under the banner of its umbrella association, NOWEFU, have given Ama Muna only days to return the over 1,500 artifacts. They said if the items are not returned as soon as possible they will stage a sit-in rampage in front of her ministry in Yaounde until all the objects are handed to them.

The Cameroon Journal was reliably informed that the five big Fons of the region - Fons of Mankon, Bafut, Bali, Kom and Nso are currently putting together a huge delegation of their peers to Yaounde to pressure the Minister to return the artifacts.

“We are taking along a truck to bring back all the 1500 artifacts Minister Ama Muna took to Yaounde without our approval.” One of the Fons told our reporter by phone yesterday.

Unaware that the region’s historic antiquities, some as old as 56 years, had been carted overnight to Yaounde on the instructions of the minister, the Fons and some elites say they only got wind of the development after the minister’s cover was blown by the media.

Reacting to what he qualified as an abomination and an insult to North West tradition, NOWEFU’s president, Senator Fon Teche Njei vowed that in his capacity as the union’s president, he won’t look away while the region’s cultural heritage is destroyed.

“It will not be during my tenure as NOWEFU president that such an abomination will take place... We are leading a huge delegation of Fons to Yaounde to bring back those artifacts.” Teche vowed. Also, one of the bureau members of the Senate qualified the action of Ama as “a woman entering a dreaded shrine to collect antiquities for public display.”

Some other Fons insisted that it won’t be enough for Ama Muna to return the items. They insist she must “have some traditional rites performed on her to evade the wrath of the gods of the region.”

Fon of Mankon, Solomon Ndefru Angwafor III who also doubles as First Vice National President of the ruling CPDM party, while out rightly demanding that the Minister return the artifacts, said, what she has done “is a scandal, total disrespect and a dirty slap on the face of North West Fons.” Fon Angwafor wondered whether tourists visiting the region will now have to be redirected to Yaounde “to see our art objects?”

He questioned the raison d’être of creating the North West Regional Delegation of Arts and Culture when the museum under that delegation is rather transferred to Yaounde. Still fuming with rage, he hinted that the over 1,500 artifacts transferred overnight to Yaounde were put together by his predecessor who passed away in 1958.

In the meantime, Ama Muna told our reporter earlier that the decision to transfer the artifacts to the national museum in Yaounde was for proper protection and preservation. “We had realised that the artifacts were not only abandoned in dirt but were gradually being sold out by some officials of the North West delegation.” She disclosed that more than once, some of the stolen artifacts have been intercepted at the Yaounde Nsimalen airport ready for shipment abroad.

Asked what will happen to the artifacts, she swore that they will all be returned to the region as soon as a befitting museum is constructed there.

“All the artifacts we brought in from the North West have been well labelled and documented...Let me assure you that not even one of them would be missing...they shall all be taken back to the North West when we are through with constructing a museum there," she assured.