On Friday, 3rd February 2017, and at 13:13, I received an sms from the President General of the Mbembe Cultural and Development Association (MBECUDA), Mr. MBE Augustine asking me to produce an article, titled “Traditional and Administrative Organisation of Mbembe” for the purpose of feeding the yet to be created website for MBECUDA. While thanking him with all humility, I immediately began sorting out the corresponding material
from my dusty library, especially that from the Archives from Buea for it, for I was sure that our community was fed up with the persisting dearth of information about ourselves. In accepting this challenge, I was sure that not much has been written about Mbembe, and if anyone did, it was certainly ‘passive’ for academic purposes whose depth is usually determined by the objectives of the researcher. In accepting this, I was sure that my contributions should have as target audience, the layman in search of vital and useful information that can stand the test and taste of time as genuinely as possible. In accepting this, I was sure that it was going to contribute to the convulsive interest in the on-going debate about inter alia, multiculturalism, and especially as to whether Mbembe is one of the tribes of Cameroon – as many have complained that Mbembe is not known in the Registry of Tribes in Cameroon. Though my assignment has to do with the “Traditional and Administrative Organisation of Mbembe”, it would be necessary to attempt at finding out what Mbembe is before delving into the subject matter, even summarily. Can we validly talk about someone or something if that someone or something does not exist? Can we validly talk about the Traditions of Mbembe if Mbembe does not exist? Can we talk about it if it is not recognized here? Is Mbembe a village, a clan or a tribe in Cameroon? I intend to be both academic and pedagogic in the following development.
I) MBEMBE AS A TRIBE
Though principally of the Tikar, the Mbembe tribe has as (its) origin the Mbembe of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and has been existing in Cameroon for several centuries. As is customary of most African tribes, very little written evidence was available before the coming of the Germans and the British. To better trace the origin of the Mbembe people in general and the Mbembe of the Cameroons in particular, researchers could draw inspiration from the Mbembe North of the River Donga that constitutes the Wukari Division of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Evidence of some recordings about Mbembe as one of the tribes of Cameroon Province, hitherto managed from Nigeria dates back to 1926. According to Memorandum No. 252/16/1926, from the Divisional Officer, Bamenda Division, Bamenda, addressed to the Senior Resident, Cameroons Province, Buea of 24th June 1926, titled, “Report on Tour of Kentu and Mbembe Areas by Mr. J.H.H. POLLOCK, Assessment District Officer”, the officer wrote: “I have to forward herewith a report by Mr. Pollock, Assistant District Officer on his tour of the above-mentioned areas as it contains much interesting information about these little known and seldom visited people living as they do some twelve days’
difficult trek to the North of Bamenda..” This marks the beginning of the written history of the Mbembe people of Cameroon. And as the officer commented, the Mbembe people of Cameroon were “…little known and seldom visited…” because it required a twelve days’ trek from Bamenda. Little known and seldom visited by whom? Certainly by the people who were interested, from both sides, Nigeria or Cameroon. Beyond “these little known and seldom visited people” lay a great unperturbed, natural … and ‘satisfied’ community imbued with natural talent and resources with their umbilical cord buried in Nigeria. But, were they interested in the link with Nigeria after finding abode in Cameroon?
In sending his ‘Intelligence Report No. 590/23 of 13th January 1936 to the Honourable, the Senior Resident Cameroons Province, Buea, the District Officer i/c Bamenda Division wrote: “my letter No. B.599/134 of 9th January 1936, makes it clear that the Mbembe with whom the Report is concerned have no desire to join their relatives the Mbembe North ofthe River Donga (Wukari Division).”
In his Memorandum No. S.P. 3743/14 of 16th August 1927, the Acting Secretary, Southern Provinces, Lagos to the Honourable, the Senior Resident, Cameroons Province, Buea, entitled “Mbembe Tribal Area, Bamenda Division Assessment Report’ wrote recognizing Mbembe as a tribe in Cameroon and accepting Pollock’s proposals as contained in Memorandum No. 1129/98/1926 of 4th July, 1927”… (2) His Honour approves your recommendations for the administration of the area and for the constitution of a Native Court. (3) The District Assessment Record Sheet will be returned as soon as it has received the approval of His Excellency” etc. (4) Memorandum No. 834/188 of 29th July, 1936 to the Resident, Cameroons Province, Buea, that was received on the 15th August 1936, entitled “Intelligence Reports” stated clearly “I understand that an Intelligence Report has recently been written on the Mbembe tribe on the Bamenda Division of the Cameroons Province. If this is correct, I should be extremely grateful if you could loan a copy to me, since there are
allied tribes in the Kentu area of this Province”. It should be recalled that Kentu and by extension, Gashaka are Districts in the North of River Donga that formed part of the Adamawa and Benue Provinces of the Republic of Nigeria. Therefore the officer, was interested in making a distinction between these areas which lay between Nigeria and the Cameroons
Province. The Mbembe tribe is a combination therefore of:
I) The earliest inhabitants of Akwaja.
II) The Benue migration (Abafum, the Ako group: Ako, Akwesse, Abuenshie, Jevi, Akwenko, Ande, Amba and Assa). Buku came from Wukari Division of the Benue Province. Ndaka is Jikum speaking and after joining in raids from the neighbourhood of Fungom / Wukari border (Ndaka Bara) near Tosso settled among the Mbembe forest and learnt the ‘Nzare’ as their second language. The remaining villages in Mbembe proper, with the exception of Akwaja, are said, somewhat vaguely to have come from the TIV country. There is no proof for this assertion. Akwaja is believed to have come somewhere along the KAKANTEM Native Authority Area. At a later date off-shoots of the main TIKAR migration penetrated into the oil palm country and founded the villages of BERABE, ABUENKPA and
MBIRIBUA. (Berabe and Abuenkpa said to have originated from the East, from the direction of Banyo in the French Mandate. Mbiribua said to be a member of the Ntem group of Nsungni – thus all being TIKAR, but of different origins).
After reading through the above, it is evident that Mbembe is an important tribe, both in Nigeria and Cameroon. If it is known as such in Nigeria, why not in Cameroon? Does one lose his/her DNA for change of environment? Whose interest does it serve if Mbembe does not feature as one of the tribes in Cameroon as it is being insinuated? Who says therefore that Mbembe is not a tribe in Cameroon? Mbembe is a tribe in Cameroon! It is time the leaders in
Mbembe who some of us are, made the Administration of Cameroon to realize this unfortunate omission, and especially for a people who had “no desire to join their relatives, North of the River Donga (Wukari Division).” As stated by J. CHADWICH, the District Officer i/c Bamenda Division in his ‘Intelligence Report’ No. 590/23 of 13th January 1936 (supra). Does anyone need any further proof that the Mbembe of Cameroon were even the first to vouch to remain Cameroonian even before the advent of the much heralded Reunification of 1961? Why should Mbembe be omitted in the Registry of Tribes in Cameroon? Ignorance cannot
persist forever. It is easy for the Administration to rectify if truly it was omitted. Otherwise, Mbembe is a full tribe of Tikar origin.
II) WHICH MBEMBE?
By 1926, Mbembe was composed of twenty-one (21) villages: viz: (1) Berabe, (2) Akwaja, (3) Mbande, (4) Ande (5) Ako (6) Jevi, (7) Akwenko, (8) Buku, (9) Ndaka, (10) Akwesse, (11) Mbiribua, (12) Abuenkpa, (13) Abafum, (14) Abuenshie, (15) Assa, (16) Amba, (17) Bebejato, (18) Bebekette, (19) Dumbu, (20) Mbissa, and (21) Kwe, each with a defined territory and administrative setups; while Nsungni was made up of seven (07) villages: (1) Akweto (2) Kamine (3) Nchanti (4) Chunghe (5) Mfume (6) Kiboh, and (7) Bem. A report by Newton of 19th August 1937 showed or suggested that of the twenty one (21) villages of the present Mbembe Area, only sixteen (16) should continue as present, the remaining five (05) being joined to the seven (07) villages which are to be taken from Nsungni
tribe, in order to form a new and compact area to be known as Misaje. This proposed reorganization by Newton would thus result in the reduction of Mbembe to about 447sqmiles with a taxable male population of 2.360 and the formation of the New Misaje area composed of parts of the existing Mbembe and Nsungni areas totaling about 266sq miles with a taxable male population of approximately 1.447. Thanks to the ‘whims and caprices’ of Mr. Newton, Mbembe was separated from the brothers and sisters of the following villages: Bebejato, Bebekette, Dumbu, Mbissa and Kwe! In all this, Kuta area was the most affected.
Today, Dumbu in Misaje still maintains traces of its tradition with Ande, Ndaka while Bebekette still shares with the Ndanjis of Akwenko, Abuenkpa, etc. We should therefore be careful how we treat ourselves.
Today, the present day Ako Sub-Division that had ‘lost’ five villages or better still that‘contributed’ five villages to facilitate the creation of Misaje area in the 1930s, as proposed by Newton (supra), leaving her with sixteen (16) villages, has now metamorphosed into eighteen (18) villages, with the recognition of MPECHERE and ZEMBE-ABURU as full fledge and independent villages with well defined territorial boundaries and administrative rights and privileges.
III) TRADITIONAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE SET UP OF MBEMBE
Having established that Mbembe is a tribe of its own and of Tikari descent, having proved that the original Mbembe of Cameroon was made up of twenty-one (21) villages, that was reduced by five (05) villages by the Newton Proposal to create Misaje out of its rib, having established that Mbembe is a full tribe of the Wukari Division in the Republic of Nigeria, and having maintained that the Mbembe of Cameroon had “no desire to join their relatives North of the River Donga…” as stated by J. CHADWICH, the District Officer i/c of Bamenda Division in his Intelligence Report (supra), one can conveniently attempt to talk about, albeit
summarily, the Traditional and Administrative Organisation of Mbembe. The Mbembe tribe that hitherto covered twenty-one (21) villages now has eighteen as
discussed above. It covers about 1200sqkm of surface area and is only second to Nwa SubDivision in Donga-Mantung Division, with a population of over a hundred thousand inhabitants today, while waiting for the next Population and Housing Census. To say the least the traditional and administrative organization of Mbembe goes with the conventional set ups that are widely known in both Cameroon and beyond.
A) TRADITIONAL ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
i) THE VILLAGE HEADS (AFANGS)
The most important unit among the Mbembe is the extended family. The leaders of the migrating groups became the Headsmen of the new settlement, they were chairmen at the meetings of the whole community, their executive power depended on their personal character and on the number and strength of their own extended families. They had religious functions (the AFANG) and were responsible for the annual sacrifice at the beginning of each rainy season. Their ancestors were called upon to help the community in times of trouble and their funeral ceremonies were more elaborate than those of the ordinary man. They had few privileges other than the first share of large game, such as bush cow, and they could be defied by anyone who felt that his family was strong enough to
support him.
ii) THE KINDRED HEADS (QUARTERS)
Next, in importance to the headsmen (Afans), are the kindred heads (njis of the exogamous kindreds into which the villages were, and for the most part still are divided. To these were given shares of fines paid in judicial cases, though in their turn they had to divide them with their heads of extended families. In theory they were listened to, with respect though in reality their power, like that of the headsmen, depended on that of their extended family.
iii) Extended Family:
In most purposes, the extended family plays the most important part in the life of the ordinary man. The head of the extended family kept the family purse (to a
certain extent, he does still), the members were liable to be called upon to answer for the debts and crimes of each other. The man whose family was small and weak was in the position of the master-less man of the Middle Ages. The general characteristic of the Mbembe has been a continuous tendency towards an increasing individualism, where the authority of any sort appears to have been weak. The judicial and administrative aspects of social life have always
been, no matter how ineffectively conciliatory. Traditional authority in Mbembe land, except in Akwaja (that enjoys its powers from an extensive use of its past customs) is mostly liberal and not as gripping as in most grassland areas. Reports show that the Mbembe on the whole, are not a people who can be said to realize the meaning of administration. Administrative problems are not made any easier by the fact that the people have now, and apparently in the
past, little sense of obedience to authority. In the old days, justice was enforced by a man’s own family (whether on the right or not), if it were strong enough, and if it were not he was at liberty to seek the help of one more powerful than himself. Hence, at the present day, the notorious number of unenforced judgments in Mbembe, though it is true that the lack of energy among the court members has something to do with this state of affairs. And this lack of energy is ‘inborn’. R. Newton states: “It is also necessary to say at the risk of being taxed with a lack of sympathy, that the Mbembe are, for the most part, extremely
lazy and excitable. They are reluctant to go two days journey though by doing so they can sell palm oil for twice the price they can obtain in Mbembe. There is something to be said for their attitude since they have no desire for European currency and once he has a small farm and a patch of oil palm bush a man is set up for life. For several months the men have no work to do except to visit their oil palms twice daily and collect the palm wine, some of which is drunk in the bush and the rest during the evening. Thus it is no unusual occurrence to see a man drunk in the middle of the morning and affrays (fights) in the villages due to drinking are comparatively common…” Bamenda, 15th February 1935. How far is this assessment true of Mbembe today? You may have a better attitude towards this. Your guess may be as good as mine.
In every village today, there is a Head, traditionally called “Afang”, Chief or as of recent “Fon”. In each village there is a traditional council headed by the “Afang” and his collaborators, commonly called “Njis” or “Njos” or “Nchindas”. The role of these councils is to follow up the respect for, and to sanction those who go against the traditions of the community concerned. They usually sit as problems arise and upon summons issued by the Fon. Their effectiveness and efficiency remain ambiguous.
Before 1926, most Fondoms or Chiefdoms in Mbembe were loose, for the simple reason that they found the duties of the ‘Afang’ burdensome, and so could easily resign, and anybody interested could succeed. According to J.H.H. Pollock, succession in Mbembe was varied: from father to son, from brother to brother, and in this case, on the death of the last surviving brother, the latest son of all the brothers, usually inherited; from quarter to quarter in some cases, and in which case the Palace physically ‘moved’, that is to another building in that quarter where the ‘Chiefdom’ has ‘moved to’. That probably explains why most of the villages do not have Palaces as in a case where succession is from father to son.
In R. Newton’s report, he opined that in none of the villages had the inhabitants progressed beyond a low level of culture and social organization. How far can MBECUDA go here? Because of this, he even wondered as to whether this area was ever inhabited two centuries earlier before their arrival, “the whole area was probably uninhabited as recently as two centuries ago…” Until the arrival of the Germans in 1905, all the countryside was
occupied in petty internal strife and in fleeing before the Fulani raids. The German Administration put an end to this period of unrest, and in 1910 instituted a tax of three marks, which however was only collected with difficulty and by the use of force. The Germans ruled them from Kentu, a district of Adamawa Province of Nigeria.
The Germans retired from Kentu to Bamenda in 1915 and in 1916, the British Administration took over. A Native Court was established at Weh near Fungom, but when in 1926 the Kentu District became part of Northern Province, a Mbembe Native Court was established at Ako as a result of Mr. Pollock’s report. The above is an illustration of how far foreign intervention influenced the traditional set up of the Mbembe people. Progressively they became interested in governorship as portrayed in correspondence No. B451/177 of 8th December 1942 by P.K. Woodhouse, the District Officer i/c of Bamenda Division wrote: “During my recent tour the members of the Mbembe Native Authority (the Mbembe Native Court), informed me that they desired the Native Court
to be reformed by:-
i) the creation of four courts for the following groups of villages:
a) Ako, Abuenshe, Akwesse, Assa;
b) Akwaja, Berabe, Mbiribua, Amba;
c) Mbande, Ande, Jevi, Akwenko, Abuenkpa;
d) Ndaka, Buku, Abafum.
ii) the creation of an appeal court for all the four groups at Ako…”
which was eventually approved. (Details of the original memberships of these courts would be
a subject of another article).
As said earlier, traditional authority in Mbembe lay in the hands of the ‘Afang’ and his councillors. They looked into problems concerning marriages, births, deaths, conflicts and the well-being of the people. For instance, according to the Native Law and Customs of the Mbembe people, three types of marriages obtained as reported in correspondence No. N.A. 2294/10 of 17TH December, 1948:
a) Marriage by exchange where a man of one family gives a woman in exchange for a
wife from the second family. Presents only being given.
b) Marriage by slave payment – the suitor paying female slaves to bribe’s family.
c) Marriage by ‘loan’ – the suitor working for the bride’s family in return for one servant for the bride. The children being claimed by the bride’s father… (This, too, would constitute a separate future development). The traditional authorities ensured at the time, that these were enforced. Today, things have evolved, and those customs that are repugnant to the modern day society have been dropped.
B) ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANISATION OF MBEMBE
Today, the Mbembe tribe has evolved to a full Sub-division with a resident Divisional Officer, a Council and a host of decentralized or deconcentrated services, such as the Sub-delegation of Agriculture, Livestock, Youth and Civic Education, … Inspectorate of Basic Education, District Hospital, a Parliamentary Seat (with Misaje Sub-division) just to name these few (see: “The Evolution of the Administrative Organisation of Mbembe: from colonial period to
present day”, by the same author). I would welcome humbly, any correction, suggestion or contribution necessary to beef up
this article, while I take responsibility for its shortcomings.
EPILOGUE
Now, we know what we know about ourselves. To some, it is vinegar, to others, honey. To my mind, this is the greatest thought of the designers. The truth is staring us in the face. Some of us have been living and behaving in partial or total ignorance. Though with a tilted variation in the language, Akwenko, my village, exists in Nigeria; same spelling, same attitude. Do I need permission to interact there? Maybe. Part of my family lodges in Berabe, my grandmother came from Ande and the Head of my family, Pa Peter Shei equally came from there. I have aunts and uncles in Mbande. Researchers should find out why my late
grandfather, Paworo (Mbembe corruption for Paul) Ntoh let the late Venerated Rev. Andoseh to have part of his land at Tumbo to build on. Pa Paworo Ntoh, an outstanding businessman was the second to raise a ‘zinc’ house after Rev. Andoseh. Today, that is history. Is History really useful? Maybe to teach us about the nefarious effects of our individualism.
But even without the same attention, the late Senior Administrative Officer, Mbe Meme Samuel never let me go, being of the same roots. Till death, he never failed in his duties to me as an uncle. That is history, maybe today. History stubbornly tells only the truth. This may lay to rest for those who care, the narrow-minded, quaking with ambivalent and maimed application of what Stephen Pinter (1990) calls, “the jewel in the crown of cognition” (the language), about Ms Martha Meme of CRTV et al. Knowing our roots would help us come out of our sometimes bedevilled cocoon of nervousness to a healthier livelihood. By our tradition I do not need permission to interact, share or partake in whatever they do. Maybe yours is different.
Part of my family is in Bebekette, Ndaka, Dumbu, Mbissa, Mungong (Boyo Division) etc. I remember the Fon telling me that, “Mbissa people and Akwenko people do not see blood”. What a word from the Palace, and I hasten to say, that you should not forget that I am palatine! Do I need permission to dine with my brothers and sisters there? It is true, the pursuit of academics distances us from our initial maps, but if we are not careful, our academic attainment may become embarrassing to our roots, unless we take time to profoundly study our history. Remember: “You can take the child out of the country, but you cannot take
the country out of the child”: Aimé Cesaire. It is frightful sometimes to hear the following tags from some of us: “He is a Wimbum man”, “he is not a true son of Mbembe”, “she is not an original Misaje daughter”, “He is not an original Mbembe man”, “not an original Misaje man”, “He is a Bebeman, not an Akwenko man”, “He is a Berabe man”, “… well, she may be married to my ‘brother’, but she remains a Wimbum woman…”. In an exogamous era, this remains a major challenge and smacks of our limitation in understanding our DNA.
By some accident of history (and such accidents abound), seven (07) villages in Misaje were of Nsungni (Wimbum) tribe. They do not lose that quality by belonging to the new unit carved out for administrative orientations to suit the thought of a given era. Five (05) of these villages (as we have seen above) that contributed in or completed the creation of Misaje were / are of Mbembe! And this, as recent as less than eighty (80) years! These villages do not
equally lose their families for the same purpose. I have oft times overheard bitter complaints that some are being barred from interacting with their families across some of the Administrative units in Donga-Mantung! (basically on political grounds). This is sacrilege! This is abominable! This is anathema! How on earth can
you question a Dumbu man’s attendance of a family meeting at Ande or Ndaka?
How on earth can you stop a Bebekette man from visiting a bereaved family of his at Ndanji (Akwenko) or Abuenkpa? How can you on earth stop an Akweto, Kamine, or Bansobi man from visiting relatives at Binju, Binshua or Nkambe based on asinine thoughts? How different is the Akwaja man of Ako Sub-Division to that of Kwaja or Ntong in Nwa? In Nwa, it is a ‘hell of blues’. They talk in terms of Yamba, Mfumte and Mbaw, with their collective origin, Tikar, relegated to Mbaw only! Even amongst the Yamba, some swear to the North, others to the East, while other groups are in a tug of war between the West and the South. I still remember vividly when in search of a possible mediation for an apparent socio-political impasse in this area, I stumbled on one philanderer of a braggart (as I later on discovered, having misjudged his impartiality from the size of his suit and purse), who qualifies in trait, talent and attitude as the bag carrier of the famous KADIYE of Soyinka’s‘The Swamp Dwellers’ (the services of a teacher are required here), who without a second thought snorted: “I hate teachers, because they talk a lot”. This brainless statement shattered my attention on this mass for a bridge to these factions. I was more stunned, for most of the belligerents are teachers, the others are not. He had taken a stand. He had taken sides. The division had left the tribe, the clan to the professional corps. How can such a one bring unity to
the people of Nwa? How can such a one see the people as having one origin, the TIKAR? This reminded me of an earlier conversation I had with another elite, who told me in his fury that he was told to go back to his “miserable teaching” job. To his utter bewilderment, I burst
out laughing:
Me: Who taught him the word, ‘miserable’ that has raised him to the level of ‘un-miserable?”
He: I did
Me: Did you teach him all the contexts?
He: Unfortunately no.
Me: Then, why blame him, for rendering him ‘miserable’ in his exposure of this ‘miserable’
ignorance, which you taught him in a ‘miserable’ classroom, in a ‘miserable’ quarter of a
‘miserable’ village, on a ‘miserable’ Monday morning, when you were feeling
‘miserable’ at their looking ‘miserable’? I think the classroom needs you more to correct
the misuse of ‘miserable’ when teaching the word, ‘miserable’. He left choking with
laughter, and lighter, thereby avoiding a possible ‘suicide’, for being told to go back to
his ‘miserable’ teaching job.
What about the Wat, the Tang and the Wiya of the Wimbum of Ndu and Nkambe Central Sub-Divisions? A Ndu man would tell you he is Wimbum of Ndu and not Nkambe and viceversa. There are further subsets, each competing to exert its superiority over the other, thereby throwing the unity of the area to the dogs. And dogs they have, in great numbers. What do they feed these dogs with? Proceeds from and for the unity of the villages, the clans, the tribes,
the Sub-Divisions, and the Divisions! How can we do this in an era of globalization? Maybe we should be heading for the courts to appeal against R. Newton’s suggestion and decision to contribute five villages for the creation of Misaje, if such a separation could engender such an animosity; especially if in doing so will keep us together! We should learn from the Nso tribe. A Nso man is a Nso man, no matter whether he is from Jakiri, Kumbo, Tatum…. A Bali is a Bali, no matter whether from Kumbat, Kumbit, Gham, Gashu… or Nyonga. A Bikom man is same whether from Belo, Njinikom or Fundong. This is a must learn lesson for the Mbembe people.
In Mbembe (new look), even without being told overtly, we talk in terms of Kuta, Lower Mbembe, Ako Central, Pooh Akooh, Upper Mbembe, and this has affected both efficiency and effectiveness in most of our doings because of a phoenix called “balance”. How many people
are aware that Mbembe is basically made up of three clans (Kuta, Lower and Upper Mbembe)? And that the rest are political creations for better management? But first and foremost, can politicians give us a break here! And there is ample evidence that this is propagated by a complex – be it inferiority or superiority. This baffles the good intentions of R. Newton et al who did this just for the purpose of easing administration. Beware: Goethe says that behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his image. I was recently in Jevi (precisely on the 29th January 2017) to bury my dear and very cherished Angelic younger sister, Ruth TANGHA Wanneh. A young man greeted me in English, and I responded in Mbembe. He asked me who I was, and I responded and confirmed that I was a Mbembe man. I had looked for more trouble! In fact, he interrupted my reverie throughout the journey on the name, ‘TA-NGHA’ that was given to Ruth. I was reflecting on
its true meaning in Mbembe language, and whether that name was not chosen by God Himself if the way she lived and left were not reminiscent of sainthood, or could things have been different if she never bore that name… when gbamm!, for over five minutes he kept on banging on me to tell him from which part of Mbembe I came. He was not satisfied just that I was a “Mbembe man”. Had he his way, I might not have continued the journey without answering the question to his satisfaction. Maybe he was right, but I did not answer more. For I was sure I was to introduce myself right down to my family members, and maybe possibly
exhume some previous biases or some good deeds or friends that could possibly have made or marred my trip there. I wept more at the thought that the division amongst us was eating deeper and deeper in our society. We are Mbembe of TIKARI origin. This, to me is an opportunity for us to revisit our consciences, and act as a tribe, as one. The present generation has gone berserk with its “focus-less” individualism that would eventually lead us to the City of Vainglory. When I imagine that I carry with me two great Traditional Rulers of the 1930s, 40s and 50s, that governed Akweto (NGI) and Akwenko
(NTO) or that HRN WANE ruled Mbande in the same period, and that Pa WANNEH governs in prominence today in Jevi, how ridiculous it would be should Akwenko quarrel with Akweto or Jevi with Mbande, for instance. This should rather attract than repel! Can history play the trick? Yes it can. Then, Mbembe, reinforce your unity! This unity will reinforce our culture, for if it be true that none of our “villages had … progressed beyond a low level of culture and organization” as R. Newton asserted, and if that trend is still stagnant, then, either we as MBECUDA make our children ourselves out of
this union, or our neighbours would, and in that stead, we should not accuse our spouses for being responsible for our offspring resembling our neighbours.
Bamenda, 6th February 2017
