Skip to main content



TUMI BECKONS DISPATCHED PEACE CARAVAN TO PREACH LOVE AMIDST TOUGH OBSTRUCTION 

BY MILDRED NDUM WUNG KUM

In the midst of blames and and crises, the government of Cameroon is determined to rebuild confidence. Even as results of the major national dialogue are pending, government is striving to restore an iota of peace at least by word of mouth.

The prime minister and head of government Joseph Dion Ngute has put in place coordinators for a peace caravan in the English speaking regions of the country. It in this regard that some commissioned groups would from Tuesday 19th November travel to divisions and subdivisions of the Northwest region to present to people of the grassroots, recommendations of the major national dialogue already tabled to Paul Biya.


This is coming after a two day session on November 16th and 18th 2019 chaired by His Eminence Christian Cardinal Tumi, chairman of the Northwest regional caravan for peace.
The session on Nov 16th featured  designated emembers of the peace caravan including religious leaders, elites, mayors and parliamentarians. November 18th session was quite enlarged with the presence of Senior Divisional Officers. The Northwest governor Adolph Lele Lafrique coordinated the sessions; he is a member of the peace caravan at the regional Level.






Cardinal Tumi beckoned that the entire caravan process  be motioned with peace and love. "The life principle of peace is love. Where there is love there is peace. Where there is no love there is hatred and therefore war. Let us love one another. This should be the key word during this campaign, I'm not talking of a political campaign but campaign for a capital virtue of love. Let us love one another and let us love our country and encourage the youths to love our country. Anything that helps to build our country should be loved.   So our work these few days is to promote love" he said while presiding launching of the peace caravan at MINEPAT conference hall, Up-Station Bamenda.

 Seven different teams corresponding to the seven divisions of the Northwest region have been dispatched for this task.  Each team is composed of elites and political leaders of the division.

They have the task to explain recommendations of the dialogue but also listen to people in the grassroots and note their needs and desires.

The hard nut to crack in this task remains the challenging security situation in the region and the fact that nothing favourably concrete  can as of now be measured from a major dialogue organised in the country two months back.

Just at the Launch of the peace caravan, the Archbishop of Bamenda His Grace Cornelius Fontem Esua appealed for an end to violence for an enabling environment of the peace caravan.





The president of the Northwest chapter of Cameroon Association of English Speaking Journalists Mr Ambe MacMillian thinks that the media should be part of the peace process for positive communication, the first deputy mayor of Nwa Council Jinkwen Martha complained of difficulty of access to her division for the caravan, the Member of Parliament for Menchum South constituency Honourable Wallang Richard Ebua said it would be difficult to talk about peace without anything concrete to encourage the people, the UDP chairman El Hadj Lawan Bako was worried that some recommendations tabled at the end of the national dialogue did not feature in the final draft recommendation presented to the Head of States Paul Biya, the mayor of Wum Council Dinghambong Anthony was disgruntled that some people chosen to be part of the caravan know nothing about the people in the field.

Would the caravan be accompanied by the military?

How would the caravan be done in the absence of traditional rulers in some villages?
How would it succeed when very little preparation has been done?

The challenges were listed at length. The crux however remains penetrating the hinterlands with the peace mission.

Mr Lele Lafrique has appealed that traditional leaders who are out of the fondom return and be part of the caravan. Cardinal Tumi has pleaded for courtesy and gentility on the part of those dispatched.

At the moment, eyes are on the watch regarding the caravan programmed from November 19th 2019.



Comments

Editor's Picks

BAMENDA III COUNCIL EMBARKS ON DEVELOPMENT  BY MILDRED NDUM WUNG KUM In a brainstorming spree, councillors prioritized projects to move the growth of Bamenda III municipality. Roads, bridges and extension of water and electricity are earmarked for accomplishment in the development plans. The agenda was made public in a budgetary and administrative accounts session of the council.    Under the stewardship of Mayor Fongu Cletus, stakeholders of the councilconverged in a hall April 22. Present too were the First Deputy Mayor,- Joseph Koti Tita, the Second Deputy Mayor- Banye Margaret Baye Epse Ndzelent, the Senior Divisional Officer for Mezam- Mooh Simon Emil and the Fon of Nkwen-Azefor III among other dignitaries.  councillors adopted 622,000,000FCFA as the administrative account for the year 2020. It was after a thorough deliberation that councillors agreed to pursue the tarring of a two kilometre road to link PNEU junction and Farmer’s House Nkwen, const...
MENCHUM DIVISION PANTING FOR EDUCATIONAL SALVATION BY MILDRED NDUM WUNG KUM Menchum, one of seven divisions of the Northwest region has in no little way been spared by the prevailing Cameroon Anglophone crisis. With the crisis raging on for four years now,  a number of establishments in the division have shut down. The educationional sector keeps the area a little boosting but at the same time attracts empathy for reasons of teaching apathy. FRONT VIEW OF ADMINIDTRATIVE BLOCK GHS WUM  The Menchum Division, of the Northwest region is in  greivous desperation of education. The situation is worsened by the absence of teachers in schools against an impressive majority of school children in need of knowledge. It is the third week of the second term, 2019/2020 academic year, yet Government High School Wum with an enrollment of about 400 students has a teaching staff of less than 20. The statistics of school attendance in GBHS Wum taken on a day shows  ...
GROWING THREAT AWAKES SECURITY STAKES BY MILDRED NDUM WUNG KUM Cameroon's Northwest region is fortifying stakes in  security prior to growing threats within and out of the region. The recent kidnap of teachers in Bui Division of the region and the massacre of seven children in the neighbouring Southwest Region has put security stakeholders on increased guard. Jolted by these happenings, a security meeting took place at the region's headquarter - Bamenda chaired by Northwest Governor Adolph Lele Lafrique November 3rd 2020. The in camera meeting summoned   senior administrative and security officials of the region. No statement was made to the press after the meeting, however, before the official start of the meeting, Mr Lele Lafrique in a statement to the press once again appealed for civil - military collaboration which he intimated is crucial for stemming insecurity in the Northwest region. "We are appealing to the population to continue organising themselves in vigilant...