*Insists unity is the way forward.
If Bakweri people, natives of Buea, were thought to have lagged behind in recent memory compared to their ancestors who had provided distinguished leadership, then the enthronement of Dr.R.E.M Endeley as the new Paramount Ruler of Buea has ushered in a new dawn of reawakening.
During his official presentation to the public at Buea Town Stadium, March 19, the 46-year-old Paramount Chief and son of late Dr. E.M.L. Endeley- a top politician and first premier of then British Southern Cameroons, made a clarion call for unity and leadership among his tribeโs people.
โIt’s a great honor and an opportunity for me to lay out my vision for a new dawn in Mokpe land. The outcome of this coronation should be our unity; unity amongst us as Cameroonians but more so, unity amongst us the Mokpes,โ he noted. โUnity is an intentional act to bring the best of each other together for a common purpose.โ
He recalled that โChief Kuva Likenye’s story of defiance and challenge to the German colonial endeavor was not because of his superiority in ammunition, but because of unity of the Bakweri during his reign.โ
The Buea Paramount Ruler, named Chief Endeley V, told Bakweri people that they have the historical responsibility to show the same unity now.
โWe can overcome our challenges with unity. We have the historical responsibility to show the same unity now, we can overcome our challenges with unity,โ he said
Chief Endeley V promised to revive a yearly Bakweri cultural festival in Fako Division.
โOne of the priorities of my reign is to see the return of our annual cultural festival called mbando.
โWe can bring back our mbando with unity. It is our sacred bond, our unity,โ he said emphatically, adding that it should be the one ritual ceremony that every child born of a Mokpe parent in any corner of the world looks up to.
He described the Bakweri as excellent people, who should always set high standards for themselves
The Paramount Ruler hoped that the re-launch of the cultural festival would be followed with the construction of a Bakweri Cultural Center, which should also house a museum and library.
This center, he said, โwill be an ideal place for us to put the statues of some Mokpe prominent cultural and political iconsโ such as King Kuva Likenye, or Mola Njie Tama Lihvanje, the founders of Buea and its dynasty.
โAll we need for this to happen is leadership. Nothing happens without leadership, nothing changes without leadership, nothing develops without leadership, nothing improves without leadership, and nothing is corrected without leadership,โ said the new king of Buea, citing his late father Dr. EML Endeley,who as one of the outstanding Bakweri and nationalist leaders had a clear vision for the Bakweri man. โIn 1952, he as a member of the CDC Board of Directors founded the Bakweri Cooperative Union of Farmers (BCUF) and concluded a market agreement with the CDC management. His vision was to empower the Bakweri and make them economically independent through the cultivation and export of Bananaโ
Chief Endeley V also cited Professor Dorothy Limunga la Njeuma who, he said, exemplifies excellency, notably in the public defense of Fako Lands against expropriation .
Addressing Fako Chiefs, the Paramount Ruler reiterated, โWe must be bold enough to call out when something is โฆwrong and intelligent enough to provide solutions that solve problems.โ
He urged them to go home โwith a new determination, a rebirth of our mission to the Mokpe tribe, and a rekindled spirit of protecting all that belongs to the Mokpes jealouslyโ
He warned that chieftaincy is not a race to become rich, but โan opportunity to serve your peopleโ
The new king made it clear that he holds โno anger against anyone who either opposed me or challenged me on my journey to this throne.โ
โI believe that if we have to reconcile as a family, reconcile as Mokpe men and women, then, that reconciliation and forgiveness of past wrongs has to begin from me as the custodian and spiritual leader of this tribe,โ he said.
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