NOWEFU on the Brink of Coolapse, Fon of Nkambe tipped as NOWEFU Next President

          The one time most venerated and acclaimed North West Fons Union (NOWEFU) has now become a caricature of itself because of poor management and the constitutional crises rocking the union for some weeks now.. While the present executive lead by Senator Fon Teche Njie is in disarray and dysfunctional the Fons of Donga Mantung and Boyo Divisions are girding up their loins for a showdown to have their turn at the helm of the union. This is because reports from some media houses went wild last insinuating that the “Kaduna Maffia” lead by the incumbent has already been to Donga Mantung with a heavy purse to persuade the gullible Fons of that area to forfeit their turn to lead NOWEFU which would permit him to extend his mandate-a thing which met with stiff resistance and the mafia has now settle on the Fon of Nkambe as their candidate.

          Some few weeks back, the Fon of Babungo who is the Secretary General of the union had threatened to convene the elective general assemble on the 12^th of March 2015 if the president fails to do so. This threat, which finally was not carried out, created a lot of ill feelings within ranks of the supporters of the incumbent, claiming that such a move was borne of jealousy and an outright usurpation of power by the Secretary General. According to them, the incumbent was still in control and controls the greater number of Fons than the “faction” led by the Secretary General and as such cannot succeed in his ploy.

           Of recent, the incumbent has been under mocking attacks for prostituting with traditional titles and auctioning them to whoever cares to procure. His exco has been accused of forfeiting NOWEFU for politics. This, according to some observers, has led to inertia and the abandonment of the NOWEFU secretariat in Nkwen still crying for completion years after. In a meeting that held in the Mankon Fons palace some years back, Fon Teche was chastised over the sale of tiles and called upon to restore the lost glory of NOWEFU. The so called big five were asked to follow up and put in place some constitutional amendments to ensure smooth transition in NOWEFU leadership.

           As of Friday, March 13, 2015, the Guardian Post Newspaper reported that the governor of the North West Region had convened a meeting with the warring faction in his office to calm flaring tempers. Late in the evening that day, journalists were still confused as to whether the meeting held because there were no signs of any such meeting as they nosed around. Since telephone lines were also chaotic that day, it was virtually impossible to get to any of them for confirmation. It was until late in the night when it filtered that the governor of the region told Fon Teche and co. that NOWEFU was not a political party and as such should not be politicized for personal whims. It is said, he told them to respect the constitution of the union and not to toy with it. In this light, the incumbent is said to have announced elections into the NOWEFU executive in October.

          This is not the first time under the leadership of Fon Tech Njie that a governor has had to call for a meeting to make peace between warring traditional authorities of the region. Governor Abaka Ahamat did same to safe Senator Fon Teche Njie and the Union from humiliation.

          Meanwhile, some Fons of Donga Mantung Division this reporter spoke to on condition of anonymity expressed dissatisfaction as to the running of NOWEFU and the way things are unfolding. According to them, the leadership of NOWEFU must either go to Donga Mantung or Boyo this time around or the union is disbanded. They said all other divisions had had their turns and the turn of these two divisions cannot be sacrifice because of political intrigue or the “Kaduna Mafia.”

          As of now uncertainty reigns within NOWEFU as some Fons especially from Boyo and Donga Mantung are threatening to stay clear of NOWEFU if the rotary arrangement is not pursued to the end. There is already a lot of bickering as to which Fon of Donga Mantung in particular could be the possible NOWEFU president when the dust must have settled down. The Fon of Mbot, Binka and Nkambe are said to have already indicated their interest and the “Kaduna Mafia” has already set in and the union is in camps as of now.