CFDP Organizes Super Cup Finale in Bamenda

Anne-Marie Ateh, UB student on Internship

Just about in its 5th year of existence, the Cameroon Football Development Program has proven that it is a force to reckon with as far as youth training in the different domains of live are concerned.  Based in Kumba, the CFDP has as mission to improve the lives of youth of Africa through an innovative approach to sports for development.

On Friday the 7^th of August 2015, hundred of youths from across the North West and South west regions gathered at the Nkwen Baptist Church Field at Menda Mille III to play the finale of the their super cup which commenced some months back.

Speaking at the finale, Mr. Dione Collins, the director of operations for CFDP Said the event was just a beginning of more events to come. He reiterated the fact that their mission was not to train football players as such but to train young people on youth leadership and patriotism. According to him, football which is a rallying factor could easily be used to inculcate in the youths the culture of respect, fair play and leadership skill. He further thanked volunteers and other stakeholders in the program for their sense of sacrifice and dedication in assuring that the project was a success.

His allocutions were closely followed by that of the Chief Executive Officer of the Program, Justin Forzano who clearly outlined the core values of CFDP. Some of the values include the training of youths of both sexes to able to impact the lives of other youths, be able to educate yourself about social impact goals, be a role model, be able to exhibit the spirit of fair play in all undertakings and to be able to serve as community leaders in their various communities.

    It is worth noting that the CFDP deals with youths from 12 to 18 years of both sexes to ensure gender balance. The girl child in particular must be trained and given skills so she could also serve and get involved in productive program that can better her community. The stereotype role given the women in most African communities must not be allowed to kill the talents in young girls. 

Some of the teams that took place in the finals came as far as from Ndu in Donga Mantung Division, Mamfe Kumba and Ndom in the South West Region. Apart from transporting, lodging and feeding these youths in Bamenda, a workshop was also organized to impact on them greater skill on leadership and live changing core values.

Tension Mount in Bamenda as Tubah Vs Bda III Crisis Depens

Benjamin Ngah in Tubah

       The crisis over who owns the old premises of the former South Eastern Federation Council of the Bamenda province which was made up of Bui, Ngoketunjia, the villages of Nkwen and Mendankwe, Bafut and the present Tubah has taken a new dimension. The dispute which has been raging on for some months now between the Bamenda III Council and Tubah Council seems not to be abating with the authorities of Mezam doing little or nothing to abate the impending disaster. While Bamenda III is claiming a share of the premises located in Tubah on a piece of land owned by Nkwen, Tubah says the premises remains the undisputable property of the Tubah Council and that there is no law in Cameroon forbidding a council from having property out of its municipality.  

       Speaking at a press Briefing yesterday at the Tubah Ciuncil Hall, the Mayor of Tubah, Tanjong Martin described the invasion of the Premises in dispute in “Tubah” by the Bamenda III councilors as vicious and out of ignorance. According to him, the Tubah Councilors reserve the right for any action, respects the laws of the land, conversant and should not be taken as chickens.  He advised the Bamenda III Council to seek for their share from the defunt Bamenda Urban Council. He reminded Bamenda III that before the separation, the Tubah Council had invested not only in Tubah but in all other villages or areas that constituted the Tubah council. The present Tubah Council has never demanded for those investments to be shared.  The Mayor of Tubah therefore warned Bamenda III to “leave Tubah alone.”

       It was also during this press briefing that the mayor dished out some security measure that would be put in place in Tubah in the days ahead to avoid an attack by the Boko Haram Sect. according to him, Tubah is a sensitive municipality since it hosts the University of Bamenda and an attraction to thousands of people from across the country. Some of these measures to wade off the terrorist sect include; a ban on hawking, identification of all bike riders, identification of tenants by landlords and the loading and unloading of vehicles in identified parks only.

       He instructed the population of Tubah to report all suspicious persons around their vicinity who behave strangely, carrying suspicious bags, or seem to be studying the environment.

       Commenting on the indiscriminate construction of houses without authorization and proper structural control, the mayor said the council will no longer tolerate the any disorder in the sector. He called on landlords and estate developers to strictly respect building regulations in order to avoid any ugly incident like the one that happened some few weeks back in Bambui where a building under construction sunk.

 Bda City Council: Grand Councilors Decry 3-5 Years Cautio

Bamenda Denizens Overwhelmed By Hungry, Thirsty Mad People

TEKOUH MAFOR NELISA, UB student on internship

The rate of mad or mentally deranged people have of recent been on the rise in Bamenda. Many of them who are either completely naked or half naked oscillate from one end of the street to the other in search of either food from the dust bin or a drink from an abandoned half empty bottle.

Most restaurant or bar owners know them and at times treat them with scorn. Although many of these bar or restaurant owners do not want to see them around their places because some of them are violent and scare away clients, the mentally sick persons force themselves due to hunger and thirst.

Some of them have become very intelligent and they rather clean places, park crates or beg from whomever in order to eat.  

Looking at them physically, one may not be able to tell the source of their madness. Some of their conditions have been attributed to various reasons. The first common causes of madness in this region have been attributed to the excessive use of drugs like marijuana, witchcraft and scamming.

Mr. Fru Emmanuel, a bar owner along the Bamenda Commercial Avenue says in as much as he wants to send these mad people away from his bar, he can’t do so for pity sake. According to him, “mad people are normal people who are just unfortunate because of one thing or the other. Some of them are victims of circumstances and I would like the government to build asylums for them. They should be treated fairly.”

Another local bar owner at travelers, Mr. Suh Eric says, “I am already tired of them. I just allow them do what they want. What do you expect them to do when their families have abandoned them. They need food, shelter and even clothing like you and me. I just hope somebody somewhere is listening and can effectively do something.

Fon Ritualizes Village against Boko Haram

Benjamin Ngah

          The SDO for Bui Division in the North West Region, Nseke Theophile  has hailed the Fon of Nkar for the strategy he has adopted “to blow away” Boko Haram from infiltrating not only into his Fondom but other parts of Bui Division as a whole.

          He was speaking in Nkar on Sunday the 25^th of July, 2015 during a twin occasion organized by the Fon of Nkar, Moloo II to present an award he received in honor of some widows and orphans in and around the Nkar, and also to present to the SDO some heavy technical equipment for a cottage industry to be implanted in Nkar. The equipment calculated to the tune of hundreds of millions FCFA is the fruits of cooperation between an NGO in the palace and one in the USA under the coordination of Shufai Ntumdzef aka “Shufai America.”

          During the occasion, the SDO told the teeming crowd that by invoking the gods of the village against Boko Haram in what is known as “Shireeh,” the Fon of Nkar has set an example worth emulating by other Fons around Bui Division.

          “shireeh” is once in a life time traditional ritual performed around all cross roads in the village to wade off all evil that threaten the live of the people. It is performed in the night and is often initiated by the Fon himself.  

           While promising to convene a security meeting whereby he would ask other Fons to emulate the example, the SDO encouraged Fon moloo II to keep on with his good works and say “No” to Boko haram.

           The elated SDO also commended the Fon of Nkar for his dynamism, clairvoyance and love for humanity as demonstrated in his care and concern for the plight of widows and orphans. Drawing from his reservoir of Tikar proverbs, he told the widow not to relent in working hard and to avoid being dependents.

          It was Fon Moloo who told his subjects that Boko Haram was a plague and must be “blown out” of the village using wood ash as the custom demands.  The age old tradition is effective and any one who doubts and creates any links with Boko Haram was surely going to die before time, he declared. While imploring them to be one another’s keeper and to be united so that no evil would penetrate them, he called on the population to collaborate with the forces of law and order. To the widow and orphans, he told them that they were not alone. “If today I have received an award, it is because of you,” he told the widows and orphans.

          Speakers during the occasion dwelled on the need for the village to be united against Boko Haram and to work together to better the livelihood of widows and orphans. Many of them congratulated the Fon for dismantling those obnoxious traditional beliefs that were detrimental to widows and orphans.

Taliban's Mullah Omar is dead

CNN)[Breaking news update, posted at 12:12 p.m. ET]

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar died in April 2013 in Pakistan, a spokesperson for Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said Wednesday in a news release, citing "credible information."

"The government of Afghanistan believes that grounds for the Afghan peace talks are more paved now than before, and thus calls on all armed opposition groups to seize the opportunity and join the peace process," the statement reads.

[Original story, published at 11:53 a.m. ET]

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar died more than two years ago in a hospital in Pakistan of an unknown illness, a senior Afghan intelligence agency official told CNN on condition of anonymity Wednesday.

Separately, an adviser to the country's chief executive said Mullah Omar is believed to be dead.

"All odds and indications point to the fact that he has been dead for at least two years," said Omar Samad, senior adviser to Afghan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah.

The intelligence official described Mullah Omar as having happened 28 months ago in a hospital in Karachi, Pakistan.

Wednesday's comments came after the BBC and the Wall Street Journal reported earlier in the day that unnamed sources in Afghanistan were saying the reclusive Islamist militant leader was dead.

Omar's death has long been rumored, yet always dismissed by the Taliban. Twice in 2011, the Taliban denied speculation that he had been killed.

Earlier this year, the Taliban published a "biography" of the reclusive Afghan leader, saying he was still in charge. The piece appeared on a Taliban website. The goal of the biography, experts said, was to dispel rumors that he died, possibly years ago.

Mullah Omar still leads Taliban, biography published in April 2015 says

And just two weeks ago, the Taliban released a statement attributed to Omar, saying he backed peace talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

Mullah Omar purportedly backs Afghan peace talks in July 2015

Leaders of deadliest terrorist groups 7 photos

EXPAND GALLERY

Omar, once a rural Islamic cleric, created the Taliban -- the plural of the Pashto word for student -- in the 1990s in the wake of the Soviet Union's withdrawal from the country, aiming to impose Islamic law on Afghanistan and remove foreign influence from the country. The Taliban eventually swept across the nation.

With most of the country under Taliban control, he set himself the goal of transforming Afghanistan into the purest Islamic state in the world, declaring himself Amir-ul-Momineen, or head of the Muslims.

He was Afghanistan's de facto leader from 1996 until late 2001, when a U.S.-led coalition invaded and booted the Taliban from power for refusing to hand over Osama bin Laden after the 9/11 terror attacks.

That led to a Taliban insurgency that continues to this day, even as U.S. and other NATO troops are drawing down their numbers in Afghanistan.

The U.S. combat mission in Afghanistan ended last year, leaving the Afghan military to lead the fight against the Taliban. The thousands of NATO troops that remain in Afghanistan are there in a training and support role.

The U.S. government offered a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to Omar's capture.

HICM- UBa Explores Bafut Palace, Saddle Hills

 Both the teaching and administrative staff of one of the most revered schools at the University of Bamenda, the Higher Institute of Commerce and Management- HICM on Saturday 25^th of July, 2015 visited Bafut. The visit which ties squarely with the vision and beliefs of the director of the school, Prof. John Ebai Egbe took them to the Bafut Palace (one of UNESCO’s Cultural World Heritage Site), and to Saddle Hills Ranch (one of North West’s Hidden Treasures).

Although the visit was a respect of tradition by the school because they have in the past years been in other places in the country, it provided a unique opportunity for the administrative and teaching staff of the institution to exchange pleasantries, rub shoulders and feel as one. It was a moment of communion and frank exchanges to foster cohesion and the camaraderie within the school working milieu.

While at the Bafut palace, the visiting staff had the opportunity to visit the Paramount Fon of Bafut and received royal blessings. The exchanges with the Bafut Fon who is also a promoter of professional education were constructive, reassuring and fruitful. The also had the time to discover some of the marvels of the Fondom and to understand the day to day running of not only the palace but also the palace museum.

The Saddle Hill Ranch provided the inquisitive staff with the “come and see” scenery. Here the staffs were given a treat comparable to known. Coming from an institution of commerce and management, they were much more interested in the means of signing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enable their student do internship there in future.

Speaking to his staff at launch, the director congratulated them for their hard work. According to him, HICM was at the forefront at the university not because of magic but because of the collaboration of the staff. He pleaded with them to ensure that the serenity that reigns in the school should continue. “No human endeavor is perfect but I know you have been doing your best. I want you to understand that I am open and at anytime anyone with any problem can accost me. We will sort it out. We are all human being with one destiny. I believe in work and play reason why we are here. Next time we would be going to other places which are even better than this. Last time we were at Ndawara Tea Estate and today we are here. That is the spirit we should keep; the spirit of oneness and companionship.” He told his staff.

In response, the staff social president appreciated the easy going nature of their boss. He said there was no other better place to work than at HICM because of the total cooperation and solidarity exhibited by their boss in all spheres. Describing him as a father, he said Prof. John Ebai Egbe had a heeding ear, and always ready to resolve any problem as presented. This has made HICM to standout distinct as an award winning institutions at the university. While wishing for better more things to come in future, the staff social president promised that they were going to double their effort since there is always room for improvement and better performance. The outings though was to relax, have fun, exchange pleasantries and socialize, it would also help them create acquaintances and connections to be able to better orientate their students on the job market when they leave school.