MNews237

By Martial Gnoukapasir A shed at the Nkwen market fully consumed by fire ' Petrol station di burn' - a female voice screamed  in pidgin-english from a distance and we hurriedly rushed out of the house to find out which of the fueling station had gone up flames, since we have three fueling stations around the area. A few metres away from my home we spotted fire but as we move closer to the ravaging flames and fumes, it became obvious that it wasn't any of the fueling station on fire but a portion of the make shift structures around the Bamenda Nkwen market that had gone up in flames. At the scene you will see owners of shops around the market struggling to rescue their belongings before the fire could cross to their shops. traders removing their goods to safety Some didn't even have the luxury to open their shops with keys as they break in like thieves in an effort to save their goods. In the next 15 mins the whole ' back market' area was crowded, while some wer

Martial Gnoukapasir Mayor Fongu Cletus of Bamenda III council This reflection has been motivated by the fact that away from the city mayor who showed up together with the governor on day one, marking the launching of the festival, this reporter whose sights are still very much healthy couldn't set eyes on colleagues of the host mayor, especially his immediate collaborators who manage the Bamenda city council area with him. Well, maybe they forwarded their supports in kind or cash but as at this time, this reporter cannot confirm if such was the case. If they did present an excuse or sent representatives, or maybe supported the initiative one way or the other, then an apology from this writer will be in marching order. Governor Lele l'afrique who pilots the affairs of the North West region has never in any outing fail to seek concerted efforts from his immediate collaborators when it comes to clamouring for peace in the embattled North West. He did same when he showed up at the

Martial Gnoukapasir Photo credit- Baka Derick HRM SF Azefor on his throne at festival ground "... there's deep meaning in coining this event the Festival Heritage of Arts and Culture. We are by this theme invited to revisit our roots and discover the treasure that is in our culture, a treasure that has been abused, ignored and misunderstood at so many levels .." the fon said. " A people without a knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like trees without roots"- the Fon quoted Marcus Gavey whose revolutionary works led to the liberation of slaves during slavery era Thrilled by the fact that this was the first ever festival organized by an institution and not the palace, he urged the natives and youths in particular to celebrate and cherish their heritage for " it is the foundation upon which we seek to build a peaceful and prosperous community" HRM Azefor delivering his address The Nkwen village is made up of 6 clans with a total of 62

Martial Gnoukapasir local liquor being served at FEHACU 2021 On this first day of the Bamenda III Festival Heritage of Arts and Cultures organized by the Bamenda III council under mayor Fongu Cletus, it's not just the  display by cultural groups that captures ones attention.  Mêlu'u ma Fu` which translates to local liquor or "white mimbo" as it's commonly called in grassfield culture is being served to visitors. It's not just about the drink being served from the traditional Calabash that wets ones appetite but the manner and conversation that accompanies the pouring as well.  A good number of visitors confessed at the end of day one that it's the drink that kept them company throughout the activities marking day one of the festival

Martial Gnoukapasir Lefe John from Bamessing The maiden edition of the Bamenda III Festival Heritage of Arts and Cultures (FEHACU) isn't just celebrating the cultural values of the Nkwen people. Tribesmen and women from neighboring villages are also using the platform to showcase what makes them stand out culturally. At the event ground, MNews237 met Lefe John- a famous weaver who hails from Bamessing, a village in Ndop in Ngoketungia division of the North West region. He came with his handmade weaving machine which he uses to produce widely known traditional bags and caps out of fibre with inscriptions on them. He told us " I've been plaiting fibre bags and caps for over 10 years and saw this festival as an opportunity to showcase what is originally from my place and sell my produce". The fibre bags and caps he produces carries weaved inscriptions like " Greetings from Bamenda" " Glory to God " etc. " I use to make alot of money exporti

Martial Gnoukapasir The Nluite dance group at FEHACU 2021 The maiden edition of the Bamenda III festival Heritage of Arts and Cultures - FEHACU 2021 is finally here and amongst the dance groups that have showed up to grace the launching with their sounds and rythm is the 'Nluite'dance group from Nchang quarter in menda. Extremely happy with the event which provides a platform for them to showcase the rich cultural dance steps and styles of the Nkwen fondom to the rest of the world, the group's president Ngongem Emmanuel traced it's roots, objectives achievements and the types of events that takes them out. " This group was founded by Pa Nta Nchang of blessed memory to help celebrate the value of the Nkwen people, and it is in honour of his name that we have kept it alive till date" he said "We  go out during special occasions like weddings, marriage solemnization. We also go when there's a funeral as we try to be part of the cleansing process, resto

Martial Gnoukapasir Statistics as at day 7 of campaign in all 20 districts in the NW According to statistics released by experts actively involved in the 3rd round of the national campaign to intensify vaccination against the Covid-19 pandemic, Benakuma, Ndop and Wum health districts are those clearly leading the vaccination exercise in the North West region of the country. As at November 22nd 2021, the campaign, launched November 17th had seen some 3,557 persons vaccinated in Wum, 3,336 in Ndop and 1,896 in Benakuma. These health areas are said to have reached the number of persons targeted to be vaccinated by the 3rd round of the campaign according to the published data.  Fresh targets were however set when public  health minister Manaouda Malachi in a communique he signed November 22nd, extended the vaccination deadline from the 23rd to the 28th of the same month. Communique extending Covid-19 campaign deadline Other health areas that have made laudable strides in the vaccination ex

Youths Clean event compound Thousands of youths from across Bamenda III municipality have cleaned the Nkwen Fon's Palace which shall be the venue of the maiden edition of the Bamenda III Festival of Heritage Arts and Cultures (FEHACU) 2021. The youths turned out within the early hours of  November 22, 2022 to keep their palace clean.  According to George Ngu, Youth leader from Mbessi just coming to clean the palace is already an uncommon achievement for the maiden edition of the Bamenda III Festival of Heritage Arts and Cultures. " I am so happy that this event is coming to our village. We have come out as  youths to work and clean our palace because this is where the event will be. We want to make sure that those who will be coming will meet a venue deserving of the Bamenda III people. I thank the Mayor and Our Fon for thinking about this ." He said. His Majesty Fon Azehfor III of Nkwen has expressed satisfaction with the turn out of all his quarters and has indicated th

  Beauty pageant contestant Tita Princess One of the contestants of the Bamenda III Festival of Heritage Arts and Cultures (FEHACU) beauty pageant has offered brooms to youths who turnout for the cleaning of Nkwen Fon's Palace being the venue of the maiden edition of the festival. Tita Princess Wanki 19yrs Studying Business Manaagent at the University of Bamenda stormed the palace in the morning of 22 November 2021 with bundles of brooms for those who came to clean the palace.  While distributing the brooms, Princess said she was motivated by the need to keep the festival venue clean so that visitors will be comfortable while at the Nkwen Fon's Palace. According to Princes Tita, this can contribute to making her winner of the Miss FEHACU contest.  Cleaning ongoing ahead of FEHACU 2021 The other four contestants include Asah Nadia Sirri 20yrs and holder of the Advanced Level Certificate, Fuh Nadege Bih 17years studying Accounting and Finance, Ijang Julienne 25yrs involved in Han

News Commentary Martial Gnoukapasir Peter and Paul Okoye Growing up, stories were told about Christmas being a time for reflection and reconciliation. We weren't just told these stories, we believed and with some of us practicing reconcilation at a very tender age, especially when it was stressed upon that the term has biblical backing. We even chant the hymn of reconcilation everytime christmas was around the corner. The purpose of this writer linking reconciliation to youth is merely to stressed the importance of reconcilation in every conflict situation and it's impact on our very existence. Once there's reconcilation there's appeasement. People are happy once a conflict is ending and when reconcilation sets in. A perfect example is the recent P-square case. Internet stuffers, especially music lovers have taken to their different social media space to celebrate the reuniting of the P-square brothers - Peter and Paul, in a similar way they did the case of America and

Algerian squad dressing on the pitch A video is circulating on social media showing Burkina Faso players changing on the field at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Algeria ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier, raising concerns over the condition of the facility to host international games. Reports are that Burkina Faso players refused to use the dressing rooms before their final training session because of the dismal state of the facilities. There has also been complaints about the state of the pitch, a power cut during the session as well as the dilapidated dressing rooms. Ironically, Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi recently gave his full backing to a recent decision by the Confederation of African Football (Caf) to issue stadium bans for various countries. The reigning African champions played Burkina Faso in the Moroccan city Marrakech and not the Stallions' home stadium in Ouagadougou. This came after Caf, under new president Patrice Motsepe, ruled that Burkina Faso was one of eig

By Martial Gnoukapasir L-R Dr Takang, Prof Robert Leke and Dr Pisoh The role traditional healers can play in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity in Cameroon has been detailed to herbalists practicing in the North West part of the country. This follows a one day workshop organized by the Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Cameroon - SOGOC, under the first phase of the Advocacy for comprehensive Abortion Care project - ACAC. During the workshop chaired by Prof emeritus Robert Leke-president of SOGOC, unsanctioned and unsafe abortion was identified as one of the major drivers of maternal mortality with most of the practice conducted by traditional doctor's under unhygienic and very uncertain conditions. The traditional healers were reminded that Abortion which can only be conducted by well trained medical personnels within certain prescriptions of the law has always been a matter of life and death, and must steer clear of it. Dr Isidore of Isidore's Modern Herbal