THE HUMAN FACE OF CAMEROON`S OPPOSITION LEADER

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD

When the last presidential election in Cameroon took place in 2011,
over ten opposition candidates stood against the Incumbent Paul Biya.
The latter won. However, of all the country`s opposition leaders, it
is worth noting that one has consistently been in the lead and stood
the test of time since the reintroduction of multi-party politics in
the country twenty five years ago. For that reason, he has become a
household name in Cameroon. He is called Ni John Fru Ndi. In this
analysis, I look at the human face behind the politician.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING

It is a fact that Cameroon`s modern political history cannot be
accurately written without mention of the the man Ni John Fru Nd, who
is National Chairman of the Social Democratic Front (SDF). In fact,
ever since he forcefully launched the SDF 25 years ago at a time when
the one-party state was the order of the day in Cameroon and the
ruling CPDM party led by President Paul Biya was the only cock that
could crow, so to speak, party politics in Cameroon has not been the
same. I therefore feel that for the record, it is worth examining the
history of the man from a view point that is not normally always a
preoccupation to political analysts.

THE HANDLING OF A HOT POTATO

Although it can be argued that if Paul Biya did not pave the way for a
return to multi-party politics in Cameroon in the first place by
taking steps to allow freedom of expression including the creation of
other political parties, Fru Ndi would never have been able to launch
his party, the SDF Chairman must nevertheless be given credit for
taking the bull by the horns and leading the launching of the party,
at a time when talk of a party other than the CPDM was taboo. When he
accepted to lead, many of those who stood with him were unwilling to
"bell the cat". Some saw him as simply a facilitator who would create
the party and then step aside for them to lead it. But as things
turned out, more than twenty years after, Fru Ndi is still the leader.
It has therefore even become difficult to talk about the party without
talking about him.

A PRIVATE MAN

Because of his long stay in office, it is difficult to now think about
Fru Ndi without linking him to his political party. Yet, before he
became the politician he is today, Fru Ndi was a private man, and even
after having become a politician, he still has a private life. It is
that aspect of his that I seek to bring out in this article. I am
doing so from a personal angle. I am talking about Fru Ndi as I have
known him personally.

THE UMBILICAL CORD

John Fru Ndi and I both come from the Baforchu family of Cameroon. The
family is a group that initially migrated from Widikum and settled in
Mezam Division of Cameroon's North West Region. The Baforchu family is
made up of a number of villages (gazetted by the state of Cameroon)
among which are Mbu, Santa Mbei, Baba II (in Santa Sub Division),
Baforkum (in Tubah Sub Division), Banjah (in Bamenda III Sub
Division), Bassamba (in Nde Division of the West Region), and part of
Ngyen Mbo in Mbengwi Sub Division of Momo. I am of Mbu parentage, born
and bred in Baforkum, while Fru Ndi is from Baba II but has spent a
huge chunk of his life in Mankon Town.

FIRST CONTACTS

I first knew Fru Ndi when he ran one of the most influential bookshops
in Cameroon, at the Commercial Avenue in Bamenda, known as Ebibi Book
Center. Although he was not the only bookshop owner in town at the
time, he was the foremost one, especially among Cameroonians
booksellers. He did not only sell books in the bookshop but also
distributed them in schools. I cannot now remember whether he was the
distributor to Sacred Heart College in Bamenda when I was a student
there. However, I do recall that he supplied to CCAST Bambili in my
student days there. I remember that I was a member of an informal
group of students in CCAST who loved Fru Ndi`s English so much that
whenever we saw him drive into the school compound, we would hurry to
the administrative building just to hear him speak English. His choice
of words and articulation were attractive and pleasurable.

COUNTRY REPRESENTATIVE IN CAMEROON

Years later, when I was working as a journalist at Africa magazine in
London, the authorities of the publication decided to appoint a
representative in Cameroon. I proposed Fru Ndi, Managing Director of
Ebibi Bookshop. When he came to London for interview, I was the one
who took him to the Chairman and Publisher of the magazine, Raph
Uwechue, who then called in the Marketing Manager and the Accountant,
Tarun Shah. It was a fruitful meeting.

RED CARPET TREATMENT

In the year the SDF was created – but months before it happened, I
traveled to Cameroon and while in Bamenda, I visited Fru Ndi at the
bookshop. I was surprised that the first thing he did was to hand me
his office telephone and ask me to freely call my family back in
London, greet them and tell them I had arrived safely in Cameroon. I
was humbled by this gesture, considering the cost involved in making
calls abroad, especially at that time. But I accepted the offer, after
which I thanked him heartily. He told me about the plans to form a new
party. After I asked him a few questions, I was not satisfied and so
did not offer to be part of it. He did not take offence. To this day,
I have not joined his party, yet that has not in any way adversely
affected our relationship.

DANCING WITH FRU NDI`S WIFE

Before I left his office, he informed me that they businessmen in
Bamenda were having a monthly njangi that evening at Ideal Park Hotel,
which was owned by the businessman Patrick Vugah Boyo, popularly known
as "P.V. Boyo". He asked me whether I would like to come along. Before
I could answer, he said: "Do come along! Be my guest!" So that evening
I was with the cream of Bamenda`s businessmen at Ideal Park. I
realized that it was actually a get-together of everyone who was
anyone in Bamenda. As it turned out, during the socializing part of
the evening, Fru Ndi was the Master of Ceremonies. When he announced
those to open the floor, I was further honoured in that he paired me
to dance with his lovely wife, Rose, today sadly of blessed memory.

WHO WAS ROSE FRU NDI?

Firstly, she and I were age-mates, having been born in the same year.
She used to call me, "Akamantso", an expression in Ngemba which means
"strong man". I have always had a special relationship with Fru Ndi
but his wife Rose, was simply a sister to me. In fact, I considered
her my twin sister and whenever I visited them at home, she gave me
first class treatment. Rose indirectly helped to solidify my
relationship with her husband because years later when she was in
Britain and I was in Cameroon and ran out of money, Fru Ndi willingly
gave me money which I later refunded to her back in Britain. For the
record, Rose was born in the Yango family of Santa Mbei (one of the
Baforchu family clusters) in Santa Sub Division. Her elder brother,
Francis Yango was a high profile Anglophone civil servant working in
Yaounde, capital of Cameroon, in the heydays of Cameroon`s first and
late president, Ahmadou Ahidjo.

AN IDEAL COUPLE

The Fru Ndi-Rose couple must have been one not just made by God but
one ordained by him in his bedroom because, speaking now as someone
who has studied astrology, I can affirm without fear of contradiction
that the two were highly compatible with each other. John is a
Cancerian (a Water Sign), and Rose was a Scorpio (another Water Sign).
The twelve signs of the Zodiac are divided into four groups, each of
which is governed by one of the four Natural Elements: Water, Earth,
Air and Fire. So, each Element relates to three of the twelve signs.
The third Water Sign that goes with Cancer and Scorpio is Pisces. A
rule-of-thumb in astrology states that when two people come from any
two of the three signs of one Element but not from the same sign,
their degree of compatibility is as high as 85 per cent from the day
they meet each other. When two people come from the same sign, the
compatibility drops to 50 per cent because they are too similar:
familiarity breeds contempt. There are times when they will be very
happy with each other but also times when they cannot stand each
other. There is always the undeclared battle for supremacy, with each
person wanting to be boss over the other. But in the case of John and
Rose, theirs was the kind that was bound to be so good it could be
said to be paradise on earth. That is the highest degree from which
any couple can start a relationship. That being the case, the
relationship between John and Rose was so intense that they could
communicate with each other without using words. They could also
easily read each other`s mind and know what the other person was
thinking and even go further and solve a problem before it surfaced.
Between them, there was an absolute and perfect union of hearts and
minds.

THE EARLY DEPARTURE OF ROSE

When Rose died, I contacted her husband and sympathized with her. I
also wrote some eulogy that was included in the funeral booklet. I did
not – as you would imagine – fail to mention that "Ma Rose" (that`s
how I called her) and I were age mates. When I arrived in Baba II
during the funeral, I found Fru Ndi in the yard where festivities were
taking place. There was the gun firing that usually characterizes
funeral ceremonies in the North West Region. He held a gun and was
standing with some of his children. When I approached him and we
heartily exchanged greetings, he said to me: "I am teaching my
children how to fire a gun!" I felt that was as it should be because
gun firing is part and parcel of our culture. But for Ma Rose, I felt
nature had been unkind to her. She had left too soon, after so many
years of going through thick and thin with the husband, as he faced
the ups and downs of daring to create the lone opposition party in a
country like Cameroon.

THE ANECDOTE FROM THE VETERAN ALBERT CHO NGAFOR

A.C. Ngafor as he liked to call himself was another baron of the
Baforchu family and a bigwig not only in Bamenda but in the North West
Province. He once recounted an interesting story about the SDF
Chairman, John Fru Ndi. He was a contractor and the proprietor of one
of the largest private colleges in the region. Unfortunately, he
passed away some years ago. In his life time, he recounted to me an
interesting encounter he had with the SDF Chairman. He said when the
Chairman`s father died and he Mr. Ngafor arrived at the compound, the
Chairman was at the graveside with other people, spade in hand. The
Chairman said to him as he stretched his hand to greet: "I am sorry
Mr. Director (that was his pet name for Mr. Ngafor); my hands are
soiled!". He Pa Ngafor replied, while taking the spade from him to
continue filling the grave: "I am sorry, Mr. Chairman, my own hands
are about to be soiled!"

FRU NDI AND THE STRIKE HE HALTED

Some three years ago or so, students of the National Polytechnic in
Mile 6 Nkwen took to the street at the entrance to their institution
and...


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--
TIKUM MBAH AZONGA

Doctorat/PhD (Communication de Masse), Mastaire ès Lettres
Spécialisation Journalisme, Postgraduate Diploma in French, Diplôme
de Traducteur-Interprète, Diplôme de Professeur de Français Langue
Etrangère, Certificado de Profesor de la Lengua Española, Cambridge
Certificate of Proficiency in English.

DEPARTMENT OF MASS COMMUNICATION
School of Arts, Education and Humanities
Saint Monica University
(The American International University)
Buea
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ASSOCIATE EDITOR
African Journal of Social Sciences
Faculty of Management and Social Sciences
University of Buea
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de Guinée - Douala]
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