By Atia tilarious azohnwi
Mola Njoh Litumbe, rights activist, political leader and frontline advocate for the independence of Southern Cameroons died on Tuesday, May 26, 2020.
That “Southern Cameroonian” Njoh Litumbe died in Douala, a city in what he referred to as La Republique du Cameroun, may well be the beginning of the controversy.
At a time tributes were supposed to be pouring in, many are those who rather sought to open a debate on the age of the nonagenarian. While some announced, and authoritatively so, that he died at 101, others said 94 with a minority clinging to the truth – 93.
Indeed, Mola Njoh Litumbe was born in Buea on Friday, February 4, 1927. He died when he was 93 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, and 1 day old.
That said, Mola Njoh Litumbe died believing that the 1961 union between La Republique du Cameroun and Southern Cameroons is mere cohabitation or in his own words, “njomba marriage”.
Njoh Litumbe told whoever cared to listen that: “There is no documentary evidence at the United Nations Organization(UNO) as required, that Southern Cameroons and La Republique du Cameroun legally yoked together to become one country – Cameroon.” He likened the union between the two entities as mere cohabitation – what he humorously referred to as “njomba marriage”.
Should the man who preached separation, but died in Douala, be revered or reviled? The question of how to grapple with Mola Njoh’s controversial reputation existed throughout the nonagenarian’s lifetime.
Known as strong-willed, argumentative and historically combative in his day, Litumbe’s critics accuse him of having provided the literature on which the bloody pages of the history of the North West and South West Regions are being written since 2016 – some believers in Mola Njoh’s self-determination quest are now wielding arms in the hope to create a breakaway state christened Ambazonia.
His fans, on the other hand, cite him as a populist hero who challenged the political establishment and ushered in a new era of exploration and Southern Cameroon’s self-determination. Litumbe is considered so influential in the self-determination quest that established separatists seem to have taken his demise as though they were of his biological lineage — a fact that has inspired controversy as many across the political divide pour in their eulogies.
Mola Njoh Litumbe: the political being
Mola Njoh Litumbe was Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Alliance (LDA), a political party he started with Dr. Simon Munzu. The duo were long-time companions on the road of political activism – the Union for Change, the Tripartite Conference, the All Anglophone Conference – AAC I & II, and the Southern Cameroons National Council (SCNC).
Munzu says the theory of ‘njomba marriage’ propounded by Litumbe forced them to part ways – Munzu is an unrepentant advocate of a return to federalism.
“At the fork of the road in 2017, we went separate ways when he embraced separation and propounded the theory of ‘njomba marriage’, while I stuck to federation. The last time I saw him was at my mother’s funeral in Douala exactly seven months ago (26 October 2019). Mola will be sorely missed. May his literally gentle soul rest in perfect peace,” said Munzu.
On May 28, 2011, Mola Njoh Litumbe organised a press conference in Buea during which he presented his book, “Case of the Annexation of the UN British Administered Territory of Southern Cameroons.” The 48-page book, written in French and English, Litumbe said, is also a “Critical review of the Formation and Dissolution of the State of the Federal Republic of Cameroon”.
“Southern Cameroons has never got independence from Britain. We merely changed our slave master from Britain to la Republique du Cameroon,” Litumbe stressed. “We have just been annexed. This is crime against humanity because colonialism is abolished”.
Litumbe is thus blamed for stoking the flames of the ongoing conflict bedevilling Cameroon’s North West and South West Regions.
“This man set fire to the Amba Movement by giving us half-truths. When things got rough he fled and perched in a high tree of safety in London while our people died. You all refuse to hold him accountable for that. What are you afraid of?” said a concerned Cameroonian charged as eulogies raise Litumbe to saintly pedestal.
“The Bakweri folks do not like him because he did not initiate anything to bring opportunities to Fako land,” another alleged, claiming that Njoh Litumbe “was a Millionaire by American standard. Yet he did not bring running water for the Natives in his own village, Bokwango.”
“Most of his Peers had invited him to put money in charity projects but he refused. He dismissed me as a rude child. I am certain some of you feel that way about me,” someone who blames Litumbe for partly contributing to the Anglophone crisis said.
The exit of an Elephant man
Unlike many who saw Mola Njoh Litumbe from a political lens, there are a whole lot of others who saw him beyond a “njomba marriage” theorist.
Dr John Mokube, President of the Victoria Chapter of the Sasse Old Boys Association (SOBA) holds fond memories of the deceased. To him, Mola Njoh was a “great man with strong convictions, polished and elegant.”
Mola Mbako on behalf of the Mbako Family says their heart is heavy and the grief inconsolable. “He was a patriarch and a baobab of our country – Chartered Accountant and Co-Founder of Akintola Williams and sons, the biggest accountancy firm in West Africa.”
Mbako used his eulogy to trace Mola Njoh’s towering legacy. “He moved part of Akintola Williams and sons to Cameroon and remained at its head till his retirement. His legacy as an accountant is strewn by a huge number of colleagues he trained in Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.
“He was also a no-nonsense political leader, and founder of the LDP Party. He was a repository of the history, culture and customs of the Cameroon people, a veritable walking archive. He was number one political historian of the Southern Cameroon. His narration of the story of the Southern Cameroon was told with the slimmest of details, meticulous overturns and in the most simplistic manner to be understood by all, be they for or against him.”
“Quite a shrewd patriot but also stickler for details and the strong sense of justice,” Mola Mbako said of Mola Njoh. “He was the advocate of the down-trodden, raising hopes when all seemed lost. I had a lot of chats with the old elephant of Bokwango Membea, quite some disagreements I must say but a lot of respect too. My regrets are that he might have gone without putting his knowledge on paper. Although he promised me that the time will come I am not sure.”
Mola Njoh Litumbe was admitted into Sasse in 1939. But those familiar with the story say he did not show up till 1941 because of health challenges. “Any wonder why he focused on wellness all his life.” His peers say he was married to the prettiest woman ever, reason why he was not a “Playboy”?
A popular photo of Mola Njoh and his Sasse College peers has since been making rounds. Mola Njoh had so rightly captioned the photo in his own words: “The names of my classmates in the photograph, from left to right, are: John Nsoyenika Obanus Vega, who later became a Surveyor; Thomas Mbua Ndoko, who later became a Civil Administrator; Stephen Mokosso Ndeley, who later became Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly; Daniel Agbor Tiku, who later became an Agriculturist; My humble self, who later became a Chartered Accountant, but now a Politician; Godfrey Layu, who later became a Barrister-at-Law; Jacob Achidi Kisob who later became Cameroon’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom; Michael Njamfa, who later became an Agriculturist; Stephen Nyenti, who later became Chief Nyenti, a Traditional Ruler and Politician.”
At the time, Mola Njoh said his classmates had all ascended into Heaven, and “I am the only slow survivor, repeating a class because of unfinished homework which, when completed, I too will get promoted to Paradise!”
Mola Njoh Litumbe has indeed been promoted to paradise. Rev. Achowah Umenei says as a Christian, Mola Njoh is only asleep in Jesus to rise on the Resurrection Day when the trumpet shall sound. He says Mola Njoh left indelible marks on the sands of time as an icon, archives, and an encyclopaedia in tradition, religion and politics.