By SAH TERENCE ANIMBOM
Meeting in Bamenda on Saturday September 28, 2019 as part of their national tour for peace and unity in Cameroon, the National Caravan of Peace and Living together made up of traditional rulers from all over the national territory met at Ayaba Hotel, Bamenda, to pray for peace in Cameroon.
Welcoming the fons to Mankon, the representative of the Fon of Mankon who was unavoidably absent said it was a moment for all the fons to seek the blessings of their forefathers and to ask for a return of peace in the country. He thus went on to call on the diviner that had been sent by the fon of Mankon, Fon Angwafor the III to perform the cleansing and blessing rite for peace in the North West and Cameroon.
Taking the floor, coordinator of the event in the North West, HRH Fon Ju Wilson, paramount Fon of Koshin-Wum and member of the coordinating unit of the national caravan for peace, acknowledged the difficult moments the country is living through which has led to children taking up arms against the state. He asked for a moment of silence for the children of the region and Cameroon who have lost their lives as a result of the crisis. He also stated firmly “it is time for traditional rulers to take concrete action, to rise up and say enough is enough. It is time for us to come out of the background and take front line positions in ensuring the return of peace in our country. We denounce bloodshed on our lands from both sides be it the military or armed fighters. We cannot be leaders without people to lead and without children. We miss you our children, come out of the bushes. The future is brighter, you are the future of tomorrow, come out and join us, we need you our dear children, we are feeling your absence, we your parents are pleading on you to come join us build a Cameroon for greater ambitions. A bird in hand is worth thousands in the bush”.
The national President of the Caravan of Peace HRM Chief Mbassi Prosper Besalla, the Paramount chief of Monatele in the Lekie Division of the Centre region told his colleague fons of the North West region “We have brought you a message of peace, to tell you that we as your colleagues feel your pain and to ask you not to feel abandoned for we are with you. We have come to tell our children in the bushes to come out because that long awaited dialogue has been announced by the head of state. We wish to plead on them to come to the table so that together, we can discuss and seek solutions to the problems we are facing. We also call on those that have been convened for the national dialogue to be serious and to take seriously all tasks and deliberations concerned with them and to follow up after that for immediate implementation of the resolutions so that we can together have peace in our country”. He also added his voice to the regional focal point Fon Ju Wilson to call on the children who have taken up arms against the state to drop them and come out, telling them no solution has ever been found through violence. “It is a bad road you have taken” he said.
He thanked Fon Teche, Fon Forbuzue II, and Fon Ju Wilson for their selfless efforts to see that the fons have a successful stay and rally in Bamenda
It is worth mentioning that the fons arrived Bamenda on Friday September 27 and had a brief working session with North West Governor before retiring to their hotel rooms for the peace march and rites on Saturday.