By Stephen Ojang
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| Governor Lele Lafrique reading the installation speech |
Menchum Division now has a new SDO. Abdoulahi Aliou took over command from Kamga Charles. The installation cum
handing over ceremony was presided at by the North West regional Governor, Mr.
LELE Lafrique Tchoffo Deben Adolphe.
One of the major administrative changes that took place in
the North West and South West regions after the holding of the Major National
Dialogue in Yaoundé from October 1st to the 5th 2019, ordered by the Head of
State to address the ongoing Anglophone Crisis and other issues of national
concern and which ended with a resolution to grant special statues to these two
regions was a presidential decree No. 2019/536 of 07 October 2019 appointing
S.D.Os across the national territory. From the appointments, Abdoulahi
Aliou, previously Divisional Officer (D.O) of Nkong-Ni was promoted to the rank
of Senior Divisional Officer for Menchum Division in replacement of Kamga
Charles, called to other duties.
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| Dighambong Anthony Mvo, Lord Mayor Wum Council |
During the installation ceremony that took place on the Wum
ceremonial grandstand on Wednesday October 16 2019, the Mayor of the
municipality, Dighambong Anthony Mvo told the outgoing prefect that his
constant words of encouragement to all in every seating will be
remembered and that his reassurances was a motivational factor to the
well-being of the population. We would continue to remember your approach of “ehemm, eheem” which gave us hope that
you were listening even if at the end, the answer was not favourable. We learnt from you that administrators being
human as they are can also say “I am
sorry”,when they at times cannotlive to the expectations oftheir
population. We acknowledge your tact, clairvoyance, ingenuity, savior fair,
wisdom, self-service, simplicity and fatherliness in handling the
socio-political unrest in the Division.
If calm and serenity is gradually and steadily returning to Wum and
Menchum Division, it is due to your astute and heroic qualities of a seasoned
Administrator. The people of Menchum Division have nothing to give you as you
move to your next assigned state duty, no gold nor silver but our beautiful
hearts and prayers you have, to cover you and your family now and always.
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| Kamga Charles, outgoing SDO for Menchum |
To the incoming, the Wum
Municipal Magistrate said “It is with great
anxiety, curiosity and hope of better days that I welcome Mr. ABDOULAHI ALIOU,
our 33rd Senior Divisional Officer, of course the age of Jesus
Christ. We are therefore optimistic that you are going to be Christ like
throughout your stay with us. I want to heartily congratulate your appointment
to this Division well known and described as the nursery for administrators
wishing to move up the Administrative Ladder.
Mr. Senior Divisional Officer, you are
coming at a moment when the Akus and the Hausas are pitted against the natives.
I want to congratulate and salute the collaboration of the elite both at home
and abroad who have done everything possible for peace to begin to return in
this land. The challenge of bringing back these communities to once again truly
love each other is going to be your first litmus test. This needs very urgent
attention not to degenerate to another deplorable situation. After all, the
intense farmer grazier conflict was partly solved by the Koumpa Isa Commission
report which is the most talked today during one of his working sessions in
Wum. He spoke in the dialect to reason most of the fulanis which yielded
results. After all, Roger Crawford quips “We
are the product of the choices we make, not the circumstances that we face”.
We are all here present as a testimony to accompany you succeeds in your
daunting task of Developing this Division.
The Mayor hopes that the Lord that appoints will continue to empower his
servants with wisdom to serve his people. He also gave him some
proposals, to cure the disease affecting the Menchum people, as he said; “to achieve these,
the panacea shall be nothing other than;
§ Create a cordial
and enabling relationship with the local population
§ Organize and
improve on skills to help people live together
§ Engage a serious
fight against insecurity, curb the rampant cases of robbery, consumption of
marijuana etc.
§ Provide solutions
to the protracted farmer-grazer conflict gradually escalating to an intertribal
war
§ Modeling your
supervisory role over councils not to be an arm or domination but rather to
accompany the mayors develop their various municipalities
§ Live with your
people, by your people and for your people to provide adequate solutions to the
socio-political unrest plaguing the North west and South West Regions.
This is my humble advice to you, for a talent is cheaper
than table salt, and charisma without character is equal to an everlasting “Had I known”.
The Mayor of Wum Council ended with an optimistic thought “Today therefore, I assure you, our future
is brighter than everything they have said or done to us”
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| Abdoulahi Aliou, newly installed SDO for Menchum |
The regional governor in his speech during the official
handing over of command between Kamga Charles and Abdoulahi Aliou began by
thanking all attendees for braving the odds to be at the event ground. After
listening to the worries expressed by the mayor on behalf of the population, the
governor told him "You know as well as I know that when normalcy
returns, all these concerns will receive attention from the
government." He then proceeded to address the two SDOs, the population
and traditional leaders that are auxiliaries of the administration. In
appreciating his stewardship within his term of office as he handled the
administration and crisis in his division with tact and commitment to
fatherland, the governor through a quotation from Martin Luther, told Kamga
Charles "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in
moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenges
and controversy." "We of the North West wish you God's
guidance and protection as you take up service in the Centre after five years
in the region." he added
In outlining the functions of the incoming civil
administrator, the governor told the new Senior Divisional Officer (S.D.O) that
his role shall be to ensure maintenance and enforcement of law and
order, ensure general coordination and control of administrative action
in the division, facilitate the return of all displaced persons to their places
of origin within the division, coordinate and supervise distribution of aid to
affected persons, monitor and supervise international organisations and local
partners helping I.D.Ps and the affected population in the division,
ensure schools resume, fighters drop their arms and bring the current crisis to
a final end in Menchum. "Though new here, you should know the
milieu very well." Lele told Abdoulahi. "I'm confident that you
are up to the task and will be up to the expectations of the people." he
added. As last piece of advice to the new servant, governor Adolph Lele
told him point blank "Your success here will depend on the
collaboration and support you receive from the population, elites and local
leaders"
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| cross section of the population |
The governor's message to the population, elites,
politicians and traditional leaders of the division did not miss its target because one of the
concerned answered the call of the head of state last September 10th 2019.
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| ex-fighter beggin for forviveness |
The event was given the grandeur it deserves as the regional boss used the occasion, to drive home the following message. "Dear parents, please
talk to your children, the future of this nation, that they should come
back like the prodigal son to join the family for the father is ready to give
them new opportunities and involve them in nation building. There is no home,
family, society without problems but we all have individual and collective
responsibilities to solve our problems. Therefore, give your full and
unflinching support to your new SDO so that Menchum Division regains its
glorious days" These were the concluding words of Adolph Lele Lafrique
as he ended his installation speech.
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| Governor welcoming home the ex-fighter |
Menchum Divion's new Senior Divisional Officer, was born on the twenty-eighth
of September nineteen seventy-four (28/09/1974) in KONTCHA. He did his primary
and secondary education in Government School KONTCHA and Government High school
TIGNÈRE from where he respectively obtained his C.E.P.E., B.E.P.C., Probatoire
and Bac-A4-Allemand.
After obtaining his Baccalauréat Certificate, he
embraced higher Education and from nineteen ninety-five (1995) to the
year two thousand (2000), he studied in the University of NGOUNDERE and obtained
a licence and maitrise in political history.
A year later, he succeeded in the competitive entrance
examination into the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM) and
graduated in two thousand and three
(2003) with an ENAM diploma in General Administration.
He has since then served in the following capacities:
- From June
two thousand and three (2003) to May two thousand and five (2005), he
served as a support staff at the Ministries of Public Service and
Administrative Reform and the then Ministry of the Economy and Finance;
- From May
two thousand and five (2005) to December two thousand and six
(2006), he was Assistant Research Officer No 1 at the former Directorate of
Salaries at the Ministry of Finance.
- From December
two thousand and six (2006) to January two thousand and eleven
(2011), he was the Legal and Financial Affairs Adviser at the West Governor’s
Office in BAFOUSSAM.
- From January
two thousand and eleven (2011) to September twenty seventeen (2017),
he was Divisional Officer for KAELE Sub-division.
- Until
his last appointment to the helm of MENCHUM Division, he was Divisional Officer
for NKONG-NI Sub-division in the MENOUA Division since September twenty seventeen
(2017).
He is a Senior Administrative Officer, married and a
father of ten (10) children.
Menchum Division was created in 1948 under
the Native authority. This Division and her hospitable and legendary people
cover a total surface area of 4489km2, with a population of about
251,998 inhabitants. The Division that gave birth to the present Boyo Division
is made up of four Sub Divisions, namely; Furu-Awa, Fungom, Menchum Valley and
Wum that doubles as the Divisional Headquarters. It is a border Division
sharing a very long border with the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Division
is endowed with huge natural, touristic and human resources which if well
harnessed and exploited, would make it Cameroon in miniature. Some of these are, the rich volcanic and
luminous soils, favourable climate, forestry, our famous Menchum fall and KastinaAlah
which can be used to export electrical energy. The Division is rich in flora
and fauna, blessed with five creater lakes, amongst which is the famous Lake
Nyos. You would not afford to miss the Bu rice as well as the Esimbi Oil.
