The Mayor of Noni Council in Bui Division, Northwest Region, Francis Wache, has advised Noni sons and daughters living outside the municipality to return home, if they can’t realise what they set out to achieve.

Francis Wache was addressing members of the Noni community in Douala on October 18, during his maiden visit as Mayor. The visit was part of a nationwide tour which he commenced two weeks earlier in Kumbo, to meet his kith and kin living out of the village.

Addressing the Noni community and guests at the heavily attended and highly colourful occasion at the LECUDO Hall in Bonaberi, Douala, in the Noni language, English and French, Mayor Wache stated that when sons of Noni Land leave home for townships, the general understanding is that they have gone to hunt for ‘elephants’ to bring back home. However, he asserted that, in life, not all those who leave their villages to hunt for ‘elephants’ do succeed. He said one may go hunting and ends up catching only a ‘rat-mole’.

He said any son of Noni in the Diaspora that has only a ‘rat-mole’ in his bag, should be brave like a man and return home.

“Don’t allow yourself to be overcome by frustration and depression. Come back home, come back to Noni. We will be there to welcome you. That is where your navel or that of your father was buried. It is your home.” Wache intimated.

He urged Noni sons to return home when they are still alive, or when they still have some energy to contribute their own quota to the development of Noni Land. He said they should not remain in town, only to return home as ‘vegetables’ or corpses.

Expressing admiration for Douala as the country’s economic capital, he said it is a place where many people that leave their villages to hunt for ‘elephants’, come to.

He observed, with joy, that there are many sons and daughters of Noni who are based in Douala and are engaged in different economic activities. He cautioned them that there are not only good things in Douala, but bad things as well.

“Avoid the danger of falling to demonic forces in Douala,” he advised.

Equal Development

Though a fervent SDF militant at the head of an SDF-run Noni Council, Wache told the Noni community that he was visiting them as the Mayor, not as political elite.

He explained that the main objective of the nationwide tour is for him to meet with sons and daughters of Noni, for them to jointly discuss about the development of their locality. He asked them to bluntly and frankly tell him what they do not like back in Noni, and propose possible solutions and the way forward.

He said when he was elected Mayor in October 2013; he swore to his late parents that the five-year mandate will be an opportunity for him to render selfless service to his people of Noni. He said, though there are a number of villages in Noni Land, and he happens to come from Nkor; “Noni is one” adding that “I am Noni by birth and by heart”.

He said his record in the two years as Mayor is there for everyone to see, stating that all the villages in Noni have had their fair share of development projects in the last two years. He announced a number of projects that are in the pipeline, among which is the construction of markets in three villages.

He vowed that as long as he is Mayor of Noni, “I will do everything to ensure that what is meant for each village goes to that village. There is no question about the diversion of a project from one village to the other.”

Like in Kumbo during the first lap of his tour, Mayor Wache announced the creation of the Noni Development Party, NDP, which, he said, is a non-partisan forum for the development of Noni.

He called on all sons and daughters of Noni at home and abroad to put aside politics, bury whatever hatchets between them and come onboard the NDP, for all of them to work in unity for the development of their land.

‘Let’s Practice Love’

Meantime, Mayor Wache condemned the negative spirit of division which has been lingering in the last few years among members of the Noni community in Douala, leading to factions. He said it is imperative for members of the Noni community to live in unity, adding that unity is strength. He implored the Noni Traditional Council in Douala to strive to restore peace, love and unity within the community.

“Let us not talk about love from the rooftops. Let us practice it,” he stressed.

First Mayor To Come Visiting

Earlier speakers at the occasion had showered praises on Wache for being the first ever Noni Mayor to visit them.

The Spokesperson for Noni Women at the occasion, Anastasia Samali V, said in the opening prayer; “Noni has, over the years, been having Mayors. But none has ever visited us before now.” She prayed God to guide their “beloved” Mayor, Francis Wache.

The Chairman of the Noni Traditional Council in Douala, Polycarp Tanto Shiyntum Laban, expressed gratitude to Mayor Wache for the laudable initiative to visit them.

“The Noni Council has existed for many years. But no Mayor ever bothered to visit us.”

The Chairman averred that the 20 Noni Traditional Title Holders in Douala were all proud of the fact that Mayor Wache is also a Noni Traditional Title Holder.

Tanto Shiyntum, however, told the Mayor that all has not been well with the Noni community in Douala there is some division among them. He said the division had resulted to the creation of a faction that stood against the current leadership of the Noni community, and that members of the faction have been boycotting meetings.

Tanto Shiyntum, however, remarked that the visit of Mayor Wache seemed to have been a magic wand that has brought together all the Noni people in Douala. He observed that members of the dissident faction, including their leaders, had all turned up at the occasion to welcome the Mayor. He expressed hope that the spirit of unity demonstrated on the occasion of the Mayor’s visit, will not end after the visit.

Great Honour/ Achievements

The President of the Noni Community (Nshiii Noni), Patrick Ndukong, thanked Mayor Wache for the great honour of his visit to the community. He said, though they are far away from home, they have been receiving information on the activities of Mayor Wache, during his two years in office.

Ndukong was happy to observe that Mayor Wache’s record as regards development projects, has, so far, been very positive. He also observed that some of the achievements have come with the assistance of some development partners like PNDP.

Ndukong highlighted some of the several visible achievements of Mayor Wache: “In just a few years in office, you have been able to realise several projects, such as: the construction of a bridge at the boundary between Nkor and Nkambe, building of gutters, construction of markets, toilets, Council registration office, building of classrooms, donation of text books to primary and secondary schools, reception of books from the Fomuyoh Foundation for the Nkor Council Library, reviving the Council giant generator, acquisition computers for the Council, offering of holiday jobs, creation of the Noni Community Radio, rehabilitation of water schemes, creation of the Municipal Forest by planting 8,075 ‘Prunus- Africana’ and Mahogany, organisation of football tournaments to promote talents in youths and foster development and unity,among many other achievements”.

Meantime, Ndukong said they have acquired a piece of land as part of a project to build the Noni Development and Cultural Association, NODECA Hall, in Douala, but said financial constraints may hold back the project.

In reaction, that earned him a standing ovation, Mayor Wache announced that he will be coming back to Douala for the laying of the foundation stone of the project and also that the Noni Council will make a significant financial contribution to the project.

The Mayor had earlier visited the piece of land for the NODECA Hall. Meantime, Noni youths in Douala, who massively turned out and who organised a friendly football match in the Mayor’s honour, got ecstatic when the Mayor announced that he will sponsor their team for a trip to Noni, for a match with the home team. A long question and answer session followed.

The occasion, which was s to end at 6.00pm, dragged on till10.00pm,as members of the Noni community, including several Noni elite like Barrister George Kinyang, were excited and would not let the Mayor leave.

The famous Njang Dance Group that welcomed Mayor Wache upon his arrival took over the floor and sent everybody, including the Mayor, displaying their dancing steps.

“We pray that you keep on with your good works and be assured that the Lord is watching and will reward you a hundred fold,” the President of the Noni community told Mayor Wache as he left Douala.