By Boris Esono Nwenfor
Dr Christopher Fomunyoh, Senior Associate and Regional Director of Central and West Africa at the National Democratic Institute (NDI) based in Washington, USA, has penned an emotional and heartfelt tribute to late Fon Ibrahim Jabo Nfor, a man seen as a lover of “peace and social justice.”
“After a highly peaceful and successful reign spanning many decades, His Royal Highness felt he should reconnect with our ancestors and be by their side. What a loss; not just for the Fondom of Nkambe or Donga Mantung Division or even Cameroon, but the world at large. A legend just walked off the stage,” Dr Christopher Fomunyoh, Ta Nformi Cameroon of the Nkambe Fondom, said in his tribute.
“HRH was a man of peace and social justice. He was a visionary leader who mastered the balancing act of looking out for his people and everyone else at the same time. He led by example, and with dexterity. How else could he have stood tall over the people of his dynasty, and at the same time maintain such a towering influence over regional and national issues? He was a leader beyond the limitations of time and geography.”
The late Fon Ibrahim Jabo Nfor was a man who treated everyone be it, men or women, as one of his and this kind and warm nature make him connect with his peers at the national and international level.
“HRH was a wise, soft-spoken man with a big heart. His generosity knew no bounds…,” Dr Fomunyoh added. “Thanks to his wisdom and fortitude of character, he earned the respect of his peers and national and international personalities for whom his opinion became the litmus test for important policies and decisions of monumental consequences.”
“And yet, HRH was a legend of humility and simplicity. He held firmly to tradition as its custodian; was an embodiment of it, but wouldn’t let that stand as a barrier to healthy and enriching relationships and human interactions. I lived it up close and personal exactly six years ago to the day of his passing, as he received and fed me and my entourage in the Royal Palace.”
The late Fon Jabo Nfor had been one of the main actors that had been calling for children to go back to school. In late 2020, he and Hon Ngala Gerald together with the Senior Divisional Officer of Donga Mantung supervised the cleaning of schools and the level of student’s return and they were marvelled by the number of students who turned out at the Government Bilingual High School, Nkambe.
The expert in democracy and good governance, however, take solace that though the late Fon will be missed, he is “just seated with our ancestors and the Lord Almighty so he can continue to watch over us all and intercede on our behalf for the humanity he loved to see and the responsibilities he started and left for the rest of us to implement and compete. May his ever gentle, dynastic soul Rest in Perfect Peace”!
