THE MAFIA OF SANTA

BY PETER ESSOKA

 I would this morning like to get a little into the philosophy of the Dalai Lama and try to relate it to the political rivalries in Santa. We have spent the past few days of this programme in telling our listeners about who the Santa people are and what they represent in the political landscape of this country.

Peter Essoka

We have some prominent names of Santa people, I mean those of the Sub-Division who have been famous and notorious when it comes to politics, and we have usually referred to their involvement in politics as the mafia of the Santa people.

Think of Senator Achidi Achu. He has been Prime Minister, Minister in several ministries and a very influential personality in this country and now Senator.

I am referring here also to Ni John Fru Ndi, the charismatic and no nonsense political guru who for some time now has dominated the political scene with his enigmatic but sometimes controversial ideas. He has always been in politics even when it was just a one-party system. He is outspoken, never mincing words.

In time past, there was Sam Mofor, “the man you have hear of.” He was like an effective comedian in the world of politics especially in the Southern Cameroons’ days. He acted spontaneously and very sporadically too. No one could determine his attitude at anyone time but he was one who did not mind what he did or how he did it in order to achieve a purpose. He was not the best of intellectuals but his intelligence was of belligerence, aggressiveness and sometimes frivolous.

We are talking of the Ngu family from Baforchu whose dominance in politics earned them the appellation, the “Baforchu mafia.” There was a time they seemed to have been everywhere, and who would blame them? They were intellectually apt and used their acumen to dominate both the political and intellectual class. They were ministers of government, they were university professors to the rank of “emeritus” if that should be considered a rank. They are renowned architects and prolific economists.

We have rubble-rousers like Nico Halle, one who seems never to leave a stone unturned. He digs into the morality of his people in particular and the nation at large. He is considered the crusader for moral justice.

Fonkam Azu’u has been prominent in the political world. Although he does not seem to be directly playing politics today, his role as President of Elections Cameroon, the first ever, is very exacting.

Yes, in Santa, you have the good ones, you have the bad ones, you have the ugly ones. They are a blend and that’s what makes their nature very complicated and has earned them the mafia nomenclature.

The Dalai Lama when asked what surprised him most about humanity, his answer was “Man”. He said, “man sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present, the result being that he does not live in the present or the future. He lives as if he is never going to die, and then he dies having never really lived.”

How true of many, if not all of us! But much of this is so evident with the man from Santa. When one cites all the names of great men and women of this entity in the North West Region, one would think of a bustling populace. This is somehow true when one gets to see the physical display of these people – the economic, intellectual, political, and social prowess. Unfortunately there are some undercurrents that make one questions whether their origin is not Italian. They can in playing politics be brutal opponents. Brothers have become enemies. Some who dipped their hands in the same dish have become traitors of themselves and at one point the animosity was so rife one would think daggers would be drawn.

Think of the days the SDF was launched. At the helm was Fru Ndi (Ni John). His greatest and virulent opponent was someone he called his own brother – Achidi Achu. And that was the real political mafia. But what was it all about? Was it money, health, or the anxiety about the future which made them not enjoy the real life of the present? How much of the present or the future do they live? In their struggle, one would think they would not die. After all, Ni John was considered a mystic for he was able to avert death threats. Achidi Achu escaped death when his houses were burnt down to ashes in the name of politics. Remember, we shall all die perhaps never having lived life.

I am glad we could have some of these great men on the set together. Perhaps it is an indication, the mafia is taking a turn for the better and with Nico Halle’s voice crying like John the Baptist in the wilderness, the way shall be prepared and paths shall be made straight for Santa and eventually the nation, to receive salvation from treachery, bad faith, discrimination, injustice and nepotism. That way there shall be no more mafia inclinations but the welfare of each and sundry.