Closing ceremony of unity tournament:

Victor Mengot gets presidential reception in Eyumojock

The minister of special duties was guest of honour at ceremonies to mark the close of the 2017 edition of the annual Eyumojock Unity Competitions that took place at the Eyumojock municipal stadium recently.

By Ojong Steven Ayukogem back from Eyumojock

Victor Mengot and his wife at Eyumojock grandstand

Sunday 6 August 2017 will for long be remembered by the populations of Eyumojock as the day the municipality pulled the biggest crowd ever for a single event. On this day, at least 5.000 people drawn from some 30 villages and beyond, defied the persistent rains and converged on the Eyumojock municipal stadium to welcome the Manyu political leader, who had come to personally preside over the finals of the Eyumojock Unity tournament.

                Chanting and dancing in excitement, the enthusiastic and anxious crowds went into ecstasy when the guest of honour of the day, Minister of Special Duties, Victor MengotArreyNkongho, and his wife, BeniseMengot, made their triumphant entry into the stadium, accompanied by a high-powered delegation comprising the new SDO for Manyu, the new Eyumojock DO Lokombe Vincent, the MP for Eyumojock, Hon. OKpu Susan, the technical adviser at the presidency, Prof. George Etchu, the Mayors of Eyumojock, Mamfe and Akwaya, the military attaché at the Cameroon Embassy in Nigeria, Colonel TatasonVikram, the CPDM charges de mission for Manyu, Dr. AgborambangAntem, the former GM of NCSAPD, Ayuketah Oswald, the chief of Eyumojock town HRH AyambaIta, CPDM section presidents and the donor of the 2017 Unity Trophies, Barrister N.J. Ayuk among others.

                “Papa elle, ya y ayo…..papa elleyayayo,” chanted the crowds, as Victor Mengot and his glamorous wife alighted from their luxurious, all-weather vehicle.

                Victor Mengot would later take his seat at the makeshift grandstand that had been prepared for the event, but this, not before he had genuflected in front of the national flag after the singing of the national anthem. 

                Following the kick-off by the Minister, the actors of the day, the Tafoloko boys of Kembong and the Frontier Rangers of Out, swung into action, exhibiting great football skills, and wonderful mastery of ball control only seen in some foreign football leagues.

                The thrilling, champagne soccer showcased by the finalists left not only the crowds, but also the Minister and his entourage watching in discernible awe, and unconcealed excitement.

And because no one wanted to miss any moment of the game, the crowds stayed put under the drizzle that persisted for all throughout the 90 minutes of the encounter.

                At the end of the day, Kembong emerged the victors, scoring three times as against two for Otu.

                The cup winnerscarrid the trophy with a cash prize of 2 million fcfa. The runners up had one million fcfa. All other participating teams also went home with prizes.

                But the closing ceremony for the 6-week Unity Competition was not only about football, it also afforded Victor Mengot a veritable opportunity to continue with his back to school sensitization campaign, a campaign he had started since for several months now. And the Minister had good mouth pieces in the organizers of the tournament.

                “We have never seen this kind of crowd before in the history of Eyumojock subdivision. For the first time we have had over 5000 people from 30 villages participating in the Unity competition. We made sure just everybody got involved, the young as well as the old”, said the youthful traditional ruler of Eyumojock town, HRH NtufamAyambaIta, who noted that apart from promoting unity and peace among the populations, the tournament was also aimed to get the youths especially school goers to understand the virtues and importance of education, as has been demonstrated by himself and the donor of the Unity trophies, lawyer N. J Ayuk, who came in all the way from the USA.

Victor Mengot visits burnt schools

                Minister Mengot did not however dedicate all his time in Eyumojock only to the football final, he also used the occasion to visit some schools that were burnt in Kembong and Afap villages and to emphasize to the populations the need for students to get back to school, come rain, come shine.

                The two high schools had lost whole blocks of classrooms and offices to fire set by some yet unknown hoodlums. 

                In his characteristic soft but emphatic tone, Minister Mengot expressed utter indignation at the shameful and unlawful acts of the men of the underworld.

                “It is a shame that such acts are happening in Manyu. Manyu has never been known for such shameful crimes,” Victor Mengot lamented, noting that such acts only bring dishonor and opprobrium to Manyu.

                “Maybe those who perpetrate such acts think that they are hurting the government. But they are hurting themselves and their communities because it is Manyu that stands to lose,” Victor Mengot regretted, urging the traditional councils of the two villages to put their heads together and join hands with the PTAs of the affected schools and see how they can either rehabilitate the burnt down buildings or provide temporal sites to be used in the meantime, especially as 4 September is fast approaching.

                Literally launching the fund-raising drive for the back to school preparation, Minister Mengot handed envelopes containing undisclosed amounts to the heads of the traditional councils of Kembong and Afap.

                Reacting to the minister’s gesture, the chairman of the Kembong traditional council thanked him for the concern and magnanimity. He also expressed doubts that the perpetrators of the arson are indigenes of Kembong.

                “It is the government that created the                 Lycee here, but almost all the classrooms were built by the community. That is why we find it difficult to think that the perpetrators of these acts are members of our community,” remarked Pa Etengeneng of Kembong, who speculated that some hired mercenaries must be responsible for the arson.

                The head of the Afap traditional council re-echoed his Kembong counterpart when he too said the arsonists must have come from outside.

                “I fervently believe that these acts are carried out by hired persons from outside. Our children cannot do this,” he said.

                The representatives of the two villages thanked the minister for the gesture and promised to do all in their power to get children to resume school in September.