Ambassador of Peace Award:

Ntumfor Nico Halle Gets International Recognition

By Innocent Kum in Yaounde

Ntumfor Nico Halle

Renowned lawyer and international peace crusader, Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle is winner of an International Peace Ambassador Award.

            Nico Halle who is also president of the general assembly of the Cameroon Bar Association was announced winner of the prestigious distinction Wednesday march 28 by the International Association of parliamentarians for Peace, IAPP, during an event in Yaounde.

            Before declaring the Douala-based legal expert as an international peace ambassador, officials of the IAPP said the honour was in recognition of Nico Halle’s distinguished and remarkable contribution towards upholding universal moral values, building of strong family ties and fostering inter-denominational cooperation.

            The IAPP officials added that Nico Halle’s was chosen for the international award also because of his active and indefatigable role in promoting inter-State cooperation, peaceful co-habitation and dialogue, as well as advocating positive inputs, enhancing proper functioning of the United Nations Organisation and fostering and encouraging responsible mass media communication and journalism.

            The officials noted that upholding the culture of peace is a pre-requisite for harmonious co-habitation.

            Reacting to the press after receiving the award, Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle said he was humbled to have been selected for such a distinction by a renowned and reputable international organisation.

            “This award is so special to me because it comes at a time when the crisis in the Anglophone Regions is only escalating. The belligerence is quite deep and with pugnacious tendencies soaring. The award therefore propels me into more action. Men are led by toys. When one is recognized universally it acts like an impetus, a veritable catalyst for more positive action,” Nico Halle said.

            Questioned if the award came to him as a surprise, Ntumfor retorted: “Yes and no! No because I have received other International distinctions and awards before, including two Honorary Doctorate Awards (Doctor Honoris Causa). Yes because the award has provoked an avalanche of messages of congratulations and encouragements from friends and well-wishers over the country and beyond ever since it was announced at the National Assembly last Wednesday 28 March 2018.”

            Nico Halle who is also an acclaimed international elections monitor said he remains “exceedingly humbled and thankful to God for such a huge acknowledgement of the undivided and undiluted efforts I have been making since for more than 28 years now for peace to reign in Cameroon, Africa and the World.”

           

“Peace is my mantra as it is the most precious asset in the world,” the Cameroon Bar General Assembly President said, also noting that:

            “I have continued saying that peace is the weapon of the strong and wise, whereas violence is the weapon of the weak. I go for peace all the time.”   

            Asked why little is heard lately about the peace crusade which he launched in January 2017 in the heat of the ongoing Anglophone crisis, the Douala-based lawyer clarified: “You are right when you say little is heard about the initiative lately. But i have not relented one bit. I have rather intensified the peace crusading efforts, but this time I prefer to do it silently as I discovered that the crisis has become business and political capital for some unscrupulous persons who now use it to make financial and political gains. These opportunists can never spare a peace crusader like me, who definitely should be standing in their way to make brisk money.”

            Nico Halle lamented: “How can peace reign when there is so much graft, corruption, embezzlement, bribery, misappropriation, bad governance, favouritism, tribalism, falsehood, hypocrisy, cover up, make belief, blackmail, mudslinging, empty sermons, violence, frustration, hate, injustice, manipulation, rigging, fraud, marginalization etc etc, both in the secular setup as well as in the global Church?....  The level of poverty, unemployment and moral decadence is most alarming for a country blessed with huge natural and human resources. I have said since January 2017 that I can only rest when Peace finally returns to the NW and SW Regions of our dear country Cameroon.”

            “I have said that for meaningful and sustainable peace to exist there must first be the core spiritual and moral values of Love, justice, equity, good governance, the rule of law, transparency, accountability, patriotism, democracy, respect for human rights and liberties and the Fear of the Lord,” Nico Halle stated, also reiterating his call for a general amnesty to be granted all persons arrested and detained in connection to the Anglophone crisis, and for an inclusive, genuine, frank and sustainable dialogue to be engaged as a means towards resolving the crisis.

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Ntumfor Nico Halle