One Man, Many Caps:

Recalling Peter Essoka’s Tribute to Nico Halle On His Pearl Jubilee                    

A major fallacy of Cameroonian reportage resides in the continued appellation of Barr. Nico Halle as the ‘Ntumfor’ (spokesman) of the Fons of North West. Nico Halle is much more than that: He is in many ways a giant, and in every way a lengend and icon. Nico Halle is a Champion of Peace and Justice; a role model and leader with a heart flowing with honesty, truth, virtue and kindness. He is a saint among us 

           

Ntumfor Barrister Nico Halle, a champion of peace, justice, truth, equity & fairness

How can it be that one man can be portrayed as the quintessential pulse of life?

            One man! Nay, not the derivative insinuation in which “one man” is considered in all its negativity as a “bottle of beer” or some lewd interpretation of erotic resplendence. “One man” here should be looked at from its positive end as encompassing the coating of goodness endowed in one person.

            So, how can it be that one man can be regarded with some unprecedented positivity as being good?

            One man! Is he God? Forgive my blasphemy! No one can be God. But through their doings, some have been considered as gods. After all, Paul and Silas were named gods as they accomplished their missionary journeys. So could this one man be considered as a god, taking cognisance of all accolades thrown at him?

            One man! Could anyone, given so much praise, honour and glory remain humble, focused or could that one man pass around with a benign attitude, benevolence, gracious and gentle? Could he remain beguiling – charming, enchanting and even seductive? Seductive here has nothing to do with erros. It is that soft and attractive nature stirred by the goodness in you, which, of course, can be looked at by negative minds as being dangerous.

            It is however amazing how one man can be the things that have been written about him by you all.

            Amazing also that this one man is alive and is able to listen, read and cogitate on what people think of him. It is understandable when people eulogise on dead people.                             They hypocritically portray the people as white sheets on which no virgin has laid at the start of her sexual exploits.

            This one man is alive and even his wife with whom from time to time they have some ferocious exchanges, testifies of his goodness when he is still walking the surface of the earth.

            One man! You portray him as one who assuages beleaguered spirits as he goes around in his crusades for peace, justice and fair play. One man who does it with an untold bellicosity and a positive belligerence, aggressively telling it in truthfulness and with the warning that God’s finger is pointing at those whose evil is malignant.

            One man! One who enhances goodness, who can sweet-talk crowds to rise up and work for Jesus, because with us in mind, God had a better plan. He does so with the exuberance of an entrepreneur, one he blatantly is. He is enterprising and very businesslike, driving through society like a rolling stone, but one that gathers moss.

            One man! He is compelling. He is enthusiastic. He makes comfortable his entourage with a contagious smile, and an uninhibited elegance and that’s because of his conviviality.

            One man! He is learned – after all, legal minds always refer to themselves as learned. I do not know how erudite in their scholarship they all are, but from what I have read of this one, I can conclude without much contradiction that he is. He is fascinating in his expression, almost bewitching, delightful and diligent. I have experienced some of his reactions at election time, at church and in his profession.

            One man! And even when the punches are flung around against him, even when he is bad-mouthed and has to stand face to face with adversity, denigration from some traditional self-acclaimed gurus, even when there is blackmail and injury to the person, this one man has stood in ardent faith to wade through what may be described as the storms of life. For anyone with the faith of this one man, as is seen by all of you turns to the master who is always ready to say “peace be still.”

            We have heard of stories of great people of past and present times especially of their heroism. We have heard of men and women like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, Rosa Parks; people who were as common and ordinary like you and me but also jumped into a crises to make life better for others, regardless of whether or not they were responsible for resolving the issue.

            We have heard of great moral crusaders like Gandhi, Billy Graham, our own Cardinal Tumi, Nyansako ni-Nku! We have hardly taken time to celebrate our own, except of course to lay out all the negative appellations on them.      Today is a special day! We are celebrating one of ours – a role model for many of us, a hardworking and successful man of great values, a product of his remote Awing.

We are celebrating one of those few people whose thought and action, have made a difference and changed many of our worlds. He is a humanitarian, a powerful and effective advocate and an inspiration to all who today dedicate themselves to the cause of universal rights.

            We are celebrating a warrior of peace. One who can be described as having used his acumen to teach his society of peaceful co-existence. He has delved into the scepticism concerning the power of love gradually diminished, and has made us see that the Christian doctrine of love, is one of the most potent weapons available to empower the underprivileged.

            This one man has cultivated love and tolerance of other people and is loved and deeply respected even by the people he opposed. He has been able to disarm many of his opponents by the example of preaching or crusading on love and peaceful coexistence.

            One man! A champion of human Rights. With so many of us unaware of our most basic rights, this man stands out distinctly to make sure that human rights are promoted, protected and have become a reality. Like Martin Luther King Jr. declared: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”, this man has stood up for human rights because he recognised that peace and progress can never be achieved without them and because history teaches us that each, in a significant way, changed the world.

            One man! A man of courage! Winston Churchill once said: “Courage is the first of human qualities because it is the quality which guarantees all others.” In his heroism, this man has had the determination to achieve the goal, regardless of the challenging obstacles. He displays confidence under stress and is courageous enough to take risks when others are embarked on hiding themselves because of politics and self-interest. This reminds me of a certain Rosa Lee Parks who in 1955 in Tuskegee, Alabama, refused to hand over her seat to a white passenger on an isolated Montgomery, Alabama bus.

            He is a man with a passion about his work, duties and responsibilities towards society and towards the people. His passion and level of assurance inspire and motivate those around him to work hard, stay focused and perform better.  John Quincy Adams once said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.” This man is a leader.

            One man! A man of integrity! When you find someone who is able to integrate external or environmental actions with internal ethics, then that person has integrity. This makes this man to be trusted because he never changes from inner values, even when faced with difficulties.

            One man, with a flowing heart of honesty! People implicitly trusted the honesty, truthfulness and fairness of Abraham Lincoln because they recognised him as a judge, a moderator and in several cases, fights and quarrels. Here in our midst, we have a judge, a moderator who fits into these qualities. This man is a hero because of his honesty with everyone around him. He tells them the truth, even the bitter ones.

            One man! A man of confidence! He is strongly committed and confident enough to make risky decisions. We are told Steve Jobs of Apple company Inc., had a multifaceted leadership style. This man has developed and keeps on developing self-confidence as a key to success. He promotes progress in the lives of others, he attracts fellowship, shapes, trains and motivates them.

            One man with patience. One of the greatest qualities of a leader, a successful man and a hero, is the possession of a great amount of patience, invaluable virtue that helps him to continuously spread his message; message of           hard work, peace, love and determination.

            Yes! This one man is an embodiment of selflessness. John F. Kennedy, a one-time great American Leader said “Don’t ask what your country can do for you - ask you can do for your country.” As a success story, a man of virtue and value, this one man is a selfless leader.

            Of caring. He cares about making his community a better place; display a sense of concern and kindness. He is a community service leader, who takes action intentionally to improve the lives of others. And this reminds me of a certain woman, a woman of quality, a woman of faith – Mother Teresa. Mother Teresa dedicated her life to the care for the poor, unprivileged and deprived people. She was one of the utmost examples of service to humanity, the forgotten and unwanted people, as indicated in this publication.

            He is down on earth, unbelievably humble. When someone masters the art of carrying out his professional duties and also his community services correctly, without placing himself high above others because of his quality, profession, his wealth and fame, that person is humble. This man exhibits the common quality shared by humble leaders such as: the nonexistence of pride or self-assertion. He realises his own weaknesses, and gives credit to all the people behind his success. Humility, the most powerful virtue needed within every leader, is his trademark.

            He is welcoming, approachable, and leans towards the welfare and the needs of his subordinates and members of his community. He is truly supportive, especially of his family.

            I can go on and on to talk about this man because of what I got out of the pages of this book. You will find it out for yourself because this is a compelling print and no one should leave this place without a copy. In itself, it is a teacher, a moral booster, a lesson of love, humility, passion, and all other virtuous you may want to consider.

            From this, I would add as a major though; “Work like you don’t need money. Love like you’ve never been hurt. Dance like no one is watching. Sing like nobody is listening, live like it’s heaven on earth.” I want to believe, all the testimonies about this man – Barrister “Ntumfor” Nico Halle, are a consolidation of who he is.

            Dear Barrister, as the Irish wish says; “may there always be work for your hands to do. May your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine on your window pane; may a rainbow be certain to follow each rain; may the hand of a friend always be near you. May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

            In this way you will be able to be of help to all those who come to you. You will bring sunshine to their lives and to yours.

Peter Essoka

President, National Communication Council (NCC)

Cameroon.