Fon Angwafor of Mankon Commissions Queen Mother for US of A

By Innocent Chia

Written for and published in the May issue of African Lifestyles Magazine in Chicago

 

Beguiled and despised with rivaling passion, Queen Cleopatra of Egypt remains one of the most fascinating women in world history and arguably an august reminder that Africa had been trailblazing in women’s rights and prominence. Even in today’s predominantly chauvinistic African societies, the Queen mother is treated with reverent adulation as the one from whose womb the King ensues. There is always only one Queen mother in a Palace. His Royal Highness Fon Angwafor III of Cameroon did not change any of that during festivities marking his 50 years on the throne. But he made history for his Fondom by commissioning Mrs. Marie Ebie a MAFOR – the first Queen Mother based befittingly in America’s heartland, Chicago.

It’s a Saturday evening in April. Daylight savings are deceptive enough and the day is looking young - like 3:00pm or 4:00pm. It’s actually past 7:00pm. My host is giving me a tour of her dominion. It’s an imposing and intimidating view that is sure to scare anyone who is afraid of heights. We are over 50 floors high in the Lakefront home of one I have always respectfully and fondly called Auntie Marie or Sister Marie. Because I am mindful of the tradition it now behooves me to call her by the traditional title conferred upon her by HRH Fon Angwafor of Mankon. She is MAFOR Ebie, distinctly different from the MAFOR of Mankon who lives at all times in the Mankon palace. 

 

“It was a great honor, and one that I never even dreamt of” MAFOR Ebie says as we finally settle down to talk about the 18 hour-trip that took her to her native Cameroon in the bowels of tropical Africa, right beneath the equator. With us is her husband and soul mate of over 33 years, Dr Ebie. Equally present is Jennifer Nanyongo, their only daughter and last of three children - “all 15 months apart” – Mafor Ebie had pointed out as we made small conversation.  

The Mafor, her husband and their daughter are seating on a couch backing the beautiful, sprawling Lake Michigan to the North East. MAFOR Ebie is smacked in the middle, leaning towards the husband who is on the immediate left of my sofa. Jenny, who is here because she traveled to Cameroon with her mother, is seating on the far end…

 

Even MAFOR Ebie wonders somewhat how she got to this point. “I am not from the Northwest region” she says. I always thought that the MAFOR was a title given to older women who have done a lot of service in the village…and women who were born in the royal family. I thought those were the women that were made MAFORS. But for me coming from a totally different culture and receiving that kind of honor, I thought it was the greatest honor so far that I have ever received. It really was mind boggling and overwhelming for me” she concludes, eyeing the husband and still visibly reliving the emotions. 

 

It is not only a point of surprise to her, but an opportunity for us all to ponder on whether this is some kind of a paradigm shift that the Fon of Mankon is blazing for modern traditional rulers to follow. There is no denying that things have changed from the old days and traditional rulers have to forge new authority within boundaries and subjects that are in flux and no longer fixed. Inter-ethnic marriages are commonplace and more and more people are leaving outside their villages and countries. There is a confluence of politics and tradition that have blurred power lines, often leaving behind them a toxic political atmosphere that has sons and daughters vying for the endorsements of their traditional rulers to the exclusion of others.

 

But these lines of divide were no where visible during this celebration. Through a DVD that Jenny pops into the player, the flat screen TV encased against the wall comes alive with highlights of the event. What we see are rows of traditional leaders, the political elite, religious leaders, administrators, a sea of Mankonites and the irresistible griot (praise singer) that is forever etched in Jenny’s mind. “It was a transformative experience and an equalizer” says Jenny, about the experience that she and a large delegation of maternal aunties and uncles had of the trip from the South West Region to the highlands of the North West. 

 

Still, the puzzle on many a lip is why did Fon Angwafor bestow this honor on Mrs Ebie? Whether in direct conversation with the Fon of Mankon’s son in the US, or other Mankon elite, the answer is basically the same as echoed by MAFOR Ebie. “I don’t know. Only the Fon knows best… but I think, without patting myself on the back, that as a father of many children, he knows potential when he sees it”, she says. It is also true from talking with my sources, that everyone also has a good guess as to why, including Dr Ebie. “The Fon is a very educated leader and he has been reading the papers and paying attention to what Marie and the children have been doing in Cameroon. Besides, I think he has this idea that the world is a village and he wants to work with people that have this communal spirit of reaching out to others so as to bring about development,” regardless of their origin.

 

Dr Ebie - a medical Oncologist and lawyer - is referencing the work of FECH –Foundation for Education Culture and Health  - a young non-for- profit organization that his children set up after their son, Kenny Nji, visited Cameroon for a year’s research on a Fulbright fellowship between 2001 – 2002. Upon his return to the US, he appealed to his siblings, Jeremy Mba and Jennifer Nanyongo (all three of them are lawyers) and their parents to do something to help alleviate the plight of some of the neediest and least advantaged. 

As a result, in 2008 Mrs. Ebie was in Cameroon, on behalf of FECH, handing over keys of two fully equipped ambulance trucks to Cardinal Tumi of the Douala Archdiocese. It was a deal that Jeremy, FECH’s Vice President, had negotiated with the city of Chicago. Even so, long before Jeremy, Kenneth and Jennifer got involved in charity work, Dr. Ebie and MAFOR Ebie donated the first batch of computers to Sasse Secondary School (his Alma Mater). The computers were accompanied by an American high school teacher to teach the teachers and students how to use them.  “We are glad that our children have adopted these values that we taught them and are able to identify ways of helping others, in spite their busy personal and professional schedules” Dr Ebie says to the nod of Mafor Marie, both parents visibly elated with FECH’s business model of working with proven and accountable organizations that are already established on the ground.

 

In yet another instance of philanthropy, the Ebie family was part of a group which collected and sent over $400,000 in medical equipment and supplies for the Acha-Tugi hospital. They are also supporting a Youth Program in Yaounde to help get young homeless kids off the streets, educate them about AIDS prevention and testing, as well as get them back in school... 

 

“It is not one particular thing or the other” says Jenny about why she thinks the Fon bestowed this honor on her mother. “It’s not easy to find Cameroonians that have been away from Cameroon this long and still maintain close ties there. It is very easy to drift off at some point. However, their commitment has intensified with time and opportunity.”

One would be hard pressed saying that their help has been targeted to a specific region, ethnic group or religious affiliation. The only common denominator for all that the Ebie’s do is need. When you hang out with MAFOR Ebie for a minute, you get it that this is who she is... “She is first and foremost a selfless servant.” Dr Ebie tells the story of how, upon her return from Cameroon with the MAFOR title, she made it a point to attend the Mankon meeting to get to know them and be known. While there a kid spilled something on the floor…MAFOR Ebie was on her feet cleaning it up before anyone even could think of getting off their seats. “She does not know how to wear the title” he says, before concluding that “She is all about serving others”. 

 

MAFOR Ebie agrees with the husband for another reason. “I believe that there is no better way of leading people than been at their service”, she says. As her family’s first daughter and second of fifteen (15) children, she literally had the weight of taking care of her siblings the best she knew how. That experience has since been layered up with a Masters Degree in Psychology, marriage, and children of her own.

 

Consequently, MAFOR Ebie welcomes and regales at the rights and responsibilities of her new station – She is in the league of the few who can talk directly to His Royal Highness without an intermediary. She can initiate conversation with the Fon rather than wait always for it to come from him. When the occasion arises, she can advise the people on any particular subject, and she is expected to be a representative of the people of Mankon, as well as in helping them bring development to the land.

Already she was more than impressed with the picturesque nature of the Mankon Palace and the development of tourism within the palace. She admired the maze of it, the reverberating sounds and vibrant colors in full display during the ceremony. It all solidified in her mind the task that she is embracing. “This is about building a caring community here in the US that is ever mindful of its responsibilities to the less fortunate it Cameroon”, she says. “The Fon of Mankon is all about community and working together, whether at home or here”. Dr Ebie re-echoes the view but with a different focus. “The fact is that as individuals out here we are all helping our respective family members and our friends. However, I think that the challenge that the Fon is throwing out there is for more and more people to come together in communities and raise the level of their giving in order to benefit entire communities.”

 

By the nod on all three heads, there is agreement on the premise to my thinking that the Fon’s actions constitute a paradigm shift in cognizance of the value of the Diaspora. MAFOR Ebie thinks the move by the Fon aims at reigniting a “yearning for home among those in the Diaspora. That is what he wanted to reinforce. In fact, he said that when I come to Bamenda I should not stay in any Hotel because he will give me a piece of land for us to build upon.” 

 

The evening is beginning to tail off at the Ebie’s. A couple of questions more are on my list. The first has to do with the contents of a traditional handbag - a female equivalent of a red feather that is given to men at such Ceremonies. “It was a special bag made for me, and no one else can carry it but me. During my visits to the palace, anything I am to bring is put in that bag. Likewise, if the Palace has anything for me, such things are put in that bag.” 

 

MAFOR Ebie sums up her experience in philosophical terms: “You don’t demand respect. The things you do may bring you respect. I am just appreciative that the Fon of Mankon is reaching out and encouraging us to work together to benefit Cameroon." 

 

MAFOR Ebie is a mother through and through. Together with her family, she is planting an edifice in the hearts and minds of the poor and needy, the sick and hungry, the unschooled and untrained. And it is done with a humble spirit that recognizes that the greatest leader of all times came not to be served, but rather to serve.

Comments

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