Sharing of Rice in Mbemi, "Iron Lady" Pissed at Njineteh Quarter for Treachery

Sharing of Rice in Mbemi, "Iron Lady" Pissed at Njineteh Quarter for Treachery

Tanguh Diana alias Iron Lady is a native of Mbemi village. She's very angry for a reason she expressed bitterly to Mbengwi Online thus; "I'm angry because whenever this food distribution exercise is conducted here in the palace, people leave from other villages and quarters to come collect but whenever there's community work, you don't see them. They even refuse that their village is not Mbemi."

It was on Tuesday December 29 2020 that Mbemi villagers rallied in their palace hall to benefit from a relief package sent by their sons and daughters in and out of the country under the umbrella, Mbemi Development and Cultural Association (MBEDECA). 

Consignment of Food Items Ready for Distribution

Angye Emmanuel Akara is the home branch Secretary General of the association. He revealed that this was the third time such a distribution exercise was being carried out in the village from same source, concerned Mbemi sons and daughters in and out of the country. He also listed the items distributed this time around as 24 cartons of soap, 7 cartons of magi, 42 bags of rice of 50kg each and 15 bags of salt to a targeted population of almost 700 villagers not only within Mbemi but also external quarters like Meh, Gunenung, Bameqyueh, Sang and Ndeungeunung.  

To Madam Tanguh Diana,  the donation from their children, husbands, brothers and sisters out of the village and abroad is a wonderful initiative which they, the beneficiaries appreciate heartily. What aches her most is that some persons especially those of Njineteh, a border quarter consider themselves Mbemi villagers only during such sharing ceremonies. When a similar exercise is conducted in Njinibi, they also go there to say they are Njinibi villagers. But anytime work is announced, they don't show up. 

Disgruntled Tangu Diana

Angye Emmanuel Akara, MBEDECA Home Branch Secretary

The donors were thanked by several beneficiaries. Angye Emmanuel said  "We very much thank our brothers and sisters out there who thought of us with this wonderful gesture. We are so grateful and pray the Almighty God continues to bless them so that they continuously stretch out this hand of help"

Mr. Tebi Nyamnde Ephraim Fonmbatu from Bameqyueh is a notable of the village. Speaking on behalf of the quarter heads and council of elders, he said "We thank God and our children out there for thinking about us in the village facing this crisis. May God replenish their pockets, may no child of Ticharibi ever hit the leg against a stone. If they smash a stone let it scatter, let no one ever think evil about Ticharibi's child. Blessings on all Ticharibi's children, even those that gave nothing. Let the Holy Spirit touch them so that by next year, they too will join in supporting the exercise to be bigger than this."

Same words of appreciation were also expressed by Mami Julia Tekeh, an old granny that should be in her 80s or 90s adding that God should provide them more strength to work harder, wishing those that have overstayed outside find time to come back home and visit them.

Julia Teke

Tebi Nyamnde Ephraim Fonmbatu

Mbemi village in the Medig zone of the Meta clan, Mbengwi used to be a battle ground between non state armed groups and government soldiers.   The village was at one point almost completely deserted. Some classrooms of Government School Mbemi were allegedly burnt down after using the structure as a detention camp for some time. 

However, all of these are things of the past. Many villagers  attested that the village is pretty safe for habitation now as for close to a year, they've been going about their daily life unperturbed. "Things are gradually coming back to normal though the atmosphere is not that completely calm but the security situation has improved a lot", Emmanuel confirmed. "We are here surviving not because we are so secured but because God is also blessing us. I believe and assure them that anybody should feel free to come to the village as we now have some level of calmness" he added. 

Before the advent of the ongoing but gradually dying down armed conflict rocking the two English speaking regions of Cameroon, the Colour of Roses Foundation owned by a daughter of Mbemi, Dr. Sylvia used to organise health fares in the village and beyond during which free medical consultations were carried out and free medication provided to patients. In June 2020 close to 900 villagers benefitted from a consignment of food aid sent by an illustrious son of the soil, U.S based Mr. Alfred Dasi after he mobilised others to support the initiative.

Villagers in the Hall Waiting to Benefit

The Mbemi Hall

Since the advent of the crisis, humanitarian assistance programs have seen millions of bags of rice to be distributed to victims and sufferers of the conflict. Many are beginning to question why rice all the times? Such think that it's high time what we produce like palm oil, garri, Irish and sweet potatoes, plantains, yams, groundnuts, beans etc be distributed so that in effect, local farmers will be financially empowered, thus boosting the economy rather pumping such amounts of money on imported rice.