Eighty-year-old Diesel Tangho Dieudonne may be frail with age, but his memory of one man remains intact — Dr. Emmanuel Mbella Lifafa Endeley, Cameroon’s political icon, in whose honour a monument was recently erected in Buea, 37 years after he died.
Tangho still recalls how the renowned physician and political icon saved him from illness when he was just six years old in Buea, the then political capital of West Cameroon (today North West and South West regions).
“He cured me here in Buea,” Tangho recalls fondly as he stares at the newly inaugurated Endeley monument at Turborg Junction in Buea.
“He used to come; when he was going to Bakweri Town, he would sit and chat with my father. I was small.”
Vivid Memory of Heroes
Born at Small Soppo, Buea, Diesel Tangho is of Bamileke origin in Cameroon’s West Region but has spent his entire life in the South West Region.
Growing up in the colonial-era capital of Cameroon, he witnessed firsthand the rise of national heroes — and none of them made a more personal impact on him than Dr EML Endeley.
“It’s great and it looks exactly like Doctor Endeley. This is his real image. When I see it like this I’m proud,” he says, admiring the newly inaugurated monument.
The monument, recently unveiled by promoters of the Cameroon International Film Festival (CAMIFF), has sparked memories of Dr Endeley in the town.
It has reignited conversations about EML Endeley’s legacy as both a healer and a hero.
Doctor EML Endeley was bigger than a Bakwerian,” says Barrister David Mafani Namange, Mayor of Buea, who is from the Bakweri ethnic group like the late Dr Endeley.
“He symbolizes a very big icon in the history of Cameroon and you can’t successfully pen down the history of Cameroon without a chapter dedicated to Doctor EML Endeley,” Mayor Namange adds.
He lauded CAMIFF for spotlighting the political icon and revealed that the Buea Council is also working to honor the legacies of other icons who have built the town.
Who Was Dr Emmanuel Mbella Lifafa Endeley?
Dr E.M.L. Endeley was one of Cameroon’s most influential post-colonial figures.
Born in 1916, he trained as a medical doctor in Nigeria and practiced medicine before venturing into politics.
He was the first Prime Minister of Southern Cameroons (1957 to 1959) under British administration and played a leading role in the country’s journey toward reunification and independence.
Known for his political charisma and oratory prowess, Endeley was a key figure in the Cameroon Youth League (CYL) and later in the Kamerun National Congress, KNC.
Both organisations laid the groundwork for his political activism in British Southern Cameroons.
Despite disagreements with other nationalist leaders like John Ngu Foncha, Endeley remains respected for his early push for autonomy and for advocating unification under certain conditions.
However, his reputation as a compassionate medical doctor extended beyond politics.
“He was a physician in Nigeria,” Tangho recalls. “He had a problem, he came here, but he was working. You see where you have Family Store at Buea Town? That’s where he had his pharmacy.”
Monument Revives Memory
Since Dr Endeley’s passing in 1988, Tangho says his memory had gradually faded from public consciousness until now.
The statue, unveiled in the heart of Buea, stands not only as a tribute to Endeley’s political contributions but as a symbol of his humanitarian spirit. For Tangho, the monument is more than just bronze and stone; it is a rekindling of gratitude long buried under time.
He believes the site where the statue stands deserves a name befitting its symbolism and proposes that the area be named Endeley Square.
The Mayor of Buea, David Mafani Namange, has been envisaging naming some popular spots in the city after some deceased heroes.
But he said this will be revealed in due time.
