Ngonnso, one of Cameroon’s biggest cultural festivals, faces a threat from a group known as the Ambazonia State Army, a separatist faction loyal to USA-based Samuel Ikome Sako.
A viral audio message claiming to come from the group’s commander, ‘Major General Talk and Do’, stating that the festival is banned.
The Nso Development Association (NSODA) announced the Ngonnso cultural festival in September this year and scheduled it for November 26-30, in Kumbo, headquarters of Bui Division of the restive North West Region.
Ngonso Festival is one the largest cultural events in Cameroon and it celebrates the heritage of the Nso people, a dominant tribe in Bui Division.
The festival has faced halts in recent years because of insecurity from the ongoing Anglophone armed conflict.
Nso indigenes across the world greeted the festival’s revival with jubilation after NSODA’s announcement, and began preparing for the mega event.
But separatists’ recent threats against the festival are dampening hopes.
The self-proclaimed Major General Talk and Do, Commander of a Separatist armed group in Bui, issued a ban in a viral audio, accusing the Fon of Nso of betraying their cause.
The Nso Development Association (NSODA) announced the Ngonnso cultural festival in September this year and scheduled it for November 26-30, in Kumbo, headquarters of Bui Division of the restive North West Region.
Accusations Against the Fon
“We say no to this festival, reason being that the Fon of Nso whom knew as our father has betrayed us since the beginning of this fight back in 2017,” a voice identified as General Talk and Do said in the viral audio.
He said Fon Sehm Mbinglo II of Nso stayed mute in 2017 when they marched to his palace with peace plants to express worries about happenings in the Fondom.
The fighter also accused the Fon of siding with the administration against their independence quest.
“Instead of standing firm with your people, you abandoned them and took side with those we consider our enemies,” he said.
“We once gathered in your palace to receive fatherly blessings but you refused and rather offered such to our enemies.”
The accusation against the Fon of Nso is not an isolated attack.
Traditional rulers in the Anglophone Regions of Cameroon have faced severe threats and attacks from separatists who have accuse of them betrayal.
Many Chiefs and Fons have been killed, some have seen their Palaces burnt while others, including the Fon of Nso, have been kidnapped and released.
Fon Sehm Mbinglo II, like other Anglophone traditional rulers, fled his kingdom and sought refuge in Yaounde after the armed conflict escalated.
Separatists still see his absence as proof of betrayal.
“After seven years of agony suffering, killing and hardship under your watchful eyes, you pop up from your safe zone to organize this festival,” the self-proclaimed Talk and Do said.
The controversial ban on the Ngonnso cultural festival comes after the Senior Divisional Officer of Bui banned Masquerades from Tensla, in Kikaikilaki village in Kumbo, from demonstrating anywhere in Bui Division.
