To boost voter registration: Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh Tah urges clergy to institute special voter registration days in churches, mosques.

The diehard SDF bigwig and member of the party’s National Executive Committee, NEC, has also underscored the necessity for the clergy to embark on what he describes as “political evangelism,” in order to better educate Christians on their political rights, civic duties and awaken their political consciousness. 

The suggestion of the respected lawyer, forensic and criminal investigation expert, is the content of an open letter to Men of God titled: “Political engagement of Christians”. 

The outing of the Ntumfon of the Fon of Mbengwi for the Centre, South and East Regions, it should be said, is a follow-up of the recent call by Catholic Bishops, through the voice the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon, NECC, Archbishop Andrew Nkea, for youth to massively enroll on the electoral register and contribute to the change process in the country. 

“In line with the declarations of Bishop Andrew Nkea for Christians to register massively on the voters’ register, I will like to draw the attention of Pastors on the necessity to evangelise on political engagement of Christians. Clergies should do more to educate Christians on their political rights and awaken their political consciousness,” Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh stated. 

To the politician and legal mind, “it is the primary responsibility of Christians to be engaged in the society to serve the common good and justice”.

With the Presidential, Legislative, Municipal and Regional elections drawing near in the country, Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh, proposed to Men of God nationwide to “decree special days for registration of voters on the electoral register”.

He said when such a day is chosen by a Man of God, he/she should then invite a team from the election management body, Elections Cameroon, ELECAM, to visit their denomination and register Christians on the electoral register. 

This, Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh added, will help prepare Christians of these churches to “exercise their rights to vote”. 

Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh appealed to Men of God to be dynamic and align their sermons to burning national issues such as the political commitment of Christians. This, he insisted, can better be done through “political envangelism”. 

To him, Christians “can no longer be satisfied only with preaching the word of God. It is now also necessary to do the preaching of political commitment as a duty to all Christians, because Jesus, whom we follow, was not one disengaged whiner but a committed man of Faith who was engaged in the social life of His time”. 

Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh, who doubles as President General of Mbengwi Elements Development Association, MEDA, urged Men of God to accord the same importance to voters’ cards as is the case with the church membership cards of their Christians. 

“…we should encourage them to have voters’ cards too. We must engage Christians from now to have their voting cards that confirm that they are participating in the political life of the country,” he appealed. 

To succeed in such a task, he said Men of God must lead by example by also enrolling on the electoral register and brandishing their cards to their Christians. 

“Pastors must set a good example by registering themselves on the electoral register, because by becoming a priest, one does not cease to be a citizen,” he said.

Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh said by engaging Christians into the political process to exercise their civic rights, the church would be making a significant contribution to ensuring that “social justice reigns in our society”.

Challenges Christians to engage in change process 

The multiple award-winning lawyer, who also doubles as President of the Common Law Lawyers’ Association for the Centre, South and East Regions, challenged Christians not to sit back and complain about things not moving but to actively contribute to the change they want in the country. 

“A Christian does not whine; he engages for things to change. Christianity that does not lead to active citizenship is questionable. Christianity that does not help us to be good citizens is false. Let us not be adulterated Christians…,” he stated.

A Christian who does not exercise his rights to vote, Ntumfon Barrister Ndangoh, who is known commonly as the Watchman of the Nation, noted, “is not a committed Chistian and he/she has no right to complain that the country is being poorly run”.