At presentation to community in Yaounde: New Pinyin Paramount Fon vows to promote peace, unity….

He made the promises in Yaounde, Sunday November 10, 2024. This was during a ceremony organised to present the traditional ruler to the Pinyin community in the nation’s capital. 

He was presented by traditional authorities of the Pinyin clan, led among others by Akamantso Ndeh Fonkam Azu’u III, a custodian of the Pinyin culture and tradition. 

The event came days after the former CRTV journalist was enthroned as the leader of the Pinyin people during traditional and administrative enthronement activities that were concluded in Bamenda, on November 8, 2024. The enthronement ended a seven-year leadership vacancy that had existed in the Pinyin land as a result of the exit of the community’s former ruler.

New ruler vows to champion prosperity

Speaking in a brief statement after his presentation, HRM Kenneth Khan Asobo, expressed sincere gratitude to the Pinyin people for uniting forces to give him the befitting welcome and presentation in Yaounde.

The traditional ruler especially expressed readiness to relentlessly lead the community towards sustained development and prosperity, by notably making relentless efforts to build his leadership on peace and unity, as the solid foundations needed to attain the desired results.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. We have taken the step. But I know that it is going to be a long journey. It is going to be a daunting task,” the journalist-turned traditional ruler said. 

“I believe that I can bank on all Pinyin people. The driving ambition of your new Fon is to see a united, peaceful and prosperous Pinyin land,” HRM Kenneth Asobo III further declared amidst applauses and joyous shouts and chants from the massive crowd that turned out to attend the ceremony.

Yaounde presentation lays foundation for envisaged works 

The traditional ruler described his presentation in Yaounde as one of those bold and well-calculated moves, designed to ensure that he succeeds in his mission as the people’s new leader. 

The choice of first meeting the Pinyin community in Yaounde, he stated, had so far proven fruitful, due to what he said is per the reaction that the Pinyin people back home in the North West Region had also given to the move. 

The people back home, the leader said, had told him that they see the nation’s capital where the traditional ruler now resides as a strategic location that will open doors for the Paramount Ruler to work for the interest of the entire community without any hitches. 

“I brought the greetings of all the Pinyin people to their brothers and sisters here in Yaounde. They say that Yaounde is the heart of the nation, so it was going to walk the path. Yaounde will take the lead,” the traditional ruler said, while promising to properly address the community in the nearest future.

New dawn for community 

The Pinyin clan has an estimated population of over 80,000 people, with some 5,000 of those based in Yaounde. The village shares boundaries with some six villages in and around the North West Region.

Speaking to the press shortly after the ceremony to present the new leader, Fonkam Azu’u III, a custodian of the Pinyin culture and traditional, described the rise of the community’s new ruler as a new dawn.

He said the Paramount Ruler will pump fresh energy into the community as it strives to maintain its position as one of the most developed and respected clans in the country.

“We thank God for this day. It is a new dawn; I can say, while quoting Prophet Isiaah. It is like a people who walked in darkness for long and have now seen a great light. The wait was long. But everything that is good is worth waiting for. Patience is needed,” Fonkam Azu’u III said. 

No worries about location of leader’s palace

The custodian also quickly cleared all doubts linked to the location of the new ruler’s residence as the palace of Pinyin clan.

He said the Yaounde residence of the newly-enthroned ruler, as stipulated by the clan’s traditions, automatically serves as the palace. 

He insisted that this will only change when the ruler finally relocates to his original palace in the village, which is currently undergoing reconstruction works. 

“In Bamenda, a decision was taken that the ruler comes to Yaounde and meet his people who are residing in Yaounde. In our tradition, the Fon’s Palace is found where the Fon is based. Each time the Fon moves and wherever he goes to, becomes his palace automatically,” Fonkam Azu’u III said. 

“Those of us who are in Yaounde have the golden opportunity because His Majesty, the Fon, used to be one of us. He is a former journalist and resides here in Yaounde,” the custodian, whose traditional position can be simply translated as a General, in the Pinyin clan, added. 

Indigenes urged to rally behind new ruler 

The head of the Pinyin community in Yaounde, Ticha Oji, in his statement at the start of Sunday’s ceremony, urged all the sons and daughters of the clan to rally behind the new ruler. 

He enjoined them to be fully supportive of the leader, to ensure that he gets the assistance that he needs to succeed in his mission to lead the clan to sustained prosperity.

“We call on all the sons and daughters of the Pinyin Clan, to help us build a winning team and make our clan a place to be,” Oji said.

Oji also pleaded with the new ruler to be an exemplary leader, strive for nothing but for the best interests of the Pinyin people, whom, he said, will surely be forever ready to support him. 

“Your Majesty, you are taking up the Pinyin crown at the time we are facing many challenges. But we know that when God appoints, he anoints and equips. Pinyin, as a giant, has been pushed below. As you are taking over, we know that you will lift us up as a giant. May your reign be full of good tidings, prosperity and good health,” he said. 

Last Sunday’s enthronement ceremony in Yaounde brought together over a thousand sons and daughters of the Pinyin Clan, traditional authorities of the community and elite of the North West Region and other areas. 

Notable among the top personalities present was the Member of Parliament, MP, for the Santa Special Constituency in the North West Region, Hon Kumase Simon. 

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3288 of Tuesday November 12, 2024