By Ignatius Nji
This year’s annual celebration of Mama Monica Mbayu, who passed on to glory some 53 years ago, took place at the Mbayu residence at Old Town, Bamenda with over 800 children receiving school books to ease their going back to school come September 2018. This annual event is in honour of Mama Mbayu who saw the importance of education though herself not educated but made sure that her son Mbayo Felix, who is today Minister Delegate Incharge of Commonwealth in the Ministry of External Relation and other children, went to school.
According Felix Mbayu, he considers his mother Mama Mbayu as a heroine given the decision she took to send him to school and what he is today is thanks to that decision by his mother. To him, education is the equalizer where the child of a shoe mender and that of a minister can have equal opportunities. With education any child can compete and excel anywhere in the world with children from other countries. He reiterated that parents should give their children pens and not knives or bow and arrow for with a knife in the hands of children, death is sure but with a pen, the future is assured.
Other aspect of education he said is that it teaches the virtues of tolerance and uphold the values of mutual respect. People can differ in opinion and must not fight physically but intellectually. Felix Mbayu lauded his quarter people for staying indifferent to all what is going on in the region. Looking at the gloomy picture where young people are being coerced into confronting soldiers in battle and dying in their numbers and those fooled to burn down schools, shops and other public offices, Felix Mbayu lamented that his people are the biggest losers. He called on all parents and quarter heads to ensure that children go to school for education is a fundamental right and more to that educated kids make better citizens, educated kids make better jobs, educated kids make better decisions in their lives.
Other activities that characterized this year’s event were handsome prizes to participants of a football and table tennis tournaments that took place days before in Ntambag quarter. The victor of the football tournament took home a trophy and cash prize of FCFA 250000 while the runners up took FCFA 100.000. Table Tennis Champion had FCFA 75.000 while the runners up took FCFA 50.000.
Minister Mbayo also invited his friends who are Old Town boys and school mates among whom were General Agha Robinson Ndong, Mathias Ofong, SDF Shadow cabinet member, SDO for Mezam, Regional Police Boss, the Imam and Hausa chief and erstwhile goalkeeper Agba.
This article was written and published first by Eden Newspaper
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