Dr Julius Njabebuh, CUP DONOR
The Male and Female throphies
The football festive season in on our local communities is a time for celebration, togetherness, and tradition. It is also a period when the love for football shines brightly across the villages. From local tournaments to passionate gatherings of fans, football during the holidays in our African villages becomes a unifying force that transcends boundaries. This was the case of the NHIAFOOT( EBUH Memorial Football Tournament in Muabi)
One the heels of the finals, ECO OUTOOK Newspaper caught up with the cup donor Dr Julius Njabebuh for a chat.
EXCERPTS;
The holiday games finals in Muabi have just taken place. As the sponsor of this tournament, can we know what the objective was all about?
The primary objective is to rekindle the games after management stalled them for 2 years due to the field renovation. The usual goal is to occupy holiday makers; as we all know, sports provide light to any community. These games allow our young stars to showcase their art in sports. Imagine us using these games to form and support a winning third division team. To be part of this vision, my brother Kennedy Ebuh (for the women’s category) and I (for the men’s category) decided to celebrate our late father, a football enthusiast, philosopher, and engineer, Emmanuel Ebuh Ewane, as part of his traditional celebration scheduled for April 5-6, 2026. Thus, the Ebuh Memorial Tournament2)
So, what will you say is your assessment of the entire competition this year?
Reports from home show the tremendous organizational spirit of the home committee. The games went off without a hitch, and the population was overwhelmed by the action of the various teams. Teams largely achieved the goal of fair play, and everyone is delighted with the overall organization of the tournament. We will use the announced few sporadic incidents as reflection points for the next tournament.
3) How regularly will this tournament be organized, and some innovations, for example, inter-village competition with Muabi clubs pitting different villages?
I hope that we make this tournament a permanent event in Nhia Clan. My predecessor donors have been doing a great job, and we intend to build on their efforts and even improve upon them. This year, all finalist team players received medals, and the best player and goalkeeper of the tournament each received a physical portrait to accompany their cash prizes. Some teams from Nhia are already competing in the Bangem Central tournament. Why can we not create a synergy whereby all finalists play a final tournament in Bangem Central, to enable us to select the best players, as we look forward to forming third division teams in the sub-division?
4) Muabi is a well-known name (village) in Kupemuanenguba. Can you throw some light on why it’s special?
The Nhia Clan comprises two inheritances: the Muabi (composed of four villages, Muatemengih, Muelong, Muasum, and Poala), and Muakwetih (comprising Mbat and Ekambeng). Muatemingih generously called Muabi is the center of Nhia institutions like schools and other functions. So, Muabi, though not the name of a village, bears the names of popular institutions and events organized in Nhia clan.
The two male football teams ( Mwelong and Bazor Muabi) in the finals
5) We also understand you are offering scholarships to early students who register in GSS Muabi. What motivated you to carry out this laudable, albeit challenging task?
Sports have been a magnet to all other businesses worldwide, and it is only in sports that even enemies agree to meet without guns and knives. That is why we use sports to help develop and advance other spheres of life. Considering that our schools have not functioned well for a long time due to the civil war, we want to use this opportunity to sensitize our kids to return to their home schools. I am calling on the Nhia elite and parents of our students to put their hands on deck so that this initiative will lead to fruition. As an educationist, I find it awkward when kids’ education is affected in any form, because they are innocent.
6) Not every elite can embrace this type of community development initiative. Can we briefly know who Dr. Julius Njabebuh is?
Dr. Julius Njabebuh was born in Muelong village in the Nhia Clan of the Bangem sub-division in the Kupe-Muanenguba Division. He attended GS Muabi, UCSS Tombel, Bilingual Grammar School Molyko , the University of Yaounde, ENS Yaounde, and Walden University in the USA. His primary profession is teaching, working at GHS Bangem and Nyasoso as a PTA Teacher, then at GSS Bafmeng, GSS Mambanda-Kumba, GHS Konye, CCAS Kumba, and GHS Kake-Kumba, before being appointed Pedagogic Adviser for Kupe-Muanenguba Division. He also served as president of the Southwest Association of Geography Teachers (SWAGT) for six years before moving to the USA. Currently, he is a high school teacher in Maryland, USA. His favorite hobby is gardening, which he pursues passionately. Elder Njabebuh is a Presbyterian Elder in PC USA and was a CMF member in Cameroon. He is married and has three daughters – Sandra, Emi, and Fabiola.
7) Any last word of advice to the people of Muabi, especially the youths who are supposed to take the relay in such development initiatives?
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The youth should actively and compassionately take up the baton from us. We understand how fast the world is moving, especially in the context of technological advancement. However, I want them to realize that everyone worldwide is missing their culture and roots/origin (home). We must maintain the good parts of our culture/tradition and revive the missing ones. We need to come back and develop our homes, like those in Yaounde, Douala, Limbe, and others, to add value to them. They need to avoid intrigue and infighting, as is being demonstrated by their elders right now. Overall, unity and a sense of belonging are the strengths we need to establish at this point.
8) The BAKOSSI community will celebrate one of the biggest cultural festivals in their history in Tombel, August 27-30. As a bona fide elite versed with the Bakossi culture, what will you say is the importance of culture to a people, and what do you think can be done to uphold it?
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Culture shapes people and provides a sense of identity, belonging, and shared values. It influences how individuals interact with each other, their environment, and the world around them. Culture also impacts individual and collective behavior, providing a framework for understanding social norms, traditions, and beliefs.Upholding culture’s value involves preserving existing traditions and promoting cultural understanding and appreciation in an ever-evolving world. This effort involves actively engaging in cultural traditions by participating in and perpetuating cultural events, rituals, and practices, sharing and celebrating cultural heritage, creating a record of your culture, promoting education and awareness, supporting traditional crafts and arts, advocating for cultural preservation, and utilizing technology for cultural preservation and dissemination.
9) Thanks for talking to ECO OUTLOOK Newspaper.
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You are welcome. It was a pleasure having the opportunity to talk about my home, which I cherish so much.
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The two female teams at the finals