“One piece of story to ponder over,” Gavin commented with
quizzical eyes.
“Never forget it,” Ndam Saidou said in a casual manner, “You
might have heard this one too. Most modern day Bamoun people are either Muslims
or Christians. They reflect the soul of their legendary king or Sultan, the man
known in the history books as Sultan Ibrahim Njoya. He cemented his alliance
with the Fulani people by converting to Islam, the very religion his
forefathers rejected by fleeing the Islamic warriors of the advancing Fulani
army more than a century before him. He embraced Islam for the sake of peace
with the Fulani people who were at his northern borders. However, he converted
to Christianity when his kingdom became a part of German Kamerun, in
appreciation of the support of the German Colonial Army during his military
campaign against the Nso people to recover the skull of his father, the late
king who got killed in battle and was beheaded by the enemies of the Bamoun
people. The curious thing is that he turned around and embraced Islam again
following the defeat of the Germans in the First World War. I guess you must be
wondering why he did that,” he added.
“You piqued my curiosity with that one, Mon Commandant.”
“You see, King Njoya or Sultan Njoya, or whatever title you
choose to bestow on him, disliked being a true Christian because it forbade him
from being a polygamist. He disliked being a Muslim even more because being a
true Muslim entailed abstaining from drinking alcohol. That was how our dear
ruler came about professing to be one or the other depending on the situation
he found himself in. He would enter a church and bow down in prayers, and then
invite any pick from his harem the next hour to reassure himself of his
virility. I have even heard stories of how he sometimes attended Friday Muslim
prayers with men in his court carrying kettles with them. Guess what? The
kettles sometimes contained palm wine or red wine, depending on his mood of
that day.”
Gavin chuckled as he watched Ndam Saidou laugh too. “I respect
him for his wits in devising a script and for coming up with a new spoken
language.”
Ndam Saidou nodded. “That’s one of the things that made him
unique. He was never a self-righteous man,” he said, paused for a moment, and
then added, “Now, where were we?”
Gavin and Ndam Saidou went on to thrash out further details of
the mission to be accomplished in Bamenda, and then they talked at length about
other aspects of their jobs. It was almost midday when the effusive Ndam Saidou
shook Gavin’s hand, and then walked him to the door.
“Thank you very much, Mon Commandant,” Gavin offered as
he reached for the knob.
Ndam Saidou nodded and patted Gavin on the back. “Son, I am
glad you know the limits of life. Come around again tomorrow, same time, for
the set-up,” he said and squinted.
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